First timers family group of 8-Ride seating/loading questions???

[SeiterClan]

Hi! I hope my question makes sense but we are first timers & with social distancing protocols I'm curious how we should plan our group for rides at all the parks? I would love specifics for any and all rides for our group! We are a party of 8--3 adults & 5 kids ages 7,9,11,13 & 15. I know they can all ride by themselves but should everyone just find a partner or will some seat 8 OR should we just tell the CM at each ride we are a party of 8 and they will split us up if it's necessary? Any help and advice would be appreciated! TIA

 

[Krandor]

For most rides they ask the size of you party and split you accordingly. The number of seats accross on rides vary a lot. Just tell the CMs and they will sort it out and in most cases they will ask you anyway.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Varies by ride, so you'll need to take them on a case by case basis.

But when are you going? They just drop social distancing protocols, which is changing things up.

 

[SeiterClan]

Varies by ride, so you'll need to take them on a case by case basis.

But when are you going? They just drop social distancing protocols, which is changing things up.

We will be there the last week in May before Memorial Day weekend!

 

[coolbrook]

We will be there then too! Yes, the cm will tell you for some rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and Mickey and Minnie's Railway to have 4 on line 6 and 5 on line 7 or something like that. That is for rides where they have you line up in your slot before loading which is many of them. For omnimovers like Haunted Mansion and Figment you tell them how many and just step up and load. It would be helpful if you already decided riding buddies and stand together before getting to the loading area, so you don't take a lot of time jostling around. For instance, on Peter Pan we decide ahead of time who we are riding with and stand by that person in line, hold up two fingers for two people (even though our whole group may be 12) and step up to load our ship. Then the next two or three do the same. For rides where the vehicle holds more than two or three people we tell them how many are in our whole group and they tell us how many in each row like on the safari ride at AK. We still decide ahead of time who we will sit by. This also gives us a reminder to switch off who sits by Grandma, Dad, etc.

 

[philharmagic fan]

We will be there then too! Yes, the cm will tell you for some rides like Pirates of the Caribbean and Mickey and Minnie's Railway to have 4 on line 6 and 5 on line 7 or something like that. That is for rides where they have you line up in your slot before loading which is many of them. For omnimovers like Haunted Mansion and Figment you tell them how many and just step up and load. It would be helpful if you already decided riding buddies and stand together before getting to the loading area, so you don't take a lot of time jostling around. For instance, on Peter Pan we decide ahead of time who we are riding with and stand by that person in line, hold up two fingers for two people (even though our whole group may be 12) and step up to load our ship. Then the next two or three do the same. For rides where the vehicle holds more than two or three people we tell them how many are in our whole group and they tell us how many in each row like on the safari ride at AK. We still decide ahead of time who we will sit by. This also gives us a reminder to switch off who sits by Grandma, Dad, etc.

If you're not acquainted with the rides, please let the cast member know the total number in your group rather than choosing "riding buddies" ahead of time. There's nothing more frustrating than watching a group of 18 take 9 pirate ships at Peter Pan when you know each car holds 3 and they would easily fit in 6 vehicles. Also, we've seen groups get angry when they've told the cast member they were a group of, say, 4, and get put in one boat at Pirates with the rest of their family assigned to the next boat. It's the cast member's job to figure out the best way to have you ride together and efficiently - let them do their jobs. If you're a group of 8, tell them "8"!

 

[SeiterClan]

If you're not acquainted with the rides, please let the cast member know the total number in your group rather than choosing "riding buddies" ahead of time. There's nothing more frustrating than watching a group of 18 take 9 pirate ships at Peter Pan when you know each car holds 3 and they would easily fit in 6 vehicles. Also, we've seen groups get angry when they've told the cast member they were a group of, say, 4, and get put in one boat at Pirates with the rest of their family assigned to the next boat. It's the cast member's job to figure out the best way to have you ride together and efficiently - let them do their jobs. If you're a group of 8, tell them "8"!

Thank you! This was the advice I was looking for We definitely don't want to get separated on rides like Pirates where could be all together & just wondered if this was the best strategy. Seems like this will work best!

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

I believe anyone under 14 must have an adult as their riding buddy on any ride that only seats 2 (or 3) people. Think rides like: Toy Story Mania, Buzz, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, etc. And rides like Slinky or 7DMT, kiddos can sit with each other if a parent or someone older than 14 is sitting in the same car (like behind them). (Did that make sense?)

It's so hard on everyone - the cast members and others in line - if no one knows who is riding with who when you get up there. So tell the cast member the full number of people in your group - and they'll ensure you're kept together (for example, in Toy Story Midway Mania, it's 2 people per car, there are 2 sides to each car, and 2 full cars (for a total of 8 people) that go on a cycle together (and compete with each other for high score of the group!)

Rides that have bench seating - Pirates, Mickey & Minnie, etc. - the cast member knows best how to separate you if you aren't able to ride all together on one row - especially if some of the adults are larger.

If you aren't sure about ride configuration, All Ears has photos of ride vehicles https://allears.net/walt-disney-wor...vehicle-and-attraction-seating-photo-gallery/

 

[SeiterClan]

I believe anyone under 14 must have an adult as their riding buddy on any ride that only seats 2 (or 3) people. Think rides like: Toy Story Mania, Buzz, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, etc. And rides like Slinky or 7DMT, kiddos can sit with each other if a parent or someone older than 14 is sitting in the same car (like behind them). (Did that make sense?)

It's so hard on everyone - the cast members and others in line - if no one knows who is riding with who when you get up there. So tell the cast member the full number of people in your group - and they'll ensure you're kept together (for example, in Toy Story Midway Mania, it's 2 people per car, there are 2 sides to each car, and 2 full cars (for a total of 8 people) that go on a cycle together (and compete with each other for high score of the group!)

Rides that have bench seating - Pirates, Mickey & Minnie, etc. - the cast member knows best how to separate you if you aren't able to ride all together on one row - especially if some of the adults are larger.

If you aren't sure about ride configuration, All Ears has photos of ride vehicles https://allears.net/walt-disney-wor...vehicle-and-attraction-seating-photo-gallery/

Thank you for the link! That is the kind of info I am looking for as we don't want to be those people that hold up the lines :/ We are experts at Disneyland but not familiar with WDW & especially unsure how they are seating people because of social distancing protocols. Half of our group of 8 is over 14 so hopefully we should be good to go on all the rides to be "together" hopefully?!?

 

[tobikaye]

Thank you! This was the advice I was looking for We definitely don't want to get separated on rides like Pirates where could be all together & just wondered if this was the best strategy. Seems like this will work best!

There is no reason to assign ride buddies ahead of time, unless there are just some people that need to be separated for other reasons. As others indicated, tell them how many people and then they will direct you on loading. The only suggestion I have is to figure out which people might want to ride together for specific rides as you near the loading area so if the CM tells you to take rows 2, 3, 4, 5, you can line up the way you want. If people in rows 2 and 5 decide to switch, they might hold up loading or have to go around people waiting to load after your group.

FYI: Test Track only seats 6 per vehicle so the group will either be 4/4 or 6/2 in the vehicles.

I believe anyone under 14 must have an adult as their riding buddy on any ride that only seats 2 (or 3) people.

No, it is kids under 7 that must ride with a person 14 or over. My 8 year old niece and nephew definitely rode attractions last month when neither parent even rode the attraction. Their parents did wait with them in line, but then exited.

Thank you for the link! That is the kind of info I am looking for as we don't want to be those people that hold up the lines :/ We are experts at Disneyland but not familiar with WDW & especially unsure how they are seating people because of social distancing protocols. Half of our group of 8 is over 14 so hopefully we should be good to go on all the rides to be "together" hopefully?!?

You will not have to worry as your group is 7 and over.

 

[mjkacmom]

I believe anyone under 14 must have an adult as their riding buddy on any ride that only seats 2 (or 3) people. Think rides like: Toy Story Mania, Buzz, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, etc. And rides like Slinky or 7DMT, kiddos can sit with each other if a parent or someone older than 14 is sitting in the same car (like behind them). (Did that make sense?)

It's so hard on everyone - the cast members and others in line - if no one knows who is riding with who when you get up there. So tell the cast member the full number of people in your group - and they'll ensure you're kept together (for example, in Toy Story Midway Mania, it's 2 people per car, there are 2 sides to each car, and 2 full cars (for a total of 8 people) that go on a cycle together (and compete with each other for high score of the group!)

Rides that have bench seating - Pirates, Mickey & Minnie, etc. - the cast member knows best how to separate you if you aren't able to ride all together on one row - especially if some of the adults are larger.

If you aren't sure about ride configuration, All Ears has photos of ride vehicles https://allears.net/walt-disney-wor...vehicle-and-attraction-seating-photo-gallery/

I think it’s anyone under 7 who need someone older, kids 14 and younger need an adult to enter the parks.

 

[TexanInTheMidwest]

I think it’s anyone under 7 who need someone older, kids 14 and younger need an adult to enter the parks.

Thanks! It's been since Jan 2020 that I went with young kids and I just couldn't remember beyond on Tea Cups all the kids wanted to ride together in one tea cup - and the adults were in another but they made at least one adult sit with the kids.

Thank you for the link! That is the kind of info I am looking for as we don't want to be those people that hold up the lines :/ We are experts at Disneyland but not familiar with WDW & especially unsure how they are seating people because of social distancing protocols. Half of our group of 8 is over 14 so hopefully we should be good to go on all the rides to be "together" hopefully?!?

It was SO helpful for planning / peace of mind when we went with my DH's entire family (there were 21 of us - from 1 to 90) - for everyone to know what to expect on each ride

 

[SeiterClan]

There is no reason to assign ride buddies ahead of time, unless there are just some people that need to be separated for other reasons. As others indicated, tell them how many people and then they will direct you on loading. The only suggestion I have is to figure out which people might want to ride together for specific rides as you near the loading area so if the CM tells you to take rows 2, 3, 4, 5, you can line up the way you want. If people in rows 2 and 5 decide to switch, they might hold up loading or have to go around people waiting to load after your group.

FYI: Test Track only seats 6 per vehicle so the group will either be 4/4 or 6/2 in the vehicles.



No, it is kids under 7 that must ride with a person 14 or over. My 8 year old niece and nephew definitely rode attractions last month when neither parent even rode the attraction. Their parents did wait with them in line, but then exited.



You will not have to worry as your group is 7 and over.

Glad to know everyone can pair up how they want to on this trip! This will be the first time ALL my kids can ride everything & we are so excited!

 

[DisneyOma]

Have a plan on who wants to sit with whom and be in the right order of who you want to sit with in the queue when you get to the loading area, and then let the CM seat you. We've been a party of four for the most part, and get split up 2-2 on most attractions. We decide who wants to sit next to each other before we get to the front of the queue, and then let the CM group us as 2-2 or all 4 together. Test track fits 6 in a vehicle, for example, and the CM puts us as 2 in the front, 2 in the back. Sometimes they add single riders, sometimes they don't.

I've found 3 adults on Peter Pan to be too uncomfortable, so when we are an odd number we go with one person on her own. I love riding in the center of the flying ship by myself. It feels like I'm flying! If we fit 3 to a ride vehicle we do that, but sometimes some of us are too big to do that comfortably.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Also, we've seen groups get angry when they've told the cast member they were a group of, say, 4, and get put in one boat at Pirates with the rest of their family assigned to the next boat.

This is good advice when there's a possibility of getting split up.

If you're not acquainted with the rides, please let the cast member know the total number in your group rather than choosing "riding buddies" ahead of time. There's nothing more frustrating than watching a group of 18 take 9 pirate ships at Peter Pan when you know each car holds 3 and they would easily fit in 6 vehicles.

I'll respectively disagree that this is big deal with these types of omni-mover rides. The time it took to load those additional 3 ships was what... 10 or 15 seconds? Not a big deal in my book and I think people should be able to sit in pairs rather than being forced to cram 3 people into a pretty small seat.

 

[Betty Rohrer]

I believe anyone under 14 must have an adult as their riding buddy on any ride that only seats 2 (or 3) people. Think rides like: Toy Story Mania, Buzz, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, etc. And rides like Slinky or 7DMT, kiddos can sit with each other if a parent or someone older than 14 is sitting in the same car (like behind them). (Did that make sense?)

It's so hard on everyone - the cast members and others in line - if no one knows who is riding with who when you get up there. So tell the cast member the full number of people in your group - and they'll ensure you're kept together (for example, in Toy Story Midway Mania, it's 2 people per car, there are 2 sides to each car, and 2 full cars (for a total of 8 people) that go on a cycle together (and compete with each other for high score of the group!)

Rides that have bench seating - Pirates, Mickey & Minnie, etc. - the cast member knows best how to separate you if you aren't able to ride all together on one row - especially if some of the adults are larger.

If you aren't sure about ride configuration, All Ears has photos of ride vehicles https://allears.net/walt-disney-wor...vehicle-and-attraction-seating-photo-gallery/

it is under 7 to have a riding buddy 14 or over

 

[Kerr84]

If you want to see all of the ride vehicles:
https://allears.net/walt-disney-wor...vehicle-and-attraction-seating-photo-gallery/

 

[philharmagic fan]

This is good advice when there's a possibility of getting split up.


I'll respectively disagree that this is big deal with these types of omni-mover rides. The time it took to load those additional 3 ships was what... 10 or 15 seconds? Not a big deal in my book and I think people should be able to sit in pairs rather than being forced to cram 3 people into a pretty small seat.

Clearly guests shouldn't be made to sit 3 to a boat if it will be uncomfortable, but if you realistically can fit, it's the polite thing to do.

 

[2minny]

We just went with a party of 8, when we got to the front of the line, the CM would tell us how to divide and however we were in line, we went to those spots. And then you could make adjustments if needed. Splash mountain was 8 people, all in 2's on one boat. Dinosaur and Micky and Minnie RR were 4 per row, but if you say 8, they'll tell you how to divide. It was easy and effortless!

 

[SeiterClan]

We just went with a party of 8, when we got to the front of the line, the CM would tell us how to divide and however we were in line, we went to those spots. And then you could make adjustments if needed. Splash mountain was 8 people, all in 2's on one boat. Dinosaur and Micky and Minnie RR were 4 per row, but if you say 8, they'll tell you how to divide. It was easy and effortless!

Perfect this is very helpful!