"Siblings Trip" Ideas...hints...help!

[renessa]

Hello! My husband and I spent a week at CBR July 2002 on our honeymoon. We are now planning (or at least I am!!) our next trip for Christmas 2004. We had a great time, but I kept wishing that my brother and sisters were there. I have a sister who will be 23 at the time (I'll be 26), a sister who will be 13, and a brother who will be 15. My husband and I want to go with the older sister and her fiance... And we want to steal the teens from mom and dad for a week. I have the go ahead from DH, older sister, and have mentioned it to mom. She mentioned maybe going along, but I really just want it to be us kids. We would need 2 rooms for some privacy. We would plan some things as a group/and some couple only nights. This is still in the intial planning stages. And input, ideas, holiday advice, etc would be much appreciated. I am also toying with the idea of making them guess on Christmas 2003, with tickets, clothing, etc all themed for the trip. That way they would have fun planning with us. They have been several times, but not since 1996. I don't know if I could wait, but planning a last minute suprise would also be great. Thanks, Renessa

 

[TexasAggie]

Be sure to look at the "Home Away From Home" resorts. You could get a Ft. Wilderness cabin or a 2-bedroom at one of the DVC resorts. That would help with privacy, plus you would be able to eat breakfast and maybe some other meals in the room, saving on food expenses. Also, you might have access to a washer/dryer depending on resort, meaning you won't have to bring so much luggage. You can pack lighter, leave room for more souveniers!

 

[renessa]

Thanks for the ideas...I haven't booked yet, but where we stay will be based on codes available at the time. I have stayed at FW, PO and CBR, but the three sibs have only stayed at FW.
Keep the ideas comming! Ren

 

[Ballybunion3]

Man, what a nice sister and Brother-in-law!

Anyway, just be aware - the ages of your younger siblings is such that they "may" have an "I'm too cool for Disney" attitude (spoken from experience w/ my kids). Especially if their parents go. Having said that, you know your siblings best, so just a word of caution so you don't get your hopes up too much. If they're Disney fanatics like the rest of us, you have no problem.

Depending on your budget, the Home-Away from Home sounds good (but expensive). You may be able to get good rates if you go early enough for 3 rooms at the All Stars - book early enough, and if you can go the week before Christmas, you get all the Holiday Bennies with less crowds & better rates.

My 2 cents!

 

[mickeyfanz]

Just my 2 cents but you may want to consider inviting your parents along, too. You mentioned doing some "couples only" events which means the 13 and 15 year old would be without supervision for those times. Not that they need a babysitter at that age but I myself would just not want to be responsible if something happened to them when they were unsupervised.

Other than that little glitch, it sounds wonderful to me. I plan to take my brother and his wife this Fall and we went ahead and invited my parents, too - just so they didn't feel left out. Plus you never know how many more opportunities you will have to travel as a whole family!

The idea about the Home Away From Home resorts is great, too. We stayed in a 2-bedroom villa at Old Key West last year and it was a great experience! Good luck with the planning.

 

[renessa]

My brother and sisters were very dissapointed to find out that they could not go to WDW on our honeymoon with us. I think that they were raised disney fanatics like the rest of us. I am wondering about bathrooms. Aren't there just one in the FW log homes? How about the one bedrooms?

About the timing- My husband only has from Christmas to New Years off, so we know it will be expensive, but none of us has ever seen WDW at the Holidays.

Oh, and to clarify...when I meant couples night out, I meant older sister and her finace have a night alone (PI?) and then one night DH and I could go to PI alone. Maybe we can take the teens one night. Due to current family circumstances taking the parents is definately not the plan.....

I really wish that we could go at off times, but the week of the 4th of July and the week at Christmas are it. We went during the 4th this past year, used FP, made the best of it, and had a great time!!!!

Thanks for all the "cents" !
Ren

 

[SnackyStacky]

If you can deal with crowds, and your choices are 4th of July and Christmas, I'd take Christmas over the 4th for the cooler temperatures!

I went last year with my sister and her fiancé. We had a great time. I was 22 and she was 24. We didn't have teens with us, but rather 3 other 20 somethings, and we all had a great time!

The way we worked it was a park a day. We did Animal Kingdom on a Wednesday, Magic Kingdom on a Thursday, MGM on a Friday, and Epcot on a Saturday. We did Downtown Disney a couple of nights during the week, but we were always way too tired for Pleasure Island. But, two of my friends on the trip went out for a girl's night out. They did their own thing, so like you suggested you and your husband could go out one night, and your sister and her fiancé another night.

As for a hotel, I don't know what your budget is for the trip, but you could consider renting DVC points to save some money on a Home Away From Home resort. My personal choice is always to save money on the hotel by staying at a Downtown Disney hotel, or off-property. More money for souvenirs!

If you and your siblings are as close as my sister and I, you'll have a GREAT time, no matter what you plan. I really wish my sister could come back with me again!!