What q's should I ask family??? (Update on post #26)

[Karenj2]

I read a tip on allearsnet.com about surveying your family before the trip so that you can figure out what to do together at the parks. I'm working on planning a trip in 2007 for both my family and my husbands, and I'd like to do some things together, but with the possibility of 20+ people going, I know it'll be difficult.

So, what types of questions should I ask? (Some questions they mentioned are: what types of rides, what types of foods, etc.)

Want to help me?

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

- Does anyone suffer any food allergies or dietary restrictions?
- Does anyone have any health conditions that will need to be monitored over the course of the trip (diabetes, asthma, pregnancy, etc)
- Do the grand gathering events* interest you? (* Illuminations dessert party, MK Fireworks voyage, Breakfast at Tony's, Safari Celebration Dinner)
- Stay on-site or off?
- Rent a car or not?
- If presented with matching group t-shirts, would you wear them?

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

When I planned a recent trip with a mix of folks, I asked these additional questions (or I wish I'd asked these questions in some cases):

• How do you do in crowds?
• What do you usually do to have fun/relax? (some folks were readers, some more sporty - that let me know who would need more down time to recharge. I also discovered some video gamers in the group, so that also helped me to plan for them to check out DQ.)
• Is there any kind of food you won't eat?
• How adventurous of an eater are you? (one person would try anything, and someone else was a strict "meat and potatoes" guy. It was very helpful to know that in advance!)
• Who are your favorite Disney characters? What's your favorite Disney movie? (that helped to know which characters to find for autographs or to be sure and hit a ride that featured a favorite story)
• Are you an early bird or a night owl? (some people just could not get out of bed before 9:00 am! It drove the early birds nuts. Others had to be in bed by 10:00 pm - that drove the night owls crazy.)
• Is there anything you especially want to do at WDW that would ruin your trip if you don't get to do it?

 

[cleo]

And the Number One Question you must ask:

Where will we all meet for dinner after we've split up and had some time away from each other!

I'm not kidding, either. Ask about time apart. You'll need it.

 

[Dale-n-Chip]

I would add:

1. What are your absolute MUST DOs?
and
2. What are you willing to compromise?

Twenty plus people will be an adventure you'll never forget, that's for sure. We had trouble with five! I'd probably get the questions posted earlier in the thread answered first, then my two additions. After I got a general idea, I'd put together a set of "adventures" on a very loose timetable and have people sign up (maybe not that formal, but something to get an idea). So something like "OK, Tuesday morning a group of us will hit the Animal Kingdom at park opening. We'll leave the resort at 8 am." or whatever.

Good luck!

 

[disgram]

this list is great!! I am in the process of getting a trip together for us and another family and never thought about these things!!!
How abouttrying new experiences..ie. rides and shows? My DD doesn't want to see the Hall of Presidents again so what do I do with her?

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

On our last trip to WDW there were 14 of us. We would meet every morning and do the things together that everyone wanted to do. Then by lunch time we would go our own way. The teenagers wanted more roller coster fun while the little ones wanted to get autographs. We set a time to meet back for dinner. This really worked well for us.

 

[pezpam]

I'd add in prices where applicable, but not make it an embarrassing thing. Perhaps a list people could check off items on that they wanted to sign up for? As in "Do you want to participate in: Tour X ($45 pp), Fireworks cruise($? pp), Meal X ($35 pp), etc......" Then, if you have 8 who want to go on Keys to the Kingdom, 12 who want to take a fireworks cruise, 4 who want to sign kids up for the Pirate Cruise, whatever, you can plan and make reservations accordingly. Just make it clear that if they do not sign up by the time you make reservations, you can't guarantee any additions and that if a reservation requires you to pay a nonrefundable amount of money that they will not get that money back if they back out. Politely, of course.

 

[Karenj2]

And the Number One Question you must ask:

Where will we all meet for dinner after we've split up and had some time away from each other!

I'm not kidding, either. Ask about time apart. You'll need it.

Believe me, I know that one!!! We just spent only two days with BIL, his wife & 2 kids, FIL, MIL, and SIL, her husband and kid, and that was enough! (We were together almost 24/7, which I would NEVER recommend!)

Anyway, keep 'em coming! I might make up a survey and post it here, for other folks too.

 

[Goofy4]

This may have been mentioned -- families have different styles and expectations. Some will enjoy being part of a "structure" ("we'll do this, then this, then this") others not. So, asking about general "expecations" may help -- you may learn something you hadn't thought of.

Our special activities (mostly of the "grand-gathering" type) worked well. Some did there own thing, mostly only joining us for the special activities. Others hung with their "tour guide" most of the time. The special activities helped define what park (and "why") we would all be in on which day -- and looking back, that was an important hurdle.

20? Wow!

p.s. We did the "t-shirt" thing where most of us wore the same color shirt. Worked for us, but for 20, that might be too much.

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

I'd add in prices where applicable, but not make it an embarrassing thing. Perhaps a list people could check off items on that they wanted to sign up for? As in "Do you want to participate in: Tour X ($45 pp), Fireworks cruise($? pp), Meal X ($35 pp), etc......" Then, if you have 8 who want to go on Keys to the Kingdom, 12 who want to take a fireworks cruise, 4 who want to sign kids up for the Pirate Cruise, whatever, you can plan and make reservations accordingly. Just make it clear that if they do not sign up by the time you make reservations, you can't guarantee any additions and that if a reservation requires you to pay a nonrefundable amount of money that they will not get that money back if they back out. Politely, of course.

This is a great idea! I wish I'd thought of this - but I'm so glad you did! I will definately use this idea the next time I plan a big group trip!

 

[Karenj2]

I'm hoping that we go our own way, but I also wanted to see what, in general, people want to do, to see what I can point them towards. (i.e., I LOVE to eat at the higher end restaurants at Disney, but I can picture others in my extended family wanting to do counter service or skip meals. It'll help to know know that X people would want to eat TS and Y people want to eat CS.)


The 20+ people are (potentially):
2 Me & DH
2 MIL & FIL
2 My parents
4 BIL, SIL, and her two kids (will be 11 & 7)
4 My sis, BIL, and their two kids (will be 7 & 3)
3 SIL, BIL and their son (will be 7)
2? My sis & her boyfriend (and maybe his 2 kids - not sure of their ages, but somewhere between 11-5)
2 Two teenage/early 20's friends who can babysit occasionally

The potential of other kidlets are strong, as we're not planning on going 'til 2007.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

Since you mention the difference in dining "styles", you might want to tell them about the dining plan, that way everyone can eat together without worrying about cost. I planned a trip for 16, and just told them which parks on which days, and planned a sit down meal for that park for that day where we all met and ate together. It was tough to get that many people together to eat, much less keep them together to tour the parks, it's just difficult to navigate that many people in a crowd. Also, we did the Fireworks Voyage, I highly recommend it! Good luck!

 

[SyracuseWolvrine]

tMy DD doesn't want to see the Hall of Presidents again so what do I do with her?

I'd recommend agreeing. From my point of view, HoP is a "once is enough" type attraction

 

[tinabheart]

I would definitely plan some 'free days' - days where there is nothing planned, and nothing planned together as a group. That way, if people 'want' to spend time together they can...but everyone knows that there is an option for a break from the group, and time to do the things that maybe no one else wants to.

Trying to find activities that all 20+ people of varying age ranges are impossible. Even dining prefernces are going to be different. Celebrate those differences by allowing everyone to have choices to make. Again...if people want to spend their free time together - there is always that option!

 

[Jacksmom99]

You might want to find out what everyone's budget expectations are, too. If you're going to plan sit down meal, dinner shows, grand gatherings, etc, you should find out what people are willing to spend. This goes for types of accommodations and tickets as well.

 

[ZoZo]

And the Number One Question you must ask:

Where will we all meet for dinner after we've split up and had some time away from each other!

I'm not kidding, either. Ask about time apart. You'll need it.

I totally agree. A group of 20+ people would be so hard to manage - it's hard enough to get a small group of 4 or 5 people to agree on something, much less 20!

I say, make it clear ahead of time that it's okay to split off into smaller groups. As long as you decide on the "ground rules" ahead of time, you'll probably be able to avoid some hurt feelings and disagreements. There is such a thing as too much togetherness!

And . . . bring cell phones to communicate with each other! Makes things much simpler.

 

[Karenj2]

Thanks all for your input - I'm working on the "survey" right now... Any more questions you think could be good?

My goal with all of this is to a) get a general idea of what people want out of this vacation, b) let those that aren't as into Disney as me know what other options are in the area (i.e., golf, behind the scenes tours, etc.), c) figure out what people's expectations are about dining options, d) get an idea about what everyone's like (i.e., the night owls, or ride-phobic people, etc.) so we can get like people together...

I know, I'm ambitious! (and crazy!) Who knows, everyone else might decide to not go, and it'll end up being me and DH!

 

[SarahandPaul]

You should ask which people have a problem with Motion sickness.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

I wouldn't focus too much on getting people together as far as touring the parks goes. When we did our group of 16, pretty much everyone stayed with their own family (we were all family, but you know what I mean) and we just met for one sit down meal per day to talk and catch up. Also, if you're doing the Magical Gatherings thing, know that everyone doesn't have to stay at the same resort, they just have to be onsite, so if there are some that have budget concerns and others that want a more "deluxe" vacation, that is an option.