A multi-family 14-night extravaganza or Dis-Obsessed Planner vs Newbies - an Aug 2017 PTR

[elaine amj]

I am a Dis-obsessed hyper-planner and I LOVE planning, planning, and planning some more. And now I have the ultimate planning dream-come-true (or nightmare depending on how you look at it!). A multi-family 14-night extravaganza.

I decided to start a pre-trippie so I can let loose some of my extreme hyperness without driving EVERYONE around me crazy (case in point - I begged my kids to look at restaurants AND menus with me last night. TEN months before the trip).

This whole thing started because I have been dreaming of taking my niece (who will be 3 in December) to WDW since I found out my brother was having a baby! Somehow (I don't know how), I managed to keep it to myself until last year when I broached the subject to my husband. After a lot of number-crunching, I not-so-patiently waited until this summer before bringing it up with my brother and his family. They said "yes" rightaway! I offered airmiles, to pay for accommodations, and to pay for my DN's ticket. I asked them to cover their tickets and their food.

I started off planning a super budget trip with 2 rooms at a Value and QSDP. After initially asking me to keep the budget to the minimum, my husband ended up asking me for more TS meals. So I scored a super UK free dining package (my brother lives in London!) for 14 nights at Old Key West with DDP for all.

I'm still gasping at the total cost - but the decision has been made and I'm NOT going to second-guess myself. Since their food is free, I asked my brother to cover the taxes for their award miles tickets (approx $500).

The cast of characters:

- Myself; I LOVE WDW. And Mickey and Minnie and Ariel. Just about everything at WDW gives me a massive smile from ear to ear. When my DD15 wants to get my attention, she has learned "Mom" doesn't work. Instead, she whispers "Disney" and my head whips around instantly.

- My DH; he was diagnosed with nasal cavity cancer in Feb 2016. This week, we FINALLY got the "all clear" from his doctors. He is in the mood to celebrate. Since he indulges me like crazy (seriously, the man's idea of a good time is to watch me have a good time!), I take any of his little requests very seriously and will do everything in my power to make it happen. He doesn't care about characters but loves being in WDW. Dining is a big deal to him and he LOVES lots of table service meals. He doesn't do big coasters and and loved that in WDW, we mostly ride together.

- my DD15; she will be sweet 16 next trip. She loves big coasters, little rides, and all things Disney. She likes to do EVERYTHING with me and is not much of a fan of being left to her own devices. She is thrilled that her little cousin is coming and is very much looking forward to spending time with her.

- My DS13; he will be 14 on the trip. He doesn't do anything that goes downhill. He has said - no Splash, no Space, no RnRC, no Everest. He LOVES Test Track and most anything else, including the kiddy stuff. He is arcade-obsessed and that is his big ask. I am hoping DisneyQuest is still open!!

- my DB; No coasters and he is scared of heights. He is a night owl and moves SLOWLY. Still trying to figure out his likes/dislikes. What's going for me is that he and my SIL had their honeymoon at an amusement park in Australia. Tells me they like that kinda thing I have not spent more than 1-2 weeks at a time with my brother since I left my home country nearly 20 years ago. We get along fabulously but have never been the types to live in each other's pockets.

- my SIL; lots to learn about her likes/dislikes. I DO know she needs downtime away from the whole group to recharge occasionally. We get along great but definitely have different styles (I know my frenetic energy exhausts her!). We have seen each other only very rarely - but last year I got to spend a whole month with her and we were in each other's company the bulk of the time. It was amazing and we both cherished the very rare opportunity. AND we liked each other the entire time. Woot!

- my beloved DN; who will be 3.5 next August. I am dying to spoil her to death!! I hate living so far away from them My DH is indulgent, knowing just how much joy I get out of this. Good thing my brother and SIL are so very generous with sharing my DN!! In all honesty, the main reason I planned this whole trip is for her.

Let's talk about interest levels in planning in the whole group.
My family has zero interest in details and just basically want me to tell them where to go to next. (I tried winging it with them for ONE day last year. It was awful and after just 1 hour, they all started whining. I stopped, sat down for 5 mins to scribble out a plan on a scrap of paper, and everyone was happy again).

Still trying to figure out my brother and SIL. My brother just goes with the flow - whatever makes the women in his life happy will make him happy. He is a doting husband and father. I have a feeling that his job will be to keep me from driving my SIL batty lol. My SIL is a planner but I get the feeling that too many options overwhelm her. So I am going to have to be careful because I love millions of options all carefully researched to death.

How to plan a multi-family trip without driving everyone up the wall
This is going to be my challenge. I'm hoping this pre-trippie will contain my word vomit (as you have found out if you have made it this far!) as well as give me ideas on how to phrase questions and approach decisions with my brother and his family.

I am going to keep my ultimate goal in mind always - for everyone to have a trip that is amazing FOR THEM. What that is will be different for everyone.

I just sent my brother and SIL a long message and this is what I said:

As we plan this trip together, I just want to say this again - I want ALL of us to have fun and make sure that everyone gets to enjoy the trip. And when there are differences in wants (some want to do something someone else doesn't want to do or whatever), we can easily split up and join together later. Let's give ourselves the freedom of not doing every attraction/meal together.

Plus, if I start going into hyper-planning mode - please please tell me to take a chill pill and/or tune me out. That's how DH and the kids survive LOL! e.g. SIL: I am so glad you tuned DB and I out over the airmiles discussion. And while I love planning things to the last detail. if DN wants to re-ride something 20x or if we are hot/tired, we can easily skip/change plans. Same with restaurant reservations. I know I keep talking about booking everything 6 months out. Just remember, anything can be cancelled up to 24 hours out.

And don't feel like you have to do whatever just because I want to do it. Let me know how you want to approach planning. How much logistical chatter do you want? (DH prefers me to keep it to myself and just go over the highlights). We can also wait and discuss restaurants in January and rides in May if you prefer.

I will ask if you guys can do some research though - like look over the attractions, watch the planning video, and look over the restaurant possibilities so you have an idea what you like/don't like.

MOST important - when I become a Disney know-it-all, give me a kick! This trip is for all of us - and nothing will make me happier than everyone having a happy trip. Love u all!!

 

[elaine amj]

I mentioned I need this to contain myself right? I'm almost ashamed to admit that I have a rough plan of the ENTIRE 14 night trip already laid out! I need it though as seeing plans settle me down. I need to see the details or I get overwhelmed. It helps me to know what is doable and what isn't. I know for most people, it is the other way around. On the good side, I have resolved not to share this with ANYbody for now. When my SIL is ready, we'll go over all our must-dos, etc and then I'll rework it all before reviewing it with her.

Earlier, I mentioned that last night I begged my kids to review menus with me. I was DYING to talk Disney to SOMEBODY. They like pics, so we went on the MDE app and I showed them a list of restaurants and asked them to pick one special place each (see? I kept it simple!).

My DD asked for somewhere with good steak and said she wanted Le Cellier. I had spent a fortune taking our whole family in March. While there, my two kids got hyper and alternated between whining and playing stupid (and loud) games that involved tickling and squealing. I begged and begged for them to simmer down and not disturb our neighbors (who thankfully were seated one table away). But unfortunately, my DH had gotten hyper too and despite my pleas, they were ALL hyper (these are the crazies who played tag in front of Buckingham Palace. my DH is the worst of them all *sigh*). I reminded them (teasingly) about this and told her that for this trip, LC will be an ADULTS-ONLY meal for DH and I. She took it in good spirits and asked for other suggestions. Eventually, we settled on Coral Reef, which will be a new restaurant for us.

My DS looked at Sci Fi but at the end decided he didn't want that to be *his* special place (I am pretty sure we will end up there though since I think my DB will love it). He was very sweetly concerned about cost after hearing me tell DD that I was not going to spend crazy $$ on LC for her. I had to spend some time reassuring him that we were on DDP and any 1 credit place woould be OK. We looked through more photos and I ended up steering him towards Sanaa (truthfully, I know my family pretty well and I am good at "suggesting" places!). He's loved it immediately. I made sure he took a look at the menu and gave the OK.

DH asked for Ohana and LC (both of which are always in the must-do list).

So a few more details set!

 

[ariane37]

I just read your post on the Disney for Families Forum and decided to come over I think what you're doing is a wonderful gesture and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all pans out!
BTW we love Sanaa Good idea talking your DS into eating there!

 

[elaine amj]

I just read your post on the Disney for Families Forum and decided to come over I think what you're doing is a wonderful gesture and I'm looking forward to seeing how it all pans out!
BTW we love Sanaa Good idea talking your DS into eating there!

Thanks! I am actually super excited about Sanaa. I have wanted to eat there forever but it hasn't worked out for any of our last few trips. The food is right up my alley (and has decent options for my picky kids) and how awesome is the thought of eating with a view of the savannah?! Plus, I LOVE AKL and its one of my fave onsite resorts (don't know if we will ever get a chance to stay there...but, never say never!)

 

[elaine amj]

I am still deep in Disney daydreams and my loving family do their best to ignore me. There is excitement in the air though! We took the kids shopping for fall clothes today and my DD had a blast looking through racks of adorable toddler Princess costumes for my DN. Had to drag her attention back to her own fall clothes (after I took a peek myself of course!!)

Having fun reading through endless restaurant reviews and going in endless circles in my head about where we could eat. I have started looking at Mickey's Backyard BBQ. That said, I don't see it as the right fit for our group (My DH recommended HDDR). I do happen to be a big country music fan and the whole atmosphere sounds right up my alley. Just watched a Youtube video and am even more excited.

If it works out with the rest of the plans, I'd love to ask for a one-on-one dinner with my DN and take her to the BYBBQ. We'll see how it goes though. I am going to wait until we are much deeper into the planning to ask. I have always wanted to do the BBQ but my kids got too old too quick (to be worth it) and we missed our chance. I do keep in mind the unpredictability of a 3.5yr old child though and would be planning this at least a week in so that I can cancel if it doesn't seem like a good fit for her (willing/interested to get up and dance with the characters, even if at a distance).

On to other good news. I shared in my other post that my SIL has asked me to help her plan their 10th anniversary celebration at WDW. Her thoughts so far (she's open to more suggestions) are:
- they'll dress up (pretty white summer dress for her!)

- an informal vow renewal with all of us in attendance (extra cool since both my kids were in their wedding). Wondering if that quiet spot at the side of the Castle might be a good idea for a quick 5 min "ceremony". Or maybe we should find a pretty spot in Old Key West where we are staying. Any ideas?

- photos (we have Memory Maker so I am thinking we should fit in photos as the Castle!)

- nice dinner (we'll set aside the credits for a signature dinner of their choice) while we look after DN. Love some of the suggestions I have gotten - Narcoossee (SO pretty!!), San Angel Inn (very Disney-unique), Trattoria al Forno (near the fun of Disney Springs), etc etc.

She's asked that since everything at WDW will be a special experience that by and large, she doesn't want to spend anything extra.

Any other little touches to suggest? I thought of buttons; probably the anniversary ones.

There's the carriage ride at OKW - but that's an extra cost. Will be giving her options on what to do.
- wander World Showcase
- Wishes, Adult-only MK night
- Enjoy the Boardwalk
- spend the evening at Disney Springs
- any other options?

 

[elaine amj]

Been driving myself batty trying to figure out how to track our credits between the 7 of us since they are all pooled to one room. Don't want to feel like I should look over DB and DSIL's shoulders. I figure I have 2 options:

1. Ask DB to keep his receipts and we will update credit use regularly. Alternatively, if I track MY credit use diligently, whatever credits missing would be the ones he used, right? Just like doing algebra.

2. Don't bother tracking by family - all credits are available for all 7 of us. I will update the group as a whole every few days. If we start getting low in week 2, we'll get some breakfast supplies and eat more in the villa.

I will attempt Option 1 and leave Option 2 as a possibility if tracking by family gets too annoying. Really, I KNOW DDP will give us plenty of food.

 

[elaine amj]

On to more fun aspects of the trip! TheMouseforLess posted some awesome photos of the 2 bedroom villa - it makes me smile every time I look at them.

I am used to squishing in a Value (the 4 of us were content in Pop for 12 days!) and this upgrade to a Deluxe is nothing short of amazing. I had actually visited OKW last month - we were trying to get from Disney Springs to Epcot and hopped on the first DS-area resort bus we saw. I took a quick peek around the Hospitality House area and loved it. So peaceful - I remember thinking how awesome it must be to stay there. Certainly had no idea it was a possibility for us!!!

I LOVE looking at photos of the resort and room. So excited to be able to stroll the lush, pretty grounds (although I will admit I am nervous about the resort size!)

The pool looks great - the mickey head slide is so cute. Not the most exciting Disney pool, but IT HAS A SAUNA!!! My DH loves, loves, loves saunas (to detox) and it is super hard to find in hotels these days.

The room is so gorgeous and HUGE! I did spend some time debating SSR because I like the amenities there, but every time I look at the OKW villa photos, the SSR photos pale in comparison.

My one big concern is the lackluster offerings at Goods to Go, but we will manage. My plan is to take out a bunch of QS meals from other places (like the bakery in France, WPE, etc) to stash in the fridge for quick meals. Also, I will do a couple of early morning walks over to SSR to get full breakfasts for everyone (they can give me their "room service" offers the night before).

I heard OKW is doing an extensive refurbishment starting spring 2017. On the good side, the main pool will be refurbished in the winter and we should have no problems by August. I do have a teeny hope that they will expand the CS options - although there is little chance this would be done by our trip.