Taking your kids friends to Disney?

[Blooe]

Hello! I usually dont post on here, (actually this is my daughters account) but i need to ask you guys for help

This summer were planning on going to Disney, but my 13 year old daughter is begging me that we take her best friend. We are very close with the family of her friend, and this friend is also planning on taking my daughter to NY for 3-4 days. Im still kinda iffy about taking her though. I wanted it to be a family trip, but we have been to Disney multiple times, so I have decided to consider it. I am also not sure if I should ask them for money, or if I should pay for her. Would it be rude if i asked them to pay? Im not sure I could throw in the money for her too though..

If I do decide to have them pay how much should I charge them. We will be eating at a restraunt every night (5 nights), taking a plane, getting 6 day hopper passes, and we will probably be staying in a 2 bedroom villa.

Also do you have any good/bad experiences with taking your kids friends?

Thanks!
Kathy.

 

[smkiya]

Do you expect your friend to pay the expenses for your daughter when she goes with them to NY? Have you talked with your friend about the trip, and is she agreeable to allowing her daughter to go? If so you can tell her that you'll let her know the cost, and find out whether it's something she feels comfortable with. I wouldn't mind paying for a couple souvenirs, a couple meals, and maybe an unexpected event like a show that just opened or that looked interesting. Other than that, I think her parents should be responsible. Good luck.

 

[imthatgirl]

If you're comfortable enough with the family to day, hey we want so and so to come, but she'll have to pay her own way...then great do that.

But, if you aren't then it may not be completely clear and you should know that there is a chance tey will expect you are paying for her. To be honest the whole money things will get hairy. Unless you are on the meal plan, you will end up paying for al meals( how d you tell a 13yo to get her own?), amy activities done there, you will pay for.

 

[kimberlyWDW]

I definitely agree with working out terms with her parents before hand. If her parents are going to pay for meals, then I think you should collect a set amount from them before the trip and just pay for her meals as part of the family on the trip. Depending on what they are paying for the New York trip, it may be awkward to ask for them to pay for everything. If there is a big discrepancy in price between the two trips, maybe only ask for a partial payment. Plane ticket, park tickets, and spending money seems reasonable to me.

My most important advice is to make sure she is a compatible traveler. Are you thrill ride people..does she get motion sickness? If you go all day, can she keep up? A trial day at a local theme park...before any offer is made, may make things very clear. We were thinking about inviting a friend of my son's and took him to a local park to discover that the tea cups were the only non kiddie ride he would go for. Not a fit for my Rockin' Rollercoaster crowd!

 

[Darcy03231]

We've taken my children's friends on trips and have always paid for everything, other than souvenirs. When we've extended the offers their parents have always offered to pay for them, but I feel if I've invited you its up to me to pay. Same goes for when my kids have traveled with their friends. If they've been invited I always offer to pay for them but its been politely refused.

 

[Blooe]

I am paying for my daughter when she goes to NY, they asked around $200. I am close enough to ask the family to pay for Disney too, so I would probably ask them for around $350 (does that sound resonable?!). If I do that I will pay for everything of hers (except souvineirs).

P.S. thank you for all your help

 

[pixiewings71]

We took our girls' best friends to DL over Presidents weekend. We have APs so we did not have to purchase our tickets, their friends did. We asked the parents to pay for the kids' tickets and to send some food/souvenir money. We kept track of what the kids ate for food and they paid us at the end of the trip, we took exact numbers and both girls had change left. It worked great for us, we paid for the gas to get there and we covered the hotel room, we gave each of the girls some pins to trade so the exchange was fine for us and the parents. But we made sure to let the parents know what was expected when we first spoke with them. We had a great time and we would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[tlh0726]

Haven't crossed this bridge yet (major trip) but for our day or long weekend trips, any friend that our kids bring along we have footed the bill for all the expenses.

For this type of trip, I think it would be reasonable to ask the parents to pay for the flight, park tickets, & have them send along a set dollar amount for souvenirs. You pay for any extra activities and all meals.

I agree with taking her to a local amusement park to see what type of rides she will or will not ride, How well she handles waiting in line and if she can handle the long day.

Also, if your family is a must do rope drop is she a morning person?

 

[Haganfam5]

I am paying for my daughter when she goes to NY, they asked around $200. I am close enough to ask the family to pay for Disney too, so I would probably ask them for around $350 (does that sound resonable?!). If I do that I will pay for everything of hers (except souvineirs).

P.S. thank you for all your help

Hello, I have never had this experience but I think it is great that your families are that close and it is wonderful to form postitive relationships with other families. If $350. is enough for you and you are comfortable with that then go with it (It is very reasonable). It just doesn't seem like that much to me. At 13 she is considered an adult price ticket and her hopper park ticket alone is going to be about that much. I don't know where you are from either but a round trip plane ticket for us is at least $225. I do agree with others about excepting some or most of the cost because she is your guest but if you are going to ask I don't think $450-$500. is unreasonable for Disney.

 

[Blooe]

Once again thank you for all of your help

I am pretty sure she can handle the long day. She has never been to Disney, but we have been to Darian Lake with her multiple times. As for the morning goes we usually dont get there for rope drop anyways..

We can usually manage to get around $80 round trip, but does anyone know how much 5 day hoppers usually cost? I cant seem to find anything online, and I cant remember at all

 

[saratogadreamin09]

Hello! I usually dont post on here, (actually this is my daughters account) but i need to ask you guys for help

This summer were planning on going to Disney, but my 13 year old daughter is begging me that we take her best friend. We are very close with the family of her friend, and this friend is also planning on taking my daughter to NY for 3-4 days. Im still kinda iffy about taking her though. I wanted it to be a family trip, but we have been to Disney multiple times, so I have decided to consider it. I am also not sure if I should ask them for money, or if I should pay for her. Would it be rude if i asked them to pay? Im not sure I could throw in the money for her too though..

If I do decide to have them pay how much should I charge them. We will be eating at a restraunt every night (5 nights), taking a plane, getting 6 day hopper passes, and we will probably be staying in a 2 bedroom villa.

Also do you have any good/bad experiences with taking your kids friends?

Thanks!
Kathy.

Id have the parents pay for her park tickets and then make sure they send her down with money for food. Since your going to be staying in a 2 bedroom villas if she does or doesnt go you shouldn't ask for money for that. I would also ask for them to pay for the place tickets. I dont think its rude for you to ask at all, a disney vacation is a lot of money.

 

[saratogadreamin09]

I am paying for my daughter when she goes to NY, they asked around $200. I am close enough to ask the family to pay for Disney too, so I would probably ask them for around $350 (does that sound resonable?!). If I do that I will pay for everything of hers (except souvineirs).

P.S. thank you for all your help

I wouldnt ask for money I would just tell them to buy the park hoppers and the plane ticket. I would guess that would be about $500, so after that you can pay for her meals and that would be it

 

[all4fun]

Once again thank you for all of your help

I am pretty sure she can handle the long day. She has never been to Disney, but we have been to Darian Lake with her multiple times. As for the morning goes we usually dont get there for rope drop anyways..

We can usually manage to get around $80 round trip, but does anyone know how much 5 day hoppers usually cost? I cant seem to find anything online, and I cant remember at all

An adult 5-day Base ticket is $222, a little less if you pre-order. A ticket with Hopping privledges would cost $272.

You can see the pricing info here:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/tickets.htm#tickettypes

If it's been a while since you last went to WDW, they have changed the pricing structure so you start with just a base ticket for "x" number of days, then add the "features" like hopping, and non-expiration, to the ticket, which also bumps up the cost. The more days you purchase on a ticket, the less the "per-day" price is. I hope that makes sense!