UPDATE: WinkyTink and Family's Trip to DLR, August 2014...more of a vent. BEWARE! *Photos*

Well after months of spacing out, here I am to give a recap of our DLR trip - our first time as a family, and our kids' first time EVER!

We chose to make DLR the final stop on our ten-day vacation to California. Most of the time we had been in San Diego, staying with relatives. DH decided he didn't want to drive up the night before our planned day, so we got up early...and left later than anticipated.

We got stuck in traffic heading from San Diego to Anaheim. Then we arrived at the Anabella, which was BEAUTIFUL...but they were not prepared for us as they had assured us they would be. They couldn't find parking for our U-Haul. It took them an HOUR. We missed park opening. We still managed to keep on happy faces though. We surprised DD and DS at the entrance. DS was SO excited, but DD didn't even hear us - she was too busy finding fault with her brother :/ Needless to say we got off to a bumpy start...

My mother, who lives in San Diego, decided to meet us up there. With her husband (who is awesome) and his daughter and HER daughter (nice lady, cute kid). But my mom tried to shoehorn her hubby's granddaughter into photos with our kids and the characters, and we had literally JUST met this child an hour before. It was weird. It was uncomfortable. Before I knew it we were being dragged along like afterthoughts on THEIR outing. But they hadn't paid for our entry. We paid. We wanted our own experience and we were getting ignored. I asked my mom to take photos of us in the teacups...she didn't get a single shot. Used my camera to get better shots of husband's daughter and granddaughter. The heck?

After they dragged us to lunch at Village Haus (we had planned to go to the Golden Horseshoe) we finally said "Well, we would go see the parade but we have gotten way off track and we would rather go do some things we had on our itinerary." Things improved vastly from there as WE WERE ON OUR OWN! We saw tons of characters; indulged in Dole Whips (I've been dreaming of them ever since!); rode rides; got souvenirs for friends back home. When we met back up with family, my stepsister (I guess that is what she is for lack of a better word) and her daughter had to leave to go pick up her son from daycare (WHAT? Oh yes...they live only thirty minutes from DLR, go there all the time, which is why it was even more upsetting that their wants were addressed but ours went disrespected). So we asked my mom and her hubby if they wanted to watch the parade with us. Their response? They'd already watched one earlier. Yes we know. BUT my mom's ONLY grandchildren were there on their FIRST EVER Disney resort experience and they were very sad that she didn't want to watch the parade with them. So they left us to watch it without them, and then guiltily paid for dinner at Jolly Holiday (meh). Then they bought each child a gift from the Emporium and said goodbye before fireworks.

That wasn't the end of our trip, though. We stayed for fireworks and went back to the Anabella, where I swear we all had the best sleep of our lives. Amazing beds!

We DID have fun while on our own. I almost threw up on the Astro Orbiter. Oops. But the kids got the cutest classic mouse ears with their names embroidered on the back. The characters were INCREDIBLE. We predictably loved It's A Small World. Even DH, who was apprehensive about the trip to begin with (he's not an amusement park person) said we absolutely should go again. Maybe this time, however, he'll stick to my suggested plan and we won't tell anyone we are going

Maybe don't go with your relatives to DL next time? Sounds like they were a bit overbearing.

So sorry about the relatives. That is hard, especiallly since you had just met them . But the rest of the day sounds amazing!

Sorry you had some not-so-magical moments, but now you know for next time!! Your pictures are gorgeous!!!!

If someone told me that happened, I'd probably suggest they upgrade to 2 day tickets. I'd even offer to go down the next day, be a tour guide, FP runner and photographer and not go on a single ride. At least you broke away before it was too late.

VandVsmama said:

Maybe don't go with your relatives to DL next time? Sounds like they were a bit overbearing.

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I didn't go WITH them. They JOINED us there. WE paid for our tickets.

lovebug33 said:

So sorry about the relatives. That is hard, especiallly since you had just met them . But the rest of the day sounds amazing!

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It was mostly my mom TBH! She was forcing stuff on everyone...soooo awkward.

xlsm said:

Sorry you had some not-so-magical moments, but now you know for next time!! Your pictures are gorgeous!!!!

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Thank you!!

SMD said:

If someone told me that happened, I'd probably suggest they upgrade to 2 day tickets. I'd even offer to go down the next day, be a tour guide, FP runner and photographer and not go on a single ride. At least you broke away before it was too late.

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Ugh right? We are definitely planning on 2 day next time. We had planned on doing ONLY Magic Kingdom, no CA, and we missed a lot anyway due to the way the morning played out.

winkytink said:

I didn't go WITH them. They JOINED us there. WE paid for our tickets.

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Sorry! I didn't intend my reply to mean that I thought that your other family members paid for your tickets. I would have been pretty upset if I'd been in your shoes. I think that when locals (i.e., people who live within a 1.5-2 hr drive of DL) go to DL with friends/relatives who have travelled a great distance to be at DL, then the out-of-towners should get to decide what attractions they want to go on, in which order, etc. OR you go your separate ways and arrange to meet up for a meal after a few hours. Or go on 1 or 2 rides together as a group and then split up.

I have thought about this a lot because eventually, we would like to go to DL with BIL, SIL, & their 2 kids (they are locals). But my BIL & SIL have a very different DL touring style than we do. Our family, like yours, has a limited amount of time to be there, so I plan ahead of time to take best advantage of the time we have. My BIL & SIL tend to stand in the middle of Main Street studying the map for 10 minutes while they decide what to go on next...while all the ride queues are getting longer. And then they complain about the long lines and the crowds.

Sorry your day didn't turn out like you had hoped! There's always next time!

I'm impressed that you continued to try and make the best of it, despite the awkwardness imposed on you. Kudos to you. Glad that you were able to still have fun, even when you were dealing with disappointment from your mom.

Your pictures are gorgeous!

Those are some seriously happy smiles on your kids! Lovely photos!!

Sorry about your relatives. It's hard to travel in a group. We were a party of 12 in Europe two years ago and also found it tough to come to a consensus that everyone would be happy with. Some of the best memories are of the four of us on our own in Rome. Glad you had a good time!

wow. I am sorry for the bad start. Honestly here are only a few tips to make it better next time.
Skip the family time . You had 10 days in CA but only went to DL one day.
Next time go for 3+ days and get hoppers. Just your family if they want to meet up make a lunch date and then maybe one family ride and pic and then "sorry mom My kids come first" and off you go.

I would have dragged my hubby kicking and screaming the night before. Then you would have started off fresh. Any ways glade you had soem fun but next time please your family not the inlaws. I have had to learn to tell my mom "no I'm doing this you can come with or you can go back to the hotel or by your self. Most the time she let me drag her around and then she went back to my dad (who got sick and couldnt go to the park) but my mom did make sure she spent time with my son and got to do some fun things. even with my dad sick.

Sorry just sounds like your mom was very selfish and didn't care about you or your kids wants.

Pics look good

I would never allow anybody to infringe on my Disney park experience. My family and friends know that if they are going to join me at the parks, it's on MY terms. My system is proven, and everybody who has ever joined me and my partner has always had a great time. We don't rush through the parks, nor do we criss-cross repeatedly. We take our time, and see everything at a leisurely pace. It works like a charm.

The only time I've had someone with me who tried to be a downer, was when a friend joined me on a trip to WDW. He was more interested in watching football on TV. So I left him at the hotel, and I enjoyed the parks on my own. I'm not talking Super Bowl here. It was just a regular Sunday. Sorry, there aren't regular Sundays when you are on vacation.

I totally relate to what winkytink went through because we've done vacations with relatives before...went twice to Hawaii with my parents and the 1st time around it wasn't very much fun. Mostly because we were in each others' faces from sun up to sun down and never had any down time from each other.

From what I've read from other people's experiences here on these boards and my own experience going other places with extended family, here is my own "Top 10 List of How To Enjoy Disneyland With Extended Family:" Or should we call it "The Disneyland with Your Crazy Relatives Survival Guide?"

1. Don't stay in the same hotel room. Or guest room if you're renting a house nearby. Seriously. Sure these are your parents, precious Aunt Mabel, etc., but you haven't lived together in years and you all have your own ways of doing things in the morning. Some people are more human after their 1st cup of coffee.
   
2. Have a getaway car. In other words, a way to escape if you need it!
3. Decide between you & spouse/significant other what time YOUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY (immediate family does not include relatives, your parents, his/her parents, etc.) will arrive at the main gate and stick to that plan.
4. Tell your extended family about your plans and that you want to make the most of your time at DL and you'd love for them to be a part of it, but if they want to sleep in, that's fine...we'll meet up with you for lunch.
5. When you're all at the parks together and have an agreement to meet at a certain spot at a certain time, give them 5-10 minutes of leeway to be late and if they don't show up, continue on with your plans. They know how to use a telephone and they can call or text you if they're running late. My FIL used to show up (no joke) up to 4 hours late for stuff. All. The. Time. DH & I would just continue on as if he wasn't going to join us to do ___ and everyone ended up a lot happier in the end.
6. Follow Hydroguy's rule of making sure that everyone in your immediate family gets to go on the #1 ride of their choice. And if your Crazy Relatives don't want to go on those rides, then tough tamales, they can go sit at the French Market and eat a Mickey beignet or do something else.
7. Communicate frequently with Crazy Relatives in order to set expectations. Remind them again when you all arrive at DL and Crazy Relatives whine about not wanting to be tied down to a schedule, they just want to go with the flow, etc., especially if they live in southern CA and brag about how they get to go to DL all the time.
   
8. If possible, stay at a hotel within walking distance and take a midday break back at your hotel in order to get some down time away from the parks and away from Crazy Relatives. Lay down and take a short nap. Your brain & your psyche will need the rest. Have an alcoholic beverage to calm your nerves over hearing Crazy Relative brag for the 100th time about what a great eater her toddler is (while watching your kid eat chicken nuggets all day).
9. When going on rides together with Crazy Relatives, consider going for the longer rides that involve lots of loud music so you get about 10-15 minutes of them keeping their mouths shut & you enjoying DL. Think It's a Small World , Pirates of the Caribbean , and Haunted Mansion.
10. And last, but not least, look forward to your next trip to DL, in which you'll arrive at DL a couple of days ahead of your Crazy Relatives so you can tour the parks at your pace and how you want to before dealing with the horde of Missy Demandypants that sometimes appears to crop up amongst your Crazy Relatives.

I am so sorry part of your Disney experience was not what it should have been. I am glad you finally stepped away and did your own thing (your pics are cute!).

Travelling with a grandparent (or 2) can be amazing though! I have went with my Mom for every Disney trip I have ever been on (including the last 3 with my own family) and it was Amazing!! Granted we do spend a lot of time together (not unusual for her to be here at least 4 nights a week for supper) and yes my hubby loves her almost as much as I do. But she is pretty laid back and a go with the flow type. She is also our childrens only grandparent so the relationship is pretty special!

In fact we are planning 2017 and Gramma is not to sure she wants to come and we are pretty sad about it.

But on the other hand I would never, ever dream of going with my sister and her family, we just travel differently and I can see huge problems arising with it!

I got away with myself here, I think the point is next time just do you and your family....its a lot of $ not to have a fabulous time and be worried about other people!

Wishing you a magical time on your next Disney vacation!

Right there with you I would never again travel with my sister we don't get along well and on trips she would never listen to my plans.

Our last trip wasn't nearly as bad as your experience, but not having my parents on our next one will sure save us a lot of time! (they were sloth slow by day 2.....).

Thanks, vandvsmama! That is a helpful list. We are doing our first trip with the parents after the disastrous 2011 trip when we went with my bro's family and the parents and us. We wandered aimlessly because this was supposed to be all about my brother's family and we go quite often. I finally got upset because I hate wasting time. My parents will likely follow us around and do what we want, but we did ask if they have anything they want to do. My dad wants to see the "bird show" and my mom wants to see Aladdin. So at least we have a plan of what they want. And they are only coming for 2 out of 4 days.