[GROUP TRIP GUIDE] Where to start?

LukeS7

LukeS7

Well-Known Member
I'm currently trying to get a large group of friends together to go for a trip in either late 2018 or mid-2019. The group would have ~40 people and we'd be spending 3 days in Disney and 3 days in Universal. Does anyone know where I should start with even just estimating pricing? Would I be able to call the Disney booking number and have them price out what it would be with the group rate for this June as a way of estimating what June of 2019 would approximately be? (I would feel bad for the agent since we wouldn't actually be booking). Same thing with flights and Universal. Is there any way to get an estimate this far out?

EDIT: I've booked the past 2 vacations my girlfriend and I have taken to Disney/Universal so I don't need general booking advice, just booking advice for such a large group. Any help is appreciated! :)
 
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LukeS7

LukeS7

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
DisneyJoe said:
You're only going to get a group rate with Disney if you sign a group contract and guarantee a minimum of 10 rooms, same for Universal.
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We'll have enough people to fill those rooms, I'm just wondering if it's possible to find out from them how much the group rate currently is without booking on the spot. I wouldn't expect them to honor that rate later down the line, I'm just looking for a number that's somewhat more accurate than going through the online booking system with 4 people and then multiplying by 10.
 
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D

DisneyJoe

Well-Known Member
LukeS7 said:
We'll have enough people to fill those rooms, I'm just wondering if it's possible to find out from them how much the group rate currently is without booking on the spot. I wouldn't expect them to honor that rate later down the line, I'm just looking for a number that's somewhat more accurate than going through the online booking system with 4 people and then multiplying by 10.
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Contact Disney leisure group sales and ask for a quote. I'll check for the number tomorrow unless someone posts it before then.
 
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yensid67

yensid67

Well-Known Member
Hey Luke....its great you are tasked with planning a trip for such a large group...planning is just as much fun as actually going to the parks! Anyways, I would start with FLIGHTS and find out what the current pricing is for October 2018. Is the group coming in from one area or from across the country!? I would search Southwest and their rival(whoever that is) and work the information to your advantage...
To Southwest: We have a quote from _________, for $______ and includes ___________....how can you beat that price!?
and the same goes for the rival airline. If you want to save a little money, try a cheaper airline like Allegiant, they seem to fly from a lot of major cities or nearby! Next, Do you HAVE TO STAY ON PROPERTY!? If it were me planning for 40 people, I would get prices from each property(assuming you will be staying on property at WDWW and Uni) AND get a prices at hotels on International Drive...The Rosen, The Rosen Point Orlando are great options with 3-4 star amenities. These 2 put you in the middle between Disney and Universal. If distance is not an issue, I would suggest staying at the Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista...it is a sister property to The Rosen's with the exact same rooms and amenities. We have stayed there our last trip and was so great, we are staying there in May 2018 for 8 days! We got 8 days WITH breakfast buffet for $528! (I have my secret sites if you want to know I will private message them to you) Park Tickets: I would stay away from Hollywood Studios, since it will still be a construction zone and not worth $100+ admission. VisitOrlando or Undercovertourist are great places for discounted tickets. Hope this helps! Let me know if you need any help!
 
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LukeS7

LukeS7

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
yensid67 said:
Hey Luke....its great you are tasked with planning a trip for such a large group...planning is just as much fun as actually going to the parks! Anyways, I would start with FLIGHTS and find out what the current pricing is for October 2018. Is the group coming in from one area or from across the country!? I would search Southwest and their rival(whoever that is) and work the information to your advantage...
To Southwest: We have a quote from _________, for $______ and includes ___________....how can you beat that price!?
and the same goes for the rival airline. If you want to save a little money, try a cheaper airline like Allegiant, they seem to fly from a lot of major cities or nearby! Next, Do you HAVE TO STAY ON PROPERTY!? If it were me planning for 40 people, I would get prices from each property(assuming you will be staying on property at WDWW and Uni) AND get a prices at hotels on International Drive...The Rosen, The Rosen Point Orlando are great options with 3-4 star amenities. These 2 put you in the middle between Disney and Universal. If distance is not an issue, I would suggest staying at the Clarion Inn Lake Buena Vista...it is a sister property to The Rosen's with the exact same rooms and amenities. We have stayed there our last trip and was so great, we are staying there in May 2018 for 8 days! We got 8 days WITH breakfast buffet for $528! (I have my secret sites if you want to know I will private message them to you) Park Tickets: I would stay away from Hollywood Studios, since it will still be a construction zone and not worth $100+ admission. VisitOrlando or Undercovertourist are great places for discounted tickets. Hope this helps! Let me know if you need any help!
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Thanks for all the tips! We're still not settled on the exact time of year we're going but it's looking like people are leaning towards June 2019. We'd probably want to stay on property, especially since that'd mean being able to take Magical Express to(or from, not sure if we're doing Universal first or last) the airport.
 
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Kingdom Konsultant

Kingdom Konsultant

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Taking care of a large group is a huge task. I've done it for clients for years. I think my highest amount of reservations for 1 group was 46 for a dance studio followed by 42 for a friend that was getting married at WDW. I use a spreadsheet that lists each family, how many adults and children and their ages, their reservation #, etc I get their dining preferences and yes take care of making those reservations for each family lol I suggest that you do the same.
It can either be booked through group or individual reservations which is easier if you have families that want different resorts. It's too early to think about flights for 2019 since most airlines don't publish their air until 11 months prior to the flight dates. That may be something that you task each family with.
Also keep in mind that with group you pay the deposit for the room, tickets must be paid in full at the time and if you want a dining plan that must also be paid in full when it's added. So depending on your parties financial situations, regular packages may be the best way to go.
If you have questions, please feel free to reach out to me. email is best pam@kingdomkonsultant.com I will be happy to answer your questions


Pam
 
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JIMINYCR

JIMINYCR

Well-Known Member
Lets see.... planning a trip for 40 people... Where do you start???
th


I'd say with a bottle of aspirin and a bottle of your favorite, strongest liquor. Youre going to need both before youre done.
Tired+Mickey+Photoshopped.jpg
 
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LukeS7

LukeS7

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
DisneyPrincess5 said:
I have nothing valuable to contribute just wanted to say WOW that sounds super fun going with a huge group. Good luck, enjoy the planning, and have a great trip!
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Thanks!

Also, just a general update to everyone: I reached out to Universal and Disney. Disney got back to me the next day and said they can't quote me for 2019 until next month. Universal got back to me on Saturday night and said they should be able to get me a quote within 24 hours (still haven't received it yet though).
 
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LukeS7

LukeS7

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
General Update 2:
  • Resubmitted a quote request to Disney and was told a more specific time range this go-around. They can only provide group rates within 500 days of the arrival date (meaning a quote for our group trip in June 2019 is still about a month away)
  • Universal didn't get back to me so I contacted them and they replied (they had sent the initial reply to the wrong email, kinda a good thing I suppose as that means there's an actual human looking at my account :p), anyways, Universal said they can't give a quote until Spring 2018
Rather than using this thread to get advice from people (as originally intended), I think I'm going to just document my experience as I go so other people planning group trips have a guide of what to anticipate.
 
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LukeS7

LukeS7

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
UPDATE #3:

I was able to submit a group quote to Disney's meetings division and receive rates from them, I can go into more details about the pricing and how everything works if anyone would like (and the venues they offered for events and prices for the venues). But currently we're able to get 4 nights at the POP Century and a 3-day parkhopper for ~$510/person (Only 3 days of tickets because our first day is our travel day and the day after our last night we transfer to Universal).
 
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LukeS7

LukeS7

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just wanted to pop back in here for a quick update. Both Universal and Disney got back to me (which just leaves travel to figure out). The total cost for 3 days at each (with park hopper) and a travel day at each end of the trip came out to be $1008/person with the group rates they offered, so I came very close to hitting my goal of $1000/person (though I was hoping that would have travel factored in).
 
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yensid67

yensid67

Well-Known Member
Hey Luke don't forget my advice of using rival airlines to your advantage. Pam from Kingdom Konsultants could give you the best advice on travel and the best way to handle it, but I liked my way...to call rival airline and get a quote, then call Southwest and ask them to beat that quote!
 
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