Covid Brain #@$#$$#$# Aughhhhh

[mort1331]

I cant believe what I have done. Now I am a planner,,,I have done all our trips,,our Honeymoon, that the wife let me do without her knowing anything. I plan life events for a living. And what have I done.

I booked our March break 2022, after being at WDW in March 2020 the day they closed, our once in our lifetime trip to Hawaii. Ordered Aeroplan cards so we could get the buddy passes to lower the cost. Saved up our points to afford ocean view 1 bdrm. Booked Costco car very early to get a great rate,,4 door jeep.
Wife comes home today saying that she got the friday March 11th off so we could catch the flights we needed.
I asked her why the 11th, we leave the 18th. She looks at me and says the break is the 14th to the 18th. My jaw drops,,,I have everything booked 18th to 25th. Quick check of the yrsb website and she is right and I am wrong. AUGHHHHHHHH.......what a horror story right before halloween. And its real.
We cant go the 18th to 25, she cant get that much time off, We dont feel comfortable taking our girls out of school for that long with one in grade 9 and the way the school is doing the one week of subjects and the folllowing week the others.
Saving grace the flights I spent extra on to get fully refundable tickets, car no money down, DVC cancel no issue and rebook or rent out our points.
So I will put in a wait list for the room, I will redo our flights, pay the difference, rebook the car,,wont be a jeep and will cost a little more. But if cant get room,,,no go.
The saving grace is my wonderful supportive wife who takes it all in stride, and says another time,,and my understanding kids, who now knows dad isnt perfect...lol...
Oh well,,,life goes on and these are trully 1st world problems. Wish everyone health and happiness.

 

[ottawamom]

I'm certain all your new plans will work out and you will have a wonderful holiday. Good thing you found out now and not in say "February".

Good luck with the new planning.

 

[bababear_50]

OH My Gosh!
I am so sorry this happened.
You are right ,,,it will turn out.
One door closes and another one will open.
Hugs to you Hon

Mel

 

[alohamom]

If you cannot get the whole time, see if you can get partial time at Aulani and then book the rest at the Marriott or someplace else.
Marriott is a fantastic resort too.
Another thought is to move the whole vacay into June when the kids and your wife are off of school.
Hawaii is fairly temperate and the weather isn't (usually) stinking hot, it is basically a breezy and approx 27-28 degrees.
We have been in August quite a few times but honestly any time of the year is nice in Hawaii
Just a thought

 

[damo]

Oh Mort! You must have just felt sick to your stomach! I'm sure you will make it all up to them!

 

[FinnFogg]

I second checking out the Marriott Ko Olina Beach Resort. There are some great deals on rentals through redweek (studios, 1 and 2 bedroom villas) it’s a beautiful resort and the whole Ko Olina area is just perfect. You can still walk through Aulani and, hopefully by then, dine there if you want. Frankly the pools at Aulani are a gong show (always have been and we’re even worse when I was there 2 weeks ago). The beach (all 4 lagoons) are the best, and you can use any of them that you want.

 

[mort1331]

Thanks all,,,we as a family have always been able to pivot quick and carry on with life. WDW 2020 was a great example. Drove down,,1 hour after check in told of everything closing in 3 days. Well there goes our dinner plans, fasspass. Pivot quick and make the most of 3 days,,,switch dinner to hddmr, never done and lovedddd it. Booked and rebooke calif grill..lovedd it. And then drove home. Quick little 5 day total trip with day drive there and back.
So we got over my screw up and started looking at end of july when wife can next get holidays and girls out of school. Prob book for extra days as well. Thank goodness flights were fully refundable.
And now back to planning and seeing about a car at that time.
Thanks all and will keep you updated.

 

[Nahanni]

Ouch! Glad you noticed it now when it's all refundable. One year I booked March Break MCO-BUF-MCO and noticed the next morning when I was thinking about the great fare I got....thankfully I was within the 24 hour cancellation period as it would have been a long drive from Toronto to catch that flight out of MCO.

For this March Break, we (well me, because DW doesn't think we're going regardless of restrictions status) snagged a Jambo 1BR value. Waiting to see if she changes her mind at Christmas.

 

[Debbie]

What a great attitude! Being able to pivot is a skill that everyone needs to have, and I know that when you finally get to Hawaii, it will be even more magical! For future reference, most March breaks include St. Patrick's Day.

 

[musika]

Oh man, my stomach would have dropped. I hope you are able to reschedule and enjoy!

 

[motherof5]

I cant believe what I have done. Now I am a planner,,,I have done all our trips,,our Honeymoon, that the wife let me do without her knowing anything. I plan life events for a living. And what have I done.

I booked our March break 2022, after being at WDW in March 2020 the day they closed, our once in our lifetime trip to Hawaii. Ordered Aeroplan cards so we could get the buddy passes to lower the cost. Saved up our points to afford ocean view 1 bdrm. Booked Costco car very early to get a great rate,,4 door jeep.
Wife comes home today saying that she got the friday March 11th off so we could catch the flights we needed.
I asked her why the 11th, we leave the 18th. She looks at me and says the break is the 14th to the 18th. My jaw drops,,,I have everything booked 18th to 25th. Quick check of the yrsb website and she is right and I am wrong. AUGHHHHHHHH.......what a horror story right before halloween. And its real.
We cant go the 18th to 25, she cant get that much time off, We dont feel comfortable taking our girls out of school for that long with one in grade 9 and the way the school is doing the one week of subjects and the folllowing week the others.
Saving grace the flights I spent extra on to get fully refundable tickets, car no money down, DVC cancel no issue and rebook or rent out our points.
So I will put in a wait list for the room, I will redo our flights, pay the difference, rebook the car,,wont be a jeep and will cost a little more. But if cant get room,,,no go.
The saving grace is my wonderful supportive wife who takes it all in stride, and says another time,,and my understanding kids, who now knows dad isnt perfect...lol...
Oh well,,,life goes on and these are trully 1st world problems. Wish everyone health and happiness.

Hoping it all works out for you. Your wife and kids are amazing to take it all in stride.

 

[mort1331]

What a great attitude! Being able to pivot is a skill that everyone needs to have, and I know that when you finally get to Hawaii, it will be even more magical! For future reference, most March breaks include St. Patrick's Day.

Yes had many st.pattys day at disney springs. Brain fog.

 

[JBeaty0507]

I can't even imagine how you are feeling. I am the same way about planning and just recently booked a flight on the wrong day and it was for the next day and I may have had a small breakdown (my husband thought I had really lost it)!! It got fixed and I'm sure everything will come through for you as well. At least you have COVID brain as an excuse. I haven't had COVID....so I'm just loosing my touch!

 

[alohamom]

So we got over my screw up and started looking at end of july when wife can next get holidays and girls out of school. Prob book for extra days as well. Thank goodness flights were fully refundable.
And now back to planning and seeing about a car at that time.
Thanks all and will keep you updated.
[/QUOTE]

End of July is an amazing time to go to Oahu.
I didn't mention the beaches up in the North Shore for you because in March when you were originally scheduled to go, the beaches there are way too rough to swim in
BUT during the summer, it is glorious! There is also a fantastic snorkel place called Shark's Cove up North that is really great in the summer (no sharks, the reef is shaped like a shark from an ariel view)
Aulani is going to be busy, but it was going to be busy in March too. The thing about Aulani we love the most is the lazy river. We have been to Aulani at peak times, where you cannot even find a place to put your things down, and the lazy river still has space and feels peaceful.
Ahhh, all this writing about Hawaii is making me want to go!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Oh man! I'm so sorry this happened to you!!! Hope you can find a resolution.

 

[mort1331]

I can't even imagine how you are feeling. I am the same way about planning and just recently booked a flight on the wrong day and it was for the next day and I may have had a small breakdown (my husband thought I had really lost it)!! It got fixed and I'm sure everything will come through for you as well. At least you have COVID brain as an excuse. I haven't had COVID....so I'm just loosing my touch!

LOL,,,no Covid here,,thankfully,,,just fog from the last 2 years and busy work,,,things slip by,,but all will be ok.

 

[alohamom]

@mort1331 Just fyi-there is a sweet spot in August where USA schools go back in but the Japanese Golden Week has not yet started.
If you find you are having trouble getting a room in July, try the second or third week of August, that is when we usually go if we are going in the summer.
Summer is pretty crowded at Aulani but not as much during that time above

 

[PixieT78]

Oh man that sucks! Good thing you were paying attention already though! I've been pretty grateful for travel credits with WJ so that I could move things around when things looked pretty dire in Florida in August. And I still have the option of cancelling for credit with no fee on the flights I rebooked but we are pretty determined to go regardless. May is the one we'd cancel if we absolutely have to but we've rented points for Sept at AKL, Savannah view and there is no way we are cancelling that trip.

 

[mort1331]

@mort1331 Just fyi-there is a sweet spot in August where USA schools go back in but the Japanese Golden Week has not yet started.
If you find you are having trouble getting a room in July, try the second or third week of August, that is when we usually go if we are going in the summer.
Summer is pretty crowded at Aulani but not as much during that time above

Thanks,,just waiting now for the 7month window to open for us..jan start lookkng again.

 

[mort1331]

So rescheduled flights, car and 3 days for march 11 to 18,,,all refundable..just hoping for pixie dust the 4 days needed come thru with waitlist