Bringing DS or DD friends.....

[Boston5602]

For all those that have brought friends of your children how has that worked out for all of you? I mean at what age did you first invite them and I guess I'm not really sure what other questions to ask . I was just looking to hear others experience's


Thanks for all of your input!

 

[BCVOwner2002]

Hello to another fellow Bay Stater! We have been allowing DS (who is an only child) to bring friends every year since 2002. He was 16 at that time. We pay for the hotel, food in the villa, one dinner out at a nice restaurant and a group activity such as the bike and boat plan or a fishing excursion. The friend(s) is/are responsible for the air fare, park hopper and incidentals. We usually stop at the grocery store and pick up snacks, breakfast stuff, soda, water, etc.

The first time we only allowed DS to bring one friend but that has since grown to as many as 4 and has worked out well. They took off to the parks, DTD, etc. on their own and were always a cell phone call away. Feel free to ask any questions you may have. Annmarie

 

[OneMoreTry]

I would love to have our kids bring friends on occasion, but we have 5 kids and eat out a lot. Paying for all those meals would be too expensive and I can't think of a gracious way to have them pay for their own meals out. So we just don't have friends.

That said, DD17 is bringing a friend to HH on the condition that the 2 of them help with meals in the condo. We're eating out twice.

 

[Disneyhappy]

We've been blessed with one child, even though we had hoped for a large family. We always figured that when it came to vacations, we would be a family of at least four and budget that way. DH is one of 11 children so we have a very large extended family. We have always taken at least one niece or nephew on all of our vacations when we do not go with other families. DS is now 14 and asked if he could take a friend instead of a family member this year. We are only requiring the friend to pay for his park tickets and incidentals. We are paying for his airfare and the his dining plan. This is just our choice to pay for most of the trip. We still have the mind set that we will always pay for a family of four when it comes to vacations and fortunately we are have been blessed with the ability to pay for it. (At least we don't have to pay college for a two kids!) We would also have paid for his park tickets but I could tell his family was uncomfortable about not contributing anything.

That said, I think it is perfectly acceptable to ask a friend to cover the cost of airflights and park tickets. I would have a harder time asking the friend to pay for their own meals. That's just me. I think you need to work out what is comfortable for both you the friend's parents.

Good Luck!

 

[Deb & Bill]

We have brought several of our nieces with us on DVC trips. One flew from NY and we picked her up at the airport in Orlando. The others all drove with us in our car from TX. We didn't pay for the airfare for the one niece, but we paid for everything else. The youngest one was 8. Their parents gave us money for them to spend on souveniers and stuff and we helped them manage their money (the younger ones).

I think if you invite someone to join you on vacation, you should pay their way. Maybe the guest could pay for their own airfare if you fly, but you should pick up the rest. They are your guest after all.

Others may have another idea. This is just mine.

 

[mikesmom]

We only had the one at home when we joined DVC (DS, who was 16 at the time), so we let him bring a friend on every trip. We picked up the room of course, the airfare (drowning in Frequent flyer points, so no out of pocket there) and meals. Frankly when were at home, we had the "hang out" house so we were feeding boys all the time anyway. Feeding them at Disney asn't much different as we cooked in the room quite often. The friend had to buy his own park ticket and spending money. The three times we did it, the friend's Mom sent me a check ahead of time because she knew "there would be extra expense". It was usually enough to pay for at least one sit down meal out for all of us, so it was nice, though not expected.

Frankly, I think DS had a better time, we had a better time and the friend had a good time. They went off on their own quite a bit, but joined us for family meals.

 

[jdvm]

One of our daughters brought a friend when she was 10; another when she was 13. Both worked perfectly. It really depends on the kids....if they get along at home, they'll likely get along at WDW. As long as you and the friend's parents have taught their kid to be polite and share, that is!!

 

[MAC3]

We were also blessed with one. So we always bring someone along or ask others with children to join us.

Mostly it has been her cousin, her parents pay airfare, we get the rest. Last November the same for her best friend.

This year the same drill we will bring her best friend again. We have never had problems. Like jvdm said if they usually get along at home, they'll be fine at WDW