Disney - Party of 23

4 February, 2024

My Mom thought it would be fun to take her great-great grandchildren to DisneyWorld. Which included their parents, and their grandparents, and her grandchildren who weren't yet married, and their fiancés, as appropriate.

First time visitor!

That's a group of 23. 

Six of the group were age six or younger. It was the first trip for several. It was the third visit, at age 5 for one of the great-great-grandchildren. One generation up we had a 31 year-old on his first visit. I've lost count of the exact number of times I've been to Walt Disney World, but this trip put me close to twenty trips over the past 50 years.

Yes, it was as chaotic as you are imagining. We engaged the services of Kimmy Spencer at Academy Travel to help coordinate rooms and dining arrangements. I'm not sure how she accomplished it, but all of our group arrangements were handled perfectly, and each room ended up with several hundred dollars in Disney Dining Cards by the time everything was finalized.

On our way!

Most of us flew, from three different locations. A few drove. One came a few days later. We invaded Lake Buena Vista from multiple angles. Flights were cancelled and seats re-booked – but we all arrived within a few hours of our original plans. There were six of us traveling together on two reservations. When we arrived in Charlotte for our connection we discovered the original flight had been cancelled and two of us had confirmed seats on the next flight to Orlando. Since one of the party of four was my three year old grand-nephew we began planning to forfeit our seats in favor of him, so he and his mother could avoid an extended evening. I approached the gate agent, Angel T. and barely had time to explain the situation before he had everything sorted out, including seat assignments. What started out to be a potentially disastrous situation simply disappeared.

We used Mears Connect for the transfer from Orlando International to The Contemporary Resort. While Mears operated Disney's Magical Express when that service was offered, and Mears has always provided good service, long before Magical Express was a thing, the visitor experience just isn't the same. With Magical Express your Disney experience started as soon as you boarded the coach at the airport, and now it's delayed until you arrive on-property. Without too much difficulty we got everyone checked in to their rooms (six rooms in the Contemporary main tower and an apartment in the Bay Lake Tower) and all the accounts sorted out.

With one in an orthopedic boot and one celebrating her 78th birthday, we arranged for ScooterBug to deliver units to the hotel prior to our arrival. Disney rents motorized carts within the parks, but they accommodate electric scooters in all guest areas. If you find yourself in need of a ride, having your "own" device will save incalculable steps and avoid pain and exhaustion by the end of the day.

Balcony view