Big Groups and World Wars I

Disney World is huge, so huge in fact that it has no problem accommodating large groups. It even encourages them with their Grand Gatherings for groups of eight or more. Large groups, however can end up falling apart and leading to disgruntled and crabby members of the group if not planned carefully.

While a small group can get away with the bare minimal planning, big groups by their nature are already sheer chaos. This doesn’t mean you have to go to the extent of mapping out all possible logistics for your vacation. Just keep a few tips in mind each day as you set out.

There will disagreements. There will be attractions some can’t go on because of size restrictions or because they don’t want to go on them. These are the members to take into consideration first. It’s no fun at all if a couple people have to spend all day every day just waiting for people to get off a ride. Forcing a young child not ready for the Tower of Terror to go on it so that someone doesn’t have to miss out staying with the child is not a solution. Waiting on a bench for an hour while everyone else is having fun isn’t the best solution either.

Sometimes the best solution is to agree to split up. While this may sound like it defeats the whole point of family togetherness or will make things chaotic, it actually won’t. It will most likely foster family togetherness by avoiding grumpiness, irritability and the desire to kill each other. That isn’t to say that there aren’t moments for bonding at Disney World. They are every where, if the party is in the proper mood and spirit of things.

So talk about the attractions before you go and then again over breakfast the morning you are visiting the Park. Then, set a time and place to meet back up after splitting up. Lunches are a good one for this. Also, make sure to be fair to everyone. No one person should be stuck on toddler duty the whole entire trip. Likewise, only responsible teens should be allowed to go on their own without an adult.

If you chose for a time not to split up, then make sure to use the child swap to your advantage. Go up to a Castmember and say you’d like to do a child swap. They will give out passes for the person who will stay with the kid who can’t ride and a few extras. Once the rest of the group returns, you hand off the child and get to skip most of the line to take a turn. The extra passes are for any one else in your party to accompany you so that you don’t have to ride along and feel like the odd one out. This is a good chance for anyone who went on it the first time to go again very quickly if they liked the ride.

I cannot emphasize enough that the one thing that will ruin a vacation at Disney World are temper flare-ups. Despite what commercials show, the size and nature of the World cultivates flare-ups very easily. If you think a bit of advice will avoid these clashes, then do not hesitate to use it.