OK I have a few questions regarding my mother, “grandma,” who is a FL resident and wants to join us on our January 2017 trip to wdw. First of my family is me, DH, DDS 8 and 4, and DS 1. We are on the DDP and we are staying in POR in a room with one of the pull down beds. So here are my questions.
- Can I add grandma to our room for a few nights or will we be over capacity (it sleeps 5 so does the baby count?).
- I currently have all the ADRs at the times and locations I wanted for my family of 5. Do I have to rebook to add her? If so and I could lose the ADR, could I just show up to the reservation with a +1 and get away with it?
- If she gets 2 day tickets (FL resident) can I link them to our account and sync fast passes? Will she have a MB?
- Lastly, am I supposed to pay for her way? What if she needs a room? What is the family etiquette?
TIA
When in doubt, go to the source! Disney room search for 3 adults, 2 kids plus infant gives your POR room type as a possibility.
As far as ADRs go, try to modify them to party of 6. If no availability, just show up with your party and go with “didn’t know we had to include infant when booking”. So many people ask if they have to include infants in ADR number I am sure it won’t be a problem.
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I agree with @cfunkak, but I want to add that I would think about what YOU want, regardless of the room rules. If it would be better for you to ask your mom to pay for an adjoining room, then I think it’s perfectly acceptable to do this.
I know it’s tricksy and you’ll have to be very diplomatic about it, but it sounds like you’ve already put a lot of effort into planning a trip that’s just right for your family of five. In my mind family etiquette demands that she do what is necessary to add herself to the vacation with the least disruption to your original plans and budget. She may not know how carefully planned and expensive a WDW trip is, and she won’t know unless you tell her.
Adding another adult to your room can be a huge help (babysitting!) or a huge complication (privacy!) depending on the personalities involved. If you are comfortable with that togetherness, you can probably make it work. But if it will result in just one of you getting less sleep, then it will affect your overall trip enjoyment. I’m sure your mom wouldn’t want that.
So my advice is to talk to her, and don’t be vague about things. Tell her the numbers and the realities. She might prefer to have an adjoining room with a sleep-over grand child in her second bed rather than sharing anyway.
As for the ADRs, I think you’ll be fine. Call and ask. I bet most will adjust from 5 to 6 very easily.
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From my understanding of the Dining Plan, if you add her to your room she will also have to pay for the dinning plan for the full length of your stay. So if she is only going to be there for part of the stay, it may be more cost effective to have her in another room depending on how long you will be there.
As for room occupancy the baby does not count. When you look at room occupancy descriptions they usually say that they accommodate X people, plus one child under age three in a crib.
I would call about your reservation line for ADRs and see if you can add 1 person to the existing ADR.
I’m not sure how FL resident tickets work, but if they are linked in your MDE account you will be able to make fast passes for her when your make yours.
This may depend on how she was invited to go with. We are going in February with my mother and both of my wife’s parents. I invited them by saying it will cost X amount if you want to go. If your mother invited herself, I would say she should pay.
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Ooo, yes. I forgot about the package scenario. If your room was booked as a package then everyone in the room has to have the same ticket and dining plan options.
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Just chiming in to say that IMO “family etiquette” is different for each family. My DH and I will be taking our first trip to WDW with out DD1 in December. We made it known that anyone was welcome to join us for the trip (both sets of grandparents, my sister, etc.) but that they would need to be in their own room and it would be at their own cost. We also laid out the plan clearly, saying that we plan our days carefully with FP’s, ADRs, etc. and that whomever decided to take the trip was welcome to join us in those plans or partake in their own plans. I made it clear from the outset that we would not be changing our plans. This is an expensive, time-consuming trip and for us it was ultimately my nuclear family’s vacation, our (my DH and I) chance to introduce something we love to our daughter.
I tend to be very direct so this was easy for me. Other families may find this offensive, so to each their own. I was also the person that told my DH on our honeymoon that if he wasn’t ready to catch the bus for RD on our honeymoon I was leaving without him!
Again, just my $.02. Go with what makes you comfortable.
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There is just no way I could stay in a room with 3 adults and 3 children anymore. (At 21 sure but not now). My family would all be fighting after 1 day and be resentful. I’d rather get adjoining rooms at Pop or somewhere else for a similar price. Adding 1 adult really does affect the configuration (1 bathroom!!!).
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