This feeling won't subside.....WILL I BE OK???!!!!

[Feelslikeadream]

I just need to shout from the roof tops, WE ARE GOING TO WDW FOR 9 DAYS!!!!!!!For my 35th and our twin sons 10th birthdays!!! This entire thing was soo sudden, not only are we ( DH,ident.twin DS's 9, DS 5 and DD 3) going but, my parents his parents and his sis' and three kids 12,9,4. Now I find out today that my Bro. and wife, with DS3, and DD 1,are interested. This is a dream come true for both sets of grand parents. I have only been once, Honeymoon 1996. So now i get to go back exactly 10 yrs later, with all of the people that I hold so close to my heart.I have some concerens, one of them being is that my DH sister and I feel its very important to keep our kids togehter to experience it all together. We are very close, I don't want to miss any reaction my 2 nephews and niece will have!!!! I have heard from so many people in the DIS that we should split up. Has anyone felt the way I do .We will probably never have this opportunity again with all oour kids with their grandparents. We have arranged a FREE day, this will give everyone an opportunity to do what they want when they want ALL DAY!!! This is day 8. I am trying to arrange something really special that night for all of together, to end our magical, wonderful , & extremely memorable trip together. This is a vacation of a lifetime!!!!! It is still 8 months away, but the excitement just won't seem to subside, eventtually I am sure it will. Oh, by the way recently our best-man moved to Flordia I can't wait to call him and share the news. ANY COMMENTS!!!??? I would love them.

Lets do the math ...We were here on our Honeymoon March1996
Coming back to celebrate our twins 10th Birthdays!!! 2006
We had a REALLY GREAT TIME!!!!!! I LOVE PIXIE DUST!!!!!!

 

[michygoomy]

How fun for you and your family!

I've done Disney with the extended family, and while it's great to share that experience, it's also impractical to lug around a great big herd of people and actually get much done. But you can have it both ways, especially with a 9 day trip.

The potential problems--first, getting out in the morning. Everyone has different ideas about an acceptable time to get out the door in the morning on vacation. I'm a hop-in-the-shower-put-hair-in-ponytail-get-the-show-on-the-road kind of gal, and I found myself travelling with someone who actually curled her hair and put makeup on the the morning. There is also the issue of people wanting to go in different directions--say, the older kids want to go on Space Mountain, who's going to go off with the younglings and where are they going to wait? Bathroom breaks alone will slow you down with that many people, unless you can get everyone to coordinate their bladders.

Saying that, it can be a great experience. One of my fondest memories is my DD4 and my neice 4 walking through the park, in their pigtails with Mickey head ties, hand in hand. EVERYONE turned to look at them.

I think it will help to get everyones expectations out in the open up front. Who's an early riser and who isn't? Who wants to do Disney commando-style vs. just going with the flow? Who wants to go on thrill rides and who doesn't or is too small? Consider starting out the morning together and going on some rides when it's not crowded, then splitting up for afternoon. Maybe break into mixed groups based on the kids' ages sometimes. Plan some nice relaxing time by the pool together. Oh, and go to the movie night at the campgrounds, that's a great family activity!

You don't mention where you are staying. While I'm a huge fan of staying on-site, there are some great deals to be had for houses with a family your size. After our big extended family trip, people would ask my DD about her vacation, and she would say "I stayed in the big white house and played Candyland with Kaylee." I guess I could've gotten away a lot cheaper if that was her favorite part!

 

[indigoxtreme]

With a group this size you may want to check out Grand Gatherings with WW, they help with dinner plans etc and other special things for a group of 8 or more. Here is the website with a litle info from WDW http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/wd...roducts?id=GrandGatheringsSpecialProductsPage

 

[ibelieveintink3]

Wow! how fun. I just recently found out that THIS MAY i'm heading back to WDW!! it will be our ninth time. we were there last april and they were doing all the prepping for the big 50! but we weren't able to see all the new attractions. I am very excited for that alone.

One tip for you though, i've gone with a large group as well and it's hard to subside everyone's wants and needs. Don't be afraid to split up. One thing i've learned is that, YES it's a family vacation and there are times when everyone wants to be together, but, you don't HAVE to be together the whole time. To avoid arguements split up the group for a short time depending on what people would like to see and do in a park.


HAVE FUN!