If you brought someone to watch your child...

[ready2vacation]

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?

For the record, his son is my son, too even though by marriage as we had full custody most of his life and I love him as much as I love my DD. (I know you weren't implying that, I just wanted to add that clarification in case anyone thought otherwise ) However, now that he is grown he does his own thing most of time (vacations with his girlfriend, friends, work commitments, etc.). We are fortunate that he lives nearby and we see him regularly. He's had lots of Disney trips with us...and never was much for Disney. I figure that will change soon after he gets married and the grandkids come - then we'll REALLY be bringing the family to Disney

 

[Piglet99645]

When we had one child... back in the day.... we took my husband's only sister on vacation with us. A lot.

At Disney we got two connecting rooms at a value resort. She shared the room with our son. In Hawaii we had a one bedroom condo. We had the bedroom, she had the pullout sofa with our son (he was only 4).

Now that we have another child and she has her own child, we can't always afford to take the two of them along. I wish we could.

We paid for almsot everything except her meals. She would do a lot of child care for us in the evenings, or even just watch him while we went on wilder rides. We enjoy her company, and she loves our kids like her own, so it was a good arrangement for us.

 

[garjanjones]

We are taking the inlaws next summer. We are paying for their room - same room type as us at same resort. Although, if your family is ok with a suite I guess that would be fine. We are paying for their room, but they pay for parks, food, etc. We asked them if they wanted to go first, and feel like if they are helping us with DS we would like to pay for their room.

 

[merina888]

Have you considered a mother's helper? Essentially some young high school or college age individual who would assist you with taking care of your child and you pay for accommodations, etc.? I have a sister who is significantly younger and considered this to help with my kids so my husband and I could get out while we were away. Money became an issue so we never followed through, but I'd consider it now. Perhaps you have a much younger relative you might ask to do this?

 

[Granny square]

For the record, his son is my son, too even though by marriage as we had full custody most of his life and I love him as much as I love my DD. (I know you weren't implying that, I just wanted to add that clarification in case anyone thought otherwise ) However, now that he is grown he does his own thing most of time (vacations with his girlfriend, friends, work commitments, etc.). We are fortunate that he lives nearby and we see him regularly. He's had lots of Disney trips with us...and never was much for Disney. I figure that will change soon after he gets married and the grandkids come - then we'll REALLY be bringing the family to Disney

So then yours can go sling to for his. it would be a nice trade around, lol.

 

[danceintherain]

I've thought about this some, and for us it would definitely depend on who was coming and our budget, but I've never really considered having our "sitter" stay in a completely different resort. It just seems inconvenient to me. Would the kids stay in the sitter's room ALL night, or would we go pick them up? We probably wouldn't want the kids to be in our room all night if we were intending a true "date night," but we wouldn't want them staying at a completely different resort all night either for the morning logistics. If we just wanted dinner out, then it probably wouldn't be as big of a deal, and I'd even consider having our sitter stay in the room with us.

If I was in the position where we wanted separate sleeping space, but couldn't afford two deluxe rooms, I'd probably go with a cabin, a suite, DVC, or lowering my hotel expectations and stay in a moderate the whole time.

Ultimately, you should set your expectations and make your sitter aware of them. Maybe you give them a set amount you are willing to pay for, and they can "upgrade" where they see fit.
Maybe you're right and your son doesn't care much where they stay, since it's a "free" vacation, but you know him better than we do.

I "invited" my sister to come down for our next trip, and she'll be staying at her in-law's house several miles away. She'll probably watch our son one night, so we can go out to dinner, and in exchange, I've offered her some of the military salute tickets, so they can spend some time in the parks with us.
It's a win-win-win, because her in-laws get to see her and her kids, I get a babysitter and get to see my sister and nephews, and my sister gets discounted Disney tickets in addition to spending some time with all of us.
I'd never even offer to pay her way to stay on the property near us, because I know she wouldn't take it, since she'll be much more comfortable at her in-laws.

 

[Suzy8383]

I would price two options if I were you -

A. grandma coming and all her expenses.

b. a separate shorter romantic trip for you and your hubs and then your disney trip as a family.

Find which might be cheaper and then reconsider. My husband and I took a cruise in April alone and left the kids with grandma and grandpa (please note: this was NOT cheap...however, we felt it was worth it for the amount of time alone we got). Now we are taking our family vacation in November.

For us, this was the best choice.

 

[BuzzandWoodyMom]

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 $.

They have 1 child, so agree with this.

I've done Disney and many other trips alone with my 4 kids when hubby couldn't get away from work, so I can't imagine bringing someone along to help out with one 2 year old.

Just do an in-room sitter one night.

 

[ready2vacation]

They have 1 child, so agree with this.

I've done Disney and many other trips alone with my 4 kids when hubby couldn't get away from work, so I can't imagine bringing someone along to help out with one 2 year old.

Just do an in-room sitter one night.

This was by choice, not necessity. Of course we can take care of her without help, but my husband and I have limited time together so we were hoping to take advantage of the evening hours when DD was sleeping to get some adult time. I agree that the sitter is the most practical, but we dont care to leave her with a stranger.

As PP suggested, the quickie trip for two is how we are planning to go

 

[ORMom2Four]

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 totally agree! Dh and I have 6 kids and manage it alone I'd just try to get a sitter for a night or two so you and Dh can have a dinner alone.

Just wondering, since you will basically be using the 3rd person as a babysitter, are you going to pay them?

 

[Granny square]

Would your mom or son take money from you in that circumstance? Mine wouldn't. The op isn't talking about a stranger, nanny or au pair.

 

[ChillyWilleys]

You could put me and my family in a moderate and we'll babysit! We already have annual passes and we'll cover our own food. What a bargain!! sorry couldn't resist. seriously sounds like my dream job I don't know how anyone could even consider turning down any of the options your thinking about.