How my mind works / What would you do?

Walt Disney World
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I currently have two trips to WDW booked — one in June and one in October.

The June trip is fully planned and paid for. I’m super-excited and think it’s going to be awesome. A key feature is that I’m taking a friend of mine who’s never been. I think that will make the trip even more magical for me — someone who’s been to WDW five times in the last three years.

The October trip has turned out to be complicated and it looks like it will just be me. Which I’m fine with, though it feels like a bit of a luxury to be going again so soon. What will really be new? What’s this trip for?

I have two 14 day, park-hopper tickets for the October trip which are non-refundable. It occurred to me I could use both by setting up one of them in a dummy MDE account which I could then link to my resort reservation. I’d then have six FPPs per day, with the flexibility to do three in one park and three in another, or do six in one park and get two tier ones. Cool, right?

I called Disney to change the name on the reservation to the one on the dummy account. No problem. Except they want £50 ($60) to do it. They’d already previously charged me £50 for a change I made to the reservation a few months ago.

This has really irritated me. This is money for nothing. In this regard, US people get much more favourable terms and conditions. The UK terms suck.

I’m so annoyed by it I’m thinking of cancelling the entire trip. I’d lose some money in non-refundables, but those are sunk costs anyway. I’d gain a whole lot more in refundables and not making planned further expenditure on the trip, e.g. food, MNSSHP tickets and so on.

The net possibilities are these.

I could cancel the entire trip. I’d have no second trip to WDW this year, but I’d be better off financially to the tune of around £3,000 ($4,000). I’d get the satisfaction of telling Disney to stick their rip-off £50 change fee where the sun don’t shine.

Or I could pay the damned fee and go on the trip.

There’s no rush to make this decision. Sensibly I’d make it after the June trip. If that is everything I’m hoping it will be, then my Disney lust will be sated.

Because right now (a) I’m really not sure why I need to be making two trips this year. And (b) I really want to stick it to Disney. I’ve had enough of their gouging. And © my finances look a lot prettier being £3,000 up.

Indeed, with all the changes still to come, I’m thinking of maybe giving Disney a break for a few years.

I’d be interested in your thoughts.

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Well, something to keep in mind. Disney won’t care if you cancel. I mean, sure, they will be out the money you were going to spend, but it isn’t like they will go, “Wow. This guy really was upset about the fee. I think we were wrong, and now see the error of our ways. Let’s change our policy.”

So, if you want to cancel your trip, doing it out of spite to Disney probably ain’t a reasonable reason. Instead, the question really is…do you WANT to go again in October by yourself with the benefit of the 6 FPPs per day? Or was the idea of doing so more exciting at the thought versus the reality?

Setting aside the extra cost of the change, do you WANT to go again in October? Does it financially make sense for you? Would you rather hold off and spend that money on another trip perhaps next year?

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This is one of those “scales falling from my eyes” moments. My rage at Disney has made me look at the trip in a new way. Specifically, why am I taking it at all?

What I guess it all boils down to is: I can go on the trip, or I can be up £3,000 from my current position. Which is the same as saying, would I pay £3,000 to go on a solo, six night trip to WDW, with double FPPs?

I started planning the trip in detail the other night, with those FPPs in mind. It’s not as easy as you think. I’m not sure how necessary they really are. Well, to me. You avoid having to choose between your tier 1s. But then if you do HS on two different days, you get to pick two tier 1s. And some parks don’t have six FFPs worth of stuff for me — AK and EP, for example. If you know what you’re doing you don’t need six FPPs in MK.

I have been clear that I cannot afford to go to WDW in 2021. I’m maxed out. But if I cancel October, then a 2021 trip is back on the cards. So that’s an interesting thought.

But I do so hate being ripped off. And Disney is getting increasingly greedy.

Well, maybe not. But one man can change the world. What if lots of people, for lots of reasons, start getting pissed at Disney. Pissed enough to give the place a break for a while. It’s petty to cancel a trip because they’re not giving out free bread at restaurants any more. But there’s always a straw that breaks the camel’s back.

This £50 might be mine. At least for this year.

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True. Although, if you cancel, most likely Disney will think it is due to the coronavirus! :slight_smile:

If you were me (or if I were you?) I’d drop the October trip and plan something in 2021 with the money instead. But that’s just me. (Or you.)

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That does make sense. I can at least pretend I’m sticking it to Disney when I cancel.

There are flaws in the October trip that make me not wholly excited about it. And the double FPP thing is a bit complicated to engineer.

And what’s going to be different between October and June? Ratatouille may not be open in June. I may not get a Space 220 reservation for June.

Loads more stuff in 2021. Even more in 2022.

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If I were you I would cancel so I could go in 2021. Maybe later in 2021 in hopes some things have been completed, unless you like the idea of a long break.

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I would cancel your October trip! Even though having two sets of FP seems like a whole lot of fun, it is alot of planning to make sure it works perfectly. Plan for end of 2021 there will be more attractions open.

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Why do you have to change the name on your ticket? No one checks your id when you go to use it, only if you were trying to get reimbursed and it looks like you’re using someone else’s ticket. But this will have your finger prints on it.

Or is it like the Canadian deals where you have to activate it with a passport?

Also, while this is a great way to get more FPs, it is a rather expensive way to tour. Can that ticket be used for a future trip’s ticket? Do they do that?

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I would cancel.

If people continue to go despite being unhappy with prices, crowds, policies and fees, things will only get worse. From my point of view it is very reasonable to cancel a trip based on something like this.

£3,000 is a lot of money, I would expect a very high level of excitement and wonder out of that much money. If you are feeling meh about it, it is not worth it.

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Also, if you cancel out of principle, make sure to write them expressing your displeasure. Then, at least they’ll know why you cancelled and it might just be put in a pile, but it might also be the pile for the guy reviewing the UK packages and costs.

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is that a dig on the paper straws? well played.
I’ll be there in October. I don’t know if the dates coincide, but hanging with me would be a valid reason to keep the trip. If you have no desire to do so, which is understandable considering there will be 19 other people with me, then you should cancel and go next year. I sense you’ve been feeling disenchanted lately. A break may do you good. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that.

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Hi @sanstitre_has_left_the_building! It’s been a while (for me). IIRC, you were planning a two-part trip for you and your friend. If the second part has turned into a solo, I would be inclined to schedule something in 2021… just for the sake of having something to look forward to, if nothing else!

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In your shoes, I would plan to cancel the October trip and go in 2021. Not sure what the cancellation policies are for UK packages, but if possible I would hang on to the October reservation until the June trip in case for some reason you are unable to go then. Keeping options open.

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:thinking: Based on all you’ve said, I think I’d cancel the October trip if I were in your shoes. That’s a pretty big chunk of change to spend on something you don’t seem super excited about. You can use that £3,000 for something else or save it to put toward another WDW trip in 2021 or '22, if that’s something you still want to do when the time comes.
If/when you cancel, inform Disney of your grievances with their policies. It may not make any difference, but it definitely won’t make any difference if you don’t. :slight_smile:

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Is there any chance they will let you change the dates on these tickets? That may be worth a
£50 penalty.

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I’d cancel the October trip and make a plan for 2021. No sense going if you are already aggravated. Maybe tour some other Disney parks then report back😍

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How much would you be out if you canceled the trip is my question? I get you’d save $4k more…but if you have sunk costs that you can’t get back, to me, that is much worse then paying $50.

If the sunk costs are very minimal, then I’d say kick the can down the road and go in 2021. If you have hundreds, if not thousands already spent, suck it up and pay the fee. It is microscopic in the grand theme of this.

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Could you transfer the non-refundable tickets to a liner friend, who would then spontaneously give you some gift cards as a token of gratitude? Hypothetically

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I very much had that in mind as a possibility.

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I am trying to figure this out. Accordingly you should be able to cancel a trip depending on if it is a package or not up to 5 days before your first scheduled day. There is a changing fee if you try to change a reservation but there is no fee if you cancel one and book another. If you use a travel agent they should be able to do this for you no problem.