L-A-R-G-E group trip - need advice!

[siren0119]

My mother in law just sprung on us that in April 2021 she is taking the whole family (14 of us) to Disney! And because I've been to the parks a lot in the last few years, I've been unofficially dubbed the family travel coordinator. Please share with me your best resources, suggestions, and tricks for coordinating a large family trip! The details are vague right now as far as on vs off property, so I'm really just asking for what resources were helpful to others planning big group trips.

TIA!

 

[Christine]

My mother in law just sprung on us that in April 2021 she is taking the whole family (14 of us) to Disney! And because I've been to the parks a lot in the last few years, I've been unofficially dubbed the family travel coordinator. Please share with me your best resources, suggestions, and tricks for coordinating a large family trip! The details are vague right now as far as on vs off property, so I'm really just asking for what resources were helpful to others planning big group trips.

TIA!

Well I am in the middle of planning a trip for 16 (we arrive in early November). I really didn't use much more than these boards and all the other info I could find as I stumbled around.

The first hurdle is to ensure that you book prior to 180 days out. We didn't do that since our trip was more spur of the moment. If you are trying to book meals with even larger segments of people, it's tough within the 180 day mark.

So this is what I would do now:

1. Of your group of 14, think about how you will divvy up the rooms. Will you all stay at the same resort? Do some of the smaller groups want suites or does everyone just want to deal with regular hotel rooms? Is anyone trying to save money and, if so, would offsite work better for you? Maybe somewhat offsite like Bonnet Creek where you can get 2-3 bedroom accommodations?

2. Once you've decided where you are going, make your call to Disney (if onsite) and have the "heads" of the room on the reservation call so you can all be ready with the names and credit cards to secure the rooms.

3. As you are waiting for your 180 day mark, try to look at where you want to eat and get that mapped out. You'll need to know what the various groups want to do. Need to book a meal for 14? Have that ready. Do they want to break up some of the meals and have 4 people going one place, 4 another, and so on. All that should be decided, annotated, and ready for your 180 day dining reservations.

4. Get your touring plan down and situated around your reservations (or vice versa if you can) and then start mapping out fastpasses. Same thing: will you all be touring together? Then one person should book the FPs. I just booked for my group of 16. It wasn't as hard as I thought. I new which rides we'd all want to do and which we didn't and it somehow worked out well (and was fast).

That's my starter tips!

 

[siren0119]

Well I am in the middle of planning a trip for 16 (we arrive in early November). I really didn't use much more than these boards and all the other info I could find as I stumbled around.

The first hurdle is to ensure that you book prior to 180 days out. We didn't do that since our trip was more spur of the moment. If you are trying to book meals with even larger segments of people, it's tough within the 180 day mark.

So this is what I would do now:

1. Of your group of 14, think about how you will divvy up the rooms. Will you all stay at the same resort? Do some of the smaller groups want suites or does everyone just want to deal with regular hotel rooms? Is anyone trying to save money and, if so, would offsite work better for you? Maybe somewhat offsite like Bonnet Creek where you can get 2-3 bedroom accommodations?

2. Once you've decided where you are going, make your call to Disney (if onsite) and have the "heads" of the room on the reservation call so you can all be ready with the names and credit cards to secure the rooms.

3. As you are waiting for your 180 day mark, try to look at where you want to eat and get that mapped out. You'll need to know what the various groups want to do. Need to book a meal for 14? Have that ready. Do they want to break up some of the meals and have 4 people going one place, 4 another, and so on. All that should be decided, annotated, and ready for your 180 day dining reservations.

4. Get your touring plan down and situated around your reservations (or vice versa if you can) and then start mapping out fastpasses. Same thing: will you all be touring together? Then one person should book the FPs. I just booked for my group of 16. It wasn't as hard as I thought. I new which rides we'd all want to do and which we didn't and it somehow worked out well (and was fast).

That's my starter tips!

Thank you!

I think figuring out the accommodations is going to be the biggest hurdle, this is how the family shakes out:
1) MIL & FIL plus 20-something daughter with no SO
2) Me, DH, DS14 and DS12
3) SIL1 & BIL1, DNiece 14 and DNephew11
4) SIL2 & BIL2, player yet to be named (Due Jan 2020) will be 16mos at time of trip

I haven't really pressed MIL to find out if she feels staying onsite is a MUST, whether she wants as few rooms as possible or each family in a room, etc. So right now I'm just gathering info on the different ways we could do the rooms and what the approximate cost would be. I am DEFINITELY in favor of renting a big house offsite, but I know she has always stayed onsite so we might have to figure out a way to make onsite work. I'm getting some ballpark prices from Bonnet Creek as I think that might be a "happy medium" that I could sell her on if it makes sense.

DEFINITELY looking to nail things down sooner than later - thus why I'm planning NOW (584 days out LOL)

 

[BCV2003]

A few years ago, we did a trip for 18. Three sisters were DVC so we booked a few rooms at Kidani. I think we did 2 2-bedrooms and a 1-BR.

You may want to look at renting DVC points to have the ability to have larger accommodations if you want to stay on site. It may be more economical depending on the ages of those in the group.

Survey family members ahead of time so you are prepared for making dining reservations. You can even pick a few restaurants where you will eat together as a group on a few days and then maybe some other days the groups may want to split up and do their own things. When we did it, I think there was a separate number to call to make reservations for large groups. I don't know if that still exists any more.

 

[BrianL]

One thing I recommend, and this is for any group really, but especially for a large group, is to train them in how to do things and what to watch for. A few of my favorite "training" tips:

• Green Means Go: At tap points, when the Mickey Head turns green, just proceed. The CM will stop you if something is wrong, but if you see green it is all good.
• Both Sides are Open: When ordering at many counter service venues the CM taking orders will alternate sides. Walk up to the side with the shorter line.For your large group you may want to break up into several smaller batches instead of having one person order for 14 people - if you do, split to both sides of the line, so you can all get through quicker and not have parties between you.
• Similar to above, tap points for park entrance come in pairs. If the one ahead of someone is open, proceed to it, use it, and carry on. Also, remember which finger you need to scan.
• Set meeting places for after the rides. With a group that large, you may get a bit broken up if everyone is riding. Also, having some designated meeting places in general, somewhere everyone will know in case of separation. See if you can get some maps ahead of time and distribute them to the group. You don't have to give them a quiz, but I would!

A lot of that has to do with avoiding choke points. It can get pretty hectic though when everyone is a bit unsure about tapping in for an FP or what have you. I like everyone to be "pro" at all of that. Have bands or cards ready. I have never been with such a big party, but I would probably go nuts trying to wrangle them! It sounds like you'll have a fun trip though so enjoy!

 

[Forevermarypoppins]

From day one I would decide to NOT stress over everyone being together all the time. I would be having an honest discussion with the payor of her expectations regarding this since she may feel she wants all parties together all the time because she is paying after all.

 

[kwdw]

1) You need to clarify the amount of "time together" and "time apart" the MIL is thinking about. What is she imagining? Everyone together most of the time? Just some common activities? What is her ideal? Given your knowledge of the rest of the crowd - how will her ideal match with others in the party? This will actually help with planning accommodations.

2) Clarify her budget expectation in the generalist sense. Is she expecting a plan that keeps costs down? Or is luxury expected? On property - there's a huge difference between a 3 bedroom grand villa and studio combo vs. 4 value resort rooms. Maybe start by giving her just 2-3 examples and extreme ends of the cost range to feel out her thoughts.

3) How well do people share space vs. need private space? A big house off property could be great if the bedroom and bath set ups fit your crowd. And would you need rental cars or is this group driving? Does that shared living space bring you together - or will it just fuel anger because folks can't get away from each other? If each family has a separate room, are some going to go rogue and not participate in planned group things regardless and cause bad feelings?

4) Assess your OWN knowledge of the group dynamics as you think about this. I've traveled with family groups - and learned some lessons along the way. Never do x again. This x works well for us. Don't expect x to happen, ever, it just won't. X may happen unexpectedly in a good way if I do y. You can fill in those variables for your family dynamics.

5) My answers to how I would do this would depend on the exact family members I was traveling with - so yours should, too.

6) Just make a TON of dining reservations at 180 days. You can revise them later - but if you want some group meals - that's going to take pre-planning. You aren't going to get everyone to commit to eating at x time that far in advance - so you need to run scenarios you think MIGHT work and do it yourself. Make your own ideal plan of which days which parks for that. But unless you have other Disney planners in your group - there will likely be folks that just don't wrap their head around the details of planning until later.

7) Have fun! I love figuring stuff out like this!

 

[siren0119]

Thank you to all who have responded so far! I've already got some spreadsheets going for different room combinations at different levels, and I'm starting to pull in some info from VRBO, AirBnB and other rental market research.

It's DEFINITELY a consideration as to who could possibly room with who. My SIL who is currently expecting is basically one of my best friends, and her husband and I work together. We'd have no problem sharing space, but then I also haven't slept in a room with a baby in 9 years so that's a consideration. My OTHER SIL is a bona fide nutcase who is generally a strain on the family relationships....but I adore her children. Heck, I'd even be willing to have hubby and I in a room with all 4 older kids. So there's definitely a lot of dynamic to keep in mind.

 

[Christine]

Thank you to all who have responded so far! I've already got some spreadsheets going for different room combinations at different levels, and I'm starting to pull in some info from VRBO, AirBnB and other rental market research.

It's DEFINITELY a consideration as to who could possibly room with who. My SIL who is currently expecting is basically one of my best friends, and her husband and I work together. We'd have no problem sharing space, but then I also haven't slept in a room with a baby in 9 years so that's a consideration. My OTHER SIL is a bona fide nutcase who is generally a strain on the family relationships....but I adore her children. Heck, I'd even be willing to have hubby and I in a room with all 4 older kids. So there's definitely a lot of dynamic to keep in mind.

For our group of 16, it's like this. Now brace yourself, we are all at the Grand Floridian. First choice was Contemporary, but "no room at the inn" as they say. Due to two handicapped members, we wanted a monorail resort.

Room 1: 4 adults, 2 children (ages 4 and 3)
Room 2: 1 adult (needs privacy due to medical issues)
Room 3: 2 adults (boyfriend/girlfriend situation, age 30s)
Room 4: 2 adults (me and DH)
Room 5: 2 adults (me parents (in their 70s)
Room 6: 3 adults (1 of them will only be there half the time) all in their 20s.

Room 1 is going to be the trickiest for getting sleep and nothing killing each other by the end of the trip. They probably should have split up but just couldn't afford another room at the GF.

 

[siren0119]

For our group of 16, it's like this. Now brace yourself, we are all at the Grand Floridian. First choice was Contemporary, but "no room at the inn" as they say. Due to two handicapped members, we wanted a monorail resort.

Room 1: 4 adults, 2 children (ages 4 and 3)
Room 2: 1 adult (needs privacy due to medical issues)
Room 3: 2 adults (boyfriend/girlfriend situation, age 30s)
Room 4: 2 adults (me and DH)
Room 5: 2 adults (me parents (in their 70s)
Room 6: 3 adults (1 of them will only be there half the time) all in their 20s.

Room 1 is going to be the trickiest for getting sleep and nothing killing each other by the end of the trip. They probably should have split up but just couldn't afford another room at the GF.

Oy that's a lot to juggle! I am pretty sure EVERYONE would be happier if Nutty SIL and BIL could have their own room, but I'm pretty sure 4 rooms would be the max. The 14th traveler is also my husband's youngest sibling who is transgender - still in transition so understandably a little more sensitive to not having a dedicated space, but I expect that MIL will not want to pay for a whole room just for them. That's when considering suites or a whole house with bedrooms for everyone becomes very attractive. Then it's just overcoming the desire to be on property and figuring out rental vehicles.

There's a reason they put ME on this project though, PM-ing stuff is what I do!

 

[Christine]

Oy that's a lot to juggle! I am pretty sure EVERYONE would be happier if Nutty SIL and BIL could have their own room, but I'm pretty sure 4 rooms would be the max. The 14th traveler is also my husband's youngest sibling who is transgender - still in transition so understandably a little more sensitive to not having a dedicated space, but I expect that MIL will not want to pay for a whole room just for them. That's when considering suites or a whole house with bedrooms for everyone becomes very attractive. Then it's just overcoming the desire to be on property and figuring out rental vehicles.

There's a reason they put ME on this project though, PM-ing stuff is what I do!

Considering the funds don't seem unlimited, I think that offsite or a few 2-3 bedrooms and Bonnet Creek are going to be your best bet. Let me tell you, I personally *LOVE* staying offsite in one of the luxury homes and the savings is so significant that renting a car (or two) still is cheaper. I also really enjoy having a car at Disney because it shaves an enormous amount of time of transportation to various places. You should spend some time on VRBO looking at homes that either accommodate your whole party or two homes in the same community.

 

[chainkid]

I am pretty much an expert at taking large groups. My smallest group is maybe 19 people and I have planned for 40. The best advice I can give is find a space where every adult or couple can have their own space with their small children,. If you have to double up you are asking for trouble as everyone needs private space. I usually get a couple grand villas at BW and then several studios. If teenagers come with friends then we bring sleeping bags for main living room staying within room limits.. We never plan to have whole group tour together as you will find you spend most of your valuable vacation time waiting for others in your room to get going. Decide who has young children that might enjoy kiddie rides and who are thrill seekers and then who are the show people. I make a spread sheet of personal ride choices after making dining reservations.

In a 7 day trip we plan for three dinners where we all eat together. The rest of the time we break into smaller family groups and I plug in reservations they want for days we aren't doing group dining. You might have to break up into smaller tables but I have gotten 40 people sitting in close quarters. Best choices for fun group dinners..OHANA, HOOP DE DOO, BIERGARTEN, CHEF MICKEY if you have little people, BOAT HOUSE, Call right at booking window or book online groups of 8 at a time maybe 15 min to half hour difference in time or call group dining.

Plan for a gathering space where whole group can meet up at end of day for drinks or snacks to discuss what you did . It's my vacation and its their vacation and we all like to travel at a different pace so let people do their own thing and not push you into staying together 24-7.

Everyone can learn from veterans thing to avoid pitfalls which makes their touring less stressful but it doesn't mean you give up your own vacation in the process. Give guidance but let each group determine what is a must for them and help them achieve FP, dining reservations etc ahead of time. I have had over 10 successful trips because we are freewheeling. I don't do drama so if anyone provides that , they wouldn't get invited back.

 

[siren0119]

I am pretty much an expert at taking large groups. My smallest group is maybe 19 people and I have planned for 40. The best advice I can give is find a space where every adult or couple can have their own space with their small children,. If you have to double up you are asking for trouble as everyone needs private space. I usually get a couple grand villas at BW and then several studios. If teenagers come with friends then we bring sleeping bags for main living room staying within room limits.. We never plan to have whole group tour together as you will find you spend most of your valuable vacation time waiting for others in your room to get going. Decide who has young children that might enjoy kiddie rides and who are thrill seekers and then who are the show people. I make a spread sheet of personal ride choices after making dining reservations.

In a 7 day trip we plan for three dinners where we all eat together. The rest of the time we break into smaller family groups and I plug in reservations they want for days we aren't doing group dining. You might have to break up into smaller tables but I have gotten 40 people sitting in close quarters. Best choices for fun group dinners..OHANA, HOOP DE DOO, BIERGARTEN, CHEF MICKEY if you have little people, BOAT HOUSE, Call right at booking window or book online groups of 8 at a time maybe 15 min to half hour difference in time or call group dining.

Plan for a gathering space where whole group can meet up at end of day for drinks or snacks to discuss what you did . It's my vacation and its their vacation and we all like to travel at a different pace so let people do their own thing and not push you into staying together 24-7.

Everyone can learn from veterans thing to avoid pitfalls which makes their touring less stressful but it doesn't mean you give up your own vacation in the process. Give guidance but let each group determine what is a must for them and help them achieve FP, dining reservations etc ahead of time. I have had over 10 successful trips because we are freewheeling. I don't do drama so if anyone provides that , they wouldn't get invited back.

Thank you! I agree it's going to be very different for all our people, we all have different touring styles. My family have been to Disney a few times, we are park commandos who know what rides we want to hit and basically go all out. My MIL and FIL travel at a much slower pace. My SIL will have a 16 month old, but I can foresee there being times when they want to experience WDW with their little, other times when they might want to leave the babe with my in laws and join us for some big kid rides. My other SIL.....well we shall see how that all goes down as there have been many times she has decided SHE is the captain of the ship when plans get made, but this is definitely my wheelhouse and I'm going to be coordinating most of the trip. It's going to be a wild ride for sure! But I will definitely use some of your suggestions as we get things firmed up!

 

[chainkid]

It is so much fun having a large group because you get to see the excitement of the newbies and their little ones. There is something for everyone that can be shared. I prefer going large, the more the merrier. Have fun. I love planning the most.

 

[MickyLynn]

Put the 20ish daughter and all the older kids in a 2 BR DVC villa and the rest of you get studios at PVB. Enjoy your quiet.

 

[starry_solo]

I think you should ask your mother what her expectations are for the visit and what her budget is for it.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Keep in mind that eating meals together will be hard to do. Had someone with a party of 10 and at all of the ADR they were never seated together because of their party size. You will be able to make ADR for that many people you just wont get to sit together. If staying onsite I would do a 2br lock off at AKL. it sleeps 9 people and get 3 full size bathrooms. If you got two of these room you could spread out and have plenty of room and have 6 bathrooms for getting ready in the morning. 2 full kitchens and 2 washer and dryers.
**Keep in mind if you are going the first week in Nov you want to book this at the 11 month mark (11 months from your arrival date) The 1st week is extremely popular. It Jersey week -. It is also the annual food and wine race. Rooms sell out 11 months in advance.

 

[Snow White DPMP]

I did it with 14 people the week leading up to Easter a couple of years ago.
Honestly it wasn't too hard.
We stayed offsite and had cars.
I prefer to stay onsite myself but I understood that staying offsite in a vacation home was a big money saver since it was divided 4 ways.
Getting ADR's and FP+ were actually very easy to obtain even with staying offsite.

My suggestions would be:
-Discuss and decide ahead of time what ADR's people want and what FP+ people want. (Not everyone has to have the same ADR's or FP+ but if they want something else then they should be booking it).
-Come together for ADR's and FP+ selections but let people go their own way if they want for everything else.
-Make sure that they know you are not their "keeper" so if they miss an ADR or FP+ its on them.

And the biggest piece of advice would be do not become overwhelmed trying to make everyone happy.
What works for the majority is what you should aim for and if someone does not like it then they can plan their on trip.

 

[siren0119]

I think you should ask your mother what her expectations are for the visit and what her budget is for it.

LOL I think that's a given I'm a project manager and like to start compiling info on options well ahead of time, but obviously everything will be driven by her expectations and budget.

Keep in mind that eating meals together will be hard to do. Had someone with a party of 10 and at all of the ADR they were never seated together because of their party size. You will be able to make ADR for that many people you just wont get to sit together. If staying onsite I would do a 2br lock off at AKL. it sleeps 9 people and get 3 full size bathrooms. If you got two of these room you could spread out and have plenty of room and have 6 bathrooms for getting ready in the morning. 2 full kitchens and 2 washer and dryers.
**Keep in mind if you are going the first week in Nov you want to book this at the 11 month mark (11 months from your arrival date) The 1st week is extremely popular. It Jersey week -. It is also the annual food and wine race. Rooms sell out 11 months in advance.

We would be going during school vacation week in April 2021, because three of the adult kids are teachers but summer travel isn't possible due to my other BIL's work schedule. Still a rough time, and I don't know if DVC is going to be feasible since we'd have to rent points (we'd be more inclined to VRBO for a full house offsite, but I've looked into points needs and room layouts for DVC just to present it as an option)

I agree about ADRs, we will have to plan those carefully and likely have to break groups up to make it work - or just enjoy lots of QS where we can be a little looser about seating! It'll be another area where I'll have to understand my MIL's expectations so we can know what to plan for.

I did it with 14 people the week leading up to Easter a couple of years ago.
Honestly it wasn't too hard.
We stayed offsite and had cars.
I prefer to stay onsite myself but I understood that staying offsite in a vacation home was a big money saver since it was divided 4 ways.
Getting ADR's and FP+ were actually very easy to obtain even with staying offsite.

My suggestions would be:
-Discuss and decide ahead of time what ADR's people want and what FP+ people want. (Not everyone has to have the same ADR's or FP+ but if they want something else then they should be booking it).
-Come together for ADR's and FP+ selections but let people go their own way if they want for everything else.
-Make sure that they know you are not their "keeper" so if they miss an ADR or FP+ its on them.

And the biggest piece of advice would be do not become overwhelmed trying to make everyone happy.
What works for the majority is what you should aim for and if someone does not like it then they can plan their on trip.

Good advice and I really appreciate it! I am going to make sure that boundaries are pretty clear as far as what I'm there for - but this is a good reminder. And I definitely am leaning toward encouraging that whole "we do some things as a family but some individually" approach and make sure everyone has their own MDE for setting up FP and personal dining plans. It just makes more sense and will allow us some breathing room!