Group Trip with Friends and Kids...Advice? Pitfalls?

[Lydia91]

We are considering doing a group trip with several families (all friends), including kids with an age range of toddlers to early teens.

Looking for any advice from those who have done a similar trip with a large group. How did you make it work? What should we avoid at all cost? Were you all speaking to each other by the end of the trip?

 

[monorailsilver]

When I was a teen we would take big trips with family/friends.

I don't recall the details but the first few trips it was just MK and Epcot. We never did them with AK.

We would all stay at the same resort. One year when either the BC or GF opened they invited us to stay there instead of the Caribbean. They(Disney) gave us a discounted rate. Us, like I was paying...

Anyways, the only park we all went to together was Epcot. My moms cousins husband worked for Sikorsky and since The Living Seas was sponsored by United technologies back then we got to skip the line. They must of crapped their pants when all of us and I am talking close to 30 of us, went into the hospitality suite. Either they took out all the treats or they just didn't have any normally because all they had was coffee, tea and mints.

Sorry OT..

We really didn't do the parks together, everyone went their own way. I sometimes ditched my parents and us kids would roam the park in our early teens with out cell phones.

We would do a mid day break so some would swim, some would not.

The adults that actually wanted to eat a real meal would have a few dinners. I know my parents are at CApe May with my moms cousins and some friends. I chose not to as did my cousins cousin, we went to the MK and my cousin and I am sure my parents met up with is after.

There was no fighting because there were no set plans. It wasn't like we are going to thr MK and riding x, y then z today.

It was fun and I miss it.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We've done group trips many times before. We are glad to not be traveling with anyone else this year, lol

 

[TwoMisfits]

We are considering doing a group trip with several families (all friends), including kids with an age range of toddlers to early teens.

Looking for any advice from those who have done a similar trip with a large group. How did you make it work? What should we avoid at all cost? Were you all speaking to each other by the end of the trip?

Don't plan to spend 100% of your time together...do plan to have 1-2 activities you all try to get together for during the vacation (note, JUST 1-2 - like a family BBQ and pool time together and then maybe a 3-pack of rides in one park - like group riding of Its a Small World, the Carousel, and the Teacups and then everyone does what they like)...make those activities not too late and not too early...possibly even offsite if you are doing a meal, so no one gets hit with fees...

 

[Tara1988]

Don't try to do everything together. Most of my trips to Disney world have been with groups of at least 10. We always rent a house off site so we can have some togetherness, private pool, and can cook a few meals as a family. Maybe plan 1 or 2 table service meals that you can all do together (character meals with a buffet are usually the way to keep everyone satisfied) Other than that, plan to spend most of the trip split into smaller groups based on age, height, and interests. Also, we found it helps the adults end the trip happy if everyone can take turns giving each parent an evening away from their kids. (This works well staying at a house so no one will have to relocate sleeping kids when the parents get in)

 

[Blackadder337]

I would go as far as possibly booking resorts and travel plans together, but leave the rest open. If you're letting all the kids know of the trip ahead of time, maybe have them all make lists of things they want to see and do. Compare family lists and if anything overlaps you could maybe try and do that together. But the biggest mistake would be (as the others have said) trying to force multiple families to stay together for 24 hours a day for several days in a row.

You can always meet up at the end of each day and compare adventures, hang out at the pool etc.. too.

In my personal experience, if any of the families hesitate at that idea thinking "no we should all be together", that was the family you had to watch out for.

 

[EPCOTgrl1]

I have done a trip with a large group of people. My advice is be okay with splitting up. Don't go into thinking that you all are going to be doing the same thing at the same time. Plan maybe 1 or 2 things to do as a group, like a meal each day, or a ride that everyone can go on, and then break into smaller groups for the day. The older kids are going to want to do different rides and experiences then the younger ones. Some families might what to focus on characters while others on rides. Some people might want a pool break in the middle of the day and some people might want to stay out in the parks late.

Talk and set exceptions before you start planning. If everyone understands what they are getting into the trip will run smoother.

And yes we were all talking at the end of the trip.

 

[Pesky]

The key bit is to not feel like you have to be joined at the hip ALL.THE.TIME. I would plan a few joint things -- meals are easy or catching a show or parade, maybe a couple rides -- and then be fine waving to each other and saying have a great time. You might be able to mix up the group a bit so that the teens have time to go do their thing together and the little kids get to stick together. I just remember always having the people traveling with you there can get old after a bit. Which is why DH and I are pretty happy that our trip is turning out to be just us.

 

[Momof3WDW]

We did a multiple family trip this past fall and it went very well. We meet for lunch a few days and then hung out and did rides and parades together. then we would split up and try to meet again for fireworks/show that night. The kids favorite parts of the whole trip was the night we went swimming in the rain to the resort all together. Don't try to plan everything together. A few meals, a few rides, and have fun.