Have you ever gone on a Disney trip with friends?

[ronandannette]

Never been to Disney with friends but we have vacationed with several different groups; mostly on cruises and a couple of times to AIs. They certainly haven’t been our best trips ever but not disasters because we go in knowing we’re going to have to give-way to them and what they want, at least a few times, and end up missing out on some things we would do if we were on our own. We’re pretty easygoing and have never had any major conflict - we consider it just part of the “group experience” and take it for what it is. If we really want to have a stellar vacation, we go alone - period.

 

[Miffy]

It wasn't Disney but yes. I went on vacation with a friend who was WAY more well off than i was in my early 20s. Before we went on this trip I would say we were really close. I was working a full time job and on a really strict budget so I made sure I knew the prices for everything she had planned before we left because we were going to split it. Halfway through, without telling me, she decided to book us at several more expensive places and book tours that I could not afford. My jaw dropped when she told me and i think I burst into tears because I was like "I CANNOT afford this like I flat out cannot pay you, I have $30 in my bank account until my next paycheck and if I pay for this I cannot pay rent." She quickly offered to pay for it, but it put a lot of tension between us, as did when I ended up twisting my knee the day before we had a hike planned so she ditched me to do it herself while I sat at the hotel.

When we got back she was like "Let's go somewhere else next week!" and I was like "I have no money and I have to make sure I can get that time off from my job."

She was utterly and COMPLETELY perplexed at why I couldn't just go off on vacation whenever I wanted and who cares if I lose my job? I ended up telling her off in probably a not very nice way about how if I had rich parents who were just paying for me to go to grad school instead of living in the real world I'd be happy to go, but I didn't. So I couldn't.

She never spoke to me again.

I get this. I had a friend who invited me to dinner once with a group of her friends. I hadn't realized that she was actually wealthy and so were her friends. I was not. The restaurant was really expensive, I ordered only a tiny little not horribly expensive appetizer (no drinks) and when the bill came they split it evenly among everyone, including me. I was shocked, hadn't expected this, but paid anyway. I had basically no money to live on the following week and I never went out for a meal with her again.

 

[gmi3804]

most of us here have fantasies of sharing what we love with those we love, thinking how great it would be for everyone to enjoy it as much as we do. But if and when they don’t, or don’t have the desired reaction, it stings.

 

[wabbott]

Last fall we did WDW with another couple and it worked well. An old friend of mine married a widow who was/is a Disney fanatic. Randy was in his late 50s when they married 5 or 6 years ago, IIRC. He had never been to Disney, but went several times with her and her family after the marriage and became instantly hooked. He's an engineer and is fascinated with how it all works.

Anyway, over the past several years we talked about each other's trips, and last year I suggested we try to coordinate a trip together. His wife thought it a good idea, so we started planning.

We got together over a meal and decided which places to eat and which parks to visit, etc. They're DVC members, so we stayed in different hotels. They only booked 4 days, while we booked 8. On the four days we were together, we spent a good part of the day together, but not all, and dined one meal together each day.

It worked out quite nicely - my wife and Randy's wife Kathy got on well - and Randy & I have a lot of common interests. It was a little different than when it's just me and wife, but we made some good memories - so much so that we're contemplating doing the same thing thsi fall at DLR/DCA. Randy's never been there and Kathy hasn't been since 1976.

It probably helped that 3 of the 4 of us are DIS fanatics. My wife likes WDW/DLR/DCA, but she would not meet the definition of fanatic.