TLDR: Husband lost job weeks after planning and paying for our disney trip . Its non refundable. Should we still go?

[DestinedForDisney]

Hi there. Im a sahm to a sweet baby boy and I'm having a serious dilemma and mental crisis at the moment. Sort of needing some advice or support..

Myself as well as my husband have been disney fans since childhood. Met when we were in our late teens/early 20s (We both had rough childhoods, grew up very poor and not able to go on any sort of vacations) We have been together for 9 years and only taken 1 small vacation together.

Well back in November he landed a great job making double what he previously earned, with promises of that being doubled as well as he was promised a promotion to general manager by June.

Our son was born 3 months early in a truamtic emergency birth that almost cost my life, and spent that long in the NICU. He almost didn't make it. We had palative care talking to us and everything. When he started getting better and we were finally able to take him home we made a promise to give him everything we never had. To have great experiences, go on adventures and make memories. Just to cherish our time with him as we are so lucky and grateful to have it.

after awhile of being home we aquired a sizable savings from the leftover (besides bills) coupled with tax refund money. Things are/ were going great.

Around new year we started talking about possibly a Disney vacation. As I had signed up for a timeshare resale site just dabbling and found really great deals offered to us for the month of May on disney property. Our littles only going to be a year old In may so no disney tickt required! We only paid around 1200 for ours for 5 days, and a little over 1000 for a week in a good neighbor
, on property resort. We also purchased 300 worth of disney gift cards for park snacks ( planned on bringing our own as well) and incidentals. And maybe splurged a little on matching shirts! Typical tourist I know.


Well all the sudden my husband comes home and informs me that he got fired. We are absolutely baffled and taken aback. He was always getting compliments by the owner for his work ethic and customer service. And even his overseeing manager didn't seem to have any issues with him either. He was her assistant manager. He's never been fired anywhere before. And the claims were totally bogus by the way. She wrote him up for doing stuff he was trained to do and following the protocols she taught him. Which i guess werent exactly company protocols (to which he wasnt aware till after being let go..) No warning or anything. Just a termination.

Besides the point. We have already booked the trip, it's non refundable. None of it. I checked..Except maybe the clothes that could be sent back but honestly it's not a drop in the bucket and really wouldn't matter at this point. I'd also like to note that we paid up 2 months on both rent and car payments and a month on bills and don't owe until a month after returning from vacation. (Mid june) I currently have 1000 in savings and nothing due (electric, insurance. Gas, internet) until next month. ( april) He started looking for a new job immediately after the shock faded.

I guess I'm just venting and also asking if we should still go ? I hate to waste the money on the trip but also we still have to pay for gas and any extras like food for the resort, deposits for the room. Etc. And his last check will be here in a week, probably around 1300. Which we could use for that and just be suuuuper frugal while there. Plus it's still up in the air what he will be making or if and when he will aquire new employment. There's just a lot of uncertainty right now.

I don't really know what our next steps should be. I'm feeling really guilty and stupid for booking this trip. So so so guilty like I failed our family with what now feels like a pipe dream. All the anxiety has ruined the magic and anticipation for me but my husband is so optimistic in the fact that everything will be okay, and we should still go enjoy ourselves and the joy of seeing our sons face light up in the parks and on the ( no height requirement) rides. He also believes he will have a new job that will be okay with all that vacation time off ( we are driving and will take 2 days there and 2 days back so 11 days total) I guess I'm just having a hard time staying positive right now.

Any advice is welcomed. Maybe I just need an outside source to tell me the truth of the situation. Whatever that may be. And to maybe help us do this without spending too much more...

Thank you in advance!

 

[DL1WDW2]

Hi I have read and re-read your dilemma . I am sad & sorry this is happening for your family. I’m not very good giving advice when it involves Disney . I think it will help your family to find the fun and enjoy your trip. You are almost 2/3 of the way committed and since you are driving you could possibly cut the trip short . But peanut butter & jelly sandwiches taste better at Disney guaranteed. A walk down Main Street worth a million dollars. I feel if you do not go you will look back and say we should have gone. I hope someday will be a better day with just one memory and one small dream to believe in.

 

[DestinedForDisney]

Hi I have read and re-read your dilemma . I am sad & sorry this is happening for your family. I’m not very good giving advice when it involves Disney . I think it will help your family to find the fun and enjoy your trip. You are almost 2/3 of the way committed and since you are driving you could possibly cut the trip short . But peanut butter & jelly sandwiches taste better at Disney guaranteed. A walk down Main Street worth a million dollars. I feel if you do not go you will look back and say we should have gone. I hope someday will be a better day with just one memory and one small dream to believe in.
I also hope this will be the hardest life experience you ever endure cause I can guarantee it could be a lot worse.
Please keep us posted with this life journey.

Thank you and I belive the hardest life experience was almost losing our son. Compared to that I feel like we can get through any thing. Thank you for helping me put that into perspective. I will keep everyone updated but I can't see us not going and wasting the trip after everything

 

[auralia]

If things were refundable I’d wait to travel and try to get refunds. Doesn’t sound like this is the case. I would try to call and explain the situation and see if they would make an exception. Also could see if you can move the reservation out and then once moved out cancel it if it’s within terms or just change the date to closer to your sons second birthday. You would still have the trip to look forward to but some breathing room to land on your feet.

If you can’t do either of those things to mitigate losses then I’d just go and be frugal. If moving the trip makes it a huge let down I’d try to focus on that your son will be that much older and more able to interact with the world around him which is so much fun at Disney. My late Walker/talker learned to do both at Disney just before his second birthday. He just had to tell me about fireworks and castles. Went from nothing but mom and dad to fire works, castle, see the fireworks please mom. If he had been younger I don’t know that that would have happened. 12 years later and still my favorite Disney memory.

If you can’t move it to closer to his second birthday take a breath, cut down expenses as much as possible, file for unemployment and anything else you qualify for and know that better things are yet to come, enjoy your trip, and drive safe. Don’t forget the expense for hotels on the drive too. I always forget about those.

 

[Clarkson U]

Wow! Very sorry for your dilemma. Hopefully your husband can land at least any job just to get some money rolling again.

The way to look at this from a financial lens is to first realize that money already spent and not recoverable are considered sunk costs. Sunk costs should not enter the decision making process about future costs.

You need to look at present financial situation and say i will need to spend X amount of money to go on this trip from this day forward. Maybe includes airfare , or gas for your car, tolls, parking, food and shopping at the park. What is that total? Given that total and the present state of your finances do you feel you can afford to go? (Again you can’t consider what is already spent and non recoverable - aka sunk costs).

Financially speaking that is the number one mistake people make is that they make future decisions based on sunk costs or money spent instead of solely basing it on current situation and future expenses expected to incur.

You are still over a month out from your trip. If you choose not to go I would call the good neighbor hotel and see what they say? Also do you have credit card insurance that might help. Your tickets are good if you never use them - you can use them later you just have to pay any price differential in the future - usually can get a year or two out of it. Gift cards are still valid in the future.

Good luck in your decision and to your husband in his search for a new job.

 

[DestinedForDisney]

Thank you for this outlook. We will definitely take this into consideration. We bought someone's timeshare week and we're told in advance there would be no reschedule or refunds allowed. We did buy travel insurance but found out that he had.to habe been working at that job for 5 years for it to qualify for the job termination clause.

We also bought the tickets third party and were told that since they were redeemd and names put on it that we wouldn't be allowed a refund through the 3rd party. But might possibly be able to have the dates changed through disney like you said, for an unchanged. But would have to know what dates we would rather use them and would have to pay the difference up front. Given that they honor the policy as its stated as for tickets purchased through Disney. Which these were not. If so, we would still be out over a thousand for the resort. And 150 that I didn't mention previously for the hotels along the way and back. We have a big decision to make it seems. Lose out on around 1175 for accommodation, spend money to change dates on tickets ( if permitted) and figure a better date that we would be able to afford gas, food And accommodation. Or come up with gas and cheap food money for the trip now

 

[QueenIsabella]

Interesting first post. Welcome to the DIS.

 

[auralia]

Thank you for this outlook. We will definitely take this into consideration. We bought someone's timeshare week and we're told in advance there would be no reschedule or refunds allowed. We did buy travel insurance but found out that he had.to habe been working at that job for 5 years for it to qualify for the job termination clause.

We also bought the tickets third party and were told that since they were redeemd and names put on it that we wouldn't be allowed a refund through the 3rd party. But might possibly be able to have the dates changed through disney like you said, for an unchanged. But would have to know what dates we would rather use them and would have to pay the difference up front. Given that they honor the policy as its stated as for tickets purchased through Disney. Which these were not. If so, we would still be out over a thousand for the resort. And 150 that I didn't mention previously for the hotels along the way and back. We have a big decision to make it seems. Lose out on around 1175 for accommodation, spend money to change dates on tickets ( if permitted) and figure a better date that we would be able to afford gas, food And accommodation. Or come up with gas and cheap food money for the trip now

Look deeper into the tickets I don’t know that you need to change the date right now. Straight from the Disney website:

The amount paid for an unused, expired ticket may be applied towards the purchase of a new ticket at the current price so long as the new ticket purchase price is equal to or greater than the amount paid for the original ticket. Unless otherwise stated, tickets are not valid for separately priced activities or events.

So if it is just a ticket bought from like under cover tourist etc it is possible you may be able to just pay the difference later doesnt sound like it has to be right now. I’d dig deeper to be sure or maybe someone else can chime in.

Hotels there and back may be willing to refund if you decide to go the candle route.

Is there any chance you can ask the owner if they can at least try to rerent the reservation to another person? Sometimes if they can and it’s extenuating circumstances they may help you out. I have seen people renting out Dvc points refund if they are able to at least rent the reservation to another person… or do you know someone who might be interested in taking over the reservation? Just some thoughts that if you decide not to go could
Maybe help

Good luck! My husband lost his job 2 weeks before Christmas with 10 days notice when being told he had nothing to worry about just days before and no downsizing was happening 2 years ago. We had a non refundable trip booked as well scheduled for 2.5 months after he was let go. He landed a job after about 2 months (all the holidays played into how long that took that getting let go over Christmas means no one is interviewing etc so that slowed down his job hunt.) they had no issue giving him the time to go on the vacation to be made up later working extra. I hope you have the luck we did!

 

[LoveToDisney]

I don’t normally say this but I’d go and be prepared to take the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to the parks. No souvenirs…just use your phone camera for all the memories. Figure out what you would spend for food during your 11 days if you had stayed home and stay within that budget (but it will be tempting to buy things so have your sandwiches and snacks ready when you get the munchies and be grateful for the atmosphere of being at Disney.
Also, even though you have paid for a week at the timeshare, you can always leave early and stay less than a week should you wish to cut your trip shorter. We have done this in the past.
If you decide not to go. WRITE DOWN the number on your tickets that you have loaded into MDE. Once they expire, they will disappear from MDE but if you have the ticket numbers Disney can locate them when you are ready to use them at a later date and pay the difference in ticket cost.
Best wishes for a decision you feel comfortable with!

 

[Ursula J]

Gooooooo! You all need this. You've already paid. We went six months after my husband got his all-clear from cancer; our daughter was 10, we didn't have enough money saved, and we knew we were going to need a new car. But we also needed to celebrate being alive and get our minds set back on what matters. If the money is truly nonrefundable, just cut back wherever you can on out of pocket money and take this as a sign from the universe.

 

[barkley]

i'll just offer up the suggestion that when you are running the numbers budget wise-check your individual state's unemployment website to see how long clams are taking to process. right now the state i live in is running close to a month before an uncontested (by the employer) claim is approved and first funds are issued. you might also want to see if your state offers any kind of medicaid so you've got that vitally important coverage-esp. for your child b/c the cost of cobra based health insurance can be shocking beyond belief (if your dh lost his job this month-if you/he/your child have any prescriptions-fill them before the end of the month when your insurance likely ends/same with md appointments-see if you can get them in before the end of the month).

 

[Miffy]

OP, I agree with other posters who've suggested doing everything you can to try to recover at least some of the nonrefundable cost of your trip.

But even if that's impossible--and as a Disney lover, I hate to say this--I think you should cancel. You're in a precarious financial situation and going on a trip seems unwise to me.

And, in the future, make your reservations directly with Disney or whatever hotel you're going to stay at. Renting timeshare points, whether they're DVC or another company, is always problematic because of the very situation you're in right now.

 

[Mle8308]

Interesting first post. Welcome to the DIS.

Was thinking the same....

 

[PinkPixel]

What a difficult situation. I would like to say go, but an issue could be starting a new job and timing with the trip. As others have mentioned, going is still an option if you can swing it with reducing food costs, etc. First though, go to Mydinsey experience and check to see if your tickets have a change ticket option under them. You have to pay the difference in a more expensive time of year, but not if you choose a made up date in say August. You just don't want to pick a date where you lose money on the tickets if you paid more. The go to the purchase theme park tickets on the main page and price out tickets on the ticket calendar that match the price you paid. The other option is to not use the tickets and they go into a kind of purgatory where you would have to call the ticket line and go through a process to have them brought back to life and applied to a new ticket in the future. I have only bought tickets directly through Disney though, so not sure how 3rd party tickets work.
I would also inquire with the person or agency you rented the timeshare from if there are any options for you at this time with your husbands loss of employment and whether they would consider an exception or partial refund.

With your son being only 1, he will not need a ticket until he's 3. If you can change your tickets, and get something back on the room, you might have a much more magical and special dream trip later this year or next year and he will be even more excited by then as he starts watching more shows like Mickey Mouse clubhouse and stuff in 2-3 age range.

I would keep an eye out on Disney room discounts and room only reservations directly through Disney as they are fully refundable within 5 days of your stay and require 1 night deposit.

Good luck!

 

[Mischievous Daisy]

Hi there. Im a sahm to a sweet baby boy and I'm having a serious dilemma and mental crisis at the moment. Sort of needing some advice or support..

Myself as well as my husband have been disney fans since childhood. Met when we were in our late teens/early 20s (We both had rough childhoods, grew up very poor and not able to go on any sort of vacations) We have been together for 9 years and only taken 1 small vacation together.

Well back in November he landed a great job making double what he previously earned, with promises of that being doubled as well as he was promised a promotion to general manager by June.

Our son was born 3 months early in a truamtic emergency birth that almost cost my life, and spent that long in the NICU. He almost didn't make it. We had palative care talking to us and everything. When he started getting better and we were finally able to take him home we made a promise to give him everything we never had. To have great experiences, go on adventures and make memories. Just to cherish our time with him as we are so lucky and grateful to have it.

after awhile of being home we aquired a sizable savings from the leftover (besides bills) coupled with tax refund money. Things are/ were going great.

Around new year we started talking about possibly a Disney vacation. As I had signed up for a timeshare resale site just dabbling and found really great deals offered to us for the month of May on disney property. Our littles only going to be a year old In may so no disney tickt required! We only paid around 1200 for ours for 5 days, and a little over 1000 for a week in a good neighbor
, on property resort. We also purchased 300 worth of disney gift cards for park snacks ( planned on bringing our own as well) and incidentals. And maybe splurged a little on matching shirts! Typical tourist I know.


Well all the sudden my husband comes home and informs me that he got fired. We are absolutely baffled and taken aback. He was always getting compliments by the owner for his work ethic and customer service. And even his overseeing manager didn't seem to have any issues with him either. He was her assistant manager. He's never been fired anywhere before. And the claims were totally bogus by the way. She wrote him up for doing stuff he was trained to do and following the protocols she taught him. Which i guess werent exactly company protocols (to which he wasnt aware till after being let go..) No warning or anything. Just a termination.

Besides the point. We have already booked the trip, it's non refundable. None of it. I checked..Except maybe the clothes that could be sent back but honestly it's not a drop in the bucket and really wouldn't matter at this point. I'd also like to note that we paid up 2 months on both rent and car payments and a month on bills and don't owe until a month after returning from vacation. (Mid june) I currently have 1000 in savings and nothing due (electric, insurance. Gas, internet) until next month. ( april) He started looking for a new job immediately after the shock faded.

I guess I'm just venting and also asking if we should still go ? I hate to waste the money on the trip but also we still have to pay for gas and any extras like food for the resort, deposits for the room. Etc. And his last check will be here in a week, probably around 1300. Which we could use for that and just be suuuuper frugal while there. Plus it's still up in the air what he will be making or if and when he will aquire new employment. There's just a lot of uncertainty right now.

I don't really know what our next steps should be. I'm feeling really guilty and stupid for booking this trip. So so so guilty like I failed our family with what now feels like a pipe dream. All the anxiety has ruined the magic and anticipation for me but my husband is so optimistic in the fact that everything will be okay, and we should still go enjoy ourselves and the joy of seeing our sons face light up in the parks and on the ( no height requirement) rides. He also believes he will have a new job that will be okay with all that vacation time off ( we are driving and will take 2 days there and 2 days back so 11 days total) I guess I'm just having a hard time staying positive right now.

Any advice is welcomed. Maybe I just need an outside source to tell me the truth of the situation. Whatever that may be. And to maybe help us do this without spending too much more...

Thank you in advance!

I am so sorry this happened to all of you. I'm sure your DH is grieving the loss of his job. Hopefully he will be able to receive unemployment if he is unable to get a new job right away. I love his upbeat attitude!
So about Disney... You've paid a huge amount of $$$ to get where you are. I agree with PP that you should still go. Since you are driving, you will be able to make more frequent food runs, and there are a ton of cheap restaurants outside the Disney bubble. (not all FF, either) Your sweet baby will not care, and I bet you and your DH will not either. Your DH is already on board, I agree, you will regret that lost money if you leave it on the table.
Go, Have a FABULOUS time. You all deserve it!

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I think you should still go (assuming the money is truly non-refundable and you would lose the sunk $, if you can move the trip, I would suggest postponing), but with modifications. Plan to eat in your room/outside the parks as much as possible. Stop at a grocery store/Walmart and get cereal/sandwich making supplies for the room. Bring granola bars and other snacks to the park so you don't need to buy the costly Disney ones. Try to stick as closely to your "normal" food budget as possible while away (food $ gets out of hand at Disney fast). Cut extras like Genie+ and Photopass, focus on just taking in the magic with your little. Do what you can to reduce any extras in the meantime before your trip, and put that money towards the trip expense. Maybe a short side job in the meantime, date night babysitting, etc to raise a little extra money to cover some trip costs. I would also plan on doing this regardless to bump up your household savings.

In the meantime though, your husband should be focusing 100% on finding new work (& I'm sure he is). Applying to jobs is now a job! I wish you all the best

ETA: I think I misunderstood the savings situation. If the sizable savings you mentioned is the same as the $1k you mentioned, you need to try to recoup what you can and postpone. $1k is not a safe savings amount for a family and in that situation leisure activities need to be de-prioritized. Build your safety net then try again in a year or so when you are in a better situation.

 

[jen7233]

I'd say I would not go if I were in a similar circumstance. Going also means a week of not working, which may have an impact on household bills, lost work time if a job was found beforehand, or a week of not looking for work, after coming back. Stress up to that point could be high if a new job isn't found by then. Unlikely any vacation time could be built up by a new job at that time, if it even is a job with paid vacation time. Save the $300 in Disney gift cards for another time. I think it's lost money on the timeshare pitch deal, yes, but I wouldn't make it worse, which is how it would feel to me, too stressed-if I were in a similar circumstance. The decision obviously is with your family what to do, and there may be alot of factors too hard to concisely put into one post.

 

[RoseGold]

Why would you prioritize bringing a baby to this in this situation?

You can reschedule Disney bookings and tickets. Push it as far as you can. Then push it again in a few months. Go when you have a stable financial situation and your kid is old enough to get it.

I wouldn't even be able to enjoy buying a Dole Whip in this situation.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

Same thing happened to both my parents planning my first trip when I was a very young human back in the 90s. My dad lost his 6 months before the trip and found a new one with the stipulation he had a vacation in mind. My mom lucked out and her company kept her on until she had to start her new job which she also gave the stipulation they had this vacation planned.

It happens all the time. Only you know your finances the way you do. Whatever your choice is, go with your gut

 

[firefly_ris]

I am possibly misunderstanding, is there other savings like an emergency fund or main checking account besides the $1000 you currently have in savings?

If not, I would not be going or planning a Disney trip. The tickets and gift cards you can defer to a future time, but the timeshare thing is really tough. I have not booked one of these before, but is there any possibility to try to rent the week to someone else? That is really hard if you have to eat the $1000 for the room. That part of me almost thinks "Just go, you lose the thousand either way", but you'll be piling gas costs, wear and tear on your vehicle (more miles means oil change, tire rotations etc all come sooner) and additional food costs in order to not eat the $1000. That is a rock and a hard place.

How about raising funds in order to cover those added costs? I am always trying to find ways to make extra cash here and there so I have years of experience in selling things on eBay, Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace. Is there anything in your home that you don't use or need anymore that is still of value? If you start now and list a couple things on Marketplace, even if it's $10 here and there, you could potentially earn a few hundred dollars between now and May and cover your gas expenses, that would take a little of the hit off. That is how I try to fund the food portions of all of our vacations.

You may already have an emergency fund in place so I could just be talking out of my butt here, but if you don't, that would be my #1 priority before thinking about vacations after this point.

I hope you're able to figure out best case scenario. If you do go, commit and try to enjoy yourself. If you don't, don't get discouraged, maybe make a date target goal (like, "We want to be able to go to Disney by May 2025"), that can be a real motivating factor in helping you plan everything financially and gives you something to look forward to.