Disney party of 16

[michelles1987]

I was originally planning a trip for just my 2 kids and I. Now my boyfriend, his two kids, my mom, and my sister and her big family are wanting to go also. What is the best way to plan this trip for this big of a party. My sisters family want to stay on site so they can get the dining plan but my family is not wanting the dining plan. I am guessing that staying at the same resort and just meeting up with each othere will be best. Also, my boyfriend is military so he gets the discount. Can he only use thr discount for 1 room or if he books multiple rooms does it apply? We are going unfortunately in June due to everyoneschedule. Any tips or suggestions on this trip?

 

[AlexisMaxMommy]

Wow! That's a large party, but it is doable. We have gone with my family, my parents, my brother, SIL and their two kids.

Obviously, you will need multiple rooms. Some of the resorts have family suites that can fit more people, but it still won't fit 16. If your boyfriend is military, he can get up to three rooms at Shades of Green. We have stayed there before and it's great and affordable. The standard rooms sleep five, and they have some suites that sleep more. The suites are limited though, so if you are interested in this, you need to check ASAP on availability.

We have never done the dining plan because the only meal we regularly eat out is dinner. I pack breakfast foods like muffins and pop-tarts which we eat before heading out. I also pack a jar of peanut butter, and when we get to the resort, I pick up a loaf of bread for peanut butter sandwiches to take in the park. If you have a microwave where you stay, Kraft Easy Mac cups and microwave popcorn are good things to take. One of my suitcases gets packed with this food and snacks, and then there is plenty of room in it to tack souvenirs home.

For the dining plan, you have no choice but to get it for every day that you are there, and I believe everyone in your reservation must have it. If your sister's family wants that, make sure all of your hotel and ticket reservations are separate.

 

[Gracie09]

I am planning a group of 16 in June myself. We have a mix of DVc resorts, annual passes, tiw and dining plans. We did each family unit separately. So my family of four has their own one-bedroom, annual passes and tiw. One sister has a two bedroom, park hoppers and dining plan etc. we treated each separately and then linked them. For dining reservations we decided on a couple meals together and at 180+10 I booked them. The only issue we had was with hoop de do. I would have had to pay $900 in advance because we had no dining plan but my sister with a dining plan couple book it without paying $$ down.
When we travel all together we have two rules 1) there are no rules except have fun 2) if your not having fun see rule 1, meaning we spend some time together and some time apart.
I don't know about the military discount except the shades of green books up fast so if you want that you better get on it

 

[chris31997]

Family meeting time

Yes your boyfriend can get rooms at the Shades of Green but verify that he can do it for you and your family. Don't know if he can because you are not married He also might be able to get you discounts on rooms but again verify that. We have only done this while married. It is limited. Also, can't do the dining plan there.

I would list the hotels and the cost factor for each of them. Sister might change her tune about having access to dining plan. Depending on how they eat it might not be a good deal. Also if one of her kids is in another room, that kid won't be on the dining plan or people in that room have to be. Last time I checked into this.

If you are going to book and plan everything you need an idea of everyone's budget. Otherwise, I would tell everyone where you are staying and the dates. Then when they book, you can get their reservations and link

Once that happens you can book a group dinner, breakfast whatever

I would keep the "schedule" pretty open and flexible

 

[AlexisMaxMommy]

We stayed at Shades of Green with some friends and had two rooms. We weren't married, so that shouldn't be a problem. I forgot to mention that our rooms at SoG included breakfast and dinner buffet each day! That saved an astronomical amount of money.