First Time Planning a Family Trip.... Help!

[Bailey22]

My family and I are big Disney people, always have been. Up until now my mom has been the planner for any and all vacations we've taken as a family, but this year I'm in charge and it's a little overwhelming trying to make sure everyone will be happy and have a good time.

While I've been on a couple of solo trips recently and my sisters (21 and 16) and brother (23) have been over the last few years, they've been separate trips where we aren't all together. Factor in my parents, my brother's girlfriend, and her 3 year old son and it's a lot more difficult than when I'm just planning for myself!

My brother's girlfriend and her son have never been to Disney before, but the rest of us have and I am very familiar with the Fastpass system, reservations, etc. so I don't need advice on all of that. My question is has anyone traveled with a similar group before, and how did you structure your days to keep everyone happy? What was the best times of the day for your group to be together, and when did you typically split up to let people do their own thing?

Just looking for advice on the best ways to make sure everyone enjoys their trip since everyone's ideal Disney trip is a little different! We'll definitely be structuring a lot of it around the little one, but we've done other amusement parks that way in the past and it can get frustrating for everyone when we bypass all of the big rides to make sure we cover all the kid stuff together as a family.

 

[tinkerjo]

My biggest advise is to let everyone do their own thing. The worst trip is when you have a gigantic group going from ride to ride. You don’t get anything accomplished. We go on a lot of big extended family trips and typically meet up for dinner and parade/show at night. If we see each other in the park we may say “hey we’re going on ..... do you want to come with us?” Everyone has their own opinion on favorite rides, different Children’s Ages, touring plans (some like RD some may like park close) etc. so I would plan which park to be at for the day and where to eat that night but let everyone else make their own FP and touring plans ( with advise if needed) heck we don’t even stay at the same resort.It’s still a great time but your not on top of each other. I am also the family vacation planner and love it!!! Dont stress too much, planning is 1/2 the fun

 

[sponica]

First and foremost, everyone's expectations need be in line. If some people think it's a BIG disney trip (do all the things together) but some think it's a we're doing Disney at the same time trip, it won't end well. This is true whether you're traveling with 4 or 14 people.

We have a big family trip in 2020. Here is what we have agreed to: ONE meal/event together a day in the days we're all down there. We're all working with different budgets and different commitments, so if we're not all there the exact same days it's not the end of the world. The only other request that has been made is my husband wants to play golf once or twice.

We're not all in the same hotel. My sister's family is taking their trailer down to Ft Wilderness, my family unit will be on site somewhere. Mom and stepdad somewhere else (either on or offsite) and my other sister will probably be with them.

I'll be asking everyone what their meal preferences are: characters vs no characters. picky eaters vs no picky eaters. I have spreadsheets. I have problems.

I'm more inclined to let my sisters family do their own thing as it will be my niece and nephew's first visit.