Disney With a Twist - Bringing Friends!

[Cuchman]

Hello DIS Folks!
I am in the early stages (later than I'd like) of planning a trip with a twist I've not had before and want to ask for any advice or tips. The difference this trip is that we are bringing FRIENDS! The trip will be August 31st - September 6th this year.

To offer some background:
We've been to WDW many (many many) times - as I know lots of you have. Two of our three teenage kids are bringing a friend. This brings our total up to 7 people. The friends have been to WDW before - both on trips with school. But, they have not done the sort of Disney trip we usually do - which is more of the Dumbo-or-Die variety.
Our likely approach is to get two rooms at a value resort. (We typically stay at a moderate that sleeps 5). Since my wife and I are paying for the rooms, we're trying to keep costs lower where it is possible. The friends are paying for their own park tickets and flights and the majority of their own food.

So far, it looks like we are all flying in and out on the same flights and we'll all do magical express. We plan to use Disney transportation for our whole adventure.

Has anyone done a trip like this before? Any specical concerns about traveling with friends I should have? So far my concerns are around the nature of our trip - namely, very active and gung ho. We've tried to make it clear to the friends and their families that that is the plan, but I feel like there could be snags there.

Any advice or opinions are most welcome - and thanks!

 

[AJT607]

Following along for any helpful advice. My wife and I have always done trips as a couple and we have 5 friends joining us this fall for a trip, as well. Everyone is aware of our touring style and seems excited to get as much out of the trip as possible. Just looking for thoughtful perspectives of others who have been in similar situations.

 

[quandrea]

I've traveled with friends when all has gone well but right now I'm planning a trip with dd's best friend and her mom. That one is not going so well. Be willing to split up. Be clear on how planning is going to go and communicate deadlines.

I'd also have behaviour guidelines in place for the kids. What are your expectations, as they may differ from what they are used to.

Take a look at the nightmare I'm currently living (exaggerating to make the point).

https://www.disboards.com/threads/planning-with-first-timer-friends-frustrated.3605216/

Good luck! I hope everyone is a good match.

 

[qv09vvp]

Also following along for some helpful advice. Hubby and I are hosting our adult children & they are each brining a plus 1. total party of 6 stay at Aoa suite...wth free dining in december. All have been warned about our dumbo or die touring.... and I'm doing all the planning... I am asking questions but with our 6 months looming, i'm afraid I'm just not getting a lot of input...

 

[quandrea]

Also following along for some helpful advice. Hubby and I are hosting our adult children & they are each brining a plus 1. total party of 6 stay at Aoa suite...wth free dining in december. All have been warned about our dumbo or die touring.... and I'm doing all the planning... I am asking questions but with our 6 months looming, i'm afraid I'm just not getting a lot of input...

That's been part of my issue. I've just gone ahead and made a plan with no input from our friends. Hopefully all works out but I had to get moving on ADRs.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

We travel with friends almost every time we go. We love it. We are a family of 6 and sometimes it is family friends and sometimes it is our kids friends. Our last trip was last August for our DDs 21st birthday. We surprised our DD and had 4 of her friends meet us there. We were together for a week. I texted and spoke with the girls many times. We are close with all of them but wanted them to know what we expected. We are a family that pretty much stays together all the time but definitely for meals. We told the friends that they were free to go their own way and if they didn't want to eat with us just let me know in advance so I could take them off the ADRs. If they were tired and didn't want to come with us or leave early they were free to do so. It ended up that none of them left us at all.

We also were paying for any meal that we were eating together but whatever they got on their own - they paid for it. Everyone had a blast and now we want to do it again.

As long as you talk about the trip in advance and what you expect - it will work out. Some of the girls were 21 already - so we discussed not drinking too much but none of them really drink so that was not an issue. The biggest issue is their age. If they are under 18 years old - you need a note in case they get sick. I would have copies of their insurance cards as well.

Enjoy!

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

We have gone with extended family. With your touring style I would suggest putting together a touring plan that everyone can have input into and help craft. No you probably don't need it being Disney vets but larger groups have a lot of inertia. We found it very difficult to get everyone going again after meals so having a concrete plan was the push needed (FPs help with that too). And if it was something everyone agreed to at the get go I felt less like I was the drill sergeant when I said it was time to go.

Also if your group doesn't want to do the same things let people split off for a while and have a designated meet up time and place.

 

[Kriii]

I've taken teen friends of my kids and here is my take. Don't try and control any aspect of the trip other than what you and your wife are planning to do. They pretty much wanted to break off on their own anyways. Let the kids decide when they want to get up, how much they want to do etc. They will appreciate it. I did ask their preferences about dinner reservations, including whether or not they wanted to eat with the parents. Since the friends are paying for meals, I would definitely ask if they want to have shared ADRs and, if so , where as these are pricey. Enjoy your trip

 

[Cuchman]

- you need a note in case they get sick. I would have copies of their insurance cards as well.

Great point! I wouldn't have thought of this and yes, they are under 18. Thanks!

 

[mckennarose]

One thing I can think of is to find out what Disney's policy is for having one adult per room. We ran into this issue a few years ago when one of our teens (at the time) had friends join us at the Great Wolf Lodge. They were adamant about having an adult in each room. I know school trips manage to do it somehow, with chaperones, but I don't know how or if that differs at all with a family trip?

 

[erincon23]

How old are the kids? Young enough that they have to stay with you the entire time? Middle- to early high-school where they could go off on their own but have to stay in the parks? All of that factors into how you plan. If you have extra younger kids with you who aren't used to the Dumbo or die traveling plan, you may have a couple of grumpy kids on your hands by Day 3, and that spreads to the rest of the party. Maybe this isn't the trip, since you've been there lots of times, to be on the go every minute.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

Great point! I wouldn't have thought of this and yes, they are under 18. Thanks!

I found this out many years ago when two of our daughters went to spend time with my sister in law and she had to bring our daughter to the doctor. They wouldn't treat her without permission from us. We sent a note and her insurance card. I am glad this helped. Enjoy the trip.

 

[amberpi]

Dumbo or die is going in my Disney lexicon

 

[Cuchman]

How old are the kids? Young enough that they have to stay with you the entire time? Middle- to early high-school where they could go off on their own but have to stay in the parks? All of that factors into how you plan. If you have extra younger kids with you who aren't used to the Dumbo or die traveling plan, you may have a couple of grumpy kids on your hands by Day 3, and that spreads to the rest of the party. Maybe this isn't the trip, since you've been there lots of times, to be on the go every minute.

They are all older - they will be (including my kids) 14(dd) , 16 (friend) ,16(ds) , 17 (friend) , and 18 (dd). Definitely think they are old enough to go off on their own at times.
At the moment, I am thinking we will plan it a little like a school trip - as in, "here are the things we are doing together (fastpasses, many, but not all, meals) and here are the times you are on your own."

 

[Cuchman]

One thing I can think of is to find out what Disney's policy is for having one adult per room. We ran into this issue a few years ago when one of our teens (at the time) had friends join us at the Great Wolf Lodge. They were adamant about having an adult in each room. I know school trips manage to do it somehow, with chaperones, but I don't know how or if that differs at all with a family trip?

As it stands, I think we'll have a boys and girls room - so we're covered with adults Good advice!

 

[Cuchman]

Dumbo or die is going in my Disney lexicon

I have to credit Len Testa of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World for that one

 

[leebee]

I have to credit Len Testa of the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World for that one

I was going to give credit but you beat me to it!!

I know they are all older teens, but they are still minors and someone else's children, so if you are letting them travel to/from the parks and tour without adults present, check and make sure this is OK with their parents. It's the whole legal thing, and just respectful to other parents. Also along these lines, I'd outline acceptable/expected behavior and make sure everyone is OK with "following the rules."

I think I'd ask the guests what are their 3-5 "must-dos" in each park and try to find overlap so your FP+s can be inclusive. At the very least, I'd find out what each kid absolutely hates. No sense in wasting a FP+ for ToT if someone completely refuses to ride it (like me)! They can wait at the end of the ride for you- and then they'll still have a FP+ to use elsewhere.

Meals- same deal. Do they want to spend the $$$ for TS meals? Don't count on them simply wanting to do quick service and keep going. I know my DD and nieces wouldn't have skipped certain restaurants (Boma, 50s PT, Biergarten) for anything! Since they've all been before, maybe ask 2 favorite restaurants and 2 "never again" meals?

I'd set the itinerary and then show it to the kids. If they don't want to get up for rope drop, fine, but come to some kind of agreement of when/where they WILL meet you. Same thing with the end of the day; if you aren't staying until park closing but they want to, there needs to be a plan reviewed for when and how they are getting back to the resort- and make sure they know where the bus stop for your resort is at each park. I'd suggest that you all go to the same parks on the same day, and if they want to go off on their own, maybe plan to meet up for FP+ and ADRs. That way you can keep them in sight but on their own.

Honestly, our kids (well, DD and my 2 nieces) never wanted to go off on their own when they were teens. They LIKED touring with us, as a big family- it was part of the fun! It sounds like you are going to have a great time- just make sure that everyone is on the same page regarding expectations (including the parents back home).

 

[Lo Lo]

Meals- same deal. Do they want to spend the $$$ for TS meals? Don't count on them simply wanting to do quick service and keep going. I know my DD and nieces wouldn't have skipped certain restaurants (Boma, 50s PT, Biergarten) for anything! Since they've all been before, maybe ask 2 favorite restaurants and 2 "never again" meals?
QUOTE]

Whats the best part of Biergarten? I made a reservation for my family because my boyfriend loves beer but I've never been before!

 

[Accident]

Has anyone done a trip like this before? Any specical concerns about traveling with friends I should have? So far my concerns are around the nature of our trip - namely, very active and gung ho. We've tried to make it clear to the friends and their families that that is the plan, but I feel like there could be snags there!

I think the biggest mistake is forcing your style onto someone else. Things you run past, they might want to stop and explore and vice versa. You don't really know what everyone likes... Your children are also going to act different with their friends around and may want to break off and concentrate on things they have a shared interest in with their friends (aka thrill rides only). It's not much different than bringing a new love interest to disney. You have to learn what the style of visiting wdw is for both of you and the same goes with friends...

So I would come up with a flexible plan that allows your children and their friends to do different things since they all sound old enough to be on their own anyway. Maybe part of the day is everyone together, meals are everyone together. maybe they don't want to do MK a third time and would rather stand in lines all day to ride FOP over and over again... also work in some stuff you and your partner can do without them. Maybe there is a ton of stuff you do but wouldn't mind skipping to do different things without the kids....

The absolute best thing I think you can make is a "don't care about list" in addition to a "don't want to miss list". It's changed how I approach the parks with my daughter. We used to both do rides because we thought the other wanted to do them.. once we started to find out nobody actually wanted to do them, then we could concentrate on what someone did, knew when we finished the attractions part of the park and had much more time to smell the roses, discover new things, try out new things, even reride with long wait times. We've even started to jump on rides we consider skip because it's been awhile and walking past it hit our interest and we had the time to try it... We also leave the park relaxed, not as tired as we once did and had a great time...

so remember they aren't your family who has learned what you like when together at disney. Your kids are going to want to do different things because their friend is there to do them or wait with them.. it's going to change the dynamic of the vacation and the worst thing possible is force everyone to do it how you like to do it....

 

[Jules76126]

As someone else mentioned expectations are the key to everything. As long as everyone is on the same page, I am sure you will have a great time. Its when things get lost in translation that issues arise. I actually think with kids you will have less problems. When I traveled with my friends families when I was a kid, I was always on my best behavior. I wanted to enjoy the vacation and not come across as a pain. I actually find it more challenging now to travel with my adult friends.