Debt Dumpers 2026

[EilonwyWanderer]

I'm actually pretty livid about a situation that is minor, but that we can't get out of and I feel like its extortion.

Irish Step nationals are in Orlando this year--just like 10 minutes away from Old Key West. Great, I thought, i will book with some DVC points and while it will cost us to register her and fly down there, that's saving a ton of money on hotels!

The people running the whole thing just released a statement that unless you stay at THEIR hotels, you will have to pay $100 PER PERSON PER DAY to go to the competition. Including dancers. Minimum stay: 2 nights. They won't release a list of hotels they'll be offering for room block yet, but registration will be on the 10th.

I'm so angry about it. In their FAQ there's "What if I can find a cheaper hotel not on the room block?" and their answer is: "Well make sure you add in the $100 per person per day and we think you'll find it won't be cheaper."

And they're right. Because for our family of 4, we'd have to pay $800 for two days of competition just to have her there and watch her dance. Keeping in mind we'd be there for MAYBE 45 minutes tops each day.

I'm REALLY MAD and if she wasn't dancing on a team one of the days I'd pull her completely.

 

[Tygerlilly]

I'm actually pretty livid about a situation that is minor, but that we can't get out of and I feel like its extortion.

Irish Step nationals are in Orlando this year--just like 10 minutes away from Old Key West. Great, I thought, i will book with some DVC points and while it will cost us to register her and fly down there, that's saving a ton of money on hotels!

The people running the whole thing just released a statement that unless you stay at THEIR hotels, you will have to pay $100 PER PERSON PER DAY to go to the competition. Including dancers. Minimum stay: 2 nights. They won't release a list of hotels they'll be offering for room block yet, but registration will be on the 10th.

I'm so angry about it. In their FAQ there's "What if I can find a cheaper hotel not on the room block?" and their answer is: "Well make sure you add in the $100 per person per day and we think you'll find it won't be cheaper."

And they're right. Because for our family of 4, we'd have to pay $800 for two days of competition just to have her there and watch her dance. Keeping in mind we'd be there for MAYBE 45 minutes tops each day.

I'm so angry about it and if she wasn't dancing on a team one of the days I'd pull her completely.

I absolutely *loathe* the stay to play sort of requirements. I can almost always find something that works better/cheaper for us on my own. We're a family of 5 and 90% of hotels do not have rooms that will accommodate us in the block so we have to get 2. But also, forcing someone to pay so much extra is a horrible cash grab and I'd 100% blacklist that event for the future.

 

[EilonwyWanderer]

Yeah, I'm thinking if we go and she doesn't rank we just say 'no thanks' going forward. Which will suck for the other girls and the team she's on but...I do not have that kind of money to just throw around! It's an insane ask. This is not a sport where rich families compete!

Oh and one thing that also annoyed me: You HAVE to book with their room block. If you can get a better discount with some like, AAA membership? Doesn't qualify and you still have to pay the entry fee even if you're technically staying at the "right" hotel.

So you're right. It's a total cash grab.

 

[pblack]

My middle kiddo wants to go to Disney for her 10th birthday next year. We've done DW a couple times now and it's just so insanely expensive. So I'm pivoting and thinking we might try Disneyland instead. I'm looking at one of the good neighbor hotels as our home base for the 10 days and doing 3 Disney days, 2 Universal and 5 days of just kind of exploring the area. All the hotels seem decent from what I've been looking at. As much as I'd love to stay "on property", the significant savings from having to walk across the street trumps that every single time.

If you guys end up doing this, look into getting a hotel closer to universal for those days. Getting from the anaheim area to universal city will take at minimum an hour, probably longer, especially depending on the time of day you're leaving. Id suggest making this either the first part of your trip or the last part of your trip and check into flying in or out (depending on when it falls in your itinerary) of Burbank airport.

Closer to Disneyland itself if Knotts Berry Farm, home of Snoopy. I haven't been since I was a kid, but tickets aren't usually that expensive and they also have a water park. Could be another good option if you plan on coming for a decent length of time.

 

[Tygerlilly]

If you guys end up doing this, look into getting a hotel closer to universal for those days. Getting from the anaheim area to universal city will take at minimum an hour, probably longer, especially depending on the time of day you're leaving. Id suggest making this either the first part of your trip or the last part of your trip and check into flying in or out (depending on when it falls in your itinerary) of Burbank airport.

Closer to Disneyland itself if Knotts Berry Farm, home of Snoopy. I haven't been since I was a kid, but tickets aren't usually that expensive and they also have a water park. Could be another good option if you plan on coming for a decent length of time.

We will be driving out, so the airport isn't a big deal. I've heard about the drive issues with Universal, but at the same time when I was looking up hotels near there they were pretty expensive. So it's going to come down to convenience vs cost. I'll likely have to make a decision closer to when I can *actually* book things since it's too far out to do that now.

It will also be early April. So I'm fairly sure it will be too cold for water activities. We just want to play tourist around and maybe check out a beach. Very low key non-park days.