going to disney with friends!

[Jenscruise]

Oct. 2-8...beach club villas. Our good friends asked us to join them. They are Dvc members and do disney..a lot!
We are all so excited. We haven't been to Disney in 6 years. They can't wait to see it fresh through our eyes.
We all agree.. no one "has" to do anything. Breaks from each other when needed. ( mostly for the kids)
The only thing promised..I will do Btmr.. it will be my first coaster ever..and I'm 39! I'm scared..and excited!
Any other advice for friends and families traveling together?

 

[msp2mco]

What a great invitation! You already have a good rule made to allow space between families when you need it.

I'd suggest going in with a plan. Allow it to be modified, but knowing some expectations can reduce people's disappointment. Find out what everyone's top attractions are, and make those a priority. For instance, if one of your friend's kids wants everyone to ride IASW, make sure to do that.

Since your friends invited you, it would also be nice to take them out to a nice dinner. Maybe get a sitter for the kids so the 4 of you can have a nice adult night out.

 

[danjoan14]

Yes. Have a blast! We just came back from the magic a couple of weeks ago. We traveled with our neighbors. We were a party of 10 including 4 kids. Had the best time that I've ever had at Disney!

 

[bopper]

I would talk to them about expectations.

For example:

They have been there many times, you not as much. You may expect more park time than they do.

Do you sleep in? Do they? What time would you leave for the park? Do they expect you to go when they do?

What do you expect for meals? Is breakfast eaten in the park or the food court or in the room? Will you have sit down meals for dinner? Together? All on site? All meals together?

Will you babysit for them and they for you? Or will you stay together as families?

What if you/yourkid doesn't want to go on rides they do?


Do they go all day to the park or do they come back and rest?

Do you have the same amount of park days and/or hoppers that they do?

 

[Jenscruise]

Thanks for the advice! Our kids are older..13,10 and 9..so no babysitting.
My girlfriend and I are go till you drop girls..our husbands will maybe go back to relax one or two afternoons..

This has just been so much fun to plan.. can't believe it's 27 days away!

 

[danjoan14]

We had such a blast going with all of our neighbors/friends. Everyone was on the same page the entire trip. Splitting up to see certain attractions was not a problem at all. The best was that we all dined together. Not a single complaint from anyone. We had such a great time, we're planning to vacation again next year. Can't wait until we can return to the magic as a group as well!

 

[noahdove]

What a wonderful time you will have!!! I returned about a month ago and I was there with 2 friends for a girls only trip and I can say...WOW what a wonderful and memorable time we had!!!

 

[MinnieLee]

We have vacationed a number of times with very close friends and they are the best to travel with. They just go with the flow and are just there is have a great time.

We took them to Disney a couple of times on our DVC, they took us to Hilton Head on their RCI. I would second the idea of buying them a really nice dinner one night. We also have done two Disney cruises with them. They are wine drinkers, we are not, so they went to the wine tasting and we did a "backship" tour. 99% of the time we are together and have so much fun.

Both families probably will have to compromise on some things - eating times, food, rides, parks. You probably have alot in common with them if they invited you so I don't see you having problems. If you need space, just split apart for a bit.

Big Thunder Mountain is not bad at all. I am not an upside down, shoot me out at 60 miles an hour person so I do love BTMRR. No huge drops. Have a great time and update us on how the trip went.

 

[danny744]

We also vacation with our best friends. We are both DVC members and we also each have 4 DK. Two in their twenties and two in their teens. We have been doing this for about the past 5 years. We all do our own thing and eat together on several occasions during our stay. We most often stay 6-11 days during Christmas. We all go where and when we want which works out great. We are very fortunate to have friends like we have. I think the main thing is to talk before you go about expectations. I know my DW enjoys touring all of the resorts and looking at the different Christmas decorations. Usually two or three others go with her and I will go in the parks as I do not care that much about that side trip. So just sit down and talk and plan a little before you go and don't stress, just have fun and a MAGICAL TIME.