Grand Gathering Tip of the Day

Disney Tip of the Day:
If you’re traveling with a large group to Disney World, don’t try to spend every minute together. Instead, plan to meet up for an evening meal to discuss your day at the parks.

In my family, a Disney vacation was a part of growing up. Being the oldest of five siblings, I adopted some of my mom’s vacation practices with my own four children and our vacations to Disney. Because of the size our family, any trip to Disney means we’re traveling with a large group. Every Disney vacation is a Grand Gathering!

When my siblings and I were younger, all six members of our family did everything at Disney together. We all dressed in outfits from the Sears catalog, and they were all the same color. (I’m afraid that I’m dating myself…!) We were horrified for awhile, but our mother was firm. Truthfully, we were at Disney, and we didn’t care what we looked like! But, every ride we rode, and every meal we ate, we were noticed by every cast member we saw. We were the “Red Family,” or the “Green Family.” It very quickly became a fun game to see how many would call us by those names.

As my siblings and I grew up and had families of our own, it became glaringly apparent that we needed a new strategy. The Sears outfits of old turned into same-color shirts for my children, my husband, and me. It still has the same impact…especially when we wear tie-dyed shirts!

Because we vacationed with large groups, and still do today, it taught me how traveling with that many people can be stressful. It can be so difficult for everyone to be able to do what they want to do, and for everyone to have a great time together. That is, after all, the point of traveling together!

Since our family now consists of eleven adults and nine children under the age of ten, we have had to adopt a new plan that could work for your large group also. Now, our goal for each day at Disney is to meet for a meal together at night. During the day, we sometimes stay together, and we sometimes separate. Some of us still need a nap in the afternoon; some of us want a swim in the afternoon, and some of us are Park-Troopers. Since we decided to stop forcing the issue of everyone spending every minute of the vacation together, it is much less stressful. We enjoy each other, our children, and our vacation much more. Try this tip for your next Grand Gathering…it may bring even more Magic to your vacation!