Help! ?? About changing DVC reservations

[BuzznBelle'smom]

I'm really freaking out and could use some calm, rational help.

We are currently booked for an 11-night split stay AKV/BCV the last two weeks in August. I've just booked airfare, ordered AP's, the usual "obsessive Disney planning" stuff has occurred. Although we've been to WDW several times, this will be our first trip "home".

Out of the blue, my DH has gotten a job offer...a good one. A really good one. That requires moving out of state. We would be ~3 hours from where we currently live. My first priority is my 4 children, so I've been suddenly researching the schools in the new town. They start back to school earlier than our current district, and if we move, I absolutely must change my dates. At least truncate the trip.

In the general scheme of moving 4 children and leaving the town we've lived in for 20 years, DVC is a very small thing. However, I need to know how, exactly, I would go about changing reservations. Do I have a prayer of getting additional days added on the front of the reservation? What happens to my points? Can I change non-refundable tickets?

Please understand, i will be looking at the member handbook, talking to Member Services, etc. I just figured it would help to throw my question out to the experts here. I have a lot to wrap my head around.

TIA

 

[DMKEDM]

Congrats to your DH...as you say, in the grand scheme of things, this is cause for celebration, even if it is short-term disruptive to your vacation planning (and a hassle to move)...

It's easy (process-wise) to change DVC reservations...just call MS and ask about availability for your "new" dates...if there's plenty, go ahead and cancel your existing reservation and rebook your new dates...if you can (if you have enough points to do it), book your new dates before you cancel your existing reservation...that way you won't risk losing your accommodations to the wait list if it's a tight time of year...

(We've never had trouble booking in August...but one never knows and I've only booked once, for late August, since joining DVC)...

As for your points...the points you "get back" from the days you cancel will become exactly what they were before you booked...if they were borrowed (or banked), they stay borrowed (or banked) and will have to be used prior to the expiration of your use year...if they're current year points, you can bank them so long as you're within the first 8 months of your use year.

Given the timing issues that are causing you to have to change your reservations, you may have no choice except to cancel and then rebook--if that's the case, make sure you tell the CM at MS that ahead of the CM taking any action...I think there's a way for the CM to put a very short "hold" on new space so you won't lose anything during the time it takes to cancel and then rebook...

As for your airplane tix--basically every airline has a change fee for nonrefundable tickets...and the way prices are rising, the change fees I'm used to may have gone up--but last time I changed a nonrefundable airplane ticket, I had to pay $100 for each person for each flight ... so if you're changing both coming and going, it'd be $200/person...you also have to pay (or get refunded) the difference in the actual cost of the new flights and the cost of the flights you're changing...I don't know of any exceptions (except weather-related airlines-caused flight changes) to these rules...but it never hurts to ask...maybe your airline does have a way around those fees...

Congrats again on the new job and "the new adventure" of your new city! And good luck making the changes you need to make to your vacation!

 

[FLYNZ4]

As for your airplane tix--basically every airline has a change fee for nonrefundable tickets...and the way prices are rising, the change fees I'm used to may have gone up--but last time I changed a nonrefundable airplane ticket, I had to pay $100 for each person for each flight ... so if you're changing both coming and going, it'd be $200/person...

Generally the change fee is "per re-booking"... so if you change both the outbound, and inbound reservations at the same time... then you only pay the fee once. Of course... this can vary greatly between carriers. I just heard yesterday that United is raising their change fee from $100 to $150 effective some time in May.

/Jim

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Thanks for the replies! I hate to sound like a total moron, but this whole thing was completely out of the blue (the new job thing).

I have no problem with paying "something" to re-book the plane tickets. We'll probably wait and see what airport is the best choice at the new place, then re-book. I also figured out that we should cut 3 days off the end of this year's trip. However, the good news is, we can then go for an additional week next April, which we hadn't planned on, using the same AP's we just bought. So I don't feel so badly about having to cut this trip a little short. Also, I would book that next month, giving me the 11-month window for BCV. That at least buys me some time to get the rest of this stuff sorted out.

 

[DebbieB]

Which airline are you on? If it's Southwest, they don't charge for changes (unless there is an increase in fare).

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

Yes! We are on Southwest! I just booked the tickets last week--that's how sudden this is. I believe they fly out of the "new" airport as well. I'm waiting until we're "sure"--we're about 95% right now--before I change travel plans.