Planning a Large Group Visit to Walt Disney World

When you're socializing with friends, how often do you think, "Wouldn't this be great to go on vacation with them?" Many of us think that at one point or another. The idea just sounds wonderful (at the time, anyway). There are many things to think about before going if you want your Disney World vacation to run smoothly.

Walt Disney World is truly a magical place to vacation. There are no doubts in my mind about that. In 2005, we went in a group of seven adults and four children. The excitement was building as it got closer to the date. When we finally arrived in Disney World, things were starting to change. Although I had been there many times, I still wanted to just enjoy myself. This didn't happen the way I wanted it to and mainly because some things were not talked about before we went.

The first thing to realize is that you have so many different people on one vacation together. It needs to be remembered that everyone is different and you don't have to be together 24 hours a day. Set times to spend some "Disney" time together while you're there. Meet up for meals or parades for example. Plan to relax by the pool after a long day at one of the theme parks. This is much easier than trying to keep 12 people together while finding your way around Disney World.

I have written this article with the hopes that it may help others plan a truly magical grand gathering at Walt Disney World. I have looked at some of the mistakes I made when planning in the past, and hope to learn from those. Here are some great steps to keep in mind while planning your Disney World vacation.

GET TOGETHER: Plan a get-together with everyone who is planning on going to Disney World. It doesn't have to be formal at all. You can order a pizza and watch the Disney Planning DVD while making the plans. Another idea is to meet in a restaurant to discuss the plans. Now, if your group does not live close to each other, consider online messengers and doing conferences through them. It doesn't matter how you do it, but it's important that you actually DO this.

GATHER REFERENCES: Get together what you need. Get your information online at various sites. When to go, costs, hotels, tickets, maps, and anything else that would pertain to your vacation. Bring along a notebook; it will come in handy. I personally always have a Disney World notebook sitting here along with a special folder to keep all my papers and information in.

THE MEETING: Hopefully everyone has some dates in mind for when they'd like to go. Discuss these dates and write them down. Then go from there and actually choose a date that will work for everyone. Decide how long you want to be there. Also remember that you do not all have to be there for the exact same dates. As long as everyone is going to be there at the same time for a couple days, you'll still have that experience. Also, talk about the different resorts in Disney World. Decide where you want to stay. There are many different options.

HOTEL RESERVATIONS: The next thing is to make those reservations for your hotel. This is the most important as it will set your vacation dates. Everyone should really make their own reservations. It just makes it easier so that everyone can make their reservations on their own time. No need to worry about mentioning that you are traveling in a group at this point.

GRAND GATHERING NUMBER: Appoint a "leader". Not so much to be in charge, but more to appoint someone as the grand gathering leader to get your group name and number. This will come in handy for any group reservations you may make for meals or even to be close to each other in the resort. This number will tie all the reservations for the whole group together. This will help when room assignments are made and for dinner reservations as well to be seated close to each other.

GRAND GATHERING GROUP: Once you have that grand gathering number for your group, everyone needs to call in to apply it to their reservation. There isn't one person that can call for everyone, as it's a privacy thing. Once these numbers have been applied, you are now considered a grand gathering group. Congratulations!

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES: There are a few activities that are only available to grand gathering groups, so you will want to research these things and let everyone have their input for the decision. These are costly, but they may also very well be a once in a lifetime experience. If you decide against these activities that's fine, but make sure everyone knows the offers are there, so you can make those reservations for the activities as soon as possible.

DINING: Have everyone check out some of the restaurants that they may want to eat at as a group. Get together sometime to discuss places that everyone can agree on. If you only want to do a couple, that's fine. If you want to plan a meal together every day, that's perfectly fine also. If you're going somewhere that seems to be popular, make sure you have someone appointed to make reservations. There is a window of time before you vacation when you can start making these dinner reservations and it's highly recommended that you make the reservations on the first day available. Be sure to have some backup options just in case you don't get your first choice at restaurants.

GETTING THERE: The next thing everyone needs to be figuring out (if they haven't already) is the transportation methods of getting to Walt Disney World. Some may fly, while others may drive. Don't let the differences stop you from having fun on your way to Disney World.

GET EXCITED: At this point, you're all set! The hardest part seems to be the waiting. Spend this time meeting occasionally and discussing your Walt Disney World vacation with your group. It doesn't have to be any formal meetings or anything to that extent. It can be just a get together where you simply talk about how excited you are and the things everyone wants to do and see. It's all about the excitement at this point.

These are some tips to get you started on making your Disney World grand gathering vacation the best it can be. Remember, everyone wants to have a good time. Everyone also needs their own space and privacy. Respect the fact that someone may want to go and do something different from the rest of the group for an afternoon. Don't be offended. Another thing is to make sure you're not counting on any one person to be your "guide" so to speak. This happened to me and then when things didn't go the way people were expecting, I was to blame. Make sure this is known right from the start of the planning. It will save you from having arguments and disagreements down the road.

Hopefully this guide has helped you whether you are the designated leader or someone new to Disney World. It's about having a good time and everyone has different points of view on what that is. Respect that. If you can do that, you'll be fine. You don't want to leave Disney World with that many less friends than what you went there with. It's just not worth it. There's no need to have bad memories for the "happiest place on earth" when you can prevent it from happening that way. Good luck on your Disney World grand gathering adventure!

Please note that I am in no way affiliated with any specific company or organization. I have written this article from my own personal experience.