Where to stay with extended family?

[GOBA Mom Lynn]

We are just starting to plan a trip for 8/04 for my husband's family. We will probably have 10 adults(5 couples), 5 kids (9-17yrs) and an infant!

Does anybody have any suggestions on locations? The last time we all went together was 1985, and we didn't have any kids then, (and only 2 parks to go to!) and we stayed at CR.

One of our adults is a teacher (or should be by then), so we were considering Dolphin/Swan. Do they take 5 in a room? As you can see, we'll be in the Magic very soon, so was thinking we could check out different resorts while we're there. Everyone back home will be counting on us to be the experts!!

Also, would it be easier for one person to make the ressies for the whole group, or split it up for payments, etc.

Anybody that has done a big family trip lately, please give us advice!!

Thanks!!!

 

[Darian]

Originally posted by GOBA Mom Lynn
We are just starting to plan a trip for 8/04 for my husband's family. We will probably have 10 adults(5 couples), 5 kids (9-17yrs) and an infant!

Does anybody have any suggestions on locations? The last time we all went together was 1985, and we didn't have any kids then, (and only 2 parks to go to!) and we stayed at CR.

One of our adults is a teacher (or should be by then), so we were considering Dolphin/Swan. Do they take 5 in a room? As you can see, we'll be in the Magic very soon, so was thinking we could check out different resorts while we're there. Everyone back home will be counting on us to be the experts!!

Also, would it be easier for one person to make the ressies for the whole group, or split it up for payments, etc.

Anybody that has done a big family trip lately, please give us advice!!

Thanks!!!

Hi There GOBA Mom Lynn!

Welcome to the DIS! You have come to the right place for answers to your Disney travel questions. I've learned a ton of very helful things from Pete's creation.

About your upcoming trip, I've had the "misfortune" to plan a number of group trips to Disney and other locations for our family and friends. So I may have some helpful hints for you.

Did you plan on going to WDW August 4th 2003 (8/04) OR did you mean in August 2004? I hope by the Mouse's twitching whiskers you mean 2004 cuz if you mean you will be in WDW in ten days, well, you may be lucky to hit on a room cancellation, but there are no discount codes or specials available that are worth much at the present time. At least none that I'm aware of, so you will be paying nearly full rack rate. And thats waaaaay bad. Even so, at such short notice I doubt you will be able to get any rooms, unless you rent a multi bedroom suite. Not knowing your income or spending pain threshold that may work for you... or not. The CR has some very nice suites, as do the GF & the Poly.

What kind of vacation experience do you and your friends want?
So, would you and your guests prefer to stay at a Delux hotel? I would ask and find out what level of accomodations they will be comfortable with. Some folks find the Value resorts charming, comfortable and delightful. Others have a less positive view of them. Some folks dearly love the moderates and their amenities, while others find the "motel" layouts less than comfortable and need the full "hotel" experience - indoor room entry, full room service, concierge, valet parking etc. They are all wonderful, it just depends on what you want. Please post again and let us know; there are many helpful people on the DIS after all.

Collecting Money for the whole group or doing Individual Reservations
OK this one is real tricky. If these folks are Disney amatures, you'll need to do the research, discuss the plans, get approval from the group - get a mass concencus - so you'll all be sure to go to the same hotel/motel on the same dates. You may also wish to coordinate activities while there. The nightmare scenario is when "aunt sue" calls CRO to make her own ressies at (for example) the CR, but discovers she can cut her vacation costs in half by staying at the CBR. Vacation date arrives and she discovers that hey, she is no longer with the group but somewhere else... and in somewhat less luxurious surroundings.

WDW is BIG - 47 square miles of fun. Many people (who have never been there before) just can't grasp that.

If you collect ALL the money and make all the ressies, this won't happen. You will have to deal with people who want to back out. One solution to this is making their funds non-refundable, but transferrable to someone else who can replace them. Of course ALL the rooms at WDW will be in your name initially.

If this is all too much effort, do your research, have the family meeting, decide on where to stay and let a travel agent book everyone's trip... with YOUR instructions of where they should stay and when.

Hope this helps a tad,

Darian

 

[GOBA Mom Lynn]

Darian

Thanks for the quick reply.

To further explain...

Yes, I mean August 2004!

I think we were going to start pricing with the All Stars and mods first, to see the price difference. I was mostly wondering if anyone had already done something similar, and figured out what the cheapest alternative would be: Rooms with 4 each at the values or rooms with 5 at the mods. Don't think villas, only because my MIL already said there is no way she is going near a kitchen on her vacation!
Also do they do discounts for having so many people? I thought I might have read somewhere you needed 10 rooms for that, just wondering....

Thanks again.
Lynn

 

[Darian]

You are right, that a "group" discount normally requires at least 10 rooms be purchased... and the kicker is, if a couple in your party who was going to take the tenth room decides to cancel.. you get to pay for it anyway. Why? because your ressie is for a block of rooms. In that situation, its going to be your responsiblity to write that large check to pay for it all. Usually that is done before you even arrive. Circumstances to vary of course and this may or may not be the case. At one time we were quoted 35% off for a block of 10 rooms (off rack rate) when my company was hosting a party at WDW. Later, that discount was only 10%... not any better than AAA so why bother with the extra risk and restrictions?

I agree with your MIL that a kitchen is not where you want to be during your vacation. The multi bedroom suites I've stayed in did NOT have kitchens, but they were also not what you would consider a villa either.

If you go to mary waring's site.... www.mousesavers.com you will be able to see a number of special discount codes for your vacation next year... there aren't really any available right now, but her site is a great place to get an education on discounts on disney... a concept I had a hard time believing wasn't just a scam. But we saved over 40% on our vacation at wdw last year just from reading her site. Wowsers! This year, we've used the fairytale vacation package to get an even better discount... but learned about it BEFORE the general public so we were able to book the rooms we wanted. Remember, only a limited number of rooms are allocated for these discount codes and when they are gone, they are gone. First come, first served.

Your desire to plan now for next year is very, very smart. Some folks wait till the last second then have a tantrum cuz they can't stay where they want or get ressies at the restaurants they want. My response is "sooo plan your trip next time."

Its must my opinion and trust me on this, there are a lot of wonderful folks on the DIS who energetically disagree with me, but the mods seem to be a better value to me than the value resorts. More bang for the buck in my opinion... which i freely admit is only based on research I've done, photos I've seen. I have never stayed at a moderate or at a value. I have been to several Deluxes and usually stay conceirge. So do take my opion with a serious grain of salt.

Have you ever stayed at a value resort? If not, take the time to read posts about guest experiences there. If the layout of the rooms, the room size, features, amenities are acceptable to you then go for it. Some folks find the bathrooms miserable. Others love them. DW & I are on vacation and don't wish to fight over the bathroom sink so we get a room with two. That means a deluxe resort. Does anyone know of a moderate that has two sinks in their bathrooms?

Darian