Who has gone with another family?

[GADISNEYGIRL]

DH, DS and I are generally pretty stingy with our vacation time, ESPECIALLY at WDW. We don't like to vacation with the rest of our family (inlaws, brother, sister, etc), and the few people we actually think we could tolerate on a trip like that aren't Disney nuts like us! However, in the last year we've become very close friends with a family who has a daughter close to our son's age (3), and another daughter who is 13. They have only been to WDW once, and they jokingly said they wanted to go with us next time they go, because we are Disney Experts (as they said). After much more joking about it, I finally asked if they really did want to go, and they said YES! We are tentatively planning a Wed night thru Sat trip in early February. They are very much like us (much moreso than our family is), and are willing to let us make all the plans~taking into consideration the things they're interested in, etc, and I think it will be a lot of fun. I'm just hoping we don't all end up hating each other! What experiences have you had with this?

 

[stacy6552]

I think you have have have to go into it with a breezy attitude. And make sure they do too. We went at the same time as our closest friends, but we only saw them on a fireworks cruise that we shared. The rest of the time we spent apart, or on the phone ( gotta love those cells).

You have to agree that too much is nothing eprsonal and if someone wants to split up, its no sweat. Make a few firm plans, like a fireworks cruise or the HDDR, and leave everything else loose.

Then remember that over the years you will have many Disney experiences as your family grows and if you spend most of your time on this trip with someone else, we thats just another way to enjoy the parks.

 

[purplepixie]

The first time we went with our two girls we met friends there that had three girls. The age range was 1 - 5 yrs. We didn't go in planning to spend every minute with each other, but we ended up doing that. I should say though that these were friends we once had shared a town house with so we were used to close quarters and ALOT of exposure. We did say up front that if anyone wanted some "alone" time for their family we just had to speak up. We just had so much fun watching all the girls that it worked for us to stay together.

I would suggest making a plan before you go to meet up occasionally. If you want to spend more time together once you're there you can. If it's too much you're not stuck with eachother.

Good luck and most importantly have fun.

 

[Cyndiu]

We did, last summer. I basically came up with our family's plan and shared it with them and they made they own plans. We did spend some time together and ended up in the same parks most days, so we met for lunch or dinner or fireworks. However, it was understood that we were doing what we were doing. If they wanted to join us it was fine and if they wanted to be separate it was fine. We had a great time and we're all still friends!

 

[WDWorBUST]

We went with friends and we approached it as "here is what we're doing - you're welcome to join us"!! We also are very stingy with our vacation time and this worked great. We're trying it again this upcoming September trip and I'm going with the same attitude. Here is our itinerary....you're welcome to join us at any time. We are trying to get an Illuminations Cruise, and a couple of dinners. But otherwise we will have our plans and I have a feeling they will wing it more than we do....but as long as they're happy and we're happy it will work.

 

[jimmiej]

We went with some friends in '98 (only our second trip). It worked OK. They let me do the planning. We stayed at ASMu because they didn't want to pay for anything higher. We had stayed at POFQ the previous trip.

The only problem we had was the husband made a big deal about the prices at Mama Melrose's.

In '04, we took our niece & nephew. Niece was fine, but nephew was a pain at times. Overall, not bad.

DW & I have been by ourselves twice to WDW & once to DL. It's SO much better that way! We're planning our 25th anniversary trip to WDW & our first Disney Cruise for July '06. Can't wait!

 

[KAMommy]

We have travelled with friends twice, one good result and one bad.

On only our second trip to Disney, I had our trip planned when a friend said, "I just booked for the same week, we can all go together. Is that okay?" At that point, I could only grin and bear it. Anyway, that trip was miserable. The other couple tried to abdicate parenting duties to us (mine are enough to deal with, thank you very much). And they just complained the whole time...it was too hot, too crowded, too everything. We hit the parks in the morning and leave at closing, and they just, well, didn't. The trip did a lot to damage the friendship.

On the other hand, we just got back from a cruise and two days in park with another couple. We planned this from the start, and we are all enough alike that things went wonderfully. We split up when we wanted to (no one expected me to be a tour guide ). We had such a great time that we are planning a longer trip together next summer.

In other words, for me, it just depended on the attitude of the other family.

 

[Laurajean1014]

We met 5 families at WDW in April. It was the best vacation we ever had. We spent lots of time with everyone. Dinners with some, water parks. The kids had a great time and the parents had an even better time.

Be very flexible and you will have a great time.

 

[estherhead]

We've travelled with family and friends to WDW, both mine and dh's, MANY times. Mixed results, generally good but I do get frusterated with stopping to pee after EVERY ride. For us, the best thing is to keep actual touring of the parks in small groups. One day we actually toured Univeral Islands of Adventure with 16 people aged 18 months to 70. Very irritating. Also, we have smaller kids and have discovered that boys/girls have to be split when they are young. Princesses are not the typical 6 year old boys idea of fun.

We also have turned down families with difficult children or special needs adults. I like them in my "real" life but on vacation I need laid back & easy going. And I mean in adults and children. You all know who I'm talking about right?

This year we are going with 2 families. My sister's and my best friend & her husband. My sister is making the touring plans and handing them out and then we are all choosing what we'll do from that. She's good at it and enjoys it so she doesn't feel abused. Her attitude is, "Here is what we are doing, we love and enjoy you, but you'll have to tag along if you want to hang out with us."

My experience is it works better if one person says that, and hopefully it is the most organized Disney knowledgable person. Then, if one day a family decides to do something different, no one is hurt as there were no expectations. But there IS a plan if you are together instead of wandering about aimlessly while people "get their bearings." Grr... You had time to "get your bearings" for months, lets not waste time!

Also, we don't do much PS dining. I know people being late to dinner causes a lot of stress. Last year dh & I only ate one PS meal, CRT, and my sister and family didn't go (she has three boys.)

Cell phones are a big help. I would say our biggest problem with our trips has been cell phones not working in certain sections of the park, though, so don't totally rely on them. Have a back-up plan. Ours is, if you don't call me back in 5 minutes, we're not getting together. I have a park to see! I wait for no one!

And I think the best part is dh & I get to ride the rides together instead of baby swapping and riding alone. I love that. Plus my sis & I swap actual babysitting too for romantic meals. Very nice. DH's family has 4 sisters (I love them all) and they all have 2-3 teenagers. VERY handy to have a teenager around at WDW. Their uses are endless.

Esther

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

I think it will be fun, after reading all your replies. For the most part, we'll all stay together, but we'll be flexible about that. We're only going to be in the parks on two days, MK one day, Epcot the other. They want to do both CRT and Crystal Palace, and then maybe Park Fare on our going home day. We've already given them prices for rooms, tickets, and meals, with the understanding that, as AP holders, we will pay for everything, and they will pay us (in order to get the discount). They are good for their word, so the money thing won't be an issue. We've been away with them before, overnight, at a lake house where there was NOTHING to do but hang out together, and we had a great time. I don't think we'll get on one another's nerves or anything like that. Their youngest daughter is terrified of all characters, and our DS LOVES them. They're hoping that when she sees DS with them, she'll want to do it, too. She tends to be a little timid. But we've told them that you CAN avoid the characters if you want. So maybe they could ride something while we're chasing characters. I'll keep everyone posted! Thanks for all your comments!

 

[Harmony]

Just got back from a Magical Gatherings vacation. (3 families total) We had a blast 'cause we all like similar things. Plus, our kiddos are almost the same ages so that helped *alot!* And of course, we made it clear that we weren't stuck at the hip and could go our own way anytime we wanted. Surprisingly, we all ended up sticking together...but it didn't feel like we "had to."

After the trip, we all agreed that it had gone well. DH even said "gee, it went better than I expected." LOL

Just try to plan as much as you can, so there are no surprises. Also make sure they know that there are crowds and that the weather isn't predictable. (regardless of what the weatherman says)

It's also a good idea...if y'all plan on eating your meals together...to have each family pick a "must do" restaurant.

Have fun! Oh and this one went so well that we are now going to start planning another one...but for another batch of family members...in a year. I just pray that one goes as well. LOL