By Joe Needham, contributing writer
A Disney vacation can be a challenge for any size family or group. For larger families, it might almost feel like an invasion of Disney rather than a touring of Disney. And this is especially true when everything is catered or appears to be catered to the standard size family of 3.5 members (for the Andy Griffith fans, don't get hung up on the .5 member; it is just a ratio—but as Opie once said, “Poor Horatio”).
Whenever my immediate family travels to Walt Disney World, we come with at least six people. However, many times we have a set of grandparents or two along with an aunt or niece. Having these larger groups makes everything a little more challenging, from obtaining dinner reservations to scheduling bathroom breaks. Through this column I hope to share tips and tricks to help larger families get the best out of their Disney vacation.
Experienced Disney visitors know that how you start your morning really sets the tone for the entire day. The later you arrive at a park diminishes your chances of enjoying low standby lines and also begins to limit the number of Fastpass tickets that may be available to you. Not only that, but it restricts the number of things your group can do together, since everybody's admission media must be activated in order for you to grab Fastpass tickets for everyone for the same attraction.
Two good examples of Fastpass tickets becoming limited are Soarin' and Toy Story Mania. These headliners often run out of Fastpass tickets by noon. If you are traveling with a group of people who either don't mind or don't want to hit the headliners, then you can start your touring a little later in the day.
My crowd highly desires riding as many attractions as possible, since it includes youngsters and teenagers. This means we must get to the parks as early as possible. Unfortunately, there are several roadblocks that tend to hinder families from getting to the park at opening. And while simply coordinating wake-up times and bathroom schedules can be challenging, they are topics of discussion in and of themselves. For now, let's just tackle breakfast.
To cut to the chase, the key to touring with larger groups is communication. If you think a task is simple and will just work itself out, it rarely happens. Someone is then frustrated because they didn't get their attraction in, or obtain that Fastpass. So, to start the day right and survive breakfast, take into account these tips:
Breakfast routines
Discuss everyone's breakfast habits before the first day of your trip. I have found that the proper question to ask is “What is your normal breakfast routine?” I have made the mistake of telling our “tack-on” travelers our normal routine first, which is to eat some cereal bars or muffins in our room then head straight out. Inevitably, the people traveling with you will say that is fine with them, too. However, by mid-morning they are starving, weak, and about to pass out. So by asking them their normal eating habits beforehand, you will find out what your first steps need to be.
Knowing when to get going
Decide and publicize what time you want to be at the bus stop or at the cars to go to the park. We like to get to the parks about 30 minutes before opening, so we can hit the short lines and get to the Fastpass dispensing machines early. I find this critical when touring with people who have lower stamina or need regular breaks. Fastpass tickets and short waiting times are vital. The later you arrive at the park, the fewer Fastpass tickets you are going to obtain. When you know when you want to arrive, then you can figure out when to leave your resort. This helps you plan both wake-up and breakfast times.
Be flexible and have a contingency plan
In boxing, they say everyone has a plan until they get hit. This is definitely true for touring Disney. On about day 3 (give or take two days; sometimes it is on hour 3) people have been hit. They are sleeping later than normal, their feet hurt like they have never hurt before, and the list goes on. Overcoming these challenges takes foreknowledge of the park you are visiting. So if you are a first-time visitor yourself, you need to get some park maps and become familiar with the breakfast options available at the parks. If you are already familiar with the parks and food offerings, then be ready to direct the hungry, hobbling, late sleepers to food. That way you can get them taken care of while the rest of the party goes ahead and starts grabbing Fastpasses and/or gets in some rides that the “straggler” won't mind missing.
Sample scenario
Here is a scenario to help illustrate how to use these three tips together:
Day 1
You have the discussion with everyone about their normal breakfast habits the night before. You find out that three of your group requires a full breakfast. So the night before, walk them to the food court and show them where to get breakfast. Include the times they need to be there so that they are ready to leave for the parks in time for opening. Day one works great as far as breakfast is concerned, and you go on about your business.
Day 2
Feet are starting to hurt, people are getting up a little later, but breakfast gets squeezed in and everyone is on time—but barely.
Day 3
The plan you communicated was that everyone was going to Epcot for a 9:00 am opening—but nobody gets up on time. At the bus stop, grandpa is discussing how breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and that is when you find out he has missed his. But you are at the bus stop and you must keep going. So, be flexible. Since you know that Epcot has a wonderful breakfast spot in Sunshine Seasons and that it is in the same building as Soarin', you can really take care of business by heading there right at rope drop.
Once there, a runner can get a set of Fastpass tickets for Soarin'. Then, anyone wanting breakfast can go to Sunshine Seasons and eat. The rest of the group can go ride Soarin' in the standby line, which at this time will probably be about a 10- to 20-minute wait. Once finished, they connect back up with the breakfast eaters and then ride Living with the Land, which is right beside Sunshine Seasons. Once that ride is over, the Fastpass tickets are probably ready for Soarin'. The first group rides again, and the breakfast eaters get their ride. From that point you can head toward Test Track and play the Fastpass game for the rest of the day.
Of course, there multiple options that can be taken here, but it won't be surprising if that by 10:30 am some have ridden Soarin' twice, covered breakfast, ridden the “Land” and have Fastpass tickets for Test Track that are for the early afternoon or sooner. That is an outstanding start to the day. You have successfully taken the first steps to invading Disney World without any casualties.
