if weather delays/cancels trip - then what?

[5terre]

We are in the Northeast and we are getting hammered with snow storms this year. We are leaving late February and I am so worried that snow is going to delay or cancel our trip. We are going for such a short time (6 nights, 5 full days), I already want MORE days than we have and if we ended up with even LESS, I would be really upset, to the point that I feel like it would ruin my vacation.

So my question is, what happens in this type of situation? We are flying Southwest on a late morning direct flight. If the flight were canceled, would we have a choice with SW to take a credit and go another time? If there is a storm the day BEFORE we leave, would those people get priority to get on a flight before us, and bump us off our flight and thus delay us? If we were delayed and missed a day, would SW let us come home a day late without paying the difference if the flight is more expensive?

We have a room-only reservation at CSR. If we canceled the trip because we didn't want to shorten it, would we only be out the deposit? And what if SW did eventually get us there but we missed a night; we would still have to pay for the night we missed, right? If we were delayed and wanted to stay longer, would Disney help us out with keeping the room and our discount? I booked with a 30% off pin.

I plan on buying our park tickets from UT; would it make more sense to buy the lower number of days and then add on the extra day there, just in case we get delayed and miss a day?

Thanks for your thoughts, I know I'm probably worrying for nothing. But it's a lot of money and I have big hopes and dreams about this trip thanks to Dis, so I am having a lot of anxiety about this! It can snow all it wants while we are gone, just not the day we leave!!!

 

[bicker]

I think this thread might be of some use to you, just in case:

What to do if your flight is cancelled - Weather, mechanical, etc


Some direct answers...

If the flight were canceled, would we have a choice with SW to take a credit and go another time?

Yes. That's one of SW's major strengths.

If there is a storm the day BEFORE we leave, would those people get priority to get on a flight before us, and bump us off our flight and thus delay us?

No.

If we were delayed and missed a day, would SW let us come home a day late without paying the difference if the flight is more expensive?

No.

We have a room-only reservation at CSR. If we canceled the trip because we didn't want to shorten it, would we only be out the deposit?

And Disney might even allow you to apply that deposit to another reservation, if you just postponed your trip instead.

And what if SW did eventually get us there but we missed a night; we would still have to pay for the night we missed, right?

Yes, generally, though Disney has been known to forgive such things, even if they're not required to. And if they were actually able to fill their hotel anyway (perhaps with folks staying longer, because they couldn't get home, just like you couldn't get to WDW), then they'd have to forgive you that night's rate.

I plan on buying our park tickets from UT; would it make more sense to buy the lower number of days and then add on the extra day there, just in case we get delayed and miss a day?

No, because often the difference between X days and X+1 is $1-$3 per pass, not worth the trouble IMHO of upgrading if necessary.

 

[lost*in*cyberspace]

If there is a storm the day BEFORE we leave, would those people get priority to get on a flight before us, and bump us off our flight

No.

If the flight were canceled, would we have a choice with SW to take a credit and go another time?

Yes.

If we were delayed and missed a day, would SW let us come home a day late without paying the difference if the flight is more expensive?

No. Unless your original return flight is canceled.

If SWA issues a travel waiver due to bad weather, and your flight is canceled or delayed, they will try and rebook you on the next available flight. This could take days. You won't have to pay any additional fees. If no waiver is issued or you rebook before a waiver is issued, you will have to pay any difference in the flight cost.

As for the hotels, I am not familiar with Disney's cancellation policies.

 

[clkelley]

Disney's room only CANCELLATION policies are 5 days out, BUT you can MODIFY up to arrival time with no penalty.

So, if you just can't get there, then call and MODIFY your trip to some future date (even if you can't go then either), then call a few days later and cancel the future date.

Then you get your full deposit back.

 

[NJBILL]

I find this site very useful for weather during my trip planning..

http://travelweather.weebly.com/disney-weather.html

 

[Detailor]

We are in the Northeast and we are getting hammered with snow storms this year. We are leaving late February and I am so worried that snow is going to delay or cancel our trip.
Thanks for your thoughts, I know I'm probably worrying for nothing. But it's a lot of money and I have big hopes and dreams about this trip thanks to Dis, so I am having a lot of anxiety about this! It can snow all it wants while we are gone, just not the day we leave!!!

We've flown from New England to Orlando for the past fourteen winters in late February or early March - often for the public school winter vacation at the end of February that seems to run at the same time for almost every school in New England. You just never know what the weather's going to be like - think about last week's predicted big snowstorm for much of Massachusetts that didn't really materialize into much of a weather event. Likewise, a storm can linger longer than predicted and create all sorts of travel mess.

Despite the vagaries of the weather, we've been delayed, for any reason, twice over the past fourteen years - once because we were scheduled to leave during the second day of a blizzard (7:00 am flight was cancelled but we were put on a 6:30 pm flight on the same day) and once because of equipment failure (they couldn't fix a broken steering wheel that controlled the landing equipment) on a jet in Vermont and we asked to be placed on a flight out of Boston that afternoon.

One other time a storm was being forecast and we chose to change (and pay for) from an early Saturday morning flight to a Friday evening flight in order to avoid the potential delay (the storm ended up being not as bad as forecast and the original Saturday flight actually got to Orlando about twenty minutes before schedule).

So, when it comes to winter flying, we plan for the worst, hope for the best and adjust for what we actually have to deal with. While I think you're more concerned about getting your time in Orlando, if you're concerned about the cost associated with a cancellation then I'd suggest that you look into trip insurance.

Good luck with your vacation.

Dick Taylor