'I won't always be able to protect her… but I will do my best': Uncle lies about taking his 5 year old niece to Disneyland for her birthday; warmhearted parents take her on her dream vacation without him

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Nov 5, 2023 12:00 PM EST

Every kid dreams of going to Disneyland. Like feral Black Friday shoppers with their eyes on an 84" flat screen, children are drawn to the world of Disney with an irreversible pull. When they walk through those pearly pink gates, their eyes light up, they have a tingle in their step, and they don't know where to begin…. This cherubic response is the only reason any parent would agree to pay $1000 per ticket for a day that their kid may never remember. Disneyland is just as much for the parents's memories as it is the kid's. 

They'll never be this young again. 

Because of every kid's inherent desire to go to Disneyland, whether it's the propaganda ads, the movies n' shows they watch, or the childlike wonder within all of us, every parent knows that if they ever mention 'Disneyland' at the dinner table, they're basically signing a blood oath with their child to take them as soon as possible. If you've ever thought that your kid was persuasive enough to stay up an extra 20 minutes past bedtime, you'll see the REAL lawyer come out of them when you mention the D-word. 

But how horrible would you feel if you promised your kid that you'd take them to Disneyland but never followed through? It sounds like the beginning of a villain's origin story. In this surprisingly happy-ended story, one uncle promised his 5 year old niece that he'd take her to the 'Happiest Place on Earth'– but when he bailed, her protective and loving parents stepped in. Scroll onward for all the sparkling details of this princess story. 

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  • 01
    AITA for telling my uncle to stop "gifting" my daughter extravagant trips CONCLUDED
    via u/newuser9461
  • 02
    Original Post: October 23, 2023 So, a little backstory. When my sisters and I were kids, every year for our birthdays and Christmas my uncle would give us cards. Inside those cards would be a printed out picture of some place (i.e. local theme parks, the zoo, aquarium,
    via u/newuser9461
  • 03
    museums, any place a kid would love to go). After we opened them, he would tell us that we're going to that place. He would say things like "it's gonna be the best trip of your life!" That would obviously make us very excited. Here's the thing. We never went on any of those trips. We never went to any of those places.
    via u/newuser9461
  • 04
    As a young kid, it would be disappointing. But after a while I started expecting it and just going along with it. I don't hold any animosity towards him at all obviously. As an adult now, I understand he did that because he didn't have the means to buy us gifts.
    via u/newuser9461
  • 05
    Here's where I'm starting to have a little bit of an issue with it. My daughter's fifth birthday was last week. My uncle gave her a card, she opened it to find a printed out picture of a theme park about two hours away from our house. And he promised her a fun weekend away. He promised
    via u/newuser9461
  • 06
    with a swimming pool, all the snacks she could ever want, and tickets to every show she wants to see at the park. She was over the moon. For the past week, my daughter has talked non-stop about this trip. She keeps telling me how excited she is and how
    via u/newuser9461
  • 07
    excited her whole class at school is for her. It breaks my heart to look at that smile on her face knowing it's not gonna happen. I remember how disappointing it was for me, and I don't want her to go through that.
    via u/newuser9461
  • 08
    So. I texted my uncle. Here's what the message said, "Hi! Your message in [daughter's name] card was so beautiful. Do you think next time you could leave out the promise of an extravagant trip? The thought and gesture is amazing. However, I never know
    via u/newuser9461
  • 09
    what to say when she asks me when this trip will be. She absolutely loves spending time with you so I know the promise of even a nice lunch together would make her so happy."
    via u/newuser9461
  • 10
    He never responded, but my aunt told me he was upset. She said something like he was offended that I implied the only thing he could afford was a "nice lunch." I didn't mean it like that at all. I just wanted him to understand that
    via u/newuser9461
  • 11
    she loves him and wants to spend time with him and he doesn't need to promise impossible things to make that happen. But I can see why he interpreted it the way he did. And that's where I'm wondering if I'm the :. This
    via u/newuser9461
  • 12
    has been an unspoken thing in my family for so many years so I'm now wondering if I should've just kept it that way. I just can't stand the thought of my little girl getting disappointed so many times. My
    via u/newuser9461
  • 13
    sisters and my mom agree with me. My mom even said she wished she stopped it when we were kids. So, AITA for telling my uncle to stop gifting my daughter extravagant trips?
    via u/newuser9461
  • 14
    Update Post: October 26, 2023 (3 days later) Thanks to everyone for your feedback on my last post. A lot of people asked me why I was being so nice to my uncle and honestly, I think I underestimated how weird it was because it's been so normalized in my family. I didn't
    via u/newuser9461
  • 15
    want to cause drama, so I went about it as non-confrontational as possible. I agree now I should've been more direct. Another concern a lot of you had was, that I allowed this to happen to my daughter
    via u/newuser9461
  • 16
    previously. That is not true. This is the first time he promised her one of his trips. That's why I decided to say something, so this doesn't become a recurring thing. Here's the update. I tried to call my uncle twice but he didn't answer. I
    via u/newuser9461
  • 17
    got through to my aunt and explained everything to her; how many times he did this to my siblings and I and how often we were disappointed. I told her my daughter was so excited and that if they were actually planning to take her on this trip, I would apologize.
    via u/newuser9461
  • 18
    She didn't take that well. She told me I was creating unnecessary drama and that my daughter and I are acting "entitled" to expect them to drop everything to go on this trip. I was shocked and angry. I said how dare you say that. She
    via u/newuser9461
  • 19
    didn't imagine this trip in her mind and then expect you to take her, you PROMISED her this trip. Her disappointment is not entitlement. I said it's not my job to make sure a grown man feels secure in himself and it's a shame my family spent so long coddling him. I was so mad I just hung up.
    via u/newuser9461
  • 20
    I don't feel any ounce of guilt for setting my boundary anymore. For everyone asking if I can take my daughter on the trip, unfortunately that theme park closes for the season this month. But I surprised her with something even better. After the phone call
    via u/newuser9461
  • 21
    with my aunt, my partner and I decided to book a trip to Disneyland! It sounds crazy and impulsive, but we've been wanting to plan this for a while now and decided it's the perfect time. My kid IS entitled to an extravagant trip. Last night, we sat her down
    via u/newuser9461
  • 22
    and explained that her uncle won't be able to take her on the trip. I tried to be as honest as possible without confusing her. She was unsurprisingly upset and had a lot of questions. After we answered
    via u/newuser9461
  • 23
    them all, I told her not to worry because her mom and dad are taking her somewhere instead. When she found out it was Disney, she was over the moon. She's spent all day deciding which Minnie Mouse stuffy she wants to take with her. I told her to tell her class her trip got upgraded.
    via u/newuser9461
  • 24
    All things considered, it's a happy ending. I know I won't always be able to protect her from disappointment, But I sure as will do my best. She's getting that giant hotel room she was promised.
    via u/newuser9461
  • 25
    smolbeanfangirl. 9 hr. ago This is weird, you could give people birthday cards without the promise of a trip 1.9k Reply Share Readingreddit12345 9 hr. ago Yeah but uncle wants the good feelings and kudos he gets on the day he makes the promise.
    via u/smolbeanfangirl
  • 26
    TinyDimples77 - 9 hr. ago Uncle is a cheapskate and he's been getting away with it his life. He breaks little kids hearts repeatedly and doesn't give a s t. That tells you what kind of person he is. He's upset because oop stopped it from repeating...called him out where other adults should have nipped it in the bud years ago
    via u/TinyDimples77
  • 27
    "I just wanted him to understand that she loves him and wants to spend time with him [so] he doesn't need to promise impossible things" 14444
    via u/canva

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wholesome dads disney promise heartwarming birthday dreams moms reddit story parenting Party dad uncle wish parenting story Reddit mom disneyland parents
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