We are a group of 4-6 families preparing to travel to Hawaii in the spring of 07 (it takes us some time to all get on the same page as far as planning goes). . Of the group, three couples have one child, one couple has two, the other couple has three and then there are a two couples of older parents, in their 60's. With the kids, they will range in age from 4-17. I have several questions:

Should a group this large plan on multi-islands over nights?
Should we book with a tour group or go at it alone?
With such a large group, would we be better off at a high rise style property or one of the more smaller, villa type resorts?

I'll stop here with the questions until I hear back. Thanks in advance for any input.