Will probably have to cancel our 1st Food & Wine trip

[disneygrandma]

Years ago when we bought a small BCV resale contract, our plans were to one day go to the Food & Wine Festival/Expo. This year with both my husband & I having Annual Passes, it seemed to be the perfect year to go, since we didn't need those points for any future planned trips. After researching the subject, I determined that it would be less crowded to go during the week, instead of on the week-end.

In early January, I made our reservations, starting with a BCV studio for one night on Thurs, Sept 30th. I figured this would be a good time to check things out before the Opening day on Fri, Oct 1st. Then we were heading over to Kidani for our 1st time stay there, in a Savannah view studio. (We've stayed in Jambo before, but are anxious to try Kidani.) During our 3 night stay here, we planned on visiting only the MK & AK parks. Then on Mon, Oct 4th, we were moving over to a BCV studio again, where we could concentrate on everything Epcot had going on, as well as going to HS, before departing on Fri, Oct 8th.

Sounds great, right? Well, 3 mos ago we found out our son & his wife are being blessed with another child. Due date? Oct 6th. (C-section could be end of Sept) I just haven't been able to bring myself to cancel our ressies, but I know if we went, I wouldn't enjoy myself. Since we were planning on driving, I don't have to worry about airlines. Our children are telling us to go ahead & go, but I think they secretly hope we don't. They will need someone to help out with their other kids. My husband is leaving it up to me. Although he has said that all I would be thinking about is what is going on here at home. That's probably true, but I'm finding it so difficult to make that call to MS to cancel. It will probably be another 5 - 6 yrs before we'll have the chance to go again to Food & Wine. (due to point commitments the following years)

Any advice? Anyone had this kind of dilemma in the past? Just looking for some input. Thanks!

 

[spiceycat]

oh feel for you - but at least it is a happy occasion.

that say you make these plans before you knew about the baby. Think would kept them. You might fun despite yourself.

you have planned this for a long time - definitely go.

 

[Inkmahm]

If it were a first grandchild, I might be tempted to cancel and stay to see him/her. But your family is telling you to go so I think you should go! F&W is great and may be just the relaxing break you need.

 

[LSchrow]

maybe you could arrive earlier, and be home on the 5th? adding a day or two prior won't be as difficult without the F&WF going on. if you have other family that could help out for the days prior to the birth, you would be able to relax and enjoy vacation.

will it definately be a c-section? if so, the date is normally a bit flexible.(doctors change them all the time ). if not, the baby might not even come until after your planned trip had ended.....unfortunately, your ds and ddil would probably feel guilty if that happened


and last, but not least, congratulaions!

 

[sjs314]

I think I would keep my plans as is............are your Ddil parents around that could help out and keep your other grandbaby or I am sure they might have friends that would be willing to help out, or you could change and go after the baby comes maybe since the F & W runs until Nov 14th ?

 

[Simba's Mom]

Years ago when we bought a small BCV resale contract, our plans were to one day go to the Food & Wine Festival/Expo. This year with both my husband & I having Annual Passes, it seemed to be the perfect year to go, since we didn't need those points for any future planned trips. After researching the subject, I determined that it would be less crowded to go during the week, instead of on the week-end.

In early January, I made our reservations, starting with a BCV studio for one night on Thurs, Sept 30th. I figured this would be a good time to check things out before the Opening day on Fri, Oct 1st. Then we were heading over to Kidani for our 1st time stay there, in a Savannah view studio. (We've stayed in Jambo before, but are anxious to try Kidani.) During our 3 night stay here, we planned on visiting only the MK & AK parks. Then on Mon, Oct 4th, we were moving over to a BCV studio again, where we could concentrate on everything Epcot had going on, as well as going to HS, before departing on Fri, Oct 8th.

Sounds great, right? Well, 3 mos ago we found out our son & his wife are being blessed with another child. Due date? Oct 6th. (C-section could be end of Sept) I just haven't been able to bring myself to cancel our ressies, but I know if we went, I wouldn't enjoy myself. Since we were planning on driving, I don't have to worry about airlines. Our children are telling us to go ahead & go, but I think they secretly hope we don't. They will need someone to help out with their other kids. My husband is leaving it up to me. Although he has said that all I would be thinking about is what is going on here at home. That's probably true, but I'm finding it so difficult to make that call to MS to cancel. It will probably be another 5 - 6 yrs before we'll have the chance to go again to Food & Wine. (due to point commitments the following years)

Any advice? Anyone had this kind of dilemma in the past? Just looking for some input. Thanks!

Not only have we had this situation, we've got it this year. After we made our reservations, DS and his wife announced that they're also expecting a baby at the beginning of October, and it's our first grandchild. DH was tempted to cancel, but we talked to DS, and he wants us to still go. I think he and his wife would like some alone time with the new baby. And she's from a big, close, Mexican family, so he's got more people around than he can comfortably handle as it is. BTW, we'll be at BCV the same week as you if you still go.

 

[disneygrandma]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts on this. I really thought the majority of people would tell us to stay home.

Yes, it definately will be a C-section, but by the time the date is set for sure, it will be less than the 31 day cancellation period for our res'v.

It's possible they might find someone else to watch the other kids if we were gone. No big families to rely on, though. Just not sure. I'm also torn on this, because my husband & I would both like to share this special time with them.

As far as changing dates, work issues pretty much would prevent that. Also, I doubt we would be able to get BCV later in Oct. We can't go earlier, since we don't want to do F&W over opening weekend.

We'll need to do some more thinking on this.

 

[mkarizona]

Could you take the other grandkids with you? We love taking ours to DL and WDW. That way you could still help out and enjoy your vacation.

 

[Crystal_27]

Our children are telling us to go ahead & go, but I think they secretly hope we don't.

spoken like a mom. Alternatively, maybe your children know their household will be fine and want you and your DH to enjoy your wonderful trip?? EIther way, it will be a magical time for you and your DH, whether you are enjoying a new baby or Disney.

 

[Cee]

Congratulations on the new grandchild. I know it seems like an impossible decision right now. The truth is, once you're back from your vacation(well deserved vacation, I'm sure) and holding the new baby in your arms, everything that happened prior to that moment is insignificant. You sound like someone who puts everyone else before yourself which I admire.

Please go on your vacation and have the time of your life. All will be well.

 

[acejka]

If you were my MIL and I was having a second baby, I would tell you to go ahead and go, enjoy yourself, and please come visit when you get back! Why should you cancel your trip just for me? And plus, when you get back, the inital wave of visitors and people will have worn off, and you can have those little babies to yourself to spoil the heck out of!

 

[jarestel]

I know we're all Disney freaks here on this board, but on my scales... birth of a grandchild vs F&W... well I gotta give precedence to the birth of a new member of the family. F&W will be around for years, but the little one is only born once.

I'm not in any way trying to sound preachy or judgemental. Just chiming in with MHO about what I would do. Of course, YMMV and what I would do or not do is completely irrelevant in anyone else's situation anyway.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
And congratulations!

 

[msvlwb]

GO For Goodness sakes.

I had both my boys without anyone nearby and we did fine. I was even in the hospital for a month and my husband kept our 4 month old all by himself. My mom had horrible vertigo at the time and was unable to be there, it was hard on her not to help, but we did just fine.

My point is you should have fun and do as planned. It's only a few days, when you get back they will be more than happy to let you help out. I really needed more help in week 3 and 4 than I did before then anyway.

They will feel so guilty if you cancel.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Could you take the other grandkids with you? We love taking ours to DL and WDW. That way you could still help out and enjoy your vacation.

Great idea!

 

[DMKEDM]

At a minimum, don't cancel til your 31-day mark! That gives you another month and a half to obsess!

Seriously, by the end of August your kids will know a LOT more about how the pregnancy is progressing and what the likely birth date range will be...and there's no real reason to cancel "early."

When my son was born (23 years ago next week!), the thing I wanted most was NOT to have people around that first week...of course, he was my first (and only) baby, so I didn't have "other children care" issues...that could make a very key difference...

Another possibility to consider: do F&W from AKV (not as convenient as just strolling over from BCV, but still very very doable) and skip the last 4 days of your trip...this coming Oct will my first Food & Wine trip, too, so can't say whether it's "worth it," but if the dates work out, you could skip the first 5 days or the last 4 days and do a shorter trip in order to be available for your family?

Anyway, you quite likely can't make a "wrong" decision...being there for the birth/first day or two or three after would be special (but high-stress and not as special as the second week!); doing your first F&W w/your DH would also be special...so either way, you WIN!!!

Congrats on your newest family member...cuddle him/her from all your DISBoards friends!

 

[LSchrow]

Yes, it definately will be a C-section, but by the time the date is set for sure, it will be less than the 31 day cancellation period for our res'v.
.

so, you might be very lucky......your ds and ddil do have some input on the date of the c-section (i scheduled both of mine - one so i could close on our house the day prior, the other so my parents would be available).

you didn't say how long the drive home is, but perhaps they could schedule the section for the 8th (mentioning it soon to the doc, before both he and the hospital are booked for that day). you still might lose a day or two of your ressie if it is a long drive, but you should be able to have both.

btw, i don't think anyone is saying that WDW is more important than the birth of a baby, only that it is possible to enjoy both

 

[Inkmahm]

I know we're all Disney freaks here on this board, but on my scales... birth of a grandchild vs F&W... well I gotta give precedence to the birth of a new member of the family. F&W will be around for years, but the little one is only born once.

I'm not in any way trying to sound preachy or judgemental. Just chiming in with MHO about what I would do. Of course, YMMV and what I would do or not do is completely irrelevant in anyone else's situation anyway.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
And congratulations!

This just made me remember when my brother's 3rd daughter was born. Our family has a vacation at a fishing resort every June that we just don't miss for anything. My SIL had to stay home in 1996 because she was 9 months pregnant. My brother brought the two older girls up for just a weekend so he was 300 miles away from his wife just days before she gave birth. (I thought that was a bit nutty, but... ) Anyway, she did have the baby during our second week of vacation. We wished them well and said we'd see the baby on Saturday when we got back from our trip. My SIL thought it was odd that my parents didn't rush home to see their new grandchild. Not a chance! And now that same grandchild has spent every birthday of her life on the family fishing trip so it is special to her, too. So she was a few days old when we saw her for the first time. No big deal in the scheme of things.

 

[DenLo]

This is really a difficult decision. I know it's really important for a daughter having her first child that her mother be there. As to whether a son feels it's important for his parents to be there, I don't know. I know the son just wants his wife to be happy.

I think you just have to accept what they say and take your vacation. Perhaps you can arrange to help out at the house upon your return while the new mom bonds with her baby.

Congratulations on the pending birth of your first grandchild. Remember they have some pretty cute baby items in the shops as well.

 

[disneygrandma]

Thanks again for all your thoughts on this subject. Regarding taking the other kids with us: I did throw that out there as a consideration, but it didn't go over very well. Our grandkids love Disney, but they were not about to miss the birth of their new baby brother. Their parents would much prefer the kids here, as well. My husband & I love being at WDW with the kids, but we also like our alone time there, and that's what this trip was going to be.

I have considered shortening our stay. I suppose that's a possibility, but our drive time is 24 hrs each way, and that might not be worth staying just 3 or 4 nights. We might look in to flying, but that's not something I'm crazy about. Also, if plans need to be changed, we've got the whole airline hassle if tickets have been purchased.

For now, I guess we'll just hold off until closer to the due date & our 31 day cancellation. We would lose our points from our 1st night at BCV, since that's the last day of our Use Year, but the other points will be OK.

Thanks again for all the moral support & suggestions.

 

[Paticake]

Two years ago we were in the same boat. We rescheduled for a couple of weeks earlier. Although we missed the F&W Fest. we were able to be there on the preview day. DDIL was late for the baby by the way and we would have been ok with our original plans but it was our DS's first baby and I had to be there. I'm sure you will make a decision that will be right for your family.