Traveling with a Large Party

[ThistleMae]

I go on an annual ladies trip to Disneyland each year, and there are several that like to plan in our group. Each day we all meet up for a group photo, a ride together, and then meals are set up and people choose which ones they want to go to. It's a lot of fun. Maybe you can do a modified version, where instead of each day, you do a group picture on one day. You can set up one meal a day that anyone can attend. If it's a place where you do mobile ordering, you can set up ahead of time where and what time everyone can meet.

Even with my own family (5-6), we always plan ahead, or, I plan ahead, and put together a calendar in PowerPoint or Excel with what we're going to do each day. We usually do a zoom meeting and discuss if there are any preferences and go from there. I usually give options, and if they don't know then I make the decision, and everyone goes along with it. Then I email the PowerPoint to everyone (also print it, lol), and we have the itinerary in our phones

I would not recommend figuring it out as you go. You'll end up wasting so much time with no expectations set up ahead of time. The ones that want to wing it can wing it and they'll know that they can meet up with the group at certain times: meals, parades/shows/nighttime fireworks, etc., or picture.

One of the group pics we took on our last trip

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In 2019, there were 10 of us that went on a pretty big trip. Different groups had different priorities, and we decided before the trip that no one was obligated to be with the group. We picked a couple of excursions together and a few meals. It was so stress-free - wonderful trip.

Yeah, I'm with a bunch of non-planners. The only thing we will have planned is the early morning hours at each park. From there everyone will want to grab something to eat at different times. So we will be together for part of everyday. Evenings may be on our own but letting the others know what park we will be at. There will be some wasted time here and there if we try and match their unscheduled, schedule if you know what I mean....LOL!

 

[AnnaS]

I would first discuss what is everyone's expectations/flexibility.

If possible, perhaps one or two meals together - a breakfast and dinner or lunch and dinner, etc. (this can be at a TS or a quick service that can accommodate your group more or less). An after hour drink? If one or two parties can't make it (for various reasons), let it be understood that everyone understands.

Perhaps choose one day and a few hours range to spend some time at the pool? Same as above, if someone is not a "pool" person or does not want to waste time by the pool, it's okay.

Everyone has to go with the flow and be flexible. Even if you make plans, everyone should know they are not set in stone.

It is very easy to get stressed out with a large group. We are not all on the same page. Try to have fun!!

 

[LuvOrlando]

We did this a few times. On two trips we all moved as a group but the other two trips with completely different groups, I did a ton of planning only to realize that each family contained one disorganized balloon popper bent on deflating the fun to prove WDW is not that great. The thing with these balloon poppers is they thrive on chaos so they won't tell you they don't want to do something, they just don't show up and make people wait to stir the pot or they won't say they don't want to go to so and so for dinner, they will just be very late and blame the organizer for not waiting which justifies them going elsewhere making you feel bad. Best thing to do with a group is make some vague loose plans, a handful of firm plans you share like maybe a few dinners where they need to pay in advance with their own reservations and credit cards so no games, and also keep a few plans to yourself until a few days in because usually on day 2 or 3 things become clear and you can tell what you are dealing with for the trip. On one of these trips my little family escaped to Universal for 2 days because we "needed to use up old tickets about to expire", sort of true, they were going to expire because we weren't going back in time. Best advice, have a backup plan and an eject button if someone ends up kooky.

 

[ThistleMae]

I would first discuss what is everyone's expectations/flexibility.

If possible, perhaps one or two meals together - a breakfast and dinner or lunch and dinner, etc. (this can be at a TS or a quick service that can accommodate your group more or less). An after hour drink? If one or two parties can't make it (for various reasons), let it be understood that everyone understands.

Perhaps choose one day and a few hours range to spend some time at the pool? Same as above, if someone is not a "pool" person or does not want to waste time by the pool, it's okay.

Everyone has to go with the flow and be flexible. Even if you make plans, everyone should know they are not set in stone.

It is very easy to get stressed out with a large group. We are not all in the same page. Try to have fun!!

 

[VandVsmama]

How do you plan your days with a large party and a baby? We are going to do the early morning hours, we at least agreed to that, but otherwise everyone has different needs or likes. When to eat seems impossible to plan. Some like a big breakfast. Other's want a mid-morning snack only. What has worked best for you in planning your day? Do you discuss the night before? Do you figure it out as you go? Does it get really confusing and ruin your day due to stress? I'm interested in ideas. Thank you.

Define "large party."

How many people in total?
What are the age ranges?
Does anyone in the group have disabilities or physical limitations to consider?

I agree with everybody else...go into it with this sort of mindset:

• Meet up for ONE meal per day. Doesn't matter if it's QS or TS. I vote for meeting up for lunch.
• Right after lunch, go on ONE ride/attraction together that everybody in the group can handle. For example, at MK something like Peoplemover, Country Bear Jamboree, or Carousel of Progress or the train once around the park. At Epcot, a good choice would be Spaceship Earth or Living With The Land. At AK, go to 1 of the shows (but not the bug one, too scary for little kids). At HS, do the Muppets attraction or see the Frozen musical. Then everybody disperses to do their own thing rest of the day.
• The above suggestion allows people who want to sleep in...to...well, sleep in. It also allows people who are rope droppers to rope drop. And nobody gets irritated by having to wait around for Aunt Mabel to hurry the heck up out of bed.
• This also allows everybody to park hop elsewhere in the afternoon/evening if they want to. And they can do so without needing to get agreement from everybody in the rest of the group.
• Expect that at some point during the trip, you will all irritate each other. This is why having time to go off and do your own thing is good and important for everyone's sanity.
• Expect the senior citizens/grandparents in the group to SAY that they're fine, they can keep up, but they'll quickly learn that, honestly, they really can't keep up with walking 11 miles a day in hot FL weather. So set expectations with everyone ahead of time and make sure everyone is aware that if they want or need a break, they should go ahead and take one wherever (at the park, at the resort, whatever) and not feel bad about it.
• Expect that there will probably be one person in the larger group who will want to do a particular thing, but won't speak up and won't say anything the entire time and they might be frustrated for awhile afterwards and blame it on the trip organizer person.

 

[Darcy03231]

We travel in a large group (10+) frequently. Best thing is to not try to do everything together. It's like trying to herd cats. We typically will meet up once a day for something, but other than that everyone goes their own way. Some split off into smaller groups and do stuff together on and off through the day.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Yes, we have had the dinning issue and have to sit at tables next to each other. The room thing is always an issue, such as I have to pay for an entire room with no family member to share costs. More expensive for me to go now.

I think my comment regarding the room wasnt clear. We book a two or three bedroom....nine to twelve guests. You can no longer reserve more than five guests for dining. We must attempt to pie a reservation together and hope we can sit near each other. So while we share the same accommodations..eating as a family is off limits. It's irritating to put it mildly.

 

[jaiminee krikit]

Our first big trip we all stayed together the entire time. It did not go well. Our kids were close in age, but my nephews would rather spend the entire day at the hotel pool than do anything at the parks, and DD and I are not big pool people but love the parks.
We did another trip a few years later, land & sea. We spent one night at Pop Century the night before our cruise and the ladies went to 1900PF for dinner, the gentlemen went to T-Rex, and we hung out at the pool the rest of the time. During the cruise, we would do our own thing most of the day and always have dinner together, then split up again after dinner. Back at WDW, we'd head to the parks together, take pics, and be off on our own. If we ran into each other, we may ride a ride or two together, then be back on our own.
Our kids are all different enough that trying to do things together would've been miserable for everyone, but it was nice occasionally running into each other.

 

[Minniebee]

Our last extended family trip worked well when we planned a table service meal for lunch each day. We toured (mostly) together during the morning hours. Then, for those of us who are park commandos, we ate lunch and kept going. For the older group members, they ate lunch and then they were done for the day. For the younger families, they ate lunch, took an afternoon break and then came back later.

If you had group members who aren't morning people, they could skip morning touring and just come to lunch to start their day.

This worked well to give us a predictable daily schedule but allowed a good bit of flexibility for different needs.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I think my comment regarding the room wasnt clear. We book a two or three bedroom....nine to twelve guests. You can no longer reserve more than five guests for dining. We must attempt to pie a reservation together and hope we can sit near each other. So while we share the same accommodations..eating as a family is off limits. It's irritating to put it mildly.

On our Disney cruises, our travel agent arranged for our family to have tables next to each other. A table for 30 wouldn't be feasible anyway. Occasionally we shifted "who sits where" and it confused the waiters but they adapted (and we tipped them generously.)

 

[TLSnell1981]

On our Disney cruises, our travel agent arranged for our family to have tables next to each other. A table for 30 wouldn't be feasible anyway. Occasionally we shifted "who sits where" and it confused the waiters but they adapted (and we tipped them generously.)

Cruises my still offer this option but dining in the parks has changed. The largest party that can be booked is 5 You can hope to snag two or three return times close together but no guarantee you can even sit near one another.

 

[VandVsmama]

Cruises my still offer this option but dining in the parks has changed. The largest party that can be booked is 5 You can hope to snag two or three return times close together but no guarantee you can even sit near one another.

This might be a bit incorrect. I was just able to book a table service reservation at a WDW restaurant for 6 today w/o any issues.

 

[JLTraveling]

Never done Disney in a big group other than a meetup for a specific activity or two. But we had a family reunion in the North Carolina mountains several years ago, close to 30 people from babies to seniors for a week. My cousin did the planning and I thought she hit the perfect balance:

1. The cousin doing the planning, along with her husband and parents, owned a house that became the "base of operations." Anyone was welcome to hang out at the house anytime.

2. Well in advance, she sent us all info on a variety of lodging options, primarily different sized rental cabins in their tiny town, but also a few hotels at different price points in the nearest city (20 min away).

3. Again well in advance, she made and distributed an "activity schedule." Everything from visiting the Biltmore Estate to shopping in Helen, GA. She made it abundantly clear that all activities were optional, we were free to participate in some, all, or none, and there would be no hard feelings. It's been awhile, but I think there were generally two activities a day (morning and afternoon) and a dinner most nights (around 6pm, sort of in the middle between the earlybirds and the late eaters).

So what ended up happening was that everyone picked activities that worked for them. Most of us ended up at most of the dinners. And there was lots of time to get together in different small groups to do other things, like when 4 or 5 of us hit the casino (the rest of the family is passionately anti-gambling). It was the most amazing week, especially considering there was not only a huge age spread but wildly different worldviews and interests. I got to know people in my extended family a lot better, and there was never any pressure to do or not do any particular thing. If I ever have to organize a large group gathering, I plan to follow this model.

 

[RangerPooh]

We're a family of six but often travle to WDW with another family making us a party of 10. We have a park planned for the day and sometimes a group sit down meal (split at two tables...ressies). Other than this we keep it flexible knowing that each family needs their own time. We may do half a day together than separate. We toured DLParis/France as a group of 24 in 2019. Again, we had a park plan, but beyond that it was individual families. Some would link up but not all. It was easier and less of a headache this way.

Last week our scout troop toured Washington DC. As a group of 20+ individuals it was easier to say X Museum in AM and X Museum in PM. We had group check in's via selfies or we'd meet up at say at 1pm for lunch at the food trucks along XX Ave. It worked out well. Less stress too.

 

[Mysterian]

Define "large party."

 

[PollyannaMom]

I am not a "more the merrier" person at all (getting pulled in several directions at once stresses me out) so I've never actually tried to plan a large group trip, but I do remember reading advice to have some times when everyone is together and some times for people do do their own thing. - It gives the introverts a break to recharge, the "energizer bunnies" some time not to feel slowed down by the group, the pool people time for that, etc.

 

[1420Elexismc]

We are going with a group of 13 total next year. One family will have 3 under 6 and are only planning on doing probably two Disney parks with them. We are all planning on being at those parks at the same time and doing 1 big character meal together. Other than that-we will have 3 rental cars and will be doing our own thing...and if anyone wants to join in have at it-otherwise just basically meeting up at the house at night and in the mornings before we all leave the house. Last time we did this in 2015(with 11) it was messy since the group all wanted to stay together the whole time. It was WAY too much. 0/10 do NOT recommend going that route lol