Taking your Child's friends on a trip?

[CanadianPaco]

This is a great thread! We will be taking DD and her BFF (both 17) to WDW in August for grad! They each had to cover their flights and souvenirs and we're going during free dining!

My biggest concern is the BFFs cell phone use. She is a crazy texter to her new boyfriend and DD is worried that's all she do, every chance she gets - we're from Canada, so she'll need to be careful about wifi.

I need to set a "no cell rule"!

 

[gunderda]

Being able to take your best friend with you on a family trip is the BEST! My friends and I were able to do it all the time when we were younger. Nothing major like WDW, most places were close enough that we were just driving so last minute changes weren't an issue (but i don't think we ever had any friend cancellations). I don't have any children of my own now and I'm not sure how my parents handled it with my friends' parents but I know my parents picked up all expenses other than shopping money.

I tried to get my best friend to come to our WDW trip this month but I told her she would have to pay for her airfare and park tickets which she was totally fine with and can easily afford. And she's a bit flaky so I didn't want me or my parents to be responsible for her tickets. At first she was really excited to go and then out of no where she changed her mind like I figured she would. Sometimes adult friends are worse than childhood friends in that regard lol

The one thing I would be real iffy about is taking a boyfriend/girlfriend if the couple is still in high school. Those relationships change on a whim more often than not.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I'm glad a few others have chimed in about iffy guests. In the Brave New WDW, last minute changes and cancellations are costly ($ and planning time)

Again I say I come more from the experience of extended family trips vs. added friends, but MANY times, I've planned vacations for everyone- only to have them force last minute changes. (and that's with bare-bones plans on my part)

One trip, we decided we would all be ready by 10am, for a 10:45 ADR. At 10pm, I asked everyone to confirm. They all agreed! Next morning, half the group was ready, half was still in bed at 10am! (offsite: leaving them behind not an option.)

Back then, missing a hard-to-get ADR was merely annoying. In 2015, it = $110 on MY cc. Um, no thanks.


For this type of trip, Universal is a much better theme park option: no ADR's, no prebooked FP, no no-show fees.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

This is a great thread! We will be taking DD and her BFF (both 17) to WDW in August for grad! They each had to cover their flights and souvenirs and we're going during free dining!

My biggest concern is the BFFs cell phone use. She is a crazy texter to her new boyfriend and DD is worried that's all she do, every chance she gets - we're from Canada, so she'll need to be careful about wifi.

I need to set a "no cell rule"!

Most kids that age that I know would skip on the trip on principle if someone tried to institute such a draconian rule.

 

[DisneyFive]

I guess it depends on what you are looking to get out of this vacation. If you want special Mom/daughter time, be prepared for that to potentially be hampered. Kids can really get into themselves when it's just two of them and an adult. If you are o.k. with that, then go for it.

Dan

 

[jrtoastyman]

We have thought about doing this, too, although the kids would be much younger. DD will be almost 7 by the time of our next definite trip, but she's an only child and we've thought about inviting her BFF along so she'd have someone to play with because she does get a bit lonely at times. That said, a week is a long time to spend with someone else's kid (especially at that age), would probably prefer to do it on a short trip, if at all.

The other wrinkle is that her bestie has never been to Disney before and while her parents plan to take her, they keep putting it off. They are good friends of ours, and part of the reticence is not wanting to deprive them of the fun of taking her the first time she goes.

 

[cedricandsophie]

My adult daughter is disabled. We bring her best friend everywhere. Cruises, Disney world, hawaii, etc. we pay for everything and are blessed we can do it. It just adds to the richness of my daughters experience. She is like of our own.

 

[DaughteroftheKing]

Last year our 11 yr old brought a friend of the same age. It worked out great. I was able to take the preschooler back to the resort to go to bed at a reasonable hour while my husband the the 11yr olds stayed and did the late night hours and wild rides together.

 

[DisneyParkLover]

In this case, my mom (and being adult myself now, me too!) would have politely asked for her parents to pay for the airfare that went to waste. My parents would have never let me turn back on a commitment for a boy when I was 17. Then again, I wouldn't give up going to Disney, even now! Lol!

I had a boyfriend in 2012 who broke up with me 2 months before my grad trip to Disney. My parents had treated both of us to the trip and when I told him he was not going on the trip, he refused to pay for the airfare because he was still willing to go, even though he had ended our relationship and was in a relationship with someone else shortly after. That, in my opinion was the most immature thing ever. We ended up getting a sympathetic travel agent with SWA who helped us switch the name on the ticket. What a mess!

That is a mess! When I was in college my family had planned a trip and invited my boyfriend to come along. We decided to break up about a month before the trip. But in our case, he decided to come along anyway! The difference was that neither of us had started dating other people and stayed friends, so it worked out. We actually wound up having a good time although it could have been super awkward!

As it relates to the OP's question, we travelled lots with friends when my brother and I were kids, and in 2008 my parents took us and our significant others to Disney World. All of our experiences were great (with the exception that I found one of my brother's childhood friends really annoying!), but be aware that there is always the possibility that something could go wrong. Even best friends fight, something could come up, might not have meshing travel styles, etc. Just be prepared for the "what ifs", but I think you will find everyone has a great time!

 

[xStitch]

When I went to Disney during my teen years, my dad was perfectly fine with my friend coming along, so he didn't have to go to the park. He'd drop us off in the morning and pick us up at closing lol. She paid for her own tickets and spending money, but we drove down so no airfare and had a timeshare, so no extra hotel costs. It was also easier to cross the border all those years ago lol.

Personally, I preferred going to Disney with my best friend at 16/17 than with my dad I love my dad and all but he hates rides so it was definitely a better option.

 

[Nancyg56]

I think you have to accept upfront the risk you ar willing to take, and the expenses you are willing to bear. We are takin our friend and her two little girls in Augus, and Dh insisted we switch out our reservations at POFQ for the GF for the girls first dsiney trip. Okay. However he and I had a frank discussion wbout what would happen if she changed her mind, what expenses we would be willing to incur without any bellyaching, and what we were willing to do to get the girls ready. She is a single Mom, and her girls llike my own granddaughters, so her circumstances are tight. No way we could invite them without expecting to pay, no matter how good her intentions were, and there was no way we could include them and then begrudge the expense when we know she has no idea what the girls will want to do and wear when we get there.

I think that especially after reading the stories here, you can see that no matter how friendly people are, one monkey wrench can muck up a freindship.