Man Wants to Stop Wife & Kids From Taking Free Disneyland Trip Because It Doesn't Fit His "Values"

A free trip to Disneyland Park, Disney California Adventure, and Downtown Disney would be a dream for many families. Even most who don’t classify themselves as Disney Park fans would jump at the chance of a gifted Disneyland Resort vacation!

Unfortunately for one family, an annual Disney Parks vacation recently became the source of a heated, ongoing argument. A man (u/LouisWinthropelll) took to the “Am I the *sshole” subreddit to ask others if he was in the wrong for trying to stop his wife and daughters from going on a gifted Disneyland trip with his mother-in-law.

The man explained that his wife spends minimally on the Disneyland Resort vacation with their two daughters as her mother pays. He doesn’t enjoy the Disney Parks and would have to pay for himself if he wanted to join, so he chooses not to go.

“We don’t have budget for a vacation every year and I prefer not to spend what we do have going to Disneyland that I don’t really enjoy,” he wrote. “I also don’t like Disney. I don’t think Disney princess culture is great for young girls and am rubbed the wrong way by the consumerism of Disney as well.”

“I feel put out about the trip and my wife and I get in a fight about it every year,” the man continued. “I think the main thing I don’t like (even more than the general disney criticism) is that most of the vacations the kids go on do not include dad.”

The man explained that this year, the family has a budget for a vacation in addition to his wife and daughters’ Disneyland trip with Grandma. But he doesn’t want them to go.

“I get that my wife likes Disneyland. It’s not my thing but I’m willing to go once every 4-5 years if we can do it as a family,” he argued. “This is unacceptable to my wife. She wants to go every year and has told me her Disneyland trip is a part of her person/character. She has gone every year with her mom since before she met me so this is baked in essentially. I said she could go and leave the kids with me but this was unacceptable as well.”

Dozens of commenters weighed in. Most agreed that it’s okay if he doesn’t want to go to Disneyland Resort, but wondered why he’d stop his wife and daughters from enjoying the free vacation.

“I think it’s become important because of values,” he argued. “I’m not in line with Disney mentality (which I may be misrepresenting in my head) and I also think we should be together as a family unit.”

Do you think it’s fair for the man to ask his family not to go on their annual Disneyland vacation? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments. 

Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on a personal Disney Parks Guest experience. No two Guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.