Would appreciate all the planning help I can get! :)

[SamJYung]

Hey guys!

So I'm travelling to Walt Disney World the 22nd of August as part of a group of 15. As you can imagine, I'm trying to get as much planning done within the next week as we are off-site guests, and the 30 day window period to book our fast passes is soon approaching!

I've been to Disney World twice before, but was a much younger kid, had everything planned out by the rents, and now being 23, It's time for me to take over the reigns with planning so to speak! It's all very exciting if not a bit daunting at the same time!

We already have our tickets sorted, purchased a 5 day pass. (Plan is to do each main park, plus 1 day at a park we enjoy for a second visit). I have a quite a few questions, so if any help and advice would be amazingly appreciated!

1. Being a group of 15, It's obviously logistically difficult to book fastpasses for ALL of us. I thought it would be nice to do on some rides however. Do all guests have to be linked to MyDisneyExperience app, or is there a group booking option?

2. Which park do you think is worth doing twice? I know everyone has their preferences, but I'm thinking more in terms which park has the most to do that would be best split over 2 visits to make sure everything is covered.

3. Any MUST DO restaurants? Can either be in the parks or at the resorts. (Off-site guests can still dine and make reservations at Disney Resort hotels right?) I managed to book a 'Be Our Guest' lunch which I can't wait for! Any other restaurants that NEED a reservation to be made?

4. We are visiting at the end of August where I hear crowds aren't as full on as they are in 'peak season'. I also understand it will be SUPER hot, and rain to be expected. Also hoping for some sunshine! What are your experiences of crowds and weather visiting end of August/early September?

5. Any other advice you guys have! I've been watching Vlogs, and snooping forums religiously trying to pick up tips and tricks, and in general, just love to read about other's experiences!

Thanks guys!

 

[Figgy1]

If I was you I'd book any other meal you're even thinking about doing NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and run do not walk to the nearest bookstore and get a copy of the Unofficial Guide to Disney. Plan out your must do items because you won't be able to do everything in one trip. You can add all the tickets to your account and book all the fps. BTW you will most likely have to split up for some if not most of them. MK is a 2 day park. Good luck and happy planning

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Call Disney. They have special services for large (10+) parties that'll be more helpful than anything people here will be able to help with.

 

[Disney4family]

1. http://www.disneyfanatic.com/8-planning-tips-for-large-groups-at-walt-disney-world/
http://www.disneydining.com/9-planning-tips-large-groups-walt-disney-world/
I tried seeing what Disney says on their site, but the best thing to do is what @CaptainAmerica said to do - call!
2. Magic Kingdom would have the most attractions for two days.
3. As @figmentfan423 said, book NOW!!!!!!!!!!!! Since it's been awhile since you were there, you could have fun at a character meal - The Crystal Palace has Pooh & Friends (in the MK), Chef Mickey's is at The Contemporary (a monorail stop away from the MK). All of the parks have great restaurants for everyone's likes. Check out this site for suggestions, reviews & menus or even this site - http://allears.net/dining/
4. We're usually there mid to late August. I have to say, we used to love it when the parks cleared out around this time. However, unfortunately, times have changed and I don't think there's really a "down time" anymore. Just do the best you can. As for the heat - it's Orlando not Anchorage. Enjoy the Florida sunshine and the refreshing Disney a/c. Most attractions are indoors. We've never gotten a horrible sunburn. Goop up with sunscreen, wear a hat of some sort to protect your head, sunglasses for your eyes and light-colored clothing. As for the "liquid sunshine", if a storm pops up, it'll be around 3-4 (ish) p.m. when the skies can't handle the heat & humidity anymore. 15 minutes later, it'll be beautiful. If not, throw on a poncho and enjoy. As everyone here will tell you, a rainy day at Disney is better than a sunny day at home. It's the only place in the world where it could be pouring and you will still have so much fun!
5. Read everything you can here. People write wonderful trip reports and share great tips. Enjoy the excitement and anticipation of planning. Relax. It'll work out and you'll have a magical time.

 

[thomas998]

Hey guys!

So I'm travelling to Walt Disney World the 22nd of August as part of a group of 15. As you can imagine, I'm trying to get as much planning done within the next week as we are off-site guests, and the 30 day window period to book our fast passes is soon approaching!

I've been to Disney World twice before, but was a much younger kid, had everything planned out by the rents, and now being 23, It's time for me to take over the reigns with planning so to speak! It's all very exciting if not a bit daunting at the same time!

We already have our tickets sorted, purchased a 5 day pass. (Plan is to do each main park, plus 1 day at a park we enjoy for a second visit). I have a quite a few questions, so if any help and advice would be amazingly appreciated!

1. Being a group of 15, It's obviously logistically difficult to book fastpasses for ALL of us. I thought it would be nice to do on some rides however. Do all guests have to be linked to MyDisneyExperience app, or is there a group booking option?

2. Which park do you think is worth doing twice? I know everyone has their preferences, but I'm thinking more in terms which park has the most to do that would be best split over 2 visits to make sure everything is covered.

3. Any MUST DO restaurants? Can either be in the parks or at the resorts. (Off-site guests can still dine and make reservations at Disney Resort hotels right?) I managed to book a 'Be Our Guest' lunch which I can't wait for! Any other restaurants that NEED a reservation to be made?

4. We are visiting at the end of August where I hear crowds aren't as full on as they are in 'peak season'. I also understand it will be SUPER hot, and rain to be expected. Also hoping for some sunshine! What are your experiences of crowds and weather visiting end of August/early September?

5. Any other advice you guys have! I've been watching Vlogs, and snooping forums religiously trying to pick up tips and tricks, and in general, just love to read about other's experiences!

Thanks guys!

You should try to get a reservation for any of the park restaurants that accept reservation and that you want to go to because you have a large group and that is going to be limiting... Frankly I would probably get a feel for what the various people want to do and break into some smaller groups, given a group of that size I'm betting you are going to have a mix of what the people really want to do based on ages and such.... Nothing will make people hate Disney more than being in a group that is focused on doing things that one planner thinks are great when they have a completely different idea of what would be great. Frankly if it doesn't break the bank a park hopper is a good investment for people there for a limited amount of time with no clue as to what they will like because you will likely find that you don't really want to spend an entire day at some parks.

Now if you are sure that you are just going to go with a 5 day one park a day pass I would highly suggest you look at the calendars for Disney World on the days you are going to be there and make sure you plan things out properly. Some days you'll find MK will be open later than other days... Don't pick MK on a day they aren't open late because on a limited amount of time you'll have wasted time. Also know that Animal Kingdom has the shortest hours of all the parks in general so if you are going to do it for one day only keep that in mind, if it doesn't waste a late day at another park it might make a good first day park because you wouldn't be out as late and if you are jet lagged at all it would be a more relaxing day.... But you need to have a good idea of the days you will be at each park up front so you make reservations for dining at the right parks.

As for Be Our Guest... I would start trying to get more reservations for BOG for breakfast, not because they have a good breakfast - they don't. But the food at BOG is vastly over rated to begin with so if you can get an early breakfast there you'll also be able to parlay that into an easy entry on the Seven Dwarves Mine Train assuming you schedule your breakfast so that you can finish before the park officially opens, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train is the ride you are most likely going to be out of luck on when it comes to a fastpass because they tend to get sucked up by the people that are staying on property as soon as that window opens up leaving off-sites guest out of luck.

Don't do any of the desert with a show deals (like Fantasmic or Illuminations) you don't need to pay the extra money to see the shows and special viewing areas aren't really all that much better than what you can get on your own.

If you have any small kids, get a stroller... even if they aren't normally in a stroller they are going to be much easier to move around if you have them in a stroller and much less likely to be cranky from being worn out.

If you don't need to bring a bag or purse to the park - don't. Bringing a bag will slow you down entering the park and you are arriving at rope drop it can be a lot time wasted... One caveat to that is if you do have an early dinning reservation in the park that lets you get in before the crowds you'll be getting there early enough that the bag check lines aren't a problem.

Don't give up on reservations...just because they are booked one day doesn't mean they wont have some open up on another. Keep trying... Break your group into smaller groups, maybe 2 groups of 4 and one group of 6 or whatever works and try for reservations that way. If you have kids that want to do a character meal stick them in one group with one adult and let the other adults go somewhere else (unless they really do want to see the characters) because these meals tend to be much more expensive than others on a dollars for what you get standpoint because you are buying the character interaction too... Oh and yes you can make reservation at any resort restaurant that accepts reservations whether you are staying there or not.... just remember if you aren't staying there you'll have to allow yourself enough time to get from where ever you are to that resort... Lots of people like to recommend restaurants at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, I would not recommend you waste time doing that given the brevity of your trip because AKL is pretty much in the middle of no where and would eat up precious time. In general I wouldn't recommend any resort restaurants given your limited time unless they were monorail resorts where you aren't going to be wasting a huge chunk of your time getting to them.

If you have kids that want to do autographs, get an autograph book somewhere else and take it with the autograph books that Disney sells are insanely over priced for what they are... Also take some pens with you because it speeds up the process if the kids have their own pens and don't have to hand them back and forth.

Get some cheap ponchos for the rain.. Preferably small enough that you can stick it in your pocket and not have to carry a bag....If that doesn't work then have a designated martyr to carry a bag and lug all the stuff through security instead of having 8 or 9 people with bags it will save you some time and hassle.

If you schedule times either by fastpass or just your only planning for shows, try to do them in the early afternoon when the sun it out in full and its really hot because even if the show is outside it will still be covered in shade of some sort.

Know what characters you want photos/autographs with and find out where they are so you can plan for them, nothing will annoy you more than going to a park hitting the attractions you wanted then having someone say they wanted picture with such and such only to find that it is on the other side of the park from where you are and that you were close to it earlier in the day. Which brings me to another suggestion go to kennythepirate and download the maps he has there for characters. It is probably the best way to make sure you know where you need to be for a particular character and the maps work well for planning out where you need to go.

 

[KikoKea]

I would agree that park hopper tickets are best, if possible. Also, splitting your group will help, rather than making everyone feel they have to stick together as a group while trying to please everyone. (I have no interest in meet and greets, and am not a big shopper- if I had to stand around waiting for someone to meet a character, I would not be happy) You might want to plan a morning together, doing something agreeable to all, such as Pirates, Jungle, and HM.

Breakfast would be the easiest meal for everyone to meet, but if everyone will be at the same park, you could schedule a dinner together. Meeting for QS is the easy way. If you make ADRs, remind everyone there is a charge for missed reservations.

In addition to the poncho, I would suggest a pocket/lipstick-sized backup battery for your phone. I've rarely made it through a day without having to charge my phone, and these are available on Amazon for about $10 (don't forget the USB cord). Also, lip/face balm with sunscreen and a hat.

Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[SamJYung]

Thanks for the tips guys! I was only thinking of doing a very select few things as a part of 15, as I'm in 100% agreement that not everyone should follow one single itinerary!

I'm doing one for my direct family of 3, and others can just do what they please, but I thought it would be nice to meet up and do some rides/dinner reservations together. Ohana is completely full it seems, for the dates we are there anyway! Definitely should've been more on top of the Dining Reservations, I foolishly assumed BOG was the one that would be really hard to book but there are other popular ones too!

 

[thomas998]

Thanks for the tips guys! I was only thinking of doing a very select few things as a part of 15, as I'm in 100% agreement that not everyone should follow one single itinerary!

I'm doing one for my direct family of 3, and others can just do what they please, but I thought it would be nice to meet up and do some rides/dinner reservations together. Ohana is completely full it seems, for the dates we are there anyway! Definitely should've been more on top of the Dining Reservations, I foolishly assumed BOG was the one that would be really hard to book but there are other popular ones too!

All restaurants are difficult to get reservations to anymore. Especially true of the one in MK... But if one is on your list and booked up just keep trying. Our last trip we couldn't get Crystal Palace (traditions never die) so I just kept trying each day and eventually an opening popped up... Persistence pays when you are trying to get a Disney reservation.

 

[Noellikechristmas]

I don't think you need a hopper pass. You'll have one day for each park and if can't decide which park to do on your 5th day, you could get a hopper for just that day. I would say Epcot or magic Kingdom for your last day or repeat park. If you have a lot of young kids, I would suggest MK, since it has a lot of rides. If you have adults, I would enjoy Epcot and you can enjoy the world show case and have a few beverages.

Weather wise - you'll be doing a lot of walking, so stay hydrated and bring walking shoes. There's plenty of ride or shops you can go in/on to escape the heat.

Food....I sometimes have a hard time making reservations with my party of 8, so you may need to split up....or you may get lucky...who knows! That's something I'd take care of right now. There's a bunch of great suggestion on the dining board. My favorite is Ohana, but that will be impossible this far out. I have heard of people getting last minute reservations the day of, too. I also like the Biergarten and Via Napoli. I'm told Wispering Canyon at the Wolderness Lodge is a hidden gem, but I won't be trying it until October...so I can't give it my stamp of approval just yet

 

[AndrewsJ]

I don't think you need a hopper pass. You'll have one day for each park and if can't decide which park to do on your 5th day, you could get a hopper for just that day. I would say Epcot or magic Kingdom for your last day or repeat park. If you have a lot of young kids, I would suggest MK, since it has a lot of rides. If you have adults, I would enjoy Epcot and you can enjoy the world show case and have a few beverages.

Weather wise - you'll be doing a lot of walking, so stay hydrated and bring walking shoes. There's plenty of ride or shops you can go in/on to escape the heat.

Food....I sometimes have a hard time making reservations with my party of 8, so you may need to split up....or you may get lucky...who knows! That's something I'd take care of right now. There's a bunch of great suggestion on the dining board. My favorite is Ohana, but that will be impossible this far out. I have heard of people getting last minute reservations the day of, too. I also like the Biergarten and Via Napoli. I'm told Wispering Canyon at the Wolderness Lodge is a hidden gem, but I won't be trying it until October...so I can't give it my stamp of approval just yet

You can't just add Park Hopper to one day of a 5 day ticket it would be for all 5 days and buying a one day Park Hopper separately would be exorbitant. If you don't think you'll use it just don't add it at all. I personally love the flexibility of changing parks on a whim.

 

[SamJYung]

We're perfectly fine in not having Park Hopper, as we really want to see as much as possible in one day, and whilst the flexibility would be useful, I think there's more than enough in each park to keep our attention for 1 day. (Our family of 3 are content anyway, what others do is up to them)

We are able to come and go form the same park though right? For example, heading to a park 1st thing, getting the 'big stuff' out the way, heading back to our accommodation to chill afternoon when I assume crowds would be super busy and then return for a fireworks show?

Speaking of busy, like I said, we are travelling on the 22nd of August and in Orlando for 2 weeks. I know crowds are never truly perfect in terms of business, but I've heard that crowds are pretty light at this time in comparison to say July?

 

[Figgy1]

You can enter and reenter the same park as much as you want and it's not July busy but there's no super slow periods any more

 

[SamJYung]

Just found out Big Thunder will be closed for our trip

Is 7DWT the better out of the two?

 

[bpadair32]

Just found out Big Thunder will be closed for our trip

Is 7DWT the better out of the two?

IMO BTMRR is better, it is unfortunate that it will be closed when you are there. We are going in September and have the same issue. That being said, 7DMT is a great enjoyable ride as well, again IMO.