Originally Posted by
Jane42
As far as their finances, we have no idea why they were on such a strict budget. Perhaps they had a better budget when the vacation was planned, but they had an unexpected expense come up before the trip. I really don't think we can judge them on this without knowing their whole financial history.
I don't judge the family on this issue, especially one that may not have traveled much previously. Now, if they got advice from a travel professional or seasoned traveler, I will blame the advice giver for not being realistic with the family about possible expenses. I've encountered this several times in the past, where people have asked for advice about traveling on a cheaply (wanting to skip things like travel insurance because they were young and healthy, etc) and sometimes the answer needs to be "you can't afford to do what you want to do." It's hard pill though to be told if you want to do that, you need to wait and save more money before going, or you need to choose a cheaper option, especially if your only dream was to be at Disney for your 20th anniversary.