Anyone planning a family reunion?

[Pet1021]

I am hoping on planning a family reunion with my mother, aunt, uncle and 3 cousins and my husbands mom, dad, brother, sister and spouse..and of course my children.....total of 15 people......any suggestions on how to work this with rooms and such...... any info on grand villa vs 2 br/1 bedrooms? Have plenty of time to think this thru...not going till next August. Which resort is best for this type of group with stuff to do there as well. Children are ages 4 thru 11 yrs old.

Thanks for you help

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Due to their enormous size, I think you could fit everyone into a 2BR unit at OKW!

Okay maybe not. What is your home resort? My answer would depend on which resort you call home.

HBC

 

[WOW]

We did this last June with 21 people. My closest relatives stayed with us in a 2 bedroom. All others made their ressies at their choice of resort at their expense. Everyone didn't arrive or depart at the same time. We had our days free to do what we wanted and had our evenings together.....dinner, illuminations, etc. It was a great experience and fun for all

 

[Pet1021]

home resort is BCV...

Sorry didn't add that!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

The nice things about the BCV is that you can get either dedicated or lock offs for the 2BR's. The lock offs are nice for your situation because the person staying on each side gets to have their own entrance an exit into the hallway.

It sounds like with two sides of the family going that you will still need more than two units. Only you know your family and if they will be able to bunk together or not.

Good luck. Have fun planning.

HBC

 

[Sabor]

OLD KEY WEST.

I would get at least one 2BR and the rest can be broken down into Studios. (or multiple 2Brs.)
We 23 relatives A few years back . Got an OKW Grand VIlla (will be hard in your case not home resort), 1 2br and 3 studios.

The Grand Villa gives you a good place to meet and hang out.
We did some cooking in and had a BBQ at the Turtle Pond Pool.

Even a 2BR or 1BR at OKW would give you a decent kitchen/Living Room/ Balcony where you all can meet up and not be Overly Cramped - Impossible at any other DVC Resort 1 or2br.

 

[Pet1021]

 

[madcoco]

We are trying to survive one right now here at OKW 23 of us. 1 2BDR, 2 1BDR and 2 studios. It's a lot of fun trying to keep up with everyone. OKW is the way to go if you want the extra space. Have fun.

 

[wdwstar]

we have one planned for christmas this year, 14 people.
vwl 3 nights, bcv 4 nights, ssr 4 nights. vwl for that real christmas feeling, the bcv because of location and hopefully swimming at sab, ssr because of the closeness of dtd, we will be ready to hang out and just do dtd and enjoy new years eve at ssr.

there are 6 children, 6 to 16. we just started our 6 months kick off, we sent invites to the kids, then we will send hints and games each week thru the mail and they have to play the games answer the questions and keep a log to bring with to disney. each person will win dd and prizes. this is to get the kids geared up and keep them busy. we are gooing to buy throw away cameras and they have to take pictures of certain item at which ride is this item displayed & etc. at christmas time it will be very crowed and we dont want the kids to get bored and antys with the croweds.

we have 2-2 bedrooms for our group. we thought about the GV, but vwl & bcv dont have the GV and ssr has one but by the end of our trip 8 of my family members are leaving 2 nights early and the gv will be a waste for the 6 of us and using the points on the weekend like that would be crazy.

just make it clear to evryone that all of you are not connected at the hip and see if you can plan your days out and give everyone a calander of events and dont forget to plan free days,( where anyone wants to go or do)

enjoy !

 

[Pet1021]

you have all been so helpful

 

[Granny]

Just don't read any of the many threads about bringing family.

I thought Psycho was scary until I started reading them!!

 

[lenshanem]

I planned a great huge trip with BOTH my family and hubby's family for New Years 1999/2000. It was like the big millennium trip. I spent so much time organizing everything, asking where everyone wanted to eat, etc. Made PSs accordingly, getting up early to make sure our party size could get a PS during this busy time. It was not easy. Then come trip, half our party didn't show up to most of the PSs, a couple of the teens wanted to sleep in the room all day, etc. I had dreamed this wonderful trip up and it was nothing like I imagined! I learned my lesson!
My parents liked my efforts, but the in-laws sure didn't! If I go with them again I won't plan a thing! (We're going to VB with them next summer and that is gonna be hard enough! )
I'm going to BCV next month with my family and they wanted me to plan the PSs. Everyone is different for sure!

Unfortunately and fortunately, our parents had a HUGE falling out so future trips together are not an option anymore! They'll all have to be done separately, which is a good thing cause our vacation styles are VERY different.

Best of luck!

 

[gracelrm]

I just returned from a week at VWL with 17 family members (DH's family). Here's a few things I learned:
1. No matter how clear you make the timelines for cancellations - someone won't get it!
2. We had 2 dedicated 2BR and 1 studio and I asked for the dedicated thinking people would rather have a bed than folding out the couch daily. Next time, I'd get the lock-offs so there would be two doors out instead of just one and there'd be a little more privacy.
3. Don't plan on trying to keep the group together - that was very frustrating for me. We did a great deal of "hurry up and wait" which drives me crazy! Maybe just plan a few meals as a group.
4. Someone suggested on this board that you figure out how many rooms are needed and get all but one on points and get one on cash. Split the cost of the cash room among everyone and then if someone bails at the last minute - you can cancel that room and not be out the points. I wish I had known to do that.
5. Valium is good!

 

[chainkid]

I have done several family reunions at the BWV from 15-24. We have gotten four standard view two bedrooms that Disney put all together which made the whole corridor ours. It was a perfect set up. We planned three family dinners in a 10 night trip. One was at Chef Mickeys to begin, then Cape MAy Buffet followed by Cirque du Soleil in the middle, and a farewell dinner at Ohana's. In between everyone made their own plans for favorite spots meals. We had one 15 passenger van for traveling plus a couple of reg autos otherwise we used Disney transport. During the day some of us who have neen there done that types hung out and gabbed while others hit the parks commando style. We all hit Jellyrolls almost everynight for a few hours and the the sports nut spent lots of time at ESPN. Other than my MOM who is 85 and won't be going again because she gets way to bossy and cranky we all keep coming back for more time together. The key is to forget about planning for everyone or you will go nuts and its never appreciated even when free like the room costs. Plan for your family and let others know but let them pay for anything special or you will end up footing the bill when they cancell. So far we have had only minor annoyances. I will only book my families airfare as I have been stiffed before when someone drops out at the last minute. All in all it can be wonderful if you don't try to be too controlling because you are the disney expert. It kills me to see them waste time by not following my guidelines but I get over myself real quick or my son will put me in my place real fast. Have fun

 

[lillasmom]

Sounds like you are planning a wonderful trip. Have a great time!

 

[TwirlerGirl]

I am in the mists of planing a family reunion for 14 in May of 2005. I called MS yesterday and talked with a very nice CM. She informed me that there has been some very good changes to MG that makes the process less time consuming on both sides. After your intial contact with MS, you are given a ID immediately. No more conference calls or long waits on the phone. Once you are assigned an ID, contact will be made by email from MG CM's to help you with your planning. If you prefer, you can contact MG staff by phone but the email will work well for me.

If you have any additional information, please let me know. This is a big undertaking, I have learned from past experience not to expect everything to go perfectly.

The best advice I can give you is : not everyone will want to do the same thing at the same time and that's alright. You can suggest a parks for each day. Tell them when you are leaving and you hope to see them there. Do not wait for any group. If they are late you can always call or have a time set to meet somewhere in the park. Make it a general rule - no one waits more than 15 minutes before you move out - no hard feelings. Make sure you let them know you are there to help make their time at WDW a wonderful experience but it is up to them to make their own plans in general. If you try to plan everything and something doesn't work for even one person, you might feel responsible. Don't let this happen to you. It's your vacation as well. Happy planning!

Sandy

 

[Coach Rick]

I am doing one in August with 11, but it seems not everyone is as Disney crazy as I am...Imagine that None the less, it is a big undertaking to say the least, and all the planning falls to me, or we would probably just sit in our rooms all day.

We are staying at OKW, using 1 - 2 br, and 2 - studios. I will agree with those who remind you that not everyone will like the same thing. I can't even get everybody to agree on the amount of days to go to the parks. So instead, I am opting to do a couple of things together, and let everyone do their thing on their own. Good luck, and have a great time, I know I am.

 

[CarolA]

So how many will a GV fit.

I have 23 family members that I would like to "try" and get together one more time. I know my Mom would like it, but.... So I know I would need a Grand Villa, but what else?

I thought maybe about just providing lodging M-F (checking out on Friday) with two meals and using a Grand VIlla as point central. My uncles could play golf and tennis and the little ones could go see Mickey. (Some of them probably have NO desire to see anything at Disney LOL!) Everyone would be on thier own for tickets and meals with maybe one of the Grand Gathering type things one evening. (I would love to do the Epcot desert event, I might could get one of my well to do uncles to spring for it!)

 

[Dgentrysim]

We've had two family reunions within the last 3 years. The first one was at WDW at OKW....we had 18 people...so we reserved one villa and one studio (for my parents). Everyone did their own thing and we ate together at night. The next reunion was for my husband's family and we had it at HH for 23 people. We had a villa, and 2 studios. Some of the smaller kids slept on air mattresses...but we have tons of room. Good luck on your reunion! Both sides of our family are still talking about how much fun they had and how much they appreciated it! I believe you need to take advantage of every chance you get to have your whole family together...you never know when/if it'll happen again! Good luck! Hope some can answer a question for me...how do you put at the end of your message all the times you stayed at WDW and where? I've seen that on a lot of the posts I've seen.

 

[Pet1021]