Family trip for all ages

[Hsyounger]

We are planning a trip for a group 22 people (four family groups) to visit Disney next year. I am looking on Disboards for helpful information.

 

[mamaanna]

What kind of information are you looking for? Where to stay? Planning tips for that many people? Has anyone in the party ever been before?

 

[Hsyounger]

We are really trying to narrow down the beat place to stay. We’d like to have that Disney resort experience: nice pools, riding the monorail etc.

 

[HopperFan]

We are really trying to narrow down the beat place to stay. We’d like to have that Disney resort experience: nice pools, riding the monorail etc.

Without knowing how your numbers break down into families/groups .... before I did anything I would ask each group what their maximum per night budget is. That will direct you to which Disney hotels are an option.

And if their budgets and desires vary widely, don't rule out staying at different Disney hotels. We have done it often and it works very well.

 

[NYCgrrl]

Knowing how many people in each room is important too. Some resorts only allow 4 guests plus 1 under three per standard room, others have a higher limit.

For such a large group I’d consider allowing each family to pick their own hotel and meet for meals and other experiences.

 

[Hsyounger]

Without knowing how your numbers break down into families/groups .... before I did anything I would ask each group what their maximum per night budget is. That will direct you to which Disney hotels are an option.

And if their budgets and desires vary widely, don't rule out staying at different Disney hotels. We have done it often and it works very well.

That’s an idea! Thanks for your input!

 

[HopperFan]

That’s an idea! Thanks for your input!

From experience if you can narrow this scope a hard job becomes much easier.

 

[Rory607]

That is a big group! I agree that splitting up and letting each group pick their lodging would simplify things. Other than that, I would talk with everyone about their expectations for the trip. It’s going to be tricky to tour with that many people, as far as rides and ADR’s. Find out what each group’s priorities are and make a list of absolute must-do things. See what overlaps and go from there.

 

[sponica]

From my experience with much smaller groups, I think these apply whether it's a group of 2 or 22:

Find out from all involved:
1) What is the purpose of the trip? Is it a DISNEY trip that happens to include all these people OR is it a GROUP trip that happens to be at Disney? They are very different and if group A thinks it's a disney trip but group B thinks it's a group trip, conflict will arise
2) Budget-Hotel wants. How much is every unit willing to spend? What do they need/want from a hotel? I like Pop but I also have Polynesian on my bucket list. I can afford Pop on short notice, Polynesian would take a little longer.
How many sleeping surfaces/bathrooms do people need in a room?
3) Are there MUST DOs as a group?

 

[Hsyounger]

These are great questions!! I am going to put them on my list for our meeting this afternoon. I honestly think we will do a budget trip this time around and then plan for our future bucket list trip. Let this trip be our learning experience.

 

[DeeBee3]

Yeah, budget would be #1 in my opinion because that's a lot of people. Monorail and all that can be enjoyed no matter where you stay - resort exploration could be part of the trip! Not just the parks.

Any resort on or near the monorail is very expensive. However, there are also moderate or value resorts that have the Skyliner or boats so there is a lot to think about!

Good luck.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

You will find this topic frequently on here, just look up topic..
One topic I just read about house (airbnb) vs hotel and so on

 

[pjacobi]

Run! Run away fast!

It's impossible to plan a trip for 22 people and 4 families. Each family needs to make their own plans.

You can be a source of Disney information for each family, but they will probably ignore your advice.

The best you can do is to pick a time and date for a particular group activity that everyone should attend. The rest of time, everyone will be off doing their own thing.


-Paul

 

[MainMom]

Run! Run away fast!

It's impossible to plan a trip for 22 people and 4 families. Each family needs to make their own plans.

You can be a source of Disney information for each family, but they will probably ignore your advice.

The best you can do is to pick a time and date for a particular group activity that everyone should attend. The rest of time, everyone will be off doing their own thing.


-Paul

Its not impossible. I’ve done it. The number one thing is that you are all on the same page.
Are you going to tour together or separately? Together for how long? The morning then everyone does their own thing in their own thing in the evening? Meet up for one meal per day? Are you doing rope drop? Do you have people who like to sleep in?

My large family guidelines:
We tour together. (My family prefers this.)
I make the plans they follow (they prefer this.)
We rope drop.
No one gets mad if someone decides to sleep in or do something else.
If we are at the bus/monorail/ car and it shows up we are leaving without you. * I feel this rule is VERY important if you plan to tour together in any number. The main complaints I have seen on these boards with group trips over the years is because family A is ready to go and they have to wait for family B and miss valuable park time.

This is what works for us, but the main thing is that my family AGREES to this.

 

[chainkid]

I have handled as many as 42 people on a trip . I am the disney guru so if you want to experience everything with minimal weights then you stick with my family. No one has to stay together. I plan three family meals for a 10 day trip. I make dinner reservations for each family based on their choices. In the evening we often meet for drinks before heading out to the parks . We normally rope drop in the morning but return to villas by midday to swim or chill out. This works well for nap time for younger as well as older members of the group. With advent of cell phones its incredibly easy to hook up later and meet in the parks with the early birds. My hands down favorite resort is BWV because everyone can access the parks without a car. Don't insist on spending all your time together as everyone has a different idea of what their vacation should be. I made it a point from day one to tell people we were heading to a park early and we don't wait for you. if you are running late just call when you get to park. Our vacation time is precious so we don't hang in room . Been on over 40 trips as a DVC member bringing guests and have only had one problem guest. Needless to say they were never invited back no matter how many times they hinted.

 

[Boopuff]

When we had our family group we planned to meet up once a day for a meal then everyone did their own thing. I personally can’t deal with traveling in a pack. The grandparents floated amongst the individual groups.