Cancelled holiday to Disney World

[Glitterbug824]

Hello! I am really struggling and need someone to talk to. In 2024, we were gifted 10k as a wedding present from my father in law to book a holiday to disney world. We couldn't go last year as we weren't in a financially good place so we booked for the Easter holidays this year for my husband and I and our 8 and 11 year old girls. We have all been so excited and counting down the days for the trip - a holiday of a lifetime!

In September I started to have some lower back pain and have done everything through the NHS and privately to try and fix whatever is going on. I ended up in A&E last week and found out it is a bulging disc. I am in a lot of pain and know that I will not cope with the long days of walking and will not be able to go on any rides. I feel that I will be miserable and this will spoil the holiday.

We have therefore decided that we need to cancel the holiday. I have been able to get some money back but cannot get roughly 4.5k. I will need to fill in an insurance request for this but I am convinced I won't get this money back as technically it is my decision not to go. We will go again next year but I also feel the holiday will cost more than it would have done this year. I am utterly miserable. I feel so much guilt and blame and feel that I have been so selfish in the whole situation 😞 I have let everyone down and caused so much upset and money. Should we have just gone ahead with the trip for the children?

As the reason is medical, you are in pain and it would have been an active holiday, it's possible you may get a refund via insurance. You may need confirmation of the condition from a doctor. Contact the insurance company and good luck.

Why can't your husband go with the kids? I feel for you, but just because you're not fit to go doesn't mean everyone should miss out.

Can't you go but then not do the parks if you aren't up for it? Easter hols are also 5 weeks away still...

Losing almost half…. Yeah I would have just gone ahead for the kids. They’d still love it! At their ages they can go on all the rides together or with DH. You could stay at the accommodation and rest, and hire an electric scooter wheelchair thing for when you’re feeling up to it. It sounds mad but SO many people in Disney use them, without a medical condition like yours.
It is a lot of money to lose when 3 out of 4 of you would still enjoy Disney.

Or they go, and you stay home. I wouldn’t feel comfortable with losing £4.5k of someone else’s money. If your Father in law paid it, his son should still make the most of it with the kids.

This is totally doable. You can rent mobility scooters at the parks. You can get passes so you can be in shorter queues. Not all the rides are rough - there are gentler rides you'd be able to do, and there are also a ton of shows and entertainment where you can sit down. You could also do half days at the parks, and pool afternoons to rest. There's loads of seating at the parks too, again so you can rest whenever you need to. Orlando theme parks are totally geared up for people with mobility and pain issues.

@Glitterbug824 before you cancel have you thought about hiring a mobility scooter?

As you say with a bad back you can’t walk long distances and stand in queues.

@Kirschcherries I think she's cancelled

Nor my idea of fun, but I would have gone anyway and let my husband and children go on the rides. Shame to disappoint your children and potentially lose a lot of money. Who knows if you will be able to go next year.

This.

I would have still gone, got one of the mobility scooters and gone on what I could. No point everyone missing out if you can’t get the money back. Will you be able to make up the money so you can all go next year?

i think I would have just gone and rented a scooter and left DH to do the running around. Who knows what financial position you will be in next year and whether you can go then.

can you undo the cancellation?

That’s a shame, hopefully the insurance comes through.

Yeah i would definitely still go. I have hired scooters there in the past when I was unable to walk round the park - we hired off site and had it delivered to our hotel on day one. Was cheaper than hiring at the parks and you didnt have to walk to the entry from the car park. There are still lots of things you can go on and so many shows etc. Its not all roller coasters. And honestly your back might never fully recover (not trying to be negative just realistic). Who's to say it will be doable next year

100% another on the scooter recommendation - you see so many people using them for all sorts of reasons in Disney!

How bad is the bulging disc? With anti inflammatories, some stretches etc in 5 weeks you could be in a totally different place - saying this as someone with back issues!

I would go
relax at the hotel and let them enjoy themselves

Yes go. You can get round in a mobility scooter, honestly it’s almost as common as walking there. It’s not fair to waste almost half the money from DHs dad, if anything just go and relax by the pool whilst DH takes the children into the parks.
There is a lot more to Disney than rides and only a very few big rollercoasters. You will still have a lovely time.
I think most people would understand they money was given primarily to make family memories in a family place from a father to his son, and would realise that they were not the priority in the situation? And to just go and enjoy the bits you can, which will be most of it.

I'm sorry OP. Disc bulge pain is often made worse by sitting so I can't imagine the pain of spending 9 hours on a cramped flight plus the potential car journey to the airport.
I dont think being there would be the problem - you could rest by the pool or waterparks, it would have been more the process of getting there and the potential inflammation of a 9 hour flight and transfers.

Oh OP you have my sympathy as I also had this, some advice from the other side… your back is not made of glass and you may not want to move because of the pain, but moving is good for you if your Dr has not told you to rest. Yoga and doing exercises to strengthen my core is what got me better without the need for surgery. It’s agony and I remember feeling at the time that not even all the money in the world would give me a new back. But it can get better!

As someone with severe herniated disks they will be much better by then , pain tend to come with inflammation but it will subside in 2 or 3 weeks . You don’t need to cancel . Also see a chiropractor as it helped me a lot

You will probably need a hcp letter advising you not to travel to claim on insurance.

It's a pity you've cancelled. I don't know what a bulging disc is but have experienced slipped discs so am unsure what your pain or abilities are.

Orlando is definitely focused on all disabilities, we travel every year, have done Disney but prefer Universal which is much more fast paced. We travel with our youngest who's severely disabled and over the years there's been broken legs, toes, etc plus other ailments and we travelled with them, there's so many ways to get around like the ride ons as mentioned above, hiring at parks or to your accommodation, they hire absolutely everything to make your holiday more comfortable for you, there's a card you can get to not queue and either skip or given a time to return so as no waiting in line.

There's so many different things in the parks you would have been able for, people think rollercoasters when Orlando is mentioned but they're only a very minute thing over there, there are so many other things.

There's so many different things I don't like , not able for and DH does so we swap around with our DD and do the things we enjoy ourselves, over the years when all our kids were younger, there was always someone waiting back for whatever reason.

It's a pity you've cancelled.