Sister wants to come along!! What to do??

[WDWorBUST]

Okay - Our vacation is completely booked and ALL our ADR's made for September (yes during free dining). Now my sister wants to come along. Now granted - I want my sister to come, but our last two vacations have been with other people and I want to at least have part of this vacation alone just our family. So - my thoughts are she goes down with us and leaves early and just stays with us. Although it isn't ideal it will save her money and we can manage. However since everyone has to be on the same package she will have to have 10 day tickets too (no big deal pricewise) but the dining plan will be for the entire stay. Part of me says this is wrong - but I don't have any other option if she's going to "join" us. The other part of me is saying it really doesn't make a difference because she is paying the same amount whether she stays 5 nights or the 10 nights we are staying. I'm not going to make her get her own room....it's just me and DH and DD. I'm sure we might use some of her leftover meal credits but I'm betting we'll have some leftover too. Is this the way to do it? Do I have any other option really? Thanks!

 

[HayGan]

Well, you would have to get the dining plan for her for the entire time. I really don't see a problem with you and your DH using her leftover credits since they are fully paid for and you are all in the same party and everyone in the party is entitled to all of the credits.

You do have an option with your tickets. You can certainly downgrade all your tickets to 1 day MYW passes. Then when you arrive upgrade each ticket to what you need. We did this with our package in December as I saw no need to pay for all the extras 45 days in advance When you check-in you can change your passes right then and there! Saves you money and solves your ticket problem!

 

[SLM]

Are you staying for 10 days? In a hotel or DVC resort? Would it be less expensive for your sister to book a room herself, buy a ticket for less days, and pay for her own meals? Could you share some meals, or perhaps an apppetizer to help her out? It's nice of you to include her in your vacation-but sometimes we need time with our children and husband alone. You shouldn't feel guilty about that. Good luck in whatever you decide!

 

[WDWorBUST]

We are actually staying 10 nights/11 days at Pop Century. We get along fairly well and we don't spend much time in our room that we aren't sleeping so I don't think the cramped quarters for half the trip would be too bad....but there's no way I'd try it for longer. I thought about downgrading our tickets and then upgrading them once we got there - but the difference between the 5 and 10 day passes is negligible and I thought it might cost as much to upgrade at the "gate" price versus just paying the "advance" price. It may not matter now because I just called her and asked her if she was serious about going with us (my dd asked her if she was going with us and she said maybe instead of no - so she sounded serious) and she said yes - but how much would it be and I told her airfare and just us adding her to our plan and she said well maybe not then. (I guess it was more than she expected - but I thought it was cheap) She's going to think about it and let me know tomorrow....so until then I'm not going to worry anymore.

 

[KarlaG4Kids]

If she decides to go and stay a few less days than you and your family, use the opportunity of having extra credits to eat at a couple of places that require 2 credits, such as the really nice restaurants or the dinner shows. I would like to do that, but I want to make sure we make it to the end of our week without running out of credits. My dh is a BIG eater. I'm no slouch either! HA HA! Have a great time.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Or you could tell her "not this trip, maybe another".

 

[Cinderpals]

would you have any problem adding her to your ADRs. I'm facing the same dilemma since my niece and nephew may not be joining us in August. I already booked all of our ADRs and booked a room that would accomodate 5 instead of 3. I may change my ressie to POP or Value for 4 just in case. I would save $$.
It may just end up being my daughter and I again!

I would do the 1 day base tickets and upgrade when you get there. That way, your sister can get her ticket when she gets there for the number of days needed. You'll still have all of the dining credits to use up. That's the way it works out sometimes.

 

[WDWorBUST]

Well as nice as it would be to just be the three of us - I would really love my sister to go for "part" of the time. She's single and I know that when my parents were talking about their upcoming vacation she said something about where were they going that she might want to go too and my mom told her "nicely" that she wasn't invited. My parents are who went with us this past December and in September before that we went with friends. My mom watches DD so they take vacation at the same time and they went to Yellowstone then (in September) and my sister went with them. So for the same reasons I would be tempted to they told her no. We are going long enough that she could go for part of the time and have a good time and us still have some quality family time. I know it has to be hard not to have anyone to travel with really. So on one hand I'm really hoping she decides to go with us. I guess I'll have to call her later and see if she made a decision. I'm not sure about the ADR's - so far I've made some changes and have not had any problems - but that's one reason she needs to make up her mind sooner rather than later.

 

[dsnymomof4]

We have been to Disney 2 times with family members and 2 times without and all times were great. I understand why you would want it to be just the 3 of you. It really is a different experience when you're by yourselves. I also think it is very compassionate of you to want your sister to go as she has no one else to go with and I'm sure you will all have a great time. So, I think your solution is ideal. She will get to experience Disney with you, and you will also have that "family time" that is so important. I agree with the poster who said to get 1-day tickets and then upgrade when you get there. That way she will only have to pay for the days she's there. And you can use the extra dining credits for additional meals - maybe a dinner show. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful trip!

 

[LAWalz23]

I will come at this from the point of view of your sister as I am a sister in the same situation. While I have always gotten my own room, getting to go to WDW with my sister and her kids is truly a joy. Since I don't have kids of my own, I appreciate it very much that my sister "shares" her kids and their experiences with me. It was so neat to see their faces when they saw the characters and the castle for the first time in 2001 and last year when we surprised my niece when Ariel was at the Princess Storybook Dinner and my nephew talked with Crush at Turtle Talk. So I say, you have the perfect plan, letting sis come for 1/2 the time and just your family for 1/2 the time. This year I got a promotion at work and am treating sis and niece and nephew (twins,8) to 3 nights at AKL, doing the Sunrise Safari, and 2 nights at OKW, all with the dining plan.

 

[MinMouse]

I think it's great you are willing to include your sister. Part of the trip is great! Maybe she can babysit one evening and you and DH can use some of those extra dining credits at a restaurant that takes 2 TS credits. Hope you work it out and have a great time. We have done Disney with extended family and with immediate family only. Both have their own unique characteristics. We love sharing Disney with family and we enjoy it just being us doing exactly what we want. Sounds like this trip you could have the best of both worlds!

 

[WDWorBUST]

Thanks for all the great advice. As it turns out my sister has decided not to join us for financial reasons. I'm actually kind of bummed....but I'm sure there will be another opportunity for her to go with us at a later date. And it will be nice after taking a couple of vacations with family/friends to have this one just the three of us. Thanks again!!