Family Group of 20!!!!

[mom2grace]

We are going in October with a group of 20. Ages 2-72, kids are 17-2. Everyone has been there before and we have all vacationed together in other locations but never all together at Disney.

Staying at BWV.

Suggestions? I'm thinking about having 2 meals together over the course of the trip and then smaller groups at other times. I would only make the 2 ressies, everyone else can make their own in smaller groups. Suggestions for location for these 2 meals?

Thinking everyone goes to the same park on the same day, but the who, what, when, why, and how could vary for each person/family/etc. We already know that many of us have completely different touring styles so there shouldn't be any drama in that regard.

I like to have a plan and then be spontaneous, if we cancel a ressie or miss a FP, NBD.

What are your best tips??

 

[Upatnoon]

For a giant group, the buffet in Germany, with those long tables, seems like a fit.

Mickey's Backyard BBQ could be fun.

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I grew up going to WDW in huge extended family groups and I loved it, great memories. Make the group ADRs for off times to increase your chances of getting everyone in. Biergarten and Ohana are great for large groups. I agree with splitting up, otherwise there’d be a lot of standing around deciding what to do. Maybe break up into groups of family with teens, preschoolers, older folks, etc. you guys could all split the cost of Memory Maker as well. Have family meetings before the trip to make sure everyone knows what’s going to happen. Don’t feel obligated to make sure everyone is happy and have fun!

 

[avalovesminnie]

I assume you guys see each other often enough that the splitting up won't bother anyone? Our large family group only gets together once a year or every other year so there is a contingent that gets upset when we aren't all together! Like together alllll day!

Would eating breakfast together at the resort at a set time work? I'd think a non park day would be fun and easier to coordinate- pool time and dinner.

Good luck!

 

[hsmamato2]

We are going next week with 14 people and we've planned it this way- everyone is responsible for their own hotels/tickets. I'm the travel agent- each family group has their own MDE page, which I have direct access to,and we're 'friends' so I can see all the tickets on my own page. We have a couple of buffet meals planned (for however many of us feel like attending) and I have a schedule of FP plans for approx 3 hours each day together.(first thing each morning) once that time block is past each day, everyone is free to do as they like with their time,I plan to relax as much as possible! (it's 3 hours b/c the Fp only allow for once each hour,and it's a big group) I planned out each day (I was given the go ahead by everyone) for the FP block of time. I also planned certain FP with using the Rider swap option too,since we have 2-3 babies with our group. This made things easier. I got on at 60 day mark,and mad our toughest FP's first(I think it was 5 days into our trip for AK and FoP) ,and then worked from there. So I'm sure it' won't be the simplest trip I've ever taken, but I think we're all in agreement on at least the FP blocks.

 

[Lesley Wake]

I’ve heard Splittsville is very good and accommodating for large groups for meals. It could also be good for kids to get out some energy and teens to relax together? Maybe reserve a few lanes next to each other?

 

[KBoopaloo]

We were there Easter week with a group of 16. We stayed in 3 villas at Kidani Village all together and then half the group went home and other half moved to Coronado Springs. We spent probably 75% of our time together which was a lot but it is what people wanted to do.

We had sit down meals at Boma (breakfast), Tutto Italia, Chefs de France and Hollywood and Vine (Fantasmic package). They were able to seat us all together at one table at all but Hollywood and Vine but there we were at two tables back to back. I've brought a similar sized group to Mama Melrose, Sci Fi Dine In, Tusker House and Via Napoli in the past. Sci Fi is the only one I would not recommend for such a large group.

I'd highly recommend making one of your meals together a breakfast if possible. It is so much easier to get everyone in one place before they really get going on their day. Buffets are also nice because there is usually something that everyone will like. We did not do it on this trip but in 2 previous trips with this same group we've done breakfast at Tusker House followed by the Festival of the Lion King and then a FP for the Safari and then everyone went off on their own ways (older kids/thrill seekers to Everest, younger kids/older folks to animal trails, etc). The Safari is a super fun attraction to experience all together and usually appeals to everyone. We've always made a FP for that for everyone, even on this trip when we did not do Tusker House.

My one tip is that if you have people meeting you for dinner or for FPs, pad the time you tell them to meet up a bit, especially if you have some people known for tardiness (like my group had!). Everything seems to take 1.5 times as long as you think it will with a big group so I try to plan for that.

Also try to get as many group photos as you can when you are together. I never seem to get enough.

Good luck!

 

[KenHutch]

"Bows before you humbly" 20 People? And I kvetch for months about planning for 8 you are my hero.

 

[2019TripIdeas]

We did a trip (10 years ago+) with about that many people and while overwhelming, it was fun. We broke off in groups a lot by age range (older teenagers/college kids together, younger kids with a parent, etc). Some of the adults didn't even buy park tickets and did pool/golf. We did 1 meal as a whole group, and a few in "almost" whole group, one of which was Biergarten, which was PERFECT for this scenario (we had 2 long tables next to each other). The whole group meal we did at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Can't remember which of the restaurants it was there) and they were able to get us all at one huge table (well, several pushed together).

We had plenty of growing pains the first few days though when we were trying to travel around in larger groups in the parks. With someone always needing a restroom stop, a water stop, etc, it felt like it took so long to get ANYWHERE! We actually didn't end up at all same parks on same days- we had park hoppers too, I think, and on certain days, a group even went off to Universal.

 

[Cajun23]

We did a group of 16 2 years ago ranging in similar ages you have stated. We did Chef Mickeys(Characters for the kids), Ohana(dinner), & BOG(dinner).

 

[mcjaco]

We did a huge group four years ago. It was super stressful.

We ended up just breaking up into small groups, and then meeting at certain places during the day and swapping grandparents around!