We're ALL Going!

[Dopey's Girl]

Just found out that my in-laws are taking the WHOLE family to Disney for a week for Christmas 2006, and I will be the planner for the whole gang...9 adults and 5 kids (ages 3-8). I've been to Disney tons of times, but never with a group this large. Give me recommendations for all of us. We will be staying on site, probably in one of the All-Star resorts. (we've got to save Dad money SOMEWHERE on the trip!) I want to make sure to plan well, but not "over-schedule" us either.

I appreciate all suggestions. THANKS!

Dopey's Girl

 

[ILuvWDWorld]

I'm sure you'll have a great time. We're going with my entire family next month - 21 of us!!

We'll only be there for three nights/four days - a short trip. One thing we're going to do is the Fort Wilderness campfire/outdoor movie on our first night there since we're not doing a park that day. We have 10 kids in our group so I'm sure we'll enjoy it. Thought it would be a fun, FREE thing to do together.

We'll be going to parks together in the morning and splitting up by lunch or so; then we plan to meet each night for dinner, rides, and fireworks for a few hours. Some us may meet up during the day, but we think it's too difficult to move 21 people through the parks all day.

We can't wait - it's not long now!

 

[minmate]

Will the youngest be 3 at the time of the trip? Just wondering, because I think it would be great fun to plan a Pirates Cruise or Alice In Wonderland Tea for the kids one afternoon while the adults got some "grown up time." Of course, another route would be to schedule some time for them in the Neverland Club or one of the babysitting clubs so you can all do PI or a nice fancy dinner together. Don't underestimate the need for grown up time while on vacation... especially with that many people going!

Also, I think it will be quite important to find out what everyone will want to be doing and be clear about establishing separate/small group times and large group times. I would likely make a personal itinerary for my immediate family first and then try to help everyone make their own separate ones, and let them as well as the in-laws pick and choose what they want to do based on that... Making sure there are times during each day that you are together as a whole.

It may also be a good idea to pick a park a day and have everyone plan to do that one park, meeting up at various times during the day.

 

[bytheblood]

My suggestions...

1. Avoid Magical Gatherings planners and do it yourself. I think you would be much better at it being a seasoned travler.

2. Book PC and watch for those discount codes.

3. If they are still offering Disney's Magical Express, totally take advantage of that.

I have some questions for you?!
How long are you staying? Will you be flying? Are you flexible about resorts i.e.Value or Moderates? What is the age range?

 

[Dopey's Girl]

Here are more details.
Kids going are girls ages 3 and 5, boys ages 5, 7, and 8. Adults range from late 30s to 75. Some are driving there, some are flying.

I love the suggestion to be together for only portions of the trip. Obviously, traveling in mass the whole time would be crazy. We will be staying 7 days. Am flexible about where to book for lodging, but I figured that it will be cheaper to stay multiple rooms at the value than to get a bigger place elsewhere on site.

Some Questions for You
-My family is not the type to check out all the options for themselves. What's the best way to get them out info to find out what they want to do?

-I'm a fairly novice user to the boards, where can I find a list of abbreviations? What is PC? PI? I need help there.

-If we do the Pirate Cruise for the kids, what can the adults do for those 2 hours?

Thanks for helping me get some preliminary organization going!

 

[sconnell]

Here is the list of abbreviations:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/abbreviations.htm

 

[kilee]

I organized a trip for 12 last year. The best part was 9 were newbies. They had never been to WDW. Next year I get to book for a group that is currently up to about 18.

Anyhow, definetly don't try to plan too much together time in the parks. It's too hard to get groups that large navigated through the parks much less going to the same place at the same pace.

We always meet up for the parades and night time shows (Illuminations, Fantasmic, ect). We always started the day off w/ 1 ride together. (At MK it was Buzz, Epcot-- it did turn into Test Track and Mission Space, MGM was the the GMR and AK was the Safari). Then we'd have 1 PS per day together. So we could all "catch up" with one another.

We opted to not stay on site for that trip. We rented the pool homes (we ended up renting 2 but we could of been accomodated by one. The reason for this was because at the end of the day we did get together time. We had our own pool for our family. Also, the cooking and laundry facilities really came in handy. As much as I LOVE staying on site it was the best thing I think we did in the area of accomodations. We will be doing this again for the next extended family trip.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

I just did this in August with a group of 16 rannging in age from 4 to 68. Definately don't try to stay together the whole time. We arranged on ps each day, either for lunch or dinner, so everyone could spend some time all together. If you have more than 10 people in your group you'll have to call group services to make your ps's, and a deposit cc# will be required. We went through Magical Gatherings so that we could book the Magical Gatherings Fireworks Voyage. It is truly amazing, and I would reccommend it in a minute! We did that on our first night there after dinner at Chef Mickey's to "kick off" our 8 day vacation, and it definately got everyone in a Disney state of mind. Some of the places we made ps's that did a good job of handling our large group were:
Chef Mickey's- our dinner the first night, we were all seated together at a large table.
50's Prime Time Cafe- We were split between 2 tables right next to each other, but had the same server "Auntie Claire" she's great!
Hollywood and Vine- We did this so that we could do the Fantasmic dinner package and guarantee that all of us could get in to see the show. It worked out great, we just walked from the restaraunt to the theater together.
Garden Grill- We did the ice cream social here. Epcot is too large and has too many different selections as far as dining, especially in World Showcase, to try to get everyone to agree on one, so we did this in the middle of the day to get everyone together and it was also a good way to beat the heat!
As far as getting info to everyone, I made a folder for each family, which I filled with info, including menus to the places we had ps's, maps, hotel info, confirmation #'s, info on what to pack, info on each park, etc. I mailed them about 2 weeks before the trip. They worked well for us, because everyone read them on the trip down and were prepared when they arrived. Have fun planning!

 

[MsLeFever]

Even my "little" group of 6 got hard to corral sometimes (my husband, 2 kids and my parents).

When anyone wasn't happy I felt like they were blaming me because I was the planner....and then sometimes I got frustrated with them because dagnabit I was the planner and I KNEW that we didn't have to pay to park if we were WDW hotel guests and my father didn't believe me until we actually drove through the gate the first day.

When we go again as a group we are going to stay somewhere on site where the transportation is easier (we were at Ft. Wilderness which means at least a 2 bus transfer). I think it would have been better if my parents could have gone back to the hotel when they were tired. (They tried to pin it on the kids but the kids were ready to GO!)

And even though they said that they didn't want an evening to themselves next time they are getting one - they were just so tired. DH and I took a night to see La Nouba and it was so great to just have one other person to keep track of!

What an amazing treat your inlaws are giving you - have a ball!