First Romantic Trip... But My Parents Are Coming Too! Ah!

[MichelleMaBelle]

Yeaaaaah... it's going to be an interesting trip!

I've been going to Disney every year since I was young and this year when I told my parents that I wanted to go with my boyfriend, they offered to pay and come along. While we wanted it to just be us, it's hard to say no when they offered to pay!

So my question is, and maybe people with kids can relate, what are the best ways to have time alone to enjoy vacation together? And what are the most romantic things to do? I've heard the PO carriage rides are nice.

We're already planning to watch wishes from the Poly beach or Contemporary balcony, and a "fancy dinner date" but we're not sure what restaurant yet.

Also, we're thinking about doing separate rooms. But I'm wondering what experiences people have had doing this before. Does it feel like the family is too split up? Does it make things complicated when booking? We'd like to be on the same floor and have rooms near each other.

 

[jonabyte]

We go down with my parents quite a bit now. We always get separate rooms. It's nicer to sleep in your own room, but we still go to each other's rooms a lot too.
I think you can just tell them you would like rooms on the same floor when you book, in some cases we got rooms beside each other.

 

[Tinkerbell397]

Definitely get separate rooms....at least for the benefit and privacy of your boyfriend. I cannot imagine sleeping with my boyfriend in the same room with my parents. That being said....you can find time to be alone: dinners, attractions etc. Just explain this to your parents before you leave so ground rules are set. One of the most romantic restaurants, I think, is Jiko and the food is incredible Also, Artist Point is very romantic. Have a Magical Time!

 

[Hakunamatata]

I would think that if the parents are paying for the trip that the parents would be setting the rules.

 

[kamr211]

I think communication before the trip is crucial. Tell your parents upfront that you want your own room and that there are certain nights when you want it to be the two of you. Tell them you are willing to pay your own way if they do not agree with your requests. I would even suggest activities/restaurants for your parents to do for their own date nights.
I have been married for 14 years and my husband still does not feel comfortable sleeping in the same hotel room as my mom. Even though we haven't always been given adjoining rooms by Disney, we have always been on the same floor.
Trust me you will like the space from each other. You will not feel too split up. It's only for sleeping, showering, and family "time out" periods that may be necessary after spending all your time together.
No matter what the relationship is between your boyfriend and your parents, I'm sure he will appreciate the privacy.

 

[kamr211]

Last year I had planned a trip with just my husband and daughter. In the past we always visited the World with extended family, grandparents, aunts, cousins, etc. We were really looking forward to it being the three of us and letting my daughter do some of the Princess things she has never done because we were always travelling with hoards of boys.

Two months before the trip my mother asked if she could come. Then she unexpectedly was taking care of two of my nephews. She then asked if she could bring the boys.

I had a honest conversation with her saying that while we would love the company there were plans and ADRS that we weren't going to cancel and couldn't add guests to due to no availability. (Breakfast at Cinderella's castle for example). We also told her it was my daughters wish to stay at AOA in the Little Mermaid section and it took me months to score a room. I knew the theming wouldn't be the boys' pick.

She got her own room for her and the boys,( they didn't think it was too girly), we went to Cinderella's without them, and there were a few hours each day that the group would split up based upon attraction wish lists. We never felt split up. We shared most meals together, took afternoon breaks together at the pool, and had a great time!

 

[lunchbox1175]

I 100% agree with @kamr211 make sure you have the "ground rules" set ahead of time. I had a few occasions where my wife and I were going on a vacation when we were dating, and her parents made the same offer, we obviously were excited about the prospect of not having to pay as much for our vacation, but at the same time, I made it abundantly clear that I was on vacation to spend with her and not all of my time with her parents. Vacation time is something that I treasure, as I don't get as many days off per year as my wife does, so when we go on vacation together, its because I want to spend some alone time with her. Don't get me wrong, we still spend time with her family, and I enjoy that time as well because I like her family, but my vacation is my time off, and I want to do what I want to do because its the only time that I get. Either way, it sounds like you are going to get to go on a great WDW vacation and I am very happy for you.

 

[MichelleMaBelle]

Thanks everyone! I definitely will have to set some ground rules that we'd like to have some dates and alone time. I want to spend time as a family too, so it should be a nice balance!

Any recommendations for young couple activities? We're 24 and 27, not really looking for anything super fancy or expensive.

 

[Gurt]

Very simular happen to me last year, me and my mum had already been planning the trip for a while (knowing it would take a couple of years to save up) and she paid for me, when I met my boyfriend, we had been together a year when we booked, 2 years by the time we went it and was amazing to be in Disney with both my mum and boyfriend but by the end of the 2 weeks my words were, 'I will never go on another holiday with my mum' we stayed in a villa at OKW which was great for space and having 2 seperate bedrooms whilst all still being together in the same villa, but it also meant 24 hours a day with my mum (bar sleep), same villa, same parks everyday, same places to eat every day, I love my mum to bits but bless her she didn't get that me and my BF wanted a hour to ourselves some of the time, we had terrential rain one day that kept us in the villa all afternoon, when the rain stopped me and Chris suggested we would go and grab us some sandwich's, littrally just so we could go and grab a beer on our own, nope no matter how much I stressed we would go on our own she didn't get it and came with us. All in all it was an amazing trip and I wouldn't swap it for the world and would do it again in a heartbeat, but I do wish me and Chis could of got a few special moments on our own as financially it will be a long time (10 years at least) before we can go again. So I would definatley set some ground rules before you go but you could turn it into a really fun family planning night before you go, get some great food on the go have some Diney park music on in the background and let everyone have their say at what they want to do and you may find that something you are you boyfriend want to do together has no intrest what so ever for your parents anyway, so you get your alone time and no one is offended! What ever happens you will have a great trip I am sure

 

[PrincessNelly_NJ]

Thanks everyone! I definitely will have to set some ground rules that we'd like to have some dates and alone time. I want to spend time as a family too, so it should be a nice balance!

Any recommendations for young couple activities? We're 24 and 27, not really looking for anything super fancy or expensive.

My Dfi and I are 23 & 25 and we enjoy simple things like... mini golf, bowling, DTD movie theater or renting a boat. We always eat at atleast one or two signature restaurants. We like the water parks and just relaxing at the pool late at night.

 

[Weather_Lady]

Definitely get separate rooms....at least for the benefit and privacy of your boyfriend. I cannot imagine sleeping with my boyfriend in the same room with my parents. That being said....you can find time to be alone: dinners, attractions etc. Just explain this to your parents before you leave so ground rules are set. One of the most romantic restaurants, I think, is Jiko and the food is incredible Also, Artist Point is very romantic. Have a Magical Time!

Boy am I old-fashioned. I assumed she meant a separate room for the boyfriend, and another for her and her parents...

...but as another poster said, if the parents are paying, the arrangements are ultimately up to them. I'd suggest calling a family meeting ASAP to make sure everyone is "on the same page" before proceeding further. If everyone is in agreement about things like sleeping arrangements and the proportion of time they plan to spend together, great! Make some "group ADRs" and "couple ADRs" and go from there...

FWIW, when my sister and BIL and DH and I were newlyweds, we went to WDW with my parents, and it was amazing. Mom and Dad and DH and I got connecting rooms at Coronado Springs, as we're all morning people who like to hang out over coffee, and DH and I didn't mind a week of keeping our, ahem, marital relations on the quiet side. My sister and BIL are more private, and opted for the building next door to ours. We generally designated the first part of the day as a "free for all," with people splitting up as they desired and going where they wished. We'd rendezvous each day for either lunch or dinner, and spend the late afternoon and evening touring as a group. At the end of the day, we'd compare notes to figure out who-was-going-where the next morning so we were all "in the loop." It was the perfect amount of togetherness and the perfect amount of independence for us: everyone got to do everything they wanted, but we also got lots of quality time together. That vacation remains one of the all-time best I've ever been on, and because my mother died two years ago, it's something we'll never be able to repeat.

 

[cw1982]

Thanks everyone! I definitely will have to set some ground rules that we'd like to have some dates and alone time. I want to spend time as a family too, so it should be a nice balance!

Any recommendations for young couple activities? We're 24 and 27, not really looking for anything super fancy or expensive.

I'd be very careful about going into this with "ground rules" for something that someone else is funding. Maybe it would be more appropriate to have a wish list of sorts that would be the things that you want to make sure would be acceptable in their minds, since they are paying? Calling it "rules" implies that you have more authority in this situation than you should reasonably have, since you're not paying.

I don't mean that in a condescending way... just trying to save you a huge headache, as I can tell you how that would go over in my family lol.

 

[MichelleMaBelle]

I'd be very careful about going into this with "ground rules" for something that someone else is funding. Maybe it would be more appropriate to have a wish list of sorts that would be the things that you want to make sure would be acceptable in their minds, since they are paying? Calling it "rules" implies that you have more authority in this situation than you should reasonably have, since you're not paying.

I don't mean that in a condescending way... just trying to save you a huge headache, as I can tell you how that would go over in my family lol.

Haha no I understand! I'm also a spoiled only child who usually takes the reigns when it comes to Disney planning, soooo my parents aren't new to me taking charge of the vacation. They like to just go along and I haven't failed them yet by planning a fun trip!