How Do I get the idea across about group size?

[5-on-their-way]

We will be travelling with extended family to WDW at the end of Feb. We are WDW veteran's, they are not. One family went once around 3 years ago, another hasn't been since 1991. They think that we should all go to the same parks together every day and stay together "as much as possible." There are 18 of us in the party with kids of various ages. I have pointed out that it will be hard to travel around the world with that many people, that the various families will have different interests--the teenagers are not going to want to ride Dumbo and Winnie the Pooh, for instance and my kids don't want to ride SPace Mountain or Dinosaur--and multiple other semi gentle objections. No one is listening to me! What do I do now??

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

Get a little firmer and tell everyone that your family will meet them for a meal on a daily basis. The rest of the time, you will be following your own itinerary.

You cannot possibly hope to have a nice time trying to keep 18 people together, let alone happy!

Take the lead. They'll follow.

 

[djm99]

This happened to me last summer. 4 families (including mine) went to Disney with us. Since I was considered the Disney "expert" I was asked to tell them what I knew to make their vacation great. I made it clear (in writing) that people would want to visit different places, and it is encouraged that every one to create their own itineraries. I mailed this info to all the families, including some info of what to bring to the parks, my own itinerary and some value info (regarding tickets, discounts, etc.) I got from these boards (so it didn't seem impersonal). This way I didn't have to keep repeating this over and over again. Because the families had not traveled to Disney, since they were children themselves, they followed my agenda to a “T”. Of course that was fine with me.

As long as you make it clear what you are doing (at the parks, and on vacation in general) and just "do your thing", don't worry about anybody else. Let them know up front, if they fall in line great, if not enjoy your vacation your way. Just try to make plans on spending a meal or two together.

This summer Aug 2004, some 45 people will travel to Disney – sounds crazy already, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s just like all the new Disney Commercials – Disney is Magnificent all by it self, but it is MAGICAL when you share it with those you love!!!

Have a Wonderful Disney Day!!!!

 

[InstImpres]

I generally talk to everyone and make 1 PS per day for anyone in the group who wants to join me. I than give them a copy of my planning page so they know what park I will be in when and which parades/.shows I am seeing.

We stay together a bit and split up. Now with cell phones it is very easy.

Good luck
Sandy

 

[kiddisney]

hi - we had the same problem - so i used a tactical move that i've used at work - i asked everyone what is the one thing that they wanted to get out of the trip - my brother wanted to recreate a romantic meal with his wife - i wanted to drink a beer & watch the british invasion - my mother wanted a huge family meal in liberty tree tavern -

once i got all of this information - i made a composite list of activities & told everyone that these are the "dreams" of everyone else & when they saw that there was a big list & that there were activities that would have to occur simultaneously - or that there were activities that others didn't want to participate in or were invited into (like the romantic meal) - it was easier to agree to split up at certain times & then schedule a time to reconnect -

it's easier to let them think that everyone is willing to create a magical trip for everyone & then once they see the entire list they realize that they shouldn't be that difficult -

good luck

 

[snuggles]

We found that doing some "together" time then separating worked best when we went with our extended family. We tried to do meals together too. We found that with naps and an elderly grandma it just didn't work staying together all the time. (I knew it wouldn't but you know how it goes...) I'm sure if they don't come around before you get there, they will after they try it for a day. Good luck.

 

[sandygirl]

I like "kiddisney"'s response. Asking everyone for their own special idea of what would make their trip magical gives them ownership of their trip. And seeing in writing just how each person envisions their magic helps the others to understand that doing everything as a group isn't so "magical". It also gets the Disney veteran out of the hotseat. Some people look to veterans to put the "magic" in the trip, not realizing that it comes from within themselves.

Anyway, I like the positive and productive approach. Good luck!

 

[Kallison]

Ditch em! Other than that, just do your own thing, if they want to follow along then fine. The biggest problem with a big group is the constant potty stops and standing around waiting for everyone to make up their mind. I went once with two sets of grandparents, never again. When my parents go, they do what we want or they take off on their own, no problems.

 

[InstImpres]

Originally posted by sandygirl
It also gets the Disney veteran out of the hotseat. Some people look to veterans to put the "magic" in the trip, not realizing that it comes from within themselves.

Wait a minute...you mean I am not personally responsible for everyone's happiness? I planned many surprises...WISHES magical gathering cruise, scavenger hunt - thanks to Jane and GOAL, arrival presents from Mickey and so much more.

Maybe next trip someone will do something magical for me

Sandy

 

[Lora]

Mabye it's just me, but I would probably actually enjoy planning things out for these families like I have for my guests. If you plan the parks by morning/afternoon/evening, then everyone can be near-by for the big group events and meals. If you're in Future world, let those who like SM go on it while others do Buzz or Astro Orbitor...or send the little ones to Fantasyland or Toontown. Also, if anyone has younger kids, they could always be free to go back to their rooms while the older group goes to the rides of their choice.

I'm not saying you have to make a play by play for everyone, but if I am sharing my vacation with others, I want to experience some of those things with them - not just be told...ok, lets all have lunch on Tuesday.

I had everyone in our group fill out a chart with every WDW ride/attraction. They gave each a rating...(which meant they had to do some research). The ratings were somthing like "must do", "sure, I'll go", "I'll go only if it's someone else's 'must do'", "I'd rather skip it" and "NO WAY!!". That way I knew where we really needed to split up and where we could stay together. If going on Winnie the Pooh is going to totally ruin someone's vacation, far be it from me to make them sit in the honeypot!

Of course, something like this does require some effort. I have most of the rides in an excel spread sheet if you want it emailed to you. You'd have to do some updating since some rides have changed since I did this. Just send me a PM and I can email the list.