Do you invite Friends and Relatives?

[joepoe]

Yes, all the time and we have a blast!

Sometimes and usually it is great.

Sometimes, and sometimes we get stiffed.

We are sick of people cancelling or griping, so we don't any longer.

We prefer to vacation alone.

 

[InstImpres]

You left out one category:

They invite themselves before I have the chance to ask them

 

[lenshanem]

This will be our first use year. My parenst are going with me & my girls in December, March my hubby will take his Dad and brother, then in July I'm taking both my aprenst and my brother with my girls again. The only trip that will be just my hubby and girls will be in June.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by lenshanem
then in July I'm taking both my aprenst

Shannon
What is a "aprenst"?..............

 

[lenshanem]

Nick, I thought you correct my spelling for me! I meant parents. I don't type so well...

 

[jaysue]

Need another poll answer - Yes, we invite but they procrastinate and never commit

Shan, looks like Nick and I need to discuss your typing challenges with you

thanks
jaysue

 

[Disneyaholic]

We invited my mother on our first DVC trip (1993). Since she is not a "believer", it was several days of her questioning our financial decisions, etc. Not fun. (thank goodness she was only there for part of the trip, so we were able to thoroughly enjoy the rest of the week!)

We invited another family on our second trip to OKW in 1994. We really encouraged them to get their own room on cash (we would have used the member discount for them), but they ended up sharing our 2BR with us. THAT is the trip when we said "never again"!! (No details provided to protect the not-so-innocent)

We do let the kids bring a friend sometimes. And we often meet up with other DVC friends, but our days of sharing having another family join us are in the past.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We usually invite friends and family. Only once have we had to scramble to find someone different after a cancelation, and that was for next January's trip. We always have a GREAT time! I do have one friend who keeps hinting for an invitation, but we have traveled with her before, and we don't care to repeat the experience!

We always have a great time, but we have learned how to read our guests so we tend to adjust to their habits. We most like taking folks who don't go often or have never been there. It is like seeing WDW for the first time again!

 

[JimC]

Vacationing is our time together. Sometimes we have immediate family with us, but not extended family. I voted in the last category as we do not consider our Moms or our daughters as traveling with others.

 

[Chuck S]

We invite people along on about 50% of our trips...and you never really know how someone who doesn't travel a lot, or isn't a Disney fan will react. We've taken many friends who have been absolutely wonderful to travel with ...and some that will NOT be invited back, no matter what

Also, on one January trip, we had a rare and unexpected Ice Storm here in San Antonio. So I left work early to get to the airport the night prior to our scheduled departure. I was picking everyone up, and figured if worst came to worst, we'd be spending the night in the airport (Oh, the adventures of travel). We had initially planned to take 2 guests, both cousins. One went, the other just figured it would be too uncomfortable to stay in the airport overnight if we had to. Living in a rural area, 40 miles from the airport, with even worse icy conditions expected in the morning, I was NOT about to risk life and limb to see that she was comfy. She canceled, and has not been invited back.

The joke was on her, though. When we got to the airport, we found out that Dallas was still operating (we had to change planes there), they put us on the next flight and we arrived in Orlando around midnight...spend the night in a Motel 6, and were at OKW bright and early the following morning

 

[Dean]

About every other year we have a large family trip which we cover for the rooms. Everyone pays their own expenses otherwise and we share the common expenses. So far we've done it at OKW, VB, HH twice (Marriott's). This past summer we had three 2 BR units at Marriott's Grande Ocean resort and had a blast.

It's just been our contribution to the family since we can do this and some of them would never be able to do it on their own.

InstImpres, anyone that invites themselves better be on the list I'd planned to invite anyway. The other problems that many have seen are that some say yes then back out at the list minute or invite additional people even without your knowledge or permission. We've seen many on this board post that they invited family B who in turn invited family B, who the planner would have never invited. I even remember one where A invited B who invited C then basically pushed out A so only B & C were going. Aren't family dynamics grand?

 

[MinnieGi]

Of our trips seen DD has been born 3 have been with friends/family and 2 have been just the three of us. We just completed a trip with both sets of grandparents and our upcoming Feb. trip has two families of friends joining us. However we just don't have enough points to accomadate everyone. So our friends are all staying at BWI while we will be on the BWV side.

We enjoy both experiences!

 

[SCDizneyDawn]

I think our days of inviting people may be coming to an end. We have a 2br booked for Dec 6-13 and have had to find someone new to go with us 3 times now. In the end we are going to be staying in the 2br with only 3 adults. We tried to move down to a 1br when the second couple canceled, but of course none were available and we were nearing the 30 day mark. My DH says from now on we will only invite Disney fanatics like us. This is also not the first time we have had people cancel on us. We have a large number of points, with the thought that we would book 2 br units and invite our friends (and occasionally family) to join us. We may just start using them to say 8 or 9 nignts instead of the 7 we normally book now!
Our May trip is just us, so no worries!

 

[dianeschlicht]

We like to take those longer trips too, and sometimes get a 2 bedroom for 5 nights and then a 1 bedroom for 5 more. I have learned though, that it is best to have the guests at the beginning of the trip instead of the end! They tend to want to be park commandos, and we don't get our relaxing time that way!! If we end with a few days to ourselves, it feels more like vacation.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

We usually do both...........family and just ourselves. For this coming summer at VB(Beach Cottage) we are bringing my in-laws(78+79), our son(30) and his wife(29) and there 18 month old son( our grandson), and our 17 yr old DD.
So we will have 6 adults, 1 teenager,1 child in the Beach Cottage for 6 days.My sister may come up from West Palm Beach, with her daughters(12+14) on the weekend.(DVC members also)

For the cruise in Feb

it will just be Cindy and I.

 

[kathleena]

I couldn't answeryour poll the way it's worded.

One because I consider family and friends to be two separate decisions. Immediate family (our parents, children and their spouses/children) we don't charge and would tend to invite more often and some of those more often than other - and non-immediate family or friends have to split costs so we don't invite them unless they ask. So I don't know if I should answer for family or friends - which is definately two different answers.

And two - we do both - invite someone along and go by ourselves.

 

[crisi]

We've only taken one DVC trip....and we brought my mother in law along. Turned out much better than I expected. Her husband backed out - but gave us plenty of time so we brought her sister along instead.

Our next trip will be just us, the trip following we are going to try for my family.

Shortly thereafter, we will be in the situation where we will need both bedrooms for ourselves - our kids will have outgrown two opposite sex children on a hideabed. And our sharing days will either be over, or we will have to buy more points so we can continue to share.

 

[InstImpres]

Originally posted by SCDizneyDawn
We have a 2br booked for Dec 6-13 and have had to find someone new to go with us 3 times now. In the end we are going to be staying in the 2br with only 3 adults. We tried to move down to a 1br when the second couple canceled, but of course none were available and we were nearing the 30 day mark.

Dawn -

That sounds like an open invite for your DIS friends to join you in the spare room. Are we going to have a lottery for who gets it


Dean -

Yes, those that invite themselves are close family I would have anyhow, It has actually turned into an annual thing which is great!



Sandy

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by InstImpres
Dawn -
That sounds like an open invite for your DIS friends to join you in the spare room. Are we going to have a lottery for who gets it

..........................

 

[Disney Doll]

We have invited family and friends. We have one couple who we travel with who pay us the cost of a moderate to stay in the 2nd bedroom. We have a single friend who, if she comes, sleeps on the couch in the 1BR, and we don't vahrge her. We just got back from a trip with my DSIL and DBIL, and we didn't charge them.

The most important thing when travelling with a group is to make sure no one gets offended if someone wants to go off and do something different from the majority.