Help with girlfriends trip

[julesann]

I love Disneyland. We did a big family trip in December that I was the main organizer of and, although it was fun, it was exhausting to be the director. Over the last few years, a number of my friends (we are in our mid 50's and early 60's) often ask if I'd consider putting a trip together.

I am not wanting to be a total tour director--I am thinking more along the lines of starting some type of fb page that organizes the trip ie these are the dates we are going; coordinate room sharing; help them with where to buy tickets; put together a general itinerary; and then make specific reservations for some meals and things like Fantasmic and WOC.

How does this sound? Has this worked for you? I have plenty of time--I am thinking spring of 2016--maybe (but I'm not sure) during Dapper Days as there are a few a fashionistas in the group plus the hotel costs are lower. I'm also thinking this maybe fall. I am welcoming and wanting any or all suggestions!!

 

[SplashMo]

Main things: Arrive 30 minutes early each day. Pick places to eat in advance and share menus so that there are no surprises...

 

[Bubblegum1286]

I love Disneyland. We did a big family trip in December that I was the main organizer of and, although it was fun, it was exhausting to be the director. Over the last few years, a number of my friends (we are in our mid 50's and early 60's) often ask if I'd consider putting a trip together.

I am not wanting to be a total tour director--I am thinking more along the lines of starting some type of fb page that organizes the trip ie these are the dates we are going; coordinate room sharing; help them with where to buy tickets; put together a general itinerary; and then make specific reservations for some meals and things like Fantasmic and WOC.

How does this sound? Has this worked for you? I have plenty of time--I am thinking spring of 2016--maybe (but I'm not sure) during Dapper Days as there are a few a fashionistas in the group plus the hotel costs are lower. I'm also thinking this maybe fall. I am welcoming and wanting any or all suggestions!!

The Facebook group page idea is a good one! I'm kind of in a similar situation as you right now. My husband and I are taking our 3 young children, but we're also going with my mom and my brother. The bulk of the planning has landed on me, which is so hard! We found a hotel that has modestly priced suites for all of us to stay together, so that was a winner. I almost pulled my hair out trying to meet EVERYONE's needs, and then I did this:

-Created a trip itinerary in a Google Docs page, then invited my husband, my mom, and my brother to view and edit the page.
-Asked each person what was most important to them on this trip: Rides? Food? Site-seeing? Beach time? Parades? Shows? I stuck things in for everyone.
-I didn't ask anyone about meals. Period. I looked up the most popular food places in DL and CA (and polled this forum for help with that list) and then listed those out for lunch options and dinner options. That's it. You don't like what's on there? Go find something else. Ha!
-I like the idea of making reservations for WOC or Fan. That kind of gives people the "Disneyland experience."
-You *might* consider Ridemax. It may not work for your group at all. I don't know how big your group is. However, several on this forum recommended it to me (www.ridemax.com) and I checked it out. It's a well-rated itinerary generating site that takes your must-do list and creates an in-park itinerary based on ride wait times to make sure you're riding what you want without standing in line all day. I paid $15 for a 3 month subscription to Ridemax. I can plug in the dark rides my kiddos will surely love as well as the thrill rides me, my husband, and brother are dying to do, and let Ridemax figure out how to fit it all into our 3 short days. It takes a weight off of me.

Hope this helps!
Kat

 

[LizardQueen8]

For a group of all adults, there is no need to overplan. My friends and I simply make a couple of ADRs, decide who is going to room with who, and decide the night before where we are going to begin our day. But we've also all gone our separate ways at times and that has worked out great too. We arranged everything via email, but an FB group would work. Stick with your instincts to keep the planning more casual, and your trip should be magical .

 

[julesann]

The Facebook group page idea is a good one! I'm kind of in a similar situation as you right now. My husband and I are taking our 3 young children, but we're also going with my mom and my brother. The bulk of the planning has landed on me, which is so hard! We found a hotel that has modestly priced suites for all of us to stay together, so that was a winner. I almost pulled my hair out trying to meet EVERYONE's needs, and then I did this:

-Created a trip itinerary in a Google Docs page, then invited my husband, my mom, and my brother to view and edit the page.
-Asked each person what was most important to them on this trip: Rides? Food? Site-seeing? Beach time? Parades? Shows? I stuck things in for everyone.
-I didn't ask anyone about meals. Period. I looked up the most popular food places in DL and CA (and polled this forum for help with that list) and then listed those out for lunch options and dinner options. That's it. You don't like what's on there? Go find something else. Ha!
-I like the idea of making reservations for WOC or Fan. That kind of gives people the "Disneyland experience."
-You *might* consider Ridemax. It may not work for your group at all. I don't know how big your group is. However, several on this forum recommended it to me (www.ridemax.com) and I checked it out. It's a well-rated itinerary generating site that takes your must-do list and creates an in-park itinerary based on ride wait times to make sure you're riding what you want without standing in line all day. I paid $15 for a 3 month subscription to Ridemax. I can plug in the dark rides my kiddos will surely love as well as the thrill rides me, my husband, and brother are dying to do, and let Ridemax figure out how to fit it all into our 3 short days. It takes a weight off of me.

Hope this helps!
Kat

The Google docs page is a great idea as is asking everyone to prioritize what they want to do. Thanks for the great suggestions!

 

[LALA8971]

Hey julesann!
My mother and her friends did this same thing a few years back (and I was lucky enough to get invited too!). The main thing we had issues with was that some people want to relax, some want to go go go and a couple women did not get along, at all! We ended up splitting in to smaller groups. We met up with the bigger group a few times during the trip (2 meals, F! and Aladdin), got our fill and moved on.
Have fun!

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

The planning always falls to me in these situations as well, and although I enjoy it to some extent, it can be tiring and a bit frustrating when you have to do everything. I've tried giving up the planning and going more casual on trips, and letting people know this in advance so that maybe they could pick up the slack, but instead this resulted in us standing around each day while they looked at me asking "where are we going next?" Ahhhh!

So, if they want me to be the leader, I will be. But instead of putting in more effort by taking their likes into account, I just plan the trip that I want to do and they can come along for the ride.

 

[julesann]

The planning always falls to me in these situations as well, and although I enjoy it to some extent, it can be tiring and a bit frustrating when you have to do everything. I've tried giving up the planning and going more casual on trips, and letting people know this in advance so that maybe they could pick up the slack, but instead this resulted in us standing around each day while they looked at me asking "where are we going next?" Ahhhh!

So, if they want me to be the leader, I will be. But instead of putting in more effort by taking their likes into account, I just plan the trip that I want to do and they can come along for the ride.

That is so helpful...that is exactly what I was thinking about--I think I'll plan the trip I want--and then give a few options.

 

[Gisele]

Maybe someone can help by finding boyfriends for the girls.
lmao.