need help

[dreamteacher]

disney trip

we want to now how much to take and to save up for a trip to WDW in four years with 18 people? We want our family in seperit rooms and there are 4 families one family consist of 7 people, next is 4, 4, and 2 peolpe in the families where do we stay at?

 

[The Mom]

I would turn this over to a pro! Or someone like my BIL who is a retired engineer, and a stickler for details.

Seriously, trying to accomodate that many people will be quite a task. Instead of asking how much, start asking exactly what everyone wants, then mark the "absolutely must haves" "would be nice to have, but I can compromise" and the "it isn't important to me."

Have everyone make up a list, including the MOST important, absolute deal breaker! For some, it will be price. For others, it will be onsite lodging. And so forth.

Let everyone submit their lists, and pare them down BEFORE you even start looking. THEN, contact a travel agent (Kingdom Konsultants can help you), contact WDW, whatever.


Just as an example, we have some absolutes for our yearly family reunion. We have to have condos with a full kitchen, phones (we once got stuck without one!) dishwasher, washer and dryer, and minimum steps. There has to be onsite or VERY nearby golf, both indoor and outdoor pools, and tennis.

THEN we add things like health club, sightseeing, beach, watercraft rentals, and activities for the non-golfers. For a couple of people, driving to the site has become a deal breaker; they don't want to fly. Lack of activities for non-golfers has become a deal breaker in our family; we've done EVERYTHING at the place we've stayed at for the past 3 years.

You can do the same for WDW. Do people want villas, deluxe, value? Do you HAVE to be in the same hotel, or do you only want a daily gathering at a park, restaurant, etc? There are a lot of questions to be answered before you start looking.

As you can see, this is going to be a thankless job for someone in your family, but it's worth it when you pull it off. :lol:

 

[Yellow Shoes]

If you're looking for ballpark figures, you can go to the official Disney website.

The room prices are "rack rates"--the highest price you would pay. However, it is always better to over-estimate, IMHO.

Time of year can make a huge difference in the price of the rooms. If you can go the first week of January instead of the week between Christmas and New Years, the price drops dramatically. For example, a moderate on-site resort will be $184 per night during Christmas, but $133 in January. Of course, with kids in school, you are more limited in your travel dates.

Park tickets run approximately $50 per day. (again, better to over-estimate) Think carefully about your arrival and departure schedule before you get the Ultimate Park Hopper (formerly known by the more descriptive name, Length of Stay Pass). If your plane lands at 4 PM and the parks close at 8, you will not get your money's worth from the pass, yet you have paid for it.

Off site hotels are far cheaper than Disney owned ones. You will need to figure the cost of a rental car into the equation. Bus service from non-Disney hotels is not at all as convenient as the WDW service.

I would spend several hours at the Disney site. You can price various combinations of tickets and resorts to determine where your threshhold of pain is.

Oh yeah--there is no regular hotel room that will accommodate the family of 7. They will need a 2 bedroom DVC (time share) property--very $$$, or connecting rooms.

 

[dreamteacher]

thank you does anyone else have any suggestions

 

[Moonshadow1]

I would down load the Magicial Gatherings planner and get everyone on board.

When to go makes a big difference. The planner has a chat feature so it would save on the phone calling back and forth.

Then I would decide what is each family responisble for in the way of making room ressies. Is everyone going to stay in the same resort or are you going to let them all make their own arrangements. If Uncle Bob wants to go big, but Aunt Jane can't afford that and airfare..... Headache

Those would be my first three steps. I find that after those decisions everything else falls into place pretty easy. Once you have your dates you can decide on which tickets you will need. If your only going for a few days you most likely won't be able to go to six parks, why pay for the options.

After that you only need to decide on which parks which days and where to eat.

Price things out by using the online travel page at disney.go.com. You don't have to pay for it until you are ready and it will hold up to 5 offers for about 2 weeks, so you can compare your options. It will give you a good estimate as mentioned above they are rack rates.

Good luck. Hope your diplomatic skills are in good shape. :wave:

 

[Tramp]

I have only one suggestion for you.

Buy at least ONE annual pass and let that person book the rooms for all the families. You'll save a TON of money. I think there's a five room limit for booking with an annual pass but ya better check on that. :wave:

 

[dreamteacher]

how much is the annull pass and do you get cheaper rates on the resorts or what?
also what are the advandages to having a pass I live in TX so I wont go offten maybe 1 every two years at best

 

[dreamteacher]

can anyone awnser So I cant spell so what

 

[dreamteacher]

I tried the disney planner but I do not want to tell anyone until that year we go I want it to be a surprise type thing.

 

[Yellow Shoes]

Go to mousesavers.com and allearsnet.com

Both sites have lots of information and comparison charts about what kind of park tickets are available and what might work best for you.

I believe that the break even point is 8 days for annual passes. In other words, if you are going to the parks for more than 8 days, the AP is cheaper. They are good for 364 days. Often there are room discounts for AP holders--sometimes as much as 45%. However, often there are similar discounts available to the general public that are the same or very close to AP.

The whole ticket thing is very confusing.

While at allearsnet, look at the restaurant menus to get an idea of what is available and of the prices (WDW is not a cheap vacation!).

Think about how much togetherness you really want. Perhaps you only want 2-3 "mandatory" gatherings the entire time.

Make sure every family has a cell phone before you leave. They will be invaluable.

Good luck--this is a big and thankless job.

 

[dreamteacher]

thank you so much my mom is the one trying to plan this trip and she is down in the dumps today because she does not see it happinging anymore at least not right now.

 

[WDWFREAK53]

Suggestion #1: Take out second mortgage on house.

Suggestion #2: Tell the kids to forget college.

Suggestion #3: Have fun :wave:

:lol: jk. (we usually travel in big groups also)

 

[dreamteacher]

hey your telling me that I cant go to college anymore. JC

 

[Yellow Shoes]

I'm sorry that it seems to be falling apart.

You might try some of the relatively painless saving strategies that I've seen here.

A coin jar. Carry coins only until the end of the day when they go into a special container. Do NOT take them to CoinStar to get them counted. They charge 8.25%. In other words, that big green machine takes $1 and magically turns it into $.92. My bank will count the coins and credit them to my account. There is no charge for this. (I realize that this might not be true where you live. But you should ask the bank.)

Brown bag one day per week. Put that $5 or $7 or whatever in your Disney fund.

Everytime you resist a purchase--shoes, a movie, dinner out, etc. put that money away.

 

[dreamteacher]

thanks for the Adv.