Travelling with 2 sets of grandparents

[cndmama05]

Hi all
I'm hoping someone can give me some advice on how to manage travelling with 2 sets of grandparents and not go crazy.
We are a family of 5( 14, 7, 3). My FIL and his gf live in florida so will want to meet us at least part of the trip if not all. My parents have never been to DW and honestly are not big theme park people. They only want to go to be there with us. We don't live near either set of grandparents so we will all be travelling to orlando. The grandparents have also never met and are very different so not sure how they will get along.

Any ideas on how to divide up our time with each set of grandparents while having some much needed family time?

We will be living off site and will probably rent a van for our family and my parents. FIL and gf will drive.

 

[3gr8boys]

Considering the age spread of the kids, you may want to prep everyone to be ok with splitting up at different times. (There are certainly families that can advise you on enjoying touring as a group of 7 or 9, with my family there would flat out mutiny.) I like to plan a TS meal everyday that includes everyone and most days we have a common initial FP+ schedule....but, beyond that, if the youngest wants to go one way and the oldest another, we split up. Your 14 year old's favorite rides may be the few that the 3 year old can't go on. You may want to think in terms of who would enjoy thrill rides and who won't, who wouldn't mind waiting and watching vs who will be happier always doing.....who will lose steam and who is desperate to see everything. And, of course, be ready to toss your well developed plans if it comes to that. Lots of magical memories await

 

[3gr8boys]

I re-read your original post and realize that I didn't necessarily answer your question....so I will expand on my above comments ....

While TS meals (and other special events) are great " family of five plus a set of grandparents (or two) " opportunities, I would be thinking about subsets of your 5 having time with each set of grandparents instead of it always being 5 together with a set of grandparents. The grandparents may appreciate the opportunity to take one or two kids at a time to a show/ride/activity that they are particularly excited about.

hope that helps....or at least leads you to ideas that will work for you

 

[garnwr32229]

So the last time we went to Disney my twins were almost 4yrs. We went with my parents. My in laws live in Florida and they ended up coming for a day. That day my parents went off and did their thing and we hung out with my in-laws then we all met up and had dinner together. We stayed off property and things weren’t really planned out.

We are going again in May/June at that time the twins will be 9yrs and we have a 3yr old now. My parents are traveling with us. This time we are staying on property with the dining plan. My in laws say they want to come but they won’t commit to anything. So what I did was made reservations for 9 for all restaurants but 1 and that’s bc I could only get it for 7 people. My plan is to let everyone know what times we are going to eat and that will be our meet up time.
I haven’t figured out what I’m doing with fast passes yet. I still have 90 days to figure it out

 

[sponica]

Figure out what everyone's expectations are:

For your party of 5: Are you planning to spend from rope drop to close in the parks?

For your parents: Is this a Disney trip, or are they only going to Disney because you are. If it's the latter, they might be willing to hang out at your offsite abode a day or two, which might be the perfect time for FIL and GF to join.

For FIL and GF: Again, is this a visit to the mouse or do they just want to see you?

For discussing with both sides, you and spouse need to ensure your family unit of 5 gets a much needed vacation and maintain that boundary.

 

[Nancyg56]

I am a grandparent and DH and I often travel with my DD and her family. WE have never traveled with anther set of grands, however we did have my sister in law from my first marriage join us on one trip. It was a disaster looking back, but somehow we all managed to survive.


I would begin by determining the expectations of both sets of grands.

Do they envision all of you together all day every day?

Do the individual sets of grands expect "alone" time with either your family or with the kids, excluding the other set?

What is their budget? Intrusive question, however the parks and food can be expensive, so are they both on equal footing if you plan the meals or park days?

How about you and your family? Do you want time for just your nuclear family?

When we planned our extended family trip SIS IL had a lot of preconceived ideas how we should roll, up to and including how my DD, DSIL and DGD spent their time. Ummmmm… I'm the Nana and if Pa and I are okay with them exploring just the three of them, the aunt best knock it off. They are a family and deserve to be the three of them. She also was jealous of my DH and his relationship with our DGD, so the snippy remarks never stopped. Her touring style was commando, not ours. It went on and on.

This was with an aunt, and not grands, so I would want to know in advance before all of you converge on WDW how you plan to either divide your time, or spend your time, and if you all are on an equal financial footing in regards to meals and tickets. It is one thing to choose not to go to parks or meals, and quite another to be left out because your funds are more limited than the other sets of travelers.

Good luck! Extended family can be awesome, and I wish your family trip to be that.

 

[CaLuCa]

Echoing what others have said about expectations. I would have a chat/send an email describing the parks, crowds, the challenge of getting dinner reservations for large groups, etc. I would ask them how much or how little they want to join you with your time in the parks. Finding out others expecations can really help preventing miserableness. When my parents went to Disney in 2015, they were blown away by how crowded it was. Their previous trip was 2003 and others before that were in the olden days of walking on every ride.

I always admire those big family groups walking around happy in their matching t shirts. I tried once and it was very overwhelming (I was the planner).

A good all together activity is the Hoop de doo Review. Enough show you don't have to be entertaining each other with conversation constantly. Plus, if someone gets chosen to go on stage, it's such a great ice breaker.

 

[Belia]

Alcohol. Lots of alcohol.

 

[sponica]

Alcohol. Lots of alcohol.

That's how I survived going with my in-laws. I love them, but I think we suffered from too much togetherness....