Should I go?

[DisneyRocks13]

Hello! I’m new here so please tell me if I’ve posted this in the wrong place

I’m meant to be going to Orlando next September (postponed from this year). There are 5 adults altogether, we are all from coming from the UK and are sharing a suite at Ramada Plaza.

The issue I have is that my friend has recently found out she’s pregnant. She’s added the baby onto the holiday who will be 3 months old when we go, and I’m considering cancelling out of the trip altogether.
Apart from me, everyone is related to my friend (her boyfriend, her brother and her dad), so I’m worried the holiday will be nothing like we planned and I will be an outsider (It’s my first time in Orlando so we were going to do EVERYTHING)

3 weeks with a screaming baby, limited sleep and long days sounds like a nightmare. I get fatigued as a result of having (really well controlled) arthritis, and no sleep is just not an option.

I really want to go to Orlando though, and I’m worried I won’t get chance/won’t be able to afford another trip if I’m not part of a group.
Help!

 

[DCLPrincess]

I'm not sure I'd go with a 3 month old baby. If I did go I'd get my own room.

 

[DisneyRocks13]

I'm not sure I'd go with a 3 month old baby. If I did go I'd get my own room.

Thanks for your reply! I looked at this option and it literally doubles the price of the holiday if I get an extra room. Will have to be another hotel too because that one is booked up.

 

[cheryl.UK]

I waited from the day it opened until 1995. It was worth the wait. This trip is quickly becoming a far from idea first (and possibly only ) trip. There will be other trips. A 3 month old baby will certainly change the whole dynamic. Next September is likely to be very hot, too hot perhaps for a newborn. so cranky baby at the hotel and cranky baby in the parks. Lack of sleep also equals cranky mum. I would never take a newborn to WDW. Too loud, too busy and too hot.

Are you staying at the Ramada on I Drive and is someone driving? It took my friends an hour each way on the shuttle bus to MK.

Factor all this in and if I were you, I'd cancel.

 

[DisneyRocks13]

I waited from the day it opened until 1995. It was worth the wait. This trip is quickly becoming a far from idea first (and possibly only ) trip. There will be other trips. A 3 month old baby will certainly change the whole dynamic. Next September is likely to be very hot, too hot perhaps for a newborn. so cranky baby at the hotel and cranky baby in the parks. Lack of sleep also equals cranky mum. I would never take a newborn to WDW. Too loud, too busy and too hot.

Are you staying at the Ramada on I Drive and is someone driving? It took my friends an hour each way on the shuttle bus to MK.

Factor all this in and if I were you, I'd cancel.

Thanks for your reply! Wow I didn’t realise it took an hour on the shuttle! We are staying at Ramada Plaza Resort and Suites on International Drive so I think it’s the same one you’re talking about. We weren’t planning to use a car.
You’ve pretty much listed all my concerns but it’s good to hear it from someone else. I’m leaning towards cancelling but it breaks my heart a little bit

 

[cheryl.UK]

It's over 20 miles door to door and traffic on I Drive can be dreadful. It's close to Universal but WDW is huge. It can take 20 minutes from some of the WDW hotels to MK on the bus. One of the other issues she found was that there was no shade at the parks' bus stops for non Disney buses so she was standing in full sun for up to an hour. Some days, she had to take a taxi home as the first bus that came was full so she would have to wait for a second with 4 year old having a melt down. It was a great hotel but not if you're totally reliant on the shuttles. Theres no chance of going for an afternoon nap.

 

[DisneyRocks13]

It's over 20 miles door to door and traffic on I Drive can be dreadful. It's close to Universal but WDW is huge. It can take 20 minutes from some of the WDW hotels to MK on the bus. One of the other issues she found was that there was no shade at the parks' bus stops for non Disney buses so she was standing in full sun for up to an hour. Some days, she had to take a taxi home as the first bus that came was full so she would have to wait for a second with 4 year old having a melt down. It was a great hotel but not if you're totally reliant on the shuttles. Theres no chance of going for an afternoon nap.

Honestly I had no idea, this sounds like chaos! Thank you so much. Will definitely consider using a car or staying at a Disney hotel in future (fingers crossed).

 

[jennyq87]

Sheesh - that sure does change the dynamic of the trip. I don't blame you for wanting to cancel. Has your friend addressed it at all to see if you are okay with the current setup? What is the layout of the suite? Will you have your own room where you can shut a door, or are you sharing a large room, etc? Have you expressed your concerns to your friend? Will they have to cancel if you cancel?

 

[DeeBee3]

Also consider a 3 month old needs naps - he or she will still be sleeping most of the time, especially if in a stroller. So, I wouldn't be concerned about the day, but night can be tough - from someone who had a BAD sleeper. I also have another who was a great night sleeper at 6 weeks, so it's hit or miss. You can't really plan that! Your friend should also consider that with her plans as she will have to stop and feed the baby often, whether she's nursing or bottle feeding. Your day needs to be a lot slower.

However, I am an awfully light sleeper and I would not willingly share a room with someone else's baby. No offense to all the babies in the world!!! It's hard enough when they are your own.

 

[DeeBee3]

And p.s., you should definitely consider staying at one of the value or moderate hotels at Disney. Your transportation would be taken care of and you don't have to worry about parking, etc.

 

[DisneyRocks13]

Sheesh - that sure does change the dynamic of the trip. I don't blame you for wanting to cancel. Has your friend addressed it at all to see if you are okay with the current setup? What is the layout of the suite? Will you have your own room where you can shut a door, or are you sharing a large room, etc? Have you expressed your concerns to your friend? Will they have to cancel if you cancel?

Thanks to covid I hadn’t seen my friend for months, until a few days ago when she told me she was pregnant and that she had added the baby onto the holiday. It was only a short conversation as it was raining and we aren’t allowed to meet indoors.
The suite has a bedroom with 2 queen beds, and a kitchenette with a sofa bed, so one of us was going to be on the sofa bed anyway. I don’t think there is a door between the two parts of the suite but I’m not sure.
I haven’t spoken to her about it yet as I wanted to let the information sink in, and also I don’t want it to seem like Florida is all I care about Obviously I’m happy for her too!
I don’t think they would have to cancel, just remove my name from the booking. I’ll probably lose the money but we haven’t bought park tickets or anything, so it’s not as bad as it could be.

 

[jennyq87]

Thanks to covid I hadn’t seen my friend for months, until a few days ago when she told me she was pregnant and that she had added the baby onto the holiday. It was only a short conversation as it was raining and we aren’t allowed to meet indoors.
The suite has a bedroom with 2 queen beds, and a kitchenette with a sofa bed, so one of us was going to be on the sofa bed anyway. I don’t think there is a door between the two parts of the suite but I’m not sure.
I haven’t spoken to her about it yet as I wanted to let the information sink in, and also I don’t want it to seem like Florida is all I care about Obviously I’m happy for her too!
I don’t think they would have to cancel, just remove my name from the booking. I’ll probably lose the money but we haven’t bought park tickets or anything, so it’s not as bad as it could be.

That's definitely a tough one to navigate. I think you can both be happy for your friend and sad that it's changing your trip at the same time! Perhaps, when the time is right, your friend might be open to the idea of finding accommodations that would allow you to have your own room/space with a door? I think it's more that reasonable that you don't want to be around a crying newborn for 3 weeks straight, especially if has the potential to affect your health. Maybe check out Airbnb or VRBO options in Orlando?

 

[DisneyRocks13]

Also consider a 3 month old needs naps - he or she will still be sleeping most of the time, especially if in a stroller. So, I wouldn't be concerned about the day, but night can be tough - from someone who had a BAD sleeper. I also have another who was a great night sleeper at 6 weeks, so it's hit or miss. You can't really plan that! Your friend should also consider that with her plans as she will have to stop and feed the baby often, whether she's nursing or bottle feeding. Your day needs to be a lot slower.

However, I am an awfully light sleeper and I would not willingly share a room with someone else's baby. No offense to all the babies in the world!!! It's hard enough when they are your own.

I’m a light sleeper too! Can’t even sleep with the TV on

 

[DisneyRocks13]

That's definitely a tough one to navigate. I think you can both be happy for your friend and sad that it's changing your trip at the same time! Perhaps, when the time is right, your friend might be open to the idea of finding accommodations that would allow you to have your own room/space with a door? I think it's more that reasonable that you don't want to be around a crying newborn for 3 weeks straight, especially if has the potential to affect your health. Maybe check out Airbnb or VRBO options in Orlando?

Thanks your your reply! It is a difficult one isn’t it! I’m not the best communicator either so I am absolutely dreading that conversation
The hotel is already booked as part of a package with flights etc with TUI and has been booked for almost 2 years now. I doubt she’ll want to change it when everyone else is happy. I’ve looked at alternative places to stay by myself but it literally doubles the price of the trip and we still need to buy park tickets etc :/

 

[kwdw]

Three weeks with a three month old in Sept in Florida with no car, five adults and a baby trying to sleep in one room and and an adult sleeping on a sofa bed? Sounds absolutely miserable to me!

As the odd man out here, you need your own room/bedroom. The minute the baby entered this mix, you are correct the dynamic is very different. And frankly, the other two who are also not the parents, even though family, tensions are going to get heated at times as folks get tired and grumpy.

IMO, accommodations need be rethought. Given the total cost of this type of three week trip from the UK, I think the whole group needs to reassess this trip, it’s goals, how it should happen. I’m not judging whether folks should take a three month old in the first place, I’m being judging in that traveling with a infant is very different than with five adults, especially when it comes need for space, ability to do your own thing at times, and sleep.

I have experience traveling with four adults and one kid several times and from that experience, no way I’d do this. At minimum, the parents with infant need their own bedroom and the other adults need to having sleeping space with a door between them and the baby. Ideally, I’d say more private space than that, but that’s the minimum I think won’t drive you to hate each other in four days.

 

[DisneyRocks13]

Three weeks with a three month old in Sept in Florida with no car, five adults and a baby trying to sleep in one room and and an adult sleeping on a sofa bed? Sounds absolutely miserable to me!

As the odd man out here, you need your own room/bedroom. The minute the baby entered this mix, you are correct the dynamic is very different. And frankly, the other two who are also not the parents, even though family, tensions are going to get heated at times as folks get tired and grumpy.

IMO, accommodations need be rethought. Given the total cost of this type of three week trip from the UK, I think the whole group needs to reassess this trip, it’s goals, how it should happen. I’m not judging whether folks should take a three month old in the first place, I’m being judging in that traveling with a infant is very different than with five adults, especially when it comes need for space, ability to do your own thing at times, and sleep.

I have experience traveling with four adults and one kid several times and from that experience, no way I’d do this. At minimum, the parents with infant need their own bedroom and the other adults need to having sleeping space with a door between them and the baby. Ideally, I’d say more private space than that, but that’s the minimum I think won’t drive you to hate each other in four days.

I absolutely love all of this! Thank you so much for sharing your experience of travelling with a similar group, and for taking the time to really read my thread. I’m definitely starting to get a clearer idea of what to do.

 

[DisneyRocks13]

This is my first thread on Disboards and I am so thankful for all the advice so far! I didn’t know there was a whole community of people who can help with this kind of stuff. Thank you for your time and your honesty, it’s so refreshing to be able to talk things out and work towards a balanced solution.

 

[BadPinkTink]

Honestly I would cancel. IMO it was doomed from the start with the dynamics and then add in a baby, no way would I go now.

I had an LA / Disneyland California trip with friends go bad because one member of the group had different expectations and didn't communicate theses expectations or take an active part in the planning process. It made me realize that solo travel is FAR more enjoyable and less stressful.

Europeans totally underestimate going to Orlando, things like the distances involved, the culture shock , never mind the whole sensory overload and how each person body reacts to heat.

Your group, you and your friend and then her boyfriend, and baby, her brother and her dad is just a recipe for disaster.

So friend and boyfriend will be focused on baby, her brother and dad will be partners in crime and then theres you.

What exactly do you want from this holiday? Why are you going? What is your expectation of things like meal times, getting up time, going to bed time? What about the parks and rides? What happens if they want to just spend a day at the hotel but you want to go to the park?

Its not worth losing a friendship over.

 

[DisneyRocks13]

Honestly I would cancel. IMO it was doomed from the start with the dynamics and then add in a baby, no way would I go now.

I had an LA / Disneyland California trip with friends go bad because one member of the group had different expectations and didn't communicate theses expectations or take an active part in the planning process. It made me realize that solo travel is FAR more enjoyable and less stressful.

Europeans totally underestimate going to Orlando, things like the distances involved, the culture shock , never mind the whole sensory overload and how each person body reacts to heat.

Your group, you and your friend and then her boyfriend, and baby, her brother and her dad is just a recipe for disaster.

So friend and boyfriend will be focused on baby, her brother and dad will be partners in crime and then theres you.

What exactly do you want from this holiday? Why are you going? What is your expectation of things like meal times, getting up time, going to bed time? What about the parks and rides? What happens if they want to just spend a day at the hotel but you want to go to the park?

Its not worth losing a friendship over.

Thanks for your reply!
We’ve been on similar trips before, not for as long and not with my friend’s dad, but I know we all gel quite well together.
I think it would have worked fine originally because we all wanted the same things out of the holiday and we had loosely planned out an itinerary, before covid hit and threw everything up in the air.
Now it’s a completely different scenario and I agree, we definitely need to have a frank discussion about the realities of the trip and if there’s any way we can work around them.
The last thing I want is for there to be arguments on holiday.

 

[nursejackie]

we are all from coming from the UK

Not sure we'll even be allowed into the US by then. We were going February (already cancelled) and August 2021 but it's looking less and less likely.