Advice for a family of 18

[rebelbuddhist]

beginning to strategize a family reunion in 2019 at WDW. There would be as many as 10 adults and 8 children (ages 3-17). Coming from California, Montana, and Arkansas. I have planned many trips before but only for much smaller groups. What would be your suggestion for lodging?
Three cabins at fort widerness? Four family suites at Art of Animation or All Star Music? Or off property. We have never stayed off property and seems to add a whole level of planning. Or should we bite the bullet and give up the joy of planning ourselves and use a TA? TIA for ideas/suggestions. Oh, we are going in December, 2019. Not very flexible about dates.

 

[denecarter]

We are going July 2019 with 18-21. We decided on 2 OKW Grand Villas. I’m an owner there and bought an additional contract so we’d have enough points.

We had originally thought 3 2BR OKW condos... then thought we’d change one for a Grand Villa to be the group’s hub. Then I figured I could save 100 pts by switching those 2 2BR to a Grand Villa.

We all like each other though... that much togetherness doesn’t work for all families.

 

[HopperFan]

Strong believer in personal space for successful trips. I love who I travel with but I love the reduced stress space brings.

I would go with Cabins (for Kitchens) or AoA (for two bathrooms and more "space" and easy access to amenities).

If you look offsite the offerings are HUGE. I would get some ballpark figures and bounce it off the others to see if they want on or off.

 

[Upatnoon]

beginning to strategize a family reunion in 2019 at WDW. There would be as many as 10 adults and 8 children (ages 3-17). Coming from California, Montana, and Arkansas. I have planned many trips before but only for much smaller groups. What would be your suggestion for lodging?
Three cabins at fort widerness? Four family suites at Art of Animation or All Star Music? Or off property. We have never stayed off property and seems to add a whole level of planning. Or should we bite the bullet and give up the joy of planning ourselves and use a TA? TIA for ideas/suggestions. Oh, we are going in December, 2019. Not very flexible about dates.

It's an ambitious project.

I would keep the families together in their own accommodations, not try to lump everyone together. Where you stay depends on budget.

As for activities, I would suggest not trying to be together all day. I would plan on an activity or meal you can do together daily, but give the various people in your group the leeway to do what they want.

 

[rebelbuddhist]

It's an ambitious project.

I would keep the families together in their own accommodations, not try to lump everyone together. Where you stay depends on budget.

As for activities, I would suggest not trying to be together all day. I would plan on an activity or meal you can do together daily, but give the various people in your group the leeway to do what they want.

You are so right about activities! We are a blended family (for over 14 years now). So any and all combinations of adults/children is fine, but other than a meal we have no expectation that all 18 stay together all the time.

 

[rebelbuddhist]

We are going July 2019 with 18-21. We decided on 2 OKW Grand Villas. I’m an owner there and bought an additional contract so we’d have enough points.

We had originally thought 3 2BR OKW condos... then thought we’d change one for a Grand Villa to be the group’s hub. Then I figured I could save 100 pts by switching those 2 2BR to a Grand Villa.

We all like each other though... that much togetherness doesn’t work for all families.

We are not DVC members and have never purchased points from one. Not sure we would want to go that route for the first time on this trip.

 

[rwdavis2]

Off site in Windsor Hills. You can rent full size houses to condos. We used All Star Vacation Homes (I'm not affiliated). It's probably the most bang for the buck but you'll need several cars.

Otherwise multiple cabins may work. Depends on your budget.

 

[Marionnette]

We are not DVC members and have never purchased points from one. Not sure we would want to go that route for the first time on this trip.

Then I would skip doing a DVC rental.

How about just polling everyone to see where they want to stay? Pick two and vote for the final one. Everyone makes their own reservations and pays for it directly to their TA or Disney. That way, no one ends up being the bad guy who has to harass people to get their money. It also gives people skin in the game so that if they decide to cancel at the last minute, they're on the hook for getting their money back.

 

[rwdavis2]

Then I would skip doing a DVC rental.

How about just polling everyone to see where they want to stay? Pick two and vote for the final one. Everyone makes their own reservations and pays for it directly to their TA or Disney. That way, no one ends up being the bad guy who has to harass people to get their money. It also gives people skin in the game so that if they decide to cancel at the last minute, they're on the hook for getting their money back.

Excellent idea! Takes the pressure off one person.

 

[PollyannaMom]

beginning to strategize a family reunion in 2019 at WDW. There would be as many as 10 adults and 8 children (ages 3-17). Coming from California, Montana, and Arkansas. I have planned many trips before but only for much smaller groups. What would be your suggestion for lodging?
Three cabins at fort widerness? Four family suites at Art of Animation or All Star Music? Or off property. We have never stayed off property and seems to add a whole level of planning. Or should we bite the bullet and give up the joy of planning ourselves and use a TA? TIA for ideas/suggestions. Oh, we are going in December, 2019. Not very flexible about dates.

My gut answer for a group that big would be cabins, but I've never actually stayed there, so I can't be sure. I think this is one situation where I'd bite the bullet and call Disney for assistance. They use to advertise something called "Grand Gatherings" - is that still a thing?

 

[rdaky]

Then I would skip doing a DVC rental.

How about just polling everyone to see where they want to stay? Pick two and vote for the final one. Everyone makes their own reservations and pays for it directly to their TA or Disney. That way, no one ends up being the bad guy who has to harass people to get their money. It also gives people skin in the game so that if they decide to cancel at the last minute, they're on the hook for getting their money back.

I like this. Then everyone gets their own space, their own hotel preference, etc.

But if you want to all be together in the same place, I'd still just have regular hotel rooms for each individual family OR stay off property in a large house.

We've done many, many large vacations with my in-laws and the key to keeping everyone sane is individual families having their own bedrooms or individual hotel rooms. Also, if everyone is chipping in financially, then you may need to be more flexible about hotels or about not having everyone stay at the same place if one family is ready to splurge on Contemporary and another family will be perfectly happy at All Stars. In my experience, there is nothing worse that doing a large family vacation that someone else planned and decided on all of the details and then told how much I am expected to pay (btdt with my MIL)

I think you CAN do this without a TA. We never use one. But I think first you need to get a game plan. How much does everyone else want to spend? Do they care where they stay? (The cabins, while spacious, do not appeal to everyone) And then figure out your budget. And then you can go from there, I think.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We travel with large groups often. From 11 to 18 people. We have done separate rooms and we have done shared villas. We love both. The shared villa is great because you get to hang out while not at the parks. We would stay on site - for us the kids are old enough to be on their own and it is easy for them to take the Disney transportation without us - if we were off site that couldn't happen.

We always ate at least one meal together. We would pretty much go to the same park but would do whatever we wanted. I would just make the decision in advance who is making FPs. I have to say when we are 12 or less we usually make most FPs together - but again that is our choice and not necessary.

Enjoy - it is so much fun going with a big group. We also have at least 1 day when we were the same shirts - that is fun too.

 

[tjmw2727]

We get together every few years, 5 families but we each pick our own resort based on preference and finances. Then we plan dinners, waterpark days and times to meet a parks. Some of the families spend more time together than others depending on the ages of the kids and the preferences of the families.

 

[sponica]

I'd make sure everyone's on the same boat. Is this a family reunion that just happens to be at Disney World, or a Disney trip that everyone's going on at the same time?

As far as lodging, I'd poll to see what the price points are and desired amenities were. For example if uncle Joe wants to be able to lounge at a pool all day and drink cocktails with umbrellas in them, not sure if AoA would be the place for him to stay but if Cousin Betty is a park commando, paying for a deluxe may not make sense for her family....also decide whether it's important for everyone to be at the same resort.

I'm getting together a game plan for an Orlando trip with various family members, and thought about renting DVC points but realized "I don't want to spend THAT MUCH TIME with my traveling companions"

 

[rdaky]

Things start to get tricky when everyone makes assumptions about costs, food, plans for the day.

We had a very stressful trip with my in-laws a few years ago because my MIL made all kinds of plans and assumptions in her head about what everyone would do, and then was disappointed and angry when everyone else didn't go along with her plans for the entire trip that she didn't tell us about.

With a large group, you really have to figure out not only how much everyone wants to pay for a hotel, but how often are you going to eat dinner together and who is choosing the restaurants, are you going to split up throughout the day or is everyone hanging out all day every day? Seems like a pain to figure out, but if you don't talk about it, everyone will be assuming something different and then people get hurt feelings.

 

[denecarter]

We are not DVC members and have never purchased points from one. Not sure we would want to go that route for the first time on this trip.

Totally understandable. Renting points is how I got hooked on DVC, but it was a much smaller group at the time (just a single 2BR villa).

Having everyone make their own reservations and own payments is a good way to go. We are very fortunate that my parents decided to pay for everone’s rooms (my dues for the points used) & tickets for our Christmas this year.

As for planning, I sent a Google Form to everyone and asked several questions including “how involved do you want to be in planning this trip?” My daughter and niece have the younger children in the group and really wanted to help plan. Everyone else chose “just tell me when and where to go”.

We’ve come up with our rough game plan. Once finalized, we’ll let everyone know our plan and invite them to join us however much or little they want. We’ll also offer alternative ideas since we have different age/height kids.

As I said, we’re really lucky with our family dynamics.

 

[rebelbuddhist]

Things start to get tricky when everyone makes assumptions about costs, food, plans for the day.

We had a very stressful trip with my in-laws a few years ago because my MIL made all kinds of plans and assumptions in her head about what everyone would do, and then was disappointed and angry when everyone else didn't go along with her plans for the entire trip that she didn't tell us about.

With a large group, you really have to figure out not only how much everyone wants to pay for a hotel, but how often are you going to eat dinner together and who is choosing the restaurants, are you going to split up throughout the day or is everyone hanging out all day every day? Seems like a pain to figure out, but if you don't talk about it, everyone will be assuming something different and then people get hurt feelings.

The trip will be paid for by Grandma and Grandpa for everyone— spending their inhheritance now rather than after we are gone! Agree that everyone’s expectations need to be clearly stated before we go. Just because we are paying doesn’t mean we make all the decisions or are “in charge”. Talking about dinners together often at character buffets— CM, 1900 PF, Tusker House, Cape May, ‘Ohana. Some signature meals for some adult pairings but not everyone. Transportation to the parks is one big reason to stay on property. Some will be more interested in the thrill rides; others won’t. So in the parks we will go our own ways and plan to meet up for family meals or shows/parades. Since we have no expectations to stay together 24/7 in the parks, being together or near each other at same resort may be best. Will get Park Hoppers so everyone can go to whichever park but still meet up in any of them.

 

[sponica]

The trip will be paid for by Grandma and Grandpa for everyone— spending their inhheritance now rather than after we are gone! Agree that everyone’s expectations need to be clearly stated before we go. Just because we are paying doesn’t mean we make all the decisions or are “in charge”. Talking about dinners together often at character buffets— CM, 1900 PF, Tusker House, Cape May, ‘Ohana. Some signature meals for some adult pairings but not everyone. Transportation to the parks is one big reason to stay on property. Some will be more interested in the thrill rides; others won’t. So in the parks we will go our own ways and plan to meet up for family meals or shows/parades. Since we have no expectations to stay together 24/7 in the parks, being together or near each other at same resort may be best. Will get Park Hoppers so everyone can go to whichever park but still meet up in any of them.

Given those parameters, I'd explore some moderates. They are at a price point that I find reasonable and the jump in amenities from value to moderate is substantial for what I find a modest increase (in my world, with my finances).

Other points to consider. Is everyone going to WANT the same number of park days? I know it's just easier to book packages and put everyone with the same entitlements, but if someone isn't a "parks" person and wants to lounge at the pool all day or play golf, it might make more financial sense to book the rooms and tickets separately. You can always add extra days if cousin bobby decides he does want to go to the park instead of playing golf...

 

[rdaky]

Given those parameters, I'd explore some moderates. They are at a price point that I find reasonable and the jump in amenities from value to moderate is substantial for what I find a modest increase (in my world, with my finances).

Other points to consider. Is everyone going to WANT the same number of park days? I know it's just easier to book packages and put everyone with the same entitlements, but if someone isn't a "parks" person and wants to lounge at the pool all day or play golf, it might make more financial sense to book the rooms and tickets separately. You can always add extra days if cousin bobby decides he does want to go to the park instead of playing golf...

Yes to all of this. Booking multiple rooms at a moderate would give each family their own room, their own bathroom. We've traveled in a variety of ways with our in-laws-large house/cabin, and separate hotel rooms, and what seems to work the best for our family is when everyone has their own space and their own bathroom. If you can request rooms near each other, that might be more comfortable and possibly less expensive than trying to combine families into suites or cabins.

 

[Cajun23]

We did a trip with about 16. Similar ratios and counts. We let everyone stay where they would like (half stayed at Poly and the other half stayed at AoA)

Everyone had an agenda of what parks we were doing on what days.

Dining was left up to each other as to where they would like. If dining options lined up a reservation would be made for them.

Fast passes were done similarly.

From our experience, it went well because everyone got to do what they would like and could meet up when they would like.

You can try to coordinate 1 or 2 dinners where everyone is on the reservation to have at least some time with the whole group.