The Bucket List Family - they want your cash!

[Dori82]

I totally get pushing beyond our comfort zone. But tht needs to be at an age where they understand what a comfort zone is. Taking Cali surfing on his back in the moonlight is beyond stupid. What if a wave took them out, he is water confident but he cant swim, the child would be dead. Not to mention them wanting money. I swear there was a vlog or insta saying that the $54m he got for selling an app, they have never touched but are willling to take money off strangers x

 

[KawaiiAF]

There are some really good responses, so I want to quote them before they get deleted. They also seem to either have super fans or spare accounts who bully and harrass anyone who complains about them. Apparently when Disney featured them recently they got a ton of hate on it, so it seems to be that outside this bubble they are not well-received, so not sure who these sudden 'super fans' are?! They even say in their insta stories when disney post about them to ignore the comments haha I don't have the best ones from initially, the ones with 200 likes etc they were mostly deleted. They are also withholding comments for approval.

Over the past few months, the community has sat through constant sponsorships, rehashed "Best of" moments that we have all seen already, weeks without substantial videos and tiny 2 minute videos when you do post. And now you have a Patreon style support model with exclusive videos. Honestly, this isn't what I signed up for. I understand that you need to make money but when every video is an ad or a sponsorship or in partner with a company, you become a paid shill. I've seen this with other creators and honestly, it doesn't bode well for the future. Once you start fracturing your fanbase into the haves and the havenots, it becomes extremely toxic. Not to mention all the creators who just stop posting to Youtube for weeks because they have that cozy little community that is giving them money every single month. Why post to people who see stuff for free when you can post for the ones who pay? We only have enough time to make one video this week, I guess the ones who pay deserve it more! I sincerely hope that this doesn't happen because you've built a wonderful community, however, the mighty do fall and often they trip over their own feet.


Um it's hard to give up $5 a month..i know people are going to slam me for just five bucks but i already cut back a lot to barely keep my head above water. I'm aware that y'all got to make money as well so keep doing what y'all doing! Maybe one day I'll be able to get this luxury of being y'alls friend!

I would love to be your friend for 5 dollars but to be my friend it will cost 10 dollars a month. Can you pay through paypal?

Maybe you should be TheHowToMakeMoneyOffYourKidsFamily. You guys have lost it.

We are big fans of you. But it seems like it is a one way relationship. It implies that we don't have anything valuable to share with you besides $5 dollars. It also implies that we have not figured out the same parenting tips like you have.

Getting ready to sell everything I have just to become your friend!

I thought we were friends all this time. Damn. LOL

 

[lfc_sarah]

I loved the guys until today, the clickbait video with no actual answer to what happened and if she's okay. Gah. Why?!

 

[Instawho?]

I know this is a quiet thread, but over the past year or so the Bucketlist family just haven’t sat right with me. Their IG story today shows Garrett talking about abuse he experienced as a child, obviously horrific, but he is using this as bait to get people to sign up to “Bucketlist friends” to hear the whole story. Using a horrific experience like this for profit is so wrong in my opinion. Also using Jessica’s skiing injury as click bait pissed me off.
They used to be a lovely family to watch, really genuine, but they seem to have lost their way.

I totally agree and searched their thread to see if anyone had said anything similar. For me that was incredibly triggering and then for the content to be hidden behind a pay wall. I think the whole thing is horrific. I don't follow them but it came up on my explore page as I must have seen their content before. For young people watching that, it is so so wrong. I could never imagine talking about such things but thinking, hang on I'll get people to pay to see this. This is next-level messed up social media conditioning if this is what content creators are resorting to. And for his wife to edit this deliberately to leave in scenes of distress for click bate wow!

 

[DaisyDaisy87]

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/bucket-list-family-accident-video buzzfeed have picked up on it !

Has anyone watched their most recent video?? If anything I think it makes last weeks worse. Jessica says herself she wasn’t in pain, she only got heli-lifted back to the hotel and went to the hospital the next day. Drove herself to survey (which concerns me with an ACL Tear, I legally couldn’t drive with mine as I wouldn’t have been able to do an emergency stop). So much for being in such a terrible situation they couldn’t update people.

Oh this article is great I’m glad they picked up on it. Garrett seemed so strange on today’s stories. The whole thing has really revealed his true colours I think.

 

[TheCutiePatootie]

I remember reading an article (not sure where) about a woman who had removed all the videos of her kids off YouTube because she found out that some of the ones that included them in swimwear had been embedded/put onto child porn sites. I've always found it weird how despite the fact they seem to try and come across as a wholesome Mormon family they come across quite the opposite (they don't talk religion much but they met as Mormon missionaries and mentioned trying to go to church every Sunday even if it wasn't always their denomination in earlier vlogs). The kids are always in the swim clothes, I'm not sure if I've seen a single video without them going swimming and Dorothy is rarely in an actual swimsuit it's almost always tiny bikinis. I used to enjoy their travel content but you've got to wonder who else is watching.

Maybe they don't care because views = money.

I actually recently started watching their videos and it took me a very short time to realise that there are some problems. Searching whether other people felt the same way or if I was being the weirdo got me to this site and other comments on Reddit.

i. Dorothy actually has several close-ups and zoom-ins that are very inappropriate many times in their videos. When a child is swimming you don't follow her from behind while she does it, you take shots from the front or side. () How does the father edit that and just leave it in? Yikes! 2 million views on that video, you have no idea who is watching. And now their videos are almost always about swimming, hardly ever anything interesting like when they were in Bhutan.

ii. And in the recent video it is clear that Dorothy and Cali want to be home. Dorothy wants a best friend and Cali wants to join a soccer team. Can't exactly do that if you are traveling around the world. Actually, Dorothy has said it very clearly in her own words ( - Notice how Dorothy doesn't read as well as Claire despite being the same age ) This traveling and fun in the sun lifestyle isn't for the children, it's for Garett.

 

[LLR]

I remember reading an article (not sure where) about a woman who had removed all the videos of her kids off YouTube because she found out that some of the ones that included them in swimwear had been embedded/put onto child porn sites. I've always found it weird how despite the fact they seem to try and come across as a wholesome Mormon family they come across quite the opposite (they don't talk religion much but they met as Mormon missionaries and mentioned trying to go to church every Sunday even if it wasn't always their denomination in earlier vlogs). The kids are always in the swim clothes, I'm not sure if I've seen a single video without them going swimming and Dorothy is rarely in an actual swimsuit it's almost always tiny bikinis. I used to enjoy their travel content but you've got to wonder who else is watching.

Maybe they don't care because views = money.

 

[Veronicacorningstone]

Ohhh, thanks, that makes sense (given their follower base and his vaguely libertarian ramblings).

He was trying to hint that he also doesn’t believe in wearing masks either, not surprising for a family who hopped through as many countries as they could during a pandemic haha

 

[anna12023]

Such poor taste. not even to give an update that she is okay via Instagram stories. they just lost a follower. Also, there is no way they were skiing last week as its almost May....it looked like it was more wintery. Ski resorts can have snow in May but you can usually see some melt. My point being that this is delayed content and Garett's overly dramatic Instagram stories were filmed and saved. idk why that gives me such a bad taste

 

[Veronicacorningstone]

Does anyone still watch them? I love the kids they are so sweet but I’m sickened at the content and video they’ve put up today with click bait about a ski accident and then leaving it as a ‘to be continued’ with Jess crying in the background - not fair to their fans or the people who pay to watch!!

Especially when they’ve recently been hinting Jess is pregnant, not nice way to play with their followers emotions at all

 

[ambreuk]

It’s gross. Garrett is like one of those “be a man”/mental toughness is all dads that you see in the flashback scene of some film about why eg a male sportsman character is incredibly messed up. “My dad made me go in an ice bath when I was 3 even though I cried” is like an anecdote from some harrowing autobiography. “My dad made me go in an ice bath FOR AN INTERNET VIDEO when I was 3 even though I cried” is even worse.
I also can’t get over how dangerous and stupid the piggyback surfing is. I wouldn’t put a child that size in the sea without a flotation device (I surf) and not out of their depth. When kids that size have proper lessons they’re on boogie boards, attached to them, and in ankle deep water. He could let go and drown really quickly.

All those kids will need therapy when they're older, except maybe Dorothy. Their lives are not their own because of Garrett. Manilla and Calihan have very different personalities compared to their Dad. They never have gotten the chance to explore life at their own pace, in their own way. They have never been in one place long enough to grow some roots, get confident in their friendships/environment because they are jostled about all the time. Every single thing those kids do, is for Garrett and his twisted way of how life should be/look.

 

[LLR]

It is completely heartbreaking that the poor kid is so desperate for friends. That Crosby friendship is so fake though… I can’t stand that channel either. Everything these YouTubers do is calculated for views.

Everything both families does is for views but honestly I think the kids having friends that are also on YouTube is good for them if this is going to be their life, I can't imagine what it's like to have your whole life online and I think that it would be good for them to have someone who can understand the whole weirdness and that they can relate more to. Also if you both have to film and travel then there isn't the whole feeling left behind thing which could quite easily get you ditched for a new best friend.

 

[Cariad]

I see Garrett was surfing with the boys in the moonlight.....once again no flotation device for Cali and no heed to potential problems of surfing in the dark! ...he woke the boys up and didn't tell Jess where he was going...so bloody irresponsible and it seems the vast majority of their followers think so too!

 

[SBJ]

I think Garrett is just a giant child and would prefer to be his children’s best friends than their dad. I used to really like them but I get so fed up with their “we’re a normal family” tag line because I mean they aren’t are they? I also think their cartoon idea is bizarre?

I definitely see Garrett as a giant man child. He mostly seems to interact with his children in the context of either surf/snorkel or soccer/football and it's like what is he doing the rest of the time?

Cartoon might work, but it's just an idea so it would depend on how it was executed. Does seem weird to want to cartoonise your children for when they don't want to let you film them as much anymore.

They are definitely not a normal family, they were much more normal when they started their channel and there was a huge amount of luck involved in them getting where they are. Nowadays Garrett just seems a bit full of himself and I feel sorry for Jess having to do all the actual work. Garrett probably counts playing with his drone as work time.

 

[Jayjay0203]

I used to love their videos and would religiously watch them on Sunday evenings. It was a way of seeing the world from my livingroom, and I really fell for their “less is more” selling technique.
I think I stopped watching when the monetised bucket list friends came about. The whole feel of the videos changed and the thumbnails on YouTube became click bait. It’s just so money orientated now, and I think they are really stretching for content. Maybe a better solution would’ve been exploring the beautiful island they live on. We never saw anything but the beach view and that ridiculous bath. I’d have maybe continued watching if they’d taken it in the direction of ‘this is how we’ve integrated into the community, this was difficult, this was easy..’ I dunno, maybe that’s all behind the pay wall I refused to jump.
Not for me any more, and the way it seems, not for 4/5 BLF members either.

 

[Mama2]

I was subscribed until the friend invite. Totally turned off by how fake and greedy they sounded. A gift-A coloring page? If all of their subscribers joined the club, they would be making almost 4 million a month. Asking us for money for the school in India also turned me off. Most people are barely making it over here in the USA living tightly paycheck to paycheck which brings me to another BLF annoyance of their intro that says they are the typical average family. NOT! Average families do not have $55 million in the bank and travel the world for free by asking for free hotel, airfare and excursions in exchange for promoting their product.

 

[Bora Bora Local]

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/stephaniemcneal/bucket-list-family-accident-video buzzfeed have picked up on it !

Has anyone watched their most recent video?? If anything I think it makes last weeks worse. Jessica says herself she wasn’t in pain, she only got heli-lifted back to the hotel and went to the hospital the next day. Drove herself to survey (which concerns me with an ACL Tear, I legally couldn’t drive with mine as I wouldn’t have been able to do an emergency stop). So much for being in such a terrible situation they couldn’t update people.

 

[Natsterino]

Omg now they are asking their subscriber's for 7 million dollars this is just ridiculous. Garrett is a multi millionaire for god sake.

 

[quietasamouse]

Also, I just want to say that this accident probably happened about a month before the videos were posted, they don't post in real time, I remember when they were on a Disney cruise with some other youtubers who I follow, the other family did post in real time and BLF were about a month behind with their content. I get that, it's fair enough, but for Garrett to imply that he didn't have time to update because of it all, as if she'd just had the accident the day before, was bull. The BLF treat their followers so terribly, I can imagine Garrett just laughing at people meanly, they haven't done any self reflection over this, they're terrible. I love Jess actually and I wish that she would find the strength to put her foot down with Garrett and maybe even leave, although I doubt she would ever do that because of her faith.

 

[Dave In Thailand]

Ok so I've been traveling around Thailand for the last 6 months and during that time I have watched loads of travel vlogs, but after a while I noticed that they fall into 3-4 categories, and each one is designed to manipulate the audience into clicks and views via clickbait images, deceptive titles, or just ridiculously faked content. I agree with the analysts who say social media is broken - FB was about connecting people, now it's Big Brother listening through your phone and trying to monetise your every move. YouTube used to be funny videos or how-to videos, now it's largely vloggers trying to monetise their travel videos.
I literally just heard about The Bucket List Family and agree with all the comments here. Dysfunctional Dad who admits to having family issues but instead of doing what the rest of us did and gotten counseling, is acting out his issues on YouTube.
I get why some people followed them, but I haven't watched one of their videos and won't. It's all so hideously twee and fake. What stunned me though was reading about the knee injury cliffhanger video. Not only that dad's actions were reprehensible, but that people were actually losing sleep over worry about the mom's health. Seriously?? If you are *that* invested in the lives of people you don't even know, you have issues.
Another thing to note is that there is a lot of media about how much money they have raised for charity, but the fact is that rich people never give their own money away. Even Princess Di never gave any of her money when she was raising money for her landmine charity. The BLF certainly aren't giving any of their money to these charity's. Have I raised 10 mil for a charity? No. Have I given more money to charity than them. Yep.
There is a ton of good travel content out there - Jack Whitehall Travels With My Father on Netflix for example. Why anyone would watch this drek let alone get emotionally invested in it is beyond me (just don't understand it - not judging anyone). Also I've given up watching Thailand travel vlogs because they are all as bad as BLF. Life is too short etc