AP Only Info Thread Reservation System /Extensions / Refunds

[disneypharm]

For those who want cancellation or pause, here is Disney's response to my request:
"As an alternative, in lieu of an extension of your passes, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the theme park closure period, or the number of days until your Pass expired if it expired during the closure period. At this time, we have not been advised as to the time-frame in which the refunds will be processed.
If you have already requested the partial refund for your Annual Passes, your request will be processed. We do not have a current time frame as to when it will be completed. There is not currently an option to pause the Annual Passes at this time. We do apologize for any inconvenience. "

 

[ShadowRegent]

For those who want cancellation or pause, here is Disney's response to my request:
"As an alternative, in lieu of an extension of your passes, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the theme park closure period, or the number of days until your Pass expired if it expired during the closure period. At this time, we have not been advised as to the time-frame in which the refunds will be processed.
If you have already requested the partial refund for your Annual Passes, your request will be processed. We do not have a current time frame as to when it will be completed. There is not currently an option to pause the Annual Passes at this time. We do apologize for any inconvenience. "

It's unacceptable to have no estimated time frame for refunds and such unclear communication about options for passholders. They've literally had months to figure this out and it still feels like it's day 1 of the closure.

 

[FinnFogg]

For those who want cancellation or pause, here is Disney's response to my request:
"As an alternative, in lieu of an extension of your passes, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the theme park closure period, or the number of days until your Pass expired if it expired during the closure period. At this time, we have not been advised as to the time-frame in which the refunds will be processed.
If you have already requested the partial refund for your Annual Passes, your request will be processed. We do not have a current time frame as to when it will be completed. There is not currently an option to pause the Annual Passes at this time. We do apologize for any inconvenience. "

Are they now saying that the refund is only for the park closure time and not the balance of time left on the pass?

 

[disneypharm]

Are they now saying that the refund is only for the park closure time and not the balance of time left on the pass?

No, they are just saying that the option to pause is not available yet! I think this is just another standard response from Disney. I think nobody knows if a full cancellation is available or not!!

 

[hertamaniac]

From the Annual Pass website (I underlined the option/bold to cancel). They then state a policy adjustment that appears to take away that option.

If you are an Annual Passholder that has paid in full, your options include:

• You will receive a one month extension to your pass (unless you choose one of the alternative options below). This additional month will automatically be processed and visible in your My Disney Experience account in October 2020.
• Alternatively, and in lieu of the one month extension, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to cancel their annual pass and receive a partial refund.
  
  Other Policy Updates and Refunds

During the unprecedented closure period, we introduced policy adjustment options to help you manage your annual pass. Explore details below.

If you are an Annual Passholder who has paid in full:

All active Walt Disney World Resort theme park and water park Annual Passes will be extended for the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the parks.

As an alternative, and in lieu of an extension of their passes, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the park closure period. To request this alternative option, we ask that you contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We do anticipate heavy call volume and appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.

 

[jade1]

From the Annual Pass website (I underlined the option/bold to cancel). They then state a policy adjustment that appears to take away that option.

If you are an Annual Passholder that has paid in full, your options include:

• You will receive a one month extension to your pass (unless you choose one of the alternative options below). This additional month will automatically be processed and visible in your My Disney Experience account in October 2020.
• Alternatively, and in lieu of the one month extension, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to cancel their annual pass and receive a partial refund.
  
  Other Policy Updates and Refunds

During the unprecedented closure period, we introduced policy adjustment options to help you manage your annual pass. Explore details below.

If you are an Annual Passholder who has paid in full:

All active Walt Disney World Resort theme park and water park Annual Passes will be extended for the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the parks.

As an alternative, and in lieu of an extension of their passes, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the park closure period. To request this alternative option, we ask that you contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We do anticipate heavy call volume and appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

I canceled my February trip today. I just can't with them anymore. They have a closing date, they have an opening date. This is all just trying not to bleed more money at this point. And passholder refunds are going to cost them.

 

[zebrastreyepz]

If you are an Annual Passholder who has paid in full:

All active Walt Disney World Resort theme park and water park Annual Passes will be extended for the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the parks.

Snipped this post.

I just checked again. My pass expired on June 12th, 2020. There is no extension on there. Which is fine because I asked for a refund, but I'm also not seeing a refund. It should be one or the other upon reopening.

 

[hertamaniac]

Snipped this post.

I just checked again. My pass expired on June 12th, 2020. There is no extension on there. Which is fine because I asked for a refund, but I'm also not seeing a refund. It should be one or the other upon reopening.

Well, I used the snipping tool and will post here as a potential audit trail (for anyone else). You'll notice this is under one web page and is continuous.

 

[Rcdisnewbie]

It‘s so frustrating to see this many loyal pass holders that love Disney being treated like this. I spent 6 hours on hold Friday, Yesterday, and then again today on hold trying to talk to monthly payment plan billing and ticketing as they point fingers At each other for our situation. We don‘t fit into the “Paid in Full” category or the “Monthly Payment Plan” category and guest services won’t think outside the box of those limited options.....We purchased our APs in Sept. 2019 but did not activate until last week of November. That means we have paid for 2/3 of our APs at this point but have only been able to use 1/3 of the days. So, they say that if we elect to cancel we will basically lose that other 1/3 of the year’s access/payments.

Essentially, they are making it clear that we will lose money unless we keep our passes, while good customer service would be saying, ”It is unfortunate that you only had access for 120 days of your AP before we had to close the parks, so if you feel it’s best for your family to cancel your AP now, we will refund you what you paid PRIOR to activating so that you only pay us for the days you pass was active”.

At one point I was naive and thought they might say something like that and begin taking care of guests with the customer service Disney has been known for, but at this point every cast member sounds beat down, tired, and like they really just want to get you off the phone with them or pass you to someone else.

 

[itstrue56]

After two hours of waiting, they gave you no info at all?

I waited 35 minutes. And there was no information available from the CM. They are still waiting guidance on how to cancel existing annual passes that have been paid in full. They are aware the website says “early July.”

 

[disneypharm]

From the Annual Pass website (I underlined the option/bold to cancel). They then state a policy adjustment that appears to take away that option.

If you are an Annual Passholder that has paid in full, your options include:

• You will receive a one month extension to your pass (unless you choose one of the alternative options below). This additional month will automatically be processed and visible in your My Disney Experience account in October 2020.
• Alternatively, and in lieu of the one month extension, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to cancel their annual pass and receive a partial refund.

I actually called them right after the above information came out. I told the CM that I will like to cancel our APs, and he initially said that we can't do it. I told him about the above section and after he put me on hold and talked to his manager, he came back to tell me that this information is also confusing to CMs and more will come out in July!! So even CMs can't figure out these options!

 

[hertamaniac]

I actually called them right after the above information came out. I told the CM that I will like to cancel our APs, and he initially said that we can't do it. I told him about the above section and after he put me on hold and talked to his manager, he came back to tell me that this information is also confusing to CMs and more will come out in July!! So even CMs can't figure out these options!

I had heard that once you chose the partial refund option months ago (when there was only 2 options/choices) that you couldn't change it. That is what I read online and was never confirmed from Disney. They added additional options/choices afterwards so how can they expect me/us to be omniscient about a future choice when it wasn't know to me/us at that time months earlier?

I just can't see how this isn't an alignment to what I said previously. They will take it right up to the very edge of the opening this Saturday with sparse/no information. Once the e-mail/statement is released, it will be a mad dash with a very small window for me/us to execute a refund. Yeah....it's hogwash!

 

[kelpricer]

There seems to be a growing number of people claiming that if you cancel your paid in full pass they are deducting the days you used the pass from the refund. That can’t be right, it makes NO sense to me at all. Has anyone heard this?

 

[JayMunOne]

They've already publicized an option for passholders who have paid in full to cancel the pass and receive a partial refund. They can't retract from that, unless they want a class action lawsuit.

Disney has done an awful job of handling this. Had they just frozen everyone's expiration dates on their passes throughout the park reservation period, no one would be complaining. Disney Parks are wonderful but their management is the worst of the worst and this will come back to hurt them financially and publicly. I'm disgusted with every single decision management has made since March 16, and not just with respect to loyal annual passholders. #SaveSplashMountain

 

[hertamaniac]

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they go down the potential class action lawsuit avenue. They would merely hold onto our monies even longer until a resolution. And I'm not convinced that even if penalties were levied that they wouldn't come out ahead.

A bigger question I have is what is to stop them from making a policy updates/change which the above statement appears to do?

 

[hertamaniac]

There seems to be a growing number of people claiming that if you cancel your paid in full pass they are deducting the days you used the pass from the refund. That can’t be right, it makes NO sense to me at all. Has anyone heard this?

It does make sense to me. Take the number of days your pass could have been used up until March 16th and deduct it from your expiration date to get a total number of days remaining. I think that's fair.

 

[dlavender]

At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they go down the potential class action lawsuit avenue. They would merely hold onto our monies even longer until a resolution. And I'm not convinced that even if penalties were levied that they wouldn't come out ahead.

A bigger question I have is what is to stop them from making a policy updates/change which the above statement appears to do?

They win everything, and who has the time to fight?

I'm sure there is language in there about whatever they need to be in there to cover them from anything.

They just don't care, that's the long and the short of it.

They've got us trained to take magnets as a token as their appreciation, for pete's sake.

 

[JayMunOne]

They win everything, and who has the time to fight?

I'm sure there is language in there about whatever they need to be in there to cover them from anything.

They just don't care, that's the long and the short of it.

They've got us trained to take magnets as a token as their appreciation, for pete's sake.

I don't agree.

I'm an attorney, and while I'm not a contracts attorney, I do negotiate terms and conditions from time to time.

Without getting into the technical weeds of the matter, the terms and conditions do account for park closures. I suppose, technically, if they wanted to push the issue, they could argue that extending the passes by the amount of time Disney Parks were closed (minus any days expired for those whose APs expired during the closure) resolves the issue of the 117 day closure. I think if they chose not to do this, they would lose in litigation and be pummeled in the media.

The real crux of the issue now is to determine whether their terms and conditions covers them for the park reservation period, which starts July 11 with no end date in sight. Our argument is that we are unable to enjoy the benefit of the bargain, which is to access any park we desire, at any time, along with a wealth of Disney "benefits" that come with it (photopass, free parking, discount on food and merchandise, etc). Their argument is that the terms and conditions do not guarantee park entry.

There are multiple claims to be made here, and while I don't need to get into all of them, here is where I think they lose. They are treating resort guests differently than annual passholders. For resort guests, it's "up to" 14 days that may be reserved. For annual passholders, it's 3 days. If they were treating everyone the same, Disney would have a stronger argument for the "no guarantee", using COVID-19 and state restrictions as an argument. However, that's not what is happening here. Disney is simply restricting annual passholders of the same benefits and guarantees they are granting resort guests. That, to me, represents a material change of the terms and conditions of the annual pass agreement.

I do sincerely hope Disney Legal (a place I would love to work someday) is advising their client to change course before July 11, and in the least, offer a full prorated refund.

My 2 cents.

 

[yulilin3]

They win everything, and who has the time to fight?

I'm sure there is language in there about whatever they need to be in there to cover them from anything.

They just don't care, that's the long and the short of it.

They've got us trained to take magnets as a token as their appreciation, for pete's sake.

exactly. I remember the days when we actually got great perks for being an AP.
A conversation with VP of parades and spectaculars Steve Davison where he talked about creating Wishes and then watching Wishes with him
Conversation with Joe Rhode about the creation of AK
Behind the scenes look at the Gorilla houses behind Conservation Station with talk about how they care for them
Meet and greet and conversation with Gonzo and pupeteer David Charles Goelz after watching Muppets Most Wanted backstage at DHS
AP night at AK where I met Mowgli and rode EE 7 times in a row (do not recommend it)
Many first screenings of movies
and many many more, it all started to go down with the advent of D23.
The only reason I still keep my ap is that for me it makes financial sense as in I still get a lot of use out of it since I can visit so often.