2025, The Year of the Disney Fail

 It finally happened.  We failed at Disney.  Or Disney failed us? 

The semantics don't matter, the end result is the same.  We are not taking a trip to Walt Disney World (WDW) in 2025. 

In the 14 years that we have been married, Adam and I have taken seven (yes, SEVEN) trips to WDW in Orlando (plus a trip to the California Disney parks).  Six out of seven were at Deluxe Resorts, and five of those were just the two of us.  In 2019 though the prices started feeling a bit too steep and we were introduced to the idea of renting DVC Points for a stay.  

This worked our amazingly well for our 2020 stay in a Deluxe Studio at the Polynesian where we could watch Magic Kingdom fireworks every night from the balcony.  The price was right in 2022 when we knocked Bay Lake Tower off our wish list for stays (even though the room view was a total disappointment and we came home with COVID-19). 

With some other, more far afield travel priorities in the past few years, 2025 was earmarked for a December return to WDW.  Having looked at how dramatically priced had increased in booking directly through Disney, DVC rental points remained an exceptional value and ofter cheaper than a stay at even some of the Disney operated Value Resorts. 

Apparently, the popularity has grown since we booked our last trip in 2021... 

I booked my time off from December 3-13, 2025 and waited for the 11 month mark when DVC reservations could be made.  We planned to fly JetBlue our of Portland (PWM) which limited us to flight options only on  Monday/Wednesday/Saturday.  In the meantime Adam and I debated the pros and cons of a Wednesday to Saturday vs. Wednesday to Wednesday vs. Saturday to Saturday stay this time around.  

First there was some conversation about finally exploring the Universal parks in Florida.  We had been watching quite a bit of content from The Mammoth Club on YouTube and interest was piqued.  There were two primary benefits to this consideration:

1) we could cover park tickets and 2-3 hotel nights at Universal with Chase Reward Points.  This was effectively 3 extra days with just food cost added to our expenses. 

2)  the flight from PWM wouldn't arrive until around 7pm, and we couldn't justify checking into a DVC at those prices that late in the day.   

Now it must be said that I have always bragged a bit about being able to plan a full Disney trip for myself or anyone else within an afternoon... blindfolded, and with one hand tied behind my back.  It was like my superpower for years.  

                                            What is that saying about the "best laid plans"?

Just before our booking window opened, we decided against visiting the Universal Orlando parks, but still were considering a 1-2 night stay either at their Aventura Hotel or the new Swan Reserve near EPCOT.  Sure we would have to switch resorts once, but it would allow us to ease into the vacation with a relaxed couple of days before we hit the parks.  Plus, either of those "pre DVC" option would be paid for still with Chase Points, so those options remained budget friendly.  

"I don't know, is it overkill to go for 10 nights? Even if they aren't all at Disney? Maybe we just go Wednesday to Wednesday and have the few days extra at home as a buffer before we go back to work.."

 "I think if we are going to bother to have those extra days off we might as well spend them where it is warm."  

We put in our request with DVC Rental Store, having used them with great satisfaction previous.  We were anticipating an 8 night stay at DVC Boardwalk for a Boardwalk View Deluxe Studio, but were vaguely open to a "split stay" or alternative resort if necessary.

After 3 days, we received a message saying that there was no availability at any resorts other than Sarasota Springs and Old Key West (aka, the ugly stepsisters of the DVC resorts... so, that's a hard NO.)

I messaged back saying we would consider a split stay and a day later, the answer was still no availability.  I actually went up the chain because it just seemed impossible to me.  Apparently, there is a trend of DVC owners booking dates "on spec" and the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas are in high demand.  Our only option with DVC Rental Store was to wait indefinitely to see if a Confirmed Reservation popped up to meet our needs.  That was too much risk when flights also would need to be booked.  

We turned instead to Dave's DVC after reading that they tended to have more inventory and still stuck with the custom reservation request model vs. pushing confirmed reservations (which also come with a premium rate increasing profits...).  While we were waiting on a response from Dave's DVC, I also found the DVC Rental Shop who had a broader list of available reservations and we talked about pushing our dates back a week.  We also put in 3 additional back up resort options, even considering upping our budget by $1000 and splitting the stay 5/5 nights with the Swan Reserve. 

Dave's was also a no.  We changed our vacation dates and turned to DVC Rental Shop.  While they had a couple of Confirmed Reservations the day before that could have worked, they were gone by the time we got the word from Dave's.  

After some digging, we actually found a 9 night reservation that looked like the holy grail!  9 nights, Boardwalk Studio with Boardwalk View!  Payment was required upfront and in full, but was still within our budget!  I got an email immediately as the charge went through... "Your reservation is not yet confirmed."  I'm sorry, what? 

While we waited for confirmation Adam and I talked about a plan B, although at this point it was more like plan F or G from where we started.  We talked about doing just 7 nights at the Swan Reserve; it would empty out our Chase Points but would still be within our Out of Pocket ballpark budget. 

In all of the years we have been traveling to Disney World, separate and together, with and without additional family members we have never had to work so hard to make a reservation.  It was starting to feel like this trip was not in the cards for 2025.  A no availability email back from DVC Rental Shop a day later was the last straw.  We, and by we I mean me, spent over a week combing websites and shifting numbers.  Adam was the willing sounding board and problem solving team player.  

It was him who suggested, "Let's just go somewhere else, I'm fine with going to the Azores if you want to get there sooner than later."  I said that I didn't want to rush into anything as a knee jerk reaction and wanted to think about it overnight.  

The next morning I had come to terms with no 2025 Disney, but was cautiously optimistic we may still be able to do Euro Disney in the spring of 2026.  When I came down stairs to find my coffee, Adam spouted off the same idea before I had a change to say anything!  I guess we've both moved on.  

Oh, and I had everything booked a week in the Azores within an hour.