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A lot of talk has been circulating around the various finance and money boards about the upcoming summer vacation season. How people are scaling back, airlines are scheduling less flights, and how the economy is affecting the vacation patterns of people.

We’ve had our vacation to Disney planned, re-planned, figured, reconnoitered, documented, and settled for a few weeks now before all this hubbub started. If you remember, my wife is a Disney aficionado. She bleeds pixie dust and thinks there’s a magical field around the Disney theme parks that keeps bad spirits away. So a trip to Disney World (or Land, can’t keep them straight) was always the first vacation choice for her.

Okay, But,…

Since I’m the nerd of the household, I’m also the one that mostly wrangles the bills. Let me say, the trip she planned is EXPENSIVE. It’s not that we don’t enjoy ourselves, quite the contrary, but it’s still pretty pricey. Because of that, we opted for the Vacation insurance that came with the package deal.

So what Is Vacation Insurance Already!

On many or most of the package vacation trips, those booked that include airlines, hotels, and park tickets, vacation insurance is offered at an additional cost. Vacation insurance covers for if/when something comes up and you can’t go on the vacation. Work, sickness, change-your-mind (us, but I’m getting to that), whatever reason, as long as you give them 3-4 days advance notice.

The insurance itself usually runs around $150-200 dollars, but depending on the size of the trip, it’s a small fee compared to losing out on the entire amount if little Timmy has to get that last-minute appendectomy, or the Boss gives you a choice of finishing that big report or,… not. It refunds the vacation money, so you can try again at a different time, if you so choose.

But is Insurance for a Vacation Really Necessary?

Normally I’m not a big proponent of getting insurance on just any old thing. But we have a few examples recently of things happening that can really have an unforeseen effect on planned events.

• American Airlines shutting down nearly a thousand flights, causing people to be stranded at airports for days at a time.
• Many airlines are no longer honoring other company’s ’switch-a-flight’ program: Where if you miss your flight, you can get a seat on another carrier going to the same destination.
• Gas and fuel prices skyrocketing because of $130+ dollar-a-barrel crude oil.
• Slumped Economy (whether you believe Warren Buffet, and that we’re in a recession, or Ben Bernanke, that we’re in a ’slowing economy’).

All of these factors throw a new spin on plans you could have finalized and paid for months ago. Having a fallback plan for recovering your vacation funds is nice to have, and realistically, you would have spent the money on T-shirts and trinkets on the trip anyway, so it’s not like it wouldn’t have been spent.

Ok, I’m Convinced, But Why Bring it up Now?

I was able to take advantage of the vacation insurance in a slightly different way. We had originally locked in our rates a few months ago, having spent hours (days) searching the web (globe) for the best deals. And when I say we, I mean my wife.

Now come to find out, since she never really stopped looking for cheaper trips that there are some MUCH cheaper alternatives now, if we’re willing to stay at a slightly LESS happy place during our trip (specifically, NOT a Disney theme hotel). When I heard about the price difference I almost fainted.

So now we’re going to exercise our insurance option, get the refund, and purchase the new package, AND save 40% overall.

Yes, it’s the Happiest Place in the World!

Are your vacation plans being affected by the gas crunch/economy?? Let us know your tips and tricks for having a wonderful summer vacation!

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