What is the Fort Wilderness Campground cancel penalty?

[paulmlac 0]

Hypothetical question...

If I am booked next spring break for a week

& had to cancel morning of the 1st night

what would the cancel penalty be?

Would it be the entire weeks amount, some percentage of that (say 25%), the first night's rate, etc?

Thanks!

[Gots2pitt.. Jeff 64]

Is it a room/site only or is it a package (room, tickets, food)? I think the two are treated slightly different (but I am definitely not an expert about this).

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

If it is site only, which it probably is because packages have not been released yet for 2013, then you can cancel the entire thing up to 5 days out with no penalty.

If for some reason you cannot arrive the 1st night, but keep the rest of the reservation, then I don't think there is a penalty at all.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

However, if you turn it into a package with tickets, and/or dining, with a 45 day prepayment, then a whole nother set of rules applys that is stricter.

[paulmlac 0]

It would be site only (not a package). Also it would be canceling the entire week the morning of arrival.

Here's the reason I ask: I had to do this on a recent family vacation due to illness. We were booked at a Marriott. They could have charged the 1st nite which was about $250. They were great & didn't charge a thing. Delta Airlines was a different story but I digress. Just curious how Disney would handle.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

If you can't make the entire week due to illness or something else at the last minute, then just "move" the reservation to different dates, no penalty. There is a 1 night cancellation penalty within 5 days.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Carol already mentinoned the major loophole which will allows you to avoid any cancellation penalty:

If you suddenly find that you cannot make your trip, and you have already passed the five day cancellation window, you can call and move your reservation to another date. You can do this without penalty-and you don't need to give a sob story- the people answering the phone couldn't care less-the system allows them to do this, and they will gladly do it. Depending on what date you move your reservation to, you may have to pay an additional deposit. You can avoid this by moving the date to a date during value season. It doesn't really matter if you can actually make this future trip or not, as you can move the date again later if needed. And, if you can't make that future trip at all, you can cancel this new reservation, as long as you do so more than five days before your new arrival date, and receive a full refund. This is a major loophole!

Another thing I was surprised to find out is that at or even after check-in, you can lop days off the end of your trip with no penalty at all. If something comes up during your trip, and you need to cut it short, you can do so with no notice, and get the full amount of your remaining days refunded. You only have to pay for the nights you stay. In my experience, it is way easier to drop days than it is to add them, so if you are not sure about your dates, you can reserve a few extra.

One word of caution- using either of these methods during a busy time likely means that someone who wants to camp may get blocked from making a trip because of your last second cancellation. So, it is not cool to do this except in cases of emergency changes in plans. Out of courtesy to others, none of us should hold reservations that we know we will not be using. If these loopholes get exploited, then it is likely they will be closed.

TCD

[FWRR3 10]

Hey TCD, great answer and explanation! Nice to know, and good point about the "loophole". Thanks! :10220:

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

what I've found really odd about the fort, compared to other wdw resorts, is that you can tell them at checkin that you'd like to check out 2 or 3 days early and they still make you pay for the original dates, then credit back at checkout. If you know in advance that you won't be staying for all the days you booked be sure to call and modify before you arrive at the fort...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

what I've found really odd about the fort, compared to other wdw resorts, is that you can tell them at checkin that you'd like to check out 2 or 3 days early and they still make you pay for the original dates, then credit back at checkout. If you know in advance that you won't be staying for all the days you booked be sure to call and modify before you arrive at the fort...

That has not been my experience. It haven't done this often, but on my most recent trip, I knew I would need to cut off the last day. It told them at check in, and they adjusted the price right there before I paid the balance. That has always been my experience. I can't imagine them making you pay for the extra nights when you tell them right then and there that you will be leaving early. There was another occasion when I had to leave early, and had already paid- I got the last night refunded on that trip.

I do agree that if you know before you get there that you will be cutting the trip short, then calling ahead of time would be better than waiting until check-in.

TCD

[rdancemom... Pam 113]

It told them at check in, and they adjusted the price right there before I paid the balance. That has always been my experience. I can't imagine them making you pay for the extra nights when you tell them right then and there that you will be leaving early. There was another occasion when I had to leave early, and had already paid- I got the last night refunded on that trip.

That's why I thought it was so odd. Anywhere else they'd adjust the price at checkin but the cm we got a few years back when the girls and I tent camped refused to modify the total when I said we'd be leaving two days early. It was more of an annoyance than anything else b/c we were paying cash and it seemed so dumb to hand it to them only to have to stop back at checkout to get it back. If we used credit cards more I probably wouldn't even notice it. It's depressing enough to have to leave. I wait until I'm home & over my post-vacation pout to open the dreaded envelope that tells me how much I spent...

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

That's why I thought it was so odd. Anywhere else they'd adjust the price at checkin but the cm we got a few years back when the girls and I tent camped refused to modify the total when I said we'd be leaving two days early. It was more of an annoyance than anything else b/c we were paying cash and it seemed so dumb to hand it to them only to have to stop back at checkout to get it back. If we used credit cards more I probably wouldn't even notice it. It's depressing enough to have to leave. I wait until I'm home & over my post-vacation pout to open the dreaded envelope that tells me how much I spent...

Well, if it ever happens to you again, ask for a manager, because you definitely don't have to pay for the nights you won't be using. You are right about it being depressing to have to shorten a trip, so why go through the hassle of having to go back to the front desk?

TCD

[Retired & Tired (Judy) 90]

We have had to cancel a day or two on the end of our trip to WDW and have had no problem and no charges for those days. We have also had to cancel a day or two at the beginning of our trip due to a death and we were not charged for those days either.