Walt Disney World- big family style!
Tips and Advice For Taking Large Families/Groups To Walt Disney World
By: Michelle Ridgway, mom of six!
Going to Walt Disney World with a large family can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be with proper planning! We recently went with our family of eight, including two adults and six children between ages seven and thirteen! We had the best time because I had prepared in advance. The few issues we had helped me to know what to do differently next time. Here are some tips on making your trip to Walt Disney World magical with a large family/group:
1. Begin planning well in advance.
I recommend beginning your vacation planning at least seven to eight months ahead of time. Make lists, lists, and more lists! With a large group, there are going to be many details and decisions to make. Give yourself plenty of time before the 180 day mark to make a list of everyone’s dining preferences. Make lists of everyone’s top priorities for rides and shows well before the 60 day mark if staying on Disney property and the 30 day mark if staying off site so you know what Fastpasses to choose. Using a travel agent is especially useful for planning a Disney vacation with a large family if you are not familiar with Disney.
2. Make a Budget At the Beginning.
Taking a large family to Disney World is expensive. Know your limits before you get started so you or your travel agent know how to plan. There are many magical extras that Disney offers such as dessert parties and tours. With a large family, these things add up quickly so it is best to know your budget before you begin planning.
3. Give Each Child A Souvenir Budget Before You Leave Home.
Disney is very good at merchandising! There are souvenirs on every corner and after every ride to tempt you and your children. A large family can easily spend a fortune on souvenirs if you don’t set limits. Our children are satisfied knowing they can choose whatever souvenir they want within their preset budget. Another tip is to order authentic Disney merchandise from the Disney store online or Amazon and have it shipped to your resort! All you do is write GUEST next to your name on the shipping label and fill in your resort’s address. Then you can pick it up at the front desk when it arrives. We did this for my daughter that wanted a Lady plushie from Lady and the Tramp. She wanted one in a standing pose but all we could find in gift shops at Disney World were in a lying down pose. We ordered the exact one she wanted from Amazon and it arrived at the resort in the middle of our stay.
4. Give Each Person a Day To Plan.
With our family of eight, it is impossible to please everyone all the time. If each child has their own day or even half of a day to make all of the decisions then they typically tolerate their siblings’ choices better. They also get to be the button pusher, line leader, and get first choice of seats on their day. We found that there are fewer melt downs if these days are preassigned!
5. After Restaurants Have Been Chosen, Go Over the Menus With Each Person to Make Selections Ahead of Time.
Ordering at a restaurant for eight people is stressful anyway, but it is a nightmare if no one knows what they want! Disney has provided menus online for every restaurant on property, whether counter, quick service, or table service. Being familiar with the menus makes dining at Disney so much easier!
Enjoying our anniversary meal at Tusker House!
6. Dining Plan.
This might vary if you plan to eat at a lot of quick service locations and share meals and snacks. For our family, when we priced out what it would cost for our food at Disney World, it was cheaper to use the dining plan. It was also easier for the kids to get their own snacks since they were paying with snack credits using their magic bands. Just remember that gratuities are not included with the dining plan. They will automatically add a gratuity of 18% to groups of 6 or more that will be charged to your room or a credit card on file.
Cinderella’s Royal Table
7. It’s OK To Split Up.
We had to divide and conquer some times when the group wanted to go in different directions. Give yourself permission to do this! My husband rode Expedition Everest three times in a row with three of the kids while I took the other three kids to get facepaint in Pandora. We met up later and everyone was happy!
8. Get Two Connecting Rooms In a Value Resort.
Standard rooms sleep four people. We chose two connecting rooms at Pop Century resort and were very pleased! Two rooms in a value resort are going to be much better for your budget than a Deluxe Villa that sleeps eight people. We found that we had plenty of space and the benefit of two bathrooms!
9. Preassign Ride Buddies.
Nothing ruins a day at Disney faster than arguments over who is going to ride with who. Make those assignments ahead of time. Keep in mind that ride buddies should fit comfortably together in the ride, and pair older children with younger children.
10. Circle Bathrooms On Your Park Map When You First Enter a Park.
Inevitably someone in the group is going to need a bathroom quickly. It helps if you can easily spot the nearest one on your map.
11. If You Lose a Child In a Park, Don’t Panic!
It happens. It happened to me. The crowds at Disney World can give the illusion that everyone in your party is following you when…. They’re not! It’s especially easy to lose one when navigating Disney crowds with a large family. It happened to us after breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. Our family all went to the bathroom and then headed to ride Kilimanjaro Safaris. The park had just opened so the rush of people was right behind us as we walked through the ride queue. We made it to where you board the ride vehicle before we realized that our party of eight was a party of seven! Our seven year old son was missing! Somehow we had left him back in the bathrooms near Tusker House. After a crazy sprint back to the restaurant, a cast member there told us that our server had our son and had taken him to wait for us at the Safari ride. We ran back to Kilimanjaro, and they were at the entrance waiting. We will be forever grateful to, Chris, our server, for taking care of our son and helping a terrifying situation turn out fine! He told us that children get separated all the time and to find any cast member for help when it happens. They are trained to keep the child calm, and locate the family. If the family can’t be found right away, there are lost child stations in every park where families can be reunited.
12. Prepare Your Children On What To Do If They DO Get Separated.
Our son did exactly the right thing and went back to our table in Tusker House when he couldn’t find us. That made it easy for a cast member to notice that he was lost. Tell your children not to go searching for you if you become separated. Tell them to stay right where they are and tell someone with a name tag (a cast member) that they can’t find their family. Make a point to chat with servers and other cast members about your plans for the day. Our amazing server, Chris, knew where we were going so he knew where to take our son. Talking about what to do in case of separation ahead of time will save you much distress later!
13. Pack Clothes For Half of the Days and Do Laundry.
We went on a ten day vacation with eight people…. That is eighty outfits if we wore a different one each day! Luckily, Disney resorts all have laundry facilities to use. Most of them accept debit cards for payment which is convenient! We planned a day in the middle of our trip to return to the resort early. The kids swam in the pool and I washed all of our clothes. That way I only had to pack enough outfits for half of our trip.
While these tips are specifically made our Disney World vacation with a large family easier, they are great for families of any size! Don’t let Disney planning overwhelm you. Give yourself plenty of time. Remember that using a travel agent specializing in Disney vacations is totally free and can help you make your trip magical!
Michelle is a travel agent specializing in Disney vacations
