Tips for Travel with Friends

[Tink-n-Belle]

We went with friends a few years ago and I told them that we would spend 4 days together and 2 days apart. That way we didn't have to spend every minute with them and it let each of us enjoy our own family time. We also, split up during the day depending on how each of us felt and would meet back at dinner time.

It worked out great. We got to find out how they spent their time alone and it made our trip more enjoyable to be able to spend time apart.

I wasn't in any position to offer them accomodations as I just had 150 points per year and already alotted some to my Babysitter, so they got a room at a moderate and we would just call each other and meet in the parks in the mornings. That way if they wanted to sleep in or go to breakfast they could.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I am in a similar situation. My DW mentioned to our neighbors across the street (who have two kids the same ages as our two) that we were going on our first ever DVC trip and the neighbor said, "We should go together!"

So DW and I talked about it and suggested we could use some of our points to get them a studio. I told them a price up front, which is roughly my cost per point for those points and they agree. So I think in my situation we are justified in asking since they are piggybacking on our trip.

I also agree with other posters that if we invited them that it doesn't seem right to ask for money for the room.

I think the important thing I have learned from this and a few other threads is to make sure they know what all their costs will be up front. So I will let them know what the flight is likely to cost, the cost of DDP if they want it (we'll be in a one bedroom with a kitchen so we will likely share at least a meal a day) and park passes.

To the above point, how do I find out what the cost is for the park passes and DDP on the DVC member site? I haven't been able to find it anywhere. Do I need to call MS?

The DDP is the same price for DVC members as for all other guests. No discount there.

If you just want X-many day tickets, check out Undercover Tourist for discounted tickets.

 

[DisneyDreamers2007]

It really depends on your friends' financial situation and yours. Since they were planning on paying for a room anyways, I would see if they might cover the DDP or park tickets for your family. Then you can both feel like you are treating each other to something special!

I suggest a lot of planning together (email/phone) and even a planning party. We went with friends a few years back and did all the planning without much input from them, and found several things needed to be tweaked once we arrived. When we went with my sister's family last year, we communicated a lot and had a fun planning party, it really does help to organize things beforehand so everyone is on the same page. You'll have to be flexible with some things, and remember that you don't you don't have to be joined at the hip either.

One fun thing to do is to host a Disney planning party, with Disney decor and creative food...it will really get you in the spirit for a magical trip. I always think that planning is a big, fun part of the whole vacation experience!

 

[Golden Rose]

Since it was asked, let me say that as far as the financial situation goes, the friends we're going with are very comfortable. Both parents have extremely good jobs, and so far both have survived layoffs. They could afford to buy DVC, and there is a small chance they may end up doing so after this trip. We're also comfortable, but I've been a stay at home mom for a few years now. We've made some sacrifices, but we thought it was important for me to be home with DS. So, all the players in the drama are comfortable, but they've got quite a bit more income than we do right now. But, that said, this trip won't be a financial hardship for anyone, regardless of how we do it.

We all got together for dinner over the weekend, and here is what came out of it. Their preteen daughter is unhappy that her brother gets to take a trip with one of his good friends and she doesn't get a friend along. Oops. Ok, that hadn't occurred to me at all. She quietly sulked and played on her Iphone through most of dinner. I hope she isn't going to be unhappy the whole trip. Our friends are happy to let me make whatever arrangements I want for dinner. They trust my food judgement. (DH and I are foodies, and we do WDW a lot. We know where we're willing to eat. They've previously always tried to maximize time on rides and didn't know to make ADRs in advance, so they would just do what they could get into on the day of. ) They're hoping to minimize meals in the MK because no wine with dinner is a Bad Thing. We're not sure about getting a dining plan for all of us because of the aforementioned preteen girl, so they would like me to run some numbers and get back to them. They have made a few requests for restaurants to do or not do, and I think I'm going to come up with a list of restaurants and let them choose which most appeal when we get a little closer to the trip.

We're agreed on dates. We're agreed on resort. They've agreed to give us lots of notice if they need to cancel the trip. We're agreed on at least one adults' night out... but we're not sure how best to manage it. We may take turns watching all kids while each couple gets a night out, we may try to do a kid's club, or we may pair off and do a girl's night out and a guy's night out. We want to do V & A's, and it would be more fun to do it together, so we may just have to try a kid's club and let the preteen howl at the unfairness of it. (She thinks she should be allowed to babysit and should not need a babysitter...)

We did not discuss money at all. This is fine with us, as we're still not sure how to handle it. As I said, I wouldn't take money from guests we had flat out invited to join us on a vacation; we have several family members we plan to treat at some time. But this is a slightly different situation. I'm also afraid it may be precedent setting, because we have a large, close circle of friends, many of whom have already mentioned they would love to go to WDW with us.