Help! Can I cancel my package ressies and just pay in full before trip?!

[dismom22]

I'll be honest...we are terrible savers. When I booked our package thru Disney, we made the deposit. We have only paid a small portion of what's owed and now our 45 day mark is quickly approaching...like on Monday. I don't think we will have all the funds before then and I really hate to do anything crazy like take out a payday loan or something. Asking a family member is out of the question as is using a credit card - we don't have one!!

Like the title of the thread says...can I cancel before my 45 days? Will I get everything back or will I be out the $200 deposit? (I was thinking this was just if you cancel within 45 days?) Will I still get the same rates and free dining if I call and book a couple weeks before our arrival date? Ya know, give us a chance to save some more $$$...it'll give us an additional 3 paychecks to help pay it...

I'm soooo very torn with what to do. We absolutely can not cancel. We already have our plane tickets AND we had to cancel our WDW honeymoon last September due to an error with the bank (seriously, not our fault that time). This is supposed to be a family vaca AND to celebrate our anniversary trip. I'm so looking forward to it...obsessing even. So is our DD3! Help!!

 

[mickeynut1]

I'll be honest...we are terrible savers. When I booked our package thru Disney, we made the deposit. We have only paid a small portion of what's owed and now our 45 day mark is quickly approaching...like on Monday. I don't think we will have all the funds before then and I really hate to do anything crazy like take out a payday loan or something. Asking a family member is out of the question as is using a credit card - we don't have one!!

Like the title of the thread says...can I cancel before my 45 days? Will I get everything back or will I be out the $200 deposit? (I was thinking this was just if you cancel within 45 days?) Will I still get the same rates and free dining if I call and book a couple weeks before our arrival date? Ya know, give us a chance to save some more $$$...it'll give us an additional 3 paychecks to help pay it...

I'm soooo very torn with what to do. We absolutely can not cancel. We already have our plane tickets AND we had to cancel our WDW honeymoon last September due to an error with the bank (seriously, not our fault that time). This is supposed to be a family vaca AND to celebrate our anniversary trip. I'm so looking forward to it...obsessing even. So is our DD3! Help!!

If you cancel prior to 45 from arrival, you will get everything back with no penalty. However, if you booked with a discount (looks like you have FD) that is no longer available, you will lose that and not be able to get it back. With that said, if there is another discount going on with availability at the resort/room type you want when you are able to rebook and pay if full, you can get that discount. Good luck.

 

[Blessedwithboys]

I'll be honest...we are terrible savers. When I booked our package thru Disney, we made the deposit. We have only paid a small portion of what's owed and now our 45 day mark is quickly approaching...like on Monday. I don't think we will have all the funds before then and I really hate to do anything crazy like take out a payday loan or something. Asking a family member is out of the question as is using a credit card - we don't have one!!

Like the title of the thread says...can I cancel before my 45 days? Will I get everything back or will I be out the $200 deposit? (I was thinking this was just if you cancel within 45 days?) Will I still get the same rates and free dining if I call and book a couple weeks before our arrival date? Ya know, give us a chance to save some more $$$...it'll give us an additional 3 paychecks to help pay it...

I'm soooo very torn with what to do. We absolutely can not cancel. We already have our plane tickets AND we had to cancel our WDW honeymoon last September due to an error with the bank (seriously, not our fault that time). This is supposed to be a family vaca AND to celebrate our anniversary trip. I'm so looking forward to it...obsessing even. So is our DD3! Help!!

I think you have a few options as far as I can tell, but I will try to answer a few of your questions first. If you cancel BEFORE 45 day mark you will get the entire amount back that you have paid so far. You can not just call in an cancel before your 45 day mark and then rebook, the free dining offer ends July 31 after that it is unlikely that they will have any general public discounts avaliable (outside of AAA, and AP etc.) for your dates.

As far as ways you can make it more affordable without canceling/lossing your free dining you could:
-Change resorts, I see you are booked at AOA with Free Dining so that mean a suite, they are super pricey. Why not switch to Pop, ASMo, or even CBR or POR (if there is still availability) to hold you reservation. If you are having a hard time paying the reservation maybe downgrading resorts would not be such a bad idea. Or you could downgrade for the time being (until you get the money) then call and see if you can upgrade your resort back to AOA, as long as you are going UP in price there is no charge as long as you do it before 14 days out. At 14 days out I believe there is a small upcharge no matter what type of change you make.
- Another option is to downgrade days/tickets/ticket options. In order to get your reservation amount due lower you could downgrade your number of days, tickets, and or options like hoppers or water parks and more to the minimum 2 day tickets that are required for free dining. Then when you get the money add days to your reservation and add days to your tickets/options. This is a bit more risky since you will have to rely on there being availability at your choice resort, looks like AOA.

Overall, I think if you want to keep FD you need to make one of these options or a combo of them work. For example I priced out 3 nights/ 2 day tickets for 2 adults and 1 child at Pop for mid September and package price was 956.00 with free quick service. You could call and change you package to that pay it off and then make upgrades to room/ tickets etc. As you get the money. It seems you really, really have your heart set on going, but maybe if you can't make it work its just not the right time.

 

[shannon006]

As a PP said , I would change to the POP. We really love it there and the savings over a suite at AOA is huge.

 

[DebbieB]

They will usually give you an extension to 30 days if that would help.

 

[AliceIn]

I think they will let you slide on paying for a couple of weeks, but if you don't have the money by then I think it will automatically cancel. Since you have the plane tickets, is it possible to do a less expensive vacation? POR would be much cheaper than the AoA suite, but if it's just the three of you, I'd definitely move to one of the values like one of the PP suggested. Have you thought of possibly staying offsite in a place that has a kitchen? You might have to pay that up front, but it would likely cost about $600 or so for the whole week. That would give you another month to pay for tickets (about $950 for 7 days for the three of you). If you grocery shop and pack lunches, you can probably get away with $250 or so for food for the three of you. You'd probably save close to $1000 doing this and it would give you a lot more time to put it together.

I figure an AoA suite for 6 nights would be closer to $2700 or $2800 that you'd have to pay in full within 2 weeks. If you know you don't have the cash, and it's not likely that you will, you can cancel the flights and then use the tickets at another time. Most airlines allow you to the non-refundable ticket towards another flight within the next 12 months.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[dpswift]

I would try to see if you could get into POP or the All Stars. If there is availablity you would save quite a bit. I would also as PP said go to the cheapest tickets allowed, and then upgrade them again when I got the money.


I love AoA but DH and I are staying at Movies to save money I did upgrade our dining plan but I am waiting to add the hoppers.


Good luck I hope it works out for you.

 

[dismom22]

Thanks all. I failed to mention my mother and brother are going with us...so that puts us at 5. We can either do POR, AoA or ASMusic. I think the suite would be better for us because of my mother and brother...a little more space and privacy for us all. I'm going to do some figuring and see how music compares. I really was excited about the LK suite at AoA though and the pools and the statues. I'm a kid at heart and especially with DD3...anyway. Thanks, I'm gonna see what changes and tweaks I can make and then maybe see if I can push it back another two weeks. That would help us a bit actually.

 

[megan10310]

I have paid "late" before. I called in at 45 days and asked them to note the account that we would be paying in another week when we had another paycheck. No big deal. Just stay in communication.

Ideas for getting just a little more cash together:
Eat out of the pantry
Garage sale or cl items
Donate plasma
Extra hours at work

It might be cheaper to do two rooms at an AS resort. More beds more privacy.

 

[Mom2Luci]

Two rooms are much cheaper than a suite - I would consider moving to 2 rooms at POP, that way you can still walk around AoA easily to check it all out.

 

[Robbi]

Thanks all. I failed to mention my mother and brother are going with us...so that puts us at 5. We can either do POR, AoA or ASMusic. I think the suite would be better for us because of my mother and brother...a little more space and privacy for us all. I'm going to do some figuring and see how music compares. I really was excited about the LK suite at AoA though and the pools and the statues. I'm a kid at heart and especially with DD3...anyway. Thanks, I'm gonna see what changes and tweaks I can make and then maybe see if I can push it back another two weeks. That would help us a bit actually.

Will this be your only trip to WDW? If you're planning another trip in the future, wait and book a suite then.
Good luck, I hope you can make it work.

 

[Minnesota!]

Thanks all. I failed to mention my mother and brother are going with us...so that puts us at 5. We can either do POR, AoA or ASMusic. I think the suite would be better for us because of my mother and brother...a little more space and privacy for us all. I'm going to do some figuring and see how music compares. I really was excited about the LK suite at AoA though and the pools and the statues. I'm a kid at heart and especially with DD3...anyway. Thanks, I'm gonna see what changes and tweaks I can make and then maybe see if I can push it back another two weeks. That would help us a bit actually.

2 rooms at Pop would be much cheaper. I would go that route.

 

[sndral]

I'll be honest...we are terrible savers. When I booked our package thru Disney, we made the deposit. We have only paid a small portion of what's owed and now our 45 day mark is quickly approaching...like on Monday. I don't think we will have all the funds before then and I really hate to do anything crazy like take out a payday loan or something. Asking a family member is out of the question as is using a credit card - we don't have one!!


I'm soooo very torn with what to do. We absolutely can not cancel. We already have our plane tickets AND we had to cancel our WDW honeymoon last September due to an error with the bank (seriously, not our fault that time). I'm so looking forward to it...obsessing even. So is our DD3! Help!!

At 3 DD may understand she is going to see mickey mouse and her favorite princess, but she isn't likely to know or care about which resort she stays in.
In the future may I suggest for your next WDW vacation figure out how many pay checks between when you make the reservation and when the 45 day due date is, divide the remaining cost of your trip by the number of pay days then each payday pay that amount to Disney, by the time you hit 45 days your trip will be paid off. I've done it this way for years, even though I usually have the amount needed to totally pay it off in my account when I book, it just brings a smile to my face on payday to make that payment - it's a little reminder to me that part of the reason I work so hard is to go to places like WDW.
I believe that if you paid for trip insurance through Disney and you cancel you will not get that money back, btw.

Thanks all. I failed to mention my mother and brother are going with us...so that puts us at 5. We can either do POR, AoA or ASMusic. I think the suite would be better for us because of my mother and brother...a little more space and privacy for us all. I'm going to do some figuring and see how music compares. I really was excited about the LK suite at AoA though and the pools and the statues. I'm a kid at heart and especially with DD3...anyway. Thanks, I'm gonna see what changes and tweaks I can make and then maybe see if I can push it back another two weeks. That would help us a bit actually.

Do run the numbers on 2 rooms at a value resort, that may cost less than 1 suite. POR is a lovely moderate resort, the boat trip to DTD is a real plus and I suspect your best value would be there, in your situation I'd stay there in a heartbeat and save AoA for the next trip - although it would be cramped w/ all 5.
Good luck.

 

[dismom22]

Thanks everyone. We looked into POR for the 5 of us but those were too close of quarters for my husband and mom!! Lol I had somehow never thought of doing two separate rooms, but we did some figuring and you're right! It'll save us quite a bit while also giving us all more space and privacy.

I decided to go with 2 LM rooms before realizing that they are excluded from the FD. So we went with two rooms at Pop. My mom and brother are big fans of the 60s and really all things pop culture (as am I) so I think it will appeal to more than just DD like at AoA.

I plan on going to WDW again for my daughters 6th birthday (Feb 2016) so maybe we'll try AoA then, when we also hopefully have an almost 2 year old...we're going to start trying for baby #2 when we get back!!

I can't wait to go again and again!!

 

[nkereina]

Are you footing the bill for your mother and brother? If so, no shame in asking them to help you out some. Unless, of course, they are paying their own way and have already given you their share.

I agree that the first step should be to call Disney and pay what you can while asking for an extension to pay the balance. They have been known to work with you and would much rather you pay late, than cancel all together.

 

[dismom22]

Are you footing the bill for your mother and brother? If so, no shame in asking them to help you out some. Unless, of course, they are paying their own way and have already given you their share.

I agree that the first step should be to call Disney and pay what you can while asking for an extension to pay the balance. They have been known to work with you and would much rather you pay late, than cancel all together.

Heck, no! They're paying their own lol. I did speak with someone concerning an extension. As long as I keep making small payments, if I go over 10 days it shouldn't be a problem. I am going to make a payment tomorrow at my 45 day mark and then call. Shouldn't be too difficult to get it paid off by 35 days...as I'll get paid (monthly pay period!) and DH will have another one too.

 

[dpswift]

Glad to hear they are working with you.

 

[StrwLady]

. So we went with two rooms at Pop. My mom and brother are big fans of the 60s and really all things pop culture (as am I) so I think it will appeal to more than just DD like at AoA.

we're going to start trying for baby #2 when we get back!!

I think you made a good decision going with the Pop. It is a great resort we stay there a lot. Also it is so easy to walk over to the AoA and check out the grounds.

Good luck with trying for #2. Hey one night why not let your DD sleep with Grandma and then maybe you can do some trying in the Most Magical Place on Earth!

 

[Tigger's ally]

Hey one night why not let your DD sleep with Grandma and then maybe you can do some trying in the Most Magical Place on Earth!

Hey now....

That kind of stuff happens at Disney?

 

[francie57]

If you have a Disney Visa (or quickly get one) you would have an automatic 6 months to pay for the balance. We do this every trip and just make a payment every month on the balance without every paying any interest or fees.