Traveling to Walt Disney World with another family can be super fun! I mean, why not get together with another family-be it friends from school, neighbors, or even the in laws-at the most magical place on earth? Your kids will have someone their age to enjoy attractions and meals with, you’ll have adult friends to chat over dessert with, and it’ll be awesome! Right!?
If you are thinking of planning a trip with another family, you’ll want to follow these tips to make it easier and much more fun.
1. Designate someone to make the resort reservations. I suggest deciding on a resort, and booking two separate reservations. After you have done so, you call Disney and give them both confirmation numbers. You tell them you are traveling together, and that you need adjoining rooms. They’ll put in the request for you. I’ve never had my request for adjoining rooms go unanswered. If adjoining rooms isn’t your thing, or not an option at your resort, ask them for rooms next to each other.
2. Have each person in your travel party make a list of “must eats”. From this list, generate some restaurants you’d like to make ADRs for and do it as soon as possible. Have them hold your reservation under one person’s credit card. Then, when you get to your meal, you can pay for it as you wish-separately, as one check, or using your DDP credits. Remember, that with parties of 8 or more, Disney automatically includes an 18% gratuity in your bill.
3. Plan your park days. This might be based on your dining reservations, or on personal preferences. Personally, I plan our park days first, and then add our dining reservations. When planning your park days, keep in mind if you decided on park hoppers or base tickets. If you don’t have the same tickets as the other family you’re traveling with, no worries! You can each go your own way, and meet up at certain attractions or restaurants at designated times.
4. Go your own way. I think this is one of the most important tips when traveling to Walt Disney World with another family. Allow time in your touring plans to be separate from each other. Perhaps you have a toddler who wants to enjoy Disney, Jr., and her big brothers also want to just sit and enjoy the show in the air conditioning. But the family you’re with has a teenager who really wants to do Star Tours again. So, decide as families to meet later on in the day. Or, one of you has planned a resort day, while the other family has planned to park hop all day long. Just because you traveled and planned together, doesn’t mean you have to be together 24/7 on your trip.
5. Take care of each other. Offer to take the kids to the pool while the moms enjoy a pedicure at the Grand Floridian Spa. Does the little one in the group need some quiet time, take him or her on a ride of It’s a Small World while the dads take the older kids for another round of Space Mountain. Or, settle the kids down with a movie and some pizza and plan out your next day at the parks. If you need to do a Rider Switch Pass, offer to sit with the sleeping baby so the other family can enjoy the ride together.
All in all, traveling with another family to Walt Disney World can be an enjoyable, magical experience. Have you traveled with another family? Or as one big family {in laws included}? I’d love to hear about it!
Magically Yours,
Carrie
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We went last fall with longtime friends and had a great time! We met up to plan the trip 6 months ahead and had a “war room” set up with laptops for each adult to work on. Then we made a conference call to Disney and made all the room and dining reservations. We even enlisted the help of the oldest child (they were ages 7, 8 & 9) to distract the younger two (who didn’t know about the trip).
the last two trips I’ve had my best friend and another friend with us, this next one it’s going to be a HUGE group of us going…upwards of maybe 30!! I can’t wait…but I’m a bit nervous with all the different personalities!