Tips & Tricks for How to Navigate Disney World with a Large Group!

So you’re taking a group trip to Walt Disney World. Maybe it’s your whole family, or your best friends, or maybe you just have more than 2.2 kids. Whatever the scenario, I’ve got your back! Our HappyThankgivingmas trip in 2022 included 3 families and, at one point, 12 people, and we had an amazing time. So here are my tips to help you learn how to navigate Disney World with a large group!

Pack Patience

You’re going to need to be patient, especially if you visit during a busier time, like a holiday, as we did. This doesn’t mean you can’t have any fun, though! Contrary to popular belief, there’s more to Disney theme parks then just going on rides. There are shows, like MuppetVision3D, Carousel of Progress, Festival of the Lion King, Amazing Planet, and more. These usually have much shorter waits, or no wait at all, and allow for large groups to enjoy things together. Grab snacks, do some pin trading, find the statues, or look for hidden Mickeys. These are all non-ride activities that larger groups can easily experience together!

Rope Drop

Yes, it’s early, but by getting up in the morning and heading directly to the parks, you can knock out a lot of the more popular rides that will have much longer wait times later in the day. On Black Friday, we got to EPCOT at 7:45 for 8:30am Early Morning Magic Hours. We went directly to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and we were done by 9:30. We all got to ride it at the same time as a large group and had basically no wait.

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Dining Tips for Large Group Travel

My first tip for dining, large group or not, is to take advantage of Mobile Ordering for quick service dining. With a large group, you are able to divide and conquer. Kids can find tables, while adults collect the food. You can also order at multiple locations so everyone gets what they want, and all meet in one central location to sit and eat. This also makes it easier to get popular snacks, like Dole Whips!

For table service dining with a large group, you will also need patience and a divide and conquer strategy. Some restaurants will let you make reservations for large groups. For example, we were able to get reservations for 9 at Liberty Tree Tavern, Mama Melrose, and Biergarten with no issues. For most other restaurants, we had to get multiple reservations for the same times or close to each other. We then arrived at the restaurants early and requested to sit at one table or two tables close together. I’m very happy to report that there was not one restaurant that didn’t accommodate us. Our large group ate at the Boathouse, Hollywood Brown Derby, Liberty Tree Tavern, Biergarten, Ohana, and Boatwright’s Dining Hall. As with most things, as long as you are KIND and flexible, the chances of getting what you want increase exponentially!

Using DAS, Genie+, Individual Lightning Lane, and Stand-By with a Large Group

How to navigate Disney wait times with a large group? Again, patience. With a DAS, you can add as many people as you want to to your pass, but only 6 people at a time, the person with the pass and 5 guests, can use it. This means that any additional people will need to wait, get Genie+ and lightning lanes, or pay the Individual Lightning Lane price. You could always try the DAS multiple times and change up who is riding, but when wait times are high, it can some times be a challenge just to ride once.

There is also the option for people to split up and do what they want! Sure, you’re all on vacation in the same place, but that doesn’t mean EVERYONE will want to ride Rockin’ Rollercoaster!

As with everything in life, navigating Walt Disney World with a large group is as easy or as difficult as you want to make it! But it CAN be done!

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