Finally cancelled Japan Trip

heybets30

Mouseketeer
Joined
Mar 25, 2010
Big Sighs. We finally pulled the plug for Nov 4-15, our "big" family trip for 2020. This was going to be our 15th anniversary & my 5-0 trip.

FLIGHTS: American Airlines - easy peasy to get mileage for 3 tickets back into the appropriate accounts, and a refund for purchasing award travel over the phone. Done.
PENDING: - Refund through AA for a discounted purchased ($846) child ticket on JAL for our son, who is 11. We put in the request, but it has not gone through yet.

HOTELS:
  • Tokyo - Hotel Mimura Ginza East - 4 nights - they were generous & allowed us to cancel a non-refundable rate (through Citibank Points), That hotel actually CLOSED temporarily and they emailed we would need to select a different hotel, so we had a feeling it wouldn't be an issue.
  • Hilton Tokyo Bay - 1 night - booked a non-refundable room using Hotels.com gift Certificate that I bought with Discover points. Hotels.com managed the cancellation & we were refunded the credit.
  • PENDING: Sheraton Disneyland - 1 night - still waiting to hear via Citibank Rewards if they will honor the request for a refund of a nonrefundable room rate.
  • Kyoto Mimura Hotel - 3 nights - they were also generous & allowed us to cancel a non-refundable rate (through CHASE points). I already have all the points deposited back into my Chase Sapphire account.
  • Hotel near Haneda - MyStays - this was a refundable room booked using a Hotels.com gift certificate that I cashed in Discover rewards for. I received the amount back on a hotels.com gift cert.
OTHER:
We had NOTHING booked, since our initial travel/hotels were booked in Jan/Feb 2020, once everything started shutting down in March, we didn't even attempt to book any activities or Japan Rail.

So all-in-all, we're ok financially - especially since we had put out only the airfare for our son & the fees for ticketing AA Award Travel on the phone. We were assured we'd get the child rate from JAL refunded (naturally, it is the ONE JAL flight still scheduled to fly next week from Chicago-Haneda!). It's just a matter of waiting. And, it sounds like the Sheraton was also allowing cancels & refunds on non-refundable rooms, so we're hopeful we'll get the Citibank points replenished. We requested all the cancels Friday/Saturday - just 2/3 days ago, so we were VERY impressed how quickly all the wheels moved & put back into our accounts!!

Instead of Japan, we are now booked for WDW! Haven't been in 25 years. Staying at Pop Century Nov 7-14. We decided to still take that whole week off of work, so why not! We got fully refundable package & air is refundable too, so we are cautiously optimistic we can go. We will make a final decision on Thursday, Nov 5 if we truly feel comfortable flying & taking the kids. Sort of strange that our WDW trip is already $3000 more than we had paid out for Japan! (Thank you credit card rewards!). We'll hold onto our points for a future Japan trip for SURE!

Moving over to the WDW boards now! Hopefully will be back & booked when Japan is "open for tourists" ... we're thinking we'll aim for November 2021, but won't put anything on the books until it is open.
 
I am sad you had to cancel your Japan trip esp since it sounds like a special trip. I hope that someday you plan and get to go again with your fam. I’ve been there multiple times in the last few years and it’s one of the best countries I’ve ever visited. Extremely clean, well cultured and the most helpful people I’ve ever met - even if they rarely speak English. Tokyo and Kyoto are my fav. All I’m gonna say is that you’re gonna LOVE it!
However, Disney will be fun too! Esp with the reduced capacity, it’s so easy to do things you normallt don’t get to do.The only think I’ll highly recommend is ADR( Advance Dining Reservation) If you prefer sit down restaurants. I’ve been there Twice since they reopened (10 days each time) and had a very pleasant experience. Now they have reduced hours and no firework shows or parade but I understand that.
Enjoy! Happy Anniversary and Happy Birthday!!🎉🎂
 
I love Pop! Enjoy.

I had zero problems getting my JAL flight refunded for April. I am sure it won't be an issue- tourists are not being allowed into Japan at all.
 
We got our JAL refund! Phew!! That was really the only cash outlay we made, since we used miles & points fir everything. Sigh. Our flight would be this upcoming Wednesday.
 


We were assured we'd get the child rate from JAL refunded (naturally, it is the ONE JAL flight still scheduled to fly next week from Chicago-Haneda!). It's just a matter of waiting. And, it sounds like the Sheraton was also allowing cancels & refunds on non-refundable rooms, so we're hopeful we'll get the Citibank points replenished. We requested all the cancels Friday/Saturday - just 2/3 days ago, so we were VERY impressed how quickly all the wheels moved & put back into our accounts!!

Instead of Japan, we are now booked for WDW! Haven't been in 25 years. Staying at Pop Century Nov 7-14.
We got our JAL refund! Phew!! That was really the only cash outlay we made, since we used miles & points fir everything. Sigh. Our flight would be this upcoming Wednesday.
I'm sorry to hear about you Japan trip being cancelled. My daughter and I did the same for our June trip. It really sucks to have planned the biggest trip we'd have taken together, tried to re-learn a bit of Japanese, then have it all go poof. But it's definitely one of those "first world problems" and I'm glad you kept your sense of humor, I had to lol about the one flight that was still flying. What luck! But I'm glad the refund process was easy. We had no problems either, other than I would have preferred cash over our Delta credit. Mostly I just want to take that trip! Oh well.
I'm glad you are going to WDW. You'll have a great time. I'm really wanting to go but my daughter vetoed us going back right now. (Her dad is old and she'd never forgive herself if somehow we brought him COVID. Tbh though, we've been more careful about him not getting it than he has, and I think WDW is lower risk than a lot of stuff he does himself.) I was wavering between Pop and CBR for my theoretical trip. We've never stayed at Pop, and we're good with over-the-top Disney theming. I couldn't tell from your siggie, have you stayed at Pop on your prior trips? Or is this a first for you? It just looks like such fun, and even more with the skyliner.
All that just to say, I feel for you! Maybe we'll run into you in Japan one day. And I'm wishing you a great WDW trip!
 
Big Sighs. We finally pulled the plug for Nov 4-15, our "big" family trip for 2020. This was going to be our 15th anniversary & my 5-0 trip.

FLIGHTS: American Airlines - easy peasy to get mileage for 3 tickets back into the appropriate accounts, and a refund for purchasing award travel over the phone. Done.
PENDING: - Refund through AA for a discounted purchased ($846) child ticket on JAL for our son, who is 11. We put in the request, but it has not gone through yet.

HOTELS:
  • Tokyo - Hotel Mimura Ginza East - 4 nights - they were generous & allowed us to cancel a non-refundable rate (through Citibank Points), That hotel actually CLOSED temporarily and they emailed we would need to select a different hotel, so we had a feeling it wouldn't be an issue.
  • Hilton Tokyo Bay - 1 night - booked a non-refundable room using Hotels.com gift Certificate that I bought with Discover points. Hotels.com managed the cancellation & we were refunded the credit.
  • PENDING: Sheraton Disneyland - 1 night - still waiting to hear via Citibank Rewards if they will honor the request for a refund of a nonrefundable room rate.
  • Kyoto Mimura Hotel - 3 nights - they were also generous & allowed us to cancel a non-refundable rate (through CHASE points). I already have all the points deposited back into my Chase Sapphire account.
  • Hotel near Haneda - MyStays - this was a refundable room booked using a Hotels.com gift certificate that I cashed in Discover rewards for. I received the amount back on a hotels.com gift cert.
OTHER:
We had NOTHING booked, since our initial travel/hotels were booked in Jan/Feb 2020, once everything started shutting down in March, we didn't even attempt to book any activities or Japan Rail.

So all-in-all, we're ok financially - especially since we had put out only the airfare for our son & the fees for ticketing AA Award Travel on the phone. We were assured we'd get the child rate from JAL refunded (naturally, it is the ONE JAL flight still scheduled to fly next week from Chicago-Haneda!). It's just a matter of waiting. And, it sounds like the Sheraton was also allowing cancels & refunds on non-refundable rooms, so we're hopeful we'll get the Citibank points replenished. We requested all the cancels Friday/Saturday - just 2/3 days ago, so we were VERY impressed how quickly all the wheels moved & put back into our accounts!!

Instead of Japan, we are now booked for WDW! Haven't been in 25 years. Staying at Pop Century Nov 7-14. We decided to still take that whole week off of work, so why not! We got fully refundable package & air is refundable too, so we are cautiously optimistic we can go. We will make a final decision on Thursday, Nov 5 if we truly feel comfortable flying & taking the kids. Sort of strange that our WDW trip is already $3000 more than we had paid out for Japan! (Thank you credit card rewards!). We'll hold onto our points for a future Japan trip for SURE!

Moving over to the WDW boards now! Hopefully will be back & booked when Japan is "open for tourists" ... we're thinking we'll aim for November 2021, but won't put anything on the books until it is open.

Honestly, I think that's the right call since Nintendoland won't open till next spring at earliest and I think the Beauty and Beast castle, etc has been pushed back too.
 
Honestly, I think that's the right call since Nintendoland won't open till next spring at earliest and I think the Beauty and Beast castle, etc has been pushed back too.

Beauty and the Beast opened in September. Mickey's Magical Music World has been delayed though.
I wonder how annual passes being gone will affect wait times. Annual passholders are typically don't contribute much to the wait times for rides but are willing to wait long times for seasonal shows, character greetings and food.
 


Big Sighs. We finally pulled the plug for Nov 4-15, our "big" family trip for 2020. This was going to be our 15th anniversary & my 5-0 trip.

FLIGHTS: American Airlines - easy peasy to get mileage for 3 tickets back into the appropriate accounts, and a refund for purchasing award travel over the phone. Done.
PENDING: - Refund through AA for a discounted purchased ($846) child ticket on JAL for our son, who is 11. We put in the request, but it has not gone through yet.

HOTELS:
  • Tokyo - Hotel Mimura Ginza East - 4 nights - they were generous & allowed us to cancel a non-refundable rate (through Citibank Points), That hotel actually CLOSED temporarily and they emailed we would need to select a different hotel, so we had a feeling it wouldn't be an issue.
  • Hilton Tokyo Bay - 1 night - booked a non-refundable room using Hotels.com gift Certificate that I bought with Discover points. Hotels.com managed the cancellation & we were refunded the credit.
  • PENDING: Sheraton Disneyland - 1 night - still waiting to hear via Citibank Rewards if they will honor the request for a refund of a nonrefundable room rate.
  • Kyoto Mimura Hotel - 3 nights - they were also generous & allowed us to cancel a non-refundable rate (through CHASE points). I already have all the points deposited back into my Chase Sapphire account.
  • Hotel near Haneda - MyStays - this was a refundable room booked using a Hotels.com gift certificate that I cashed in Discover rewards for. I received the amount back on a hotels.com gift cert.
OTHER:
We had NOTHING booked, since our initial travel/hotels were booked in Jan/Feb 2020, once everything started shutting down in March, we didn't even attempt to book any activities or Japan Rail.

So all-in-all, we're ok financially - especially since we had put out only the airfare for our son & the fees for ticketing AA Award Travel on the phone. We were assured we'd get the child rate from JAL refunded (naturally, it is the ONE JAL flight still scheduled to fly next week from Chicago-Haneda!). It's just a matter of waiting. And, it sounds like the Sheraton was also allowing cancels & refunds on non-refundable rooms, so we're hopeful we'll get the Citibank points replenished. We requested all the cancels Friday/Saturday - just 2/3 days ago, so we were VERY impressed how quickly all the wheels moved & put back into our accounts!!

Instead of Japan, we are now booked for WDW! Haven't been in 25 years. Staying at Pop Century Nov 7-14. We decided to still take that whole week off of work, so why not! We got fully refundable package & air is refundable too, so we are cautiously optimistic we can go. We will make a final decision on Thursday, Nov 5 if we truly feel comfortable flying & taking the kids. Sort of strange that our WDW trip is already $3000 more than we had paid out for Japan! (Thank you credit card rewards!). We'll hold onto our points for a future Japan trip for SURE!

Moving over to the WDW boards now! Hopefully will be back & booked when Japan is "open for tourists" ... we're thinking we'll aim for November 2021, but won't put anything on the books until it is open.
How was the WDW trip?
 
nutshell - I'm about 1/2 way done with our trip report in that forum! In a Nutshell, Nutshell, we MUCH prefer DLR, but are so glad we made the WDW trip. We thought MK and DHS were very crowded, but still felt safe about 90% of the time in terms of distancing & such. Where we didn't? Fantasyland & Adventureland at MK - so many people in small areas, and Toy Story area at DHS - same thing, just hoards of people. We liked Pop, we'd stay elsewhere next time - room was just way too small for us after a few days. Everything was sparkling clean no matter where we went - and hand washing stations everywhere too. Felt super "clean" & lots of options for folks to sanitize or wash hands!
 
Hi I am new here and I hope I can get some answer here. really appreciate any information you can give me.
We bought some Olympic tickets, and we hope to be able to go to Japan from August 1-10. Assuming we can get the vaccines by the summer and that by August we can travel again.

My kids really want to see Disney Tokyo, and since we need the hotel anyway, we want to stay at the Disney resort. I have been trying to book but nothing is available. Seems impossible to book. Looks like you can’t even book beyond the 6 months away, but I want to see if I can even book, say for the first week of May (6 months from now), or even just one day (May 11), i can’t find anything available on the Japan Disney site.


what am I doing wrong? Is it ever possible to book a Tokyo Disney package from the website? i don’t mind using the travel agent but I don’t even know who will do Japan Disney. I know it’s a risk that we may not be able to go to Japan by August, I understand that and I am willing to take that risk. TIA
 
Hi I am new here and I hope I can get some answer here. really appreciate any information you can give me.
We bought some Olympic tickets, and we hope to be able to go to Japan from August 1-10. Assuming we can get the vaccines by the summer and that by August we can travel again.

My kids really want to see Disney Tokyo, and since we need the hotel anyway, we want to stay at the Disney resort. I have been trying to book but nothing is available. Seems impossible to book. Looks like you can’t even book beyond the 6 months away, but I want to see if I can even book, say for the first week of May (6 months from now), or even just one day (May 11), i can’t find anything available on the Japan Disney site.


what am I doing wrong? Is it ever possible to book a Tokyo Disney package from the website? i don’t mind using the travel agent but I don’t even know who will do Japan Disney. I know it’s a risk that we may not be able to go to Japan by August, I understand that and I am willing to take that risk. TIA
Overseas bookings are currently blocked. OLC doesn’t work with foreign travel agents.
 
I feel your pain and can totally relate! 2020 was the year I was supposed to check visiting every Disney park off my bucket list. I had a trip for all the Asia parks in March, DL in California in April, Paris in August, and WDW in September. The Ironic part is that the parks closed down in the order I was supposed to visit them. I even went as far as changing my Shanghai/HK/Tokyo trip in March to a Tokyo only trip in May (which was also cancelled) thinking that maybe it would only be China that would be affected. That didn't happen! I was luckly enough to get all my money back as well except for the DL park tickets which I'm hoping I'll get to use when I go to California this spring. Glad you were able to get your money back as well. I guess at least when all this is over we will already have our trips planned out for us!
 

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