Need help convincing family I have best Itinerary

[OKSTATE99]

I will try to make this short but its not easy.

My mother said she would pay our whole family's trip down to WDW (plane tickets and hotel rooms) Each of us pay our own park tickets and spending money. My family is me and my wife late 20s my DD 3 DD 7 months. Then there is my mom late 50s. Also my sister mid 30s and her DD 14. That's it I am the only male.

I have been given the job of researching the trip. I do a lot of research for Disney since I love the place. I think the best place would be the Dolphin. Since everyone can walk to two different parks. Inside corridors, a lot of dining options and such. My wife would get the nurse's discount.

Here is the problem. My sister whom I love. Tends to always to change plans cause she knows a "better way" even if she has never done something before. I want all the ammunition to fight her cause is already talking about wanting to stay in Kissimme. With an infant I will not stay off property other wise you have to rent a car and its a hassle. Also people can go to sperate parks this way.

My sister hasn't been to Disney since 1984 and hasn't stayed on property ever. She usually doesn't plan vacation she just drive somewhere and get a room when she gets there, so she has no experience in doing this. I plan 2 family trips a year so I am prepared. I want their input I don't think she realizes how tough it would be off property with two small child like we will have.

Trip is schedule for early JUNE 2004 we are going to make reservations in November sometime. so I have time convince them.

I AM SORRY THIS IS SO LONG but there are alot of details you need to know.

 

[franw]

I do all the planning for all of our WDW trips but try to involve everyone who is going in the planning stage. I think you are right about staying on WDW property and would hold firm on that. It is wonderfully generous of your mom to pay for the trip so you would want to make sure that tensions don't arise and cause her discomfort through the planning stage. Maybe you could sit down with everyone who is going and offer to do the research and come up with a couple of options. I truly believe that good planning helps to insure a great trip -- but only if everyone is talking to each other once you get there. You might want to plan some individual time where everyone can kind of go off and do their own thing. Decide how many meals you want to do together and come up with a list of restaurants you think everyone would enjoy. When we have a big family gathering (next one this Nov.) we always line up a few reservations as sometimes it is really difficult to seat a lot of people and you end up wandering around trying to find a place to eat. People who like to wing it are hard to convince otherwise but maybe you could give them enough breathing room that they can feel like they have control over part of the trip. Staying on-site helps to allow people to come and go as they choose. My husband, who only worries about having tee-times scheduled is famous for saying "ITS MY VACATION TOO YOU KNOW!" And, he's right, it is. Try to keep the planning stage fun -- this trip should be a great time for all of you.

 

[OKSTATE99]

Thanks Franw

That is a good idea about let them plan other things like PS, maybe a dinner show, a day away from the world , a non theme park day like at a water park or Disney Quest, and DTD day. Its funny I think part of the reason is that she doesn't want my mom to spend to much money but my mom doesn't care within reason as long as we are having a good time. Thanks again for all of the wonderful tips.

 

[stacy6552]

Honestly, dont fight her, just stay on property. She can stay whereeever she likes.

I reccommend you get a twobedroom villa from Disney though. Put Grandma, DS and DN into the double queen room and put the three yr old into the king with you and dw and the baby in a crib. you will get a full kitchen and you can put the little ones to bed and stay up with eveyone else in the living room, rather than having to tiptoe around the sleepers.

 

[swilphil]

STAY AT THE DOLPHIN! STAY AT THE DOLPHIN! It sounds like you need to convince the family to do the same since Mom is paying for it. I had a similar experience with my in-laws on our recent trip. I would recommend that you convince your sister to stay at the Dolphin and let her make some decisions about other aspects of the trip--which parks, which restaurants, any other special activities.

If you stay at the Dolphin, you don't need to rent a car. You are right, with an infant and 3 yo you must be on property. Dolphin is great because of its location by Epcot/MGM/Boardwalk. Also the Grotto pool is fun. We have a 12 month old and a 3 yo, but we stayed in a separate room from our inlaws, actually it was a separate floor. I would recommend this if possible. It made nap time much easier and gave us a little more privacy than if we had adjoining rooms. You could all request balcony rooms, which are only connected to non-balcony rooms, so they wouldn't be adjoining but could be on the same floor. If you can afford it, a junior suite would be nice if you are going to stay in the same room with mom. It has a small bedroom and a living room. That will help with naps and early bedtimes. Mom and/or Sis might like the Deluxe King room which has a king bed and is bigger. Some rooms have double balconies.

Another great thing about the Dolphin is the Concierage desk makes PS's for you. Right before the 4th of July we were able to get same day or next day PS's at several places. Sometimes we went with in-laws, sometimes not. I would also recommend all the adults in the group bring their cell phones if they have them. It sounds like you will want to split up some and it makes meeting up again easier, especially with your mid-day break and bossy sister. My Brother-in-law is the bossy one in my DH's family and thinks he knows everything, so we just had to go our own way when it was best for our kids.

Good luck. And whatever you do, don't stay off-site!

 

[Mommy Poppins]

We usually travel with my in-laws as my DH is their only child and thus our 3 kids are their only grandchildren. They want to be able to enjoy them while they can. That being said we always schedule some time apart so they can go do their thing, get away from whiney, over-tired kids and have some time on their own. They also watch the kids so we can "get away" during vacation as well.

We usually book adjoining rooms so that if we want to go out in the evening they can put the kids to bed and simply open the door between the rooms so they can hear them until we get back. Our kids are now 7, 4 and 1.

On our December trip, I bought them tickets for La Nouba as part of their Christmas gift (and a thank you for the trip--they are also paying for the rooms & plane tickets). We will be celebrating my birthday (and my DS) while we are there and I am sure that my DH and I will have at least one nite on our own as well.

Good Luck!! We have stayed at the Dolphin and loved it; however, with children as young as yours, I would stay at a monorail resort. They are going to want to spend the majority of their time at Magic Kingdom. Being on the monorail line with small children is WONDERFUL because you spend so much time at MK!! Your sister and her DD can just hop the monorail to the TTC and from there take the monorail to EPCOT or grab a bus from there (or the resort itself) to DTD, AK or MGM.

 

[Kimberle]

I really agree with you.

You should stay on site w/ a baby if at all possible. June can be very hot & humid. There may be times when you'll want to take your child back to the room to get out of the heat. The others can very easily remain in the parks. I also completely agree with you about not putting a baby in a hot car. Our first trip to WDW w/ our dd (2.5) we stayed at CR for that exact reason.

Also, you are going to get a terrific deal at the Swan/Dolphin. They could discontinue those discounts at any time. A couple of years ago, you couldn't touch those rooms for under $400 per night. You should diffently take advantage while you can.

Staying on-site is so perfect for a family of any size. We are only 3. Lots of times, my dd & I go off on our own. DH will spend a couple of hours with us at the parks, then he'd prefer to rent a water mouse back at the hotel.

When you stay on site you get early entry. You get into the parks 1 hour early each day. During a busy time, like June, you are really going to appreaciate hitting your fav rides w/ only a short wait. During the day, the wait is going to be at least an HOUR or TWO.

Your family is going to appreaciate being able to go off on their own. If you stay off site and have one car, you're pretty much going to be "locked" together the whole trip.

Just think, you could give Mom a nice "thank you" with a treatmetn or two at the Grand Floridian Spa. I haven't been there, but hear it is a world class spa.

Good luck to you!!

 

[momof2inPA]

We did a family trip like yours a few years ago. Unexpectedly, the problem was not the bossy sister-in-law, but the surly teenagers. Maybe your sister just wants to make sure there is plenty of room wherever you are staying to get a break from her daughter. We stayed offsite and had big villas, so the teens had their own room and no one had to share a bed with mom or grandma. How about one room and one suite at the Dolphin, so the niece can sleep on a pull-out by herself? Would this fit grandma's budget?

 

[Karel]

Sounds like you only need to convince your mom. I would stick to your guns and make it known that you are only interested in staying on property. Then get a list and prices for various rooms to compare.