Multiple Family Vacation in Disney?

[DopeysMom]

Ok, I am a true Newbie. I last went to WDW in 1985 or so--Epcot was not finished yet!

I now have 2 sons, 4 and 2, and am planning a trip to WDW hopefully for May, 2010. I will have lots of questions in the coming months.

My immediate question may be somewhat etiquette based, but also based on your vast planning experiences.
I have a bro who also has 2 sons, currently 3 and newborn. We have talked in the past about going to WDW all together, but that was before the newborn.

Is it in poor taste to plan our vacation and say "here's our plan, we'd love for you to join us" without consulting them first? I love my nephews, but I don't want the then 2 yo's needs to be the basis of my vacation, you know what I mean? I'm waiting (very impatiently!!) to do Disney until we're past the diapers and daily naps.

How much of a hassle is it to book a group of 8 (or 10, or 12, depending on grandparents)?
Is it hard to make separate reservations and then try to be near each other?

Just looking for feedback. . .I have not planned anything definite but just looking into the how to plan.

Tnx in advance!

[MississippiDisneyFreak]

:) After reading trip reports and hearing other friends stories my suggestion would be

Tell them upfront when you want to go and tell them you would be happy for them to go at the same time but feel its best to make separate reservations, ADR's etc....that way, you can meet up at the park when its convenient but nobody's under pressure to meet at this time and show up for this ADR or nobody will be mad when they cancel and ruin your plans....you could even leave one TS meal open and try to get together for one special meal....They probably will be relieved that the pressure is off too

[WishingStar2006]

I agree with the previous poster.

I'll never forget the trip that I planned with my two teenage sons and my married daughter with her DH and 2 young DS's. I had planned everything, paid for everything, had all the ADR's, etc. and really went out of my way to make it special for DD and her family (they were at FW in a camper and we were at WL...by their choice)....after the first day her DH decided he didn't want to hang with all of us..wanted to do his own thing and, of course, DD and her crew followed him and I think we saw them 3 times in a 5 day stay!!!

Plan your own memorable trip, tell them the dates you're going to be there and perhaps agree on one or two TS meals together and then let the rest play itself out!

[MuchLovedMama]

I think it's o.k. for you to decide when & where & then mention that you have decided to go ahead & plan a Disney trip for chosen date & place & before you make the reservations ask if whoever else would be interested in going as well. Mention that if not this time then maybe the next.

I knew for a couple years that we were going to Disney this September & I kept asking my mother to think of if she'd like to go or not & we are also taking my niece & nephew. I will not go when kids are out of school & we love it in September so I wasn't real flexible in that area. They chooes to go.

Also it doesn't matter if you book together or separate because you can request to be close together if you wish either way. Good luck & have fun planning.

[disneygeek84]

We went about 10 years ago with another family (not related, but really good friends) and we enjoyed it. We decided together when would be the best time to go and went from there. My family was supposed to be staying at FW in an RV and their family was going to stay at ASMu. Our RV ended up breaking down before getting out of Louisiana so we ended up having to get a room at ASSp. So we were sort of close, but not really. We had been to WDW a few more times than their family so they wanted to do several TS meals, while my family enjoys touring the parks more, so we did mostly CS. It worked out fine. We had a few days that were planned with each other, and a few that we were on our own. We were pretty much just two separate families there at the same time. Their youngest daughter and my little sister are about a month apart and best friends, so one day they took the two little ones and let the rest of us bigger kids have fun with my parents (who do more of the roller coasters than the other parents).

If you have a good relationship with your brother then I don't think this will be a big deal. Since your kids are somewhat the same ages, y'all might want to plan a few days together, but tell him that he's free to plan his own trip as well.

[faline]

I think it's much easier to adjust your touring style if you go to Disney often. If this is a one-time trip or very infrequent trip, you certainly want it to be "your" way which is certainly understandable.

What I've heard over and over again from those who have gone as large family groups is to not try to have too much togetherness but, instead, plan to be able to go your separate ways for chunks of time. If you want to go with extended family, you might plan a large character breakfast that everyone attends. After that, everyone is free to break into smaller groups depending on interests and touring styles. You might then plan to meet up mid-day at your resort for some pool time and perhaps at an everyone-included dinner.

I see nothing wrong with stating what you've planned and inviting others to go along with the provision that they're free to join you in what you've got planned or go their separate ways to see/do what they'd like!

[nls721]

Book your trip the way you want. Then let them know your schedule (where you're staying, etc) and if they want to go along great, if not great. You're going to be spending alot of money, so you want to make sure it is perfect for your family.

[biodtl]

Since you are not going until 2010, you have some time to talk about it. And you should.
Let them know that you would enjoy going together, but you know it is difficult with group and different ages. If they are interested, sit down with them and ask them what their expectations are and let them know what yours are.

Let them know that you have a plan and nthat they are welcome to join you or do their own thing. The best thing would be to have time apart and some together for special meals, etc.

And get some info here to get an idea of how long lines are, what meals and rides are, etc so they have an idea of what it will be like. if everyone knows up front, then no one will be disapointed.

[OleDoleDoffin]

Would it be possible to go on a lower-stakes vacation, like a long weekend closer to home, before deciding whether to vacation together or not?

I'm in the process of planning an extended-family Disney trip in 2009, and if I hadn't already spent a week with these people at a beach house in Denmark I'd be real nervous about all of us spending that much money to spend SO much "quality time" together :crowd: :funny:

[princessjojo]

I can only give you my opinion based on our June trip. If you plan a trip like this, you will want to make all plans clear upfront and make your expectations very clear as to the vacation experience you & your family want vs. that of what he and his family need/want. I love my family, however I will never, ever, EVER do another vacation with one of my sisters and her family again. It's sad to say, but after that, she is still somewhat angry with me. Your vacation style and your brothers may not, and more than likely aren't the same with the differences in the kids ages. With us, we like to go early, have fun, eat good food & rest during heat if the kids need it. We in some ways let the kids dictate how our day goes. She on the other hand, only wanted to be with US (and that was good) but when her son was tired, she didn't want to let him rest, but insisted on him pushing along. In the end, she's said she won't go back for a very long time.

All I can say is plan carefully and take everything into consideration before you commit to the plan. I think the biggest thing to think about is each of your vacation styles and how well they match.