Have we ruined our DisneyWorld trip?

[Odellio]

I need some reassurance or advice. We are due to fly to Florida for DisneyWorld this afternoon with SC and DS. We have little knowledge of international travel, I knew we needed ESTAs but didn’t understand the process. I checked with in-laws who are organising the whole trip if they had sorted ESTAs, and they said they had. Obviously I misunderstood that they were talking about their ESTAs only and not ours. We applied yesterday afternoon as soon as we realised we didn’t have ESTAs. Still pending authorisation. I am hugely panicking now that we won’t get them in time to check-in.

Yes you could! Prior to 2009 (when ESTAs came in to force) you could fill out a green form on the plane if you didn't have a visa, and the white form if you did

Many, probably most British passport holders did and still do enter the States without a visa ..

What has happened over the years is the personal admin associated with the Visa waiver program has changed.

It just allows you to pay for all at once. They are individual applications. DH’s has expired as he’s just got a new passport but it doesn’t impact mine or the DC’s as they are individual authorisations even though I submitted them using the group option.

It happened many, many, many, many times. Actually, it still happens since the ESTA is not a visa. The UK is part of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) meaning that UK citizens do not need a visa to enter the US (as tourists for up to 90 days). As the person you quoted said, there was a visa waiver form completed on the plane but nothing that you had to do in advance or that the airlines checked for (they just checked that you had proof of being a UK citizen).

missing the point entirely - its perfectly feasible ops FIL could have sorted the visa, your post read as though that was a ludicrous idea!

Op it could take longer than until tomorrow to get the visa. The name change on your passport could be an issue that delays things. Can you speak to someone before rebooking your flights

Here’s the old green paper visa waiver, for the nostalgic amongst us.

Always enjoyed questions B (do you plan on committing criminal acts in the US?) and C (are you a Nazi or a terrorist?).

I'm hoping silence from the OP is good news - though given that she said that they were at the airport early, even if they got it, I don't think that they'd be at the "put your phone into airplane mode" stage yet.

@McSpoot

the ESTA is not a visa.

This times a thousand.

Ah brings back so many memories!

I'm in a cafe in Cumbria, having a flat white waiting for DD to join me. All I can think about is OP and the ESTAs! Sodding red tape - reminds me of waiting for an email to say all our Covid tests were clear so we could set off to the airport.

You will get there OP - maybe not today.... but very soon!! Disney magic will relieve the stress and make all this nonsense worth it.

It’s you that is missing the point. The ESTA does not allow a whole group to travel on it which is what the previous poster was confirming. They are individual to the holder. I didn’t say that it was ludicrous to do a group application. In fact I said that I did a group application! Anyway, the OP doesn’t need this bickering.

😂ok babes

I've never felt more stressed in my life than trying to fill out this form at the age of 15 on the plane to New York for a school trip 🤣

You scared me for a second as I thought you were correcting me, and I was scared that I accidently said that the ESTA was a visa. Happy to have you agreeing :)

I'm having the same argument/discussions with Americans now who are calling the UK ETA (or whatever the initials are) a visa.

We weren’t allowed to check in at the airport without showing them:

Good luck

What's 'them'? I said in the past - ESTAs are a recent requirement if that's what you're referring to.

Oh yes - I still have no idea of what counts as ‘moral turpitude’.

Reminds me of waiting for an email to say all our Covid tests were clear so we could set off to the airport

They did that at Southampton cruise terminal too, @mismomary - admittedly it was very slick, but it involved a huge line of cars full of people waiting to have swabs shoved up their noses, then waiting for the results before actually checking in

And I'd say thanks for the nostalgia, @SabrinaThwaite, except really I'd rather forget the wretched green forms (and yes thst includes the silly questions - as if anyone would say they were planning criminal activities )

That brings back memories

There is so much misinformation on here about group applications. OPs FIL could have done the entire family group of travellers. You are allowed to fill out the information on behalf of up to 50 others (you all end up with an individual Esta and you don't have to all travel at the same time). The group process is not just a way of paying for them all at once. This doesn't help the OP but hopefully people reading this who need ESTAs for more than one person get the correct information (see below taken from the homeland security FAQs,).

To apply for ESTA as a family or a group, first choose one representative member to serve as the contact for the application.A representative may apply for ESTA for up to 50 members of a group at once.There is no requirement for ESTA application procedures to be completed by the applicant him or herself.

them was referring to esta. I remember needing it in 2011 but not sure before that.

Clearly the poster that was saying you can’t board without an esta or visa meant since they were introduced

I think it's quite unlikely that OP will get them through in time to board in the UK, purely due to time difference. It's only 7.30am over there now. If they let them on the plane there's a chance it would come through while they are travelling. But not sure i'd like to risk arriving there and not having approval.

There's nothing worse than things going awry on a big trip, so really hope things work out for you, OP.

ps. I am a control freak when it comes to someone else being in charge of complex holiday plans. Or if they do arrange things, I will irritate them senseless with many many questions so that they never invite me again. 😆