Last minute cancellation due to weather

When you double checked with her you should have said "great, I'm buying my ticket now". It's a bit silly being annoyed when your friend has no idea you are out of pocket.

If it's a family place, check you are actually allowed to enter as a lone adult, I know some places, legoland discovery for example, you cant. You might get a refund that way.

Yes just put the ticket on facebook-you can hopefully recoup some of the money (and maybe made her feel a little bit guilty if she sees the post!)

Poor of friend.

It would have been better to state that you were going to buy your non refundable ticket, and wouldn’t want to attend alone, so please confirm she was buying hers.

if you can’t sell the ticket and recoup some of your money, it being an event mainly aimed at families isn’t a good reason not to attend alone.

I'd tell her breezily that I had already bought the ticket so would be going anyway.

I can see why you’re irritated. But I also see a few possible communication gaps - when you text to say are you sure, did you add ‘because I’m getting my advance, non-refundable ticket now?’ And when she cancelled did you say ‘oh oops. Following your last message I had just bought my non refundable ticket.’

Was/is she aware that you’ve spent money? If she was she might change her mind and go. Or as some PP have also said, can you contact the vendor and say ‘the group I was going with are now unable to attend because of the expected heat, can you give me a 6-12 month window to roll my ticket to go with them please?’

If that doesn’t work then try Facebook to resell tickets for £5-10 less than you paid, or just go anyway and enjoy it!

Bit OTT to suggest the friendship has run its course as she is cancelling due to it being 30 degrees plus

I took that more because they haven't seen each other in 6 months.

If I was keen to see a.friend i.would suggest an alternative even if it's the friend inviting the OP round to sit I. The garden. while the kids play in the paddling pool. The friend doesn't seem bothered so I can see why the OP feels like it's over

Personally for reasons such as this, I’d have probably not booked ‘in advance’ until last minute (the day / night before) and made it clear I was double checking specifically because I’m about to purchase my ticket. If they were non-refundable and couldn’t be date changed I’d have made that clear too. That way there is no backing out or at least she’d know shes being an arse when doing so.

Whilst its still a bit twatty it also sounds to me as though she perhaps didn’t actually realise you were going ahead with booking the ticket at that point and thought she had time to still back out which she may not have done had she known. So possibly just a case of poor / mis-communication.

I hate confrontation and I am not at all assertive and would probably have said the same as you, however if I had been clear about the fact I was booking when confirming the response and was more assertive I probably would have given would have said ‘thats annoying since you know I’ve already booked my ticket’ which is the polite version of what would be going on in my head!

I agree. Why didn't you tell her exactly how her behaviour had inconvenienced you?

ETA I see you said why not. I'm afraid I'd have been making my feelings very clear though and I might not want to arrange anything with her again.

That’s a bit crap. How about telling her you already purchased your ticket?
Could you visit her home instead?

Bit OTT to suggest the friendship has run its course as she is cancelling due to it being 30 degrees plus. You should have said you’d booked a ticket, and maybe you could have all gone and kept it to a shorter day.

Too late for this time but if I was meeting a friend at a family type place I would suggest buying a family ticket. You don't have to split it 50/50, but it would make it cheaper for her and she is more likely to make the effort

No but you still should have said you had bought your ticket!

Have you told her you've bought a ticket?! Perhaps sell it online for £30/20 just to get rid of it. Next time tell her to book first before you buy a ticket.

Why didn't you just meet in a park? And bit a costly venue?

But the dynamics change when one has children. Catch ups are different so I think the whole plan was a bad idea

Did you buy online? I think that for things purchased online there should be a 14day cooling off period

She didn't mind them being out in the heat when you checked in, the weather forecast hasn't changed. Aren't there any indoor bits if it gets too hot outside? I would bet it's her that doesn't fancy the heat now. I would be really annoyed.

If it's local you might be able to sell the ticket for half full price at the door. At our local show there are always people selling the cheap rate tickets outside. Or just go, it can be fun just watching the kids and I expect there are adult things to do as well, you don't need to stay all day, just have a wander round and at least get part of your money's worth.

It’s silly not telling her when she was cancelling though. Also it’s worth contacting the place and explaining the situation, many places would refund a couple of hours after purchase because mistakes happen and it’s only one ticket. She’s unreasonable but you’re also cutting off your nose to spite your face a little

This would have been avoided if you’d texted “friend I’m buying my ticket now as it’s cheaper so get yours too”

The thing is she won't have known that you'd already bought your ticket. You can't really be pissed off with her for cancelling when she had no idea you'd already booked your ticket.
Also, a few days ago she may not have been aware of the weather forecast. We are now on a weather warning for heat tomorrow and a lot of parents with young children will be cancelling outdoor activities for tomorrow.
Top tip - if you're making plans with your friend that involves taking her children, never pay for tickets in advance because anything could happen in between booking the tickets and the day of the event where kids are involved. I have kids, and I'm forever seeing online advance booking discounts to places we're going to, but I never pre-book anything because I've had too many situations with the kids where we've had to cancel plans because of something - illness, etc.
Another top tip. You say you booked a family place so that the kids would be entertained so that you can get to see your friend. But she'd spend most of the day looking after them, seeing to them, sorting them out. Your conversation would be interjected multiple times. Kids dont just run off and have an independent time just because you're at a family place. They demand constant input.
So IMO, you've got this wrong on all sorts of levels.
See if you can cancel your ticket or move the date. If you can't, either go alone, or invite someone else to go with you. Or offer the ticket to anyone who wants it. Or just swallow the fact you've lost money and have learned a lesson about how easily plans can get cancelled when they involve young kids.

Personally, if I was in your friend's position and knew that my friend had a ticket, I would go anyway, and just make it shorter / earlier in the day / get the kids lots of cold drinks.

If a friend messaged me a few days before saying "it's going to be very hot", I would assume they weren't super keen on going.

It doesn't sound as if she knew you had a ticket, though? Was she expecting that you might buy the ticket on the day?

From what you've told us, it's quite possible that she thought you weren't super keen (given that you'd messaged her) and even may have thought she was giving you an "out"?

If I am going to things that are very weather dependant, I will often say "let's discuss a day or two beforehand" because forecasts can change a lot!

Well you've missed the opportunity now but I always state beforehand that I'm buying my ticket in advance, just to be sure, if its not somewhere I'd go on my own. Just to avoid this. If you'd done that, you might have got a different response from her the first time.

She only cancelled an hour later so had probably fully intended to go but reflected on it and realised it would he too hot after all. It's not being flakey to cancel for good reason.

But I would also have told her I'd bought the ticket and not just said "ok, never mind" if it wasn't, or didn't feel, ok. And you do mind.

Especially if you really felt strongly enough to start a thread about it. That's not going to achieve anything.