Have You Ever Invited Friends...

[MJS]

to stay with you at your DVC resort? We are thinking of inviting another family that we adore to join us on our '08 trip. Are we crazy? Risking ruining the friendship?

Any thoughts, experiences, opinions are appreciated!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

If you do invite your friends, make sure you have a two bedroom lockout. That way you can both have your own entry/exit and not disturb each other as you come and go.

I've only ever had family with me, so it's not quite the same, but it was a positive experience for the most part.

I'd have friends if I had the lock out, and if the stay weren't going to be too long. Also, I'd want the friends to be comfortable being somewhat independent at WDW and not expect me to accompany their every move.

It would be fun, but you'd need to have some good planning and some good communication beforehand.

 

[Beaniebug]

We have brought friends 3 times. Overall it was a great experience. We all had a blast. Only a few times did the kids from both sides get into small arguments, but we think that is because they were so worn out. I think we wore everyone out by the end of the trip! We do Disney comando style. They all agreed from the start to let us plan everything....and we did! Only 53 days and a wake up before we do it again. Just the family this time. Bringing friends for 08!

 

[DMKEDM]

We took friends in November and again in January, and are taking them again over Labor Day...

In November, it was teenaged son's friend...she was a pleasure to have along and since I was the mom of two kids instead of one, it probably isn't a "true comparison" to what you asked...

In January, it was two similarly-aged, unrelated single moms (who are friends) w/their teenaged sons (who are also long-time friends)--that's probably the better comparison...we had a GREAT time...but we took a few "precautions" ahead of time. First, we went out to dinner in our home city and "talked out" our expectations...we agreed we were all free to come & go at will, subject to planning otherwise; we agreed on who would sleep where, and we all decided to do the dining plan which eliminated a lot of "issues" that might have surrounded food choices...(we also planned out our ADRs at that time). We wound up having a spectacular time...we ate dinner together each day, and most days we also had lunch together...other than that, tho, most days, at least at some point in time, we went off in different directions in different "mixes"...sometimes Mom A w/her son; sometimes Mom A w/the other teen; sometimes just the moms and sometimes just the kids...and sometimes all 4 of us. It was my DVC so everyone agreed I "should" get the master bedroom (we stayed in a 1 BR at BWV)...the other mom got the pull-out and the kids used sleeping bags on the floor (their choice; we offered them air bags)...our guests also acknowledged how cool it was to have been invited (we didn't ask them for any money for the room) and they were "appropriately" grateful (just enough, not too much). All in all, it was one of our best vacations and we had a great time.

Over Labor Day I'm taking a former nanny who's like a daughter to me and her two small children...I so can't wait for that...it's been a while since I saw Disney thru the eyes of a very young one (the oldest child is a four-year-old girl who's seriously "into" Disney princesses...oh, I canNOT wait!)...again, I think this isn't "comparable" in that it's more like a parent taking a grown child (and grandchildren) than inviting friends...

Hope this helps...

 

[MJS]

Thanks for the responses ~ you all have great tips. It seems like communication is the key. I did not think of the lockout (don't tell the DVC people ~ they may take some points away from me!!)

 

[wildernessDad]

Yes, we invited friends to stay in a separate studio during our past Grand Gathering.

The wife loved the experience, but the husband did not, I think. It was rather disappointing really. I put a lot of effort into the Grand Gathering planning and it went somewhat by the wayside as he cancelled stuff, to do what he wanted to do. He didn't seem to be impressed too much with Wilderness Lodge either and that was the kicker for me. I did not tell them that the studio would have cost them over $305 per night if they had to book it regularly.

We know another person who has never been to WDW, yet who loves Disney. This person looks like our next victim, I mean candidate!

 

[disneynutt1225]

Yes, we went with our friends a couple of years ago. It worked out well -- I had planned all the dining and roughly which park(s) to visit on each day. There were no obligations to spend lots of time together, but we did wind up spending a lot of time with each other throughout the trip. We don't do commando style park touring, and neither did they, so we wound up having a great vacation together. We can't wait to do it again!

 

[hemispheredancer]

We leave tomorroww for OKW. We are taking friends from DH work and they have a 16 DS who takes my 9DS under his wing! Their son has never flown so this will be a new experience for him. They have never been to Disney yet lived it up "nice" at OKW. We are also heading down to Ft. Myers Beach. The 4 boys/men will be doing a saltwater charter on Monday. This will be the first time we have taken non-family with us. The trip w/ my mom was a nightmare!!! Never again.
BTW...the other family is staying in the lockoff!

 

[coloradodad]

I think you need to chose your friends wisely on these trips. We went with family and had a great time, stayed in non DVC in different rooms, all adjacent. Did well except for one morning when we were off to the bus for EMH and my sisters DH decided it was time for a sit down breakfast without telling anyone else.

We met them at the parks that day.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

Nope. Since our kids have grown DW and I are REALLY enjoying trips that are just us. Maybe someday we'll invite friends or family, but for now... just us.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We invite friends and family to come along once every year. We never make it for our entire trip though, and we always have at least one trip just for us alone in there too. It's one of the "perks" of owning DVC. We really enjoy offering free accommodations to friends who will come and vacation with us. We usually have a 2 bedroom for 5 nights when our "friends or family" is invited, and then we go down to a 1 bedroom for the two of us for another 5 nights so we can go at our own pace for the end of the trip.

 

[lovinthemouse]

We have only been with family and I must say it was a disaster. My DH's sister and her family. Her kids were awful. I was ready to go home after 2 days. The only way I will do it again is to get 2 separate rooms. We had a dedicated 2dbrm at HHI. But don't let that deter you. If you have great friends and family then it would be fun. We have great friends, but no so good family.

 

[MJS]

This is terrible to say, but we won't ask family ~ they would drive me crazy!

We are thinking about asking friends we know well. We enjoy their kids. That said, this is new territory for us...

 

[coloradodad]

I think one needs to realize that it could have potential for disaster, so make time for space away from the others, and again, chose wisely....

 

[mikesmom]

We have gone with friends and had a blast, BUT... we have also had friends/family cancel on us, causing a ridiculous amount of trouble cancelling, moving points, etc (Particularly the ones who cancelled inside the 30 day point). I would suggest you make reservations for 2 separate rooms instead of a 2 bedroom so you can cancel or rent one if you need to. Or have a plan B that you are prepared to spread out yourselves and enjoy the room in the 2 bedroom without stress if they bail on you.

Not trying to rain on your parade, really, but there are a LOT of people on this Board who have said "they wouldn't do a thing like that" and then "they" did.

 

[gracelrm]

I have learned from taking family or friends that it can be a wonderful experience, but I just need to "chill out". I guess I feel like I'm the Hostess and that everyone's happiness depends on me. This is way too stressful for me. I was raised believing that when company comes, you treat them special and make their stay enjoyable. If I could get over that (maybe with a little help from some valium) I think having friends along would be wonderful. But, with that said, I think you have to find the right match of people to invite and make sure everyone's expectations (including yours) are in line!

 

[DVC Grammy]

Over the years we've owned DVC, we've learned that the best way to have guests, whether family or friends, is to reserve separate studios for all.
We learned the hard way that just about everyone close to us has an entirely different sleeping schedule! There was no friction, just a lot of tired people.
Now, every time we have someone join us, we arrange meeting times that work for all, and everybody's happy!

 

[Dina]

We've taken my parents, and would do it again in a heartbeat, but my DH says that's it. He won't even take his own parents. He says no to friends as well. I think it would be fun though.

 

[dianeschlicht]

It always amazes me how much trouble other folks seem to have with inviting family and friends. We have never been stiffed, and we have been doing it for 10 years! Some groups have even come with multiple times. Maybe I did a really good job of impressing them with "you can't cancel".

 

[HockeyKat]

We have invited a couple for our stay in Sept, somewhat against my wishes. We will be by ourselves in a 1-bed from Sun-Wed and in a 2-bed lockoff with them from Thurs-Wed.

This friend will be a lot of fun and is a WDW expert, and his wife is okay, but he has shown a tendency in the past to bail on things so I was skeptical. However, our resale came w/ 210 bonus pts so this year is a good one to try this out.

We are charging them for the points at an agreed-upon rental fee of $11/pt for the diff between a 1-bed and a 2-bed. I think the total for 6 nights is $680, and $113 a night could barely get you a mod room, so they are getting a good deal. We will take the $$ and use it to buy pts for transfer, most likely, so that we can still fit in a Jan trip next year.

They have already booked non-refundable plane fare (we are driving), so I waived my original deal of making them pay their share before booking. We are likely going to coerce the money out of them 60 days out so that we will still be able to rebook the trip without losing anything..

We have also already made our ADRs and booked the dining plan, plus we have been to WDW in Sept, Oct, Jan, have a May trip booked, and then Sept alone as well as with them, so we are fine with rolling with whatever they want to do.

And hey, if they get too annoying, we can always lock their door!