Taking kids friend to WDW

[Barb A.]

We would like to take our dd friend with us to WDW. They are both 14. Shd we get 2 rooms, or one room at a resort that will accomodate 4 in a room. Just not sure how friends parents would feel about us having their dd in same room with dh and me. Any advice. Maybe I'm making more of this than need be.

Also, for those of you who have done this, have you payed for all of friends expenses or shared expenses with the friends parents?

 

[WebmasterKathy]

At their ages, I'd opt for separate rooms.

We've taken DS friends on vacation, and only asked that they have pocket money for souvenirs. It seems like having the other family cover travel expenses (if flying) and park entrance fees is a very common arrangement, too.

I think a lot depends on each family's financial circumstances and your relationship.

 

[Ocean Springs Mom]

l agree with the above.

In our situation, I paid for the room (a separate room) and they paid for everything else.

This summer, they have jobs. They are paying for tickets, and the dining plan, and most of their room.

 

[travellady]

I'm taking my son's best friend, 12 yo, on a cruise this summer with us. They will share a seperate cabin right next to ours - no way did I want to share a room with 2 pre-teen boys. However, I am only asking the parents to pay what it would have cost from him had we all shared the same cabin.

I think by the time kids are 11 or 12, they need their own space. And having a seperate bathroom and TV is a great idea as well.

 

[joliesmom]

My parents always let us take our friends and we had seperate or connecting rooms. When I went with my friends families my parents paid travel, and gave money for food/room expenses. Definately get two rooms for your sanity and theirs.

 

[Chadsgirl44]

Another vote for 2 rooms! We always take a friend for our DS. We pay for everything except for souvenirs. They are 15 now and having 2 separate rooms is a must! Plus 2 bathrooms are very nice as well.

 

[jjbblue99]

We would like to take our dd friend with us to WDW. They are both 14. Shd we get 2 rooms, or one room at a resort that will accomodate 4 in a room. Just not sure how friends parents would feel about us having their dd in same room with dh and me. Any advice. Maybe I'm making more of this than need be.

Also, for those of you who have done this, have you payed for all of friends expenses or shared expenses with the friends parents?

I have travelled many times over the years with my DD (now 23) and friends. Regarding 1 or 2 rooms. 2 rooms may preserve your sanity with 2 teenagers but if it's not in the budget for you then I think 1 room SHOULD be fine. I say SHOULD because I believe if the friends parents feel comfortable with you taking their child on a trip then they should be fine with you all sleeping in the same room. Frankly 14 is a questionable age when it comes to maturity -- I think with many 14 year olds the MORE direct supervision the better!!

As for the costs -- any trips that we took that required air travel, the friends family paid for that but I never "expected" the friend to pay for anything else. MOST usually came with plenty of spending money and paid for their own admission tickets and things like that (but we often paid for those things too-- but we never took a friend to Disney.) We always paid for food and all lodging costs. I often had kids with me that said "My mom gave me money for food" or "My mom gave me money for xx" Sometimes I took it sometimes not. Occasionally I had parents give me money before we left for food and other things, but I never asked for it.

Having said all of that -- Disney is a much more expensive trip of course so I think it would be nice if you could discuss this with the girls parents and come to some argreement ahead of time -- before you give the girls the official "approval." That way you and the other parents are happy with the agreement and you can have a nice trip.

Jackie

 

[Barb A.]

Thanks for all the great advice. Think we're going to go with the 2 rooms.

Now I have another quick question. DH and I cannot sleep (comfortably) in a double bed. Do all the moderates have queen/king options and can we get one of those with a connecting double for the kids?

 

[jjohnson]

I called CRO yesterday & was told there are no kings that connect to doubles at POR