Taking your Child's friends on a trip?

[GoinghometoWDW]

My daughter and I have not been to WDW in years. I have been considering asking her best friend to go with us next year. The girl's will be 16 and 17. Both adore everything Disney, and have been partners in crime at a 3 week camp the last few years. Could people share their experiences with taking other people's children with them on a trip?

TIA

 

[BuckeyeBama]

We have done it at that age - no problem. We had opportunities to do it earlier but didn't because of the maturity of the kids. For us it was about maturity more than age. When their friends can be counted upon to do the right thing even when no one is looking, they are welcome to travel with us.

 

[nugov2]

For me if I was inviting one of the kids friends with I would plan on paying the expenses minus spending money. My brother is 5 years older than me so I always brought friends with in Junior High and HS and they covered the expenses. In some ways it was a much for them as me. I don't recall there ever being an issue, it was always lots of fun for all. I think it will be a lot of fun!

 

[GoinghometoWDW]

DD's friend will be entering her Senior year. My plan was to pay for everything as an early graduation present. I would not expect her family to pay for anything, but spending money. My daughter is an only child, so this will be her first time going with another kid.

 

[Kathryn777]

Can you ask her friend closer to the date? How far in advance do you have to book it? Things change a lot at that age

 

[RebelScumRunner]

This was long ago, but of the 3 trips I took with my family, on two occasions a friend tagged along. During one trip, I brought a friend, and during the next, my brother had his tag along. We were 11 or 12 years old at the time, however, prior to these trips, we had been friends for several years AND my parents befriended the other kids parents. I do not think a friend would have been coming along had my parents not known their parents well.

21 years later our families are still friends.

 

[CindySwims]

My friends family took me on a Disney trip in middle school. Their daughter was an only child and they wanted her to have another kid around. My parents paid for my park ticket and gave them some money toward food. My friends family paid for the hotel. I remember it as being a fun trip.

 

[GoinghometoWDW]

I have not asked yet. I also have not mentioned it to DD yet. I need to kick around dates and finances. I am not concerned about their relationship. They have been joined at the hip for a decade. I would approach the parents before saying anything to the girls. I would hate for either of them to be disappointed, if it didn't work out. I also know her family extremely well. We consider them family.

I am OCD about planning my WDW vacations, and just found these boards. It seems like the perfect place to ask my questions.

 

[IndyRnRfan]

We took our sons friend in '13. 16 and 15 at the time and yes we stayed in a princess themed room at por. We paid for everything except spending money. We did get help from the grandparents as they look at him like one of their own. It was a great time and they had a blast for 2 weeks.

 

[Julylady]

I think that a successful shared camp experience would lead me to think that taking this particular friend will work out well.

 

[tsme]

We brought our son's friend when they were 16. They were like the grim reapers following us around. And one day they didn't even leave the vacation house we were staying at. They stayed in the house while we went to the parks, a total waste of a park ticket, aka money. I think they didn't want to be uncool by showing they were having Disney fun. And yes, when we asked them, both said they wanted to go, his friend had never been before. Although we know all kids are different, we did decide during that trip to never bring an extra to Disney again.
The friend's parents paid for his park tickets & plane tickets, we paid for everything else.

 

[disnut8]

The most important thing, in my mind (after taking friends of my son on various trips) is medical needs. Not if the person you are taking has any at the moment but what happens if they do ON the trip. What we did was ask the parents to sign a paper that stated in the case of emergency, that we were authorized to make medical decisions if absolutely needed. Of course, we had the parents' phone numbers and would be on the phone with them but some places require an adult signature on a form. We just did a simple downloadable form and printed it out, had our signatures and the parents' and then had it notarized. It was never needed (thank goodness even after one kid jumped out of the raft while whitewater rafting in Wyoming) but all four parent felt so much better when we left for the trip.

Also, ask the parents for what THEY expect from their kids. Some parents want nightly calls. Some want morning calls. Some want both. Some want more calls.

I think the first thing to do is talk to the parents. And then to the kids. If the parents don't want their kid to go but you've already asked, well, that's not going to be good.

 

[angierae]

I took DD17 (at the time)'s friend, 15, on our 2012 trip. I paid for all of her expenses, she brought her own spending money, and at the last minute her mom slipped me $400 and I ended up spending it on the girls all week for little things (they fell in love with the light cubes in the alcoholic drinks so I bought them a couple of those, bought them light up ears and hats, pins, we went at Easter so I had easter baskets put together for them at the resort gift shop, etc.

It was a lovely trip, the girls got along just fine, and I have zero regrets.

 

[taymaesmom]

I have taken a friend of dd's with us too, they were both 14. I paid for everything and she brought her own spending money. We love having her at the house but on the trip she whined alot. And she ate not stop, something she never did at our house so that was surprising. All in all a good trip. The next year we took a different friend on a cruise to Mexico and it was wonderful too. Dd loves having some one to hang out with and we didn't feel the need to constantly entertain her, which gave us some adult time!

 

[denise5374]

We are taking DS18 girlfriend on our June trip, this is her second time to WDW. She went on a cruise with us last year and everything was fine so I have no concerns about that. Her parents paid for her portion of the trip, except food which I will pay for. DD22 boyfriend was also invited but he was unable to join us. Int he end it will work out well because my DSIL, DBIL and Dnephew will be joining us and my nephew is 30 so he and DD can hang around and do the "over 21" thing and Ds can hang with his GF. We have 2 rooms, DD and GF are in our room and my DS is in with his Aunt and Uncle.

 

[Flamingeaux]

The fun part is you get to enjoy their excitement at being at Disney. Especially if it is their first visit.

The un-fun part is when they get homesick or when they are texting all the time.

On our next trip it will be me, DD and her good friend. No DW or DS. I have a feeling they will be doing things on their own.

 

[JennyDrake]

My daughter and I have not been to WDW in years. I have been considering asking her best friend to go with us next year. The girl's will be 16 and 17. Both adore everything Disney, and have been partners in crime at a 3 week camp the last few years. Could people share their experiences with taking other people's children with them on a trip?

TIA

I have done this several times.

First, decide who is paying for what and have a very frank discussion with the parents and kid. Then write it down after discussion and email to everyone.

ESTABLISH RULES FOR CELL PHONE USE. Like PP, I was sick of paying for trip when *all* they did was text boyfriend. My "rule" is when you are in my pressence, NO cell phone. Period.

Contrary to what many will tell you, you do NOT need parental permission to seek emergency treatment. BY LAW, emergency treatment cannot be denied to anyone. Just in case she gets a stomach bug or something lesser, have a copy of her insurance card. Her parents can give phone/fax authorization at the time. It's not a big deal.

HAVE FUN! She sounds like a great choice to take with you! Because she already knows your daughter and your "house rules," no need to beat everything to death in advance.

 

[GoinghometoWDW]

Thank you for the replies. I will make sure to have a copy of her insurance card. I hadn't thought about it. I will have to think about amount of cell phone usage. I know wifi is sketchy at best, so we will have to think about data use. Thanks again for the insight. I think the key is to meet with her parents and establish guidelines before talking to the girls.

 

[ZebraDomeCrazy]

For our daughter's Sweet 16, we brought her bff. It was wonderful! We did pay for her trip, except spending money. There were a few momentary bumps in the road, but overall a great trip. As pp said, it also gave dh and I some quiet time. It went so well, we actually took her with us the next year's trip as well! I think it all depends on your confidence in both your relationship with the parents, and your daughter's friendship with her friend. Good luck!

 

[broncobill]

We are going in August for my daughter's 16th birthday. She is an only child too. We have never brought one of her friends with us before. This time we are. I asked the parents first also. Her friend has never been to Disney. We are paying for every thing. I don't anticipate any issues.