and the group gets bigger!!

[disney-a-holic]

hi, i am relatively new, and must admit to enjoying reading posts as aposed to writing them, but as i enjoy finding so much info and tips i felt it is time to fully join in.

cast members(?)

me 33
dh 40
dd 13
ds 12
dd 11

we all enjoyed our first trip in 2006 to wdw.it was our first family trip of 5 as we normally enjoy our holidays with the rest of my family and tag alongs, at one point reaching 25, this unfortunatly happaned to be our honeymoon!!!!

at the start of 2006,talk was to go to disney and my sister was hoping to get time of from her job in a school to come, but huge disapointment as her boss said no so just us 5 went and had a truly fabulous time.as we left i promised kids we would be back.....

fast forward to april2007, sister asks when we are goin back, "next year we hope" i reply.
"if you go october half term 08 i might be able to join you"
"oh my god" "oh my god" "ask now so i can arrange it"

and so she requested 4 days off after the half term and yesterday got a YES!!!!!!!
i let out a huge scream, obviously excited at the thought of showing her the magical world
( now having a few doubts, what if she doesnt love it as much as me?)

any way, now i have an addiction to coming on these boards and discovering great info and ideas on making the most of the "vacation" and my planning is starting...officially today with this post!!

and so additional cast members;

ds 40 plus
dbil 40 plus
dn will celebrate his 11 birthday at wdw !!!!

any great tips on making the birthday fantastic?
i am thinkin charater dining??

to add to the story, and the info will be confirmed hopefully in next few days, my sister has 2 daughters
dd 24
dd 22
these have overheard my excited screams and want in on the trip!!!!!
and so my day is being spent at the computer gatting quotes on 8/10 of us!!!!

a question i ask is, have you ever planned a trip with extended family members?
do they enjoy it as much as you think they would?
any advice at all? feeling anxious as i have not stopped saying how amazing it all was, and i am right arent i?
it is amazing isnt it?
or will my 2nd trip be disapointing??

and so my first post on oct 2008 the party grew from 5 to 8 to possible 10!!!

(also boyfriends??)

hope you will enjoy reading my post as much as i have loved reading all of yours!!

 

[Shazzie B]

I'd make sure you do some planning before you go. Agree what parks you'll go to on what days etc. Lots of info about re what days are less busy in parks about etc-you could use 'Tour Guide Mike' or Brit Guide etc. Otherwise you'll waste valuable time deciding what to do on each day-I had this when I went away with my two sisters (& families) last year and we only went on a beech holiday to Spain!

 

[tashasmum]

In 2005 we went as a large group to Florida. (16in total) Eleven of us stayed in a villa and the other 5 in a hotel.The majority of us had been before but two ds and families had not. We just settled on the days to go in the parks and would meet the other sister at a certain time and place. Everything worked out well and because we were in a villa we had a lot of meals (several birthday parties as well) in the villa. The ones that had been before were not really bothered where we went as we had seen a lot already but it was great to see the kids faces (and grown ups)when we entered the parks for the first time.
As you may have gathered we are a large family and everyone loved it. I have never met anyone who has not liked Florida but i am sure they must exist and you can't be responsible wether they do or do not enjoy their trip. Just pre-warn them that when they come home they may be in need of another holiday to recover.

 

[tashasmum]

We have been going now for the last 11 years and everyone is fantastic so your 2nd trip will be just as good if not better.

 

[Cinderella2006]

We got married in Disney last November and there were 18 of us in total, it was great fun! I was a bit worried to say the least as my parents are divorced and although my mum did not come with us, her side of the family did along with my dad and his side of the family. Well I thought it might turn out to be world war 3 but thankfully the magic of Disney bought us all together

I found the booking very easy, it was trying to get the money off people in time that was the problem! 11 of us flew with First Choice Premier, staying at POR whilst the other 7 flew with Travel City Direct and stayed in a Villa at Highlands Reserve, which was stunning! Most days we stayed together but it was nice to spend time on our own with our children. Not the most relaxing honeymoon so went to Dominican Republic at the beginning of the year!

We had a blast and are planning another Family trip in 2009; was meant to be next year but we recently found out that I am expecting. My advice would be to do some planning but be flexible. I would definitely book a Character meal, we did CRT and 1900 Park Fare, both were lovely.

We went October half term and it is a lovely time of the year, weather great, very little crowds. Have fun planning!

 

[disney-a-holic]

oh thank you cinderella!!! i am glad to hear oct is a good time to go, nov/dec there was very little crowds which made it really good for seeing almost everything we wanted to and more.

what characters at at 1900 park fare? we did chef mickey and breakfastosaurus so i fancy trying something different!

congratulations on your pregnancy!!!!
when will it be due??

 

[disney-a-holic]

any info on haloween???

 

[paulh]

weve got trip planed for aug 10 of us hard work but fun.Tip when booking if its with disney you will get a grand gaterings number helps with alocation with rooms, and there are some exclusive things as weel
Paulh

 

[Cinderella2006]

Thank you, I am due in January. It was a shock but a pleasant one!

1900 Park Fare was great, for breakfast there were Mary Poppins, Alice and the Mad Hatter. For dinner we saw Prince Charming, Cinderella, the mice, Fairy Godmother and I think that was it. I have two boys so next time we are trying Chef Mickey’s, my nine year old is not into princesses as you can imagine!

We went to Downtown Disney for Halloween; I did not want to pay extra on top of our park passes to go Magic Kingdoms Halloween Party, although it did look great. We had loads of fun in Downtown, the boys went trick and treating and they had lots of entertainment such as stilt walkers and cast members dressed up. I recommend you take your own Halloween outfits with you, we made the mistake of waiting until we got there (26th October) and couldn’t get much at all.

 

[disney-a-holic]

ok the party number is8!!! now i am left with the decision on or off site.....and i cant make up my mind!!!!!!!