Taking friends of the kids....

[jakoky]

Last may, we travelled to DL...we are a family of 5 and my oldest dd was graduating...she really wanted to bring 2 friends (twin sisters )....Now, if we had to pay for the girls, they would not have been able to come with us...my daughter asked them and after talking with the parents, they were more than happy to send the girls..we were going to get a suite, but the girls insisted on their own room....so the parents/girls paid their airfare, food, disney tickets and money towards hotel room....i got an amazing deal on both airfare for them and their room at DL....I paid for all transporation (ferry and limo in california), some food, a big dinner out.....i absolutely could not have footed their bill, but really wanted the opportunity for all the girls to experience DL together...that year was huge for us...my mil turned 80, it was also her and fil 50th anniversary,my 40th, my dads 65th, my and dh 20th, my daughters grad....it was a money year for us...

If any of my children were invited along on any trip, i would expect to pay....i wouldnt feel badly asking for money or discussing it with the parents...it was an amazing trip and i am so glad we got to bring the girls with us...

 

[Nancyg56]

WHenever we took friends with us on vacation we paid for all of their expenses. We never flew though. We are hoping that my DGD's friend will be able to come on a trip with us in a year or so and if so we will pay for all of her expenses. This wil involve airfare

 

[FlightlessDuck]

If I am inviting one of my kid's friends with us to Disney, I wouldn't do so unless I expected to pay for the entire vacation for that child.

As for getting sick or being scolded... I dunno.

 

[Tinkh]

We invite, so we pay. My son is an only child and we usually always bring someone else along. Usually, we take his cousins and my sister does not give us anything. Over Christmas we brought his best friend and she gave him spending money and gave me a couple hundred to offset his food costs. I did not expect, but the gesture was very nice. We leave in 9 days and my son's girlfriend is coming with us and she is just bringing her spending money.

 

[DisneyMomma81]

If a child of mine was invited to go with another family I would cover all of that child's costs! I can't imagine having them cover it! So I guess if I invite a friend or cousin to join us I'd expect the parents to cover their child's expenses.

 

[southtexasmom]

Both my older kids are taking a friend with us this year. Both sets of parents insisted on paying for something so they are buying their own park tickets and spending money.

We are DVC members so our room is paid for, we were driving anyway so we would need gas regardless if they went or not, we will be paying for all their meals.

 

[tiggerplus5]

We bring friends every time. I usually ask them to pay for park hoppers and we pay for food. We drive so we pay that cost. Of course, if they want to shop, they have to bring their own spending money.

I would not bring a child that we didn't know well. Have you ever brought the
child on a day trip to a local amusement park or maybe a local vacation? I've never had discipline problems with my kids or any friends we invited. My DD was miserable one trip when she was a teenager but not really a disciplining problem. Keeping the hotel room clean is the only real obstacle. Kids tend to throw their dirty clothes and personal items all over the room. In fact, their friends were more likely to get up and get ready for rope drop than my own children. They were so excited!!

There are several "friends" that I would never consider inviting. High maintenance or too much drama. Some children just don't travel well. I love bringing the magic to others. Enjoy your trip!

 

[NMAmy]

We've been taking a friend along for dd every year since she was 14 and she's 19 now. It's always worked out well but we do cover all expenses except for souvenir spending money (and I always spring for a t-shirt at the parks, too.) For us, it was just easier to know and budget for paying all expenses up front as opposed to the possibility of having someone drop out at the last minute. I also didn't have to worry about which restaurants we chose since I didn't have to worry about working with the friend's food budget.

We've never had any kind of "discipline" problems--well, not with someone else's kid anyway.
When dd's friends were underage, I had a notarized letter from a parent granting power of attorney for medical treatment and all insurance information.

 

[grandmadebby]

We haven taken guest twice and paid for everything except spending cash. They would neither one been able to go if we had not paid, although both times the parents have asked how much the child needs. In 2011 we will be taking our Great niece with us and will be paying for it, but she is already saving for MM Ears, and wants to start pin trading like our Grandson does. This will be her 2nd trip with us. Like someone else said be sure you have what you need paper work wise in case of an emergency.

 

[Darcy03231]

When I took DD's friend there was no discipline problems at all. This is a girl we knew very well and had done lots of day or overnight trips with.

I got a notarized letter from her parents giving me permission to get emergency medical attention for her, if necessary, and a copy of her insurance card. Luckily, we never needed it.

It was a great experience for us. The girls got along great the whole week. The friend was very appreciative. To this day she says its the best vacation she ever had.

 

[pixiewings71]

We took a friend each one trip to DL last year, we had a great time, even with the extra kids. We were given food $$ and tickets by the parents (1 of the parents was able to buy discounted tix thru her place of employment so they saved $$ doing it that way) each girl was given souvenir money and we paid for snacks, water, the hotel and the gas to get there (we drive). It worked out great for us and for them, these are families we've known since our girls started school so we are very comfortable with the kids and the parents. We also started the girls pin trading so we provided the pins and lanyards, which can be quite pricey, especially with 6 people pin trading! LOL
I did have letters from the parents giving me permission to treat in a medical emergency but they were not needed.

 

[LisaxMarie]

I am bringing my best friend to a trip next week, and she is only paying for her plane ticket, and souveniers.
We are buying her food, snacks, and we had extra park tickets.

 

[cobbler]

Thanks for the input everyone. It's definatly something to really think about and put numbers to.

 

[Mackenzie'sMommy]

My parents are letting my sister take her best friends when they go next fall. They are paying her way as well as $100 for spending money. I would say do whatever you feel comfortable with.

 

[badblackpug]

Hello everyone,
Im not usually on this side but saw this post and need to see the responses. August 2011 I am planning a trip to WDW my kids will be 18DD and 15DS and my 8DD. My big DD is taking 3 (or 4) friends one of which has a toddler. My son is taking 2 (maybe 3) friends. Hotel I didnt mind covering but we are taking the auto train (one of my DD friends is driving her car) so I would have to pay for both cars? I did do a layout of park tickets and hotel info but just wondering if I should ask for anything else besides their park, train and spending money.

All these kids are well behaved, they have been around for a few years now and always are upset when we leave to go to WDW, so next year I want to take them. My kids are getting older and wont really want to go on many more vacations with me so I'm trying to show these kids a nice time with tons of disney memories.

Generally my opinion is if you invite someone, you pay, except for spending money. We have never taken friends to WDW, but to local parks. We have had friends parents who have sent money for admission and food and parents who have not. We have never used that money.

Now the above situation is special. WOW! 7 extra kids? That's a lot. I would probably limit it to one per child.... but.... that's just me.
I am assuming you daughter's friends are adults. In that case I would expect them to pay for their own trip, in it's entirety. I would view them more as people going on vacation with you than guests. This would include transportation, hotel, tickets, and food. I can't imagine with 11 people where you would stay, so lodging could be quite expensive.