Two groups, one mess. Planning help.

M1ckeyM0use

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jan 7, 2017
Two groups of friends are going to Disney next September and already we can't agree on anything. I believe there will be 4 or 5 of us going (which is down from 10).

Right now planning is a nightmare. But we have agreed on a few things so far: staying at CBR, park hopper passes, Be Our Guest (I think) and Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party. Everything thing else is up in the air. But whatever free or discounted things become available, we're doing (free dining, discounted room, etc)

I don't want to turn in to that bossy Disney planner because out of the two groups, I'm the only one that has been there so I have an idea what's good and what isn't. But at the same time, I want my friends to get the most out of their trip.

Any planning tips are welcome! I'm trying to make this as smooth as possible! Thanks!
 
Guide them into giving answers. Don't ask about specific things as much as finding out what each person wants to get out of the trip. Once you know that, you can start customizing an itinerary that fits the group as a whole and then let everyone have an input on the final itinerary. This should help you narrow things down. How many days are you going to be there? Do keep in mind that free dining may or may not make sense for your group, since it can sometimes cost more than the room only rate*which also has a discount) plus paying for meals.
 
Give options and tell them to choose. If people want to do different things, let them do different things. It's going to be very hard to get a group to agree on everything.
I'm very much a planner too... large group things kind of make me crazy. And I have a lot of friends that don't like to make decisions... so at a certain point if decisions aren't made... I will make them for everyone.
 
Give options and tell them to choose. If people want to do different things, let them do different things. It's going to be very hard to get a group to agree on everything.
I'm very much a planner too... large group things kind of make me crazy. And I have a lot of friends that don't like to make decisions... so at a certain point if decisions aren't made... I will make them for everyone.

I have one person who makes me crazy.......this one person is my usual travel companion. They want to leave it all up to me, but expect it to be perfect for them as well, and complain if it isn't.
 


I'm planning for me and four other adults for our November trip. Of the five of us, only I have been there multiple times. We'll all be eating a TS dinner every night, so I chose two or three restaurants for each night and asked everyone else to look at them and pick one. We'll also probably end up with the same FP+ attractions/times because we all like relatively the same things. I figured we can go our separate ways during the day if people want to do different things, but we'll all meet up for food and FP+ rides. That way, if you have some in your group that get there and want to do something no one else does, there's flexibility for them to do it.
 
One word: compromise. Bring up the idea that everyone has one or two "things" (i.e. ride, food, parade etc.) that they want to do. No one is allowed to complain when doing another activity. You build the schedule around accomplishing these activities.
 


I went with family a couple of years back, there were 5 of us, all adults. We had a pretty solid itinerary for our 2 weeks in WDW, but different combinations of people we also deviated from this list quite regularly. I guess perhaps if they haven't been before part of it is them having a sense of just how much there is to do. I also would be interested to know how many days you'll be there for? I imagine this will have a pretty big impact on how rigorous the planning could be.
 
Dining; if 2 want to eat one place and 3 want to eat someplace else - two dining reservations. You don't all have to eat at the same place.
Rides; I suspect all will want to see at least 12 rides. Fast passes for those. Anyone who doesn't want to go on a ride doesn't go. You can suggest another ride to see and all meet up again later to talk about it.
Parks; since you are the "vet" I bet everyone will accept your park order. I suspect arrival times might be sticky so allow those who want to go early to do so and set a time when the "sleepers-in" will be comfortable meeting up.

Encourage people to split up by suggesting meet up times - for a ride or a meal perhaps.
 
Planning for a big group can be such a hassle. The first time I did this for our family, we overplanned and ended up running around for 7 days. The second trip we wised up and made only 1 hard rule - we all eat dinner together. We had a loose plan of what park we would do for the day and then everyone was on their own. This way if someone wanted to sleep in or if a child needed a nap, no one felt like they HAD to stick to a schedule. Oddly, enough I'd say we were all together at least 80% of that trip and everyone enjoyed that trip more.
 
What I've done is tell people "this is what I'm doing each day, join me or don't, but this is what I'm doing". I'm so sick of running around trying to keep everyone happy!
 
I agree with others with giving a few options, i.e., 3 restaurants to choose from, 3 rides for FP+, etc. You're the Dis Vet, so they'll look to you for advice and planning. Once there, they may want to break off and do their own thing and that's ok. You don't have to do everything together the entire trip.
 
It sounds like you've already agreed on some major points, like the choice of resort and the park hoppers. Are you all in agreement on how much planning the group wants to have?

My recommendation: have a pre-Disney dinner at someone's home. Make it a fun planning meeting. Over a nice meal and drinks, everyone can talk about their preferences and bond.

My last trip with five friends, we found that planning was much easier to do in person, rather than have people propose ideas back-and-forth.

By the end of the night, here's what we wrote out. Not too much detail:

Day 1:
Morning - AK
Dinner - Boma 5:20pm
After Dinner - MK, fireworks

Day 2:
Epcot
Disney Springs

Day 3:
Morning - Typhoon Lagoon
Late Lunch - Boathouse 3:00pm
Evening - DHS, Fireworks

Day 4:
Morning - MK
Evening - Epcot

Day 5:
Flight out MCO​

We kept a list of rides that people wanted, which someone wrote down. We then assigned one person to get all the FPs whenever he could.

It probably helps that none of us had a list of strict "requirements." And on the actual trip, we actually changed things all the time. What would've made this process difficult is if someone was controlling or had a lot of requirements, but we were lucky that this wasn't the case.
 

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