Advise please! Altering ressie?

[KikiFan]

Fellow DISers I really need some advice! This summer I booked a trip for Christmas. (POP 12/20 -29) I paid the required deposit. SHortly after the that I was in a pretty major car wreck. I haven't been able to work full time since then. As you can imagine, things are kinda lean around here.

So the 45 day mark is coming up and I'm not sure I'm going to have the trip paid for. But I do not want to cancel. The thing is, that while things are lean right now, I've got a nice settlement coming around ,mid to the end of Nov. All of my lost wages will be paid +. The Chiro expects to release me in the next three weeks.

I'm afraid if I cancel and try to rebook when I have that money, there might not be anything available. Plus I'm on board for a fridge swap and don't want to lose that. And frankly I had to cancel this same trip last year due to family issues and I just don't think could take canceling it again.

So I'm trying to figure out my options. Can I change my package to room only? doesn't that give me till I get there to have the money? But what will that do to my rate. Since I took advantage of a code the whole change of season thing didn't impact me. But if I switch to room only - arriving on the
20th, will that jack up my rate?

And if I change it to room only can I change it back to a full package when I have the money in Dec? Or will it be better to just stay with a room only and pay everything else OOP?

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[fla4fun]

So sorry about your accident!

First, most people are reporting that if they make that kind of change to their reservation and arriving when you are, that they are being billed the higher holiday rate. Before doing anything else, I would check availability on Disney's website for those days and see what you might be facing for a room only trip.

IF you know for sure you're getting the settlement and you are willing to gamble, since it's only two months away, if it were me I would probably charge the payments to my cc and make the minimum cc payments until I could pay off the cc with the settlement. I would only do this if there was NO WAY the settlement could be delayed or denied. The amount of finance charge would probably be less over the two month period than the amount the room would increase in price if you have to pay holiday rack rate.

If you have any doubt at all about the settlement, I would check into the price difference. I would call first and book the room only ressie and if you get it at a price you can afford, then I would call back and cancel the package. Make sure you cancel the package before the 45 day point! If you end up with a room only ressie, you will have to pay for everything else OOP. Being Christmas week, I don't know how easy it would be to convert everything back into a package again at the last minute, but even if you couldn't, you'd still get to go.

If neither one of those scenarios pans out, I wouldn't cancel - I'd postpone. Call and change the dates to a time when you know you can go later. It's not so sad to postpone as it is to cancel. You just get extra planning time!

 

[phillytwins]

Sorry about your accident, but glad you're recovering well. I have been trying to get a reservation at Pop for 12/20-25, and they're booked. So you definitely don't want to cancel your ressie, but I think you should try changing it to room only. There's a code out now for December room only rates. It'll only work for your first 4 nights, and the rest will be holiday rates, but at least you'll save a little. The code is CCF. Hopefully you'll be able to change to room only and keep your POP room!

 

[KikiFan]

Thanks for the info fla4fun and phillytwins Thankfully I'm on the mend, and the lady who hit me had good insurance. It will all work out in the end, I'm just trying to make sure this accident doesn't cost me <the victim> my first vacation in 2 years!

Unfortunately a credit card is not an option. I looked up the holiday rate and it's definitely going to be a jump. Almost $400. I'll have that - I'm just cheap and don't want to spend it on the hotel!

So now I'm wondering if I can keep the package but lower the price somehow. Does a package require that you have the same number of days park ticket? In other words, would it still be considered a package if it was 9 days at POP but only Two 1 day park tickets? Upgrading tickets at check -in is no big deal right?

 

[Mickiethepooh]

To keep it a package you need only have 1 days base ticket per person in your group.

 

[fla4fun]

And if you book the package with two one-day tickets, it's no problem to upgrade them to whatever ticket you want when you get there. I don't usually book packages, but I believe if you are making changes that result in a lower overall price, there is a change fee. Can someone else clarify? Also, do you have DDP in your package? Can it be dropped and added back later, after you get your money? If so, I would do that at the same time you change your tickets, so you only have one change fee (if it exists).

I would be hesitant about trying to convert the package to a room only. If you are trying to use a code for part of the days, that will mean two separate reservations. To do that, they may have to totally cancel your current reservation in order to do the re-book. There is always the slim chance that someone else calling in will snag your room in between the cancel and the re-book. To me, that slim chance just isn't worth it. I would work on getting the package cost down instead.

Hope it all works out for you.

 

[KikiFan]

Thanks mickiethepooh and fla4fun! That was exactly what I needed. I'm going to change my tickets to two 1 day base tickets. That will drop the price of the package almost $500. That will be do-able.

fla4fun you're absolutely right about converting it to room only. The price jump is going to be huge. So I'll keep that as a lost resort. I'll wait a week or two to change my package - just to be sure how things are going. The 45 day mark isn't until Nov 4th. So that gives me time to change my ressies. Hopefully I won't need too. But at least now I've got a plan!

Thanks everyone. I just really don't want to lose this vacation. After the year I've had I really need it! And it would really suck to be sitting at home on Christmas with a fat check in hand that could have paid for Disney.

 

[karliebug]

You could also call disney and explain your situation and they may let you pay your Balance at a later date when you get y our settlement.