Travelling with friends and family horror stories! For gentle fun.

[tlbwriter]

Last year MIL pulled the same trick on SIL when traveling for nephew's graduation from basic training. Got in the car for the trip with no money-hotel, food, etc. was required. MIL took no money. Called dh bragging about how she was getting in the car with SIL knowing she didn't have a dime.

Hmmm... if I knew she was doing it on purpose, and bragging about it, I'd be tempted to let her come on my WDW trip (after telling her that she'd need to pay for her room and board) and when she gets there and announces she has no money, I'd say "Oh, that's too bad. Ours was all prepaid and I didn't bring any money either."

My last trip included a couple of extended family members. We all had a fantastic time. The year after that, one of those extended family members went with her daughter's family, and had a horrible time. The daughter is one of those people who doesn't bother to do research, doesn't want to go to the parks early, and doesn't want anyone to do anything without her. Recipe for disaster! If this family member hadn't gone with us first, she would have hated WDW. Now she simply knows to go there with us instead of her daughter.

 

[kimmer1850]

My fiancée proposed to me in front of the Big Mouse and so we decided to get married in Disney. To make a long story short we rented the Grand One yacht and invited a very few family members and close friends.
The night of the ceremony we're gathering on the dock and one of my friends says "I'm not going."
Huh?
"I don't like boats so I'll just wait here til you get back."
So, what part of I'm getting married on a boat did you not understand? And why did you fly 1800 miles and pay for a hotel room if you knew you didn't like boats?
Eventually she was persuaded to come aboard. Turns ou it was the floating pier and not the boat she didn't like.
Alls well that ends well but I didn't need the aggravation on the night of my wedding.
It was wonderful after the drama and I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[kimmer1850]

My fiancée proposed to me in front of the Big Mouse and so we decided to get married in Disney. To make a long story short we rented the Grand One yacht and invited a very few family members and close friends.
The night of the ceremony we're gathering on the dock and one of my friends says "I'm not going."
Huh?
"I don't like boats so I'll just wait here til you get back."
So, what part of I'm getting married on a boat did you not understand? And why did you fly 1800 miles and pay for a hotel room if you knew you didn't like boats?
Eventually she was persuaded to come aboard. Turns ou it was the floating pier and not the boat she didn't like.
Alls well that ends well but I didn't need the aggravation on the night of my wedding.
It was wonderful after the drama and I wouldn't change a thing.

 

[twinkable]

We had the trip from hell last year about this time and it'll never happen again.

Made arrangements to get a larger timeshare and spend more points to have a friend stay with us while we were there. He was originally going to stay in a hotel nearby but we wanted to just take one car and logistically, that would've been more trouble.

He wanted to take his car because it was newer and larger than ours. He and my DBF were sharing the cost of gas and driving. His driving was so agressive that I kept my eyes closed for most of the trip. Even though we both warned him that he needed to slow down, stop tailgating, etc. he ignored us and wound up getting a ticket for speeding (the firearm in the car made that even more fun!).

Needless to say, as nice as the resort we stayed at was, he griped all week about not having room service and fresh towels daily. He also wanted to stay up all night (read: sit on the couch with his laptop and fall asleep snoring louder than anyone I've ever heard) and refuse to go in his room although he was keeping us awake in our room with door closed because 'he had as much right to be in the living room as we did.'

Fighting apnea all night meant that he didn't want to get up and go to the parks early while it was still cool. He'd wait until we were ready to go and then he'd say, "I need to take a shower and get ready." He had the car keys so we were basically held hostage since the resort buses to the parks had left. Then he'd spend the entire day complaining about how hot it was at the parks! DUH!

At MNSSHP he made sure we did everything his way. We watched the fireworks from the back of the castle (yay). We missed both the parade and the villain shows (which I really wanted to see) because he didn't care to see them.

Another couple joined us for the trip as well (they had their own car and reservations elsewhere - smart!). Even they were tired of his boorishness by the end of the week. We had tons of fun with them and would travel again anytime they want to go. Needless to say, whenever he brings up the subject of another group trip to Disney we all scramble to change the subject. If it's in an email it simply gets ignored. I wouldn't go with him again if he offered to pay for the whole trip!

 

[Piglet4Ever]

This isn't a horror for DH and I because we a had a great time, our friends not so much!

We were living in Jax, FL at the time and found out my BFF and her Dh and Ds were going to WDW for a vacation. We decided to go with them since I hadn't seen BFF or her DS in forever. BFF's SIL was a travel agent so she planned the whole trip for them. DH is in the Navy and at the time SOG was going through major renovations so we were able to get at room and POR where BFF was staying so that worked out great.

We went down early and picked them up from the airport, got to POR and went to check in, we asked to be close to BFF and her family and we got our room in no time. BFF on the other hand had trouble with their reservations so it took them about 20 mins to get it worked out. We ended up in side by side rooms which was great, we get over to them, our room looks great, BFF's room hasn't been cleaned from the last guests yet. Called housekeeping, they came and got it fixed up right away and we were off to MK.

We get there and BFF finds out they left there tickets back at their room So the three of them went back for the tickets and DH and I went into the park. BFF and her family were on the dining plan, we weren't. They spent most of their time running to ADR's while DH and I spent our time enjoying the rides. BFF and her DH were very overweight at the time so the heat and humidity made them pretty cranky alot of the time, but instead of drinking water, they only drank soda We only stayed for 4 days, they stayed for two more after that and they ended up getting sick for those days.

We did have a great time with their DS, seeing him at WDW for his first time was priceless. DH and I had a great vacation but it wasn't so great for BFF and her DH

 

[keri125]

This thread totally makes me think of my ex-husband! We are recently divorced - I just moved out last September and our divorce was final in August, and all these "whining, complaining, etc." descriptions could match him perfectly! We're having a family reunion this October at WDW (my and my DS5's first visit! WOOT!) and I am SO GLAD that I am divorced from him and can just relax and enjoy the trip. My relatives are awesome - everyone is cooperative and goes their own way during the day, we'll meet back up in the evening for family fun, but I would have been so nervous and anxiety-ridden if he was coming. EVERY SINGLE family vacation we took during our 10 years together was a disaster. He would act like a spoiled brat, whine, complain... but the best was when about three years ago we met my DS and DBIL in Portland, ex-hubby would just disappear all the time without telling me where he was going. He wound up driving our car, hitting a corner, puncturing a tire, and THEN found out he had taken the jack out when packing the luggage and "forgot" to put it back in the trunk. We spent our last day with my DS and DBIL trying to find a way to get to the nearest tire store, borrow a jack, change to the spare, and drive it back to the tire store. (DS and DBIL lived a few hours away and had taken the train.)
Anyhow, reading these stories brought all that back, and all I can say is, this trip is going to be a celebration of INDEPENDENCE for me!!!