Woman Slammed Over Strict List Of 7 Rules for Family Vacation

One woman is being slammed online after revealing in a now-viral Reddit post that she’d planned to subject her family members to following seven rigid rules while on a 10-day trip to Disney World in Florida.

“Every single year, me and two of my sisters take a girls’ trip to a random location,” the Redditor wrote in the post on the site’s AITA (Am I The A******?) subforum. “This year was finally my turn to plan a trip. My sisters were very excited about this trip, and so was I.”

She went on to share that she’d devised a certain set of rules for the trip, including waking up early every day of the trip to be there when the theme parks open their gates and being restricted to wearing a certain type of shoes. Needless to say, her overly structured vision of a perfect vacation didn’t go over smoothly with her sisters.

“I sent my sisters this list today so that they could know what to expect. They didn’t take it too well and they said that I was being very overdramatic and that this wasn’t needed,” the Redditor wrote.

The group got into an argument over the rigidness of the rules, and now the Redditor’s two sisters have decided that they no longer want to go on the trip with her.

At a loss over the disagreement, and unsure how to persuade her siblings to give her list a chance, the woman turned to the internet to gain some outside perspectives. Over 2,500 Reddit users commented on the post, with the vast majority choosing to criticize the woman’s disciplined attitude and regimented schedule.

What Do the Comments Say?

Most of the Redditors who engaged with the post have sided with the siblings, telling the woman that she was setting her expectations way too high for what was supposed to be a fun getaway.

“[You’re The A******] for saying that people can’t sleep in on their vacation…a two week vacation,” a Redditor wrote. One commenter offered a simple solution to the time dilemma: “Go to the park in the morning without them if they want to sleep in, but don’t make them wake up earlier than they want to.”

“Also like, nothing is stopping op from just going on her own,” another person commented. “Like great, sisters want to sleep in, great, meet her at magic Kingdom at 11:30. Sister’s get tired from walking in sandals, fine, [original poster] can meet them back at the pool when she is done her stuff.”

“No one wants to go on vacation with their parents,” a Redditor warned the author of the post. “I suggest to clear the air that you go back to being their equal, apologize for your list, rewrite it as suggestions only then give it back. How about asking what they want vs dictating anything. Look at other decisions you made for everyone without asking, too. If all three of you do not agree, then the plan does not work.”

What’s the Best Way to Prepare for a Vacation?

While vacations tend to be all fun and games, the preparations leading up to a trip can be stressful. Between booking flights and packing bags, it can be hard knowing how to actually relax before and on holiday, while using your time away wisely.

Moon Hough is the owner of a family-run safari camp in Kenya. He told Newsweek how he feels people could approach preparing for their “holiday of the year.”

“My first tip would be to always ask the hotel you are staying with what they recommend packing, they may even be able to share a packing list for the destination and time of year you plan to travel,” he said. “In this way, you have real, on-the-ground advice on what you need to bring and what is just taking up space.

The safari camp owner and guide shared that he, for instance, always recommends that his female guests pack sportswear for their trip.

“When it comes to trip organization, I would also suggest asking the hotel you stay with to suggest someone in-country who can help with any plans,” he said. “By doing this, you are supporting local, and often indigenous-owned, businesses in the place you’re visiting.”

Travel advisor and owner of the advisory firm Duende Travels, Claire Riley also shared her top travel tips with Newsweek.

“I’ll be the first to tell you that using a travel advisor makes it super easy to get and stay organized for a trip,” Riley said. “For packing, I have two tips I use without fail: packing cubes and my trusty packing list on my iPhone. I use the same packing list over and over again and just add or subtract extras depending on the type of trip.

Riley added that a reminder to check her passport expiration date always sits right at the top of her vacation to-do list.

“I can’t tell you how many new clients I’ve had just this year who don’t look at their passports until I tell them to send them to me, and that’s when we discover that they don’t have enough validity left for the dates they want to travel,” she said, adding that most countries require at least 6-months validity from the day you return to the United States.

If you have a family dilemma, let us know via [email protected]. We can ask experts for advice, and your story could be featured on Newsweek.