Park Reservation Accommodations

[Richard Costa]

Hello,

My wife and I are coming to DW in early August with our 4 children. Our oldest is fighting cancer and while we are thankful the prognosis is positive, his chemo does not end until late July. His doctors are confident that his being in the parks will not afford him any undue risk as long as precautions are taken.

I just read about the DAS program and we will apply for that

But my question is this. Because of the uncertanity of how he will feel, we did not want to buy park tickets ahead of time but rather, decide a day or two before we go. But we have been told that in the post Covid world you need to make park reservations.

In a situation such as this, can allowances be made for more last minute reservations without the possibly of being shut out of a park?

Thank you.

Rich Costa

 

[gap2368]

I do not think so. I would call Disney the disability line and tak to one of them. Or you can email them.

 

[cutie_dinokun]

I do not think so. I would call Disney the disability line and tak to one of them. Or you can email them.

I think they will make exceptions too. However, if you do call them, remember to get them to send you an email confirmation afterwards (if they will allow you for last minute entrance) as the last thing you want is a case of he said she said at the gate. Get everything in writing .

 

[lanejudy]

So while I would like to think WDW will make an exception -- I honestly would not count on it. As much as it seems like a "special situation" for you, there are actually many people at WDW at various stages of treatment or recovery from various issues. Everyone thinks they have a special case and wants special treatment. I don't say that to be mean, just reality. WDW may or may not be able to help.

The dated tickets were tricky anyway even before the added issue of the park reservations now. I suggest making a package reservation with at least a 2-day ticket. Depending how long you plan to stay, you may or may not want more but I think 2 is the minimum with a package. The reason I recommend this is because 1) tickets with a package are good for the length of stay allowing you to spread them out more while tickets purchase separately are limited to the valid use-window; and 2) I have to assume that with 4 kids, even if #1 isn't up to doing the parks you will need to do something with the other 3 kids so you are likely to use at least 2 days in the parks. I also suggest making a couple of theme park reservations -- maybe not arrival day (we never go on arrival day anyway) but maybe the first full day -- presumably the kids will be excited and hopefully #1 is feeling his best even if he only makes it a partial day. This will at least guarantee you a couple of park days. If you need to play it by ear after that, you can try to change the park reservation and add days to your ticket. Keep in mind that you will need to add days to the ticket before the last date is used up (so if you buy a 2-day ticket be sure to upgrade adding a 3rd day before parks close on the 2nd day of use). WDW ticket prices are front-loaded with the first 3-4 days the most expensive, but buying the family 4 or more 1-day tickets each day will be more expensive. Also,keep an eye on the theme park reservations because they won't upgrade a ticket (add days) if park reservations are fully sold out. I'm not sure that will happen in August, but we are in somewhat unchartered territory here. There do seem to be theme park reservations that pop open when it's appeared sold out, and I think there may be some day-of reservations released but I'm not positive on that.

Best of luck to your oldest with his treatments and enjoy your vacation!

 

[Selket]

Hello,

My wife and I are coming to DW in early August with our 4 children. Our oldest is fighting cancer and while we are thankful the prognosis is positive, his chemo does not end until late July. His doctors are confident that his being in the parks will not afford him any undue risk as long as precautions are taken.

I just read about the DAS program and we will apply for that

But my question is this. Because of the uncertanity of how he will feel, we did not want to buy park tickets ahead of time but rather, decide a day or two before we go. But we have been told that in the post Covid world you need to make park reservations.

In a situation such as this, can allowances be made for more last minute reservations without the possibly of being shut out of a park?

Thank you.

Rich Costa

I agree with others that the easiest thing would be to buy park tickets and make the reservations so you have something.

I think it is still the case that if you buy park tickets for your trip and end up not going...your tickets still retain the monetary value you paid for them and can be applied to buying new tickets in the future. Your future tickets may cost more and you'd have to pay the difference but at least you wouldn't lose your money. This happened to me once on a trip when my son was hospitalized down in Orlando during a trip (long story)..but we were able to use the value of that ticket. There's a good thread on the Theme Parks board on tickets (it is pinned on that board) and you might ask there as well and don't just go on what I'm saying.

@Robo has been very helpful answering my tickets questions in the past and posts frequently on that board.

 

[Narcoossee11]

You really are going to have to have tickets and reservations booked. THEN Disney can help you make the changes 'maybe' .

 

[Mamabun]

In my experience, there is very little Disney can do to get you something you do not have (in other words, get you reservations on sold out days), and as others have said many of the CMs will really want to help, but their power is limited. And I agree with a previous poster, your situation sadly is not all that uncommon, and they would need to make a lot of these exceptions.

However, we often plan trips where we need flexibility and here’s what I personally would do…
1. Book an offsite hotel with a 1 day cancellation policy (onsite hotels have 5 day cancel for room-only and 30 day cancel for package)
2. Buy tickets from Undercover Tourist - they will refund 95% up until 1 day before
3. Make park reservations soon

That way you can can cancel your whole trip 2 days before and only be out 5% of the tickets cost. But you also now have ‘something‘ and I’ve had much better luck in extenuating circumstances getting help changing things (for example moving tickets and reservations out by a week), than calling up and asking for last minute new stuff. No guarantees on this, of course, but this is what has been my experience.

I hope your son and your family can have a wonderful trip and the treatment finishes up well.

 

[SteveMouse]

like others, I would not expect Disney to offer much flexibility in park reservations. If they did, it would be really, really messy. There would likely be an enormous demand, and there is not a viable method for documentation or determining what might qualify.

While trip insurance might help further minimize loss of funds due to a converted reason, Disney is known to be pretty generous in late rescheduling of trips booked through Disney reservations and at Disney hotels.

You can add days onto a ticket and get a discount, as long as you add a day (or more) no later than the last day there is a valid admission on the ticket (eg, you could add a day onto a 3 day ticket as long as you did so before the end of the last day you entered A park or the end of the last day the ticket was valid to enter a park. You would still need a park reservation for the new day(s).

If you park hop, you do not need a reservation for any park after the first one of the day, but you must enter the park for which you have a reservation before you can enter another park. You can park hop begining at 2pm.

DAS applies only to park attraction lines. It is not usually issued for mobility or stamina (including tiredness) issues. You will need to explain why the individual cannot wait in a normal park attraction line. You don’t need-and Disney won’t read/- a letter from a medical professional. The name or type of condition doesn’t matter in the Decision- just what are the barriers to waiting in the regular line and how waiting elsewhere may eliminate or reduce those barriers. Please note that you may still wait in line with a DAS, however the line may be 20 minutes or so, not hours.

 

[Baldy]

I’m glad your son is responding well to chemo. I wish your family all the best.

My advice would be to book everything now. I’ve had to postpone a trip with less than 48 hours notice due to medical issues. Disney allowed me to move my trip to 3 months out with no penalty.

Also, I don’t know how old your child is but if he’s not in a stroller, consider a wheelchair. He may still be tired and weak for weeks after chemo ends and Disney is exhausting (especially in the heat of summer).

Whatever you end up doing, I’m sure you will have a great time. Enjoy!

 

[QueenDoOver]

If you book on sight as a package, make your reservations and use DAS, I feel like you have a pretty good shot at Disney making changes as needed should your son's health require that. I have dealt with Disney around several disabilities, and cancer with my sister, and they are really beyond gracious. Just ask. Have a magical trip.