A DREAM trip to Disney World is one of the hundreds of holidays at risk for Swindon families following the collapse of Thomas Cook.

Parents and their children have had their plans thrown into chaos after the travel giant failed to find the extra £200 million it needed to stay afloat.

Caz Elliot had booked a package deal to Walt Disney World in Florida next summer but now won’t be able to take her two young children because of the price being asked by other travel agents.

“I booked with Thomas Cook and made payments but no one is answering to find out how I can get my money back.” said Caz yesterday.

“We were supposed to be going in June next year with my two kids, we have paid £954 already.

“It’s a package holiday, we got the tickets through Thomas Cook too. We have two very gutted children and I’m a bit angry that no one is answering the phones.

“We’re hoping to rebook but it won’t be to Florida, probably to Disneyland Paris as everywhere else is looking for over £8,000 and I can’t afford that.”

Another couple will have their Christmas trip to New York cancelled. Kay Hunt was due to fly out to the Big Apple on December 24 with her husband Mark to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary.

Kay, of Montrose Court, Moredon, said: “I’m truly sorry for the staff. We have paid nearly £3,000 for Christmas. We’ve had no communication yet, I’m hoping we get our money back.”

“Sadly we won’t be able to still make it out as, until we receive the refund, we can’t afford to pay for our trip.

“I’m extremely disappointed because we’ve been saving hard to go and we booked this in January.”

Around 150,000 Britons are thought to be stranded abroad awaiting repatriation, including Adver reader Dave Lennett. He is stranded in Egypt with his wife at a hotel part-owned by Thomas Cook.

“We’re not too worried about the flights as the Civil Aviation Authority are well on top of that,” Dave said. “We’re just a little bit concerned about the hotel.

“We have chatted with some other couples and everyone thinks the hotel will be fine with us staying.

“We’ve had no communication from Thomas Cook at all. But that’s fair as they are all out of the job now.

“We don’t have any annoyance towards the staff as they haven’t caused this. They’re just as much victims in this as we are.”

Alongside Dave, young mum Megan Blake fears she will be separated from her baby daughter for much longer than planned.

Megan, who lives in Royal Wootton Bassett, is on holiday in Majorca with her partner Charles Wardrop but was due to fly back on a Thomas Cook flight on Thursday.

But now she does not know when she will be able to return.

Her mum Hay Blake, who is looking after her daughter’s six-month-old baby Isabella, said: “Their holiday was only for five days.

“She was a bit worried about leaving her but we all thought it would be good for them to get away as a couple for a few days. But now we have no idea what is happening.

“They booked the holiday with TUI but the flight is with Thomas Cook. Their hotel booking runs out on Thursday so if they can’t return on that day we don’t know what will happen.

“So far they haven’t been given very much information. She has never had to deal with something like this before.

“We just hope that they manage to get a flight back to somewhere in the UK and then we can go and pick them up.”

Deborah Harding and her family of ten, who were due to fly out to Lanzarote at the end of the month, have been left looking at alternative travel agents to reorganise their holiday.

They were heading out the Canary Islands to celebrate Deborah’s 60th birthday.

Speaking about the collapse and her holiday, Deborah said: “Myself, my husband and my mother-in-law were travelling to Birmingham on October 30 to fly out on the 31st so we had booked in to a hotel the night before, which we have now had to cancel.

“My son, his partner and my two grandchildren, eight and one, were going to meet us at the airport on the day and my daughter, her husband and my granddaughter were flying from Bristol on the same day, all of us to Lanzarote.

“We have been told we will get a refund, but we have to pay it all over again if we still want to go.”

Fortunately, Deborah, from Marlborough, has been able to make other arrangements.

She said: “My daughter, who booked through her friends travel company Hot Holidays are sorting theirs out, my son is going to sort his out, and a very good friend of mine has offered to lend me the money to book for the three of us still left.

“We are so lucky to be able to do that, I just feel sorry for all the staff.”