Grant us patience.....

[jpeka65844]

So, our large party is 2 wks away from arriving at BWV for the WDW Marathon! DH's 3 best friends, me, DS4, and our good friends from Atlanta are all meeting to cheer about 6 in our party on.

DH has been keeping all involved abreast of the situations; ALL the details (cost, itinerary, reservations, etc...). And all along, his 3 best friends have made fun of him for his overplanning. None of them have ever been so they have no idea what it's like! We do so we've made all the plans and they've agreed to just do what we tell them. So on Monday, he sent out to all the granddaddy of all planning spreadsheets with ALL our final info on it.

So...one friend FREAKS at the cost of everything and wants to back out. DH is a little mad b/c he's tried to tell this friend all along what things will cost. This friend has been out of regular work for awhile now and has been working a low-paying job to make ends meet. I understand that things might be tight for him. So DH and I offered to help him. It'll mean less spending money for us, but the trip wouldn't be the same without him. But he's being stubborn.

So, grant me patience with our friend. He's proud, doesn't want our help but he's a good friend and we'd never dream of leaving him behind.

I told DH it just comes with the territory of planning a trip with other people.....

 

[CarolAnnC]

We have had many stories here on the DVC Boards of members who try to take along friends and family with unfortunate results.

It seems that when people are asked for a monetary commitment from the start, they take the plans more seriously. I would advise taking cash deposits from anyone planning to travel (even if it means giving it back later on) to ensure they understand that DVC is not something you can book and cancel scot free later on.

Hope it all works out for you...

 

[CarolMN]

It must be very hard to be out of work - I applaud your friend for taking that low paying job to make ends meet while he looks for something better. I suspect he just didn't want to admit to anyone that he couldn't afford to go. Perhaps he kept thinking that his situation would get better before it came time to go. It didn't, and now he has no choice but to 'fess up. Not great for you, but understandable.

Try telling him you want to give yourselves a gift by including him in your trip - that his friendship means that much to you. Suggest that he can pay it forward when he is in a better spot financially if that will make it easier for him to accept.

Just keep in mind that he may not be able to afford to pay much of anything towards the trip without going into debt. That's a very tough situation to be in, especially if one is traveling with friends. Very few good people look forward to accepting financial help - it's embarrassing when you are so used to taking care of yourself.

Good luck - hope it works out. And best of luck to the runner!