has anyone left a trip early?

[MSC]

Well, being the eternal optimist, I kept a scheduled trip to WDW in June despite that my mother was in hospice care w/ terminal cancer. On the second day of our trip, I spoke with her from WDW, and she was having a good day and apologized for ruining our trip (worrying about her, etc.), but I said of course she wasn't ruining the trip, and that I'd see her when we got back in four days.

It was the last time I talked to her. She passed on our last day there. I'm not only dealing with the grief, but with the guilt of not being with her, and feeling selfish for having gone. (In reality, I think I was just in denial).

We made the choice to go, mainly for the sake of our DD5&3, and for me, it turned out to be the wrong choice. In the final analysis, all of my rationalizations for why we should go despite the circumstances amounted to diddly squat. So I say this not to pass judgment on whatever you decide to do, or even to give an opinion on what choice you should make. But I just thought I'd relate my experience for what it's worth.

Also for what it's worth, I bought a travel insurance policy to cover trip interruption from www.insuremytrip.com. The policy I bought would cover anything Disney doesn't refund (even, for example, the unused portion of a parkhopper), as well as the difference in cost if you need to change flights, etc. A nice piece of mind for $100 for our trip. (I didn't need it, of course, because my mother passed on the last day of our trip, and we came home as planned.)

 

[tessqt]

About 4 years ago we had a trip planned, we were staying off-site, but with many reservations (car rental Priceline) and additional tickets like Mickey's Christmas party and a behind the scenes.

My Mother had a heart attack, but didn't want us to miss the trip because of her, she was going too. That was the Wed before Thanksgiving, my brother and his family left on Thanksgiving morning because the doctors said she would be fine. Well, they apparently didn't know what they were talking about. My Mom was kept alive with balloons because her artieries were completely blocked and would have Quad by-pass on Monday after her system rested. My brother and his family returned Friday morning, we just lost the deposit on the off-site rental, I was refunded my car rental with a $5 deposit, Disney refunded the Christmas party and behind the scenes cost. No problem at all.

My Mom survived and 2 years later we all went again including MOM!!

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

Would I go to WDW with a terminally ill relative? Maybe, if that is what the relative wanted me to do. On one hand, I can see wanting to be close to home should the worst occur. On the other, though, I have a grandma who was terminally ill for over a year. We were called up 7 times to make the 3 hour drive because grandma wouldn't make it through the night, but she did. You can't put your life on hold, so your decision should be based on the totality of the circumstances.

 

[clkelley]

Just a caution, if you have a ROOM ONLY reservation, then yes, you should get back any nights that you did not use when you check out early. However, you will lose any days on expiring tickets. However, at that time you could pay the fee to have the remaining days become non-expiring.

If you have a package it will be more difficult to get your room and meal credits refunded (if you bought the meal plan). An understanding CM (Manager) may be able to give you a voucher for a future visit, but I wouldn't expect anything more than that unless you purchased trip insurance. However, you will still be able to pay the fee to have the remaining ticket days become non-expiring.

Carol

 

[alohaguy]

I wasn't going to get into the details of my situation, but since many have been offering opinions, I thought I'd clear it up.

My wife's grandfather just died three weeks ago. They live in St. Louis, I live on Cape Cod, MA - 1,000 miles away. We had visited with them just before he passed away (thankfully) and flew back only three weeks later for his funeral. My wife's grandmother -86- is now having heart trouble but the doctors say she has a few months to a year left (but of course they can't be sure). The point is, since we don't live near them, we unfortunately don't see them on a regular basis anyway. We were thankful for the time we've had with them recently - and everyone in the family is urging us to move forward, including taking our trip. I was just wondering about cancellations because everything, including family emergencies, unfortunately has a financial consequence that must be thought about, however uncooth that may be.

Also ... we go to disney frequently because I have business in Florida and am lucky enough to mix the two.

Thanks for all of your help and well-wishes.

 

[alohaguy]

Let's see......Take my FIFTH trip to Disney this year, or spend the last few moments of my grandma's life with her? This is obviously not a once in a lifetime trip for you.

This is not my situation, and not quite a fair characterization.

 

[O2BNWDW]

alohaguy..take your trip. It will make your grandmother happy to know you are doing something you love.

We left early last Sept due to hurrican. DVC "refunded" all of our points. I don't think you will have a problem. Disney is very caring in these situations.

 

[pampam]

In February we had to leave early because of a death, and Disney could not have been any nicer. Please see my post " How Disney Handled a difficult Situation ".

 

[Miss Bianca]

I was there Sept. 11, and obviously I wanted to go home immediately. Aside from the threat to our nation, there was also a huricane raging outside. Disney went above and beyond, to try and help everyone in this sittuation. Our flights were obviously canceled, and our trip wasn't due to end for 5 more days. I was given a full refund, and they secured a rental car for my family to drive home, and even drove us to the rental company to pick it up. Many people were given free rooms, if they could not secure a way home. I would go ahead on my trip if I were in your place. Feel secure knowing Disney will do their very best to help you, should a sittuation occur.

 

[Tinkerbelles]

yes, I have a few times. Disney always was understannding.....I do not think you have anythig to worry about.

 

[cindym]

We left early last January and got a refund of a room only reservation for our remaining nights. Our reason for leaving was that hubby *gasp* didn't like WDW and was bored! I have been there many times so this was no problem for me as we were headed for the beach!