CBR and Murphy's Law

[PugLover]

Hey Dis Friends,

As some of you may remember I posted a few months ago about a potential conflict I would have with our Sept trip to the CBR and a career opporunity that was presented to me. I wavered back and forth as to what to do, even posted here for feedbak and finally decided to keep things as is. BTW, we are supposed to be leaving THIS SATURDAY.

Last week I found out this opporunity is now in a very advanced stage and my husband and I simply cannot take a vacation. This is simply the opportunity of a lifetime and one I have sacraficed and strived to reach for many years now.

We did not purchase the travel insurance, never in our lives have we have to cancel a vacation. Disney has been most difficult in helping us modify our reservation. I finally got a most helpful CM on the phone yesterday (Bethany, she was fantastic) however the systems were frozen and she could not help us. I am currently on hold once again trying to get this rectified. We simply need to move our FTP to November. If they do not allow this then we will simply pay the 200 cancellation fee and get our remaining balance back. There are plenty of resort areas in this country that would be more flexible considering the situation at hand.

I am dissapointed this trip ordeal has been so stressful but nothing could take me off the cloud I am on now. Please keep your fingers crossed we get a helpful CM that can modify our trip to a later date.

Thank you so much for all the info ya'll provided on the CBR, dining options and all things Disney related, you truly are experts. Hopefully we will still get to enjoy "the World" in the next few months.

Lastly, I want to offer a HUGE public thanks to all of you that have e-mailed me and PM'd me directly offering your support and participation in the final round of my project. As some of you know I have been working on a script for a television show for three years. A few months ago my script was handpicked to be entered in a competition sponsored by a production company that was searching the nation for a writer/creator without any Hollywood ties. The winner of this nationwide contest would have their concept made into a pilot episode and shopped to major networks for potential sale. I never dreamed I would go this far and now am in the semi-final round, my script ranked as one of the top 150 in the nation. Although the first several rounds of eliminations were judged by industry professionals and network executives the final round that takes the 150 semi-finalist to just 5 is determined by public vote. With just ten days left I am in the thick of all of this and simply cannot sacrafice my life work for a vacation. I have been so busy doing local and national media interviews all week it has been crazy.

Thanks again, Disney Guru's! I will keep in touch, hopefully with lots of good news to share!

PugLover aka Nicole

 

[Poohbear123]

Remember: DISNEY will ALWAYS be there, this opportunity may not be! Let us all know how things went and what channel to watch your show!

 

[safetymom]

Nicole, I am sure Disney will do what it can with your reservation. If you have to lose the $200 and win the competition that is a small price to pay.

Enjoy it all!!! Congratulations.

 

[hulabird]

Good luck Nicole! I hope all your dreams come true! I hope the next thing we hear is that you are celebrating in WDW after winning the competition! Extra pixie dust coming your way for added luck!

Whatever happens, you already did a great job by being in the top 150 in the nation, what a great accomplishment!

 

[PugLover]

Updates....

After calling Disney six different times in two days I reached a CM (Aurora) that was able to access her system. She explained that Disney just got new systems and they are having a problem with the software "freezing" after reaching a certain point in the reservation process. Amazing that a company that large with that much call volume can have several days of malfunctioning systems.

We had to cancel. I just dont have time this week to dedicate any further efforts to making this trip work with the FTP. According to the Disney website, my long time travel agent at Liberty Travel and a rep I spoke to at AAA travel there is availability for the three available weeks we could go. Aurora claimed up and down all three sources were wrong and she knew so without even checking. Whatever.

She said I would recieve my refund in about 3 weeks, minus the 200 deposit I put down (we paid our final balance with a check). I did ask to speak to a supervisor because I feel this is a very extreme situation that perhaps they could assist me with and she said there was nothing a supervisor could do. Perhaps that would have been the case but I find it most frustrating when I ask a company I do business with to speak to a higher up and I am refused. A low level travel rep has no authority to make such decisions/provisions and I know that.

We will go to Disney still, just in a few months. I will learn all the facts/discounts before I decide on a package or "room only" ressie. We will NOT be booking direct w/Disney however. I was just lovely with Disney (even though their policies worked against me but I understood) until I was refused a supervisor. I do plan to e-mail corporate just to voice my displeasure.

So, that is my update. Thanks so much for all the kind and encouraging words on this thread. You are all lovely and a wonderful community.

Nicole

 

[PugLover]

Last update (I promise) and a bit of an FYI still looking to book pacakges.

I was just on Delta Airlines website (they are my airline of choice and I collect frequent flyer miles like crazy). Delta Vacations is offering the WinterDreamMaker package with airfare at all resorts, the big bonus is you get 10,000 delta miles when you book a package (plus miles for the airfare as usual). You are not required to use the Delta Amex Card, any credit card is fine to get the 10,000 bonus miles.

If we decide to book a package (instead of room only ressie) I will probably go this route. After the 10,000 bonus miles post I will then have enough for a free ticket. So, even though the pkg. may cost a bit more booking through Delta I will be saving in the future because I will have a free ticket (and chances are I will need that ticket for travel from NY to LA, a pricey flight).

Funny how things work out!
Have a great weekend all
Nicole