Advice Needed - Cat Hearding 15 people in DL

[NMMickeymom]

Help!!! My sweet little family trip has turnned into a full blown family reunion!! We are now up to 15 people, only 4 of whom are children. I really wanted to have the grandparents full attention for my two girls but now we have to share. I've been to Disney many times but never being the tour guide for so many different needs and wants. I have PS at Blue Bayou and Ariel's but was only able to add up to 12 with the latest addition. These darned relatives don't seem to understand that I've been planning this trip for MONTHS!! Most importantly, I want to let my kids be kids and ride small world 12 times if they want to, I'm not sure how this will jive with the older crowd. I've got some difficult personalities in this bunch (I'm being nice ) and any advice is welcome. Thanks in advance.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

DO NOT expect everyone to stick together! That will be a disaster. Set that expectation right up front.

You might set up some joint events (character meals, fireworks, etc.) that everyone wants to do together, but other than that, let everyone set their own schedule and pace. If the parents/grandparents want to trade off taking the kids different evenings to give the parents a night to themselves, that would be a great idea!

If everyone wants to meet up for dinner every evening, fine. If small groups of people want to plan something together, fine, you're on your own. That way you and your family can have your own time, ride Small World 12 times, etc. It would be a tragedy if one family felt obligated to trail around after another family, wasting precious park time doing things they really didn't want to do.

Give each family an itinerary of the joint events (assuming you're the one who scheduled them.) Let them know of any PSes and whose name it is under, what time, where to meet, etc. Let them 'fill in the blanks' on their schedule with their own stuff.

 

[darph nader]

WHOA. As someone named Bill said "I feel your pain". Like Alex2 said 'if' you skate away for awhile that would be a step in the direction. A little me/us time never hurts. Years ago my dw and I took our ds's with a friend of our oldest son to the park. We told them "The first day we will take the youngest one with us,the next day,you take you're younger brother with you".The first day went great for them (my oldest son and buddy). The day after that was fun for my dw and I.

ps ,next time(no offence to your family) keep it secret.imho.

 

[mystic_path]

I was going to say the same thing, you dont have to stick together nor will that happen. Everyone will want to do their own thing. Obviously your gonna do stuff together like dinners out or meeting at a particular spot for an event, but you will still get the grandparent attention for your children. You can always make special arrangments for the grandparents and your children to have special moments together alone. Im sure your parents will be happy to do it for the kids.

 

[mAlien13]

We have a habit of going on large family trips. As a matter of fact, my mother and sister always join my husband, 2 DS's and I, and at various times other family friends as well. In November 2007 we are going to a 14 day trip in Orlando with 16 people.

We always plan the first day together. We find it is easy for older children and adults to indulge the younger ones, and the younger ones are easier to move about before they build expectations. We spend our first day enjoying parades, shows, and fun dining, with rides sprinkled throughout the day.

After that first day, we may split into groups and meet up at certain rides or for meals. Usually, we all stay together the first two hours and the last two hours. These are the best times to take advantage of baby swaping with short wait times and no one gets left out!!

I tell the 'newbies' with us the basics about FP's, ride waiting times, places to meet, sort of a DIS crash course, then I don't worry about it too much.

It can be a lot of extra work with a large group, but also a lot of extra magic. In this case, I'd just tell everyone that you already have a base plan that you've worked out and that you think it will work well for your kids, and that they can join you guys or branch off and explore! Some people may appreciate your planning and just tag along, some may not. Just don't compromise your needs to much, especially if those difficult personalities aren't likely to be pleased anyway.

Always, always, always remember to laugh and relax and have fun!!

 

[Albort]

Big Group Pro: a lot funner in line... lots of playing... More relaxed

Big Group Con: you will get a lot of "what do you wnat to do?" "i dont know" and lots of undecided decisions... and wont as many rides as think.

 

[minnietoo]

I wouldn't worry about making reservations for the whole group. Do your own and let them know when and where - and they can make thier own and join you at a nearby table if they want to.

Same with parades, fireworks and shows - let them know where you are and if they want - they can join you (they need to let you know if you should save seats or not).

This saves you from coordinating everyone and trying to please everyone.

Have fun! and remember everyone will not want to do the same thing.

 

[NMMickeymom]

Y'all are making me feel better already. I really like the idea of planning a few group activities each day and letting invidiual families/couples fill in the blanks. I think we will do the early entry/toon town options with the kids while the older crowd gets their full breakfast. (Thankfully, we are all staying on site.) I also didn't even think about slipping away with my hubby What a fantastic idea!! Individual attention for my kids with grandparents AND a date with my guy.

You are also so right about not being able to please the difficult ones anyway. My MIL can be simply impossible. I'll give them the plan and they can choose wheather to join us or not. I knew this bunch of Disney Experts would help me figure this one out.

P.S. Yes, Darth Nader... the next trip will be a secret .

 

[abby]

Don't spend so much time worrying about the crowd that you forget to have fun for yourself and your family. Make sure everyone has a cell phone and everyone has the other's numbers, this saves a lot of waiting and where are they.........and have fun......

 

[disneedee]

be sure to set up a couple of picture meeting times. we did the group thing a couple of times. once with 19, once with 17, we would start in fantasyland with the no fastpass rides. give all the tickets to a smaller group who ran around getting fastpasses(and maybe riding a few rides while waiting to pick up the next fastpass) then meet for early lunch. divide up fastpasses. do picture imediately after lunch so everyone was together. and then also decide at lunch who wanted to go where and with who. we had grandparents, parents, teenagers, and gradeschoolers. no babies. i had made BB ressy but they had me call the restraurant directly for that many people. we were doing a bd party. my sister had gotten us all matching shirts which a lot of people commented on. also made it easier to spot someone in our group. and looked cool in the pictures. we did one picture one day in dl and another picture another day in dca. i had set up mealtimes and ps which did not always work out. but that way we had a plan to follow. but don't get upset if it doesn't always go the way of the plan, i just like having a plan in place.

 

[Albertan mom]

We went with a party of 8 to WDW in August.

The thing that saved our sanity--we all wore matching bright orange Disney shirts.

Seems simple, but it worked great.
-In line-ups, the CM could see we were all together and could group us together. This worked awesome.
-When 'meeting up' we could look down the street for our orange shirts.
-When some went on rides, and others opted out, we could easily spot them for picture taking, watching their reactions etc..
-We got joked with lots on rides like the Jungle Cruise, etc... It was fun.
-The pictures looked great!
-We had tons of comments from other large families about what a good idea it was, and the CM's loved it too!

So I took a little bit of ribbing from my brother in law when I pulled out these shirts! But I wanted them for our Magic Kingdom day.
We wore them the first day, and didn't the second day, because they were dirty. We got back to the hotel and washed them that night, because we wanted them for the next day in Epcot. We washed them every night before a theme park, because it worked so well.
Even my family agreed that next time we go we will do it again!
(I got them from Disneyshopping for around $5 each, they have kids and adult sizes)

 

[mAlien13]

Albertan mom's post reminded me...when we go with a group, we always bring individual ponchos for the kids. When it rains and everyone grabs the Disney ponchos at the shops, the crowd begins to blend together quickly. It's not so bad when you only have a couple people to keep track of, but when you have a crowd all your own, it can become very disorienting! I keep a stock of brightly colored ponchos with us. The matching brightly colored shirt idea is brilliant!!

 

[NMMickeymom]

I Sent this to the family in anticipation for our trip... I thought I would share. Thanks again for your input.

As your well prepared tour guide I have tips for the over 60 crowd.... wait.... that's almost everyone...

1. Wear good walking shoes
2. A and A... your cruise should have you well prepared for the motion issues of at least Small World and maybe Pirates of the Caribbean.
3. You may want to practice for the rides by driving down bumpy dirt roads.... Again, A and A... you may have a head start on the rest of us.
4. Screaming on the bigger rides is required. A, J, and N.... I expect you to be in prime vocal shape!
5. Plastic $2 ponchos are very handy for those of you who do not want to get too "mussed" on the water rides and they fit nicely in a fanny pack.
6. You will want to bring lots of film and extra batteries as the two sweetest little princesses alive will be at your side for this wonderful adventure.
7. We are VERY close to our hotel so taking a break from the chaos is easy (we can walk to and from both parks from the hotel)
8. Start practicing making impractical decisions for no apparent reason at any given time.... remember this is Disneyland!!
9. Charge your cell phone.... they are invaluable for splitting up and keeping track of each other.
10 To prepare yourself for the unusual physiological challenges of Disneyland.....You may want to practice eating large amounts of food, wandering around aimlessly, doing 20 jumping jacks, and spending large amounts of money for no apparent reason.. (repeat 3 times daily).


Gosh I love that Mouse!!!

 

[Alex2kMommy]

Sounds like everyone will be well-prepared for a great time!

 

[abby]

Looks like you have it figured out, have a great time....I am so jealous.