savannahsmiles
New Member
Does anyone have any advice on bringing along a friend? My daughter will be 12-yrs-old and I am considering allowing her to bring a friend. Looking for tips...warnings...etc. 
-
Welcome to the WDWMAGIC.COM Forums!
Please take a look around, and feel free to sign up and join the community.
Advice: Bringing daughter's friend
- Thread starter savannahsmiles
- Start date
Gail Hayden
New Member
Make sure you get a notarized permisson for med. treatment if, (God forbid) something happens. Also, get insurance information.savannahsmiles said:Does anyone have any advice on bringing along a friend? My daughter will be 12-yrs-old and I am considering allowing her to bring a friend. Looking for tips...warnings...etc.
Upvote
0
MSDisneyMom40
New Member
We have allowed our daughter bring a friend the last few times we went (2002,2003). It was wonderful. I had a medical release from her parents just in case as well. We all had a wondeful time.
Upvote
0
DisneyPhD
Well-Known Member
My advice is make sure it is a friend who she can be with for long periods of time and not need a break from. Make sure they are compatable and that her friend knows and understands your family rules. (my mom lets us do this....)
Other than that it can be great, especailly if your daughter is a single child. Too bad under 12 still gets kids prices on some meals. (all you can eat.) When my 12 year old niece came with us last year see was still 11 sometimes. :lookaroun (she was 12 and a few months) this year she will be 13, I guess there is no going back. :lol: If she has a school ID with picture bring that just in case too.
Be clear on what you are paying for and what she is paying for. With my niece she paid for $200 of her plane ticket, 200 of her park tickets and we paid the rest. (all meals with the group and other activies.) If she wanted anything extra (a specail treat or souvinor) she had spending money. Of course we let her earn some money from us for helping with her cousins. She is coming again and the same deal applies.
Have a great trip.
Other than that it can be great, especailly if your daughter is a single child. Too bad under 12 still gets kids prices on some meals. (all you can eat.) When my 12 year old niece came with us last year see was still 11 sometimes. :lookaroun (she was 12 and a few months) this year she will be 13, I guess there is no going back. :lol: If she has a school ID with picture bring that just in case too.
Be clear on what you are paying for and what she is paying for. With my niece she paid for $200 of her plane ticket, 200 of her park tickets and we paid the rest. (all meals with the group and other activies.) If she wanted anything extra (a specail treat or souvinor) she had spending money. Of course we let her earn some money from us for helping with her cousins. She is coming again and the same deal applies.
Have a great trip.
Upvote
0
tigsmom
Well-Known Member
Can't emphasize this point enough. Also make sure she has any and all medications she may take (asthma, etc)... know what they are & how to administer them. Also make sure you know if she has any food or medication allergies and the phone number of her pediatrician, just in case.Gail Hayden said:
Upvote
0
I've brought "friends" several times. We only live 2&1/2 - 3 hours away, so I didn't have quite as many concerns about POA, etc. None of them had medical issues, and they were always children who had spent nights at my home, so I knew how thay interacted over long periods of time. We also only stayed for one or two days. :animwink:
I made it very clear that I would pay for room,admission, and all meals. I would pay for snacks that I offerered, but anything beyond that was to be paid by the child. (including my own, out of his/her "spending" money) Since we drove, transportation costs weren't an issue.
Last rule...NO WHINING ALLOWED!!! I've been so many times that I don't mind going back to the room early, and made that quite clear to them. Also, if there were any disagreements as to which ride/attraction we would go on, The Mom would decide which one she wanted, which might be one neither of them would have chosen. :animwink:
I made it very clear that I would pay for room,admission, and all meals. I would pay for snacks that I offerered, but anything beyond that was to be paid by the child. (including my own, out of his/her "spending" money) Since we drove, transportation costs weren't an issue.
Last rule...NO WHINING ALLOWED!!! I've been so many times that I don't mind going back to the room early, and made that quite clear to them. Also, if there were any disagreements as to which ride/attraction we would go on, The Mom would decide which one she wanted, which might be one neither of them would have chosen. :animwink:
Upvote
0
Kadee
New Member
When we go back, my daughter is bringing her best friend (they will both be 16). Her friend is diabetic, so medical release is a must. We are also getting two rooms. It will make the whole trip a lot easier. They have their own bathroom, tv etc... and we have ours. It will also aleviate some potentially awkward situations. They get dressed in their room; we get dressed in ours. This may not work for everyone, but it is a necessity for us. My daughter is an only child and would not enjoy spending the whole time with just us.
Also, you may want to get the walkie talkies if your cell phones won't work there (or may be to expensive to use there). They may want to go ride another ride while you are shopping or riding something else. You need a way to get in touch with them quickly. Also remember that if they don't answer right away, they may be on a ride, so don't freak out. Give it a few minutes and call back.
Also, you may want to get the walkie talkies if your cell phones won't work there (or may be to expensive to use there). They may want to go ride another ride while you are shopping or riding something else. You need a way to get in touch with them quickly. Also remember that if they don't answer right away, they may be on a ride, so don't freak out. Give it a few minutes and call back.
Upvote
0
egionet
New Member
I would make sure the friend enjoys the same things you enjoy. If your family enjoys thrill rides and she doesn't, it could turn out very bad. She wouldn't want to be sitting outside waiting for an hour while you and your family ride Space Mountain. Or vice versa, you don't want her to be disappointed because she wants to ride the thrill rides and your family doesn't. Be sure she'll ride all the "kiddie" rides. A lot of 12 year old girls are "too cool" for children's rides.
Also see what time she wakes up and goes to bed. Last time my family went, my sister's boyfriend came with us. He had to use all of his vacation time from work, and was very disappointed when we wanted to be at the parks at 8 AM every morning. He didn't think this was a vacation at all. It ruined his vacation, and kinda put a damper is everyone else's mood.
Just make sure she is compatible with your family. And as everyone else said, medical releases are a must. Also find out any allergies and precautions to take if a problem should arise.
Also see what time she wakes up and goes to bed. Last time my family went, my sister's boyfriend came with us. He had to use all of his vacation time from work, and was very disappointed when we wanted to be at the parks at 8 AM every morning. He didn't think this was a vacation at all. It ruined his vacation, and kinda put a damper is everyone else's mood.
Just make sure she is compatible with your family. And as everyone else said, medical releases are a must. Also find out any allergies and precautions to take if a problem should arise.
Upvote
0
jaime_1234
Member
My mom let me bring along my best friend on two of our trips back when we were eleven and twelve. It worked out great and I would definitely recommend it, especially at that age. At the time, nobody in my family wanted to ride the thrill rides with me (like TOT, Space Mountain, etc.) so it was nice to have a friend along to ride with me so I wouldn't have to be alone. Plus, we were just getting to the age where we could go off and do the things we wanted to do on our own so my parents didn't have to stand around and wait for us. If we were any younger it might have been a little more stressful for my parents (trying to keep track of one little kid in a sea of people is hard enough), but at that age, we were a little more capable of keeping track of ourselves.
Upvote
0
First don't get 2 rooms, get a cabin at FW. Great privacy for kids in bedroom.
I've taken kids along since my daughter was 3, from 1975 to .......stopped counting the days after I reached 365 days staying at Disney Resorts. Well she got married at the Gazebo at the Boardwalk 2 years ago. If you want all the good stuff e-mail me back directly.
I've taken kids along since my daughter was 3, from 1975 to .......stopped counting the days after I reached 365 days staying at Disney Resorts. Well she got married at the Gazebo at the Boardwalk 2 years ago. If you want all the good stuff e-mail me back directly.
Upvote
0
DDuckFan130
Well-Known Member
My birthday is coming up on January 30th (turning 20 :sohappy: ) and I wanted to go back to WDW with my best friend who's 20. The only time we've been there together was for Grad Nite so I want to actually take her on a trip. She's only been to MK and Epcot, way back when WoM was still around, and that's it! I want to take her to be able to see it all, and I know she won't be a fuss. She knows how I am and she appointed me her tour guide for the possible occasion :lol:. If she doesn't want to see something or wants to do something I don't normally do, I'll compromise because in the end, I will be going back to WDW with my season pass. I guess aside from the medical issues, the biggest thing here is to compromise, and think about what the friend might like because they may not be as privileged as some of us on the boards.
Upvote
0
Nansafan
Active Member
Since 2000, we have traveled twice a year with my dearest friends daughters. They are now 16 and 14. The medical letter is a must. We needed to use it twice and it was a great help. The first couple trips they were a little shy but now are old pros and great fun to have with us. When we travel, everyone has a job and they are great at getting theirs done. By job I mean whose in charge of games we play, rides to go on, where we'll eat etc. The more the merrier is our motto.
Upvote
0
AliciaLuvzDizne
Well-Known Member
here's my warning...
when i was 12 we brought my best friend...someone i have been friends with since we were 2 or 3... and we got on each others nerves so bad that we had a bit of a fist fight :lol:
of course we have never even so much as argued since and that was over 10 years ago. (o and we're still best friends...she's 24 and im 23 now)
i would just make sure they have some time apart so they dont drive each other nuts.
when i was 12 we brought my best friend...someone i have been friends with since we were 2 or 3... and we got on each others nerves so bad that we had a bit of a fist fight :lol:
of course we have never even so much as argued since and that was over 10 years ago. (o and we're still best friends...she's 24 and im 23 now)
i would just make sure they have some time apart so they dont drive each other nuts.
Upvote
0
Thanks for all the great advice. I know my daughter would be thrilled about bringing a friend, but wanted advice from the "experts." I think it will be a lot more fun for her considering I have 2 little twin girls. I am thinking of a cabin primarily for the space. I need to work out the finances for the invite of the friend and I like the idea of my paying for $200 of the tickets (park and airline).
Upvote
0