I knew this was going to be a challenge, but I guess I had more faith in my own planning skills!
Open to suggestions of any kind!
We will be roughly 14 adults and 1 child. This should be easy right?
The villas are booked ..yeah dvc!
Besides my immediate family of 4, everyone else needs to do their own plane, transportation park tickets.
At this point, I've asked them to do their MDE accounts so I can link them to their resort reservations. Response has been slow.... And not going to lie, I'm disappointed.
If you've been in this boat or not I would appreciate some advice.
Awww OP, I feel you, and I'm sorry that you feel disappointed. I'm a detailed planner and I've planned lots of Disney trips over the years. Now that our kids are grown, a lot of the time it's just my husband and I, but we've also done a bunch of trips with large groups. First timers just don't understand what goes into planning a Disney World trip. Like you, the first time I organized a large trip including mostly first timers I was disappointed too. I felt like I was constantly bothering everyone by asking them to make choices and it took so much effort to get input. Now, when I plan trips with anyone I use one of two approaches depending on who I'm dealing with.
One approach is very hands off. I make sure that I am very clear with everyone that if they don't pay attention to booking windows they will not be able to do the things they want to do. I often give the adults a copy of the current "Unofficial Guide" and I hope they at least browse it. I will try to have a planning meeting all together, but I go into it knowing it probably won't be productive. Then I back off and make my own daily plans, in detail for each day. I then send a copy of my written plans to everyone with a note saying that they are welcome to join me for any portion or for all of it, but if they expect me to include them on any reservations I need a clear response before my booking day. Then I leave it up to each person from there, and I don't allow myself to feel responsible for anyone else's vacation.
Approach number two is pretty much the opposite. I make sure that everyone is serious about going so that I don't waste any time or money and I ask for a list of any must dos by a certain deadline. Then I plan the trip, every aspect of the trip, without more input. The week before the trip I send everyone a packing list. The day before we arrive, everyone gets an emailed itinerary for day one. Each evening of the trip everyone gets a printed copy of the next day's plans.
Both of these approaches have worked for us. Which one I pick depends on the people I'm traveling with but both allow me to set my own boundaries, enjoy my own trip, and let go of the constant worry that everyone isn't having the perfect vacation. That's on them, not me.
I do have one child that likes to plan as much as I do. When we travel together, he and I plan 50/50. That's ideal and we have great trips together. Most people just don't get it though and no matter how much effort you put into extracting information and commitments from them, it's not going to happen.
Good luck, and try not to put too much pressure on yourself.