Everyone looks forward to family reunions - and who doesn’t love Disneyland? You can bring the two together by having your family reunion at the happiest place on earth. It is really easier than you might think to arrange this!

Start by calling the Disneyland Vacation Planning Services Department. Let them help you book rooms at the Resort hotels, and admission tickets to the park. You should be able to get discounts on the tickets by purchasing them in bulk.

The specific service that you need to accommodate all of your family members is the ‘Happiest Place on Earth Picnic.’ This service is offered year round, and includes admission to the park for your entire party. You also get a choice of fully catered meals for the event. For 100 - 300 people, your event can be held at Big Thunder Ranch. For 300 - 1000 people, the event will be held at the Festival Arena.

If there are less than 100 people in your party, you may not be eligible for the catering services. This is at the sole discretion of Disneyland, and you will need to discuss this with Guest Services or the Planning Services Departments. If catering is not available, reservations in the many restaurants can be made instead.

You may be able to get a discount on your family member’s rooms at the Resorts as well, if you book well in advance, hold your event during the off-season, and book a block of rooms. Airline tickets for those who will need to fly to Disneyland should also be purchased well in advance, and in bulk for additional discounts.

Again, allow Disneyland Vacation Planning Services to help you with the arrangements, and use a travel agent to handle any arrangements that planning services doesn’t cover. For best results, choose one family member to work with the planning services and the travel agent, and relay information back and forth between the services and the family members. Having one person collecting and sharing information will cut down on a great deal of confusion and misinformation when you are trying to make travel arrangements for a large number of people.

It may take work and planning, but in the end, this will be one family reunion that will never be forgotten. Talk with the Vacation Planning Services Department to find out what other services are available to make this an even more special experience for you and your family members. The Surprise services would be a nice touch!

Have you recently made plans to charter a private yacht? If so, when is your trip coming? Is it quickly approaching? While the chartering of a private yacht can be fun and exciting, it is also important that you place a focus on safety. When on a privately chartered yacht, you are literally at the mercy of the waters and your yacht crew. Although it may seem like the situation is out of your hands, there are a number of different ways that you can go about protecting yourself. Just a few of those ways are touched on below.

Perhaps, the best thing that you can do is tour your yacht. Although you might want to start enjoying your vacation right away, you will also want to know the ins and outs of your yacht. Whether you choose to explore every inch of the yacht yourself or if you ask the crew to give you a quick tour, you are advised to do so. In the event of an emergency, this may come in handy.

In addition to getting a generalized tour of your privately chartered yacht, you will also want to know about safety, namely where the safety devices or supplies are. All privately chartered yachts should come equipped with items like lifejackets or floatable rafts. While these items may help you in an emergency, you must first know where they are. It may also be a good idea to learn to how send out a distress signal in the event that anything happens to your yacht crew. It is also important to know where all first aid items, like first aid kits, are.

As with any trip that you take, you are advised to know where you are going and when. This information should not only be used for yourself, but it should also be given to your family and friends. For instance, does your privately chartered yacht adventure involve docking in foreign ports? If so, you will definitely want to let your friends or family members know where you will be going. If you will not be given a copy of your itinerary, you are urged to create your own. Give a few copies of that itinerary to those that you know. Should you not return when you are supposed to, they may be able to contact the proper authorities.

Since you will, essentially, be vacationing on the open waters, it is advised that you know how to swim. Although many privately chartered yacht journeys go off without a hitch, you never really know. That is why it is advised that you know how to swim. If you do not consider yourself to be an experienced swimmer, you may want to think about taking a refresher training course. If you are traveling with children, it is also advised that they know how to swim. Many local community centers, like YMCA’s, offer low-cost or affordably priced swimming lessons, for individuals of all ages. For your own safety and even a sense of security, you are advised to take one of these training courses or lessons.

While the above mentioned safety tips may be able to help you stay safe, it is also important to remember that there are some circumstances that may be out of your hands. For that reason, you are urged to look into travel insurance, especially if you are planning on chartering a private yacht for an extended period of time.