Family of ten....advice....

[Poohbeck]

I am looking for advise from anyone who has gone to Disney in a family group. We, husband and I, are going with my parents and sister & family in November. We will total ten which includes six adults and 4 boys (ages at the time 7.5, 6, 4.5, 1.5). I have the older two boys. We have already had one meeting about the details, at that time I stated that we should be able to all go about our own way at times. My parents then suprised us by saying we only need spending money, so I really felt bad about saying we don't always need to stay togethter. I don't want to break up the group too much, my parents want to be able to share their grandchildren. But, I am a planner. I like all my Disney reservations made a head of time and I like to know what I'm doing each day. I have been making all the plans so far.

Anyway, does anyone have any advise for me. I like to walk fast to beat the crowds, I like to try and be first. This will be hard to do with a group of ten. My sister and I are total opposites by the way.

I have already made the Hoop Dee Doo reservatoins for us as a group. any other ideas....please...

 

[toystoryduo]

Poohbeck~
Welcome to the DIS! You will find a ton of great information here and a lot of friendly people.

We are also trying to plan a vacation for our family of 15 people. Like you, I am a planner. I like to know what I am doing and when I am doing it. Some of my family members are so laid back, that if I didn't plan the vacation, then they wouldn't go at all. Since our personalities are so different, this is proving to be a challenge. However, through a lot of research and advice from fellow DISers, I think we should be able to do this family vacation.

Have you ordered the Disney World DVD? They have information there about family outings called, Magical Gatherings. If you are staying at a Disney resort, this will be very helpful to you. It also goes through the parks and resorts. It is wonderful!

On another board, this thread was posted:
http://disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=490286

In this thread, people have given advice as to family gatherings and what to expect. There is good information there!

Hope this helps! Have a "magical" vacation!

 

[SYDNCLAIRESMOM]

We have a group of 16 going in late Oct to early Nov and like you we were worried about conflictions on the schedule thing. And also like you I have a mother-in-law that insists on paying for everything.
We have four families going--all with different ideas on how to attack Disney so...
This is what we decided:
I downloaded the Magical Gatherings itinerary from the Disney website and told eveyone that we can vote on activities that we want to do BUT we will MEET anywhere we decide. (No waiting till sister gets out of the shower or brother in law wakes up from his nap etc...) We will vote on which park to do per day and plan 2-3 very loose itieraries with key attraction to be hit and everyone can pick which direction they want to go in. We have kids from ages 4-14 going, so one plan is not going to cut it for everyone.
Basically what I see happening is that we will be spending mostly meals together. This seemed fair to everyone and Mom-mom and Grandpop are content to follow us anywhere as long as they are with thier babies. They will be probably flip flop between families.
Our goal is to stay in the same vicinity (resort & park) at all times, so that we are all close, but do our own things. We are all bringing our cell phones so that we can keep in touch with ideas for lunch etc...
Make sure you keep the lines of communication OPEN so that nobodys feelings get hurt once you get there.
And most importantly have fun!!! Disney is perfect for families to get together and make memories!!

 

[Gillian]

Sounds fun!

Since you are the planner, go ahead and plan! I have found that others in my family actually like knowing what they're doing each day. Takes the pressure off them, LOL. If you are all onsite, each family can get to the park when they want and go back for a nap if they need to.

Making one dinner or lunch PS together every day is a great way for you all to spend some as a group. You could look into the campfire/movie at FW (free) and some character meals. If you plan a relaxing day, maybe a character breakfast together also?

A water park visit is a good thing to do all together.

Just plan your together time and meeting places in advance. Try to stick to them. Be flexible about the rest and it should all work out!

 

[cajunmommy]

We did a group of 17 two years ago (my two DSisters and their families plus my DD and DSM). We didn't have the luxury of DD "sponsoring" the trip, so it was basically our four families on vacation at the same time in the same place.

We had two scheduled dinners with everyone. The rest was basically go at your own pace. One DSis actually had two other families that they hung out with more than our own extended family (we figured we had probably 100 people from our hometown all on vacation at the same time!!)

We took our time (we had very little ones in tow) and met up when we could. DD and DSM hung around with the grandkids some of the time, then went their own way others. Because of the age spread, it was easier than trying to stay together and make the little ones wait while the big kids rode the thrill rides, or force the big kids on the "baby" rides.

Just remember - PATIENCE!! It's vacation, so enjoy it. If you don't get to do everything, Disney will still be there with lots more to do next time!