Family Trip- Please share your experiences

[disneyjunkie]

My son and I are making our 2nd visit to disney this Easter. I've been talking to my sister about taking her kids, but she was never interested. That all changed last week.


My niece(4) was watching the planning video with me and started
asking to go on my next trip. Of course I told she'd have to talk to her parents about going. Well less than 10 minutes later my sister calls and my niece begs her and her husband to go to disney. My BIL said maybe. That was on Sunday.

Wednesday my sister calls and told me to see if I could add her family to our reservation. Everything was fine until we got to the airfare. They're not going.


Yesterday she calls me again and says we're going. We book the airfare for them. A few hours later she calls back and says her SIL and her daughter wants to join us. After 1 1/2 hours on the phone with CRO I was able to add yet another room to our reservation.

So now a trip that started with just my son (12) and I includes my sister, her husband, their two kids mu niece 4,she'll be 5 next week)my nephew6, my sister's SIL and her daughter 10.

My son and I will be there April 2-11. Everyone else will be there
April 4-11.

Everyone is looking to me to do all the planning. I don't mind, actually looking forward to it. However, they want to sleep in and get to the parks whenever they feel like it.

I was telling everyone last night that we need to get to the parks early. One of them says to me "Tanya I don't think I can get up at 7:15." GET UP??? We need to be on the bus at 7:15.


I want everyone to enjoy this trip. If they do, then I think my sister will be able to help me talk other family members into going.

In order to ensure that we all have a good time, I think I may need to take it slow. My son and I can do the mad rush around the parks on the days that we are there alone. Then we can slow down and take it easy (yeah right) on the days that we are all together.

How do you plan for a large goup? What has worked best for you? What things failed? How did you handle meals? I'm thinking of doing one PS each day.

Please share your experiences.

Oh, one last thing. My sister's birhtday is on the 6th. Any ideas for making this day extra special?

 

[brerbearcreek]

This strikes close to home. We've spent the last four years taking WDW trips where we have taken different family members with us. Except for a trip in 2000 where we took both sets of parents (which went great - they were happy doing anything we planned), I've found that it just worked out best to make our schedule, make it clear that this is what we're doing and let it go from there. If anyone wanted to get up and go w/ us in the AM that was great, if they wanted to meet up a few hours later that was great too. If there was somewhere I thought everyone would enjoy eating I made PS for the group, if they went or not it was their choice.

What happened when we didn't do this was invariably someone was unhappy which put a damper on the whole thing. They didn't want to be up so early, they didn't want to eat here or there, etc. It was very frustrating, especially when so much work went into the coordination and planning.


For meals I pretty much booked on big meal a day which everyone was welcome to join (usually they did) and everyone ate on their own otherwise. One thing that caused huge problems was the whole "where do you want to eat?" thing while everyone was tired & grumpy in the park. When we took the parents everything was planned out from sunrise to bed and it worked great, but they were so agreeable and wanted to try everything. With the younger groups someone didn't like this food, were on this diet, etc etc.

It seemed like I spent all vacation stressed about being the planner & coordinator and making everyone happy. I was constantly worried that so & so didn't want to do this or someone else wasn't doing what they wanted, etc.

I just re-read this and it sounds so negative, I'm sorry.

Anyway, I hope you have a great time planning & a wonderful trip! Just remember, this is your vacation too!

 

[The Duchess]

I can feel you pain! The last two trips we (DH and DS who was 2 first trip, 4 second trip) went with my Mom and Stepdad...and we DROVE from Massachusetts. I was ready to call it quits and head home after two days. Fortunately, DH put his foot down and made rules. 1. In the morning we will let you know when and where we are going. If you want to join us fine, otherwise, you are on your own. 2. We will let you know our dining itinerary for the next day. We will need to know at least 12 hours in advance if you will be joining us so we can adjust the reservation.

On our first trip my parents stayed at Coronado Springs which was totally inconvenient for us at YC, so we insisted they stay at BC for the second trip.

Unfortunately, my stepdad passed away last October and my mom has been hinting she might like to go with us this October.
I hate to be a hard-hearted person, but we would like to go just the three of us this time, especially since we are going to make the driving trip in two days instead of three.

 

[OzFan]

My SIL and her family have been going to Disney with us for the last 4 years. It has kinda became our "thing".There were 11 of us. Well this year, we were talking with some friends about our trip and they decided it would be fun to join us. That made us a party of 15(6 adults and 9 children). As we are planning, my mother and step father decide to take their vacation and go to Disney with us. I'm thinking this is going to be a blast! The more the merrier! Without any hesitation I asked my sister if she would like to go, well lo and behold they are going too! So now we are up to 20!
The airfare was going to be a major decision if we were driving or flying, when I called ATA I asked if they have group rates, boy was I shocked when they said "yes"! We got an awesome rate for airfare. There will be 17 flying, with my sister (hubby hates flying) driving. As for hotels, we rented points from a DVC member and 17 of us are staying at Old Key West. My sister opted to stay off site.
We held a planning night watched the planning video, looked over maps and had a couple of books on hand. This gave all of us a pretty good idea of what everyone wanted to do.
The way we have worked it in the past is that we do a couple of meals together, and usually do some things together on the days we eat together.
Our children range from the age 1-13. So it is kinda hard to plan everthing everyone will like to do. We usually go our separate ways until we meet up to eat. We do a "first morning breakfast" and a "last night dinner." That seems to keep the budget on track. This year we are doing more character meals than in the past. I feel honored to plan and prepare. I am known in the family as the "Disney Nut" so I enjoy the hours of phone calls and hours of DIS board reading.
Just keep in mind "you can't please all the people all the time". If you plan by that wise saying you should have no trouble at all. Good Luck! Have fun!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Tell everyone where you will be each day. If they want to join you, set up a meeting place and time. No need to ruin your trip because they don't want to make the most of it.

Ask them if they would rather stand in a line for 15 minutes or 75 minutes. Ask them if they would rather ride Small World twelve times or ride Splash, Space, BTMRR, Pirates, Haunted Mansion, and Dumbo in the same time.

This is your son's second visit to WDW with you. Do you want to conform to their plans or have fun with your son? Just give them a basic plan of where and when. Maybe plan one or two group activities.

Based on their responses to your desire to get moving early each day, someone is going to be disappointed. Don't let that be you and your son. It's your vacation, too.

 

[tmfranlk]

brerbearcreek's advice sounds great.

I am planning a famiyl trip for 13 (4 infant/toddlers, 1 9yo, 8 adults) and am doing something fairly similar. I am going to devise a schedule as I would to it. Each adult will received a typed version of each day's basic itinerary, which will include parks, shows we're attending and where we plan to eat. Anyone that wants to go early in the morning is welcome to join us. Those that want to sleep in can just meet up with us later.

As for meeting, I think I might have a scheduled meeting time, say 11:00 at Cosmic Rays for lunch to encourange the others to get there by a certain time. However, they can also call when they get to the park and find us by cell phone.

As for meals, I am planning one sit down late lunch/early dinner (3ish) a day for the whole group. It won't be required, but I am anticipating that everyone will be there. This way we can all get together at least once a day and kids can trade who they are touring with if they want to.

At the parks, it will be up to individuals if they want to split up. My sister and I are planning to keep the 4 little ones together for the most part and the other adults can stay with us or go do other things if they want.

Good luck with your planning and have a great trip!

 

[jann1033]

we are planning an "extended family trip" for Nov and fortuantely all have been there and all want to go our separate ways sometimes and meet sometimes...

I would do the "must do's" for you on the days before they get there and once they are there, meet them in the parks at a certain time if they don't want to get up. maybe do what they would not be as interested in or things you would want to do more than once (TOT!!!) before they get there.

it's everyone's vacation and this way everyone gets what they want..if they want to get up, they can meet you earlier or what ever. we went once with a family of sleepiheads and by about the 3rd day were ready to scream cause we got sick of sitting around waiting when they refused to get up and get ready..never again.

 

[WDSearcher]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie
I want everyone to enjoy this trip.

This is the most important line of your entire post, IMO. If you truly want everyone to enjoy this trip, you need to realize that your definition of "enjoy" is probably different than theirs. If part of them enjoying the trip is that they get to sleep in and loll by the pool, then be sure they get time to do that. Remember that there is no minimum amount of time in-park that defines "an enjoyable vacation." Some people need to be there every single day. Others enjoy a more casual approach. But I would keep the schedules flexible too. If your family gets hit straight-on by the Disney magic and decides that "power touring" is what they really need to be doing, be sure you have that schedule ready!

 

[disneyjunkie]

Thanks everyone.

I'm sure we will all have a great time as long as we respect each others vacation style.

I'm looking forward to watching my sister's kids reaction to all of the magic.

While we were watching the planning video, my niece asked me if the disney people would let her go into the castle.

None of the kids know about the trip. My son knows we're going sometime this year. He doesn't know that my sister's family will be joining us.

Thanks again.

 

[DisneyMomOK]

H11111111

 

[jann1033]

just an additional yet very important thought espec. with little kids..... make everyone potty break at the same time, not ifs ands or buts ( no pun intended) otherwise you spend hrs in the bathroom and inevitably the one who refuses to go is dancing as soon as you reach the front of the line. been there!

 

[abitjaded]

Reread the Delswife trip reports, reconsider, tell the rest of your family you changed your mind, then sneak off just with your son.

Or......

Spit up, split up, split up. Make a schedule, tell everyone where you will be. Tell everyone what time you are leaving. THEN DO IT. Make each family purchase a set of multi-channel family radios and stay tuned to it. Supply everyone with extra batteries. Then they can find you if they want to. Make one PS a day based on where YOU want to eat. Split it among several tables, so you can get whoever shows up seated and book off the rest of your group. Do not wait around for anyone at any time. Everyone will be a lot happier ( and if you have participants who do want to do everything, but can never show up on time, lie about the time, set it 1/2 hour sooner if you need to.) And as Jann suggested make everyone, even the adults, go to the restroom at the same time. And make everyone buy a snack from the same cart at the same time. Or you WILL spend the whole day finding one-toilet-at-a-time-one-bucket-of-popcorn-for-just-one-person at a time. Trust me, this I know.

Force all attendees to buy the same guidebook or several. If they won't do it, then do it for them. Force them to read it so you are not the guide for a crowd of thousands.

If you stay on property and have a group greater than 8 Disney will give you a "web site" to communicate with all. Call their "Grand Gatherings". Let them do the arranging for you.

Get valium. Take it. Learn a mantra. Hum it. Good luck.

Oh, and don't leave your sense of humor at home.

See my trip reports, the first WDW days at the Cruise Trip Report Boards to see why I give the above advice. The above advice is based on healthy families that will not get lost or arrested if left to their own devices, not MY family contingent on this trip:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?threadid=496325

Carla

 

[Mduff]

Last year DH and I took our 4 year old DS and 3 month old DD to Disney for our first Vacation Club vacation. We asked my parents to join us - they live in Boca Raton and drove up. It was my dad's first meeting with his new granddaughter. Dad had always had a negative view of Disney - just for kids he thought. He loved it! I planned the trip, put together an itinerary and booked everything. We told them where and when and they went along with everything. There wasn't anything they didn't enjoy. We left Dad at the BC when we spent the afternoon at the Marketplace.

Dad loved Disney so much he decided to take us and my sister and her family (BIL and 2 kids, 6 and 9) this year. My sister hates the idea but since Daddy is paying, she's not passing up a free vacation. Right from the start she's been fighting me on planning - she wouldn't let me make any reservations for her so now has a connecting flight from MA to Orlando. She hates the accomodations - we're using our VC points, she says the kids can't get up early, can't eat late, won't do character meals, won't do rides, yada yada yada. So I told my mother I am putting together our itinerary and she and my dad will have to decide where to go and with who. My DS will want to be with his 6 year old cousin so we'll probably have him with us. I've planned all the dinners together as a group but if sis wants to eat somewhere else, she's on her own. She refuses to read anything about the place and won't listen to anything I have to say.

Can you believe I have to spend a week in a 2-BR setup with her?? I better be inhaling that Pixie Dust all week!!!

Sorry for the rant but my advice is plan what you want to do and welcome anyone who wants to tag along with you.

I'm hoping sis will see what a wonderful place Disney is once she's there. How can she not, right???

Marla

 

[nigel-bigel]

The airfare was going to be a major decision if we were driving or flying, when I called ATA I asked if they have group rates, boy was I shocked when they said "yes"! We got an awesome rate for airfare.

Who is ATA?

Thanks, Nicole

 

[goofy4tink]

You can't make everyone happy! I tried this two years ago. ANd we only traveled with 4 adults and two dd's!!! The other dad just didn't want to get going in the morning. Only wanted to sit at the bar or sit by the pool with a beer in hand or hit the arcade. He actually tried convincing his dd that that is the 'fun' thing to do. I would have a plan ready. Let everyone know what this plan is. Make some flexible plan on a few dinners together. Maybe different groups can do different things and the next day the groupings can change. A big crowd can be fun but it can be a disaster waiting to happen. Try to be laid back and flexible. The Magical Gatherings should be able to help also.

 

[mmeb144]

ATA = American Trans Air Airplane company

Marie

Just to add my 2 cents to the debate. I like the "This is what we are doing" approach. This way, you get your vacation, and, your family is welcome to join you at certain points of their choosing.

 

[poohnpiglet3]

Wow! What fantastic advice! THanks everyone - I know I wasn't the one who posted this, but it has been so helpful. We plan on taking 3 sets of our friends down (3 married couples and DH and I) in a few years and this advice will be much needed I'm sure.

Thanks again.

Sherri

 

[hipporina]

A big group trip can be a WONDERFUL thing. In 2000, we went with all of my family. There were 11 of us including 2 couples with kids, 2 couples without kids, and our grandmother. We stayed on property so that we could all come and go as we pleased and it worked out great. Since we were on tight budgets, we didn't meet for fancy meals, but we did meet for parades sometimes. We all took walkie-talkies/2-way radios (definately worth the money) and met up with each other if we were close and wanted to. I was also surprised that we actually bumped into each other several times on accident.

We did not try to all stay together as we all wanted different things out of the trip, and that worked out perfect for everyone. We all had such a great time that we are planning on all going again in August 2005, except now there will be at least 16 of us!

The best advice I have is to get the 2-way radios and split up when you want. And of course, have fun!

 

[kilee]

We did a trip for 12 this past 11/03. I planned it ALL. Other than me, DH & Ds-- the other 9 all newbies. I wanted this to be their "once in a lifetime trip". We had 9 adults, 3 kids--- 10, 6 & 16mo. Well, I researched I made daily plans so everyone would know the general where-abouts and I read every post I could find on this board about large groups. Some advice was good, others take as a grain of salt. Because each group is unique, what works is too.

Some members of my group where just too needy to give them the days events and say this is where we will be. Also, they wanted to hear my stories, my knowledge, the history I did know about Disney. So alone time wasn't really to be had.

We had the one's that wanted to sleep in. That was okay too, they were a bit more independent. They did follow my schedule and always found us by 11am.

Navigating a group of 12 isn't easy. Everyone walks at their own pace. This was the most frustrating aspects of the whole trip. It took 30 minutes to walk from The Barnstormer to the train in Toontown .

Someone always has to go to the bathroom-- I swear. We just stopped for Susie and Joe not 5 minuntes ago, but now Bill and Ted have to go (the adults were the worst at this).

The bottom line was, they all looked to me for EVERYTHING. It was their vacation. Now matter how many times I chanted the dis posts of "remember it's your trip too" in my head. They dictated most of my time. Which was to be honest alittle stressful.

The brighter side of the coin is-- the memories were great. I was sad when it was all over because I knew this was a once in a lifetime event. I would do it again. But only once every couple years. Because in the meantime I need to have my trips too. Where I can control most everything!!

Enjoy-- just remember no matter what I post or anyone else does-- the unpredicatable is bound to happen.

 

[Party Teacher]

LaTanya,

You've been planning this trip for quite some time now. Let them see your itinerary complete with menus. Adjust the PS's as necessary. Show the adults the video if they don't want to let the kids know. Get them a guide book. Plan an adult meeting to discuss plans and by all means, DON'T let them talk you out of what you have planned for YOUR trip. Take the advice to split up and take walkie talkies or cel phones. Your son is not going to want to do what the "little kids" do. I know my daughter would rather DIE than go on Dumbo! LOL

Oh, and check your PM's for an idea about the birthday surprise.

Party Teacher