Family reunion at Disneyland

[Joluru]

We're planning a family reunion and 70th birthday party for MIL the first weekend of December and she and a few cousins are into the idea of a Disneyland celebration. Woo! But I'm the official planner and don't know where to start.

We'll need nearby hotels for 12 people, at least 1 ECV rental, 4 kids under 7, the best ideas for feeding a group affordably on vacation, etc.

If you've done a group trip , share your tips!

 

[Mama Who]

We're planning a family reunion and 70th birthday party for MIL the first weekend of December and she and a few cousins are into the idea of a Disneyland celebration. Woo! But I'm the official planner and don't know where to start.

We'll need nearby hotels for 12 people, at least 1 ECV rental, 4 kids under 7, the best ideas for feeding a group affordably on vacation, etc.

If you've done a group trip , share your tips!

My best group trip advice is to remember that the *entire* thing doesn't need to be the whole group. Be ready to split up in different configurations to suit various people's needs.

With an ECV and little kids I'd choose a hotel as close to maingate as possible. Trams and shuttles are too big a pain, IMO. We like the Tropicana, the Best Western Park Place Inn and Suites is fine too. I know HoJo has a kind of cult following but it's farther away than we find ideal- but I'm told some people find the kid pool there worth it. Depends on if you're pool people, I guess.

We tend to be indulgent on the food and eating out on vacation but we do pack snacks and sodas for the hotel because I cannot stand spending the upcharge on that sort of thing. A stop at Walmart on the trip down is worth it.

 

[Disney Dreams]

With a big group that is so varied, I would suggest setting a few "together times" each day and let the individual. Sub-groups within the family take it from there.

Ex: Day 1 - Everyone meets at X at Y:00am. Enter the park together. Family photo opportunity.

11:30am - Lunch at Rancho del Zocalo (for example)
2:00pm - Meet at the riverfront to ride the Mark Twain as a family
3:30pm - Meet at X for pre-parade seat saving. Watch parade.
6:00pm - Meet a Z for dinner together
8:00pm - Meet at A to hold spots for fireworks
8:40pm - Watch fireworks as a family
9:30pm - Meet at B to get spots for Fantasmic!
10:30pm - Watch F! together

People can show up for the "together times" if try want (or decide that those are MUST dos if you want). The time in between people can stay together, split up, do whatever. This allows people to do what they want and have family reunion time too.

It works for us...
Dreams

 

[AimberleeTwins]

We just returned from DLR with my extended family. There were a total of 15 of us, from 3 different states. I agree with Dreams, it would be impossible to all stick together the entire time. We had a total of 8 small children, plus parents and my Mom. It was great! We found a little planning went a long way, but we didn't try to over schedule if that makes. As for food, some of us could afford to buy a lot of food in the park, others were on a tighter budget (that was my family. We brought in a lot snacks, water bottles etc. and found that it worked great for my sister and I to meet up in the hotel in the morning and make sandwiches for everyone. We would eat as much of our own stuff for as long as possible, then at night, when we were tired of our own snacks we brought in, we would buy something for dinner. Anyway, that's what worked for us! Just my 2 cents!

 

[AimberleeTwins]

P.S. we got 4 hotel rooms at a nice, but inexpensive hotel in Fullerton ( we paid a total of $230 for our room for 4 nights, that included breakfast, free parking, wifi etc). We parked in the Toy Story lot (which is $15 a day, but we had free parking with our AAA tickets) . I know people like to stay as close to Disneyland as possible, and I was hesitant to stay that far away for sure, but it actually worked out ok. It was about a 20 min drive, but we were able to stop at the store every night on our way home to restock for the next day, and for the price, it was hard to beat.

 

[Carolynleanne]

Our last trip included both sides of the family from across Canada and the best advice I can give you is to get a hotel with suites that has a full kitchen.

We were all at the same hotel (Staybridge suites) but in three different rooms. Each room has a living area and kitchen where the family could meet up for games, socializing and meals. We aren't the kind of people who like to be in the park from opening to closing, so it was nice to have a place to relax together during our downtime.

We don't spend a lot of money on eating in the parks either. So on day 1 3 people did a grocery run and we always cooked at least one meal in our kitchens. Nothing fancy but it Worked out great

 

[Edgar702]

I am planning a family reunion for 70 people on December 2015. I was wondering if anyone had ideas or experience planning for such a large group. I am looking for dining and lodging suggestions. Thanks in advance!