***Can't keep us down...OFFICIAL MAY 2021 THREAD...come heck or high water we're going to WDW!!!***

[mickey916]

I converted my funds to points when they offered that. So I didn't have to worry about the expiration.

Oh I didn't see that offer...probably should have done that.

 

[G719]

Oh I didn't see that offer...probably should have done that.

I thought it had ended but I just saw on the app that you have until Dec 15 to convert. The only thing that complicates the process is that the points are tied to each person's rapid rewards account. So each of my kids has enough points to buy a ticket but I can't buy all the tickets through my account. I'd have to do separate transactions from each persons account. My kids are teens though so they could help with the process I think.

 

[G719]

Oh I didn't see that offer...probably should have done that.

From the website:
Option to convert select travel funds into Rapid Rewards® points.
We have also added a new benefit for our valued Rapid Rewards Members. Through December 15, 2020, those Members who have qualified travel funds that are set to expire September 7, 2022 can convert those funds into Rapid Rewards points at the same rate you would be able to purchase a ticket with points today. To qualify, your travel fund a) must expire September 7, 2022, b) name must match the name on your Rapid Rewards® account, and c) must have originated from a ticket purchased on Southwest.com®, booked by a Southwest Airlines® Customer Representative, or approved by your employer. You must request to convert your travel fund by December 15, 2020. Conversion is non-reversible. When travel funds are converted to Rapid Rewards points, these points will not count toward earning tier status nor earning Companion Pass. Rapid Rewards points cannot be used to pay taxes or fees.
Since Rapid Rewards points never expire, you can use your new points whenever you want. Check if you have qualified travel funds soon—you can only convert your qualified travel funds through December 15, 2020.
Check your funds

 

[SMRT-1]

United hasn't been particularly customer friendly. I got my May 2020 flights refunded to vouchers. I re-booked the flights for our December backup dates using the vouchers. The December flights were less than half of the original flights, so I had plenty left over. Eventually we cancelled December and re-booked again for May 2021. I went to move the flights and found them to be $200 more than the December flights, but still much cheaper than the original flights, so the difference would have been more than covered by the remaining voucher balance. I say "would have" because United won't let me use the voucher balance to pay the difference on a re-scheduled flight, so they want me to give them another $200 on top of the money they're already holding hostage.

Unfortunately United's my best option. American is usually more expensive and has even worse service, and SW doesn't fly nonstop out of O'Hare and has been surprisingly way more expensive (sometimes double) when I've priced flights.

For now, I think I'm going to hold off re-booking the flights until I know we're going in May for sure so that I avoid fragmenting my captive United funds even more.

 

[mickey916]

From the website:
Option to convert select travel funds into Rapid Rewards® points.
We have also added a new benefit for our valued Rapid Rewards Members. Through December 15, 2020, those Members who have qualified travel funds that are set to expire September 7, 2022 can convert those funds into Rapid Rewards points at the same rate you would be able to purchase a ticket with points today. To qualify, your travel fund a) must expire September 7, 2022, b) name must match the name on your Rapid Rewards® account, and c) must have originated from a ticket purchased on Southwest.com®, booked by a Southwest Airlines® Customer Representative, or approved by your employer. You must request to convert your travel fund by December 15, 2020. Conversion is non-reversible. When travel funds are converted to Rapid Rewards points, these points will not count toward earning tier status nor earning Companion Pass. Rapid Rewards points cannot be used to pay taxes or fees.
Since Rapid Rewards points never expire, you can use your new points whenever you want. Check if you have qualified travel funds soon—you can only convert your qualified travel funds through December 15, 2020.
Check your funds

Thank you for that...I wonder how it works since we are four adults (me, DH, DS24, DS22). Since the credits are each separate under each person's name (but I booked all the flights together), I wonder if we would all have to have Rapid Rewards accounts??? Might be worthwhile making a call to Southwest. The gentleman I spoke with earlier today didn't even mention that as an option.

 

[Penny McMouse]

Instead of cancelling like I thought I’d be I need to update my dates for May. We’re going to be there May 7-14. Hubby’s school came out with a new calendar and finals are now the week we were supposed to be in the bubble.

 

[Katie1174]

I decided to go ahead and book our flights even though I know the flights will convert to only being good until next Dec. if I have to cancel. We know we will use the flights by next Dec. even if we have to reschedule Disney or go to another destination altogether. My hubby has to have the 1st flight out, so we always pick the 6 am so we get there by 8:00 ish and for our return it has to be around 6pm ish, so we can hit a park for last rides but still be home around 8pm. Now I can relax and in Jan. start thinking about what dining we want so I can be ready to book in March. And I have to contemplate possibly hiring a town car for a round trip to/from the airport so we can get there sooner and leave the last day a little later, as I am not anticipating Disney bringing back checked luggage transfer or resort airline check in before our trip.

 

[melana]

Hello all!! This is my third rescheduled trip to WDW since COVID. I booked and unbooked and booked and unbooked my December trip (should be there right now). Settled on May 2021. Come heck or high water at least my niece and I will be there the 10-15 Of May. Right now staying at Movies. hope there are some deals that come out for May around the first of the year. But we are going to be there. I need my Disney fix!!!

 

[Farro]

United hasn't been particularly customer friendly. I got my May 2020 flights refunded to vouchers. I re-booked the flights for our December backup dates using the vouchers. The December flights were less than half of the original flights, so I had plenty left over. Eventually we cancelled December and re-booked again for May 2021. I went to move the flights and found them to be $200 more than the December flights, but still much cheaper than the original flights, so the difference would have been more than covered by the remaining voucher balance. I say "would have" because United won't let me use the voucher balance to pay the difference on a re-scheduled flight, so they want me to give them another $200 on top of the money they're already holding hostage.

Unfortunately United's my best option. American is usually more expensive and has even worse service, and SW doesn't fly nonstop out of O'Hare and has been surprisingly way more expensive (sometimes double) when I've priced flights.

For now, I think I'm going to hold off re-booking the flights until I know we're going in May for sure so that I avoid fragmenting my captive United funds even more.

Why don't you cancel, get the money back on vouchers, then just rebook?

 

[Farro]

Hello all!! This is my third rescheduled trip to WDW since COVID. I booked and unbooked and booked and unbooked my December trip (should be there right now). Settled on May 2021. Come heck or high water at least my niece and I will be there the 10-15 Of May. Right now staying at Movies. hope there are some deals that come out for May around the first of the year. But we are going to be there. I need my Disney fix!!!

Hi there!

I've added you to the front page! Welcome to the Madcap May crew!

 

[Farro]

Instead of cancelling like I thought I’d be I need to update my dates for May. We’re going to be there May 7-14. Hubby’s school came out with a new calendar and finals are now the week we were supposed to be in the bubble.

Updated!

 

[Farro]

Hi everyone. Checking in on the May crew, have been absent from the boards because I’ve just been too depressed to keep up on Disney. So many plans ruined, everything we were looking forward to going up in smoke (the band at GF really hurt). Hard to stay positive about our happy place.

We are still in limbo about our trip, waiting on any news of CL or the Poly refurb. Our “plan B” is to downgrade to a regular non-CL room at GF for week 1 and change to YC for week 2. But our TA advised us to wait until after the holidays to see what will happen.

I was wondering where you had been, hoping you were okay!

This trip is hard. There is no fun anticipation this time around. We got hit really hard financially from Covid, so while I'm almost positive we are going, all it will take is one unplanned expense...

But I'm still trying to stay excited!

 

[SMRT-1]

Why don't you cancel, get the money back on vouchers, then just rebook?

I did cancel. The problem is that, instead of returning the money to the vouchers, the December flight "refund" was added to my account as "Future Flight Credit" and when I try to book using the Future Flight Credit, it won't let me use vouchers to pay the $200 price difference for May 2021, meaning I have to pay additional money out of pocket even though there's more than enough money left on the original vouchers.

 

[Farro]

I did cancel. The problem is that, instead of returning the money to the vouchers, the December flight "refund" was added to my account as "Future Flight Credit" and when I try to book using the Future Flight Credit, it won't let me use vouchers to pay the $200 price difference for May 2021, meaning I have to pay additional money out of pocket even though there's more than enough money left on the original vouchers.

So silly. What on earth do they expect you to use voucher for???

 

[kylenne]

I decided to go ahead and book our flights even though I know the flights will convert to only being good until next Dec. if I have to cancel. We know we will use the flights by next Dec. even if we have to reschedule Disney or go to another destination altogether. My hubby has to have the 1st flight out, so we always pick the 6 am so we get there by 8:00 ish and for our return it has to be around 6pm ish, so we can hit a park for last rides but still be home around 8pm. Now I can relax and in Jan. start thinking about what dining we want so I can be ready to book in March. And I have to contemplate possibly hiring a town car for a round trip to/from the airport so we can get there sooner and leave the last day a little later, as I am not anticipating Disney bringing back checked luggage transfer or resort airline check in before our trip.

I have to say, RAC and luggage transfer is probably the on site perk I miss the most. I always forget how spoiled we are by that until I go somewhere else. I am really hoping it comes back by the time we go, with my overpacking self I don't see doing 2 weeks out of a carry on, even the one I have that holds a ton. Heck even on my weekend trips I check a small bag, since I get one free with JetBlue from my CC. So I'm too used to it and I honestly am dreading dealing with baggage claim at MCO. If these perks are not back, I'm not sure we'll use DME...it's a shame, since we feel like it's a fun part of the vacation experience, and I love the drivers (I had the same one on two consecutive trips last year and he remembered me!). But I think I would rather be on my own schedule if I'm not getting anything out of it besides free transportation.

I was wondering where you had been, hoping you were okay!

This trip is hard. There is no fun anticipation this time around. We got hit really hard financially from Covid, so while I'm almost positive we are going, all it will take is one unplanned expense...

But I'm still trying to stay excited!

I'm really sorry to hear about your financial situation. We've been fortunate, though it's been a little dicey, all summer we were waiting for the hammer to come down re: NY city employee layoffs, but luckily my union struck a deal so that our members are off the table if that happens. A lot depends on federal politics I can't talk about here. I hope things work out for you guys and your trip. We all need some magic!

For us it's more about where we're even staying...the Poly news had us gutted, it doesn't even look like DVC will be an option for our dates since they're doing a soft goods refurb then. But we're looking on the bright side, being able to walk to 3 parks will be amazing and honestly after all this we'll just be happy to be going down there. I legitimately cried at the new ad they've been running with Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow, but in a good way? It really helped get me out of the dumps. I am starting to get back more into planning. It felt very, very strange not having anything to do at 180 days!

 

[Penny McMouse]

After chatting with hubby about our plans we’ve realized the only places in the parks were interested in eating are Yak and Yeti and Oga’s though Oga’s is just for a drink and drinking in the atmosphere. Epcot we’re going to partake in food booth food but for MK and HS we have no opinions or ideas. What is your favorite place or thing to eat at those two parks?

 

[Farro]

After chatting with hubby about our plans we’ve realized the only places in the parks were interested in eating are Yak and Yeti and Oga’s though Oga’s is just for a drink and drinking in the atmosphere. Epcot we’re going to partake in food booth food but for MK and HS we have no opinions or ideas. What is your favorite place or thing to eat at those two parks?

We really like Skipper Canteen in MK.

For DHS, we used to hop to Epcot to eat. I think people like the Grand Tap? Can always boat over to Yacht and eat at Ale & Compass Lounge. looks good!

 

[kylenne]

After chatting with hubby about our plans we’ve realized the only places in the parks were interested in eating are Yak and Yeti and Oga’s though Oga’s is just for a drink and drinking in the atmosphere. Epcot we’re going to partake in food booth food but for MK and HS we have no opinions or ideas. What is your favorite place or thing to eat at those two parks?

At MK there's Skipper Canteen and then there's everything else, imo. Easily the best TS in that place by a country mile, even though the menu keeps getting dumbed down. I've had great experiences at BOG dinner since the prix fixe revamp but I get that it's not everyone's cuppa at that price point. (I also only ever sit in the West Wing) The Plaza isn't bad for what it is. For QS I like Columbia Harbor House even though I don't eat seafood, the Lighthouse sandwich is really good if I want something lighter. If not I'm a sucker for Casey's even though the seating situation is horrendous.

As HS goes, Ronto Wrap and call it a day. Nothing QS in that park is as good, lol. Well Woody's is excellent but it's hellish trying to find seating there so I've only ever had it once. Brown Derby is going to be your best bet for TS, though the lounge can be dicey to walk up to depending on the time of day because it's popular. Sci-Fi I found to be aggressively mediocre even just sticking to a burger but I still don't regret the time I ate there because it was cool and dark on a super hot day when I went and a nice respite to recharge. Weirdly enough I have been hearing really great things about Hollywood & Vine lately, enough that if it keeps up we might look at trying it out.

If you are open to leaving the park for dinner though I would take a stroll over to YC and do Crew's Cup. I had the best burger in my life there last year when I stayed at BC, and I live in one of the great burger cities in the world. There's a lot of great options around the Boardwalk in general, hopefully it will all be open by our trips. On HS days I tend to eat an early dinner at the resort after midday break and then go back to the park.

 

[Farro]

At MK there's Skipper Canteen and then there's everything else, imo. Easily the best TS in that place by a country mile, even though the menu keeps getting dumbed down. I've had great experiences at BOG dinner since the prix fixe revamp but I get that it's not everyone's cuppa at that price point. (I also only ever sit in the West Wing) The Plaza isn't bad for what it is. For QS I like Columbia Harbor House even though I don't eat seafood, the Lighthouse sandwich is really good if I want something lighter. If not I'm a sucker for Casey's even though the seating situation is horrendous.

As HS goes, Ronto Wrap and call it a day. Nothing QS in that park is as good, lol. Well Woody's is excellent but it's hellish trying to find seating there so I've only ever had it once. Brown Derby is going to be your best bet for TS, though the lounge can be dicey to walk up to depending on the time of day because it's popular. Sci-Fi I found to be aggressively mediocre even just sticking to a burger but I still don't regret the time I ate there because it was cool and dark on a super hot day when I went and a nice respite to recharge. Weirdly enough I have been hearing really great things about Hollywood & Vine lately, enough that if it keeps up we might look at trying it out.

If you are open to leaving the park for dinner though I would take a stroll over to YC and do Crew's Cup. I had the best burger in my life there last year when I stayed at BC, and I live in one of the great burger cities in the world. There's a lot of great options around the Boardwalk in general, hopefully it will all be open by our trips. On HS days I tend to eat an early dinner at the resort after midday break and then go back to the park.

We love Crew's Cup too, but I wasn't sure it was open? Didn't want to get anyone's hopes up!

 

[kylenne]

We love Crew's Cup too, but I wasn't sure it was open? Didn't want to get anyone's hopes up!

Disney announced today that BC is reopening on 5/30 (right on my birthday!) and I'm hoping that Yachtsman will be open again by then. They have to have some kind of signature dining back imo and I assume that CC will reopen with it since they use the same kitchen.

Of course that news threw our split in the air again. Now we're not sure if YC or BC for part 2. I've never been so indecisive about resorts!