Ever had your kids bring a friend???

[copcarguyp71]

We are entertaining letting our DD bring a friend on our trip in 2014 (she will be 11). I would love to hear thoughts and or personal experiences from those who have made this leap of faith.

Our DD's best friend is a great kid and the two never fight or argue one bit when spending weekends together but I know that a week with someone else's kid is a huge gamble. She does not currently do roller coasters and DD (and us) love them so that is a huge downside but the upside is that DD and DD-friend talk about this all the time together and hint-drop to us. We are pretty much leaning towards not doing it though simply because it could take a great high-dollar family vacation and turn it into seven nights of purgatory.

We are going to take her for a three night jaunt to Ocean City MD to test the waters this summer but I am very interested in hearing from my WDWMagic peeps on this one.

 

[luv]

I wouldn't. If you all like the coasters and she doesn't, that will suck...especially at Uni, if you're going there. I could live without Hulk, but would have myself a temper tantrum if I came all the way to Orlando and couldn't ride RIp, Ride. No Space, no Everest, possibly no Splash. Uh-uh.

That alone would gets my No vote.

 

[JIMINYCR]

My son took his best friend once and his girlfriend once. They both were trustworthy, good kids. WE never had any issues. But there were other friends of his that we would have never tried this with. We did get something from their parents stating we were allowed to have ability to make medical help available if needed. Took insurance card copy, medical sheet, provided by the parents with us that had history just in case. We paid for snack items, they provided for tickets, meals and souvenirs. We split the cost of resort room. We made sure they were always in contact with us when they went to a different section of the park. They were not to go back to the resort on their own. Worked out well, but like I said we wouldnt have tried it with some others. Good Luck.

 

[AngryEyes]

Honestly, WDW is too big a deal to gamble with. As a general rule, if the friend is over at the house constantly and you know what their sleeping and eating habits are, you've taken them with you on closer trips and she meshed well, and so on, then you probably have nothing to worry about. If not, I wouldn't chance it.

Now, the coaster thing is an issue. When I was maybe 12, my mom let a friend of mine come with us to King's Island. Before the trip, he talked a good game, but once we got there, he wouldn't ride ANYTHING! Completely ruined the trip.

You can't very well have them spend the day sitting at the exit of rides. That'll be miserable for her and her parents probably don't want her spending her day alone a thousand miles away. But your family can't go to WDW and not do the things you love, either. Then, everyone will be miserable.

I say no way.

 

[PineapplePrincess]

I guess you have to know the friend really well. We let DD take a friend when she was 12. It was a girl she had been close to since first grade. She had never been before and went in with the attitude that she would try everything once. It was nice to be able to separate within the same park for awhile.
Not sure that we would do it again, since we footed(?) the bill for everything except souvenirs, but it was by no means a bad experience.

 

[Violet]

I wouldn't. I wouldn't even take a cousin. Trips close to home, maybe, but WDW is too far from us and too expensive. Just my 2 cents!

 

[Pooh Lover]

My parents took our friends several times to WDW but we were older at the time (probably 14 and above) so I don't think the risk of failure was quite as high. Taking friends to WDW is a gamble for sure, so make sure you know this person fairly well before taking this on. The 3 day weekend you are taking should help quite a bit. You should probably talk to her parents about how much she may miss her parents while away for a full vacation, how she travels in general and how picky she is when it comes to meals. You should probably have a talk with the friend and her parents together to let her and her parents know what will be expected of her and what she can expect from your family. While it is a gamble, we have seen it work out really well, just cover your bases ahead of time and expect a little less privacy and a little more give-and-take.

 

[copcarguyp71]

Thanks so far everyone. The nay-sayers all have said what we have been saying between DW and myself. Seems like we have been contemplating the same things as everyone else has experienced. Still interested in others opinions though so keep 'em coming!

 

[RandomPrincess]

I wouldn't take her because of the no coasters. You either have to rethink your trip and do things the way your daughter's friend likes them or you are back to bench sitting while your daughter rides coasters with one parent or the other. I would wait until they are older. Also how close are you with the girl's parents. I would have to be very friendly before I let my kid got to WDW for a week.

 

[ewensell3]

We are entertaining letting our DD bring a friend on our trip in 2014 (she will be 11). I would love to hear thoughts and or personal experiences from those who have made this leap of faith.
...
We are going to take her for a three night jaunt to Ocean City MD to test the waters this summer but I am very interested in hearing from my WDWMagic peeps on this one.

We did this, had a great time, but we had a completely different situation (older kids, us non-coaster family with coaster fan friend) so I can't speak much on whether it will work out for you. We did the test trip long in advance as well and is a great idea. It should provide a pretty good idea of how well the friend fits in with your style of vacation. Make your decision based on how the test trip goes.

That said, my only real advice is to get a custodial documents from the parents even for the test trip. We didn't think of it, but the day of the big trip the friend's parents provided us with her health insurance information and a document which basically said we could speak on their behalf if a medical situation arose... And the situation did arise and everyone, emergency personnel included, were grateful we had that documentation. It ended up being a minor infection, but things would have been much more complicated without the documentation.

 

[Zipadeelady]

I also say don't do it.

Besides the coaster issue I have to tell you we brought my DD's friend and half way through the trip I was ready to ship her back home. This was a good girl who was very pleasant and well mannered but with the stress that being at Disney can bring along with her talking non stop about how much she loved babysitting and texting her boyfriend (the girls were 14) the whole time she was driving me crazy. I can handle my kids but when it's someone else's kid you have to make nice. She was thankful that she got to go with us but made comments that she would have had as much fun babysitting . Who says that!?

I'm not opposed to bringing friends on vacations...just not Disney vacations. Disney vacations are all about our family and the magic that Disney brings, now a nice beach vacation I say go for it!

 

[smk]

We have taken friends many times but always when the kids were older. I really think 11 is too young. We took teens, when the kids were in high school. If you decide to do it make sure to get a medical release form in case there is an illness, and make plans on what to do in case of a case of homesickness.

 

[danpam1024]

We are entertaining letting our DD bring a friend on our trip in 2014 (she will be 11). I would love to hear thoughts and or personal experiences from those who have made this leap of faith.

Our DD's best friend is a great kid and the two never fight or argue one bit when spending weekends together but I know that a week with someone else's kid is a huge gamble. She does not currently do roller coasters and DD (and us) love them so that is a huge downside but the upside is that DD and DD-friend talk about this all the time together and hint-drop to us. We are pretty much leaning towards not doing it though simply because it could take a great high-dollar family vacation and turn it into seven nights of purgatory.

We are going to take her for a three night jaunt to Ocean City MD to test the waters this summer but I am very interested in hearing from my WDWMagic peeps on this one.

My DS turns 11 this month and always asks to bring a friend so I'm glad you asked!
1. The friends of his I that personally know the parents and think they would be ok with it, I can't stand those kids for more than an afternoon.
2. Our time in Orlando is OUR time with him. He has PLENTY of time to hang out with his friends.
3. I believe if you are inviting someone to go anywhere, you should pay. That cuts into MY vacation money LOL!

Now when he is a teen and I can't be around HIM for more than an afternoon without wanting to choke him, I may reconsider.
I am chaperoning a class field trip to Busch Gardens on Friday so I may be turned off forever! LOL!!!

 

[plaz10]

my parents let me bring a friend when I was in 10th grade. And she had never been to Disney and she didn't like coasters (which at the time - I didn't either) and 2 days into the trip she had a teenage girl meltdown because her EX boyfriend went on a date. She wanted to go home and her mom OK'd it...so my dad took a taxi with her to the airport and she left in the middle of the trip. She never even saw Magic Kingdom.

*It ended up being for the best as my family felt so bad that they rode every ride with me (or sat out with me) and I felt bad people were missing out so I rode everything and loved everything!*

So as long as they aren't an emotionally unstable teenage girl...you should be OK.

 

[Master Yoda]

We have done it several times and it really depends on the kid and their compatibility with your family. If you like X, Y and Z and the friend hates them, you are going to have a rough trip. You can also run into issues with food, sleeping habits, etc.
My youngest daughter brought her friend last year. Attractions were fine, but the kid turned her nose up at darn near every food item Disney had to offer. It turned the normally enjoyable meal time into a real whip.

Doing a test trip is a great idea. You can make a much more informed decision after that.

 

[Violet]

Remember too sometimes kids get into little fights on trips. Oh boy, I saw that myself once on a big family vacation. The girl who invited the friend decided she didn't like the friend halfway through. That was awkward!

 

[Tomi-Rocket]

I never have and never will. Won't even consider it. The main reason is it's a WEEK out of the year for family time. We don't get that opportunity to do much together the rest of the year so one week is not too much.

Secondly, it creates a precedent. You do it now you will forever be questioned and challenged any other time you go somewhere for family time or whatever and you decide no for this or any future trip.

Thirdly, if I ever would have considered it after reading posts on this thread and a different one I never will now after reading some stories people have had. Won't eat the food, don't like the park, complaining, don't want to ride rides or whatever. Today's kids aren't brought up with manners as much. They feel as though everyone wants to hear their opinion and quite frankly if I paid for a kid to go to Disney I sure as HECK wouldn't want or care to hear about their complaints or whining as I'd perceive it.

Fourthly, I just don't think kids need to be indulged more than they already are. My kids won't DIE if they're away from their friends for a week. And if they try to tell me they will I'd say what I always say, "We'll, it's been nice knowing ya. I'm turning your room into a library."

And finally, And I guess this would depend on the friend, but I wouldn't like to see my kids attitude change because they have a friend there. With some kids it may embolden them to be more rude or sassy, etc. I'd hate to have to have my kid in trouble while we were in WDW.

But really the #1 main reason, for me, is it's strictly family time and I have grown to cherish all our trips to WDW and the memories we've made.

 

[littleroo]

My parents always said vacation time is family time. You have the whole rest of the year for sleepovers and playdates.

As for me, it is a different time than 2 decades ago. My own children are enough responsibility.

 

[danpam1024]

My parents always said vacation time is family time. You have the whole rest of the year for sleepovers and playdates.

As for me, it is a different time than 2 decades ago. My own children are enough responsibility.

Exactly! What if something bad happened to someone else's kid!?! Plus, I know even my perfect angel has his moods-I can BARELY deal with that and I love him LOL!

 

[DisneyDebNJ]

Once .... and only once, about 12 yrs ago. We brought a friend of my son's along. We arrived on a Sunday, by Tuesday, I wanted to send him home on the next plane. A few friends asked me if they should let their kid's come along *for the ride*, oh HELL no. If the friend's family was vacationing at Disney, during the same time frame, thats different