Daughter Staying in Different Hotel Than Us Onsite-Is This Going To Be A Pain?

[wilda]

We planned a trip to BWI with our GS in December. Our daughter is now thinking about joining us with her boyfriend. Since there are no deals left for the timeframe that we are going in, and the BWI is more than she wants to pay, she is considering a value (Pop), or possibly a mod(CBR).

We're not renting a car, so driving from one resort to another is not an option. How much of a pain is this going to be if we want to meet up to trade off the GS, visit, etc?

I'm curious how this has worked out for other families that have been spread out all over the "world"

 

[meggybear17]

your hotel is a pretty central location for your daughter to meet you at...while there is no "hotel to hotel" transportation, your Daughter can take a bus to epcot or MGM and walk/take the boat to BWI. It may take some time, but its certainly do-able

MGM is a better bet, as the boat service is relatively close to where the bus lets off at the MGM entrance. The world showcase at Epcot is quick walk to BWI, but she would have to take the bus to the dropoff location in front of future world and walk all the way through the park to the WS exit.

just keep time of day in mind and park hours (i.e: don't try to get a bus right when MGM is closing)

DTD is a good meeting place as well, as you can take a bus to any resort from that location.

i would say to plan on at least an hour door to door

 

[Jrabbit910]

My family stayed at POR and my brother and his family stayed at POP two years ago... We either met in DTD (easy for us because of the boat & bus for my brother) or we met up in the parks... he was the one traveling w/ children and we didnt want to put him out of the way by jumping on buses and such to meet us at our resort but the boat helped alot in DTD... Other then a time kill it was ok...

 

[spiceycat]

Pop and CBR are both pretty close to BWI.

that say would suggest meeting in the PARKS.

the hotels don't have hotel to hotel transportation.

they do all go to the parks and DTD.

 

[disnut8]

How old is the grandson? If he's able to walk around the parks, that's where I would plan to meet up. You don't even really have to be inside the park. Meeting near Guest Relations outside the park will work. Otherwise, pick a place inside (outside the restrooms as soon as you enter the park is a good choice) and a range of times to meet. Have cell phones for communication. It's really not a hassle to do it this way, especially with cell phones.

 

[ElizabethB]

Re-think your decision not to rent a car. Going between resorts is a long process via WDW buses, involving a change of buses at a resort. In our experience it can take an hour or more. A car drive between BWI and one of the other resorts takes about 5 minutes.

 

[Rylee]

When we dine at different resorts, we always ride the transportation to the park nearest our hotel, or nearest to the hotel we are going to, and then get in line for transportation to that resort.

If going to a park or restaurant, I would just pick a time to meet there.

I don't think it will be that big of a hassle, just keep in mind the pool policy... you aren't supposed to swim in the pools at other resorts, although, you can visit and dine at each resort.

 

[judykay53]

We did this in May. I was at CR with one grandson and my daughter was at WL which made it easy. We also met at MK once for dinner and DTD. Remember, you're on vacation. Take it easy and enjoy.

 

[ScottNBecky]

We had done this several times with our inlaws and it has worked fine. We just pick a park and time and meet there. It really is not a big hassle.

 

[robinb]

I don't know ... it sounds like a huge pain to me. You were planning the trip with your Grandson, but he'll be staying with his mother if she comes? I would recommend that you find a way to all stay at the same resort. Either you pay the difference between a moderate the Boardwalk for her or downgrade to a resort that she can afford.

 

[wilda]

We have him staying with us- that was the original plan. We took him last year (AKL)and enjoyed spending the week with him so much we decided to do it again.

We're morning people, so I figure we will get to the parks early and they can just call us and meet up w/us. If they want to go somewhere different, so be it! I don't want them to feel like they have to follow our vacation plan; at the same time, I also don't want to "tweak" our routine too much. Trying to find a balance is going to be key.

Staying at the same resort probably isn't going to happen. We've got a great deal at BWI and are looking forward to the convenience of walking to DS/EPCOT. They are not going to be able to get any special offers this late in the game, so they will essentially be paying rack rate wherever they go. We probably won't consider paying the difference (about $900) between a value and the deluxe. I love my daughter, but that's a bit much

The biggest concern I have is if our GS decides he wants to spend a night at his mom's hotel (probably Pop). Will they have a problem with him staying over? And then the logistics of getting his overnight stuff from one resort to the other....might be a good idea for them to just bring a small suitcase with a separate set of EVERYTHING!

Any other suggestions?

 

[Rylee]

Hi,

If your daughter has a "room only" reservation, she could add him to hers free of charge, and he would be a registered guest at that hotel, as well as yours. If she has a package, it wouldn't work since everyone has to be on the same plan and it would mean paying his tickets and/or dining, twice. On the other hand, I don't think it will be a problem even if your daughter doesn't add him.

She could pack a small bag for him and keep it in her room, or you could bring a few of his belongings in a backpack to the parks and put it in a locker until returning to your rooms.

I agree, about striking a balance... we are a large family and often travel with another large family, and everyone has their own ideas, desires and needs... the only way we can all be happy and have a good time is if we do exactly what we want. We plan ahead to tour the same parks on the same day and we schedule a few of our TS meals together but beyond that, we do our own thing. They like to hang at the pool during the day, we like to spend our time in the parks, so we just meet up when they arrive at the parks or for dinner.

 

[TammiMcMan]

We have him staying with us- that was the original plan. We took him last year (AKL)and enjoyed spending the week with him so much we decided to do it again.

Actually, I think it sounds like a wonderful idea. You get to spend time with your GS, your daughter and her boyfriend get a vacation as well, where they can join you at certain times and enjoy WDW child free at other times.

There are a lot of options with how you can setup your reservations. First of all, don't worry about the package plan if that's what you have booked. You only need everyone to be on the same package, if they are all on the original reservation. What you want to do, is add names after you arrive and check-in. My suggestion is to add your daughter and boyfriends name to your registration. That way, if they do decide to rent a car, they can get a parking pass for the BWI and they'll be able to come and swim with you at the BWI pool. They may charge you an additional $50 per night though, for having the extra adults in the room. On the flip side, your daughter can add her son's name to her reservation after she's finished checking in. There's no extra cost involved, but they'll have a record of him in case of an emergency and they'll be sure to put her in a room that will provide the right bedding if he does decide to stay with her.

 

[judykay53]

There is always a taxi. You could go with him over to POP and have her waiting for you in front and then just take the taxi back to BWI. They do not cost much at all. We usually wind up taking one at some point during our vacation. I was never in a taxi until I started coming to WDW!

Also, during our trip in May when I had one grandson with me, the other two grandsons stayed with us a couple nights.

Have fun.