Need advice/tips for inviting large family to WDW using our points.

[qv09vvp]

HI -

Our extended family knows we own dVC ...or the "Disney timeshare". DH & I have finally have enough points to do book a trip for the family. I'm not sure yet what rooms we will need but maybe a grandvilla & some 2 bedrooms. It just depends who comes on the trip.

Now comes the part where i need advice....

WHEN we invite them - I want to be clear on what we are giving (the rooms) and what they are paying for (everything else).
There are a lot of type A's in my family, so I want to spell it out ..as I am expecting a lot of " well, my daughter can't go at this time, can we move it"...or even, I don't want to go bc you invited cousin xxx. Because of dvc, booking...i'm going to need a comittment before the 11 month window so I can book the right rooms.

Any advice on how to deliver the invitation in a way to pleasantly lays things out without inviting the drama? HOPING someone out there has tackled this ...

 

[RoseGold]

This went really, really badly for me. Like relationship damaging badly. People don't understand the booking timelines, because they are crazy to normal people. They canceled on me and it was a big deal to me.

People have to commit to four figures in tickets and flights and food even if you are paying for the hotel. It's a lot to ask, it's crazy to normal people. That was a big deal to them.

If you're really inviting this many people, I would do your big timeshare room and let everyone else get a big Airbnb house. You have X spots in the villa. If you're willing to book tickets and commit, they are yours. Whoever else wants to come can figure it out amongst themselves.

I'd book a GV and some studios. If the studios get no takers, just cash back out the points. If their son and daughter won't share a bed, they can pay for whatever they want to.

 

[bwvBound]

Our guidelines:

• Do NOT book each room to "max occupancy." Related:
  • Consider the sleeping arrangements.
  • Book so that each "household unit" gets their own bathroom.
  • We keep the living room as "the official gathering space." Thus we never have anyone sleeping in that space.
• Yes, you are booking at 11-months -- but allow your guests to notify you of decreases in their party size or even their cancelling altogether at 3 months from travel, perhaps even 2 months from travel. You can still cancel rooms if needed.
• Don't BORROW points to book the rooms!
• Plan the shared trip near the beginning of your DVC Use Year. (In case of your group downsizes and cancels rooms.)

Outside of "guideline" -- but part of our considerations:

• The older the children, the more difficult it is to create a 'group plan.' School schedules, sports, exams, papers, etc! Be prepared to be understanding! It is what it is. We all do the best we can to adjust and to be loving.
• Young adults might really play games with your planning numbers. (Our other timeshare uses a 13-month booking window. A lot can change in a young adult's life in 13 months, right? We often book an extra studio "just in case" and then cancel it just before travel.)

 

[MinBz]

I had dreams of booking a 3 bedroom grand villa for a big family trip but then realized booking the extended family into separate studios would be easier should they end up canceling. Booked a one bedroom for my own family and then called MS and had them note on all the reservations that we were traveling together so the rooms were close together. Amazingly no one cancelled but it was peace of mind knowing I wouldn’t be stuck with a 3 bedroom for just my family of 3.

Also, I printed the reservation details using fancy paper. Rolled it into a scroll, tied a ribbon on it and gave it out as their Christmas gifts. They understood the value of the gift since they were pricing Disney hotels and didn’t expect me to use my points. Everyone knew they were responsible for their own airfare, Disney tickets, and meals.

Hope your trip works out. Planning for a big group can be stressful but also fun. I loved seeing my nieces reactions, made all the planning worth it.

 

[Sandisw]

I have gone on a few trips with family and I go into it with the expectation that once someone says yes, and I book the rooms, I have to be okay if they end up having to back out on me last minute.

We do give them all the costs, as well as the notion that we are going together but separate. Everyone can choose to participate in what is planned,

We always try to do meals together, but go with the flow from there. I do let them know that about the 31 day window and that if they have not booked airfare by that point, then I’d need to cancel the room.

That has never happened yet as most booked within a month of us choosing dates….

I agree with others to think about who will sleep where and other logistics and be sure that everyone is on the same page.

Good luck!

 

[varyth]

Type A here! We're doing the same on a smaller scale. Invited family to join us in a 2 bedroom at VGC next year.

When I purchased tickets for (only) my husband and I, I let them know and pointed them to the third-party vendor I used in case they wanted to catch the old ticket pricing. Now that they've bought tickets, I worry less about a last-minute cancelation.

Did the same with transportation - I told them that my husband and I will be flying and, when we book airfare, I'll let them know our flight information to coordinate.

I do still have a plan B in the back of my mind... If they can't make it, we do have local friends that could possibly join us (if park reservations still allow). If all else fails, the two of us will be enjoying the 2 bedroom. We booked with expiring points, so we'll be there as long as the resort is still standing.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

You are always going to be better off booking several smaller units than the GV.

Some people will cancel. You can end up with 5 people in a GV, which is fun but also frustrating.

 

[MICKIMINI]

You certainly risk a lot and your guests will likely not understand how generous you are with your time and money. We've done it with extended family in a 3 BR GV three times and everyone showed up, but I honestly can't say it was fun for DH or me.

Be as blunt as possible with the do's and don'ts and put it in writing. Someone won't be happy no matter what. Work with dates that are best for you, period. I agree with OP's, sleeping arrangements/bathrooms are a sensitive issue and need to be spelled out. The living room definitely needs to be a neutral zone if you do a 2 or 3 BR.

We supplied several planned meals at the villa as well as snacks and stocked the laundry room. Most guests expect to contribute to *community meals* but not all. When asked what they could bring, we gave each family (they all drove) a short list (back then about $20 worth of items = $50 now) and some brought things and others nothing. You may get zero help in the kitchen (one group was awesome the other two weren't). If you get frustrated easily by expecting perfection, stop right now.

At this point, we gift our son and DIL their own studio or 1 BR and DH and I have a 1 BR. We do two trips a year with them and give each other space and have a wonderful time. DIL's Mom, Dad or brother are welcome. Other family not so much. Friends get their own studio. We are going on 27 years as DVC members and our best trips are solo and with our son and DIL. If you ask if we'd do a big group again I would say not a chance.

Good luck!

 

[qv09vvp]

Thank you all for your input. All good suggestions. For years the extended family has family has been asking abput going so I hope to remind them gently that they wanted this. I like the together but separate part. Planning to give the dates , prices etc ..... I need to make a good plan foe th rooms.

 

[RichVIII]

I would say the frustrating part is people thinking that you aren’t paying out of your pocket for this (despite the massive upfront cost and maintenance fees). The feel like you aren’t out anything if they can’t come. They also won’t believe you if you actually show the rack rate for the rooms. Some will feel like they should do something in return for your generosity while others won’t. And that can lead to frustration and hurt feelings.

Until they have skin in the game with the trip, it is easy to back out (and they think you can to). In this post-pandemic world, everyone is more accustom to booking things last minute and DVC is not that flexible. People may also be interested until they really discover the cost of flights, tickets and meals.

 

[clm10308]

When we planned to host a big family reunion for my husband and his 8 siblings, we did a couple of Survey Monkeys to get a general consensus of what dates worked best/didn’t work all all for each family. Amazingly, we actually found a long weekend that worked- Labor Day weekend. It worked out the we were able to get one bedroom for each sibling’s family, and we assigned the rooms. The two not married siblings got the rooms with us in the grand villa. Everyone else got a studio. Each sibling could then decide on their own if they wanted any of their children or grandchildren to stay in their own room.
We had plans to give everyone key cards for the GV and shop or order food with one big meal planned in the GV. Most were not planning to do the parks. I was going to get park tickets for myself and maybe one other in-law. One brother was interested in golfing, others the spa.

Unfortunately the trip was planned for the Labor Day weekend 2020 and was canceled due to Covid concerns,

 

[Arguetafamily]

I did this last New Year’s Eve week for my family of 7, husband and I with our 5 children, 2 of which are grown adults. Extended family of 9: my brother his wife and their 2 toddlers, my brother and his wife, my uncle and his wife, and my mom. Total 17 of us because my daughter brought her bf.

I had a family meeting with a power point presentation. I explained first the points cover room only. Explained has to be 11 months in advance, I didn’t give them an option for another time frame.
At the time we only had two resorts for them to chose from so I had those in my presentation.
I decided myself the room configuration because we had been on vacations before and put the family members I knew either needed the washer and dryer or would make food together.

I had them split stay 3 nights in one and 4 nights in another. I stretched the points as much as I can in regards to point cost per night and time of year, as well as parks we would be visiting. Basically I was their coordinator for the parks as well. Since they know we have been there dozens of times they trusted my judgment.

We did not stay in the same resorts as my extended family because I had to end up paying cash for the first part of the trip while they stayed on our points. I had my oldest daughter who knew her way around the resort stay with them in a one bed with her bf and my older son, also on points.

My power point included other particulars of where to go what to say when checking in and so on.

I have to say it worked beautifully, zero hiccups.

It can be very rewarding as long as you have grateful family members who have an idea of the true cost of a Disney Vacation.

Good luck!!

 

[com_op_2000]

I have done this multiple times over the years.
Book a 1-Bdrm for yourself, meeting/get together location.
All others get studios.

 

[crisi]

You are always going to be better off booking several smaller units than the GV.

Some people will cancel. You can end up with 5 people in a GV, which is fun but also frustrating.

FOUR Four of us in a Grand Villa. The kids each had their own room. The reason for relatives cancelling was good, my brother in law died and no one really wanted to go after that happened.

 

[crisi]

I agree on multiple smaller rooms, you can cancel them more easily or rent out the existing reservation when "Becca has the most important soccer tournament ever that week." And definitely space for yourself. If you book a Grand Villa, don't be the one sleeping there - you are very likely going to have moments when you cannot believe what ungrateful selfish people you are related to and will want to be far away from them.

Plan on a few group things, then let everyone go their own way. Group things might be a booking for a meal or two, or a show you all see together, or a pool afternoon. Its probably good to sketch out for them which days in which parks so everyone has the same reservations - that way cousins can group up if they want. But moving through WDW in groups larger than about six or eight is NOT easy.

Make sure that everyone has an idea of the budget up front. "I'm covering the rooms, but park tickets will be $XXX per ticket and you'll need airfare, plus meals at WDW are not cheap, plan on $XX per person for dinner and $XX for lunch and the same if you want to eat breakfast in the park." Let everyone know that you understand that Disney is a commitment in your families time and money, but this is also a commitment for me in terms of money, so back out now if you want. Every trip where we have taken guests, except for one, I've ended up covering more meals and incidentals than I thought because someone gets there are cries poverty.

I possibly have the worst luck with group trips - the first trip I planned for family was my mother in law and her husband - he bailed, and we subbed in her sister which turned out well. The next trip was just my husband and his brother - his brother spent the whole trip complaining about Disney not being the vacation he wanted to be on and planning a trip (which we would presumably pay for) for the two of them to go to Europe. The third trip was my extended family - which was postponed twice and ended with a different cast of characters as my sister first had a pregnancy we had to move around for, then had a cancer diagnosis and chemo in there as well. We did take the trip - although my other sister stayed back because she'd had a really rough time of it - domestic abuse and substance recovery. Then there was the Grand Villa for four trip - which was supposed to be my in laws, brother in law (the one who wanted to go to Europe) and his partner - but he passed away due to cancer before the trip took place. The last trip I took involved me almost throwing a friend overboard on the ferry with a cement block around his ankles - they avoided any planning pre trip, and then he did nothing but complain and second guess the choices I made during the trip.

Good luck.

 

[crisi]

• The older the children, the more difficult it is to create a 'group plan.' School schedules, sports, exams, papers, etc! Be prepared to be understanding! It is what it is. We all do the best we can to adjust and to be loving.

This is a big deal. For us and our own kids, it hit fairly hard by middle school - we could plan in elementary school around camps and school schedules - but by middle school the commitments were high - and by high school it was really impossible to schedule a family trip between sports and drama practices, jobs, exams. Plus, in middle school they also entered the larval stage of "uggghhhh....I don't want to get up and go hang out with my family and ride cheesy rides." You don't know a year in advance that Summer baseball is going to be a complete and total twelve week commitment, or that to play in marching band, you MUST go to band camp a certain week, or that to accept a part in the Spring play you have to be available for practices over Spring Break. Scheduling just our own family in its entirely with commitments became a no go, and the last time we had minor kids and went to Disney, neither of them could go with us - one had to work, the other was doing college coursework and their break didn't line up with the trip.

 

[bobbiwoz]

OP, I hope it works out for you. We have never had a multi party vacation go awry, except last year when I and one other guest got sick. So, there were two friends in a 2 bedroom by themselves.