Family Breakfast Meeting?

[NightAngelX]

Hello! I am in the initial planning stages of a big family trip with DH's family. We won't be staying in the same room but we plan to stay at the same resort. The plan is to eat breakfast and dinner together and the rest of the day can be together or apart. For breakfast, instead of relying on a quick service or sit down meal I was thinking there could be some place on the resort to 'meet up and eat' with things we bought at the store (like bagels, etc). DH's suggestion was that we all get club level and eat together at the club level area. We plan to stay deluxe but I really want to stick to the standard rooms. Deluxe is already busting our budget but his family is very traveled and would not like a mod or value. We don't have an exact hotel picked out yet (I am waiting for sales), but is it realistic to plan on picking a table in the main lobby (or some balcony or table) of one of the deluxe resorts and telling everyone to meet there or will it be a madhouse in the morning? I've only been twice before and both times we never eat at the resort because there are so many people there, we didn't attempt the QS.

For dinner we just plan to make ADRs for all the dinners.

Any other ideas for the breakfast meet?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[powellrj]

If it were me I would forget the breakfast meeting. You may have some people who want to sleep in and other people who want to be at rope drop. Either way you will have someone who is unhappy. Stick with the evening meal. Also unless you know everyone's budget, it's asking a lot to have them book club level.

 

[Thing 1]

That would not work for our family. I am going to be at the gate by 30 minutes before it opens and my nephew might be up by noon. Too much time and confusion. What might work is choosing a park for each day and encouraging each family to stay in that park, but not necessarily together. Each family can arrive when they choose and maybe have a mid-morning snack, hookup place that you could all touch base if you want to. With cells it really is not to hard to stay in touch, but with each person making their own FP, really planning much might be sort of difficult.

 

[happymommy]

I agree to skip the breakfast idea as well. My kids like to sleep in at Disney most days, but a few times DD and I will be up and out early (and DS and DH may be asleep, or DS is asleep and DH is hitting the gym or going for a run).

Also, if deluxe is busting your budget, allow each family to choose the resort that suits them. Meet up for dinner, and that way you can share what you did that day.

I've done large group trips. They are complicated and difficult, and while many folks cherish these, I personally hated dealing with likes and dislikes of the others (I have some picky family members). I find it much more relaxing to enjoy Disney with just my immediate family (or once, my friend and I just took all our kids and had a nice time, did many things together but split up as well, she's very easy going and the kids were all friends and had fun).

My favorite trips were just me and DH before kids, plus us 4 when the kids were really little, and now DD and I enjoy our girls only trips. I won't ever go again with any extended family!

 

[verleniahall]

I agree to skip the breakfast meeting.

Are you planning everyone's FP+?

Maybe a nice gesture would be to make up a daily itenary for each family and at night slip it under their door for them to have in the AM

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

I echo skipping the breakfast eating. I don't eat breakfast. I'm up early and at the parks before rope drop and I'm there until close. I suggest formulating a rough plan before the trip and then maintaining some type of group chat via text message to update one another and finalize plans.

 

[HopperFan]

I have been part of many mixed family/friends trips where we stayed in different rooms/same hotel and different hotels. The one thing I've learned over many trips is NO BREAKFAST plans together. It is always best to meet for lunch or dinner when you are sure everyone is on their way or there. Eating in your rooms will be much easier and puts no pressure on anyone to be up, dressed and hauling their food to a meeting place at a specific time first thing.

 

[pooh4evr]

It would drive me nuts to have to wait on others in the morning, we get to the parks for rope drop though.

 

[TwoMisfits]

I'll echo the "skipping breakfast" crowd. I'd do less food meet ups (since food is through the roof at Disney) and more activity meet ups (like plan an afternoon or late evening at the pool, a walk in Disney Springs, etc). So, in a week, you could do 4 dinner meet ups, 2 pool meet ups (one afternoon and one late night), and one Disney Springs meet (which could become an activity, like Splitsville, or a meal, or drinks, or stay as a walk and family photo pic) as an example.

 

[Baklava]

Determine the time that *you* want to do breakfast and invite others to join you, but otherwise, skip the breakfast meeting idea. Nothing makes for a miserable vacation like one person mad because they missed rope drop and another mad because they were woken too early.

 

[kreckl]

Since you are planning on dinner together each night, I would use that time to talk about the next day. Might be fun to go over it after you've eaten and are all settled and fed
I agree that people may want to do different schedules in the morning.
I also love the idea of providing something in writing- even if its a group text- of your plans for am and dinner reminders, etc.

 

[ajwolfe]

We've done 2 group trips over the years. One with family and one with friends.
On the family trip we determined a time the night before that we were all comfortable getting up and going at.
On the friends trip it was more or less planning what park we would be in and that we would meet up in time for our first fp+.
In both scenarios everyone had the basic itinerary for the trip ahead of time and we only had to discuss quickly the night before in case there was any changes for anyone.
The only time we did breakfast together in any of these cases was when we actually had an ADR for a breakfast meal. Otherwise everyone did their own thing and was ready when they said. I wouldn't want to deal with meeting in a common space for breakfast every morning.