Traveling with extended family

[bimmertt]

Hi all, I’m planning a trip to Disney with extended family including my family, my parents, and my brother’s family. To keep things simple, I was letting everyone figure out their own stays. But now I’m wondering if I should do some combination of borrowing and renting to see if we can all stay together, either in separate studios or in a 3 bedroom. This would be my first time attempting something like this. How have you all made this type of situation work? We only have around 360 points with borrowing from the next use year.

 

[robinb]

There is a lot to be said for having everyone at the same resort. I’ve done this in the past and it works out better than having people all spread out. We once booked a 2BR and a Studio for 3 families because the 2BR gave us a home base where we could gather. It worked great!

The biggest issue that I see (and have faced) is when a family isn’t all in and bails on you after it’s too late to cancel or bank forward. My in-laws canceled on us 30 days before the date not understanding the drop dead date was really 31 days. Hello, “holding”.

I would consider having your family members having some skin in the game. Maybe paying the dues for the extra points used over what your family is using (like the difference between the 1br and a 2br).

 

[zavandor]

These boards are full of horror stories of friends and families cancelling at the last minute.
No matter how much you're going to try to explain DVC rules and how valuable your points are, they're still going to think they're free for you so it's not a big deal if they change their mind.
Book for them with your points only if you don't mind losing them.

 

[sndral]

In my family my sister & her family are 100% reliable. My brother is usually reliable but has been known to flake. Even assuming your family isn’t prone to canceling, sometimes things happen - illness, for example, so it’s always good to build some flexibility into your plans.
Can your parents stay w/ you in a 2 br. & your brother’s family in a studio? That way if something happens and your brother or parents cancel, you can keep the 2 br. & just cancel the studio.
You don’t say how long you plan to stay or when you plan to go, but you might take a look at point charts to see what 360 points can get you - I’d consider AKV standard view, OKW, & SSR - all low point choices likely to be available at 7 months.

 

[Best Aunt]

Even if everybody is 100% reliable, sometimes there is such a thing as too much togetherness. Some people find it more relaxing to have their own space to retire to at the end of the day.

An option I don't see mentioned (but I'm not quite awake) is having everybody make their own arrangements, but have you suggest a hotel. Or a hotel area.

You could say, "We are staying at Beach Club Villas. You can make a (cash) reservation at Beach Club Villas, or Beach Club or Yacht Club, and be in the same hotel complex. Or at Swan, Dolphin, Swan Reserve, Boardwalk Inn or BoardWalk Villas, and be in the same vicinity. Or if you prefer to stay somewhere else, we can always find a spot to meet up each day."

Or whatever area you like.

You could let them know when discounts have dropped, or are about to drop.

Edited to add: If people want to spend time at the same hotel pool complex, there are issues if they are staying at different hotels. In my example, you can't get into the Beach/Yacht's Stormalong Bay pool area if you aren't staying there.

You're going to have to contemplate how people will be spending their time anyway. If every day is a park day, then people could just meet up at a park in the morning, no matter where they are staying.

 

[GreatAuntie]

I did a large extended family trip. We all stayed at the same hotel but everyone had their own room. It made for simple logistics but also was good for everyone to have their own home base for sleeping, getting ready and some space.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

I’m always in favour of keeping things simple. Let people figure out their own stays.

(I have invited my parents and my brother several times to go with us to Disney. Not once has a trip actually happened. Last time I toiled and pieced together a BWV 2 bedroom standard view over March break, then my brother couldn’t make it work anymore. That sucked but I learned my lesson.)

 

[Wood Nymph]

Hi all, I’m planning a trip to Disney with extended family including my family, my parents, and my brother’s family. To keep things simple, I was letting everyone figure out their own stays. But now I’m wondering if I should do some combination of borrowing and renting to see if we can all stay together, either in separate studios or in a 3 bedroom. This would be my first time attempting something like this. How have you all made this type of situation work? We only have around 360 points with borrowing from the next use year.

We've had many trips with extended family. The only times we stayed in two-bedroom villas was when we paid the total cost. Our adult children stayed in villas with us. One time we stayed in a 2br villa at OKW. I told my sisters that they could stay with us for free, but they had to sleep in the living room.

The trips with extended family that worked out the best were when everyone stayed at the same resort and booked their own rooms. The trips where one of the groups stayed at a different resort were doable, but also a little inconvenient. We spent too much time coordinating the meetups rather than just being together from the start.

I would not rent points for the other family members. Too much can go wrong.

 

[Meriweather]

We do family trips with our children and their families......7 of us.
We do a 2 bedroom and a studio. We use our points.
DD stays in the studio and takes a kid now and then for a sleep over.
DS and his family have the bedroom with 2 beds and the next time his kids (or a least one) will go into the living room.
We prefer to stay at OKW because of the room sizes.
They are reliable and we always have a great time. Nice to have a central place to meet up.
In the parks everyone is all over the place because of different interests.
We do always go to the same parks and almost always meet up for lunch

 

[jo-jo]

We have done 12. Us, kids and grandkids. Did a 2 bedroom had 10 but one kid under 3 and we took a studio. The idea was the kids could be together, and we could have some peace. The 2 bedroom was really great with being able to feed the group even if it was cereal and sandwiches. Washer and dryer , wonderful with 6 kids.

But I went into it if someone had to cancel, the studio would be dropped. Less points to worry about.

We also did a trip, where everyone was in different resorts. Pop, whatever.....it was a nightmare for meeting up. Let's meet at 11 by the fountain. Bus from POP took forever, I got here early and went on SSE but it broke down and ride took 30 mins. Much easier to have everyone in same resort.

 

[PrincessGidget]

I have done large family trips and have another one booked for this December. The extended family DO NOT UNDERSTAND DVC. Heck sometimes I barely understand it and I have been a member since 2008
I booked a GV at BLT at exactly 11 months. At that point my niece, nephew and their significant others were still wavering. (Mind you, we did this trip last year and I still have the texts from them saying they wish they had taken the day(s) off from work and joined us.)
I told my husband if everyone flakes we will have an awesome room and our boys (3) will have lots of space. Or, my middle son is doing the CP and we can invite his friends to join us. Or my sister lives in Florida and we can invite her family to join us.

Reality: my niece and her BF and my nephew and his GF decided they would come. That decision was made after the 7 month mark and there was no availability at BLT so their studio was booked on cash and NOT paid by me!!! Snooze ya lose.

My motto now, I do not book for them until their flights are booked.

 

[bimmertt]

Seems like the overwhelming consensus is to get a commitment which we don’t quite have 100%. My parents are retired and I can count on them to come, but I don’t have the same confidence with my brother’s family. We’re also trying to stay at a monorail or skyliner resort for a week, so the points necessary are up there. If you don’t have enough points, do the rental services facilitate point transfers, or do they try to make the reservation(s) for the days you need?

 

[SpaceMountain77]

We have now taken three family trips over the past three years. We stayed in a 2-bedroom villa at Disney's Riviera Resort in 2022 and 2024 and a 3-bedroom grand villa at Disney's Old Key West Resort in 2023. Together, we are three families with six adults and three children. One family stayed in each of the three rooms.

Our family members did not enjoy their stays at Disney's Riviera Resort because the Inovabeds in the living room lack privacy and there is no dedicate bathroom. Being in a shared space and sharing one of the two bathrooms was perceived to be bothersome.

The 3-bedroom villa at Disney's Old Key West Resort was also a disappointment to our family members because the smaller of the two upstairs bedrooms has two double beds, rather than two queen beds.

For next year, I have reserved three deluxe studios at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas - Jambo House. It is now abundantly clear that everyone wants their own room, with their own beds and bathroom. While I am disappointed that we will not be together, it is much easier than hearing daily dissatisfaction comments. Also, three deluxe studios with a standard view are 294 points (6 nights, Sunday through Saturday), which is much less than I have spent in the past.

It is worth noting that while our families have not cancelled a trip, there has always been uncertainty in the months leading up to the reservation. I never feel like the trip is going to happen until the Disney Dining Plan and/or park tickets are added. This coming year, I actually feel more comfortable with the point use and three deluxe studios because I could book a 1-bedroom villa at Disney's Old Key West Resort (8 nights, 263 points) or Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa (8 nights, 286 points) for a comparable amount of points should they cancel.

Aside from the villa category, the best advice I can offer is to consider your point use possibilities prior to booking, especially if you will be borrowing to complete the reservation.

 

[NVDISFamily]

I've done a few larger multi room trips for friends or family with mostly success but there are still some things to consider.

No matter how many times you make it very very clear what the cost is to you and how bad it is to modify or cancel close to the trip people will always do what is in their interest when the time comes near. Someone in our party decided to modify their travel a few months out due to an airfare deal and thankfully we were able to get only current year points returned so we could bank them.

Doors are magical and it's their vacation too. I love booking GVs to have a large place to gather up the family but it does kind of stink that the other family staying with us doesn't have some privacy for the adults. Sure they likely wouldn't have that in the hotel room they booked, but they booked it and you were not the cause of that "problem"..... If you don't need the GV, consider two 2BR or a mix of 1 and 2BR if you can. Again, doors are magical on vacation

Overall I've had a lot of good multi family trips where we sponsored people join us but there was some learning along the way.

 

[robinb]

Seems like the overwhelming consensus is to get a commitment which we don’t quite have 100%. My parents are retired and I can count on them to come, but I don’t have the same confidence with my brother’s family. We’re also trying to stay at a monorail or skyliner resort for a week, so the points necessary are up there. If you don’t have enough points, do the rental services facilitate point transfers, or do they try to make the reservation(s) for the days you need?

I would still recommend a 2BR and a studio, or maybe 3 studios. If your brother "flakes" then you can cancel one of the studios and go one with your vacation.