Bring DD's friend to WDW

[momof2disprincesses]

We are going to WDW next month - WOO HOO!

So, we are lucky enough to be eligible for the free dining deal for next Aug. We do plan to book that while we're there.

DD14 (will be 15 by next Aug.) wants to bring a friend this time. I'm just wondering a few things about this:

a) Have any of you ever let your child bring a friend to WDW with you? If so, how did it go? How does it work for booking when 1 member is a minor, but not part of your family (ie - does Disney care)?

b) When you fly with a minor that is not your child, do you have to have any special permission from their parents, etc.?

c) Would we be able to book and then if we change our minds (or the friend does later), can we adjust our ressie?

Thanks for any helpful advice you can offer!

 

[Nite0wl71]

We took a friend of my DD13 this past April. My older Dd has also went to WDW with her friends family.

1. It worked out well for us, Disney doesn't care if they are not part of your family. In fact my DD and I have different last names so noone looking at the names would know she was my DD.

2. As far as the airlines, as long as they are traveling with an adult it is fine. In fact once you are over 12 you can travel by yourself on some airlines. A funny thing last August my friend wanted to take my DD with her to WDW, we said yes so she booked their flight. A few days later I decided I wanted to go and booked my flight. My DD had to check in with my friend, but I showed her ID.

3. I do suggest a letter from her parents (usually notarized) saying you have permission to sign anything if she gets sick or something.

4. I have sdded people on my reservations at the hotel with no problem, I am not sure about taking them off. I think as long as it is in the time frame it would be all right.

My DD and her friend had a blast together, they were always way ahead or behind DH and I. I also didn't have to go swimming, since she had her friend. We even let them go by themselves in the same park for awhile, while we did things they were not interested in. Of course we all had cell phones.

 

[PrettyInPink]

We are going to WDW next month - WOO HOO!

So, we are lucky enough to be eligible for the free dining deal for next Aug. We do plan to book that while we're there.

DD14 (will be 15 by next Aug.) wants to bring a friend this time. I'm just wondering a few things about this:

a) Have any of you ever let your child bring a friend to WDW with you? If so, how did it go? How does it work for booking when 1 member is a minor, but not part of your family (ie - does Disney care)?

b) When you fly with a minor that is not your child, do you have to have any special permission from their parents, etc.?

c) Would we be able to book and then if we change our minds (or the friend does later), can we adjust our ressie?

Thanks for any helpful advice you can offer!

My little Brother once took a friend along with him to WDW, so did I. It worked out well actually. A friend to ride the rides, experience the joy, and when your with friends everything is fun.

I would have a permission form with you, birth papers etc. Just in case.

 

[momshark]

Same exact situation as NiteOwl71. DS and her BF were both 14 at the time. DS and I hung together and the girls hung together. We only separated in the same area of a park, (in Fantasyland for instance) and we both had walkie talkies. We all had a blast.
I do strongly suggest the notorized letter. Just in case.

 

[MareSINY]

I took my niece with me to WDW this past January. She was 4 at the time, so we checked with the airline to see if we needed special permission from her parents. We found out that airlines do not require anything for a minor to travel with an adult other than their parents. Kinda crazy, but true.

Several years ago I took a friends 16 yr old daughter with me to Italy to visit my sister and her family. I didn't need anything to bring a minor out of the country either.

The only advice I would give you would be to have a notarized authorization for the child incase of an emergency. I found a medical release form online.

Have a good trip!!

 

[BYC]

Just make sure the friend is a kid you can stand! My kids have some friends that I would LOVE to bring, but others that would make me nuts and miserable!

 

[Dopey's twin Dippy]

we have done this also . we brought the notarized note in case, but never had to useit. we also brought their medical card also. they were dd friends we have known for a long time. it worked out great, cause they all like the wild rides, etc. have fun.

 

[disnut8]

We took a friend of my son's on a vacation with us (not to Disney World). The mother wrote up a letter that said something like -

"I, (name), give my permission for my son (name), to travel with (our names) for the period of (dates). They will be traveling to Disney World via (method of transportation). (Our names) have all (son's name) medical information and are responsible for all medical emergencies."

She signed it and I signed it and we had it notarized.

Disney World doesn't care if the names aren't the same. Too many blended families. We took our granddaughter and she didn't have the same last name as anyone in our party.

 

[Disneykat]

I always let my daughter bring a friend. Gives me down time at the pool to relax while they swim!

 

[cleo]

We brought a freind twice this summer and it was SUCH a blessing. Our 13 year old was a bit more adventurous with some things he was slightly reluctant to try, and he also had more fun (most of the time) with a buddy along.

I agree with making sure you are taking someone you can stand to be around. We always take a long weekend with a friend before we do a Disney trip with them (or any other trip of more than 4 or 5 days) to get an idea of what they're like on vacation. We took one buddy for a week, knowing he was going to a) be hungry all the time and b) be opinionated all the time. If we didn't know that ahead of time it would have driven me straight up the wall. Knowing it, it was annoying at times but not unexpected, so it was tolerable when it did happen.

AND we get the medical authorization. It's a must-have for us.

 

[Sheriff]

Hi! I taken some of my DD17 friends on vacation. The medical form has been very useful.

One thing I didn't see mentioned: At some point you will buy airline tickets. They will want to know the names that go with each ticket. As far as I can determine, changing the person would mean changing the name which means rebooking the ticket at a different fare plus penalities. Now I may be wrong but I think changing one name would mean that all have to rebook. A partial way around might be to book the friend's ticket separately but that could lead to other hassles since the airline would not recognize you as a single party.

I hope this does not cause excessive grief but I think at this point you are looking for things like this to worry about.

 

[marbleso]

Just make sure the friend is a kid you can stand! My kids have some friends that I would LOVE to bring, but others that would make me nuts and miserable!

Ditto on this. We often brought friends for the kids, but one year it spiraled completely out of control. Make sure you not only know the kid well, but know how the parent will react to their kid being on vacation with another family. The parent of said 14 year old friend actually bought a room in Disney and flew down without our knowledge (and brought her sister). We had to go out of our way to include them in our vacation (they were staying off property and didn't have park tickets). It was such a bad experience, it prompted us to make a pact never to bring non-family members on our trips.

However, this was an unusual case, we've brought other people with no incident.

 

[j_lehr]

Hi! I taken some of my DD17 friends on vacation. The medical form has been very useful.

One thing I didn't see mentioned: At some point you will buy airline tickets. They will want to know the names that go with each ticket. As far as I can determine, changing the person would mean changing the name which means rebooking the ticket at a different fare plus penalities. Now I may be wrong but I think changing one name would mean that all have to rebook. A partial way around might be to book the friend's ticket separately but that could lead to other hassles since the airline would not recognize you as a single party.

I hope this does not cause excessive grief but I think at this point you are looking for things like this to worry about.

I don't think this is true. I travel with a large group for a bowling competition every year...always (and usually at the last minute) we will have someone bail. We have always been able to change the name on the ticket...sometimes they will charge you the $100 fee to change a ticket, sometimes we get lucky and they don't charge us. It might depend on the airline...we have flown Continental mostly and one time American Airlines. You definitely would not have to re-book the whole group - no matter what airline you fly.

Also, it's not a big deal if you book her seperate, just make sure the airline knows that you are traveling with her. I had to book my DD13 ticket seperate from mine when we flew this summer because we were flying home at seperate times. When minors fly alone (until age 14 or 15 I think) you have to pay a minor fee. Because I called and told the airline (Continental again) we were flying with my daughter one way, even though we booked her ticket seperate, we only had to pay the fee for the leg of the trip that she was physically flying alone.

Hope this helps...
Thanks,
Jessica

 

[GSLand]

We took 13 yo DD and friend to WDW in June 2000. Friend's dad wrote a letter stating she had permission to travel with us and we could make medical decisions as necessary. Don't know how "legal" that was - but thankfully we did not need it.
The girls had a great time.
My advice to you - travelling with someone else's child requires a little more patience and understanding. She might not understand, or even know, the expectations that we had for our DD. Be flexible, be gentle, and keep them safe

also make sure you talk to friend's parents about who is expected to pay for what.