mshanson3121
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 16, 2015
- Messages
- 7,211
The news has completely floored me. I'm angry, I'm sad, so disappointed, not to mention stressed out. I have two children with a variety of special needs, that just absolutely can't handle intense crowds (shoulder to shoulder crowds are a no no) and waiting in line much past 20-30 minutes is also out. We specifically chose September because it was the cheapest, and also typically has the lowest crowds and because SWGE wouldn't be open. We were booked September 12-17 at All Star Movies. This is an extremely uber budget trip, and we only have 3 days in park, plus MNSSHP, so not very much time. It was/is important to not waste most of it dealing with crowds/lines.
So now I find myself at a complete loss what to do. If we go at the same time, we'll have to skip HS, and that will crush my kids, they love that park. And I hate the idea of thousands of dollars and flying almost 2000 miles, to have to skip a favorite park. So, I'm thinking of rescheduling, but to when?
I'm thinking sometime between May and August would be best, but we'll have to stay off-site now, instead of on due to the increased cost, which is a bit disappointing. But, on the plus side, we're looking at Celebration Suites which actually has a really good shuttle service (4x each, coming and going), we can take in the Old Town Car Show since it will be next door (my son loves) cars, and this will actually work out to be less money since we can get an awesome deal on Frontier flights. Between the flight sale and staying off site we'll save enough money that we can book a character meal or two.
We could post pone until January or February. My guess is we'll still have to stay off site due to the ticket and room price increases we know are coming. Bonus is the weather will be much nicer (I would vastly prefer 60s to 90s! lol). But my worries are: 1. Will the crowds still be so bad that we'll still have to skip HS? If so, we haven't gained anything. 2. We're coming from Canada, and there is a very high chance that our travel plans could get derailed by winter storms. My travel partners don't have much flexibility in their plans to cope with delays.
Or, we can still go, and just skip HS, and basically do the party, then spend our 3 days doing MK, and 2 days at AK. On one hand this would be good. We still get to stay on site and still get to do the party (which my kids really wanted to do), and we can split AK into two shorter days given the heat. But, it still means spending all that money and travel time, to miss one of their favorite parks, and my fear is the overflow into MK. September was already turning out to be busier than normal because of people trying to get in before SWGE, and the sales. Touring Plans had already increased general crowd levels from the historical 1s and 2s, to 3-5s since I booked. So, how much more is SWGE going to drive up crowds at MK, which would be our other main park?
Honestly, I just want to cry. This is all so stressful, because I have a huge factor most don't - special needs, and a very tight budget. I've seen so many other people on other groups say, "Oh well we'll just go and get done what we can get done. No matter!" "Can't let crowds ruin a trip, it's all in your state of mind."
Except crowds can ruin our trip, because they'll send my daughter's anxiety through the roof. And DAS, while very helpful, also has limitations when it's really busy/waits are really long. This was going to be our last trip for at least 4-5 years, possibly more. It's not like we can just pop back next year for another trip like many on the boards. We only have 3 day base passes (plus the party), so it's not like someone else that has 7 day tickets with more time, or the flexibility of hoppers and can just hop somewhere else when it gets too crowded. And I just can't justify spending $2-3K of our tight budget (or FIL's for that matter) on a trip that is going to be spent mostly dealing with Hades temperatures, heavy crowds and lots of lines.
So, what should I do? I basically only have 6 days to decide, because if we're rebooking for this summer, the sale for the flights ends on the 14th.
So now I find myself at a complete loss what to do. If we go at the same time, we'll have to skip HS, and that will crush my kids, they love that park. And I hate the idea of thousands of dollars and flying almost 2000 miles, to have to skip a favorite park. So, I'm thinking of rescheduling, but to when?
I'm thinking sometime between May and August would be best, but we'll have to stay off-site now, instead of on due to the increased cost, which is a bit disappointing. But, on the plus side, we're looking at Celebration Suites which actually has a really good shuttle service (4x each, coming and going), we can take in the Old Town Car Show since it will be next door (my son loves) cars, and this will actually work out to be less money since we can get an awesome deal on Frontier flights. Between the flight sale and staying off site we'll save enough money that we can book a character meal or two.
We could post pone until January or February. My guess is we'll still have to stay off site due to the ticket and room price increases we know are coming. Bonus is the weather will be much nicer (I would vastly prefer 60s to 90s! lol). But my worries are: 1. Will the crowds still be so bad that we'll still have to skip HS? If so, we haven't gained anything. 2. We're coming from Canada, and there is a very high chance that our travel plans could get derailed by winter storms. My travel partners don't have much flexibility in their plans to cope with delays.
Or, we can still go, and just skip HS, and basically do the party, then spend our 3 days doing MK, and 2 days at AK. On one hand this would be good. We still get to stay on site and still get to do the party (which my kids really wanted to do), and we can split AK into two shorter days given the heat. But, it still means spending all that money and travel time, to miss one of their favorite parks, and my fear is the overflow into MK. September was already turning out to be busier than normal because of people trying to get in before SWGE, and the sales. Touring Plans had already increased general crowd levels from the historical 1s and 2s, to 3-5s since I booked. So, how much more is SWGE going to drive up crowds at MK, which would be our other main park?
Honestly, I just want to cry. This is all so stressful, because I have a huge factor most don't - special needs, and a very tight budget. I've seen so many other people on other groups say, "Oh well we'll just go and get done what we can get done. No matter!" "Can't let crowds ruin a trip, it's all in your state of mind."
Except crowds can ruin our trip, because they'll send my daughter's anxiety through the roof. And DAS, while very helpful, also has limitations when it's really busy/waits are really long. This was going to be our last trip for at least 4-5 years, possibly more. It's not like we can just pop back next year for another trip like many on the boards. We only have 3 day base passes (plus the party), so it's not like someone else that has 7 day tickets with more time, or the flexibility of hoppers and can just hop somewhere else when it gets too crowded. And I just can't justify spending $2-3K of our tight budget (or FIL's for that matter) on a trip that is going to be spent mostly dealing with Hades temperatures, heavy crowds and lots of lines.
So, what should I do? I basically only have 6 days to decide, because if we're rebooking for this summer, the sale for the flights ends on the 14th.
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