Need Advice for Grand Gathering Group!

[tigger1968]

We've got a bit of a dilemma that I hope you guys can help us with! We are bringing my MIL and family down in October for a Grand Gathering. It's her 60th B-Day, and there will be twelve of us in the group. Eight adults, four kids. I am trying to find some activities or shows for us to do while we are there. We had looked at the Illuminations Cruise, but were told the max per boat is now 10, so no chance of that. Quite frankly, every time we call CRO and talk to a dedicated Grand Gathering Planner, none of them seem to have the slightest clue. I have found myself telling them the name and price of the event we are asking about on more than one occaision, as they aren't familiar with it! :brick:

Does anyone have any suggestions? We are open to anything, including dinner shows like Hoop De Do or the Luau, all the way down to mini golf. We are passing on the Dinner and Dessert event at Epcot due to the pricing, but I am open to any and all suggestions! Thanks!!! :sohappy:

 

[dixiegirl]

all those people..GOD BLESS YOU!!!...definatly hoop de do...everyone of all ages love that show.....maybe character dining...even for your MIL i'd bet she'll.....chef mickey's is good for that...we went this past may and our 86 year old grandmother loved it...

 

[tigsmom]

Definately do the Hoop De Doo! We had a group of 9 (4 adults &5 kids) and we were on the main floor. We had a great time and there was a lot of interaction with the people in the show. Be warned - if you decide to do this you must make your arrangements ahead of time & because its such a large group will have to sign a contract & pay up front. We had no problem with this, but I know of others who did. They basically want to make sure they aren't stiffed for 12 meals.

Mini golf is a lot of fun but might not work out with such a large group- they will have to split you up (I think the max is 5 to a group, but don't hold me to that).
Realize that your entire group might not (and probably won't) stay together the entire time. You may want to talk to the other adult in the group to find out what they would like to do. Keeping track of a large group in WDW is very difficult and even with 9 people we had to split up on rides.

When you make your reservations and eating arrangements make sure you let them know about that special birthday. Get the Birthday pin and see what happens.

If I could make one suggestion... make sure you take lots of pictures and put together a scrapbook for you MIL and have everyone sign the first or last page wishing her a Happy Birthday!

Good Luck!

 

[BRER STITCH]

Definately do the Hoop De Doo!

When you make your reservations and eating arrangements make sure you let them know about that special birthday. Get the Birthday pin and see what happens.

If I could make one suggestion... make sure you take lots of pictures and put together a scrapbook for you MIL and have everyone sign the first or last page wishing her a Happy Birthday!

Good Luck!

I'll just let TIGSMOM post for me from now on, as she said it BEST! :wave:

1) HOOP-DEE-DOO rocks!!! The whole group will love it. Plus, you get to spend time at Fort Wilderness before and after, which makes for a nice evening!

2) The Birthday pin is a MUST! In all my years of Disney-going, I have never gone in the summer when my birthday is. This year that all changed. I just came back and honestly celebrated my Birthday for 8 days in a row!!! :lol: It really draws some attention to you from the Cast Members in the parks and restaurants and makes your visit really special! Some even remembered us the next day and started the whole birthday thing again at dinner! Be sure to mention this during EVERY reservtation and again when you show up for your seating at the restaurant. FUN FUN FUN!!! :sohappy:

3) The scrapbook I made after my parent's 40th Anniversary trip was everybody's favorite part of the trip! Save everything you can from your trip that others would never think of saving and include it in the book with your pics. It's an awesome celebration of life and family!

HAVE FUN!!!

:wave:

 

[Kirstin's Mom]

If you are all staying at Disney resorts and are registered as a Grand Gathering, I highly reccommend the Magical Gatherings Fireworks Voyage. We did it with our group of 16 in August. It was so much fun!

 

[tigger1968]

Thanks for the tips so far! I had forgotten about the B-Day pin. I wore mine on my birthday trip in January and had a blast! At this point, the others in the group are saying they want to do the Illuminations Dinner and Dessert event, so we have gone ahead and booked that. I still wand to do Hoop De Do as well, though. Finally got to see it on our last trip and we loved it. As for the fireworks voyage, how many will the boat hold? The Illuminations cruise can only accomodate 10, and we have 12. Thanks for the help so far! :sohappy:

 

[Kirstin's Mom]

The Magical Gatherings cruise is not on a regular pontoon boat. It's a larger boat, all 16 of us were on together, and we were with 3 other families.

 

[tigger1968]

Do you remeber the cost? Is it per person or per group? Sounds like this might be right up our alley....

 

[krzy4dzny]

Do you remeber the cost? Is it per person or per group? Sounds like this might be right up our alley....

We did the Grand Gatherings Magical Fireworks cruise in May and it cost us $29.99/Adult, $14.99/Child. I would also recommend the Grand Gatherings "Good Morning Gathering" character breakfast at Tony's Town Square Restaurant ($24.99/Adult, 11.99/Child).

I would do both of these events again if I had the opportunity.

 

[NAHolder]

I just got back from a Grand Gathering July 17, 2005, there was 8 of us 6 adult and 2 children. Although we tried to do thing together it was almost impossible to. By the end of the 1st day we had to split up and we just met at the resort for supper. good luck in keeping a group that size together during the trip.

 

[Kirstin's Mom]

We did the same thing, split up and got back together later...Since we had so many people (16 total) ranging in age from 4 to 68, there were lots of varied interests. What I did was make one ADR per day, either for lunch or dinner, and that's where we all met up, talked and told each other about what we'd seen or done that day. It worked out great!

 

[tigger1968]

My wife and I have already been discussing the whole "keep 'em together or let 'em wander" options. Eight in the group have never been, two have not been in 5 years, and then there's the wife and I.....the passholders... :hammer: We're the experts, so every one is relying on us for all the planning, reservations, etc. We have actually planned very few activites for the trip, and we are allowing lots of free time for everyone to go their own way. I just pray it works.... :lol:

 

[Kirstin's Mom]

That was us too...the AP holders, go every 2 or 3 months...they relied on us for everything. Just as a side bit of info in case you didn't know, if you have 10 or more people in your party you have to go through group services to make your dining reservations. That was such a godsend to me. They reccommended certain times/restaraunts that were good for larger groups. Let me know if you need their #.