I just returned from 9 magical nights in Florida with my extended family, including my parents, my brother and his family, my aunt, and of course, my little family. That makes for a total of 9 people. This trip was very different from our January trip, which consisted of just my husband, son and I, in that we moved at a much slower pace, and we actually did fewer park days with the larger group. Nonetheless, I would HIGHLY consider a family trip to the World if possible- we had so much fun reconnecting with each other. We had lots of laughs, and we all have a million memories that will last a lifetime!
When planning a multi-generational trip to WDW, you must consider all members of your travel party, from the babies to the grandparents. Of course, everyone’s needs will be different. We planned this trip last October, so I had a year to talk to each family member about what they were hoping to get out of this trip. My sister-in-law was looking forward to getting a cold beverage and sitting by the pool enjoying a new book, my Aunt was looking forward to spending time with the two toddlers, and I was looking forward to taking photos of Cinderella’s Castle- lots of different needs to consider. Fortunately, Disney makes this all possible, which is why I love traveling to Disney with the large group that I am fortunate enough to call my family.
My family was able to take advantage of FREE DINING for this trip, as we booked the Bounceback offer on last year’s trip- this means that before we checked out of our resort in October of 2014, we called in to Disney reservations with a specific code number we found in our resort hotel room and booked our 2015 trip. There are very specific travel dates offered, and it is necessary to purchase at least a 2-day park hopper park ticket for each person in the room, but these guidelines fit into my family’s plans. If possible, I would highly recommend your entire group staying at the same resort- some of my favorite memories were made in the food court eating breakfast each morning together, which wouldn’t have been possible if we were staying at different resorts.
(Enjoying breakfast together in the food court at Port Orleans Riverside)
One thing to keep in mind when traveling with a larger group is that you will not be able to get as much done in a day as you would with a smaller group. That is just a fact of life, and you must remember that it is a small price to pay when considering that you are visiting the happiest place on Earth with those that mean the most to you!
I know it may sound like I am contradicting myself here, but stay with me- while I do believe that it’s important to do many things together as a large group in Disney, I also believe that splitting up at times is the key to making (and keeping!) everyone happy. On our first park day, only half of our group spent the morning at Animal Kingdom- my husband stayed in the room to get a bit more rest, and my mom and Aunt went off to Magic Kingdom to enjoy some of their favorites together before the rest of us met them there. The rest of my group headed to Animal Kingdom bright and early, with Kilimanjaro Safari being our main focus. Speaking of- I highly recommend riding this early in the morning, as the animals seem to be out enjoying the cooler air in full force, as opposed to later in the day, when they may be hiding in the shade trying to cool off. After enjoying our African Safari, my dad offered to take the two little boys so that my brother, sister-in-law and I could enjoy Expedition Everest.
Tip: If a family member offers to take the kids so that you can ride a thrill ride, take them up on it! My son is at that age where he just wants mommy 24/7, but taking a few minutes to myself every now and again to ride some of my favorite rides proved to be a real treat. My parents can deal with a few minutes of tears, and usually, they found that by offering my son a treat of some sort, he would calm down. For those that do not have the luxury of grandparents, do not worry- yes you will still be able to ride Splash Mountain! Disney offers a service called Child Swap- this means that, for instance, dad can wait in line with his older child for his favorite ride while mom takes the young children to ride something more tame. Dad asks for a Child Swap pass when he first gets in line (sometimes you’ll have to show that you are traveling with younger children, sometimes you won’t) and holds onto this to give to mom later. Once dad and his younger child have ridden their favorite ride, he can meet mom and the tots and give mom the Child Swap pass. Now she can take her older child (lucky duck gets to ride twice!), present the Child Swap pass at the Fast Pass line, and she now gets to ride with little wait (since dad already did the waiting). I love that Disney offers this service, as my family utilized this multiple times. Child Swap is available for any ride that has a height restriction.
(Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom- one attraction that does offer Child Swap)
Ok, back to our group travels. On our Hollywood Studios morning, my family split up to ride thrill rides, then we got back together for breakfast at Starring Rolls Café (tip- ride Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror before a large breakfast!!). Our Fast Pass time for Toy Story Midway Mania rolled around as we were finishing breakfast, and so the nine of us headed to Pixar Place to ride together. After competing against one another (I believe my husband and my brother got the highest scores!), we once again split up. My mom and Aunt headed to use their Voyage of the Little Mermaid fast passes, my dad went to check out show times for the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular, and the rest of the gang headed to Disney Junior Live on Stage. The two toddlers LOVED this show, and it’s a lot of fun, as they get to dance around and be kids, however, I didn’t think this was the best option for the grandparents, as everyone sits on the floor. There are a limited amount of seats around the perimeter of the attraction if you are set on staying together, but for the most part, I’d say that grandparents usually sit this one out. One of my favorite parts of splitting up was getting to hear about everyone’s adventures when we’d get back together- there were always some fun stories!
(My son enjoying Disney Junior Live on Stage)
My least favorite ‘splitting up experience’ happened in The Land pavilion at Epcot. Camden had just dozed off in his stroller for his afternoon nap, and everyone agreed that it was time for lunch. Our favorite Epcot quick service spot is Sunshine Seasons, and so we headed there. Once there, we were told that strollers are not allowed inside the pavilion. My husband and I debated heading to World Showcase with the stroller for lunch, but we had really been looking forward to Sunshine Seasons, and so I told Jeff to go ahead and eat, and I would stay behind with Camden. My dad ended up offering to stay behind so that Jeff and I could eat lunch together with the rest of the group, and once again, we took him up on that offer. After I enjoyed my sandwich and strawberry shortcake (which I HIGHLY recommend trying- their strawberry shortcake is what dreams are made of!), I went and swapped places with my dad so that he could eat lunch. He was allowed to come inside the entrance of the pavilion with the stroller, and there were benches there that he could sit on and relax. This ended up working out very nicely, as we staked out this spot for a couple of hours, taking turns staying in the air conditioning with Camden while others went and enjoyed rides in Future World.
Here is another tip for anyone, really, but especially for those traveling with young children- finding an indoor spot really helped to recharge our batteries. There are places in every park where you and your toddler can go to cool off for a while. One of my favorite places ended up being the lobby of the Hall of Presidents attraction at the Magic Kingdom. We never ended up seeing this show (we’ve seen it multiple times before), rather, we just hung out in the lobby for about 45 minutes so that we could all cool off. Camden enjoyed running around in here, and he even made some friends while doing so! If you are a nursing momma, I would recommend going into the theatre here to nurse while you watch the show- it’s cool, dark, and the show lasts about 20 minutes, giving you plenty of time to feed (this was one of my favorite spots to nurse during our 2014 trip!).
I think my biggest takeaway from this trip was that splitting up into smaller groups, and getting together periodically for family-friendly attractions and meals, really worked well for us. We had plenty of time together, but everyone was still able to ride their favorites this way. While I loved spending time with my family, I even took some time to myself at Epcot while Camden was sleeping- my husband brought me a Starbucks Frappuccino after he and my dad rode Test Track together, and I went and enjoyed Spaceship Earth (a true Epcot classic!) alone. This ended up being just the break I needed, and I was excited to return to my family once Camden woke up to head to World Showcase together.
(Enjoying a few moments to myself at Epcot)
Speaking of needed breaks, can I recommend taking a day (or at the very least, half of a day) to enjoy the pool at your Disney resort? My nephew LOVED swimming at the pool at Port Orleans Riverside, and while at the parks several times, he would mention that he wanted to go back to the pool to swim. I know some people state that they are paying good money to visit the parks, and they feel that pool days are a waste; I, however, think that they are a very necessary break from the hustle-and-bustle of the parks. My family takes more pool days than most folks, as this is just how we like to vacation, but I assure you that kids of all ages LOVE the resort pools. Moderate and Deluxe resorts even all have neat waterslides for your family to enjoy! All Disney resort pools are heated and the Moderate and Deluxe resorts also have hot tubs for those cooler afternoons.
(Enjoying the pool at our resort)
Please remember that when traveling in groups, it becomes even more necessary to make restaurant reservations well ahead of time. You can call or go online and make dining reservations 180 days in advance- I tend to go online at 6am EST at the 180 day mark to make my reservations, as I find that this gives me the best selection, and I am able to make reservations for those restaurants that fill up quickly for my large group (Chef Mickey’s, Be Our Guest, ‘Ohana, Le Cellier, and Cinderella’s Royal Table are a few that fill up rather quickly- as in, by noon on the 180-day mark, reservations may no longer be available). Another thing to keep in mind is that if you are staying at a Walt Disney World resort, you may make dining reservations for your entire trip 180 days from your check-in date. If you are staying offsite, then you will have to make your reservations each day- for instance, if you will check-in on a Friday, and your 180 days from this date falls on a Sunday, you may make Friday’s dining reservations on Sunday, but you will have to make Saturday’s (Day 2 of vacation) reservations on Monday, etc.
Along those same lines, please know that Fast Passes can be made for Disney resort guests 60 days in advance, but for those staying offsite, Fast Passes can only be made 30 days in advance. If you are hoping to visit Anna and Elsa, or ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Magic Kingdom’s two most popular attractions), then please note that if you are not staying on property, it is likely that you will not be able to obtain Fast Passes for these two attractions. Fast Passes can be obtained at midnight, and I have been known to clock out for lunch at work (since I work nights) at 11:55pm on the eve of my 180-day mark, so that I can be logged into my phone at midnight ready to get the Fast Passes I want.
One final piece of advice when traveling with a large group is to try and accommodate everyone. I asked everyone in my party MULTIPLE times where they would like to eat, and I feel that I accommodated everyone well. On our last night in Disney, we went to Disney Springs for the night to enjoy Splitsville Luxury Lanes for dinner and bowling. It was no secret that I was unsure about this option, as to me, it didn’t feel very ‘Disney’. My brother, however, was really wanting to try Splitsville, and, hesitant as I was, I made reservations here for the group. I didn’t think it was fair not to try somewhere that my brother was really looking forward to simply because I didn’t want to go here, and I didn’t want to split up the group for our last dinner together.
Splitsville turned out to be a blast! I got a text message the day of our reservation stating that we were all set for dinner only- I was confused about this, as I thought we were going to bowl as we ate. I called Splitsville and explained the situation, and they couldn’t have been nicer. The woman explained that I had accidentally made ‘dinner only’ reservations (tip: if you want to eat AND bowl, call for reservations rather than making them online, so that you can guarantee that you get both), and that when we arrived, we should just state that we wished to bowl as well, and that since it was their ‘slow season’ (September in Disney tends to attract less crowds due to it being back to school time), we would be accommodated. Once we arrived at Splitsville that evening, we paid for our bowling, gave our shoe sizes, and we were escorted to the second floor to our lane (the attendant even took our shoes up for us!), which featured a long table with plenty of room for the eight of us (my aunt had gone home that afternoon). The amount of time you have to bowl is dependent upon the number of people bowling, and we had well over an hour. The food was DELICIOUS- I had sushi and a pizza and I would highly recommend them both- the drinks were plentiful, and the desserts were humongous. All in all, it was a great time, and it was a nice change of pace from the Signature restaurants we had eaten at the past two nights. One of my favorite things about dinner at Splitsville was that it didn’t matter how loud the two toddlers were- the music was blaring in Splitsville (we still were able to have plenty of good conversations, though), and with all of the bowling going on, nobody else could hear the kids. If you are looking for a fun time at Disney, I would highly recommend Splitsville Luxury Lanes at Disney Springs!
(Delicious pizza at Splitsville)
So please remember that if you are unsure about a certain restaurant in Disney, but someone in your party is really looking forward to this restaurant, go ahead and give it a try- it may surprise you! I have a rule for my family that we try a restaurant twice before deciding not to visit again- anything can happen in any given night, and you may have an atypical bad experience. There are several restaurants that my husband has not enjoyed in any given night, but he has always stated that he is willing to try a restaurant twice before chalking it up as a ‘do not visit again’ establishment.
I hope that you enjoy my blog, and as always, feel free to email me at dana_aimee@hotmail.com with any Disney questions you may have. Have a magical day!
