I have an II exchange at So. Lake Tahoe

[FreeTime]

What should I do? I am quickly approaching the 14 day mark and want to cancel prior to that if I can so that I have a year to rebook if I can't find availability elsewhere. How difficult will it be to find an exchange in San Diego or Las Vegas this late? I want to keep Lake Tahoe but with the fires it is iffy. I know that I will probably have to borrow additional points as we have a studio now and to my understanding they are hard to come by. I would rather not trade to Las Vegas but will if I have to. We already have 4 days booked at a casino in Las Vegas. We are also going to Disneyland and I don't think that I can reuse my points to add on additional nights there. Help!

 

[Laxmom]

Are you sure II will give you a year to use your week on this short notice? We just cancelled an exchange to Kauai for Dec. and we were given the 1 year option but they mentioned that there is a point where you lose your week. Double ck the year thing with II just to be sure.

Good Luck!!

 

[dis-happy]

2 weeks is still a loooong time for those wildfires to be put under control. I would go ahead and keep my plans. We were in Reno a couple of summers ago during a raging wildfire and it didn't impact us in the least (other than seeing a few ashes on the patio). Hope it works out for you and and you enjoy your trip.... Oh, if you're into hiking, there's a great day hike you can do up Mt. Rose (which, BTW, you can see in the Soarin' video....a large peak off-center to the right as you glide over Lake Tahoe!).

 

[shellybaxter]

I don't think I'd want to vacation in So. Lake Tahoe in two weeks. The fire will most likely be in the mopping up stage, but the community may very well still be in disary. I live about two hours away from the fire and this fire is bigger and far more damaging then the fires of recent years. I believe the effects of the fire on local communities will be felt for a while.

 

[CarolMN]

At this point, my advice is to call MS, ask for a Supervisor and ask her/him your questions.

Good luck!

 

[Dean]

While you would have a year, you could only book things short notice, I think it'll be within 60 days. I wouldn't cancel it unless there is no other choice.

 

[Laxmom]

Here is a link to a discussion on TUG about the fire, if you haven't seen it yet. There is a map showing where the resorts are and where the fire is. Thought you might find it interesting. Hope it helps.

http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49696

 

[FreeTime]

Thanks everyone for the updates and advice everyone. I had read that the local resorts were housing the people who are homeless. So I am not sure how the places would handle reservations. I would much rather lose my points then put someone out that may need a place to live. We are talking about turning our Tahoe portion of our vacation into a "help clean up the community" week. I am sure there will be lots of stuff in the area that will need done. I am hesitant to call the resort and ask for info as I don't want to seem selfish worrying about my vacation when the folks there have so much more to worry about. I guess I will give DVC a call tonight and see if they have any info.

 

[FreeTime]

So I just talked to MS. They suggested that I call the Marriott right away as they have not received any updates to exchanges no longer being available yet, but they could be occurring. MS said that they would work with II to find someplace else and try to eliminate any change fees. I called Marriott and there was not an answer. So I guess I will wait a few more days.

 

[Dean]

So I just talked to MS. They suggested that I call the Marriott right away as they have not received any updates to exchanges no longer being available yet, but they could be occurring. MS said that they would work with II to find someplace else and try to eliminate any change fees. I called Marriott and there was not an answer. So I guess I will wait a few more days.

did you call resort correctly, if not you may want to do so. You could also call Marriott member services. Your best bet may be to try to make an alternate Exchange without actually canceling the exchange you have. You would do that by calling Disney exchange member services. You explain the situation as you already have, and have them look for something already in the system to take is an alternate exchange. If you cancel between 14 to 59 days prior to travel, you will only be able to make a request for travel less than 60 days prior to your travel. Less than 14 days you can only request for 30 days or less and only from "select destinations".

 

[FreeTime]

did you call resort correctly, if not you may want to do so. You could also call Marriott member services. Your best bet may be to try to make an alternate Exchange without actually canceling the exchange you have. You would do that by calling Disney exchange member services. You explain the situation as you already have, and have them look for something already in the system to take is an alternate exchange. If you cancel between 14 to 59 days prior to travel, you will only be able to make a request for travel less than 60 days prior to your travel. Less than 14 days you can only request for 30 days or less and only from "select destinations".

I did call to the Timberlodge and they said that they are not planning on cancelling any reservations.

If I need to cancel I definately want to try to before the 14 days so I have a longer booking window. When I talked to MS they said they would try to find a different exchange now if I like.

Thanks again!

 

[Grumpy Grandma]

We live about an hour and 1/2 from Tahoe. Just spent the last week up at the Ridge at South Lake Tahoe. The Ridge is located high on the hill so the smoke was never bad. We watched the fire start on Sunday as we sat at the pool - in the beginning couldn't tell exactly where it was. We did go down to the beach at lake level everyday - just couldn't go to Pope Beach or Camp Richardson. We headed to Nevada Beach and Round Hill Beach. On the days that we were at the beach the smoke was never bad due to the way the wind was blowing - seemed to just miss those beaches. The Lodge you are staying at is located in the casino area which is several miles from the fire area. While we were there I never heard that any of the locals where being lodged there so you wouldn't be taking a room from them. Most locals stayed with friend or family. A few of the smaller motels did make rooms available and there were also two emergency shelters. The bike trails over in the fire area would probably not be very pleasant to use but all other areas should be okay. I know it might seem heartless to vacation at the area but they could really use the $$$. We'll be heading up to the North end of the lake this Tuesday evening to spend 5 days. Last I heard So Shore was still planning their 4th of July fireworks. When we left yesterday the fire was about 85% contained and they were expecting full containment on the 3rd. So if you haven't cancelled your vacation yet I would say to go ahead and go. Maybe while you are there you could find some way that you could spend some time or money helping the locals. We spent seven years living at the North end of the lake and it is still one of my favorite vacation locations. If you would like any other suggestions on what to do while you are there or what you could do to help the locals feel free to ask.