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Grand Gethering experiences to be discontinued
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
Crush Dude!
Back from WDW!Counting down to DLP in November!
Why would they cancel these?????:fork:
Quite true. While they were cool they were also quite pricey.
Crush Dude!
Back from WDW!Counting down to DLP in November!
Shame!
Got left into an illuminations reserved area 3 years ago and the view was amazing, would love to have tried the dessert party!
How much was it??
Yankee Mouse
Well-Known Member
Anyone else think these weren't advertised well enough?
Obviously the cost was also an issue, but when I went in 2007 with my extended family I didn't even know about these until it was too late. Even then I didn't know about them until reading on Disney fan pages like this one.
It is a shame, I would have liked to try the morning one next time I went with enough people.
Obviously the cost was also an issue, but when I went in 2007 with my extended family I didn't even know about these until it was too late. Even then I didn't know about them until reading on Disney fan pages like this one.
It is a shame, I would have liked to try the morning one next time I went with enough people.
You would only qualify for them if you were a Grand Gathering, a party of 8 or more guests age 3 or over.
If you booked direct with Disney or even with a TA, one of the questions they ask is if you are a party of 8 or more - this send you to the Grand Gathering department - then is when you should here about them.
Currently it is $60 for adults.
Crush Dude!
Back from WDW!Counting down to DLP in November!
Bit pricey alri! Wishes dessert part looks cheap in comparisson!
Yankee Mouse
Well-Known Member
I understand that and we had that large of a group, but on separate reservations. So I wonder if asking that question is really enough? I know when we got a planning DVD I think it was mentioned, but it always just seemed like it was in passing. Something to the effect of "if you have 8 people you qualify for a grand gathering, call to find out more" instead of really going into detail about it, which is just surprising to me considering some of their other ad campaigns. I am sure though the real killer for people was the price of some of the events, but I question how many non hardcore disney fans really knew about these offers.
Tigger1988
Well-Known Member
We're doing the breakfast at Tony's in October. The only reason any of us even knew the option existed was because my mother was a travel agent. Disney doesn't seem to promote these experiences at all.
IMHO Grand Gatherings is a great idea that is very poorly executed. Without question, Disney needs a program like this staffed by people who are familiar in dealing with large groups and in that respect GG works well. Outside of that there is no real benefit to booking one. Sure there are those special experiences you could do but the cost of these were pretty extreme. ( lowest pried one is $40 per adult) If you had a dozen people staying in 4 rooms at the Boardwalk, the cost of the experiences was not that big of a deal. For the same size group at a value, one of those experiences would typically cost more than extending their trip by a day or two. That is one super hard sell. Had they come of of the price a bit or made a few more budget priced one they would have been much more popular.
As most people have pointed out Disney does not advertise GG all that well either and the list of benefits is less than impressive.
As most people have pointed out Disney does not advertise GG all that well either and the list of benefits is less than impressive.
Yankee Mouse
Well-Known Member
lol, I noticed that, just figured it was a typo.
boufa
Well-Known Member
They are not removing the location, if it was such a great spot that was reserved for people paying extra, and now it is not, then this is good news. Now we all can have a shot at it.
On the other hand, these seemed to be a bit of a waste and were redundant. What if in Epcot the kept the illuminations desert spot reserved, only now they opened it to ALL people as a desert party. Like at MK for the wishes desert party. You could still take your group larger than 8 people to it, but it would not be exclusive.
I bet an illuminations party like the wishes desert party would be a huge seller.
Zummi Gummi
Pioneering the Universe Within!
I wouldn't be shocked if that's exactly what they did. I'm quite surprised, actually, that Epcot doesn't already have an Illuminations Dessert Party.
ryanduggers
Member
Now they can reopen the Odyssey.
CaptainJackNO
Well-Known Member
I have attended on two Magical Gatherings I always viewed these as Disney saying, "Well, you came with a big group. Now, since you did that and spent alot of money to do so, we are, now going to give you the option of spending even more money, and not just more money, but ALOT more money, to enjoy these exclusive events that are reserved just for Magical Gatherings guests. Step right up, Mickey needs a new pair of shoes."
Now, I am being tongue-in-cheek here with a giggle. I was never angry or even thought they were wrong for doing this. I just thought that it was a bit expensive for experiences that were, really, not that big of a deal. Especially given the exorbitant prices.
CaptainJackNO
Well-Known Member
Exactly. But, I would argue that if you are staying at Boardwalk, you are already paying 400 bucks or more a night. So, whether you are wealthy or not, paying that amount of money makes it seem absurd to have to pay ALOT more, additionally, to enjoy one of these experiences.
There are usually benefits offered by resorts in different places across the U.S. to lure these large family gatherings, and usually at no additional charge due to the amount of money these folks will spend over their trip. Now, I am not an entitlement centered person, before that garbage gets tossed around. My point is, it's kind of ridiculous to sell these experiences as special to large groups and then level them with the opportunity to shell out even more bucks.
As stated above, at least make the prices reasonable. 60 bucks to watch fireworks? Really? I laughed to myself when the Grand Gatherings rep was explaining the experiences on the phone. You don't push benefits of having a large group, and the drop the price bomb. I would imagine that people, most in fact, were turned off immediately upon hearing the prices.