Trip Report *COMPLETED* Hap-bee Holidays! 🐝

We're back! Okay, we have been back for weeks now but I am just getting around to starting this TR. "December was crazy, but January will be better," she told herself. Except, she didn't account for all the things she got behind on in December and now has to catch up on. And now she's going totally nuts, talking about herself in the third person. Enough excuses, let's get this party started!

Who: Me and M, with a few special guests (BOTH of our parents and brothers)
What: A Disney trip, of course! With a side of family time.
Where: The Swan (and Jacksonville)
When: December 26-January 4
Why: Because those Annual Passes aren't going to use themselves!
How: I'm still asking myself this.

Note: I almost called this "The One Where Everything Goes Wrong," because, well, A LOT went wrong. Illness, injury, family dramma, unfortunate planning (or lack thereof), travel changes, and probably more that I have conveniently "forgotten." But, despite multiple setbacks, we really did have a nice time and everything worked out in the end!

 

[Spash007]

Count me in! Sorry so much went wrong, I hope it was still a good trip overall!

 

[KellBelle]

Here for the fun and maybe a little bit for the drama!

 

[Swissmiss]

Definitely here for the drama ... but also because I find your TR fun

 

[dizfan917]

You need some conflict for good storytelling... I can't wait!!

Thanks for writing about your visit.

 

[Tuvalu]

“Hap” for happy.....or hapless?
From your first post, looks like either would work!
Looking forward to the details.

 

[93boomer]

I’m here. Can’t wait!!

 

[fizzieee]

Count me in!!! Your intro has me hooked! Also, LOVE the title.

 

[Darstarr]

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

I'm in!

 

[Brwneyedgirl72]

So I’m hooked - can’t wait to see how this trip turns out.

 

[Back!Elbow!Shoulders!]

Another TR? With A LOT of wrong?

 

[Katiekitten]

You're really treating us now I am in!!

 

[riverside]

Here!!

 

[TheMouseFan]

I'm in! Looking forward to following along!

 

[krisri18]

Eagerly awaiting your report!

 

[macefamily]

Let's do this !

 

[bee]

Intro and Background (Long post, lots of words, sorry)

The troubles started months before the trip began. We booked our flights and hotel back in May, as soon as Southwest released our dates on their website. We were planning to fly to Jacksonville on December 25 to spend the last few hours of Christmas Day with M's family in Jacksonville, then spend a few more nights with them before driving to WDW. Over the summer Southwest announced that they will no longer fly to/from Newark, our closest airport (yes I know I have said this multiple times in multiple trip reports but I will keep saying it because it is such a pain in the All Star Sports!). All of our holiday flights were cancelled and we had to reschedule our flights via different airports. We ended up moving our flights to depart from and arrive at LaGuardia, but the only flight from LGA to JAX on Christmas Day was sold out. So, we had to call M's mom and tell her we would NOT be there for Christmas. In the end it was kind of nice to have Christmas Day at home by ourselves, since I had just sung a concert and Midnight Mass the night before and was already exhausted before the travels even began, but we were still bummed we wouldn't get to spend Christmas with family.

The troubles continued when my parents decided they wanted to see me and my brother for Christmas. I have not had a good relationship with my parents in years; long story short, they are very religious and conservative and they believe being gay is a choice. And obviously it's the wrong choice. I have always been ready to forgive and try to have some kind of relationship with them if they are ready to accept me and accept M after treating her not-so-kindly for the last 10+ years. We spend pretty much every holiday with M's family because they are absolutely wonderful and have always treated me more like a daughter than just a daughter-in-law. All that to say, when my parents said they wanted to see us for Christmas I told them I had already made plans and they were welcome to join us in Disney, where we would be from December 29 to January 4.

In November I got a text from my mom that said, "We booked our hotel in Orlando December 26-29 and Jacksonville December 29-31!" I replied, "I'll see you on the 29th because I'll be in Jacksonville until then." I know I told them my travel dates multiple times and somehow they got them backwards. My mom asked if I could fly to Florida sooner and join them (no, I had to work and also what flights are left at this point??) and then decided they would leave Orlando a day early to come to Jacksonville to see me. THEN they decided they would stay in Orlando LONGER and change their departing flight on December 31 to leave from Orlando instead of Jacksonville. Are you confused yet? So am I. Not once did my parents double check my dates BEFORE booking their (NON-REFUNDABLE) hotels, and they also waited until the very last minute to book. I, on the other hand, got a great rate at the Swolphin when I booked during the summer and there was NO WAY I was changing that hotel! If they had just ASKED for help I would have been happy to try to help them book hotels since I'm good at planning travel and I'm way more familiar with the current Orlando hotel market.

I hope this has painted a picture of what a mess my family is (and why, if you have been reading my TRs for awhile, we always spend time with M's family and not mine). Feel free to leave any questions in this thread if you want more details.

 

[bee]

Count me in! Sorry so much went wrong, I hope it was still a good trip overall!

In the end it was!

Here for the fun and maybe a little bit for the drama!

Welcome!

Definitely here for the drama ... but also because I find your TR fun

You need some conflict for good storytelling... I can't wait!!

Thanks for writing about your visit.

Well then this should be a VERY GOOD story!

“Hap” for happy.....or hapless?
From your first post, looks like either would work!
Looking forward to the details.

I’m here. Can’t wait!!

Welcome!

Count me in!!! Your intro has me hooked! Also, LOVE the title.

Thank you!

I'm in!

Welcome!

So I’m hooked - can’t wait to see how this trip turns out.

Welcome!

Another TR? With A LOT of wrong?

View attachment 442967

Bahahaha!

You're really treating us now I am in!!

Welcome!

Here!!

Welcome!

I'm in! Looking forward to following along!

Welcome!

View attachment 442997
Eagerly awaiting your report!

Let's do this !

Let's go!

 

[RememberWhen]

Intro and Background (Long post, lots of words, sorry)

The troubles started months before the trip began. We booked our flights and hotel back in May, as soon as Southwest released our dates on their website. We were planning to fly to Jacksonville on December 25 to spend the last few hours of Christmas Day with M's family in Jacksonville, then spend a few more nights with them before driving to WDW. Over the summer Southwest announced that they will no longer fly to/from Newark, our closest airport (yes I know I have said this multiple times in multiple trip reports but I will keep saying it because it is such a pain in the All Star Sports!). All of our holiday flights were cancelled and we had to reschedule our flights via different airports. We ended up moving our flights to depart from and arrive at LaGuardia, but the only flight from LGA to JAX on Christmas Day was sold out. So, we had to call M's mom and tell her we would NOT be there for Christmas. In the end it was kind of nice to have Christmas Day at home by ourselves, since I had just sung a concert and Midnight Mass the night before and was already exhausted before the travels even began, but we were still bummed we wouldn't get to spend Christmas with family.

The troubles continued when my parents decided they wanted to see me and my brother for Christmas. I have not had a good relationship with my parents in years; long story short, they are very religious and conservative and they believe being gay is a choice. And obviously it's the wrong choice. I have always been ready to forgive and try to have some kind of relationship with them if they are ready to accept me and accept M after treating her not-so-kindly for the last 10+ years. We spend pretty much every holiday with M's family because they are absolutely wonderful and have always treated me more like a daughter than just a daughter-in-law. All that to say, when my parents said they wanted to see us for Christmas I told them I had already made plans and they were welcome to join us in Disney, where we would be from December 29 to January 4.

In November I got a text from my mom that said, "We booked our hotel in Orlando December 26-29 and Jacksonville December 29-31!" I replied, "I'll see you on the 29th because I'll be in Jacksonville until then." I know I told them my travel dates multiple times and somehow they got them backwards. My mom asked if I could fly to Florida sooner and join them (no, I had to work and also what flights are left at this point??) and then decided they would leave Orlando a day early to come to Jacksonville to see me. THEN they decided they would stay in Orlando LONGER and change their departing flight on December 31 to leave from Orlando instead of Jacksonville. Are you confused yet? So am I. Not once did my parents double check my dates BEFORE booking their (NON-REFUNDABLE) hotels, and they also waited until the very last minute to book. I, on the other hand, got a great rate at the Swolphin when I booked during the summer and there was NO WAY I was changing that hotel! If they had just ASKED for help I would have been happy to try to help them book hotels since I'm good at planning travel and I'm way more familiar with the current Orlando hotel market.

I hope this has painted a picture of what a mess my family is (and why, if you have been reading my TRs for awhile, we always spend time with M's family and not mine). Feel free to leave any questions in this thread if you want more details.

Oof. That sounds... yep.
I am so hopeful that this trip went really well. Family is family. Sometimes people make bad choices (obviously your folks, not you) and it’s hard to move past that. My wife’s cousins are pretty religious—several live in Israel— and when meeting me and our son for the first time I wasn’t introduced at all and our son was introduced as “a baby.” We don’t see them much...
Fingers crossed for a great trip!