Whats your worst vacation mishap? Here's mine...

[Liberty Belle]

I don't remember any bad things happening on a trip, but got sick, twice.

Once while getting ready for a trip to Gatlinburg, I had a bad headache, but assumed it was from rushing around, etc. By the time we got there my throat was hurting and I had a fever (ended up being strep) and in the middle of the night I woke up with a kidney stone. We were up in a cabin in the mountains and the nearest hospital was not close and through a boatload of traffic, so I decided to wait it out. I was in such pain . Luckily the stone passed the next day.

Then we were at WDW and my mom, my dad, and my husband came down with a stomach flu. I will spare you details, but it was horrific and ended with DH and I sitting on the grass at DTD watching all the buses go by (and some stopped and said they'd take us to any resort - which added to DH's embarrassment), but we had to decline (details omitted). We sat there while my mom and dad took a bus to the resort and then drove back to pick us up and take us to our room.

 

[Ziggie]

One of our very worst vacation experiences happened last year at Boardwalk Villas. I still can't bring myself to talk about it.

 

[MrJT]

It involved a bear, improperly stored food, and damaged furniture. Let's just say that we were incredibly lucky that we weren't made to pay for the cost of repair, along with a stiff fine.

I had two stories in mind, but you reminded me of a third, so I will start there.

Some time in the early 80s, we were camping at Sequoia National Park in California. When you camp there, they warn you about bears. Where to store your food, not to eat in your tent, etc. On our 2nd to last night of the camp out, it rained, badly. So we ended up eating in the tent. Every time a crumb was dropped my mom would panic. But we got through the night. We got up the next morning, looked at the car, and their were paw prints on the window, big ones. Needless to say, we tore down camp, and left a day early.

In 1981, we were flying between Mazatlan and Puerta Vallarta Mexico. We landed, and saw that our engine was on fire! It got put out, but it was nothing I had ever seen before.

Finally, back in 1984, July 18th to be precise, we were visiting my Aunt in San Clemente, CA. We managed a Disneyland trip while we were there, I remember because they were celebrating Donald Duck's birthday that summer. We decided to go to Tijuana. It was my first (and only) time there. We shopped, explored, etc. Then we crossed back into the U.S. It was time to eat, and my sister and I saw McDonald's, and we asked to eat there. My mom didn't want that again. So we drove on, and ate at some restaurant in some shopping center elsewhere. We eventually got back to my aunt's house. Both she and at least one of her daughter's come out, and say "Thank God you're ok!" It turns out that shortly after we drove past that McDonalds a man named James Huberty walked into that very same place, carrying a pistol, a shotgun, and an uzi. He ended up killing 21 people, and injuring 19 others.

I don't think about that day a lot, I can't believe how fortunate we were, all because my mom didn't want crappy fast food. But when I do think about it, I really appreciate my life, and how blessed I am.

 

[bcla]

I had two stories in mind, but you reminded me of a third, so I will start there.

Some time in the early 80s, we were camping at Sequoia National Park in California. When you camp there, they warn you about bears. Where to store your food, not to eat in your tent, etc. On our 2nd to last night of the camp out, it rained, badly. So we ended up eating in the tent. Every time a crumb was dropped my mom would panic. But we got through the night. We got up the next morning, looked at the car, and their were paw prints on the window, big ones. Needless to say, we tore down camp, and left a day early.

My case was Giant Forest Village in the late 70s when I was a kid. We were staying in a cabin. I think back then the rules did allow for food to be stored in a vehicle out of sight. It was also recommended that food be stored in an airtight cooler, and we got a Coleman steel cooler just for the trip. However, my mom was freaked out that if we kept our food inside our cabin that a bear might break in (they really don't). So she placed our food in a stand-alone cabinet on the front porch that was meant to store plates/dishes/utensils for use with the grill in front of the cabin. A bear got to it and wasn't terribly careful about opening it. It just pawed at it and ripped the door off its hinges. When we got back we used our flashlights and saw the bear with our bag of white bread hanging from its mouth. A handyman came by in the morning and jury rigged a quick fix. We weren't charged for it, and NPS never came to have a look.

Over the years I have seen bears, but never one that was going for anything I left behind. I do feel fortunate though. I've occasionally forgotten to remove food from my trunk at night in Yosemite or SEKI.

 

[pinkprincess30]

When on our 2011 trip to DLR, we stayed at a motel near Long Beach airport the night before flying out, due to an early flight the next morning. On the way to the airport our GPS kept taking us to the heliport, not the airport. So we arrived about 25 minutes before our plane was scheduled to take off. As we approached the ticket counter, all the blood ran from my face as I realized the night manager at our motel had neglected to give my my driver's license back and I hadn't noticed until then. We were denied boarding because of how late we were and the next flight out wasn't for 8 hours. We were without a car because we had already turned in our rental car (and there were "no vehicles available" which was frustrating to hear because we were looking right at the van we had just turned in). The manager at the motel refused to bring me my ID, even though I thought it was their fault for neglecting to return it. I had to go through special TSA screening to board the plane, as I had emptied my purse of all non-essential forms of identification before leaving home. Eight hours in the tiny airport with DS4, DS5 & DS8 and my parents was not exactly how I saw our vacation coming to an end.

The TSA screening was scary! They called some TSA big-wig and said I had to answer some in-depth identifying questions. They told me that if every single question was not answered accurately the first time they would not allow me to board. Big-wig asked me questions like "what are the first and last names of your next door neighbors to the left" . I couldn't believe they even knew that information!

That day I learned:
1. Always have an alternate form of ID. They said even a Costco card would have worked.
2. If you're going to an airport in a strange town always have a paper copy of directions stashed somewhere.
3. No matter how "easy" the airport is, always give yourself at least 2 hours before the plane leaves (I had followed bad advice that we only needed to arrive 1 hour early...paired with our bad GPS and it was enough to miss our flight, even if I had my ID).
4. Even with mishaps, our vacation was awesome and I wouldn't trade it for anything! We actually had a good time playing board games and killing time in the airport for 8 LONG HOURS...gotta make the best of it, right?
5. TSA knows way more about us than we think they do! lol

 

[Gumbo4x4]

How did you handle things when, ah, nature called?

Pulled to the shoulder, and took turns standing in a circle with a makeshift beach towel "barrier" around us. Thankfully, it was all #1.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

Remote area of Costa Rica, we get our rental car (Rav-4) stuck at the bottom of a mountain. We can't turn around and go back up the mountain because it's too muddy and we can't keep going forward because we're blocked in by a river. We abandon the car and walk barefoot back up the mountain (the mud was so deep it was pulling our shoes off our feet, we kept slipping and falling...) There's nothing on this mountain but five little farmhouses and a bunch of curious cows who kept following us. There was no answer at the first four houses. We finally reach the top of the mountain shoeless, covered in mud, with cow posse in tow, and find somebody. We speak very little Spanish, he speaks no English, but we managed to explain what's going on with the help of our mad gesticulating skillz.

He enlisted the help of two other farmers and they start talking about floating our rental car across the river to the other side. Dear god, no. There were white crests on those waves and I'm trying to explain "mucho grande agua." They go down to the river to see for themselves and agree agua mucho grande, so that option is out. They spend the rest of the day unsuccessfully trying to get the car back up the mountain. I can still hear the nightmarish sounds of that vehicle scraping over boulders. My DH and I start discussing the fact that we're going to have to buy this vehicle outright from the rental agency, leave it at the bottom of the mountain, and return to Costa Rica in the dry season to retrieve it.

A farmer and his family take us in for the night. They get us fed, we washed up in a bucket of water in the outdoor kitchen, and we slept on a sawdust-stuffed mattress. The next morning we were up with the sun to try again, this time with the help of everyone on the mountain. They got the car out and then insisted on washing it for us before they would let us leave. I was so grateful for everything they had done that I was almost in tears. I unloaded every last bit of cash we had on us into their hands as a thank you. Then my DH drove the next two and a half hours with the emergency brake on because, apparently, the car hadn't already been through enough.

Two weeks later, we returned it to the rental agency and held our breath while they did their inspection. They smiled and told us the car was "in perfect condition."

ETA: I remembered one more detail of this story. The people helping us wanted to use a 4-wheeler to pull our car out of the mud, but the battery was dead and they couldn't jump it, so the poor guy went all the way into town to buy a new battery at his expense. Wasted hours and money later, the now-operational 4-wheeler still wasn't enough to get the car unstuck.

Instead of going to town, they should have used the battery in your rental to jump start it. Oh well.

"Mucho grande agua" LOL

 

[linzjane88]

One of our very worst vacation experiences happened last year at Boardwalk Villas. I still can't bring myself to talk about it.

Well now you have to tell

 

[DisneyQuest]

Mine was unfortunately my wedding!

We took my husbands three sons and some close friends and family down to Vegas, to tie the knot in front of the Mirage volcano. Fun, informal and totally our style.

2 months before the wedding and I catch my high heel on the edge of the traction strip in the stairwell at work, which leads to a Cirque de Soelil style performance on the way down. Not only did I reset the 1,000,000 hours accident-free record of the major industrial company I worked for, the 90% male staff were required to take appropriate footwear classes. Oh, and I broke my back.

No worries, we can roll it with it. (Pun intended.)

So, loaded up in a wheelchair, my gown flowing over the sides and getting caught in the wheels, my soon-to-be-husband and I are standing with the wedding planner, counting down the 10 minutes to marital showtime. Suddenly, my DH bolts for the bathroom across the casino.

The wedding planner: "I'm sure it's just nerves."

Me: "We signed the marriage license before we left Canada, so he's a bit late for nerves..."

We wait...and wait...Finally he reappears looking greenish and we rush out for the ceremony.

15 minutes later, back in the bathroom...helllooooo norovirus.
No reception dinner, no after party, straight back to the room for us.

The first 48 hours of our official married life were spent with him thankful the suite had both a toilet and a bidet, and me running towels and water in for him every few hours.

Finally, the day we are heading home, he seems to be feeling better. We climb in the limo with the boys and head for the airport. We're nearly there when the oldest son shouts for the driver to stop, who obliges, in the centre lane of the freeway. DSS froggers across traffic to deposit his $50 Bellagio lunch buffet in the bushes.

My prayers of "please just be hungover" were not answered as the puking continued at the airport. Knowing we couldn't put him on a plane, we rebooked ourselves and him for the next day and put the remaining boys at the plane.....who made it to cruising altitude of 34,000 feet before availing themselves of every air sickness bag on the 5 hour flight.

At least it was memorable!

 

[PrncessA]

The bolded is my favorite part. HOW does that happen???!!!

Things get lost so easily in translation! When we were in Cancun, we called down to room service to ask for a slice of chocolate cake and a slice of cheesecake, before we went to sleep. An hour later it hadn't appeared, so we went to bed. A half hour or so later there was a knock on the door, we answered it half asleep, to a guy with a cart FILLED with what had to be 30 slices of each. I didn't know what to say! He looked very annoyed when we told him we had only ask for ONE slice of each, and that was all we would take.

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Instead of going to town, they should have used the battery in your rental to jump start it. Oh well.

"Mucho grande agua" LOL

The dead 4-wheeler at the top of the mountain was a looooonngg way from our car at the bottom. They tried jumping it with their own vehicle at the house but it still wouldn't start.

 

[lakelandgal70]

Only thing I can recall of recent vacation is the Disney cruise we took couple years ago. This was our first cruise ever and knew with my suppressed immune system I would need to be careful and wash my hands all the time. They also had the people dispensing the antibacterial gels in the dinning rooms. Had a great time and the last night I started feeling pretty crummy and told hubby there was no way I could go to dinner and just go without me. He refused cause he was worried. Well turns out I caught the dreaded Noro walk virus and lets just say it was horrible!! I was never so glad to get off that boat and home so I could sleep it off in my own bed. Wouldn't stop me from going on another cruise and I didn't let that one night ruin the memories but man I wouldn't wish that on anyone lol

 

[linzjane88]

Mine was unfortunately my wedding!

We took my husbands three sons and some close friends and family down to Vegas, to tie the knot in front of the Mirage volcano. Fun, informal and totally our style.

2 months before the wedding and I catch my high heel on the edge of the traction strip in the stairwell at work, which leads to a Cirque de Soelil style performance on the way down. Not only did I reset the 1,000,000 hours accident-free record of the major industrial company I worked for, the 90% male staff were required to take appropriate footwear classes. Oh, and I broke my back.

No worries, we can roll it with it. (Pun intended.)

So, loaded up in a wheelchair, my gown flowing over the sides and getting caught in the wheels, my soon-to-be-husband and I are standing with the wedding planner, counting down the 10 minutes to marital showtime. Suddenly, my DH bolts for the bathroom across the casino.

The wedding planner: "I'm sure it's just nerves."

Me: "We signed the marriage license before we left Canada, so he's a bit late for nerves..."

We wait...and wait...Finally he reappears looking greenish and we rush out for the ceremony.

15 minutes later, back in the bathroom...helllooooo norovirus.
No reception dinner, no after party, straight back to the room for us.

The first 48 hours of our official married life were spent with him thankful the suite had both a toilet and a bidet, and me running towels and water in for him every few hours.

Finally, the day we are heading home, he seems to be feeling better. We climb in the limo with the boys and head for the airport. We're nearly there when the oldest son shouts for the driver to stop, who obliges, in the centre lane of the freeway. DSS froggers across traffic to deposit his $50 Bellagio lunch buffet in the bushes.

My prayers of "please just be hungover" were not answered as the puking continued at the airport. Knowing we couldn't put him on a plane, we rebooked ourselves and him for the next day and put the remaining boys at the plane.....who made it to cruising altitude of 34,000 feet before availing themselves of every air sickness bag on the 5 hour flight.

At least it was memorable!

EEw thats awful. You win. I got food poisoning on our December trip to WDW. I have never puked so hard in my life! Vacation barfing is no bueno.

 

[Vala]

Paris Pin event trip, May 2015.

I was walking down the stairs with my suitcase and the pin bags just I had done it dozens of times before. Suddenly there's this pang and pain shoots into my calf. It hurts to put weight on the foot, I can't roll the foot when trying to walk normally at all. My boyfriend took one look at me and said "You know you need to go to the doctor." Yes, I knew. But I couldn't. I have the tickets, the hotel booking is in my name. I have to deal.

Train trip to Paris was solo, with two connections and broken escalators on all stations. How I made it I still don't know. Took me over 45 minutes to hobble from station to bag storage.

Friend arrived two hours later, met me at the entrance cause it was clear I couldn't move far. We slowly got on the RER (their version of the Metro/Tube) and somehow made it to the station where our hotel was. Problem there? They have one elevator only and it lead to the complete opposite part of the station. Our hotel was up a pretty steep flight of stairs. So my poor friend decided okay, I wasn't going to make the walk around the station and there were no taxis there. So the poor girl carried our luggage up and then half lifted, half pushed me up.

As if that ordeal hadn't been bad enough up the stairs we discovered the exit was blocked and the emergency door wasn't opening. Walking back down and going around under normal circumstances would have been bad enough. With me injured that way it simply wasn't doable.

So we pushed the emergency button. Eventually someone picked up, but hang up on us again straight away. After a couple of tries someone finally answered. Both my friend and I don't speak French so well, so I tried to explain in English, only to get screamed down in French. I gathered the little French I know begging them to open the emergency door. I was in tears from the pain at that point and you could hear it from my voice, never mind the camera aimed at us. More shouting in French, and eventually I am being told in accent free English: "You're in France, you need to speak French" before they hung up on me again. Tried again, again they hang up on us. They really left us standing there. Eventually a French woman tried to enter the station through the entrance and we manage to get it across to her what the issue is. She doesn't manage to open the emergency door from the outside either, but agreed to scan her ticket and hold the automatic doors open for us. Took us again ages to get through. I got several bruises from the doors trying to close - you try and get through an entrance the wrong way when being injured.

In the hotel I popped all pain killers my stomach could suffice, packed as light as possible for the next day and really somehow made it to the event. My friend's mother joined us and she brought more pain medication from home. I really wasn't comfortable risking buying anything at that point. The event theme was "Alice in Phantomland." I love Alice in Wonderland and Haunted Mansion, so this seemed like a match made in heaven. Not so much. It was a really weird mash up. Couldn't eat most food due to allergies, the pins were okay at best. And for me being a character fan the worst bit was that they had a character out for meeting that even her handler couldn't identify - we figured out it was the Bride from the Paris ride, but in a new dress. So we left disappointed.

The next day there was a pretty big pin release. Friend 2 and friend 1's mom were at the ticket booths getting mom a ticket. Friend 1 and me hobbled ahead to the meeting point where they normally handed out wristbands for popular releases. Eventually friend 2 and mom got there. Soneone from the pin trading team showed up and seemed to count. Stepped away to use her phone. We were thinking she was calling someone to get the wristbands. But she disappeared and wasn't seen again. When Thumper and Miss Bunny came out - and had to squeeze through the mass of pin traders waiting because no one had bothered to enforce lining up either - we knew there was an issue. They didn't hand out wristbands. They tried to walk us in the park. That somehow worked until Big Thunder Mountain, about 1/3 of the way. I had a bad timing keeping up already. Then the guys with the rope disappeared when we merged with the main Frontierland entrance crowd and EVERYONE STARTED RUNNING. I kid you not.

My friends and even mom all realized I would have to just try to get out and not to get killed and took off running with everyone. I just about made it when they were called in to buy the pins.

Somehow I made it through the day and the travel home the next day. Boyfriend picked me up from train station and got me straight to the doctor. By that time my leg was black and blue and looked like a hippo had stepped on it. I had completely messed up my leg, torn a muscle, ruptured some blood vessels and so on and so on. My doctor was floored I had been on my feet with that all weekend.

 

[Mirielle]

Took a vacation one Christmas and after a 12 hour drive, I got out of our car and fell backward down a 35 foot asphalt driveway. Hit knees, elbows and chin over and over on my way down. I was lucky to have kept my front teeth. We didn't have a good time after that.

 

[justgrace]

Finally, back in 1984, July 18th to be precise, we were visiting my Aunt in San Clemente, CA. We managed a Disneyland trip while we were there, I remember because they were celebrating Donald Duck's birthday that summer. We decided to go to Tijuana. It was my first (and only) time there. We shopped, explored, etc. Then we crossed back into the U.S. It was time to eat, and my sister and I saw McDonald's, and we asked to eat there. My mom didn't want that again. So we drove on, and ate at some restaurant in some shopping center elsewhere. We eventually got back to my aunt's house. Both she and at least one of her daughter's come out, and say "Thank God you're ok!" It turns out that shortly after we drove past that McDonalds a man named James Huberty walked into that very same place, carrying a pistol, a shotgun, and an uzi. He ended up killing 21 people, and injuring 19 others.

I don't think about that day a lot, I can't believe how fortunate we were, all because my mom didn't want crappy fast food. But when I do think about it, I really appreciate my life, and how blessed I am.

OMG! I had never heard of that story and looked it up. I can't even imagine. Just reading the details of that makes me really nauseous.


There was no doubt someone looking out for you on that day.

 

[loves to dive]

I've never had a trip that didn't have some sort of a "mishap" usually involving me and pain but sometimes getting lost or weather issues or me getting hurt or car breakdowns or me getting hurt.

Example: First dive of first day of a week long dive trip to Bonaire, the trip will consist of 1 boat dive a day and however may shore dives a day we want to do. We went with our local dive shop. I'm walking into the ocean, hit my big toe on a big rock and broke it (didn't know it was broken until later in the night and 3 dives later). Hurt but I'm accident prone so I just went ahead and put my fins on and did the dive. Did a boat dive and two more shore dives that day. That night it was swollen and black and blue and hurt like heck. Thankfully, there was a doctor on the trip so he showed my honey how to tape it and told me how many pain pills to take each night. I did at least 3 dives a day, 1 a boat dive every day after that, only skipped one dive the whole trip, it was a walk into a pretty rough surf and I knew that toe wasn't going to take it.

Another dive trip we were doing drift dives in Boynton Beach, FL, The captain will kind of slow the boat down and a divemaster on the back of boat will get two people ready standing on the back of boat, captain yells "dive, dive, dive' and in you go. I was sitting on the bench leaning over putting my fins on, full gear on. A man walking by wasn't paying attention and swung around, hitting me right over the eye with his tank. Hurt like heck. I went ahead and put my mask on, the top of which lay right over where he hit me. I did the dive, came up with a big ole egg on my head. Thankfully that was the last dive of the day and we didn't go too deep, maybe 60 feet. Next day, had a real pretty egg and black eye. The same man was on the boat and we didn't tell him what he had done until he asked about the eye.

On a dive in Grand Cayman a yellow snapper was fascinated with my braid flowing behind me. Followed me most of the dive, by the end of the dive on the way back to the boat I kept feeling stings on my ear. While doing the safety stop, snapper got bold and instead of nipping at me came right on up and bit me hard. Blood now flowing in the nasty ocean but I had to finish the safety stop. Got on the boat and told the divemasters what happened, silly they say, snappers are not aggressive. Well explain this and I show them the ear. They freak out, quickly trying to get my gear off me and rushing me to the front of the boat to rinse it and pour huge amounts of alcohol on it, it hurt like heck. I did the next dive. Next day we go to the shop to sign in for that day's dives, everyone behind the counter goes, "oh my gosh, you are the snapper lady". I'm sure they still stalk about that one.

While working out the day before a trip to Little Cayman (again with our local dive shop) I stepped wrong and sprained my ankle. Well heck, the trip is paid for can't cancel the airline tickets so we wrap it and away we go. Every day, between dives my son re-wrapped it and I put it up on the bench on the dive boat. Did three dives a day and our room was on the second floor, no elevator. Hurt like heck.

The second to the last day on a dive trip to Roatan a hurricane decided it might want to visit. The resort had no idea how to handle such a situation so they told everyone you have to leave the island. We'll let you use the phone in the office to try to get tickets out and we'll give you a ride to the airport tomorrow morning. I got on the phone with Delta, plead my case and turned on the southern accent. They switched out tickets to the next day, we had to hop to another airport on the island in order to get out but out we got. Literally got kicked off an island (turned out to be a non-event and every other resort and dive operation actually dove the next day).

For my high school graduation my parents took me on a trip of 3 nights in Rome and 3 weeks in Switzerland (we rented a car and drove around the country, no hotel reservations in advance except for the first 2 nights in Geneva). Landed in Rome (we were coming from Saudi Arabia where my daddy worked) and when we got to our hotel (5 star by the Vatican) found out all hotel staff other than front desk in Rome were on strike. Also, Rome was not on the world market so our Saudi money was useless. I had about $100 American with me, that was all we had. American Embassy said oh well, tough luck. Took my Daddy 2 days to get it arranged (through the Saudi embassy) to have his company wire American dollars. So we couldn't do anything but what was within walking distance of our hotel and free since my $100 had to last for food. We could charge at the hotel restaurants to our room. Mama got the stomach flu, our toilet wouldn't flush, no janitorial staff to fix it so she had to run up the the restaurant every time she had to go to the bathroom. Our last day we were finally able to hire a guide and we did Rome in a day, went to the Vatican (back then you could go just about anywhere in it) went to the Colliseum, Appian Way, did it all in one day. It was so funny because the guide was doing his best to pack it all in for us.

I have a million of them.

 

[disneyseniors]

I've read them all! and I gotta say,! Loves todive, YOU WIN! You must really, really, be accident prone

By the way, you are doing what I've always wanted to do, DIVE! I am too much of a chicken and now am 66 y/o and probably should forget about it. We have a dive school here in our small town and 10,000 lakes to explore, plus Lake Superior (if you want to freeze to death You are so lucky to be able to dive

 

[ronandannette]

The bolded is my favorite part. HOW does that happen???!!!

I don't speak Spanish - like not at all. And as stupid as this makes me sound, I really didn't expect the language barrier to be as big a deal as it was. The breakfast order was mystifying but what was really hilarious was when I tried to get some dry rice to put the damaged iPhone in. The understood the "rice' part, it was just the dry/raw/uncooked aspect I couldn't quite convey.

...My DH and I start discussing the fact that we're going to have to buy this vehicle outright from the rental agency, leave it at the bottom of the mountain, and return to Costa Rica in the dry season to retrieve it...

Great that you were able to keep your sense of humour, unless of course, at the time it wasn't a joke!

 

[TipsyTraveler]

Great that you were able to keep your sense of humour, unless of course, at the time it wasn't a joke!

No, that was not a joke, we really thought that's how it was going to play out. We were discussing the logistics of trying to resell a car in a foreign country and everything.