It was decided at Xmas! Magical Gathering in April 2013!!!

[eacatwork]

The most awesome thing happened at my aunt's house on Christmas Day. Someone said something about going to Disney World and before I knew it, we'd all decided that we would have a Magical Gathering at WDW in April 2013. I know it's 2+ years away, but I don't care...I am just BURSTING at the seams with excitement!!! My cousin and I will plan the trip together...everyone in the family decided we're the two most OCD when it comes to this type of thing. There will be 17, possibly 18, of us going:

My parents
My brother and his wife
Me (and possibly my husband, although he doesn't want to go)
My Aunt Nancy
My Uncle Tim and Aunt Beverly
My Uncle Fred, Aunt Kathleen, and cousin Brooks
My Cousin Kim (fellow planner), her husband Kevin, and their two kids
My Cousin Amanda and her boyfriend (maybe husband by then?!?) Ray

The youngest will be 5, the oldest will be 64. My parents will be celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary. It's going to be awesome!!! (Even IF the hubby doesn't go...shhh! don't tell him I said that! Truth be told, he's been to WDW twice now and he says he's done. I'm OK with that. I'll have my Aunt Nancy to pal around with...she's all sorts of cool.)

Anyone with Magical/Grand Gathering experience/advice is most certainly welcome to make suggestions, leave comments, etc. I suspect we'll lean toward a Moderate Resort given the number of adults in our crew. The kids on the trip will be 5, 10, and 15. Almost everyone else will be over 30.

Needless to say, I'll be spending more time on the DIS than I have recently. I logged on today and it showed that I last logged in on May 21, 2010. More than seven months ago! What the what?!?

Off to do some WDW reading and research...

 

[MsMulan]

Good Luck to you and me too. My family has also decided that they would like to do WDW in 2012. I am the family member with the most experience etc. going to WDW. However, I have never planned for more than four people. We will probably be a group of 20 to 25, once I weed out the non-serious folks. I am planning on establishing a planning committee to take some of the pressure and tasks off of me.

I will subscribe to your post to see how the planning is coming along for you and hopefully pick up a few tips. Tip #1 maybe 2012 is much too soon for a group so large.

 

[Crazy4Disney06]

I graduate from Nursing School in December of 2012, so we are taking a graduation celebration trip as well as a Grand Gathering vacation to WDW in February of 2013.
Please the the next two years fly buy!!

 

[eacatwork]

Last week, I sent out a five-page survey to everyone who might participate in this big family trip, asking things like desired duration of the trip, preferred airline, preferred resort, DDP or OOP, etc. I got my first survey back over the weekend from my brother and his wife. One received, six more to go!

I've gotten feedback (by phone) from my parents and two of my aunts - joking with me about being OCD regarding this trip...but also thankful for the planning efforts I'll be putting into it! I figured the survey was the best way to find out what everyone wanted out of the trip so I can then try to meet as many wishes and desires.

Since I first posted about this big trip, I managed to eek in a five-day trip to WDW with my BFF back in May, so I'm keeping to my every-other-year visit schedule...2007, 2009, 2011, and this big one - 2013!!!