Any tips on traveling with friends?

[pintrader]

While agreeing most everyone there is one problem we did not foresee and since adressing this future trips have been less tense.

Make a list of "MUST DOs" for each family. If they are on both lists consider doing them together. If it is a MUST DO for one family and not the other, perhaps that is a good time to discuss which direction the girls would like to go. It sounds as if there are enough adults to spread around. Kids NEVER seem to get too much of there best friend. And if they do it is short-lived .

Our first trip it all went one way and at the end of the first trip there were some unspoken but obvious bitterness and resentment. Guideline planning without stringent agendas worked so much better the next time and everyone go to do what was important to them by the end o f the trip.

 

[Juls]

Wow, these have sure been some great hints and suggestions. I never thought of some of this stuff so I am glad I asked.

 

[XStAnt]

I think pintrader has the right idea: Meet and decide before you leave which rides/attractions you want to do together. And not just the rides in each park. Is there a character breakfast the two girls want to go to, do you want to do Cirque or Hoop Dee Doo, are you going to a water park, are the parades a must see or can you skip them, etc.

This will probably make your planning a little easier. If everyone wants to do the Chef Mickey's character breakfast you can decide what day you want to go. Perhaps after that breakfast you go to MK and do the rides everyone wants to do in the AM and split apart after lunch. Maybe you meet after dinner to go to PI or minigolf.

I do agree with others who say things should be flexible. Don't plan out every last detail and don't be upset if your friends call you and say they can't meet up with you that evening because they're behind schedule.

You have plenty of adults so maybe you can mix the groups. One day the moms take the dd's and the dads go off on their own. he next day you switch.

Also, make sure everyone, especially the dds, understand that they may have to do something they hate because others in the group want to do this. Someone may hate IASW but that may be a ride the rest of the group has decided to do together. That person should understand they have to suck it up and not complain.

With a little advanced planning and realistic expectations you should have a great time.

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

Our family of six will be accompanied by MIL/FIL and BIL/SIL w/ 2yr-old niece. I think our tentative plan is to start days together, schedule some meals together and set up times/places to meet a couple times during the day so we'll have the option to stay together for awhile if everybody wants to do the same thing.

We plan to get together to do some pre-trip planning more to get a better understanding of everyone's expectations than to plan our days down to the minute.

Realistically, the kids will probably dictate what everyone does!

 

[Chip126]

Make a plan!!! I went in December 2001 with my two sons (9 & 12), my mom, my very good friend Laura, her two daughters (11 & 14), and her son (2).

Laura and I planned this trip for fifteen months before we went! I don't think a day went by that we didn't talk "DISNEY"! We planned all of our park days together, all of our priority seatings together (even called WDW-Dine together), and had monthly "Disney dinners".

We knew that there might be sometimes that we did things separately, but for the most part we all kind of hung together. By having a plan I think this avoided eight different opinions coming in at once. It just wasn't an option. We had everything decided on prior to leaving CT.

Overall, it was an excellent trip. We have many fond memories, we are still very close, and I certainly hope we can do it again some time.

I will be traveling this December with my sons, my mom, my SIL, my niece and my nephew and we plan to do the same thing.....make a PLAN!!! (In fact, it is almost done already)

Have a great time.........that is what is most important. If you need some time away from each other...take it! Disney is the happiest place on Earth so Enjoy it.

Kim

 

[InstImpres]

We did a family trip semi-successfully. I am the Dis planner in the family so I made my usual day by day chart putting in the parks and parades. I made PS for the whole party. I than gave everyone a schedule (well in advance) with complete descriptions of things (we did Pirate Cruise, Keys to the Kingdom, character meals, etc.) I asked them to make a decision on the $$ items and let me know within a week. (It was easy to scale back but not add on to PS),

They than all knew they could be with us in the places we were our go on their own. I left it to everyone else how much together time.

 

[beattyfamily]

I find all your tips and stories very interesting as this December will be our 5th Disney trip BUT our first inviting someone along. It will be my DH's brother and his family (DW and 2 DS's ages 7 and 10).

We've got 2 DD's ages 4 and 7 by then.

We're not exceptionally close to them but they are family. I've been concerned about everything; mostly too much time together and finances...

I'm going to try to look at it as a different kind of vacation than our previous trips. If I'm in that frame of mind maybe it won't be so bad.

I will schedule everything and discuss all ground rules and the schedule and see what they think.

Then we are also going to WDW Halloween 2004 with our good friends (2 DD's ages 6 and 4, DS age 2 by then; our DD's will be 5 and 8) They are our younger DD's Godparents. We are also going on the DCL cruise with them. I'm actually more worried about this trip because they are not family. It's a little different. They are also very cheap and the husband complains a lot if he doesn't get his way or if it's crowded or hot etc...but I'm just going to go with the flow. I'm preparing myself for this. I will definitely set ground rules about our resort rooms (sharing a 2 bedroom at BWV), finances, and the schedule with some alone time!!!

We love both these families and I believe with lots of planning and some get togethers before the trips to discuss every aspect of the trip will help us out a lot!

Thanks for the tips!