Heading to WDW today

[mom2d&b]

Mixed emotions as were get ready to visit the world today. It is not the funnest (is that a word?) trip since it is with all the inlaws. 16 of us and it is ALWAYS an event. MIL insists we all do everything together. Thankfully it is only 2 nights. MIL is a late sleeper so the kids all get frustrated that we do not get to the park till almost lunchg time. No changing things because MIL pays for the park tix and 1 night in the hotel as our Christmas present. Oh yeah, there is no plan as far as what direction to head when we get to the park. Left right, .....it is just "wing it". Many years we have done a lot of zig zaging. Pirates, then Buz, then Big Thunder, then tea cups, next Haunted Mansion, etc. I spend quite a bit of time talking to my kids about just dealing with the trip. Thankfully we only live a couple of hours away and have the opportunity to visit the park a few times a year without the inlaws.


And before we get on the road, I need to head to the Girl Scout cookie warehouse to pick up cookies for the cookie sale.

 

[Mermaid02]

Mixed emotions as were get ready to visit the world today. It is not the funnest (is that a word?) trip since it is with all the inlaws. 16 of us and it is ALWAYS an event. MIL insists we all do everything together. Thankfully it is only 2 nights. MIL is a late sleeper so the kids all get frustrated that we do not get to the park till almost lunchg time. No changing things because MIL pays for the park tix and 1 night in the hotel as our Christmas present. Oh yeah, there is no plan as far as what direction to head when we get to the park. Left right, .....it is just "wing it". Many years we have done a lot of zig zaging. Pirates, then Buz, then Big Thunder, then tea cups, next Haunted Mansion, etc. I spend quite a bit of time talking to my kids about just dealing with the trip. Thankfully we only live a couple of hours away and have the opportunity to visit the park a few times a year without the inlaws.


And before we get on the road, I need to head to the Girl Scout cookie warehouse to pick up cookies for the cookie sale.

I don't care who's paying- no way would I waste half a day waiting for the Queen to get up. I would tell her to call us when she was heading to the park and we'd meet her.

 

[anniemae]

No way would I wait either!! Unless of course she keeps the tickets with her, then you are kind of her hostage!!! I say get her to give you your tickets and meet her for lunch at noon, after you have done half the park!

 

[mom2d&b]

This is the 12th year of my frustration. I have learned to live with it. I also have pointed out to my kids how much better it is to "do Disney our way". I have used this trip to point out how disfunctional the inlaws really are. It may be mean but...... Just this year DH is admitting how messed up his family really is. He is a slow learner. In the past we woudl have to wait for the rest of the family to arrive on Friday night to decide on dinner plans. This year he hs told them we will be going to Celebration for pizza and they are welcome to join us. If not, they are on their own. My bets say we will enjoy our dinner with no extra people as they probaly will not arrive till after dinner time. No need for us to wait till 9ish to make sure no one is offended.

 

[bellebud]

yea, depending on how she holds the tickets, you might be stuck waiting for her. If she's paying, you're kind of obligated to do things 'her way', or dh can try to handle it w/ his mom.

Try to smile, and make the most of the morning... how about a morning swim w/ the kids while waiting for MIL to wake up? I bet they'd love that. Or hit the arcade w/ the kids? Or just stroll the grounds looking for bunnies and lizards? Just keep telling yourself and the kids that this isn't "your real trip"... it's a present from Grandma and it's a "grandma trip" - it's about making her happy, which might mean lots of zig-zagging, not getting on as many rides as you normally would, etc. You can make an inside joke with the kids (well, we got on 3 rides today on our Grandma trip! pretty good, huh?) Take this trip at Grandmas pace and take the opportunity to smell the roses and just enjoy each other while you're at WDW, as opposed to enjoying WDW, knim? Let it be your yearly "slow" trip.

If you resign yourself to that fact instead of thinking "we would normally be doing this and that right now", it's helps emotionally to not get annoyed.

Good luck and try to have fun in a different way.

 

[Mermaid02]

Grandma is a control freak and I'm sorry but I would not put up with it.

If I lived 2 hours from WDW I would have annual passes!

 

[FINFAN]

well, since it is 20 below wind chill outside my door right now, I'd deal with her for the chance to be at WDW and warmth!
I feel for you tho, fortunately you are able to do it the way that works for your family as you are so close!

 

[cepmom]

that would drive me nuts! My SIL suggested we all take a trip to WDW for the inlaws anniversary and I cringed. there's 29 of us and I know for a fact that not everyone would want to do Disney "my" way (up early, hit parks for rope drop, maximize fastpass etc, etc)

My SIL went with just her immediate family a couple years ago and walked into every park 1/2 through the morning and couldn't get on any rides because the lines were all "too long"

This would be a case of "this is what we're doing, you may join us if you want but don't slow me down" lol

try to have fun anyway!

 

[Anna_Marie]

yea, depending on how she holds the tickets, you might be stuck waiting for her. If she's paying, you're kind of obligated to do things 'her way', or dh can try to handle it w/ his mom.

Try to smile, and make the most of the morning... how about a morning swim w/ the kids while waiting for MIL to wake up? I bet they'd love that. Or hit the arcade w/ the kids? Or just stroll the grounds looking for bunnies and lizards? Just keep telling yourself and the kids that this isn't "your real trip"... it's a present from Grandma and it's a "grandma trip" - it's about making her happy, which might mean lots of zig-zagging, not getting on as many rides as you normally would, etc. You can make an inside joke with the kids (well, we got on 3 rides today on our Grandma trip! pretty good, huh?) Take this trip at Grandmas pace and take the opportunity to smell the roses and just enjoy each other while you're at WDW, as opposed to enjoying WDW, knim? Let it be your yearly "slow" trip.

If you resign yourself to that fact instead of thinking "we would normally be doing this and that right now", it's helps emotionally to not get annoyed.

Good luck and try to have fun in a different way.

this is good advice. try to make the best of it.

 

[Hoodie]

My last trip with family was like this. Aunt, Uncle, cousins and grandma...and no plan, no ADRs, and getting them up in the morning was like pulling teeth. It drove my grandmother and I nuts! Oh - and this was July so also brutally hot and humid and crowded! My aunt was constantly shocked that we couldn't walk into any restaurant at dinnertime and ask for a table for 7.

I just let a lot of it go...and promptly planned my next trip with my then BF instead. That was MUCH more relaxed.

 

[mom2d&b]

It is comforting to know I am not the only one who goes thru this. We all stay together the whole time in the park. No coordinating at all. If one has to pee, then we all wait, then move on for soemone to grab a drink, maybe a rind, then someone else has to pee, another ride, now maybe someone wants popcorn, another pee stop, then someone else wants a snack. AHHHHH. Opps, I forgot to mention smoke stops for MIL. I think I may need to pack some more alcohol.

 

[rie'smom]

This is the 12th year of my frustration. I have learned to live with it. I also have pointed out to my kids how much better it is to "do Disney our way". I have used this trip to point out how disfunctional the inlaws really are. It may be mean but...... Just this year DH is admitting how messed up his family really is. He is a slow learner. In the past we woudl have to wait for the rest of the family to arrive on Friday night to decide on dinner plans. This year he hs told them we will be going to Celebration for pizza and they are welcome to join us. If not, they are on their own. My bets say we will enjoy our dinner with no extra people as they probaly will not arrive till after dinner time. No need for us to wait till 9ish to make sure no one is offended.

While I understand your frustration, I hope you're just pointing this out to your husband and not to your kids.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Why not, for next year, plan to be there at the same time but politely decline her "gift". You'll get more done and be happier.

 

[castleview]

Maybe now is a good time to point out to the kids that you don't have to deal with dysfunction if you don't want to. Personally, my family was quite dysfunctional growing up and I just don't have time for it anymore.

 

[DVCLiz]

While I understand your frustration, I hope you're just pointing this out to your husband and not to your kids.

Why not discuss this with the kids? If they are having to tolerate it they should know their mother finds it frustrating. Of course they should be told not to discuss it with anyone else but I don't see anything wrong with talking about it within the immediate family.

 

[tlbwriter]

While I understand your frustration, I hope you're just pointing this out to your husband and not to your kids.

I don't know... it might benefit the kids, in the long term, to gently point out that Grandma gets to make the rules for this trip because she pays for it (lesson learned: Grandma's gifts have strings attached, so if she offers to give you money or a large gift, ask yourself what she might want in return and don't accept her gift unless you're prepared to meet that expectation), and that people who are flexible are a lot more fun to be around (lesson learned: don't be like Grandma and you may find that people are willing to travel with you even if you don't pay for them), etc. You don't have to be rude or insulting, just use it as a very subtle teachable moment.

 

[pearlieq]

If it's only 2 nights and it's not costing you anything, enjoy what you can about it and just leave the rest. You'll take your own trips later. There's no need to get caught up in whose way is "better". You have a great opportunity to teach your kids how to go with the flow and make lemonade out of lemons.

However, if it is costing you anything, maybe now's the time to start talking about declining next year. Or send your DH and the kids and take the weekend as "me time". It's his family. No reason you should be forced to be annoyed as some kind of annual ritual.

 

[bellebud]

I don't think it's bad to point out to the kids that these trips with grandma are different because this is simply how grandma is.

My kids see huge differences in different family members, and sometimes they get their feelings hurt by some, so we absolutely talk about how some of the grandparents (we have divorces on both sides, so quite a few grandparents) show their love in very different ways, or are simply just a pain in the butt sometimes (as we all can be to other people at times.... which I always remind my kids of when we have to have these types of discussions). So yes, these disney trips w/ grandma might be a pain in the butt to you guys, and I don't think it's *horrible* to talk with your kids about it. Saying "look guys - this is just how grandma is - we can either suck it up and go and make the best of it, or decline the trip"... and if it's THAT bad, I would decline the trip... but it doesn't sound so bad to me at this point.

 

[wvjules]

This is the 12th year of my frustration. I have learned to live with it. I also have pointed out to my kids how much better it is to "do Disney our way". I have used this trip to point out how disfunctional the inlaws really are. It may be mean but...... Just this year DH is admitting how messed up his family really is. He is a slow learner. In the past we woudl have to wait for the rest of the family to arrive on Friday night to decide on dinner plans. This year he hs told them we will be going to Celebration for pizza and they are welcome to join us. If not, they are on their own. My bets say we will enjoy our dinner with no extra people as they probaly will not arrive till after dinner time. No need for us to wait till 9ish to make sure no one is offended.

Really?

 

[sbell111]

16 is too big of a herd for anyone to reasonably expect to stick together all day in the park. I would pick a park and make plans to meet up for lunch and dinner. Anyone that wanted to join my touring plan would be welcome to, but huge deviations from it wouldn't happen.

Also, for such a short trip to WDW, I'd save up the money to pay our own way before I let anyone use the 'gift' to hold my family hostage.

(It should be noted that I don't agree with the idea that it's cool to share my angst with my children, especially when it is directed at their grandparents. Issues that I have with my inlaws are dealt with directly by either myself or (preferably) my wife while the kids are not present. There is to be no passive aggressive bashing of the inlaws with or around the kids.)