Advice for Disney with extended family?

[nessz79]

We have a trip planned for April 2009 (I know, it's a ways off). Right now we have 7 adults and 2 children, but we may get another 2 extended family members. I have never traveled with a group this large, much less Disney!

I know we'll have to split up some, but I also want to do some touring of the parks together and certainly a meal a day if possible.

Anyone have any tips or past experiences to share? Thanks!

 

[ehstrojette]

I am going with extended family also so I would like to know any tips or what to expect. When we all went to Myrtle Beach we pretty much stayed together at the campground but I know it will be different this time since My dad wont be able to stay out as long walking all day, we have 2 teens that i know will want to scout girls and ride rides and me and my sister have kids the same ages so I know that we will stick together the whole week since the kids will be unseperable. They live in NY/PA area and I live in TN so we dont spend a whole lot of time together so I see this trip as a catching up trip. The night we have ADR's at Chef Mickeys the 8 of us will go(me,sis, hubbys and 4 little ones) my parents and the 2 teens will go to a steak/rib place for dinner. My sisters family will be going to Seaworld on Friday while the rest of us either hang out at the house or go to WDW for the last day. Dont stress about it, at night you will all come back together. Did you guys get hotel rooms or villa??? We are staying at a 7 bedroom villa

 

[3princesses+aprince]

We are also going in 2009. Either in March or May! We will have a group of 9 Me, dh, DSS11, DD8, DD6, and DD4, My mom, and My brother and his Girlfriend.
I figure when we are 6 months out and can book ADRs we'll all sit down together and plan a Table service meal each day(we are going to be doing the dining plan) And i figure my brother and his GF will do a few restaurants on their own, while me dh, my mom and kids do some character meals.
My mom is more laid back and would enjoy sunbathing by the pool, so there will probably be a few days when she does that and catches up with us at a park later on. I'm also planning on 1 day with no parks. It will be for the pool, a nice dinner and DTD, so we can all enjoy a nice day together. And we are all very close so I know we'll want to be together for most of the trip, but i'm sure it will be relaxing for everyone to have a few things planned for themselves. I know i've read alot of posts on trips with extended families gone bad( or crazy rather) But I don't think it has to be crazy, as long as everyone wants to be doing the same thing, or splitting up when they dont' everyone will be happy. I hope Good luck with your trip, it looks like we both have plenty of time for planning. Which is a good thing. we will be very ready to go

 

[pixidust princess]

When we went in july 2006, it was me, dh, ds 6 and ds 3 (at the time), my mom, my brother, and his girlfriend. We stayed in connecting rooms at AKL and had a wonderful trip. I am the planner, so had our days planned out to the hour and dh still tells everyone that if I hadn't done that, we wouldn't have had such a good trip. We all got along really well. My mom does not ride rides, so at times we felt like we were just draging her along. There were times she chose to stay in the hotel and relax.

I am now planning a october 2009 trip for me, dh, ds 9 and ds 6 (at the time), my mom, mother in law, father in law, sister in law and her boyfriend, and my nephew 7. We are planning to stay in a 6 bedroom in windsor hills and have narrowed it down to 2 choices. I am the obsessive planner in the group, and I think it scares everyone a bit. My plan is to have a "family meeting" and discuss touring plans and ADR's. If everyone wants to be involved in the day, we will decide together. I will also be ok if people want to go their seperate ways and meet back up later. We have a looong time to plan and get the specifics down, but to me that is fun!
I would love to hear from others that are planning an extended family trip or have taken one. All recommendations are appreciated!

 

[thegrimdwarf]

We'll be traveling in October with my family (me, hubby, DS4 and DS2), my brother's family (him, SIL, DD4 and DD18 mos), my parents, and my SILs parents. I'm already on the verge of sticking a fork in my brain and twisting until I'm no longer annoyed.

Wow, it felt really good to type that out.

The brunt of planning the trip has fallen on me and my sister-in-law, mainly because we know the needs and limitations of our kids and the rest of the family is catering to their needs. That's great. Except that my SIL couldn't decide if it was best to douse a fire or watch it burn. She cannot make even the simplest of decisions, and our date to start calling for ADR's is 4/23. Normally, I would just steamroll her (and she'd thank me for it because she knows she can't make decisions), BUT - their budget is very tight, and ours is more generous, so I don't know exactly what their needs are as far a price goes. It's frustrating, because it's such a sensitive subject.

I've asked her to call me on Monday with 2 dinner dining choices per night (we'll be breaking mid-day and either lunching CS or back at the hotels). I've got my 2 choices per night, and hopefully we'll have an overlapping choice and just go with that.

I shouldn't complain, because we'll have a great time. Sorry for the novella, lol - I didn't realize how irritated I was with the whole thing til I started typing.

 

[AC & Savy's Mom]

She cannot make even the simplest of decisions, and our date to start calling for ADR's is 4/23. Normally, I would just steamroll her (and she'd thank me for it because she knows she can't make decisions), BUT - their budget is very tight, and ours is more generous, so I don't know exactly what their needs are as far a price goes. It's frustrating, because it's such a sensitive subject.

If you are staying at a Disney hotel, have you discussed doing the dining plan? I don't know what their budget is, but for the adults it's $37.99 and children (under 10) are only $9.99. (We got dd a meal plan when she was 15 months old, but you don't "have" to until the child is 3 years old. But for $10/day, it was worth it for us when she wouldn't eat what we wanted.) When we went to disney for a long weekend last year, we decided to skip the meal plan, since we only had a couple days and didn't want to spend it in the restaurants. Well, we were so disappointed that we didn't, because we spent the same amount of money eating at counter service places all weekend as we would have getting the dining plan. If you are going to eat at the table service restaurants, you should really look into the dining plan. Totally worth it in my opinion. If you're staying on-property, that is!

Good luck with the decision making!

 

[thegrimdwarf]

If you are staying at a Disney hotel, have you discussed doing the dining plan? I don't know what their budget is, but for the adults it's $37.99 and children (under 10) are only $9.99. (We got dd a meal plan when she was 15 months old, but you don't "have" to until the child is 3 years old. But for $10/day, it was worth it for us when she wouldn't eat what we wanted.) When we went to disney for a long weekend last year, we decided to skip the meal plan, since we only had a couple days and didn't want to spend it in the restaurants. Well, we were so disappointed that we didn't, because we spent the same amount of money eating at counter service places all weekend as we would have getting the dining plan. If you are going to eat at the table service restaurants, you should really look into the dining plan. Totally worth it in my opinion. If you're staying on-property, that is!

Good luck with the decision making!

They're off-property, so it's not an option, but it would be a waste of money for all of us - we're very light eaters, and most of the adults will probably have a light breakfast in the hotel room, a mid-day snack, and then a nice dinner. That's why it's so egg-shell-y - the majority of the group would like a nice sit-down meal, but there's no polite way to ask my brother and SIL what they can afford or want to spend without making them feel like anchors. Sigh.

 

[nessz79]

The CM that did our reservations talked about the Dining Plan and I have done some research on it. We've never done the Dining Plan before.

I understand it's not "as" good of a deal as it used to be due to tips/taxes not being included...I think that's correct?

So I wonder if the main advantage would be having less $ to worry about when you're on your trip. Some of the people in our party will be on a tight budget.

Great posts everyone! Keep them coming...I"m getting lots of ideas.

 

[Vovoa]

We traveled with our extended family (7 adults and 3 children) both in 2006 and 2007. We're all going again in January. I can't begin to tell you how important it is to PLAN. I, also, am an obsessive planner - but in this situation it is an advantage. We stayed together for everything - parks, meals, even five hotel rooms all in a row. My mom (81) and I aren't ones for thrill rides - so while my husband, kids, and grandkids rode those, we found ourselves a bench near the ride's exit and just people-watched or, in some cases, entertained the three year old who hadn't made some of the height restrictions yet. Staying together was made easier by the fact that the kids were close in age - two of them being 5 and the other 3 - so their interests were the same. We haven't done any of the Grand Gathering events - but plan to take advantage of some of those during our January trip.

Our first trip we did the Dining Plan but found it didn't suit us. We do alot of table service meals (even lunches) and ended up having to pay out of pocket for meals when we were only half way through the trip. Our last trip we just paid as we ate and in comparing the two, we actually saved a little by not being on the dining plan. But alot of it depends on your style of eating, whether or not you attend some meals or shows that require two table service credits, etc.

In any case, I'm sure you'll have a great time!

 

[HannaBelle]

I have planned 2 "Grand Gatherings" for my family of 12 in 2006, then 14 in 2008.

We have some "ground rules" when traveling together...

- No griping if you did not take the time to help plan.
- If you are late, we are not waiting on you and you do not get to be mad about it!
- If someone stops to go the bathroom, then everyone has to go...even the grown-ups! (Otherwise you are waiting in the bathroom line all day!)
- Don't expect to spend all day together in the parks and no one is allowed to have their feelings hurt if your family needs some alone/down time.

We opted to have 1 meal a day together. It was typically a late breakfast/brunch type meal. This suited our early risers who wanted to maximize the first couple of hours in the parks as well as our late risers who wanted to sleep in. (The early risers just had a little snack to tied them over.)

We did not try to ride rides together, but show together are great! Phillharmagic, Finding Nemo, Festival of the Lion King, Fantasmic! and Monsters Inc. are a few I can think of. It was nice to eat together and then go and see a show.

We opted for character meals as our table service meals. Usually they are all buffets or family style. We were all on the dining plan, so it did make things easier to plan.

I do not think it is too early to start developing a plan OP! I made all of our group dining ressies and it did kind-of piss me off that my DSIL's just showed up and did nothing , but all of the work/phone calls I did for my parent's who footed the bill for everyone's trip. I certianly cannot complain about that.

 

[mom2grace]

They're off-property, so it's not an option, but it would be a waste of money for all of us - we're very light eaters, and most of the adults will probably have a light breakfast in the hotel room, a mid-day snack, and then a nice dinner. That's why it's so egg-shell-y - the majority of the group would like a nice sit-down meal, but there's no polite way to ask my brother and SIL what they can afford or want to spend without making them feel like anchors. Sigh.

Have you considered sit down lunch instead of dinner? I prefer it because you get a break in the a/c, and it's less expensive. Also, if you are too tired for dinner, you can just go back to your resort and you don't feel like you are missing the "group event".

 

[mom2grace]

We have some "ground rules" when traveling together...

- No griping if you did not take the time to help plan.
- If you are late, we are not waiting on you and you do not get to be mad about it!
- If someone stops to go the bathroom, then everyone has to go...even the grown-ups! (Otherwise you are waiting in the bathroom line all day!)
- Don't expect to spend all day together in the parks and no one is allowed to have their feelings hurt if your family needs some alone/down time.

That is AWESOME! I'm stealing it!

 

[xxDisney_Doll]

I am 13 years old and most of the vacations I take are with my aunt, uncle and two cousins but just recently my uncle has started to come. Even though he is not coming with us on our newest Disney excursion I know what it's like to travel with four adults and five children. I have a few pointers for you. It is very easy to stay with the group. Depending on which rides you want to go on of course there will be conflicting opinions on which ride you want to go on so splitting up will be inevitable but you can always meet up again. Especially when there are younger kids that can't ride the ride you want and there is an adult that doesn't want to have that adult watch the kids while you guys go on. Another thing is that you guys should have as many meals together as possible. That way it will be easier to regroup at the end of the day and it also serves as a family bonding time and it will get to know your family members even better. Lastly if you guys are staying at the same hotel you can take the kids and let them have sleepovers at the other family members rooms. It is a great treat (trust me I know I've done it.) Just try to stay as together as possible you will have many shared memories and without half the people it isn't as fun.
-xxDisney_doll-

 

[thegrimdwarf]

Have you considered sit down lunch instead of dinner? I prefer it because you get a break in the a/c, and it's less expensive. Also, if you are too tired for dinner, you can just go back to your resort and you don't feel like you are missing the "group event".

That's a good idea, and I'll float it. I'm not sure it'll work with my youngest niece's nap schedule, which my SIL is trying to stick to as closely as possible. My kids tend to eat their biggest meal at lunch, so for us, it makes perfect sense.

 

[carrieb]

I don't know if I have a tip or not - we're going as a group of 9 in 2 WEEKS.
Me, my boyfriend, my parents, a sister, a sister and her husband their DD4 and DS8mo.

My sister (the one with kids) and I ended up having a little multi-media presentation for the entire family to determine who wanted to go on what-
I did an Excel sheet listing all the rides/shows in each park with a column for each family member and we ran through the 2006 planning video (we like that one a little better than the current one) and after each park I ran through the list of attractions.

Your answer to let's say, Spaceship Earth, was either; Yes, No or Whatever (the Whatever being a if you really want to go I'll go, but it will not kill me
that I wasn't able to go on this ride).

It took a little longer than I expected - I don't expect this to be binding, I think if my niece doesn't want to go on HM even though she said she would that's fine.
My BIL keeps saying he can veto - we'll see if that works

I'm not sure if it will help on the trip but it did help my parents, who told me that it helped them getting a little more excited about our trip.

 

[mom2grace]

That's a good idea, and I'll float it. I'm not sure it'll work with my youngest niece's nap schedule, which my SIL is trying to stick to as closely as possible. My kids tend to eat their biggest meal at lunch, so for us, it makes perfect sense.

I just made my ADR's and many of the lunches begin seating at 11:30. She could eat and then take off, if she's that type.........or is she just trying to be difficult?? Is she putting up road blocks so they only eat counter service? If so, make your own plans.

 

[susykt4]

I haven't read all the other replies, but I'd definitely suggest NOT trying to keep everyone together all the time. Meeting up for one meal a day seems reasonable, but I could NEVER handle an entire trip with my sis-in-law.

My family (me, DH, DS5, DD7) likes to get up early, hit the parks at opening and ride as many rides as we can before things get busy. We then take it easy for the afternoon and go back to the resort where we go to bed early so we can get up early and beat the crowds again.

My brother's family likes to sleep in and poke around getting ready. When they manage to make it to the parks, they ride whatever rides they can and stay for the night shows/fireworks.

We get together for one meal and sometimes for swimming/playing at the resort. We see plenty of each other and the cousins get to play. We DO spend some time together in the parks, but if I had to spend my valuable morning time standing around while sis-in-law sits on a bench for 10 minutes whining about her aching feet while my brother rubs her shoulders I would lose it!

My parents and youngest brother can go either way. We also sometimes mix things up and the guys all go together while the women keep the kids or Gma and Gpa keep all the kids while the "adult kids" go off by themselves. It's a great time as long as we're not ALL required to go every single place as a giant group.

 

[sbrotherton]

Our family has traveled with other families on four separate occasions. My husband is from a large family and we have traveled with his two brothers and their families and we have also traveled with his two sisters and their kids. We usually have about 12-15 people with us on these trips. They are NOT easy. In most instances, the managing of the kids...especially little ones...is spread between a number of people, but the trade off for this is the number of times you find yourself counting heads making sure you have everyone.

Our most successful trips are the ones that are fairly well planned, although, attempting to manage to the hour can be a bit much. When planning our trips, I like to check out the crowd calendars on the Official Guide's web site to take a look at what parks historically are slower than others. Then I plug in the park hours and then I start planning. Once I sketch out a suggested game plan, I pitch it to the rest of the group for input and we choose restaurants that make sense based on where we will be that day. It has worked out really well for us.

We also have a trip "meeting," although we usually have a good number of kids going, too, so we call it the "Disney Party," complete with a Disney-themed cake and other "decorations" our kids like to put out for the party. You have to focus on fun and reminding everyone that it is vacation...I tell everyone a Disney vacation is almost as much to plan as it is to go. We have been really lucky and haven't had much conflict on the trips at all. If you know you are going to have to deal with conflict on vacation, rethink the group you are going with or lay some pretty stiff ground rules up front. You spend WAY too much money on a Disney vacation to have to worry with that kind of thing.

Best of luck in your plans!

 

[thegrimdwarf]

I just made my ADR's and many of the lunches begin seating at 11:30. She could eat and then take off, if she's that type.........or is she just trying to be difficult?? Is she putting up road blocks so they only eat counter service? If so, make your own plans.

She's not trying to be difficult - if she were that type, I would have just planned for my immediate family and told her what/where and let her decide if she was going to join us. I *think* their ideal situation would be 90% CS dining and maybe 2 nice sit-downs, and that's fine. I just need her to tell me. Before my head pops off.