1st visit home with three teenage guests! Opinions, please!

[Dreamfinder2]

Our first trip home is with DW, DD, and three of her friends! (Yes, I'm brave, but I've worked with teenagers my entire adult life, so no big deal; these are great kids!)

Questions...

1. Since we're providing transportation and lodging, we felt that it was perfectly fair for the other kids to buy their own passes. Comments? (Our generosity does know some limits!)

2. We drive, and luggage isn't much of a problem. In considering mealtimes, we thought we'd have breakfast in the room, and maybe have sandwich fixin's and snacks for perhaps another meal. We've toyed with the idea of each teen being responsible for bringing a food item -- bread, cold cuts, condiments, 2 liter drinks, cookies, chips, a box of cereal, etc. Whaddya think? Or should we as the hosts just do that on our own? (We are going to treat them to one nicer sit-down meal at O'hana, Whispering Canyon, Chef Mickey's, etc.)

3. Any other red flags I need to be aware of?

Thanks for your input!

 

[kamgen]

My dh and I took three teens last December and had a blast! They paid for their own passes and we paid the rest (long financial story)!
We had usually did breakfast in the room (cereal, bagels, poptarts, etc). They liked it that way.
Trying to do lunch in the room was really hard because you are NEVER in your room during the day when you are trying to hit the parks and be active. None of us ever wanted to go back to eat, so we ate out a lot! Dinners were fun and we ate only once in the room.

My advice...budget big for meals and maybe see how much they could contribute. Relax and enjoy it.

If you have specific questions, please ask!

Kamy

 

[KyBill]

I assume you will have a 2 BR. That will give you plenty of room for some meals. In room breakfast is a must. Also sancks for late night and middle of the day.
We had a similar group at OKW last March. At check in we all got key cards and they were numbered. My charge card got all the charges at check out. Then I took the list and tried to figure out who owed what. The mistake I made was that I didn't keep a record of whose number belonged to who. Recommend you write these down so when you sit down and gigure who owes what you can figure it out.

O'Hanas sounds good. Also you could consider Boma at AKL.

 

[wdwnut]

hi: we've been taking our sons' friends with us since 93. our most recent trip (november) had a 14, 15, and 29yo with us. we only do 1 or 2 breakfasts out of the room, and only 1 or 2 lunches in the room. we stop at albertson's on the way, and a weeks worth of supplies including beer and some liquor only cost us about $100. usually the guests or their parents will offer to pay for a meal or so. we've always paid for everything else, but we only take 1 or 2 extra people with us. the walkie talkies are great if you're in the same park, but they really eat up the batteries. everyone knows where and what time the ps are, and we've only had to wait maybe 15 minutes ever for the kids to show up. they usually are waiting for us at the restaurant. i love going with teens; they're a lot of fun to be with.

 

[CarolA]

I think asking the kids to be responsible for passes and food is perfectly acceptable. I took a group of adults last year and I wrote up a little travel plan that made it clear what I was providing and what I was not providing in a nice manner. Maybe you could provide something like that to the kids and their families.

 

[vernon]

My daughter has had friends come along a couple of times. They paid for their own passes and while their parents said they would be happy to pay for all their food it didn't quite work out like that. We didn't eat breakfast out and usually the two girls went off exploring on their own around the parks. If they had lunch together they took turns in paying for each other, if we ate together I kept a rough track of how much was owed. Obviously doing it that way I came off slightly worse but I wasn't too worried about an odd $10 here or there. As I come from England we were there for 2 weeks, IMHO it wouldn't be expected for me to feed them for 2 weeks !!! :O , I kept a record and the parents paid me in £ when we got home. That way the kids didn't need to change up too many $$ to take with them and it was easier for them to budget.

I would agree on the idea of looking at Boma's for your night out, both girls agreed this was their favourite meal. The chance of hitting the desert buffet was just TOOOOO much for them . I think they missed 4 of the 25 different deserts on offer LOL.

They really enjoyed staying on Boardwalk because it allowed them some freedom in the evenings to walk about in places with a bit of a "buzz" , I love OKW but for teens it is a bit too quiet and spread out for them to enjoy their evenings.

 

[rkington]

Last March my son, 16, brought 2 of his 16 year old friends and my 14 year daughter was with us as well. We stayed at OKW in a 2 bedroom. The boys paid for their flights and passes. I paid for the rental van, all the groceries - we ate breakfasts in- and since we like to eat out at dinner, I paid for all the dinners. Generally, the boys were either out at the parks and bought their own lunches, or we were hanging around the pool and they bought lunch there, or ate sandwiches in the room.

Believe me, having my son entertained by his friends was well worth the extra money it cost us. We love having extra people around, it makes the trip fun for everyone. This year we are staying in a 2 bedroom at OKW with a couple and their kids who are in their late 20's. Our teenagers love haning out with them. Can't wait - March 9 to 16

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Hate to bump my own thread, but just wanted to thank everyone for the great advice. I ate at Boma just last week, and it vaulted into the top spot on my must-do dining list. I mentioned the other places just because of their "lively" factor. Food quality? Boma, hands down.

We have ressies at OKW, altho we're waitlisted for BWV, just because I thought the girls would enjoy all the hubbub of the Boardwalk in the evenings. They're old enough to manage the buses just fine, so no worries there.

DD says, "I want my friends to be blown away." That's sort of vain, but I agree. I want them all to be treated to a great time. They're not gonna be kids forever!

DW thinks I'm obsessing. Go figure.

 

[ErinC]

Dreamfinder, what kind of food was at Boma. I will try anything but DH is strictly a meat and potato guy. He doesn't like casseroles,and other (stuff) on his food. Nothing green crosses his lips! Would there be anything he would eat? Thanks for all the info you have provided. I'm sure you will have a great time with the kids. On a personal note, how close are you to Fairhope? Our drive to disney is only about 7 1/2 hours. Erin

 

[vernon]

Boma's is a buffet with an African/asian slant. When I was there they had a MASSIVE rib of beef that was wonderful, there was a very large selection some spiced stuff, some basic meat and veg.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Erin, we're about 3 hrs. west of Fairhope, taking Hwy 98 (Moffit Road) out of Mobile. I've got "kinfolk" in Mobile and all over Alabama.

I did a "review" of Boma on the restaurants board ("Battle of the Buffets"). I was leery of taking family to somewhere they wouldn't like, but I believe they'd do fine. Your DH could eat his weight in prime rib, if he was so inclined. There's some basic potatoes, mac and cheese, etc., and I'll just bet he'd do fine.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Erin, we're about 3 hrs. west of Fairhope, taking Hwy 98 (Moffit Road) out of Mobile. I've got "kinfolk" in Mobile and all over Alabama.

I did a "review" of Boma on the restaurants board ("Battle of the Buffets"). I was leery of taking family to somewhere they wouldn't like, but I believe they'd do fine. Your DH could eat his weight in prime rib, if he was so inclined. There's some basic potatoes, mac and cheese, etc., and I'll just bet he'd do fine.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Erin, we're about 3 hrs. west of Fairhope, taking Hwy 98 (Moffit Road) out of Mobile. I've got "kinfolk" in Mobile and all over Alabama.

I did a "review" of Boma on the restaurants board ("Battle of the Buffets"). I was leery of taking family to somewhere they wouldn't like, but I believe they'd do fine. Your DH could eat his weight in prime rib, if he was so inclined. There's some basic potatoes, mac and cheese, etc., and I'll just bet he'd do fine.

 

[Dreamfinder2]

Erin, we're about 3 hrs. west of Fairhope, taking Hwy 98 (Moffit Road) out of Mobile. I've got "kinfolk" in Mobile and all over Alabama.

I did a "review" of Boma on the restaurants board ("Battle of the Buffets"). I was leery of taking family to somewhere they wouldn't like, but I believe they'd do fine. Your DH could eat his weight in prime rib, if he was so inclined. There's some basic potatoes, mac and cheese, etc., and I'll just bet he'd do fine.

 

[ErinC]

ahhh, the magic words, prime rib for DH , mac and cheese for DD's. I'll put this one on our list for PS. I'm looking forward to getting a glimpse of the lodge too! Dreamfinder, I know that road well(U.S. 98) I used to go to college in Arkansas, so I traveled that road often. Thanks for the info! Erin

 

[ErinC]

ahhh, the magic words, prime rib for DH , mac and cheese for DD's. I'll put this one on our list for PS. I'm looking forward to getting a glimpse of the lodge too! Dreamfinder, I know that road well(U.S. 98) I used to go to college in Arkansas, so I traveled that road often. Thanks for the info! Erin