Invite the friend or bring our only child?

[SandyinMonterey]

We have an only child too. She's 12, a young 12. We've been considering inviting a friend along. She has two close friends. And to be honest, I do prefer one over the other. It's just when she's around one of them, it just brings out bad behavior. She's much more "calmer" and well behaved with the other. What keeps going thru my mind is the huge responsibility. WDW is a big place, lots of ways to get lost and I'd be the first to admit I can be a little over protective but I'd always rather be safe than sorry. My cousin has an only child, too. They went on a beach vacation when her daughter was around 15 or 16. The girls were "mis-behaving", I don't know specifics but I do know once they snuck out. She couldn't take it anymore, said she wasn't going to be responsible and cut her vacation very short and went home.

 

[friedela]

I"m afraid of losing my own kids at Disney, I wouldn't have the guts to take someone else's kids personally. That's just me though!

 

[Danadanes]

If I could afford it I would do it. We are taking our family for my sons 8th birthday and considered taking his best bud (who is a family friend so I know parents well). We decided against it for $$ and because we are staying at kidani part of the trip, which doesn't sleep 5. (We also have a 14 yr old). If we were staying at a condo and had more room I wouldn't hesitate.

 

[Summer2018]

We have traveled to WDW with our daughter in a party of three several times. No issues.

When she was in high school, we brought her bff at the time with us to Cape Cod. The agreement was that her friend’s parents were supposed to provide her with food and spending money. They ended up just giving her spending money. We paid for all her meals because we had no choice. When we dropped her at home after vacation, we didn’t even get a “Thank You.” During the trip, her bff became moody and difficult at times. We all wish we didn’t bring her with us.
A year later her friend did something terrible to my daughter and now they aren’t friends anymore.
On our upcoming trip to WDW, my daughter (20) and a different friend will have their own room. They are paying for their room and dining plan. I’m covering their park tickets, hotels and food as we drive to and from Florida. We feel more comfortable with this young lady.
Hopefully this will all work out for all of us.

 

[Shanti]

Hello, we're doing 4 nights (3 park days) late this fall and are considering inviting our son's friend (they are both 7). We've done Disney w/ him several times and always as an only child. It's only a few hundred more to add on an extra child so I'm thinking about inviting my son's best friend.
He's a good kid and all in all they get along great. There is the little fussy fights a couple times a day but I think this is normal w/ little kids. (the friend feels very comfortable w/ his, we've taken him in several day trips)

My question is would you bother w/ bringing the other kid, just so your child can experience DW (as a child) with another child or do you think we'd (we being my spouse and I and our only child) would enjoy the trip more w/ just the 3 of us? (this other child has never been to DW, his family doesn't have the financial means for a trip like this)

Bring his friend. That would be a wonderful, memorable experience for both your son and his friend.

 

[Tattylou]

I am an only child. My cousin would come as my "friend" on our Disney trips. The 1st time we ever went, we were 7 and 6. Actually, I never went on a Disney vacation as a kid or a teen without her and I loved having her there with me. She is family though so she was super comfortable with my parents and had slept over my house just about every weekend growing up. So, I would probably do it if it was a close family member, but I agree with others that 7 is young to bring just a regular friend. My boys are 7 and 9. I would not bring a friend of theirs on a vacation at this age. So, I agree with others - too young (unless it was a super close family member). Day trips are way different than an entire Disney vacation. I would wait til he's older.

 

[stace1214]

I would be very hesitant to let my kids go on a trip at seven years old with another family. I am definitely a worrier though, if you are close with the friends parents, and they're comfortable, go for it! On our last trip we surprised our son and met up with his best friends family for a little while. That was the highlight of his trip. He just loved going on rides with his friend.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

We are a family of three and have gone to WDW together countless times (I think we have about 30 trips under our belts). The majority of those trips have just been me and DS (now 10). We have such a great time together and have our own family traditions in the parks. It's really a special time where we just focus in on being together as a family. That being said, as DS gets older, I would probably consider bringing a friend along at some point, but I would have been hesitant to do that at 7 years old. Honestly, that would have been too young for me to feel comfortable taking a child that wasn't my own. I would probably be more apt to do it starting around 12 or so. My first ever trip to WDW was when I was 9 and I went with my best friend's family (we took Amtrak all the way from PA). I did enjoy myself, but I felt a bit homesick, quite honestly.

 

[MaggieBags]

It's a very generous offer and I bet the boys would have a blast!

I would say yes, but not at age 7. I can't imagine letting my child go away with another family at that age. One night would be ok but not a big trip like Disney.

Have a wonderful trip!