Family who are local wanting to “pop in” and visit for one day at the last minute

[princesslover]

So my brother and his spouse live in GA but are going to be in Florida (not Orlando) during the time we are at Disney.

We are there Dec 20-24. My brother says he wants to drive the two hours to see us in Orlando. The day he wants to do this we will be in Epcot. We have CP dining package at 4:00 and CP at 7:00. It’s me, my two daughters and my Mom. It’s my Mom’s first time at Disney and I think he wants to come and be a part of it,

I think it’s too much honestly but I don’t know how to say that. He can get a park reservation still. But we have to figure out meeting up, dealing with genie+, and there’s no way we’ll be able to dine together.

Has anyone attempted this? I really think last minute meet ups, the way Disney is now, is not a good idea. Thoughts?

 

[kymom79]

So my brother and his spouse live in GA but are going to be in Florida (not Orlando) during the time we are at Disney.

We are there Dec 20-24. My brother says he wants to drive the two hours to see us in Orlando. The day he wants to do this we will be in Epcot. We have CP dining package at 4:00 and CP at 7:00. It’s me, my two daughters and my Mom. It’s my Mom’s first time at Disney and I think he wants to come and be a part of it,

I think it’s too much honestly but I don’t know how to say that. He can get a park reservation still. But we have to figure out meeting up, dealing with genie+, and there’s no way we’ll be able to dine together.

Has anyone attempted this? I really think last minute meet ups, the way Disney is now, is not a good idea. Thoughts?

I do think your brother probably doesn't understand how difficult his plan will be. Most people who aren't familiar with current Disney practices don't get what a high-maintenance event a Disney visit is. Given the massive investment involved in a Disney vacation, I don't think you're obligated to alter your plans because of him -- but if you explain the situation, and he wants to take on the trouble of joining you without causing any upheaval to your schedule, that's his business.

 

[coasternut22]

You say fine. Buy your tickets and book your park reservation now. Link our accounts now. Venmo me some money for G+ (price unknown at this time, so say $30 per person). Meet us here before park opening otherwise you will have to hunt us down. You will go on what we go on in the order we choose it. You will not see us from 4-8pm. Oh, and it will be crowded AF.

Otherwise, say yeah, it's too much. I love having others go to Disney with me. But it's my party, my rules. I've had several people come with us on these terms and it went fantastic.

 

[Gabby01]

I agree with kymom79 and coasternut22. You have to set boundaries for your own sanity. Honestly I would probably just tell him no, flat-out. Like “I’m so sorry, we already have plans that can’t be changed, but I’d love you to join us next time and we will make sure to include you when we are making our reservations.”

 

[RoseGold]

I think it's sweet, even if they just get to watch the fireworks with your mom. It's not like you have to ride every ride together. You can mobile order some lunch or eat at some booths. I would try to set some expectations about crowd level and dinner plans.

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Depends on what your plans are before 4pm, which looks to be the time you guys would have to split up.

Are you rope-dropping and staying at the park all day? Then do what coasternut says. You can then meet up again after CP for the firweworks show.

Were you planning to take it easy and relax most of the day before your 4pm ADR? Then meeting up is probably easier.

In any event, I would tell him, politely, that WDW trips now take an extreme level of planning, and if he's fine with just "being along for the ride" on this day, then great. And, as others have said, make sure he knows it's going to be crazy-crowded!

 

[Marthasor]

I think as long as he understands you will be out-of-pocket for the dinner and CP and he is ok hanging out with you throughout the other parts of the day, it's workable. He just needs a ticket, a reservation, genie+ and be connected with you through MDE. Could he just drive to Epcot and text you once he is there to know where to meet you?

 

[HopperFan]

Question? Does he not see your Mom often and this is a great opportunity to do so? OR is he just trying to crash your day with her? Might affect how I handle the situation.

Agree with others, he buys ticket and makes reservation. He send you G+ money. He books his own dinner reservations and then you meet up after CP for Harmonious if planning to watch. Doable for sure as long as he understands you are out of pocket a few hours unless he secures the same exact package.

 

[princesslover]

You say fine. Buy your tickets and book your park reservation now. Link our accounts now. Venmo me some money for G+ (price unknown at this time, so say $30 per person). Meet us here before park opening otherwise you will have to hunt us down. You will go on what we go on in the order we choose it. You will not see us from 4-8pm. Oh, and it will be crowded AF.

Otherwise, say yeah, it's too much. I love having others go to Disney with me. But it's my party, my rules. I've had several people come with us on these terms and it went fantastic.

Yeah I think it’s too much personally.

 

[princesslover]

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the input. I just texted him this today. I tried to be graceful in sharing my doubts.
*******************************************************
So I was thinking more about what we were talking about in terms of you visiting us in Disney. I hope it can work out. That said, I want to make sure you know what you may be getting yourself into.

Disney requires an extreme level of advanced planning. I think we’ve discussed this before. We discussed the park tickets and park reservations. In terms of attractions I will be paying for something called Genie+ for the four of us that gets us onto rides faster. So if you were with us, and wanted to go on attractions, I’d have to link your tickets to my account and you could pay me extra for the Genie+. If you don’t think you want to go on attractions, you’d have to kind of just follow us around as we went on them. But in order for us to go together we need to link our tickets and get genie+.

As I mentioned, we have dinner reservations at 4:00 that is part of a package that gets us into the Candlelight Processional. Those packages are full, but there’s a possibility in someone could cancel. But you’d have to stalk the reservations.

Also, be aware that Disney is crazy crowded during Christmas. Wall to wall people.

All that to say, I’d love to see you. I just want to make sure you know what you are potentially getting yourself into. Had we thought about it sooner, I would have included you in all the plans but I know you didn’t know then.

If you still want to do it, under those circumstances, we can certainly make a plan. It’s just difficult to jump in late in the game.

 

[ars0525]

I think that was well explained. If he wants to come & spend gobs of money/time to maybe only have sporadic moments with you guys during the day than that's on him. I wouldn't alter your plans or go out of your way (like trying to find him a dinner reservation--let him do that if he wants) doing extra work.

 

[princesslover]

I think that was well explained. If he wants to come & spend gobs of money/time to maybe only have sporadic moments with you guys during the day than that's on him. I wouldn't alter your plans or go out of your way (like trying to find him a dinner reservation--let him do that if he wants) doing extra work.

It’s awful to say but I’m hoping he doesn’t. He did respond and say they may re-evaluate. I feel bad, but it is what it is.

 

[Gabby01]

It’s awful to say but I’m hoping he doesn’t. He did respond and say they may re-evaluate. I feel bad, but it is what it is.

Don’t feel bad! You haven’t done anything wrong! Honestly you were way more accommodating in your message to him than I would have been. I feel bad for *you* for being put in this awkward situation. He may be disappointed, but everybody feels a little disappointment now and then (especially when their expectations were unrealistic to begin with). He’ll get over it. ENJOY YOUR TRIP!

 

[kymom79]

Thanks everyone! Appreciate the input. I just texted him this today. I tried to be graceful in sharing my doubts.
*******************************************************
So I was thinking more about what we were talking about in terms of you visiting us in Disney. I hope it can work out. That said, I want to make sure you know what you may be getting yourself into.

Disney requires an extreme level of advanced planning. I think we’ve discussed this before. We discussed the park tickets and park reservations. In terms of attractions I will be paying for something called Genie+ for the four of us that gets us onto rides faster. So if you were with us, and wanted to go on attractions, I’d have to link your tickets to my account and you could pay me extra for the Genie+. If you don’t think you want to go on attractions, you’d have to kind of just follow us around as we went on them. But in order for us to go together we need to link our tickets and get genie+.

As I mentioned, we have dinner reservations at 4:00 that is part of a package that gets us into the Candlelight Processional. Those packages are full, but there’s a possibility in someone could cancel. But you’d have to stalk the reservations.

Also, be aware that Disney is crazy crowded during Christmas. Wall to wall people.

All that to say, I’d love to see you. I just want to make sure you know what you are potentially getting yourself into. Had we thought about it sooner, I would have included you in all the plans but I know you didn’t know then.

If you still want to do it, under those circumstances, we can certainly make a plan. It’s just difficult to jump in late in the game.

That's a very sweet response.

 

[Gymgal272#]

It looks like I’m in the minority here but I don’t know the background history between you and your brother. Honestly, I didn’t think it was a big deal to have him join you, your children and your Mom. If you really wanted to see him, it would definitely be workable. Again, I don’t know the history and am only responding to taking the situation at face value. As tactful as your email was, the bottom line is that he was not welcomed and he responded accordingly.

 

[princesslover]

It looks like I’m in the minority here but I don’t know the background history between you and your brother. Honestly, I didn’t think it was a big deal to have him join you, your children and your Mom. If you really wanted to see him, it would definitely be workable. Again, I don’t know the history and am only responding to taking the situation at face value. As tactful as your email was, the bottom line is that he was not welcomed and he responded accordingly.

Huh? What do you mean he was not welcomed and responded accordingly?

You are welcome to share your thoughts of course. But there is no hidden backstory between my brother and I and frankly that seems like an odd thing to say. I care about him enough to not want him to drive two hours without knowing what he is getting himself into. And yes, I’ve also put a lot of love and care into planning this trip and don’t really want to upend our plans. And I’m ok with saying that.

I do not fully understand what you are trying to get at.

 

[WalkingintheFog]

@princesslover, how did your trip go?