Help me with Magic Kingdom fastpass dilemma

[Cinderelley]

Right now, there will be about 34 people going. To make this a bit easier to understand, I'm going to break down the major groups into who is booking the rooms.

My rooms - (a total of four rooms tied to me) DS28 and his gf. DS 26 and his wife. DG with her fiancee and their daughter. Myself with friend and his two kids.

Future son-in-law's family (around 40s) - His mom and dad. Their 3 kids and their other grandchild. None of them have ever been to Disney World. Went to Disneyland once around 20 years ago

My mom and stepdad (in their 70s) - They have been to Disney World once for our family reunion in 2005. Will expect me to set everything up.

My younger sister and her two kids (jr high/high school age) - Have been to Disney World once for our family reunion in 2005. Will expect me to set everything up and will probably stay with my mom and stepdad the whole trip. Will also expect me to set everything up.

My older sister, her husband and their two adult kids - Have been to Disney World once for our family reunion in 2005. Will expect me to set everything up

My brother's family - My brother, his wife, his son and daugher in law, his daughter, son in law and two grandkids. They have never been to Disney World but are avid Disneyland fans. Would probably be ok with me letting them make their own plans, but they really don't know what they are getting into. Things at Disneyland are pretty different than Disney World.

I am having trouble with figuring out fastpasses in Magic Kingdom. I could send out a mass survey and see which ones are the most demanded, but that seems a bit overwhelming. At this point, I am really, really, REALLY hating this new fastpass system. It was much better when each group could just go get their own when we were in the park. Will I have to make the same fastpass for everyone in my group or can they do it by room? Any suggestions on how to handle this? For the people who will expect me to do all their planning, if I make a MDE account for them and tie it to mine, I can make their fastpass reservations, right? They won't understand how to do it.

I really think I can walk my brother's family through the process. Their family "unit" makes several disneyland trips together, so I expect them to go off and do their own thing - thankfully. I will make their dining reservations for them and explain the fastpass + system. Anything else I should give them a heads up that they won't expect compared to Disneyland?

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

Well different people may want to ride different things, some may like coasters some not. Here is what we used FP+ for on our two full days in MK

Day 1:
Peter Pan
7 Dwarves Mine Train
Tinkerbell Meet and Greet

Day 2:
Pirates of the Caribbean-cancelled it because wait was only 10 minutes and replace with another character meet and greet-Tiana and Rapunzel
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion

We didn't use them for Space Mountain, Big Thunder, Splash Mountain or Buzz Lightyear because we did those shortly after arrival before lines were long, but those are other possibilities. Hope that helps

[Euby]

You can make and attach MDE accounts and tie it to yours. Then you can make FP+ for them. Not everyone has to get the same ones (10 people can do ride A while 5 people do ride B, etc). I'd recommend sending a list to the folks you think you will be making FP+ for, so they can have some input. I know it'll be a lot of work, but it will be better in the long run. There are several sites that have lists already of what rides use FP+ (including the one here in Intercot).

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

Wow! You have quite the challenge.

A couple of thoughts:
Is everyone expected to stay together all day, all the time, or will each group (or smaller group) spend time apart?

If you're planning for everyone (or almost everyone), I'd stick to a basic plan for each day. Book 3 FP+ in the late morning/early afternoon, and leave the morning for "on your own time", since you can still get a fair bit done before lines get too bad. Same with the late afternoon/evening, this will allow people to head back if they want a break, schedule another FP+, or do whatever. I would pick the "must-do" rides (and if you're planning, you get to decide) for the FP+, and leave the rest for them to plan.

As silly as it sounds, a planning meeting may be in order. It can be fun, with those local enough to come together for some pizza, and a Disney overview, and a chance to share what they REALLY want. In our smaller family, we've done a "everyone fill out a list", where they get to list the 3 places they really want to eat, and the rides that they MUST do. Anything else is bonus. You could do it over skype, etc if people are too far away. This could help you book the group stuff, since you'll have a better idea of what they want.

And yes, you can make everyone an MDE account, and link it to yours (or just add them to yours, I'm not sure what the max # of people per account is), and either book their FP+ for them, or see what they have booked on their own.

Good Luck! It will be worth all of the planning headaches.

[Cinderelley]

No. When we used to go as a big group, everyone would split up and do their own thing. It was a lot easier that way. I really didn't want to be hauling 34 people around as one big group from one fastpass to another.
It is good to know that I don't have to make the same fastpass for the whole group. I figured the meet and greets were probably high priority for the ones with little kids but would be a wasted fastpass for the 20 somethings without kids.
DD's fiance's parents have asked to sit down and discuss the trip. I am not sure if it is the wedding they want to talk about or what, but I could probably take one of my old planning DVDs, have them watch it, and then discuss the fastpasses with them.
I spoke with my niece (brother's daughter) a bit last night and gave her the heads up about prebooking dinners and fastpasses. The surprise that came out of that conversation is her daughter will be turning 5 during the trip. Three little girls having birthdays to celebrate that week. It should be fun. My niece was already excited about getting her daughter into Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. I may actually just designate her to take care of my brother's family's fastpass stuff. I told her I would walk her through the process. I'll still book their dinners though, since it will be easier to get us all together.
My younger sister and parents can be another meeting. Then I'll talk to my older sister and brother in law. I think the "meeting" can be doable if I break it down that way. I'll probably make everyone gets Seven Dwarves Mine Train though. I would imagine that it is still very popular.

[Reedy Creek Buccaneer]

This is what I would do:

1. Tell everyone you will make the FP+ reservations for the first 3 attractions.

2. Tell them you will pick Seven Dwarfs at 9 a.m., Peter Pan at 10 a.m. and Princess Fairytale Hall at 11 a.m.

3. If anyone does not like any of those, tell them to send you a different selection for that time.

[Cinderelley]

For anyone else who may face this situation, my daughter and I came up with a great solution. We created a private group on Facebook. (the trip is a surprise for Darren's younger siblings, so we couldn't discuss it on Facebook before). Now I can just send out some information, and everyone can see it. I told them I would go through each reservation I'm making, and they can say yay or nay about whether they want to be included or not.

[Imalismom]

All the pre-planning in the world (no pun intended) might not match up with the APP, once you are MAKING those fast pass selections. You may all decide you want to do "Its A Small World" at 9am, "Winnie The Pooh" at 10:30, and "Character Interactions" at 1pm. Everyone agrees. But you actually log in, and those times are NOT available. I would have a list of 1-10 of what most agree on. then depending on times, pick from that list as you possible can.

[Cinderelley]

All the pre-planning in the world (no pun intended)

The pun may not have been intended, but I still giggled. :P

I don't plan on getting so specific with it that we pick times. I am approaching it like "My kids and I are getting fastpasses for Big Thunder, Splash Mountain and Space Mountain the morning of x day. If you want me to get some for you also, let me know." Then I will just log on and book whatever times are available for those fastpasses.
I know it sounds pretty self centered that way, but I am really not the type to control everyone's every move. I don't want to plan out their whole day for them. If they need help doing something different, I will be more than happy to help them.

I will sit down with my mom and stepdad ahead of time to help them get anything booked they may want. They aren't quite as computer savvy as everyone else is.

[texas211]

Can use surveymonkey or do a free join me session to get everyone together.

[disneynarula]

One thing that I find helpful with a large group is creating a "living document" with google. I have a friend I traveled with this Fall and it was extremely helpful and more efficient that calling and emailing constantly. We had a daily itinerary and either of us could edit it and add their opinions. I am doing this with our current trip. I have all the ADRs and Fastpass+ choices laid out. If they want to do something else they can let me know and make their own plans. I can tell you from past experiences that it isn't always possible to get everyone's Fastpass+ together in a big party. I often have to book two overlapping windows. It will often limit the overlapping return times but at least everyone can ride together. I also told everyone that they need to get the My Disney Experience App on their phone.


Terrisue at Magical Journeys has an extremely helpful video on her Facebook page that explains how to work through the tiered Fastpass+ system. Maybe it could help your family so they could book their own? I can't imagine any adult not being able to manage their own Fastpass+. Unless they are paying for your trip are you obligated to set everyone up? Or do you like it? I thought I had my trouble with planning a trip for a group of 7. Good Luck!