Any tips for going with a large family group?

[BrentonAFox]

I am going to WDW 12/28 to 1/5 with 10 family members. For anyone who has ever gone with a group this size, do you have any tips/recommendations for making a trip go smoothly with this many people?

 

[kiddisney]

hi - we went as a large group - my brother's family, mine, my parents and my sister - 9 in all - and there were two things that kept us sane - group breaks - we took turns and went separate ways for a period each day - and walkie talkies - it helped get us back together - it really helps taking breaks from each other because not everyone wants to do all the same things - so the shoppers got to shop - the excitement junkies got to go on tot - and the ones who wanted to rest - got to sit down and take a break - we didn't talk about this the first time we went - and a big fight got us to take the breaks - but the next time we went - we met right before the vacation & discussed this & made it work - good luck - kiddisney

 

[allshookup]

I agree with kiddisney, but we went one step further and completely split up for most of the day and only met up for meals. It worked out great for us, because nobody ever wanted to do the same things. My kids are young and DH and I are wimps so we tend to avoid the "fast" rides that everyone else seems to love.

 

[Barb D]

Make sure you know which adult is responsible for which kid(s) at all times! My sister has 8 kids (the 9th on the way) and I have 3...so we've gotten good at counting when we do vacations together! We had a close call with briefly losing one of her children when each adult thought someone else had her.

 

[snookhams]

If you are hiring a car get a 7 seater and a car not just one 15 seater otherwise you have to go everywhere together. On our last trip we had booked and paid for two 7 seater minivans but Dollar upgraded us to two 15 seater minibuses - we weren't sure to start with but on the days when we were all going to the same place it was great but we could also manage on the days when we wanted to go our own seperate ways.

 

[MrScubaBHT]

We just got back from WDW and there were 16 of us in all. See my Trip Reports - The BIG Family Trip To WDW. However only 12 of us stuck together. The biggest recommendation is to pick someone to be in charge and to plan the days activities. We always made sure we knew who/where all of the kids were with at all times. We used FRS Radios frequently. And don't be afraid to split up. Don't be insulted if some family members want to go back to the hotel or some want to shop, or whatever. If you are going to be the trip planner, plan it for your family and then when the others split off it won't affect your touring plans.

Hope this helps.