Notes about 2024
The 2023 reunion is behind us, so it’s time to start planning for 2024. Here are some notes about 2024. Please feel free to provide feedback on any of the things mentioned.
Venue
We are seriously considering Jellystone Park again as the venue for 2024, mainly because there are so many things to do. Some of you will recall our first two family reunions were done at Jellystone.
The Plan
Here’s how this would work.
Site(s)
For the most part, everyone will be on their own to make reservations for their family and/or friends. Prices at Jellystone range between:
$40 a night for 6 people (tent sites)
up to
$275 a night for 10 people (cabins)
with lots of prices in-between
In addition to the site/cabin charge, each person 3 years and older will have to pay a resort fee of $22 per day. This covers all activities, including admission to the water park.
In addition to the Jellystone fees, all adults 18 and over will pay a reunion registration fee ($40 – $75 for the weekend, to be decided in the next few weeks).
Part of the registration fee will be divided up among all of the children under 18 to help pay for their costs. This will help the younger families (who typically have more kids) afford the reunion. Our goal is to completely cover the $22 a day for the kids.
Gini and I, and likely Donna and Teri, will go together and have one or two large cabin sites with kitchen(s) for a “central meeting area” for the reunion. We’ll fill those and share with family members.
For more information about the lodging options, see https://www.northtexasjellystone.com/lodging-overview/
The Pros
Activities
In short, the biggest “Pro” is the number of activities for the kids. Our reunions should emphasize the kids. While it’s relatively easy to keep them entertained, the word I was getting from others in the family is that continuing to have the reunion at the Deer Creek cabins has become boring for them. The beach was fun, but not exactly geared towards children. Even when there are activities in the area, they’re not free, and the kids have to be driven to them. Go to Jellystone’s website and check out what all is available for the kids. They won’t be bored.
Price
For the nicer accommodations, the price is really pretty close to what we paid for the beach houses in Galveston. However, for those that are strapped for cash, Jellystone offers multiple options including tent camping. That means that 4 adults could rent a tent space for $40 a night. Keep in mind, there are other charges – Jellystone requires a pass for $22 a day for everyone over 3, and we are going to charge a reunion fee to cover incidentals. We anticipate the reunion fee will be around $50 (see notes below about children charges). But that still means that means that adults could stay as for around $130 for all three nights (including taxes and reunion fee). The more expensive option (one of the nicer cabins) would be about $250 for all three nights, including all taxes and fees.
Convenience/Drive
Most of us live in the DFW area, so this would be a very short trip. Even for those that are in Waco, it would still be shorter than Galveston or Turner Falls. I know we have some now in Houston and Galveston; unfortunately, it would be ya’lls turn to drive far. Sorry.
Reservations & Payments
With this, everyone would be responsible for making their own reservations, so no one will have to be the bill collector. The one small exception to that will be the reunion fees, and we’re working on way to make that easier for everyone.
The Cons
Price
This is still not cheap. For the more adventurous, it could be even less expensive than the cabins at Deer Creek were; but for most of us, it’s going to be less expensive than the beach houses, but only minimally so.
Park Entry Fee
The park has a mandatory fee of $22 per person (per day) over 3 years old for entry into the park. That means we will have to be creative if we want to continue the practice of allowing children to attend the reunion for free. The suggestion is that we charge all adults a $50 fee for the reunion to cover the park entry fee for children. This would be a one time charge, not a per day charge.
De-Centralized
Because everyone will be making their own reservations, and the park now has so many different types of accommodations, we won’t have a “centralized” place for everyone to hang out and cook. We can mitigate that some by trying to get the “4 Plex” cabin reserved. That’s 4 2 bedroom cabins in one building, two upstairs and two downstairs. I’m going to work with the group planner to see if we can work that out. That would give us something of a centralized place, but those getting tent or other cabins would still have a bit of a walk.
The Plan
Here’s the basic plan. I’ll work with a group planning coordinator from Jellystone. He/she will let us know how how to group us together as much as possible. We will add a fee for the reunion that will cover incidentals and children’s park entry fees (if we decide to continue doing kids for free). We’ll let everyone know that this is the plan, and allow people to start making reservations. We will also set up the current reunion account so that people can Cash App and Venmo registration reunion fees directly to the account. We will again have a spreadsheet showing who’s paid, but this time it will individually track individual’s payments and totals.
Survey
Much of what we will do for 2024 (including registration fees, subsidizing families, and where we go) will be guided by the survey I’ve prepared.
Please take the survey on the Family Reunion website to register your preferences about 2024. I’m working now on a page that will detail the results of the survey as we go. We will probably keep the survey open through the end of November, so make your wishes known soon.