Refund if death in the family

[drp4video]

am trying to decide what to do. I have a reservation at POR starting June 1, 2006. I know I have 5 days to cancel without losing my deposit. I live in Michigan, and my dad in Arizona in ill and the hospice nurse says he could pass in a day or within a week. (but who knows it could be longer) I also have reservations on the gulf coast for May 30 and 31st. Do I cancel now, or, if dad passes after the 5 day window, will disney refund my deposit it I show a death certificate. I am just wondering if anyone has been in this situation where they have had to cancel for a family emergency and if they either got a refund or credit for future stay.

I am so torn about canceling now, or waiting to see what happens. I know if we get to florida and dad passes, I will have to get to Arizona from florida, and wonder if they will let me cancel. Any infor would be appreciated in helping me make a decision. Thank you in advance.

 

[ruzer28]

I'm so sorry to hear about your father. I was in the same situation this time last year and I know it's horrible. I think that they will not refund your money even with a death in the family if you did not buy insurance when you booked. I know that it's difficult to know what to do, but I would cancel now so that you will still have the money to book another trip after your father passes. Believe me, you'll need to get away later. Good luck.

 

[n2mm]

I would imagine they treat each situation on an individual basis. A few years ago my son was in an accident. We had to cancel the night before we were to leave. WDW did refund our deposit(s) (we had 2 room reservations for a split stay) and the airlines let us credit the amount of our airfare while waiving the change flight fee. It was nice that both places did this for us and we appreciated it, but did not expect it.

 

[AJKMOM]

We had a serious illness delay our flight, and we were able to re-book with proof from the doctor. But it was a fight, because first they said yes and then changed their minds. It took about 6 months to straighten the whole mess out.

 

[dabute]

If I were you I’d cancel now. Even if your Dad makes it through your vacation, you will not have peace of mind on the trip. I would imagine you’d always be waiting for the dreaded phone call.
Good luck to you.

 

[lgp1]

I would cancel now.You certainly won't have a good holiday under these circumstances and you will need a break later.Good luck.
Lyndon.

 

[rigs32]

Those are the kind of circumstances that insurance is designed to cover. If you choose to wait, be grateful if they extend you a favor and allow a refund or a rebooking.

 

[MisunderstoodLilo]

I"m sorry about your father.

Disney is accomodating on a case by case basis. If you can and want to cancel, do it as soon as possible. If you're down to the last minute, call a CM, explain the situation and I'm sure they'll help you out.

Good luck.

 

[dixipixi]

First of all, let me say I'm very sorry about your father. Prayers and good thoughts to you and your family.

I know this is a different situation, but last year we had to come home a day early because TS Arlene was headed for the coast between Florida and Louisiana and we did not want to get in a traffic jam/ lack of gas situation.

I simply went to the front desk and explained why we were leaving and they immediately refunded us for the last night. We left very early the next morning and they had already credited our c/c account.

It's not the same as cancelling beforehand, but I just wanted to let you know that if you do have to cut your stay short, the front desk staff seem to be pretty accomodating.

I do agree with some of the other posters about cancelling now, though. If things with your Dad are at that point, then you probably won't enjoy your trip and you will definitely need the break later.

Prayers and pixie dust to you.

 

[glass slipper girl]

So sorry to hear about your father. That is a tough situation.

One thing to remember is that the deposit is fully transferable even up to the day before you arrive. So if your father were to pass inside of the 5 day window, you can call and RESCHEDULE your vacation rather than cancel it. If nothing else, just reschedule it for a few months out. Then once things settle down you can pick and exact date and reschedule again. Or, worse comes to worse, if you find you can't work out a different date, you can cancel then and be outside of your 5 day window.

We had friends had this same thing happen and they had no problems. They had a death in the family 3 days before they were to leave. They called and rescheduled for 3 months futher out. When they got back from the funeral and tried finding dates that would work with the kids school and their work, they weren't having any luck so they cancelled. They got everything they had paid back with no problems. They just saved the money and rebooked months later when they were able to find a time that worked.

 

[drp4video]

Thank you for all of your wonderful advice. I called disney and I have until tomorrow to cancel for a full refund. If I want they told me I could just postpone the trip to another time, and apply my deposit for a later trip. I will decide tomorrow. I know I will cancel the gulf hotel as they still have vacancies if for some strange reason we go. But the points about being at disney and worrying the whole time are well taken, as would associating his passing with out trip at disney. My daughter already associates the death of her dad and mother in law with arizona, as we went to AZ right after hubby's death, and were there when my mother in law died.

So thank you all for the great advice. I will let you know if I cancel and someone might want a room at POR, which is sold out for the time we will be there, and a vacancy would open.

 

[rcraw45425]

My thought are with you during this difficult time. My father passed away suddenly in October the day before we were scheduled to arrive at the CR. I imediately contacted my Dreams TA, Sue Ellen, and she was wonderful. Within 30 minutes she called me back and had everything cancelled with no penalties and Disney even went so far as to refund my MNSSHP tickets. After the dust settled we rescheduled for the following month. Personally I have found Disney very accomodating in times of emergency. They must weigh everything on a case by case scenario. Stay strong!

 

[cannp123165]

I am sending lots of pixie dust to you

 

[CleveRocks]

OP, I'm sorry to hear about your situation. I just lost my Dad a few months ago. He had home hospice care. Unfortunately, the hospice folks seem to be pretty accurate with their estimates. You're probably better off cancelling/postponing your trip.

Just purely in terms of vacation fun, I can't imagine you'll be able to enjoy yourself waiting for, as someone above so eloquently put it, "the dreaded phone call." I think every ride and attraction won't be as fun because that will be weighing on your mind. Maybe a couple months afterwards you'll welcome an escape from every day life, and Mickey will be waiting there for you with a big hug.

 

[drp4video]

I just canceled. FIrst I called and got a man who said the system was down and I would have to call back after 5....so being a WDW veteran, I called right back, and got a woman who canceled my reservation and told me I should have canceled yesterday, although I explained I called yesterday and they said I had till today. She put me on hold, came back and said wow, you were just here in March and you come here a lot, and we are going to waive the 5 day rule and they gave me a total refund. SO there is now a room available at POR for June 1- June 4 if anyone needs if, as they are booked.

I canceled the gulf hotel and got the deposit back, now I just have to deal with the airline, and cancel the rental car. Talked to mom and she said dad is the same. My luck if I went, I would get down there and get the call. My daughter has been amazing although I feel so bad for her as she was looking forward to the gulf of mexico to relax after finishing up her first year at Michigan State. I of course, was more looking forward to disney and doing everest. But it will still be there when I get to go.

Thanks again everyone for your thoughts and advice.

 

[lgp1]

I think you made the right choice.My thoughts are with you and your family.
Good luck.
Lyndon.

 

[pepperw23]

am trying to decide what to do. I have a reservation at POR starting June 1, 2006. I know I have 5 days to cancel without losing my deposit. I live in Michigan, and my dad in Arizona in ill and the hospice nurse says he could pass in a day or within a week. (but who knows it could be longer) I also have reservations on the gulf coast for May 30 and 31st. Do I cancel now, or, if dad passes after the 5 day window, will disney refund my deposit it I show a death certificate. I am just wondering if anyone has been in this situation where they have had to cancel for a family emergency and if they either got a refund or credit for future stay.

I am so torn about canceling now, or waiting to see what happens. I know if we get to florida and dad passes, I will have to get to Arizona from florida, and wonder if they will let me cancel. Any infor would be appreciated in helping me make a decision. Thank you in advance.

I am sorry, I do not know the answer to your question.

I wanted to come on and tell you I am sorry to hear about your Dad. I will include him and your family in my prayers tonight.

 

[drp4video]

Thank you! Everyones thoughts and caring words do help! Now I just have to call Spirit. I read that they will give me a voucher to be used within one year as long as I cancel prior to 24 hours before my flight. I will call tomorrow. I immersed myself in going though boxes of stuff I have put away that I have not used in ages, trying to create new storage space. Tomorrow I am off to the salvation army. It helps to keep busy.

 

[kaylie&laurensmom]

I am so sorry to hear about your Dad

Have you thought about changing your airfare to go see your Dad before he passes? I lost my 61 year old father very suddenly (heart attack) when I was only 20 and I would have given anything to be able to say goodbye to him.

You and your family are in my prayers.

 

[drp4video]

Spirit does not fly from detroit to phoenix, so it would not work. I was able to see him last, the end of January. IN addition to being sick, he came down with Alzheimers a year ago last christmas after surgery. I had seen him the month before for THanksgiving and he was fine...and I mean full blown Alzheimers...he knew me but made no sense. I guess if you are predisposed to getting it, and have a major stress event in your life, like surgery, that event can bring on the disease and intensify it. So he went from being my regular dad at THanksgiving, to an Alzehiermers patient a month later.

He has had an infection in his legs, and due to conjestive heart failure, there is nothing they can do. We knew the infection would spread, and apparently it has. While I would love to go see him, mom says he sleeps all the time and is not aware of what is going on, so I need to save the money and go when he passes. Also, mom is having hip replacement surgery in Jne, and I need to fly out there the end of June for her.

I do have some frequent flyer miles I can use, so that will help. I will get the vouchers tomorrow and hang on to them for my next disney trip. But thank you for the idea. I am sorry about your dad. I think a sudden death is so hard. I was able to see my dad about every three or four months, and the last time, well every time, in my mind, I said goodbye. He would not comprehend anything like that, but I needed that closure in my head for me.