Looking for BIG Reunion Advice from People Who've done it!!!

[herprettiness]

I am very seriously considering planning a Large Scale Family Reunion at Disney World. I have a huge family, About 150 people- (35 families) who are descendants of my maternal grandmother.

Were in a good zone as far as ages. The older of us have some despendable income and no kids, the younger of us have kids and families that will be ready for the trip.

The one thing I know is that planning would begin two years prior to the actual trip.

Who has done this? I am looking for mentors to help me through the process.

I consider myself a very competent WDW planner. But I think I could use help in this arena.

 

[stacy6552]

My mother planned a large reunion about 13 years ago. Keep it simple. Plan dates and make hotel reccommendations. Plan one big event early in the trip and at the end. Other than that, share itineraries so people can meet up on a smaller scale if they want, but don't try and do more than that.

Disneyworld.com has a great magical gatherings planning package. And if you call, they will set you up with a personal planner. Its free. Take advantage if it.

 

[minkydog]

Good advice. Less is more. I have planned reunions for 50-60 at other venues and I found that the less I micro-managed the more time we had for just sharing and renewing.

I like the idea of planning a big kick-off and a finish-up event. Then you can make suggestions and let folks make some of their own plans with each other. Because there is no way all 150 of you are gonna get on Dumbo at the same time

 

[twojo21]

right now i'm in the middle of planning our wdw wedding for us & 50 family members & guests. we've booked group room blocks (which you can also do for groups requiring 10+ rooms) check out waltdisneyworld.com magical gatherings which has a whole section on making reservations for large groups, activities you can all do together (like a epcot or mgm dessert party & also gives suggestions on rides to do together in large groups) also, you can register online at waltdisneyworld.com which allows you to set up polls for you & all attendees to vote on things to do, etc. through magical gatherings. you can also set up group discounts with airlines (we have done this for wdw wedding) which will save each passenger 5-10% off rt airfare, from shopping around i know american airlines, delta/song, northwest, united/ted & us airways offer group discounts.

this will be great fun for all of you, my family did a small reunion vacation of 20 back in 2000 & we all had a great time, wdw has something for everyone. make sure you have together & alone time for all families while at wdw too. another suggestion i have is to do a large meal together, like a welcome dinner or character breakfast buffet you can make a ps (priority seating) for large groups & select menus at most wdw restuarants. we are doing this for our wdw wedding, a welcome dinner at dtd's rainforest cafe & the character breakfast buffet at bc's cape may cafe for wedding party rehearsal.

best of luck with all your plans! enjoy!

 

[HopperFan]

We often talk of a large extended reunion at WDW but for now all reunions are done in home town of patriarch (now 100 yrs old).

As we find with our experience, not everyone can come for the entire time, some can hit the front end and some the back end.........so I would plan ONE very important gathering somewhere in the middle at a time when you think it would be possible for everyone to be there. That way folks who miss the "welcome party" or "farewell party" will be sure to see everyone at the "main party". I would make it the most important gathering for all to work towards attending !