Help!!

[CruiseBoundnKY]

Ok...so we have been planning a family trip to WDW for MONTHS!! There are 4 families and 15 of us total.

It's a group of 4 brothers, their wives and children and grandparents.

Our final payment is due on 2/15. I have done MASSIVE amounts of planning, organizing, etc. for this. My DMIL paid everyones down payments for them and now...my DBIL #1 who's whole idea this was, is building a house that is going over budget and wants to back out. DBIL #2 just had unplanned baby boy number 3 and wants to back out too. Then I just lost my job this week.

AGH

Really?? All this work and months of planning down the drain???? My poor DMIL who has recently bought a treadmill to get in shape for Disney and planned to take off a day early to go down is heart broken.

I KNOW financially it would be hard for everyone to go, BUT part of me says...come on people, suck it up, you drive nice cars and carry nice purses and wear name brands...pay for the stinkin' vacation and let's go.

BUT part of me knows that it would make things tight, especially since I just lost my job.

So, do we scrap the whole idea? Or do we try to come up with something else shorter that everyone could afford? But wth to do??? We range in age from newborn to 60ish and for 15 of us. Where do you go to have a good family time other than Disney? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Please don't flame me because part of me still thinks we should go. I just know his parents are aging and my kids are the oldest of the cousins. There won't be too many more opportunities to make this happen.

 

[Marionnette]

Ok...so we have been planning a family trip to WDW for MONTHS!! There are 4 families and 15 of us total.

It's a group of 4 brothers, their wives and children and grandparents.

Our final payment is due on 2/15. I have done MASSIVE amounts of planning, organizing, etc. for this. My DMIL paid everyones down payments for them and now...my DBIL #1 who's whole idea this was, is building a house that is going over budget and wants to back out. DBIL #2 just had unplanned baby boy number 3 and wants to back out too. Then I just lost my job this week.

AGH

Really?? All this work and months of planning down the drain???? My poor DMIL who has recently bought a treadmill to get in shape for Disney and planned to take off a day early to go down is heart broken.

I KNOW financially it would be hard for everyone to go, BUT part of me says...come on people, suck it up, you drive nice cars and carry nice purses and wear name brands...pay for the stinkin' vacation and let's go.

BUT part of me knows that it would make things tight, especially since I just lost my job.

So, do we scrap the whole idea? Or do we try to come up with something else shorter that everyone could afford? But wth to do??? We range in age from newborn to 60ish and for 15 of us. Where do you go to have a good family time other than Disney? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Please don't flame me because part of me still thinks we should go. I just know his parents are aging and my kids are the oldest of the cousins. There won't be too many more opportunities to make this happen.

I'm sorry that so much has happened to make taking this trip so difficult. But it looks like the planets are aligning against it. I know it sucks to just chuck all that planning, but sometimes you have to read the signs. This grand gathering is not meant to be.

There are plenty of places that a large family group can go to for a nice trip. The Outer Banks comes to mind. Some of those houses are huge! They can certainly hold 15 people in a single home. And people of all ages like the beach!

Regardless, I wish you good luck with your job search. And best wishes to your brothers with their new house and baby. The have such happy reasons to postpone a trip to Disney!

 

[Joan S.]

Hi, I say try to go!! This trip is probably the BEST present you will ever give to your MIL and to your children. Maybe you could do a little more budget planning all together?? Or stay off sight?? Good Luck!! ( It is SO HARD to be the PLANNER.) Joan

 

[dougsmom98]

I am sorry that your trip might be falling apart. Obviously only you can make a decision for your family. That being said, it sounds like your two Brother in Laws have already made the decision for their families. I'm sure it wasn't easy for them to come to the conclusion that they can't afford to take their families anymore.

If you decide to go, it might be way less expensive for all of you to stay off site in a huge rental home, or two side by side rental homes. We stay in a pool home in Davenport, FL that sleeps 12 people for a little less than $1000 including all taxes, fees, and pool/spa heat. Even if you found a larger home that cost $2000-$2500 and split the cost among 3-4 families, that would be $700-$800/family. There are ways to have a nice vacation inexpensively, but you have to decide if you want to change your vision for this vacation and do things differently or if you would rather save your money and do it the way you have been dreaming of doing it later on down the road.

 

[PelletierBears]

Sorry to hear of your job loss!

Were you all planning to fly to Florida? Have airline tickets been purchased?

Where are you all booked to stay...onsite? There are certainly lower cost options available offsite (although not the same I know : ) (or value resort vs mod or deluxe, plan to eat mainly CS, etc)

Have any of the families been paying down the total or expected to pay it off by the deadline? If most of the cost has been paid I would still go and enjoy the vacation before the job hunt, house building etc.


Do the others know how disappointed your MIL will be if you have to cancel? It sounds like she was so looking forward to it.

Good luck whatever you do!

 

[hsmamato2]

yeah...those commercials are getting to you too,huh OP? 'only so much time left...'
The problem is,you started planning this trip so long ago,before ALL of your circumstances changed,that it felt like a 'done deal'.
But the reality is,they have changed- so you have to adapt. I understand not wanting to cancel, but without a job....really? I understand about the memories, but the reality is none of you are in a good position to go anymore. I think your mom would understand,and want her kids to do what's best for them.
This is one week at WDW, and not the rest of your lives.
There are manymanymany things you can all plan together that don't cost too much,and make good memories. I understand, b/c I can;t afford WDW right now,and I want to go too!
go camping, take a day trip,plan a huge family picnic,visit a local city and see the sites together.....WDW is not the only alternative,and all those plans can be held,and used later,when you can do it ,and still eat when you get home!

 

[hsmamato2]

I know for myself, we have a family camping trip planned, plus another camping trip with some friends,plus I'm thinking of driving to an interesting city when I get the chance (like NYC,or DC)
just calling each other up,going to a movie,hosting family dinner in my home,setting off fireworks in the snow(LOL) visiting a zoo-

 

[DisneyEater]

I would say if you want to salvage at least part of the trip for MIL, get together with the ones who dropped out and throw some ideas out to see if getting the cost down would help.

I don't know the details of your trip but things like....

What if we only went for 4 days?
What if we drove down?
What if we cancelled the dining plan?
What if we brought pop tarts and corn flakes to eat for breakfast?
No park hoppers
YES program tickets
offsite/value resort
what ever else you can think of

 

[Disney*Dreamer]

To be honest, I just lost my mom a month ago, so my advice is probably not the best to follow, because I am still emotional. That being said. I would try to go. I would give anything to go back and do more stuff with my mom that I didn't because of finances. You CANNOT get this time back, and things can change in the flash of an eye. I lost my mom very suddenly and unexpectidly, so I know how valueable time is.

 

[friend2Figment]

Would you be able to push the date to some time later this year? Also depending on if you were a planner and have a saftey net saved up for your everyday expenses. I would say try to crunch the numbers to see if you can make it happen with your family even if the other BILs do not go. It might be tight but keep your head up and stay strong.

My thought is also based off the fact that we never know what tomorrow brings as I lost my mom this past year and it was very unexpected. Granted she was almost 10 years older than your MIL but it was one trip I am glad I took lots of pics as my kids love to look at them and talk about grandma.

 

[mistysue]

I would try to find a way to get it to work.

I have to laugh when people "just had an unplanned baby" Did they have no idea she was pregnant? Obviously I know kids can be a big expense... unexpectedly getting pregnant changes your budget. It amuses me when people act like they had no idea the baby was coming. (it's very rare to not know you were pregnant)

 

[i*heart*minniemouse]

I agree with Disney*Dreamer, go. Life is short and you never know when or if this opportunity will present itself again to go as a family.
IMO, going anywhere else may lead to a lot of tension between family...who wants to go where to tour, eat, etc. With Disney...you are all close enough, yet there is so much to do together or separately....so easy to meet up without having to jump into 4 cars to get to where you are going.

 

[CruiseBoundnKY]

THANKS!!! I will keep you posted, but I am definitely leaning on the side of going.

I am married to the older brother and being older we "get" the stuff stated above. My DF, had heart issues a few years ago. Now he refuses to go anywhere unless he can get back home that night. You just never know. I know and totally get the financial issues, but when it comes to memories vs. money...I choose memories. My sister died when she was 38 due to cancer. I turn 37 this year. I KNOW that I am not her, but it always hangs over my head. I want every last good memory I can make with my children and sitting home that week would not be a good memory.

And to the person who said something about the baby. They did not know they were prego when the planning started. The way the broke the news to us that she was prego was by telling us they wanted to move the trip by a few months because Disney with a 2 month old would be very hard. My chin hit the floor. We were like...What did you say??? You are totally correct that it's no surprise how he got here. We welcomed baby Ethan into your family this past Saturday morning. He's the cutest little thing.

Thanks again!!! Karen

 

[SunnieRN]

Hi, I say try to go!! This trip is probably the BEST present you will ever give to your MIL and to your children. Maybe you could do a little more budget planning all together?? Or stay off sight?? Good Luck!! ( It is SO HARD to be the PLANNER.) Joan

Agreed!! I am the 'Mother In Law', and every year it is harder to go on vacation, due to the 'aging process'. ;-)

To be honest, I just lost my mom a month ago, so my advice is probably not the best to follow, because I am still emotional. That being said. I would try to go. I would give anything to go back and do more stuff with my mom that I didn't because of finances. You CANNOT get this time back, and things can change in the flash of an eye. I lost my mom very suddenly and unexpectidly, so I know how valueable time is.

When I found out my Mom had cancer, we had been planning a trip to Disneyland, (she lived in CA). She passed 8 days after her diagnosis. Life is VERY short, you NEVER know what tomorrow will bring.

I agree with Disney*Dreamer, go. Life is short and you never know when or if this opportunity will present itself again to go as a family.
IMO, going anywhere else may lead to a lot of tension between family...who wants to go where to tour, eat, etc. With Disney...you are all close enough, yet there is so much to do together or separately....so easy to meet up without having to jump into 4 cars to get to where you are going.

I have a feeling that a lot of the reason your MIL wants to go on this trip, is for her grandchildren. (If she is anything like me). What about if the two families who can still go, and your MIL, bring the rest of the grandchildren along. Maybe the ones that are 6 and above? It may be easier financially on the families to just pay for their children to go. It would also give them some alone, or almost alone time, with their younger children!!

Either way, I hope it works out for you and your children!! Off site is a great way to save $$$, the QSDP, on site is a good deal, especially with children, if you are planning an on site stay. I understand your motivation, to still make this trip happen and I'm sending up hugs, prayers and good wishes, that it happens for you!!!

 

[redrosesix]

Ok...so we have been planning a family trip to WDW for MONTHS!! There are 4 families and 15 of us total.

It's a group of 4 brothers, their wives and children and grandparents.

Our final payment is due on 2/15. I have done MASSIVE amounts of planning, organizing, etc. for this. My DMIL paid everyones down payments for them and now...my DBIL #1 who's whole idea this was, is building a house that is going over budget and wants to back out. DBIL #2 just had unplanned baby boy number 3 and wants to back out too. Then I just lost my job this week.

AGH

Really?? All this work and months of planning down the drain???? My poor DMIL who has recently bought a treadmill to get in shape for Disney and planned to take off a day early to go down is heart broken.

I KNOW financially it would be hard for everyone to go, BUT part of me says...come on people, suck it up, you drive nice cars and carry nice purses and wear name brands...pay for the stinkin' vacation and let's go.

BUT part of me knows that it would make things tight, especially since I just lost my job.

So, do we scrap the whole idea? Or do we try to come up with something else shorter that everyone could afford? But wth to do??? We range in age from newborn to 60ish and for 15 of us. Where do you go to have a good family time other than Disney? Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Please don't flame me because part of me still thinks we should go. I just know his parents are aging and my kids are the oldest of the cousins. There won't be too many more opportunities to make this happen.

That stinks

If you were planning this as a big family event and 2 families are definitely backing out, I'd say it's time to consider calling it off. But yes, there are few opportunities like this and disney really is one of the cheapest places to travel to for people of so many ages.

Have you considered where you can cut back to make the trip more affordable for everyone? Perhaps less park days or less ADRs? Everyone will have fun just being together, even if it's poolside at Pop. It really would be great if you can make this work

 

[hsmamato2]

yeah..you could potentially do a gathering and make use of the hotel,grounds,pool,etc and much less park time...esp. for those who don't have extra $$$
there is a lot to do there,if you get creative,that doesn't cost too much....