My trip has been doomed from the beginning

[jinxed]

Here is my long vent...

Our family trip to Disney has been planned since last April. We leave in 11 days! I should be excited, and I am really trying to be, but things just keep happening.

My husband and I split up in July and I had to use our savings for our trip to pay bills and rent for the following month because it was unexpected. (Trip is completely paid for.....the savings was our spending money.) Anyhow, problem solved. I am borrowing the money.

We just got word last night that my daughters were excepted in a preliminary pageant to vie for the Nationals later in the year. My girls are all excited. And I am too!! The pageant doesn't focus on the outside beauty of the girls, but instead the inner beauty. My girls know that it's what's inside that counts and that they are beautiful on the outside because to say otherwise would be insulting God's work.

Anyway, back to my vent....We are supposed to leave on Oct 2nd, but they need to be at training for the pageant on Oct 3rd. Unfortunately, I booked with Delta (non-refundable tickets). I just got off the phone with them to see about changing my flight out. It will cost me a total of $145 per ticket fee (there are 4 of us going). That's almost $600 dollars!!! I can't afford that, but I also don't want my daughters to miss out on the pageant.

I don't know what to do. I know other airlines are having specials. Maybe I should just book on another airline and suck up the loss. I think I read that since my tickets are non-refundable, I can take up to a year to use them, minus the change fee of course. Any suggestions?

Sorry this vent is so long. Thanks.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I think it depends on whether or not the financial loss you'll take will have a great impact on you. Will it? If so, I'd keep the tickets where they are, and explain to the girls there will be other paegants.

I don't know much about paegents but I assume they will have more, right? Will missing this one hurt them in future ones?

What do they think? Do they want to be in the paegent more than they want to go to Disneyworld?

Could you perhaps keep your return flight and just get a new outgoing flight on a cheap airline?

 

[Hillbeans]

Is there anyway you can sell the tickets on EBAY? I thought the change of name on tickets isn't that expensive.

This way, maybe you can sell them, and buy other tickets on another airline for another day and not take as much of a financial hit?

 

[jinxed]

This is their first pageant ever. I didn't think about maybe trying for the pageant next year. That's a thought! I will definately consider that and talk to them.

I was keeping my incoming flight the same. The only flight I was changing was the outgoing.

 

[jinxed]

Hillbeans - I am going to check into that. I am so overwhelmed right now that I can't even think straight, such as your idea. Going to check that out right now! Thanks.

 

[WDSearcher]

If this is to be their first pageant ever, I don't see how skipping it will be that big of a deal. After all, this trip has been planned and paid for for quite some time, and it sounds as though you need it! I would explain to the girls that the pageant sounds great, but that you have a vacation scheduled that conflicts with it, and since the vacation was planned first and can't be changed, they'll have to miss this pageant and just sign up for the next one.

Family time is MUCH more important than pageant time!

 

[SC Minnie]

Originally posted by WDSearcher
If this is to be their first pageant ever, I don't see how skipping it will be that big of a deal. After all, this trip has been planned and paid for for quite some time, and it sounds as though you need it! I would explain to the girls that the pageant sounds great, but that you have a vacation scheduled that conflicts with it, and since the vacation was planned first and can't be changed, they'll have to miss this pageant and just sign up for the next one.

Family time is MUCH more important than pageant time!

ITA

This is part of growing up. Not be able to do everything. There will be other pageants but family is more important. Sounds like you have been through a lot this year and really need it.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

With 2 weeks notice, I would be surprised if you are the only family with a conflict. I would check to see if you could do it another time--if not, there's always next year.
Robin M.

 

[scarlett873]

as a former travel agent, i was under the impression that you could not change the names on a ticket once it's been issued...


good luck in whatever you decide!

 

[jinxed]

No, cannot change names on a ticket. Anyhow, I have decided to let my girls decide. Disney or pageant. To me it doesn't really matter. If they do the pageant, then we can plan our trip to Disney maybe in the spring, and I will be able to have saved up enough money without worrying. If they decide Disney, then they can try for the pageant next year. One thing I like about the pageant is that they could win $$ in scholarships for college.

This trip was planned in October for one reason and that was to do the Halloween festivities. But because of the event that happened over the summer, I was unable to purchase the tickets for those happenings and will go without doing those, but we will still have the time of our lives of course! So, there it stands for now. Thanks for all your advise. Will let ya all know of my girls decision.