If you brought someone to watch your child...

[ready2vacation]

We are debating how to handle our next trip where our daughter will be about 2. Our vacations are family vacations so we want to spend as much time with our daughter as possible as DH and I both work very demanding jobs. However, it would be so nice to have a few evenings where DH and I could have a romantic dinner at a signature restaurant. Not to mention the possibility of having extra hands at the parks during the day, etc. We would consider something like Kids Nite Out, but are first debating whether we bring someone along from home.

So, if you have or are considering bringing someone along (whether it be a nanny, friend, family member) to help out, how did you handle the room arrangements - same resort? suite? separate room? I don't think we could afford 2 deluxe rooms so I was thinking of a different resort (is that tacky lol)? (Please see ETA below)
We would pay for travel, room, food, and park tickets since in our case it would likely be a family member or friend.

Any thoughts or recommendations from your experience would be great!

ETA: I wanted to add additional details since I think I came across as selfish in my OP and didn't provide enough info. I was interested in what others have done in all types of scenarios, but our options really just include:

1. Bring my Mom (Dad doesn't like Disney) - she would stay with us in some form or fashion either in a separate room (same hotel) or in a suite (where suggestions would definitely help) This would be a fun trip for her and the only thing special would be that she babysat the baby a couple of nights. I love hanging out with my Mom and she would have a blast.
2. Bring my DSS (adult) alone - he would also stay with us in some form or fashion. However, he likely wouldn't be interested in coming since he has limited vacation time and would want to use it with his girlfriend and not with a Disney trip (he never liked Disney much). He sees us regularly and hasn't vacationed with us much in years.
3. Bring DSS and his fiance - in that case, we would have no issue with them at another resort. We would easily meet up for any shared activities, but overall the two of them could have their private time however much/less they'd like. I know that they would be thrilled with an all-expense paid trip for the two of them (regardless of it being Disney) and would love watching the baby a couple of nights.
4. Hire Kids Nite Out a couple of nights - probably the most reasonable option, but don't like the idea of having DD with a stranger
5. Bring a family friend - for safety/logistical reasons would have them at our hotel
6. Have grandparents keep the baby at home while DH and I have a quickie romantic trip alone and then bring DD (and just DD) for our long vacation later in the year

#1, 3 & 4 are most likely for us unless we just plan 2 trips and go with #6

 

[jimandami]

We bring my mother most of the time (but she pays for part of the room, her tix, and food) and she watches the kids for a couple evenings. We usually get either a 1 bedroom DVC (rent points) or this time we are doing a suite at Art of Animation so no need for two rooms. However, she comes with us to enjoy WDW with her family, not so much as a babysitter. I guess it would depend on who you bring with you, but I do think it would be a little tacky for you to stay at a deluxe and then put your helper at a different hotel, not to mention it would be difficult logistically.

 

[BubMunkeyBles]

Rent DVC? We've had my parents and other family come and it's easy with a timeshare or condo that has 2-3 bedrooms. Plus everyone is comfortable.

 

[polly p]

We've done that twice. The first when my DD was 3, older kids 9 and 11. We brought our babysitter. We got two connecting rooms at ASM. It was great! DH and I enjoyed our evenings alone. Sometimes we just took the older kids and left little DD with the sitter.

The next trip DD was 5 and we brought grandma. We stayed in a 2BR at VWL and it was better. Grandma pooped out about the same time as the the kids. Nicer having grandma, and the bigger accommodations as well as better pool for older kids. Seeing Disney through the kids eyes was awesome for my mom too.

 

[mjkacmom]

Honestly, I'd just book a sitter a couple of nights. Two parents, two kids - sounds pretty easy to me! You'd save a lot of $.

 

[nat8199]

We are bringing our sitter and staying in a 2br suite. Our kids go to bed EARLY (6:00pm) and we do not want to be stuck in the room with them every night. My inlaws are also coming, but staying in a separate room.

 

[ready2vacation]

We bring my mother most of the time (but she pays for part of the room, her tix, and food) and she watches the kids for a couple evenings. We usually get either a 1 bedroom DVC (rent points) or this time we are doing a suite at Art of Animation so no need for two rooms. However, she comes with us to enjoy WDW with her family, not so much as a babysitter. I guess it would depend on who you bring with you, but I do think it would be a little tacky for you to stay at a deluxe and then put your helper at a different hotel, not to mention it would be difficult logistically.

Since they wouldn't be sitting except for a few nights, we figured logistically it would not be an issue. Our thoughts right now are either my DSS and his fiancee or my mom. If it is my mom, we would never put her anywhere else than where we were staying, but if DSS and his fiancee we figured they would be so excited about a free vacation that they could not afford that they wouldn't care where they were at

Rent DVC? We've had my parents and other family come and it's easy with a timeshare or condo that has 2-3 bedrooms. Plus everyone is comfortable.

We've never done DVC so I'll definitely have to explore that option.

We've done that twice. The first when my DD was 3, older kids 9 and 11. We brought our babysitter. We got two connecting rooms at ASM. It was great! DH and I enjoyed our evenings alone. Sometimes we just took the older kids and left little DD with the sitter.

The next trip DD was 5 and we brought grandma. We stayed in a 2BR at VWL and it was better. Grandma pooped out about the same time as the the kids. Nicer having grandma, and the bigger accommodations as well as better pool for older kids. Seeing Disney through the kids eyes was awesome for my mom too.

I'm hoping that Grandma will agree. There is only one living and it would probably work out perfectly because she likes Disney, but my Dad could care less

Honestly, I'd just book a sitter a couple of nights. Two parents, two kids - sounds pretty easy to me! You'd save a lot of $.

I'm more for doing a sitter than DH. We aren't sure we're comfortable with the stranger concept.

 

[DISNEYNV]

WOW! I would love it if I were a Nanny, or sitter, and was offered to stay with the family at Disney! I am sure you would be "working" most of the time, but what better place to be working at I can see how it would be a bit pricey, but if you rented DVC pointes or used a pin code for a DVC property it would be a great option. Plus you would have soooo much room and the sitter would be more than happy to stay in the room and play with the kiddos

PS) If anyone needs a Nanny for Disney I am free....lol HEEEHEEE

 

[Maggie'sMom]

So, if you have or are considering bringing someone along (whether it be a nanny, friend, family member) to help out, how did you handle the room arrangements - same resort? suite? separate room? I don't think we could afford 2 deluxe rooms so I was thinking of a different resort (is that tacky lol)?
We would pay for travel, room, food, and park tickets since in our case it would likely be a family member or friend.

Any thoughts or recommendations from your experience would be great!

I think it would definitely be tacky to put the helper (whether a family member, friend, or a nanny) in a different resort. If you can't afford 2 deluxe rooms, either go with two rooms at a moderate or value, or rent points to book a two bedroom DVC.

 

[Aggiegrl]

Last time we stayed at AKL-Kidani in a 2 bedroom unit using rented points. This time we're staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek in a 4 bedroom presidential for a bit more space (we take 3 grandparents) at a cheaper price than onsite.

If we were staying onsite with only one grandparent and my three kids, we'd probably stay at Art of Animation in a Lion King suite and have the grandparent stay in a standard Little Mermaid room (these two wings are closest to each other). My preference is always to have accommodations where the bedroom and a sitting area is separate so the kids can sleep while the adult is awake.

I absolutly would not do different resorts. We've stayed at a different resort than our family members before, and the logistics were just too much of a pain. Resort to resort transportation is hard at Disney, with the exception of the monorail and Epcot area resorts (which doesn't help you anyways, since they are all Deluxe).

If you want to stay out late, do you really want your sitter to have an additional 30-90 minute trip back to their room at night? I guess you could rent them a car, but that's another expense. Possibly you could stay at the Contemporary and make sure you are back before the MK buses stop running. It's still a decent walk to the bus and best case scenario 20 minutes back to their resort (worse case, over an hour).

 

[auralia]

I brought my niece with twice. She stayed in our room dd had a crib so niece had a bed to herself. We paid park tickets, all dining, cirque, and some souvenirs. She was only left alone with dd one evening and didn't expect money beyond us just paying for the trip. We also bought her plane tickets. Actually did it twice once with each of my brothers older daughters (16,17) it was great that we got to show them Disney!

 

[polly p]

My dad didn't come because he could care less too...lol! But my mom would come back with us again in a heart beat!

 

[okeydokey]

I would think that the helper would get their own room and you would bunk with the kids. Maybe connectors?

 

[FlightlessDuck]

We've gone with family, and they always stay in the same resort. We never really considered them "coming along to take care of the baby", they came along to be on vacation.

 

[munchkinsmomma24]

I think if you bring someone along to baby-sit, what that arrangement looks like would depend on who the person is. A grandma? I think should totally stay where you are staying.

If it's someone not quite as close/younger, etc, I think a separate resort is fine. It's a free vacation! My only concern with that would be if you plan to stay out late one night, and instead of them just having to walk to their room, they have to spend 20 minutes or more getting back to their resort. I've heard transportation between resorts isn't easy. I would also try to give them a day or half-day completely free to do whatever they want in the parks.

Before I got married and had kids of my own, if someone had offered to take me to Disney in exchange for helping with their kids and a few nights of baby-sitting, I would have been totally up for that! Especially if I knew I was going to have some time to enjoy the parks on my own.

Either way, I think it would be really important to communicate your expectations of their responsibility and what you are giving them up front, and be sure it's something both parties are totally fine with.

Things to talk through....

Where is everyone staying?

Who is paying for their meals?

How much time is being spent together?

How often do you expect to go out just the two of you?

What do you expect from them during times together in the park?

 

[JKMJ441724]

Rent DVC?

We've never done DVC so I'll definitely have to explore that option.

Be careful....

I rented points 3 or 4 times and then I was SUCKED in. We bought our DVC back in '07 and have LOVED it. I highly recommend renting points, especially if you were going to stay deluxe anyway.

 

[ready2vacation]

WOW! I would love it if I were a Nanny, or sitter, and was offered to stay with the family at Disney! I am sure you would be "working" most of the time, but what better place to be working at I can see how it would be a bit pricey, but if you rented DVC pointes or used a pin code for a DVC property it would be a great option. Plus you would have soooo much room and the sitter would be more than happy to stay in the room and play with the kiddos

PS) If anyone needs a Nanny for Disney I am free....lol HEEEHEEE

Love it! Are you available next November?

I think it would definitely be tacky to put the helper (whether a family member, friend, or a nanny) in a different resort. If you can't afford 2 deluxe rooms, either go with two rooms at a moderate or value, or rent points to book a two bedroom DVC.

Sadly, I know you are right LOL

We've gone with family, and they always stay in the same resort. We never really considered them "coming along to take care of the baby", they came along to be on vacation.

Yes, normally that is the case for us as well. For example, we go on an extended family beach trip for a week most years. Everyone pays their own way and because Grandma/Grandpa are there we would get a free night to go out to dinner without the baby because that is what grandparents do . The difference in this trip is that it isn't an extended family vacation and we are considering offering to pay all expenses for someone to come and help out with the baby in the evening some - we typically wouldn't be footing their bill otherwise. In some of our options we were comfortable at least considering a separate resort depending on who it was coming. If my DSS came with us alone, he'd stay with us, but if he came with his girlfriend we were comfortable with a separate resort. He's an independent adult and doesn't typically vacation with us any longer (due to work, etc.).

Be careful....

I rented points 3 or 4 times and then I was SUCKED in. We bought our DVC back in '07 and have LOVED it. I highly recommend renting points, especially if you were going to stay deluxe anyway.

That is so what I'm worried about!

 

[*pixie*dust*]

I think it would definitely be tacky to put the helper (whether a family member, friend, or a nanny) in a different resort. If you can't afford 2 deluxe rooms, either go with two rooms at a moderate or value, or rent points to book a two bedroom DVC.

I agree with this.

 

[Granny square]

My mom travels with us often. We consider it to be her vacation too. So same resort there. Same when we brought my niece and then my nephew.

If, however, I just wanted to bring a couple along and their only job was to take a couple of evenings to sit, I can't imagine it would be a problem to put them somewhere else with all the trimmings. It would possible seem more like a vacation for them. But doesn't your husband want to spend time with his son too?

 

[ready2vacation]

I think if you bring someone along to baby-sit, what that arrangement looks like would depend on who the person is. A grandma? I think should totally stay where you are staying. I agree with you. We'd only consider separate if it was my DSS and his fiancee coming. I probably need to ETA my OP.

If it's someone not quite as close/younger, etc, I think a separate resort is fine. It's a free vacation! My only concern with that would be if you plan to stay out late one night, and instead of them just having to walk to their room, they have to spend 20 minutes or more getting back to their resort. I've heard transportation between resorts isn't easy. I would also try to give them a day or half-day completely free to do whatever they want in the parks. Great perspective! We are early birds, so that should help, but definitely something to think about

Before I got married and had kids of my own, if someone had offered to take me to Disney in exchange for helping with their kids and a few nights of baby-sitting, I would have been totally up for that! Especially if I knew I was going to have some time to enjoy the parks on my own. Me, too. I guess that is why I was suprised at how many people thought it was so tacky, but on the other hand I didn't provide all the details for them

Either way, I think it would be really important to communicate your expectations of their responsibility and what you are giving them up front, and be sure it's something both parties are totally fine with.

Things to talk through....

Where is everyone staying?

Who is paying for their meals?

How much time is being spent together?

How often do you expect to go out just the two of you?

What do you expect from them during times together in the park?

You've made great points. Thanks for your feedback.