UnOfficial Theme Park Tours

[Lone_Nova]

Currently I am planning a "Grand Gathering" type vacation with both my family as well as my wife's family for Jan 2010. (Yes, I know this could get real scary real quickly.) Anyway one of the things that we have been talking about is having each group take a different theme park and give a tour of that park. We have done the "official" disney tours in the past but this trip it will not be economically appropriate for everyone. I was wondering if anybody had any thoughts on different tour ideas / styles so that I can give options to those going who may not be as much of a Disney nut as some of us. Any ideas and help would be greatly appreciated.

[cindyrella]

We vacationed in WDW with my husband's family the summer of 2005. There were 20 of us staying in 4 cabins on the same loop in FW. Each family had their own plans for the day although some groups toured together depending on what each group had planned and a lot revolved around children's age groups. We had many meetings during the year before the trip and at least one family activity was planned for each day. We did the following as a group: viewed Illuminations (everyone ate where they wanted then we all met up to watch the show); rented pontoon boats to enjoy Wishes fireworks; ate together at H&V then saw Fantasmic; had a backyard barbeque at our FW cabins; had dinner at the Polynesian Luau; Princesses breakfast for the girls and character breakfast at Crystal Palace for the boys. Needless to say, some of this required ADRs escpecially since we had a large group. Some of the items had a cost which we split. I like your idea of having a family group do a tour of each park. I'm sure you will have a great time!

[casey@bat]

A hidden mickey tour might be easy if the "guide" got a book ahead of time that told where they were.

[JasonH]

One idea you may want to consider is to point out some interesting WDW history or certain things to look for when going through the parks. One of my faves is straight from the KTTK Tour: In Liberty Square there are no restrooms. The ones inside Columbia Harbour House are technically on the other side of the "border" in Fantasyland. But it does also mean you will need to catch up on some history/hidden mickeys/interesting items on attractions and in the decor.

[Lone_Nova]

These are some great suggestions. I was thinking of a food and drink style tour in Epcot where we could taste test food from different countries. It will be interesting to see how some of the non Disney fanatics will take to giving a tour.

[KineGirl]

the food around the world tour is def a good one. For the grownups (in Epcot) the cocktails around the world tour isnt so bad either

Dont forget about the great photo spots! Theres alot more great pics to take that ppl tend to overlook for the first time than just at the icons - def keep an eye out for the kodak spots but there are more .. tikis, topiaries, ride signs, etc...

also you can do an adventurers tours (for thrill seekers) or a more mild fairy tale tour

[7swans]

We took a group of High School seniors to WDW this year, I made up scavenger hunts for each park, rewarding the winners with Disney dollars.

The groups who really got into it enjoyed finding the answers, some of which they had to ask cast members to find out.
I put tip sheets on the other side, with not to be missed attractions & dining recommendations.

Pm me if you are interested I would be happy to share them with you.

[Lone_Nova]

Thanks for all the wonderful ideas. I have already started to pass these ideas along to the other group members who will be putting their tours together.

[EmISeeKayEeWhy]

Another vote for drinking (cocktails) around the world! *hic*

[KAT1811]

A hidden mickey tour might be easy if the "guide" got a book ahead of time that told where they were.

Maybe supply each family with their own Hidden Mickey book and see which family finds the most Mickey's each day and have prizes (small like pins or $5 Disney Dollars).

We took a group of High School seniors to WDW this year, I made up scavenger hunts for each park, rewarding the winners with Disney dollars.

Exactly what I was going to suggest. Scavenger hunts are always fun and I'm sure if you posted a thread asking Intercoters for ideas for the hunt we'd all be more than happy to help. Again, love the Disney dollar reward idea.

Maybe a fun night on the beach at Fort Wilderness to watch the EWP would be fun. Grab some wine and beer for the big "kids" some snacks for the little kids and just hang out and play games while you wait for the parade to start.