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Gathering The Clan, Reunions At Florida's Disney World Resort
Have you heard about “Togethering?” It’s something you probably already do, but as a travel trend, it was first noted by savvy pollsters Yesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell in late 2003. The YPB&R survey revealed that almost eight out of ten active leisure travelers in the United States took at least one vacation with an average of seven people, usually extended family, other families or friends, during the past five years.
Expert Peter C. Yesawich saw it this way: "Family vacations in America are now viewed as 'mini-reunions' and an occasion on which to 'reunite' family and friends, even if only for a few days." He notes that of all the respondents who “togethered” in the recent past, 82% spent leisure travel time with extended family, 68% spent it with friends, and 46% spent it with other families.
Disney hasn’t been in the family entertainment business for almost 50 years without learning something, and perhaps that is why Orlando’s Walt Disney World (WDW) has been cited in various surveys as the Number 1 “dream” family reunion destination. Keeping its eye on a new prize, Disney soon launched Magical Gatherings, its own initiative to assist groups of eight or more in planning their next WDW vacation.
Making Your Reunion Magical
Using Disney's online travel tools, start at www.disneyworld.com and visit the Travel Section. Then, under Group Travel, you will see a link for Magical Gatherings. With their software, families can set up an email list to keep reunion group members informed of plans; create polls and checklists of various entertainment options so that family members can rank their interests; connect with others through a chat room while at the same time browsing the Disney site to compare notes; and create an itinerary viewable by all participants so that everyone can help with the planning. Every family member can use the site's "My DisneyVacation" link to review the latest attractions, select the ones that sound like the most fun for your group, then have the site mail you back a customized map of each theme park featuring your selected rides. Sound complicated? You’ll have to register on the site (it’s free), but Disney has enlisted Tinkerbell, an online “Help” wizard, to make it easy and fun. So, not only do you get reunion planning expertise, you’ll also sharpen your computer skills!
The magicians at WDW have also created a number of special events open only to groups of eight or more (children must be at least 3-years-old to qualify in your headcount) such as special character breakfasts; a Safari Celebration Dinner at the Tusker House Restaurant in Animal Kingdom following your own guided Jeep safari; a sailboat cruise to see Magic Kingdom’s “Wishes” fireworks show and more.
Although there’s a separate fee for each of these events and other groups of eight or more will partake alongside you, the little bit extra accorded each Magical Gathering – for example, having your international supper at Epcot followed by a dessert buffet in a VIP viewing area while the evening IllumiNations fireworks and laser show lights up the sky overhead – makes it the perfect centerpiece of a reunion honoring a big anniversary or birthday.
With so much to see and so little time, WDW has developed other technologies to ease your theme park phobias. Fastpass, Disney’s reserve-a-ride system, enables you to avoid lines by choosing a return time slot and punching your ticket at kiosks set up outside most attractions. Pal Mickey is a child-focused audioguide to all the parks’ attractions and showtimes that bears an uncanny resemblance to our favorite rodent.
Disney has also created two fantastic water parks – the snow-themed Blizzard Beach and the tropical-island-style Typhoon Lagoon – which are very cool(ing) but not worth the extra fee unless you have at least a half-day and plenty of warm weather to enjoy them. Beyond the theme parks, you’ll find five top-quality golf courses that reserve tee times and shuttle service for on-site WDW hotel guests; rental equipment for power boating, sailing, wakeboarding, bicycling, tennis and other sports at the various hotels.
At night, most of the WDW hotels offer a kids camp or private babysitting service so that adults can try the clubs and nightlife at Pleasure Island or try their luck on the dizzying array of video games at the five-level DisneyQuest arcade. Downtown Disney has an attractive branch of Wolfgang Puck’s where all family members can dine together, and a purpose-built theatre for “La Nouba,” an incredibly original combination of gymnastics, dance and music from Cirque du Soleil. Some families may not want to buy tickets at Broadway prices for exhausted little ones, but I guarantee a performance by this Montreal-based avant garde circus will astonish spectators of all ages.
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