Group Getaway (Formerly Grand Gathering) advice

[Limmer]

So i am trying to coordinate a group trip for approximately 45 people. I had contacted Group Getaways last year and it seemed like the perfect solution. We got a block of rooms booked and a discount on tickets. Dining was the same but each family could determine what was best for them. No help with ADR's or Fast Pass which I thought was a bummer but oh well.

I was just contacted with the pricing for Oct 2020 (our planned trip) and they have cut our ticket discounts and our group pricing was $260 for a moderate and no resort fee.

This does not feel like a great deal but we would have a block of rooms booked to be in close proximity to one another.

Would you take the higher price (cannot take advantage of any package discounts) to guarantee all in the same place or would you take the chance at all being able to book at the same resort and maybe "link" reservations so we are close but be able to get a package? There are 10 families going so 10 chances of someone getting shut out.

I thought I had in all laid out but now I feel like I am starting from scratch.

 

[siren0119]

It might be (and purely speculating here, not speaking from firsthand knowledge) because 2020 pricing hasn't yet been released yet including "official" discounts, so they may be giving you a price based on ballparking historic discounts with current rack rates.

TL: DR it might be too soon for them to have an accurate group rate to give you.

 

[Hopefully]

IMHO There is little to no chance 10 families will have rooms near each other.

 

[Sunshine11]

IMHO There is little to no chance 10 families will have rooms near each other.

We had a group of 8 families/rooms at POFQ years ago when it was a "grand gathering" and we were all close to each other and that is a small resort. It isn't guaranteed but possible.

 

[Hopefully]

We had a group of 8 families/rooms at POFQ years ago when it was a "grand gathering" and we were all close to each other and that is a small resort. It isn't guaranteed but possible.

Maybe “years ago” is key.

 

[mcall12]

When we had our wedding in 2012, we had room blocks at the contemporary, POFQ and Pop. Many guests booked rooms in the block for the discount but those who were staying longer on a vacation booked on their own to get the better deal on package or room only discount pricing. We were able to get their reservations added to the room block manually so they were still part of the group.

While they did put us as close together as possible at the contemporary (10 rooms blocked), my sister (MOH) ended up on a different floor. At POFQ (25 rooms blocked) the rooms were across 3 different buildings. At Pop (22 rooms blocked) they were all in the 90s section but I don’t know how close they were. I know they weren’t all in the same building/on the same floor. I know this was a while ago but I say this to illustrate that there’s really no guarantee even with a room block of how close you all will be.

Our room block coordinator was fantastic to work with and did request that the rooms at each resort be as close together as possible.

Personally I’d rather be able to get a discount or dining (whatever worked with my family), even if that meant having to walk a little bit to meet up with the group. I also would personally enjoy some space at the end of the day and not be right next to everyone but that’s just me.

 

[bumbershoot]

no resort fee

Disney doesn’t charge a resort fee, so that’s some confusing wording on their part.

Or I’m misunderstanding.


I personally would go with the discount. I cannot imagine wanting to be all up in extended family's business enough to have close by rooms. I would *want* distance.

 

[focusondisney]

Personally, I would get the information on group booking & let the individual families decide which they prefer. Everyone’s financial situation is different. Some might need different price points or discounts. October is a pretty popular & busy month & public discounts might be hard to come by. So your group discount might be the best thing they can get. But really, IMO the whole group should be involved in deciding these tings. But like bumbershoot, I don’t think having rooms near each other is a big deal. Same resort, sure. Same floor or hallway, not needed.

And actually, other guests might be happier if the group is split up. Having a group of 45 on the same hallway, hanging in the hall, kids running room to room, calling out as they go into their rooms at the end of the day etc, etc, might not make for the most pleasant stay for other guests. Not saying your group would do this OP. But I think we all know that often, when in large groups, people tend to get focused only on their group & forget there are others around.

Edit to add: as for the ticket discounts being cut, ticket prices have gone up twice in the last year. So maybe they were just quoting you the new prices? I can’t imagine they would guarantee your ticket prices 2 years before your anticipated trip. Also, you may as well budget extra, coz I’m sure they will go up again.

 

[Limmer]

It might be (and purely speculating here, not speaking from firsthand knowledge) because 2020 pricing hasn't yet been released yet including "official" discounts, so they may be giving you a price based on ballparking historic discounts with current rack rates.

TL: DR it might be too soon for them to have an accurate group rate to give you.

They did say that their rates were released and did not give me any indication that they could potentially change. But maybe.

 

[Limmer]

Disney doesn’t charge a resort fee, so that’s some confusing wording on their part.

Or I’m misunderstanding.


I personally would go with the discount. I cannot imagine wanting to be all up in extended family's business enough to have close by rooms. I would *want* distance.

Ahh. They did list several things that I know are already included like transfers from the airport and transport to parks. I didn't realize that no resort fee was for everybody. Thank you.

 

[Limmer]

Personally, I would get the information on group booking & let the individual families decide which they prefer. Everyone’s financial situation is different. Some might need different price points or discounts. October is a pretty popular & busy month & public discounts might be hard to come by. So your group discount might be the best thing they can get. But really, IMO the whole group should be involved in deciding these tings. But like bumbershoot, I don’t think having rooms near each other is a big deal. Same resort, sure. Same floor or hallway, not needed.

And actually, other guests might be happier if the group is split up. Having a group of 45 on the same hallway, hanging in the hall, kids running room to room, calling out as they go into their rooms at the end of the day etc, etc, might not make for the most pleasant stay for other guests. Not saying your group would do this OP. But I think we all know that often, when in large groups, people tend to get focused only on their group & forget there are others around.

Edit to add: as for the ticket discounts being cut, ticket prices have gone up twice in the last year. So maybe they were just quoting you the new prices? I can’t imagine they would guarantee your ticket prices 2 years before your anticipated trip. Also, you may as well budget extra, coz I’m sure they will go up again.

We are definitely deciding as a group. We have no choice as you need a minimum of 10 rooms so if even 2 want to do it differently then it is a no go.

They did not give me specific ticket pricing for 2020 but did show me the schedule for 2017 and not only was there a discount but there were free water park days. During our conversation with my sales associate she said all ticket discounts were discontinued for groups. She said we would have to buy them from the website. It seemed they were not for sale through Group Getaways.