I am currently planning a multi-family Disney vacation to the Walt Disney World Resort. The trip will include my family of 4, another family of 4 as well as my 2 parents. Although a little extra planning is required when travelling with a large group, I have found the following 5 tips quite helpful!
Have only one “main planner”
Although everyone will be helping to plan the multi-family disney vacation, having only one person in charge of making the Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs) and FastPass+ (FP+) reservations makes organizing everyone and everything a lot easier! This way, there are fewer chances that days or times of reservations get mixed-up! The “main planner” will have to link the other parties’ reservations (with their confirmation number or numbers) and add them to their “My Family and Friends” list in order to be able to add other Guests to their ADRs or FP+ reservations. With My Disney Experience (MDE), each party will then be able to see the itinerary. I also created a shared Google Doc so that everyone in my party could see the plans before they were booked on MDE.
Travel with the same passes and tickets
If everyone has the same Park Tickets and Passes on a multi-family Disney vacation, planning becomes much simpler. The same goes for the Disney Dining Plan. In my group, we decided on the Magic Your Way with Park Hopper and Water Parks and More, as well as the Disney Dining Plan. This way, when we plan to head to Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park, the entire group can come with no one feeling left out. As for dining, being on the same plan makes ordering a lot easier. For example, if one of the families were on the Deluxe Dining Plan, which includes appetizers at Table Service Restaurants, it creates a kind of divide between the other groups who do not receive apps with their plan.
Schedule your first 3 Fast Pass+ together …
… and then plan to break off into smaller groups. As a group, go through the attractions that EVERYONE wants to do. I am sure there are at least 3 per park (which is what Disney allows you to reserve 60 days in advance). Once you have completed these 3 FP+, you can plan to break away into smaller groups (maybe a group who wants to experience some thrills, and a group who wants to visit characters).
DIStracted Tip: There are a few exceptions to this rule if very popular attractions such as Toy Story Mania in Disney’s Hollywood Studios or Soarin’ in Epcot are not on everyone’s “must-do” list! If you do not schedule these ahead of time, there is a chance you might have to wait in the Stand-By line. Also note that some Parks have a tiered FP+ system which only allows you to choose certain experiences and attractions together.
Schedule some meals apart from the rest of the group
Try taking your immediate family to experience a few Table Service Meals. Planning a visit to Cinderella’s Royal Table, for example, could be a cherished family memory for years to come. This will also allow the family a break from the excitement of a large group. Even taking a break to go to the pool is another option to do as a smaller group.
Be Flexible
Vacationing as a large group usually means at times things will not go as planned. Grandma gets tired, someone decides that Space Mountain is not for them, etc. Try to have “whatever” time booked in if you are a Type A planner like me. This way, you have some scheduled time to break-away from the large group. Everyone can choose to do something different, or plan to do nothing at all!
Planning a large group vacation can be challenging, yet the experience it delivers can form the best of memories! Happy planning!
Sally Finn says
We went as an extended family of 12 And had many wonderful memories to share forever. We all went to different parks daily and because I have one special needs daughter, each group that was planning to spend the day at the Magic Kingdom took her with them so that they would not have to stand in line so long. She loved it more than anyone since she got to spend 4 whole days at her favorite place. We too had pre purchased the deluxe meal plan for everyone so that each family could eat when ever and wherever they wanted and we made special arrangements to meet for the Hoop de doo revue and the Luau (both worth the extra). We had rooms next to one another at the Port Orleans Riverside and the kids thoroughly enjoyed running from room to room in the evening when the adults were exhausted. On our last day there I went to check that there was enough money left for the days meals and was told we had over $500.00 to use up that day because we wouldn’t get it back and “Disney didn’t need it” That night we all enjoyed a wonderful meal of steak and champagne followed by a delightful anniversary party thrown by our children. It was a lovely surprise and all prepaid.
After all the business at Disney we all travelled to Clearwater Beach for 2 days lounging on the beach and then we all drove to Nashville for an overnight stay at the gorgeous Opryland Hotel before travelling back home to Niagara. All in all a trip of a lifetime. Throughout my lifetime I’ve been to Disneyworld over 10 times and just can’t wait to go again.
Jennifer Colombe says
Wow! That sounds like a magical trip! I think the biggest tip is really not to expect to be together every second of the day. Glad you had a great time and sounds like you ate like kings!
sue Kopac says
I h ave traveled many times with multi families. Some good things to remember, I always did the planning, I am the grandmother. We would always go to the opposite parks that had the extended hours. It would be less crowded and we would be able to do everything we wanted to do. Before we left I would find out what extractions each one really wanted to do and I would do the fast passes each day accordingly. I would plan special things for the grand kids and I would pick the main dining meals for each day. There was 9 of us, 3 families, but it was the best Disney visit we ever had. Our family as grown quite a bit and in years to come we will be planning another large visit again. This time there will be 15 of us, family as grown, but I am looking forward to that family trip.
Linda says
I am a grandmother, the planner, and my husband and I are gifting our kids and grandkids (10 of us, 6 adults and 4 kids ages 5 1/2, 5, 4, and 3 1/2) a trip this coming June. I agree with the 5 tips. We are staying 6 days with a 5 day hopper. We have the Disney Dining plan and have already scheduled our Character dinings, with Cinderellas Royal table being the favorite of the 3 granddaughters. Looking forward to getting together to talk about our Fast Pass rides. I think OUR kids, (all in their 40’s) will be off on some of the wilder rides while Grandma and Grandpa (relaxing ?) have the 4 grandkids at the pool. We can’t wait!
Julie says
Where you able to use the Disney website to book both families rooms and meals? Or will I need to make 2 separate reservations?
Caroline Knowles says
You will need to make two separate reservations (if you have multiple rooms). However, you can have the reservations linked so that all planning can be done together. This is where a travel agent would be very beneficial.
Julie Brantley says
Thank you for responding. I was wondering if a travel agent would be best. I really enjoyed planning our last trip so I have been hesitant about one. Thanks again.
Caroline Knowles says
I completely understand. I myself am a travel agent and I work with my clients so that they can plan all of the aspects they want to. I have some clients who prefer to handle all of the planning. I simply handle the booking and payments. I would be happy to talk to you about your vacation. I do not charge any type of planning fee. You can contact me via email – caroline@magicaldistractions.com, or by calling (251) 367-2055.