Anyone lie to friends and family about availability?

[WALTSAGOD]

My answer would have been (and has been)..."I'm so sorry, but I already have my travel plans made, and that is when we are going. Would you like me to cancel your room?"

I'm with you on this one, if Brother is going with you as your guest, he should be thankful for anytyhing and everything.

Pick what is best for you and your immediate family and others can come or not at their choice.

 

[Kewz1]

My answer would have been (and has been)..."I'm so sorry, but I already have my travel plans made, and that is when we are going. Would you like me to cancel your room?"

Ding ding ding! We have a winnner! Fortunately, my family and friends have never done anything like that -- yet. But that's also why they get invited back. It would have to be a very serious reason for me to consider changing my vacation plans.

Kristen

 

[RLRDA]

I know I will get some flack for this but I think this even applies to school (in the lower grades). We pull our daughter out of school for trips and get her school work beforehand. Now I DO NOT advocate this for a child that is strugling in School. However it works for us. Family time should be paramount above all else IMHO.

You won't get any flack from me!! This week is April vacation week here in RI but we are heading down to WDW 3 weeks from now! The teachers in our school district won't even send work home beforehand (at least that's the policy and I haven't had a teacher do it yet). Our oldest two are in 5th and 3rd so I don't see the problem - they're both decent students and haven't missed many days due to illness.

OP-- your post killed me It really has gotten out of hand with all the extra activities that children participate in today. I think parents have good intentions that go haywire sometimes.

 

[christianweecare]

I just had a somewhat similar situation happen to me at work. DH & I have had our May VB ressies since last Oct. I received an email at work that I had a conference during the week of our vacation. Long story short--this same conference has already been scheduled and cancelled twice before. I went straight to my boss and told him about my plans and about the conference (that has already been cancelled twice). My boss told me to enjoy my vacation!

I would really be ticked off to cancel my vacation plans and have the conference cancelled for a third time!

 

[BroganMc]

OP, my brother and SIL are lot like that. I and my parents both have said for years they were overscheduling the kids. The big kicker for me is the swim league they have them in over the summer. The kids came to my house for a sleepover and raved about it because they didn't have to get up at 7am during summer vacation. They do that every day July - August, up at 7am for practice and then all day Saturday in meets. And my SIL signed the kids up just so they could "get some summer swim time". I don't know why she didn't just join the Y or a community pool.

Now she wants me to turn my October family vacation invite into a week over the summer (June '08) when school's out. The crowds this past week have really made me question whether I want to go through with it.

There's no problem with your white lie. My mom did it once when my brother wanted me to reschedule a family adult night out to see Phantom of the Opera (cost us over $1000 for all the tickets) just so he and his wife could see a Jimmy Buffett concert. I had already jumped enough hoops getting a block of seats, including handicapped seats, over the weekend. My mom just told him no changes and she "hoped" he could make it.

 

[cjs123123]

 

[Liljam]

My BIL and his family can't (or won't) go any time but during the summer months because SIL is a teacher. Up until I had our son 2 months ago, MIL and I got along great but now, not so much! MIL knows about our upcoming vacation and they were ALL invited 11 months ago when I booked, and they turned us down because they wanted to go when the twins could go (BIlLs kids.) Well, now MIL keeps suggesting that we can all go next summer and she has also told me FIL would love to go to Branson and wants to know how to use points outside of WDW. They have no intentions of buying thier own so I just finally told her that if they want to vacation with us, they have to go when we can best use our points for our stay and that it would be a cheaper time for them to get a cash ressie in a close by resort because we just can't afford to share our points! I REFUSE to spend a week with MIL and family after all the control issues over my son! (They even got thrown out of the hospital for toe stepping!!!) So that's my lie - we have plenty of points and my family members are joining us in 2 weeks for a week in a GV! I could manage to book for DH's side too, but no thanks, not where I go to get RID of my problems! I do feel bad for not wanting to book a trip for all of my DH family because years ago, they were so nice to me, but MIL has said some things to me that I just can't get past now!

 

[kitsch4]

"...And you know what? He <stinks> at soccer; I've been to his games. He'll spend most of the time on the bench. Then when he gets in, he'll run around not knowing what he's doing, trying not to run into a bunch of other kids who don't know what they are doing either..."

Dang!

 

[WALTSAGOD]

Well, now MIL keeps suggesting that we can all go next summer and she has also told me FIL would love to go to Branson and wants to know how to use points outside of WDW.




WAIT, WAIT, WAIT,....MIL wants to know how to use YOUR DVC points outside of Disney?!

Please tell me thats not whats happening!

 

[mello]

The marginalization of the family vacation is a BIG pet peeve of mine. The fondest memories I have a a child are spending vacations with my family. In my opinion All other activities should come second. This kid will remember this vacation his whole life, I doubt he will remember this one game.

I know I will get some flack for this but I think this even applies to school (in the lower grades). We pull our daughter out of school for trips and get her school work beforehand. Now I DO NOT advocate this for a child that is strugling in School. However it works for us. Family time should be paramount above all else IMHO.

You are so right.

 

[bunkkinsmom]

Originally Posted by dwelty
The marginalization of the family vacation is a BIG pet peeve of mine. The fondest memories I have a a child are spending vacations with my family. In my opinion All other activities should come second. This kid will remember this vacation his whole life, I doubt he will remember this one game.

I know I will get some flack for this but I think this even applies to school (in the lower grades). We pull our daughter out of school for trips and get her school work beforehand. Now I DO NOT advocate this for a child that is strugling in School. However it works for us. Family time should be paramount above all else IMHO.

I don't know how to make the little "quote" box, so I copied. Sorry if that is a faux pas. Anywho, I don't know that I could possible agree more with dwelty. We are taking our kids (DD 5, DS 3, DD 1.5) to The World in January and my family have all said "What about school? Why not go over Christmas break or in the summer?"

My normal answer is "A. School, schmool. I grew up at Disney and my kids will too. Family time is more important than ANY OTHER time. B. Do you have any idea how cheap January is at WDW? We can stay twice as long, and miss twice as much school!"

As far as kids being "overbooked", I think people have too much time on their hands. I am a coffee shop manager (What a cool job, right?) and my DH owns his own business. I have a hard enough time getting DD5 to her Kenpo classes twice a week!!!

 

[FLYNZ4]

my brother wanted me to reschedule a family adult night out to see Phantom of the Opera (cost us over $1000 for all the tickets) just so he and his wife could see a Jimmy Buffett concert.

Oh man...

I would cancel a WDW trip to see a Jimmy Buffett concert.

/Jim (a parrothead wanna-be)

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

I totally agree. In the initial planning stages with family we consider (only generally) what everyone is doing. Our own children love sports and often are very busy, but we still go. In fact, we are at WDW next week. We didn't watch schedules and now our 16 yo son will miss 7 lacrosse games. My first reaction is how possibly can there be so many games !!!!! I am glad we are missing it !! We asked him if he wanted to stay behind. He didn't take any time to think, he is coming with us. Life will go on here at home and he will have a great vacation.

Before long the kids will be off on their own and busier with life, we make these times a priority.

 

[Deb & Bill]

...I don't know how to make the little "quote" box, so I copied. ...

If you want to quote a specific thread, just click on the QUOTE box at the bottom right hand corner of the thread. If you want to quote multiple threads, click on the "+ box right next to the quote box and click on QUOTE for the last quote.

If you want to quote something from somewhere else, you can just paste it and click on the little balloon at the top of the line where you enter your post. Then copy your text in between the two quote boxes.

 

[Brenle]

OP, your question was anyone lie to family and friends about availability?

How about - I haven't even told them I'm a member - since 2006. Must've slipped my mind.

 

[kapeman]

What happened to being grateful?

"Here, have a free place to stay at WDW."

"No, I have some minor, insignificant event that I will miss. Can you reschedule your 11 month reservations for this?"


Some people...

 

[kimberh]

This is why I don't invite Little Timmy! Good Luck with the rest of your trip.

 

[jjbescher]

Since they are my points and MY Vacation, the dates are when I can go. Now, if I am planning a vacation and I am flexible, I will ask who ever I am planning the trip with. Once we have decided on dates I need to get the dates off work and the swim team that I coach.

So the people know that the dates can not change.

jon

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree that if you are giving them free lodging, then they had better go your dates. We occationally invite people where we arrange the trip time around their schedule, but once that ressie is made at the 11 month window, it will NOT be changing. For example, DBIL and his family are going to be doing a trip with us next year. We looked at their school schedule and suggested a couple of times based on that. They nixed one because they knew their DS would have a senior band event that week. No problem, we just reserved for the other date, and it was THIER choice, so I'd expect them to stand by it. I know they will too, because they also know we only will book at the 11 month window. I have agreed to TRY to change to AKV at the 7 month window, but will only do that all at one time at the 7 month checkout date. I wont be calling day by day, because I don't want to have to run the risk of moving with this whole group.

I think a lot of the problem can be avoided by giving guests a detailed account of what must be done when to secure the reservation. None of our guests have ever questionted that, because they KNOW if they back out, it's the last time!

 

[crisi]

I don't care about the marginalization of the family vacation. Its their family, if soccer practice is more important than vacation for them, that is the values their family holds, and I actually don't see any issue there. Different than mine, but not wrong. And I can admire a family that says "you made a committment to be at soccer every week, you will be there every week." That's one of the reasons we don't make those committments.

I do care about someone who is so rude that they think a new committment should override an existing one. There have to be extenuating circumstances ("my sister scheduled her wedding that week" "oh, Sue will still be exhausted from chemo, can we postpone a few months") for that to be OK. Sports events are not extenuating.