Need Advice: What is Disney like with all 3 generations on the trip?

We've done this twice.
The first time, we attempted to do everything together and discovered during the trip that this wasn't going to work. My dd and I love character meals, and my mother prefers to dine without the characters annoying her while she eats.
We eat some meals together, and others we now have separate.
It's the same with rides. The older folk like to do things the young ones aren't interested in, and vice versa.
 
We did this for our DLR trip and I researched your same question then. We just planned at least one meal a day together and then gave people a rough idea of what we were going to do and provided suggestions for other things. That seemed to work. We did one character meal and a fancy adults-only meal and that was great. For example, I knew FIL would not have any interest in the thrill rides or anything remotely jerky so I saved those FP for the afternoon when he usually peeled off to go for a nap. I also provided him and MIL with a list of places they might like to hang out both at the hotel, surrounding area, and parks. Just set everyone's expectation that you might not be together 24/7 and that's okay. The 2YO will also throw things off a bit because the 2YO will not be able to or have interest in riding certain rides. I'd likely make sure your sis and family know the height restrictions of rides so they can be prepared. Be sure you educate the group on rider swap and also I'd probably let them know if they need to go back so the 2YO can nap, fine. I agree with putting in some shows or parade watching with the walking about and also setting people's expectations for wait time and the sheer amount of time for walking (set their expectations for average walking amount -- that might impact their decision for bringing a double stroller and such). Like the benefits of rope drop to avoid long wait times. I am prone to motion sickness and honestly it has gotten worse as I've grown older (yay?) so I would be sure you check in with your group if anyone has food allergies (and educate them as to how to handle) or other issues like motion sickness, back problems, etc.. Which brings me to this:



I tend to agree. I am prone to motion sickness. Now I will say I loved Universal. But I am a huge HP fan and I also wore the motion sickness patch behind my ear for my Universal days. I will say the rides I had issues with were not expected -- FJ, FoH, a wee bit on Spiderman because you are spun around a lot. Simpsons, which is notorious for causing motion sickness and I'd avoided the first time the family rode, no issues (I was in the back row so maybe that helped). And I just plain avoided a number of the coasters. But yes, there are a LOT of rides that will affect motion sickness so if motion sickness is more severe I wouldn't even try them. At Disney, I didn't bother with a patch and was fine. I didn't even try Mission Space, Soarin' and Star Tours I even have to focus on the edge of the screen or my feet at times, but otherwise didn't really have a problem. I will also warn you to look at which rides are a bit jerky. Space Mountain can be jerky and I didn't want to feel like I'd been in a bar fight so I passed on it.

Again, I think it all boils down to expectations and education. FWIW, I am thinking about bringing both my mom and my MIL for the next trip we have to WDW. Yes, more difficult trying to coordinate with so many people and schedules and issues but I know for my kids, having their grandmas there will be wonderful. Your trip will be one you'll all remember and love. Have fun!


I have to agree on Universal. I'm also prone to motion sickness--the old Jimmy Neutron ride practically did me in, and I'll never ride the Simpsons ride again. OTOH, I was fine with Shrek and Spiderman--go figure. So, it really varies by individual. I also nearly passed out after Star Tours---which I'd ridden on previously, before they changed it a few years back. So, that might be a good "test ride" if some of your party aren't sure on Universal. To me, it's worth going anyway--we hope to go next year, I'm looking forward to Harry Potter and the rides I can enjoy (MIB is a favorite). My kids are joking about ditching me at the Barney show! My point is, let people choose whether they want to go there. I find Universal to be less enjoyable hanging out than at a Disney park, if that makes sense.
 
My husband and I are taking my entire family to Disney in October: my mother (63), father (65), sister (36), brother-in-law (35), 2 nephews (2 and 6), my husband (33), and myself (33). My husband and I are Disney regulars and are the trip planners for this event but we have never been to Disney with children in our group and need advice.

What information can I pass on to my family of what it will realistically be like on our trip so that they can mentally prepare? They tend to set too high of expectations for things and can be easily disappointed.

What time of year are you going? Is this the same time or different time of year than you and your husband normally go? My dad and stepmom took DH, me, my stepbrother, his wife and their three children (11, 5, and 3) last October - we are similar ages to you and my dad and stepmom are simliar ages to your parents. I did all of the booking for the hotels, ADRs, strollers, and FPs. We had one meeting about a month ahead of time to go over everything. DH and I usually go the first part of September so, to us, going in early October was crowded. So I would prepare yourself for that if that is an issue. Since you didn't mention that you have children, I would also point out how different it is to tour as adults only versus as a big group with kids even though I know this seems very obvious. DH and I are used to setting our own schedule and can make our way through the parks super quickly and easily. There are so many more logistics in a group that big - strollers to park, potty breaks to take, kids getting cold after a rain storm, hunger issues from being off a "normal" everyday schedule for the kids. I am trying to say that I knew logically that touring with a big group including young kids would be different, but I didn't know it would exhaust me!!:rotfl2:

Also are you all staying in the same villa or will each family unit have their own room. Each family unit on our trip had their own room, which to me was vital for downtime, rest and relaxation.
 
I would decide/discuss what the norms are in advance. We're planning a big family/extended family trip in 2020. We are very much okay with having breakfast together, doing a fast pass or two, and an ADR/place to meet up for dinner and then letting people split off as they want. My friend's family, however, will literally not go on a ride if everyone doesn't. I would try to figure out which style you want. I'd also check with the mom of the young children on their schedule. It'd stink to plan dinner in the castle at 7 if they're going to be asleep, or find out that your Mickey greeting is during their nap time. Personally, I think as a group deciding the 1-3 things each day that are important to do together and then letting everyone else plan their day (with help if wanted) works best.
 
We had a multigenerational trip, as our ages were 64, 51, 29, and 2. But it was more like the average family of four than the typical multigenerational trip. That stroller sure did add to the time of getting places though; it was necessary but it added time every time we moved. Child swap, which was also necessary, added significant time to the touring as well.
 
We've done a trip like this several times. Usually my Mom and Sister go off by themselves for half the day. I think it's hard for the whole family to stick together, especially when little kids are involved. I usually try to make a dinner ADR and then everyone meets up again at that time.
 
We did a 3 generation trip in 2016, with my parents (70s, physically fit, but my mom has dementia), my sister and SIL and their daughter (infant), DH and my 2 girls (then 4 yrs and an infant). It was easier in some ways because my parents had been to WDW many times when we were kids, so they knew the drill, and my sister and I each had babies so we were all in the stroller set. I was the primary planner and linked everyones tickets, etc. My sister's family was coming from CA so add in jet lag...

I got great advice from the board (and there's great advice here!), the main points of which are:
  • Do not try to do everything together as a group.
  • Plan for at least 1 meal, or 1 meal a day, together as a group.
  • Be understanding/respectful of others' schedules and needs - including spending habits.
  • Understand different people's vacation styles and try to find common aspects, rather than trying to fit subgroup A's style into subgroup B's.

While we were in the planning stage, my dad was very much like, "just tell me and mom where we need to go and when." My sister was like, "I like to relax on vacation! We don't need to go to the parks, we can just hang out at the pool. And we like to sleep in." We were all staying in a 2BR at BLT.

They ended up coming for the middle 5 days of an 8 day stay, which was fine. I suggested certain things for them to do, but told them up front that since we'd pay a penalty for no-shows on an ADR, and they weren't willing to commit, I'd book most ADRs for my family and my parents, and if they wanted to try to add on later, we could do that, but no promises. They sort of but didn't really keep their baby on CA time, and my parents were on CA time as well, so the 4 of us in our immediate family would hit rope drop at the park of the day (there was at least that planning) and we'd text to meet up around lunch time, which was morning to them. My dad and mom got up early a couple times with us to hit the parks early, because they decided they'd rather do that and get a nap midday when the kids were napping. On the whole, we tended to see each other around early afternoon, either in a park or at the condo (BLT), and then later in the evening in the condo after the kids had gone to bed.

For FPs, I made FPs for my parents and sister and SIL in the late morning or early afternoons, knowing they'd be late risers, while ours tended to be in the AM or we'd have a few overlapping ones. That actually worked pretty well, since we were able to use rider switch to ride some of the coasters together while the grandparents watched the kids. Often if we met up in a park, it was for a casual (no ADR) lunch and 1-2 rides, and then we'd be heading back for naps with our kids while the people on CA time toured the parks some more. If we had dinner ADRs, they were for around 5pm, and mostly just with my parents. We'd either meet up back at the condo or hand off with my sister, and I think my sister and her little family would either get or make something casual at the condo or in the parks, while we took our parents to dinner. For us, the meals are part of the fun; for my sister's family, they were a refueling stop.

My parents took us (my sister and I) to WDW a lot when we were kids, but they were always very frugal trips, so I really enjoyed treating them to staying at BLT and dinner at CRT (things that were a thing when we were kids), among other things. They enjoyed WDW with their grandkids. My sister's family did WDW their way, which wouldn't have been my way, but it was good to reconnect with them as well. (They ordered groceries on their 2nd day, and then the next day made it to AK at like 2pm because they got up late and were making sandwiches... <facepalm>)

As others have said, it seems like OP does not have kids, and the kids will dictate a lot of the schedule, or at least dictate the availability of the kids and one parent. A hangry or tired kid can make things unpleasant for everyone. Just expect things to take longer than expected, and be open to surprises and new experiences. As a PP has said, Enchanted Tales with Belle is really fun with little kids, but if there are no kids in your group, eh. Our 2yo loved the Tiki room as well, and the carousel and Small World are always popular. We have in the past left 1-2 adults with the toddler and kids to ride the carousel over and over again while others were using FPs to go on other things, and then switched off later.
 


Honestly if anyone's prone to motion sickness or scared of rides, don't bring them to Universal (unless they're diehard harry potter fans). It's not worth the money to have a ton of rides you can't do. I have friends who skip Universal days on large group trips and hang out at the pool or go to disney springs.

DS11 & I are huge Harry Potter Fans! I suggested them having a day to do whatever they wanted while we went to Universal but they said no, they wanted to go so we will see how it goes. We are doing one day park to park. I have encouraged her to take something for the motion sickness.
 
We took an almost identical group in March plus our DS 1. We enjoyed staying all together in a 2bed at BLT, but it was crowded; having three bathrooms was great though.

All the adults were WDW vets, but it was the first trip for all the kids. I planned every last detail including FP+s for each individual with prior input from the group. Because kids rule the schedule we either passed up several FPs or rebooked for something else once we were there.

We tried to stick together more than we should have (my parents really wanted that), but every day of the 5 days we split up more. It did work to stick to one park per day, everyone in the same park. Most days we left for the park in the morning at the same time, but split it into various configurations once there. We had a CS lunch together (easier because of the different bed times) everyday except for one day when we did a character dinner instead.

here's what else worked for us:
- breakfast in the room (the grown ups all agreed to forget our usual rope drop strategy unless the kids happened to be up really early).
-preordering food on the app before CS meals including lunch at BOG, where it really helped. Kids don't like long, luxurious meals.
- planning big kid rides together. For ex my mom and I get motion sick so we all met up near Mine Train and she and I took the two youngest in their strollers to window shop and have a snack while the rest of the group rode it. We met up after and switched around.
- one night my parents went out just them for a signature meal and the next night they babysat so the four young parents could do the same. It helped that we all agreed to dine in the resort we were staying in. DSis ended up having to run out of Cali Grill mid entree when my mom called from BLT that my nephew was in full late night meltdown mode.
- accepting that we wouldn't cover much ground or ride much, so different than our usual commando style. On average each group rode/saw 2-4 attractions per day. That's it. And we had FPs for almost all of them so lines weren't to blame.

Even if you two mostly tour separately from the little kids, they will somehow mandate how much everyone sees/does. That's the reality of traveling with young kids, go with their flow.
 

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