Need advice - big family trip

[lea25]

Hi all!

We're in the process of planning a trip for the extended family and we just had another option thrown at us that I need some experienced Dis'ers to help me sort out!

We've been to WDW twice and US once over the past 6 years (just our family). But we're looking at a trip for (up to) 13/14 people this December (our family of 3, my parents (only 1 in the park), my il's, one sil (2 adults, 11yo, 12yo), one sil (1 or 2 adults, 17 yo).

So we had planned to fly, use Magical Express, stay onsite and do the dining plan. Got the estimated cost and started saving.

However, now we have access to a timeshare that would be available at no cost to us. And also have access to an RV so we could possibly drive down instead of fly (at least one way, if we wanted to fly there or back to make it quicker).

This would be the first trip to WDW for my sil with my 2 young nieces.

So...all that to say. It seems MUCH cheaper on paper to stay off-site. But I've only stayed on-site, so I don't know how it's going to play out if we stay off-site.

We're looking at renting a 15-passenger van and having my dad drop us off and pick us up at the parks each day (he has NO interest in being at the park and plans to explore the area instead).

I've been scouring the boards and it seems the FB+ and Magic bands would be a hassle if we stay off-site. There are only a few restaurants that we'd like to revisit, so I'm not sure how the dining will go. (both times before we went during free dining, so it wasn't an issue).

We're looking at going some time during the christmas break, so will that be another issue to consider? Will it be harder to deal with staying off-site with the anticipated crowds? Or will it be better that we wouldn't be dealing with the long bus lines. We'd most likely be staying at a value...*maybe* we'd try a moderate if the price was decent. But the thought of paying for rooms when we'd have a condo/townhouse for free is hard to pass up.

But...if Disney offers up the free dining during that time (which it seems they have done before), would it be best to pay for the room and get the promotion? Or allocate the money we'd pay for that on meals and pay oop?

Any feedback/suggestions/ideas?
Thanks!
-Lea

 

[Lincolnshire]

Does the free accommodation fit your large group? If so, I would stay there. Even at a value you would save hundreds every night. If you are going over Christmas break I believe the chance of free dining is zero (though I'm sure more experienced DISers will correct me if I'm wrong!) because that is the most crowded time of year.

There are certainly pros of staying onsite that you will give up (EMH in particular) but IMO that is more than made up for by the savings of free accommodation plus having someone who will drive you to the parks each day! My biggest concern is that it ties you all together - can you get everyone to agree on one park for the day and one drop off time? Getting there at ripe drop will be important with peak crowds I think.

 

[tina.tina]

Does the free accommodation fit your large group? If so, I would stay there. Even at a value you would save hundreds every night. If you are going over Christmas break I believe the chance of free dining is zero (though I'm sure more experienced DISers will correct me if I'm wrong!) because that is the most crowded time of year.

There are certainly pros of staying onsite that you will give up (EMH in particular) but IMO that is more than made up for by the savings of free accommodation plus having someone who will drive you to the parks each day! My biggest concern is that it ties you all together - can you get everyone to agree on one park for the day and one drop off time? Getting there at ripe drop will be important with peak crowds I think.

ITA. Also, would it be cheaper to rent multiple smaller vehicles than a 15 passenger van? It could get really irritating with everybody waiting around for others lagging behind or getting tired but with no way to return early to the offsite lodging.

 

[Our 2 Princesses]

One thing to consider... If you all are traveling in the 15 passenger van with your luggage, you may not fit.

 

[mjkacmom]

Having everyone to commit to being in the parks at the same time every day sounds tiresome, especially with the different ages. Same with all staying in the same accommodations. Will the 17 year old want to spend time 24/7 with much younger cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents? I think large groups like this work better if every family has some alone time, especially with the crowds, lines, and traffic.

 

[michael's mom]

My friend just was there during Christmas break and ended up getting free dining (had to check-in by the 23rd and it was length of stay FD), but I'm not sure that happens often...she was shocked.

One concern I'd have being off-site is if the crowds reach capacity (and its very possible being the busiest time there) I believe the first closure is for off-site guests meaning you'd be the first group not given access to the parks.

I've traveled many times with groups of 13+ and it's very difficult to get everyone together and having everyone spend entire days together.

If you do decide to stay off-site, I'd go with pp's suggestion at multiple smaller vehicles so people can come and go as they choose (although you'll be paying to park if you are an off-site guest).

The fewer full-group dining ressies you have the better. It was exhausting trying to get everyone to actually show up on time.

I think you are right...making sure there is time in the plans for whole group fun but also for the smaller, individual family fun as well.

 

[AlexisMaxMommy]

Wow! That's a nice offer you have gotten, and it can save you a boatload.

You won'r be able to do the FP+ until 30 days out which can be a drawback depending on what part of December you'll be going .

If you get your tickets with the park hopper option, those that may be tired of one park can always go to another and get picked up by your dad there. With this large of a group, it's not likely that you'd be together the whole time anyways.

If you are driving and staying in a timeshare, you can bring lots of snacks, drinks and meals with you, so the free dining plan wouldn't be necessary.

 

[lea25]

Thank you so much, everyone, for the info!

The accommodations would hold all of the families. Plus we will still have access to the RV, which would be very close to the condo. We've been trying to decide on the rental cars. (van vs multiple cars).

We're thinking with the money that we save on rooms and dining plans, we might actually modify our trip so that our family can spend time at 4-5 days at WDW and two days at US (blasphemous, I know...but most of the family hasn't been to Florida)

How is bringing lunch/food/snacks into the parks? I'm not going to lie though...the thought of doing ADR's for 13 people for a 9-10 day trip was freaking me out some.

 

[MandiC]

What about Camp Wilderness? Especially if you have access to an RV, the ones who don't fit in an RV could tent camp or two families of 3 could go in on a cabin. (max capacity 6) That way everyone gets their own 'space' to go back to, you get the benefits of on-site and I'm fairly sure that campsites are relatively inexpensive.
With a group that large I would have a headache trying to figure out something for everyone, so I'd want the option of coming/leaving that staying on-site provides.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

ITA. Also, would it be cheaper to rent multiple smaller vehicles than a 15 passenger van? It could get really irritating with everybody waiting around for others lagging behind or getting tired but with no way to return early to the offsite lodging.

I agree. A 15 PAX van will not only be very expensive to rent, but they really aren't that safe and it's doubtful all of your luggage could fit. I'd go with renting 2-3 smaller vehicles. If you are counting on your car insurance to cover the rental, double check to see if a van like this would be covered.

 

[lea25]

Thanks for the added suggestions!

We've priced Camp Wilderness and it's WAY more expensive than the rv site that we'd be using, plus renting cabins would negate the free condo that we have in place. And outside tent camping isn't our thing.

I guess the main thing I'm wondering is the coming/going thing. We've been twice (once just our family and once with my sil and nephew) and since we've only had 4-5 days at the parks we stay from sun up to sun down without leaving the park because we're trying to pack so much into the day. We're past the "have to take a nap" stage with the kids. The only ones that I'm really worried about keeping up their stamina would by my mil/fil. I just hadn't really considered that the different parties wouldn't want to stay in the park the entire time. (especially since it would be the first time for several of them). And since we wouldn't be staying on property, we wouldn't have access to EMH which would, in essence, force us to arrive/leave the park at a "reasonable" hour.

As far as the van...we'd only use it for travel from the condo to the parks. So there wouldn't be any luggage involved. The condo is 7 miles from the parks. But we haven't looked into the cost..and the insurance is a new thing to consider as well.