A heated workplace debate has sparked discussions on social media. It began when a woman declined her coworker’s last-minute request to cancel her planned vacation so the coworker could take her family to Walt Disney World Resort. The story has divided opinions, with many questioning whether parents should get priority when it comes to vacation time.
The Conflict Over Time Off
The TikTok channel and relationship site Your Tango (@yourtango) recounted the events in a widely viewed video. According to the TikToker, Evie, a “childless” employee, had her paid time off (PTO) approved months in advance to spend Christmas with friends and family. However, a coworker—Karen—wanted the same dates to take her kids to Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
@yourtango A childfree woman refused to be manipulated into giving up her preplanned trip to see family for the holidays so a coworker could take her kids to Disney World at the last minute #christmas #worktok #coworker #momsoftiktok #disneyworld #parents
“Evie, who is childfree, had gotten her vacation time approved months in advance to be home with her friends and family during Christmas,” the TikToker explained. “Reasonable, right?”
Karen believed otherwise. As the conflicting vacation requests arose, their boss intervened, asking Evie to make a sacrifice for Karen’s sake.
Disney World Vacation Over Family Time?
“Their boss…asked Evie to ‘find it in her heart’ to cancel so that Karen could take her kids to Disney World for the holidays,” the TikToker continued. This request came just two days before Evie’s vacation began, leaving her little time to adjust her plans.
Despite the pressure, Evie refused. According to the video, her boss forced her to directly explain her decision to Karen, creating a tense situation.
“Evie had to be the one to tell Karen’ she can’t take her kids to Disney World,'” the TikToker said. While Karen pushed back, Evie stood firm and proceeded with her vacation as planned.
Social Media Reacts
The viral story ignited a wave of reactions online, with most commenters backing Evie’s decision and criticizing her boss’s approach.
“Nope. Plan ahead,” said @louiefriedrich. “Everyone deserves their vacation time.”
“I have kids and I agree,” @mamaleekelly replied. “Every person has the right to days off for how they choose.”
Some commenters emphasized that childless employees also have valid reasons for time off. “Whoever asked for the vacations first get the priority,” argued @munchie_mon. “I’m someone’s kid, someone’s sister, someone’s aunt. I have no kids but I do deserve being present w/ my family too.”
Others suggested they might have considered helping—but only with advance notice. “2 days. No. A month in advance and you PAY me to swap maybe,” @lunanmoonwalker wrote.
Who should’ve canceled their vacation? Share your thoughts with Disney Dining in the comments!
Sorry but 2 days advance notice that you now have to cancel all your plans so your coworker can take her kids to Disney wouldn’t fly by me. The other woman should have known far in advance that she had the tickets and requested the day off. The first person would have been forced to cancel all flights homes or all her plans with her family. I think she should go to Dianey and send a photo to her coworkers saying something like “Look at all the fun I’m having at Disney World” well wearing Mickey ears.
Sorry Karen, you lose.
I’m a mom of 5 and in NO way is it right to expect ANYONE who has put in for their vacation time and had it approved before you to give it up for you to take your family to Disney. You,as an adult should have planned better. Want to go to Disney , great but plan it and go. Way to stand your ground Evie! To the HR lady (boss)- YOU SHOULD BE FIRED! It’s not an employee’s responsibility to turn down someone’s request. Grow a pair, put 9n your big girl panties, whatever- DO YOUR JOB and deny the late request. Shame on you!
2 days notice? Absolutely not. The schedules are already written. Too late to ask for non-sick days off.
Plus, when you schedule PTO near the end of the year, it’s usually the last several days that you aren’t allowed to carry over to the next year. Not take your Christmas vacation time and LOSE the PTO days… NO. just NO.
In many companies vacation time is scheduled by seniority. That Karen wants others to cancel their plans so she can take her children to Disney with 2 days notice is disrespectful to her coworkers. The HR person making the two workers talk it out should be written up for negligence. That is just designed to cause problems in the workplace. As to the question of should parents get preference in scheduling time off I say no since all employees earn time off and have to have their time approved by their supervisors. It’s up to the supervisor to make sure there will be enough people on the job to keep the business running