Scaling Back :(

[boxerpup1]

Just trying to get everyone's take on my plans for next year. My family and I are going to Orlando from 8/18 to 8/31 of next year with half of the week doing U/IOA, DC, SW, KSC, and Cocoa Beach. The other half was going to be Disney at the Poly with the dining plan. After talking things over with my wife, we thought it would be a good idea to include my daughter's bf. The problem is that if we invite him, Poly is out the window. We came up with a plan B that has us staying at a rental home for the whole trip and still doing everything we originally set our minds on. The estimated cost doing a split stay from rental house/Poly with 5 people was around $15,000 total. The estimate for the rental house only with an extra person is around $11,000 to $12,000. Do you think I'm doing the right thing?

[DoctorK]

I guess it depends how much a part of your family the bf is, but going from Poly + dining plan to offsite + no dining plan is a big adjustment in park touring style.

[breezy2]

Big difference in price. Maybe the dining plan will be free at that time. It has been prior years, which would save you some. Can you have 5 in a room at the Poly? I don't know cause have never stayed there. If so free dining, might take your savings down enough to consider staying there.

[ceegibbs]

My standard answer is to check into renting points for a DVC. You can add the dining plan to that if you really want it.

We took my son's gf last summer and loved having two bathrooms at BLT and AKV. We split our stay as well. The guys slept in the living room and the girls ( me and Nevia) slept in the master bedroom. It all worked perfectly.

I will say a house is nice though! Check out Southbriar in member Deb's (Deb) signature. Lots of us have stayed here!

[bnoble]

going from Poly + dining plan to offsite + no dining plan is a big adjustment in park touring style.

I haven't stayed at Poly yet, but my onsite stays (OKW, VWL, and BWV) have not hugely different from my offsite ones---provided you have a close-in location. The dining plan needn't impact what you *do* at all, just how you pay for it.

Do look into the DVC rental option, to see if that might make sense. But, to me, $3,000-$4,000 is a pretty significant savings, and while staying on the monorail sure sounds nice, I'm not sure it's several-thousand-dollars-extra nice. I would not pay it. But, I also think that Disney's resorts are generally not good values, and I've never paid market rates to stay in one, so I may be more pessimistic than most. The important question isn't what *I* think, though, it is what *you* think in trading off the Poly's location vs. the house's savings and amenities.

[DoctorK]

Yeah, I wasn't looking at the dollar aspect of it - since OP seemed perfectly happy to spend the $15,000 for fewer people. I was thinking of the experience of waking up at the Poly, and hopping a monorail to two of the four parks, vs. having to drive everywhere.

If you throw the cost into it, then to me it's a no brainer - save the several thousand dollars.

[lisapennie]

My one question would be, if you change your plans, how would you feel if the daughter and the BF broke up? A year is a long time, and while they might be very serious, break-ups do happen. If you wouldn't care either way and would be fine with the house, I'd go with that option. If, however, you'd regret that choice, I might think about it a bit more before committing to the house.

[guff]

I may just be a giant $#%^ but I wouldn't alter my plans to accommodate one of my children's significant others. Either A. they are too young to be of any sustained significance or B. they're old enough to pay for themselves.

To paraphrase a great philospher... if you wanna trip you better put a ring on it

[ceegibbs]

I may just be a giant $#%^ but I wouldn't alter my plans to accommodate one of my children's significant others. Either A. they are too young to be of any sustained significance or B. they're old enough to pay for themselves.

To paraphrase a great philospher... if you wanna trip you better put a ring on it

Our son is an only child and since we was 13 he has always taken a friend with him to WDW. Our son's gf trip was lots of fun! I was blessed with a bf's family taking me to Hawaii and Vegas and lots of places as a young adult. I enjoyed sharing the experience with my son's gf as they had shared their vacations with me. Embrace and have fun! B Noble has great family rules and goals .... but ours is "Don't waste fun!" Just a different way to ook at it.

[ceegibbs]

Oh and I need to add the guests have always bought their own airline ticket and park tickets We have paid for room and meals

[guff]

Inviting a child's significant other is one thing when there's room and it doesn't require a wholesale change of plans, but re-working family plans for someone who may not even be around when the trip happens is another thing. I don't think it is fair to other members of a group to change plans so one person can bring a friend.

[mdsd8700]

Inviting a child's significant other is one thing when there's room and it doesn't require a wholesale change of plans, but re-working family plans for someone who may not even be around when the trip happens is another thing. I don't think it is fair to other members of a group to change plans so one person can bring a friend.

I think I would have to agree with this. I think the only way I would alter my plans dramtically is if the significat other was someone that I had really come to care about and love as a member of the family. Then including them would just seem natural. If this is the case and you beleive they will still be together at the time of the trip and beyond, then I can see making such dramatic changes.

Overall I agree with Brian and it is what "you" really think is best. Everyone's situation is different. If in the end it really seems like what feels right for you, make the change. Good Luck with your decision and enjoy your trip!