Grand/Magical Gathering

[cloe111479]

Hi All! :wave:

My family and a friends are planning a trip for May 10-17 next year. We will be between 14-20 people going (some are still working our the details). I was wondering if anyone had had any experience with scheduling a grand/magical gathering in the past. '

Please keep in mind that not everyone is staying on Disney property. 8 are at a condo offgrounds and the rest will be on property. We will have a 5 yr old, a 16 month old, a 8 month old, and a 4 month old. ( and possibly a 3 yr old) As well as many parents, and grandparents.

Oh, and my husband and I will be celebrating our 1st anniversary then.

Any ideas will be very appreciated, :shrug:

THANKS!

 

[k.hunter30]

We absolutely loved the Magical Fireworks Voyage. I HIGHLY recommend going on that.

Also, when planning your dining arrangements, make sure you make reservations as soon as you are able. We found some places had a hard time accomodating our group of 8 closer to our actual trip dates. Though we were still able to get places like CRT and Le Cellier in advance.

 

[LuLaSue]

I could be wrong (if so someone please correct me) but, I believe in order to qualify for the benefits of a Grand/Magical gathering all persons must be staying on Disney property.

We are going in November 7 adults and 3 kids and were given a grand gathering number. Every time I call for ressie's and such I give them my grand gathering number and all our information pops us. Anyone in our party can call with this number and make ressie's. We opted to use DDP and when calling for ressie's I was able to get us all at one table except for one restaurant. We planned the Illuminations dinner and dessert recption, and the fireworks voyage.

I hope this helped.
Good Luck

 

[phichi17]

I believe you need a party of 8 or more for a gathering...we just made thatnumber this year. In order for all in your party to fully participate, all must stay on Disney property.

 

[celticdog]

I could be wrong (if so someone please correct me) but, I believe in order to qualify for the benefits of a Grand/Magical gathering all persons must be staying on Disney property.

We are going in November 7 adults and 3 kids and were given a grand gathering number. Every time I call for ressie's and such I give them my grand gathering number and all our information pops us. Anyone in our party can call with this number and make ressie's. We opted to use DDP and when calling for ressie's I was able to get us all at one table except for one restaurant. We planned the Illuminations dinner and dessert recption, and the fireworks voyage.

I hope this helped.
Good Luck

That is the same way I understood it as well. All members of the party have to be staying on property to benefit from the Grand Gathering Stuff. There is a special number for dinner reservations. All members of the party are logged in to one database and it makes it easier for the CM and for the person planning. Those that are staying offsite won't be able to dine on the same reservations.

We did a Grand gathering last month. We were given special phone numbers and reservation numbers. I handled all the resrvations for our party of 9.

 

[LuLaSue]

That is the same way I understood it as well. All members of the party have to be staying on property to benefit from the Grand Gathering Stuff. There is a special number for dinner reservations. All members of the party are logged in to one database and it makes it easier for the CM and for the person planning. Those that are staying offsite won't be able to dine on the same reservations.

We did a Grand gathering last month. We were given special phone numbers and reservation numbers. I handled all the resrvations for our party of 9.

Celtic Dog-

How did the Grand Gathering go? Did your party do any of the Grand Gathering Events? I too am handling all the reservations. I am a bit apprehensive about having 10 people in one party.

Thanks
Susan :wave:

 

[k.hunter30]

That is the same way I understood it as well. All members of the party have to be staying on property to benefit from the Grand Gathering Stuff. There is a special number for dinner reservations. All members of the party are logged in to one database and it makes it easier for the CM and for the person planning. Those that are staying offsite won't be able to dine on the same reservations.

We did a Grand gathering last month. We were given special phone numbers and reservation numbers. I handled all the resrvations for our party of 9.

You can add or subract people to your reservations - no problem. That's what we did in May. There were 8 of us, but when making some reservations I was able to explain that at some meals we would only be a party of 4. They work with you.

And really, using the number they give you doesn't do all too much expect to have everything (reservations, etc.) in one place. I found the only main difference was being able to book the Magical Gathering events.

 

[phichi17]

A bit of unsolicited advice, do the Grand Gathering B-fast at Tonys Town Square. It was wonderful! It was my six y/o's first meeting witht h Mouse and it could not have been better.

 

[sissa216]

A bit of unsolicited advice, do the Grand Gathering B-fast at Tonys Town Square. It was wonderful! It was my six y/o's first meeting witht h Mouse and it could not have been better.

I agree! It is called the Good Morning Gathering, and is my favorite thing to do with Grand Gatherings. In fact, we are doing it again next week (on the 17th). And even better, it is included in the dining plan (at least it is this year, not sure about next year)

 

[coltow]

There are 14 in my group next summer and we plan to do the wishes fireworks cruise. My sister and I had it narrowed down to that or the safari, then let my mother make the final decision.

 

[celticdog]

Celtic Dog-

How did the Grand Gathering go? Did your party do any of the Grand Gathering Events? I too am handling all the reservations. I am a bit apprehensive about having 10 people in one party.

Thanks
Susan :wave:

It went very smoothly. We didn't do any of the special events, since they were an added cost. We did do alot of character dinners. At some restuarants we were split into two tables, but they were right next to each other. Make sure you use the grand gathering number for restuarant reservations, the wait time is much less than the standard number. Make your reservations as soon as possible, don't wait.

We also split some days and only had 4 at dinner. We still used the grand gathering number for those reservations, it was quicker and easier than the standard CRO number.

 

[LuLaSue]

It went very smoothly. We didn't do any of the special events, since they were an added cost. We did do alot of character dinners. At some restuarants we were split into two tables, but they were right next to each other. Make sure you use the grand gathering number for restuarant reservations, the wait time is much less than the standard number. Make your reservations as soon as possible, don't wait.

We also split some days and only had 4 at dinner. We still used the grand gathering number for those reservations, it was quicker and easier than the standard CRO number.

Excellent information, Thanks

 

[chels26]

hey! We go with about 30 every year! We have never done anything special... my advice though is.. don't try and do everything together! We always try and every one ends up crabby. Our motto is "hurry up and wait" so dont rush! Even if you're not all together. There are people in our group who rush rush rush.. and than are waiting for the rest of the group. When you go out to dinner, be willing to split up. You get seated faster. Having large groups like this are fun too.. you get your own boat for PoTC, IASW, Jungle Cruise, own elevator for ToT(minus the babies). I have never done the fireworks cruise, but im trying to convince my family to do it! On a side note, our favorite place to go as a huge group is the Hoop Dee Doo. We make our own shirts saying like "Disney Family Vacation 2008" and have every ones favorite character on it(and last year i added a little something speical to all the shirts.. por favor montengase alijado de las puertas)(i spelled it correctly on the shirt though). And we all wear it to the Hoop Dee Doo, and outside have our group picture taken. And when you're wearing all the same shirts, some one in the group is mor likely to get picked for something!

have fun!

 

[sissa216]

We make our own shirts saying like "Disney Family Vacation 2008"

we do shirts too!!
We'll be wearing ours next week:

 

[Lindsy1052]

You are 100% right..Grand Gathering Experiences are for resort guests only. The members of your party that are staying off sight are not entitled to the same things you will be, i.e., early morning entry, late evenings, grand gatherind experiences, etc. You also must be sure that those of you that are on property are booked as a "Grand Gathering" party. Be sure to make all your reservations for Gathering Experiences in advance of your trip, and most of them will require payment when you book them.