Grand Gatherings Experiences ?

[5fromabove]

Hi, everyone! There's a possibility that on our trip in Sept. my brother will join us for a few days and my mother/step-father might on different days. Both of these would put us at the minimum for a Grand Gathering Experience (since we have 7 in our family already). I'm just curious if anyone who has done these can give me your input. Which one (s) did you do? Were they worth the $$? Would you recommend, etc. In order of preference/interest right now, I'm looking at:
1) Animal Kingdom Safari Celebration Dinner
2) Wishes Magical Fireworks Voyage
3) International Dinner and IllumiNations Dessert Reception
4) Mickey's Good Morning Gathering
I've already received my GG# from WDW, so now I just have to wait until my 180 day mark to book them. So, anyone have any input?? THANKS SO MUCH!

[Buttercup]

We're going on a GG in late March/early April. I can't wait! We opted not to get any of the "special" things available simply because of price. They seemed too expensive for our group. Instead, we decided to spend that money on more sit-down meals throughout the week (as opposed to blowing the budget on one or two neat special events). We felt that as a big group, we might not be with each other every minute of every day, so it might be nice to always have a scheduled dinner each night where we can meet up again.
We opted for character breakfasts, dinners, etc.

[Luv Eeyore]

We also opted not to do any of the "special" activities. I scheduled one dining event per day so we could all meet up, but otherwise everyone was free to stay together or separate at will. This strategy saved the trip because DH's family is prone to loud and continuous complaining if they want to do something different.

[jrpersinger]

We are doing the Fireworks while there. We chose it because it didn't seem to be to overly expensive. $25 for adults and $13 for kids, I think. All our events are starting to ramble together! LOL

Anyways, I have been to WDW a bazillion times and somehow I have never managed to see the water parade. This way I/we will get to. Also, I think it will be a great view of the fireworks for our entire group. (14 total) Because face it, there are not very many places for 14 people to stop together in the middle of the MK unless we send someone to save a curb a few hours in advance!

[Dicecatt262]

We did the Safari, it was fabulous. We were at AK after the close, as we walked out we were the very last people there! There was a private Safari, pretty long, where the truck stopped so we could take pictures. The dinner was great, wonderful African dishes. They had a tarantula for the kids to see and a big snake for them to touch, African musicians, dancing, Chip and Dale playing with the kids. It was a blast.

This September, I want to do the Fireworks cruise, I would have last year but there were none that fit our dates!

[eeyoremom]

We did an illuminations cruise last year. This is not a grand gathering experience, but we were on a grand gathering. You pay by the boat, not per person. It was really great. The boats park under the bridge by England. I think I had the best view of illuminations that we've ever had. Enjoyed this very much. Have a great time. It's really fun being with family.

[5fromabove]