Disney Vacation Account - what a mess!

[dreamseeker9]

I decided to save for a Fall 2014 WDW vacation by setting up automatic deductions into the official Disney Vacation Account (DVA). Those deductions haven't yet started (and they won't, since I canceled them after yesterday's fiasco), but after having to cancel a Spring 2014 vacation to Arizona because of work, I decided to take a short trip to WDW in April.

My first mistake - not reading the fine print. I deposited enough money to cover my room and park ticket into the Disney Vacation Account, so that I could get the $20 Disney gift card, and only then did I realize that the gift cards can't be collected until an account has been active for at least 120 days. So I thought, I'll still use that money to pay for my spring vacation. The account website instructions are to enter the 16-digit account number as a Disney gift card when paying online at DisneyParks.com for a vacation. So I did that, and the DisneyParks payment page wouldn't accept the account number. My second mistake - I paid for my vacation with other money and let that deposited money stay in the DVA.

Yesterday, I tried to get my money in the account refunded. I called the phone number listed on the DVA website, and the message says, "Welcome to Disney Vacation Account," but then you have to select your destination. In selecting WDW, I was automatically transferred to the WDW vacation planning line, where a nice but clueless CM put me on hold for awhile and then told me to call Chase Bank since they administer the DVA. So I called Chase Bank, where I was told that they administer the DVA, but Disney has to give me the refund, Chase can't do that for me. So I called Disney back, and another CM had no clue what the DVA was and transferred me to the Billing Department - only it was the Billing Department for Disneyland! A CM there told me she couldn't help me. I called the direct number that the 2nd CM had given me to the Billing Department and spoke with another CM in California, who also had never heard of the DVA but logged onto the website - her first time ever seeing it. After she also called the number listed and heard the same options I'd heard, she said the best thing I could do was to submit a help form through the DVA website. So I did that, explained in the comments that I wanted a full refund, and to contact me at their earliest convenience. I haven't heard a thing.

So altogether, I spent about 45 minutes on the phone yesterday on 4 different calls, I spoke with 4 CMs and a Chase manager, and no one knew what the Disney Vacation Account was or how I could get a refund. I was asked if this was for the DVC, if it was a refund to a reservation, if this was the same as a Disney gift card. It's unbelievable to me that Disney rolled this DVA program out but didn't educate their employees on it, or have the proper service in place to help those who call the phone number listed on the DVA website! Needless to say, I won't ever use it again, and I canceled all upcoming automatic deductions.

If I don't hear back by Monday, I'll make more calls, and I will insist that my money be refunded. Has anyone had any better luck getting a refund?

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I have read about others having issues with this new account. You also can not use it to pay for anything at WDW. I'm still trying to decipher the terms, but really really read about what can and can not be paid for using this account.

 

[Colleen27]

Wow, you're making me very glad I set up my vacation account at Capital One 360 rather than with the DVA program. It is half the interest but no strings.

Please keep us posted on how it goes from here. It sounds like it could be a good program but new things always scare me a little because the bugs haven't had a chance to get worked out yet.

 

[AZMermaid]

I didn't know there was a DVA. What a mess!

 

[ancestry]

I had actually thought about doing this but am glad that I didn't after reading your post. We ended up opening a separate checking/savings account at our local credit union (no fees, no minimum balance) and use that account for nothing other than vacation funds.

 

[scanmom]

why anyone would use the disney vacation account. It's restrictive (from what little I know about it), and it would be so much easier to open a savings account at a bank and save that way. Any bank these days will do a direct deposit from your paycheck or another bank account. Plus, if an emergency comes up, or if you just decide to use the money for something other than a Disney trip, you can do what you want with it, no hoops to jump through, no explanations or "refunds" needed.
I'm not trying to be rude, and I hope the OP gets their problem resoved quickly. I know that when you cancel a trip with disney it takes 10-14 days to get a refund, so I would imagine that even after this is resolved, the money won't be available immediatly.

 

[Belle0101]

I have read about others having issues with this new account. You also can not use it to pay for anything at WDW. I'm still trying to decipher the terms, but really really read about what can and can not be paid for using this account.

Nothing at all or just like things in the parks (food, souvenirs, special tours, etc.)? Not even your on-site resort reservation?

If so, maybe it really isn't the good deal it is/was being touted as.

OP, can you keep us updated? I would be interested in knowing how this works out for you. Good luck!

 

[Colleen27]

why anyone would use the disney vacation account. It's restrictive (from what little I know about it), and it would be so much easier to open a savings account at a bank and save that way.

The attraction is the gift card rewards, which amount to 2% interest on every $1000 saved (which is a little less than 2% overall, because it is only applied per-$1000 so if you save $2500 you're only getting the bonus on $2000 of that) with only a 120 day minimum term to earn that return. I don't know about yours but my bank is paying .05% on savings accounts and even the higher-earning Capital One 360 vacation account is paying .75%. So 2% is a pretty attractive return on short-term savings these days.

Whether that return is worth the potential hassles remains to be seen, however.

 

[ilovemk76]

I decided to save for a Fall 2014 WDW vacation by setting up automatic deductions into the official Disney Vacation Account (DVA). Those deductions haven't yet started (and they won't, since I canceled them after yesterday's fiasco), but after having to cancel a Spring 2014 vacation to Arizona because of work, I decided to take a short trip to WDW in April.

My first mistake - not reading the fine print. I deposited enough money to cover my room and park ticket into the Disney Vacation Account, so that I could get the $20 Disney gift card, and only then did I realize that the gift cards can't be collected until an account has been active for at least 120 days. So I thought, I'll still use that money to pay for my spring vacation. The account website instructions are to enter the 16-digit account number as a Disney gift card when paying online at DisneyParks.com for a vacation. So I did that, and the DisneyParks payment page wouldn't accept the account number. My second mistake - I paid for my vacation with other money and let that deposited money stay in the DVA.

Yesterday, I tried to get my money in the account refunded. I called the phone number listed on the DVA website, and the message says, "Welcome to Disney Vacation Account," but then you have to select your destination. In selecting WDW, I was automatically transferred to the WDW vacation planning line, where a nice but clueless CM put me on hold for awhile and then told me to call Chase Bank since they administer the DVA. So I called Chase Bank, where I was told that they administer the DVA, but Disney has to give me the refund, Chase can't do that for me. So I called Disney back, and another CM had no clue what the DVA was and transferred me to the Billing Department - only it was the Billing Department for Disneyland! A CM there told me she couldn't help me. I called the direct number that the 2nd CM had given me to the Billing Department and spoke with another CM in California, who also had never heard of the DVA but logged onto the website - her first time ever seeing it. After she also called the number listed and heard the same options I'd heard, she said the best thing I could do was to submit a help form through the DVA website. So I did that, explained in the comments that I wanted a full refund, and to contact me at their earliest convenience. I haven't heard a thing.

So altogether, I spent about 45 minutes on the phone yesterday on 4 different calls, I spoke with 4 CMs and a Chase manager, and no one knew what the Disney Vacation Account was or how I could get a refund. I was asked if this was for the DVC, if it was a refund to a reservation, if this was the same as a Disney gift card. It's unbelievable to me that Disney rolled this DVA program out but didn't educate their employees on it, or have the proper service in place to help those who call the phone number listed on the DVA website! Needless to say, I won't ever use it again, and I canceled all upcoming automatic deductions.

If I don't hear back by Monday, I'll make more calls, and I will insist that my money be refunded. Has anyone had any better luck getting a refund?

I never even knew there was a DVA until this post. Good luck.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

Nothing at all or just like things in the parks (food, souvenirs, special tours, etc.)? Not even your on-site resort reservation? If so, maybe it really isn't the good deal it is/was being touted as. OP, can you keep us updated? I would be interested in knowing how this works out for you. Good luck!

Again I don't know all the terms but I think you can't use it for food at WDW, and maybe the stores. Hopefully someone else will chime in with the limitations, there definitely are some.

 

[sskem96]

You need to call the DVA Service Center at 407-939-7734 to request a refund per the FAQ page on the DVA website.

 

[bumbershoot]

why anyone would use the disney vacation account. It's restrictive (from what little I know about it), and it would be so much easier to open a savings account at a bank and save that way. Any bank these days will do a direct deposit from your paycheck or another bank account. Plus, if an emergency comes up, or if you just decide to use the money for something other than a Disney trip, you can do what you want with it, no hoops to jump through, no explanations or "refunds" needed.
I'm not trying to be rude, and I hope the OP gets their problem resoved quickly. I know that when you cancel a trip with disney it takes 10-14 days to get a refund, so I would imagine that even after this is resolved, the money won't be available immediatly.

Because it's savings specifically for Disney. Because if you follow the terms you have the opportunity to read when signing up, once you have the account for a certain amount on time you end up with the equivalent of 2% interest.

Yesterday seemed to be a day of big disney IT stuff where everything was mixed up. I wouldn't trust anything that happened yesterday because it just all seemed bad. So I would try again on Monday. This is an official, bank-regulated, thing, so you aren't going to lose your money. Just let it get to a business day again and see if disney's crack tech team can make the phone trees work again.

And in case you haven't read through the whole website and all the FAQs, maybe do that to see I they have anything relevant in there for you that you didn't notice before.

 

[Colleen27]

Again I don't know all the terms but I think you can't use it for food at WDW, and maybe the stores. Hopefully someone else will chime in with the limitations, there definitely are some.

You can't use it directly for food but you can use it to purchase up to $500 on Disney gift cards to use for food, shopping, or other incidentals. Of course if you aren't on the dining plan that's not likely to be nearly enough.

Another downside is that the account has to be open for 120 days plus the 4 to 6 weeks processing/shipping time to get the bonus gift cards.

 

[Fjobe]

You need to call the DVA Service Center at 407-939-7734 to request a refund per the FAQ page on the DVA website.

Calling that number was the first thing I tried, and all it does is ask where you are going and transfer your call to your selection.

OP, I am in similar shoes. I read everything - all the fine print before opening the account. It says in the FAQ that you can use a DVA with a travel agent, but when it comes down to it, no one knows how to apply the payment. My TA and I both made multiple phone calls and no one could help us. I had added a day on to my reservation, and was going to use the DVA account to pay for the additional day. That reservation ended up falling through because no one could figure out how to apply the payment from the DVA. At one point, they thought the payment had been applied, but my reservation disappeared, couldn't be found, and the money was never take out of the DVA.

Anyway, because of all that, I have decided to close the account. The phone number provided only sends you to your selected destination. I will say I had much more luck when somehow I was transferred to Disneyland instead of Disney World. They were able to fill something out and submit it electronically to cancel the account. It was just today when I spoke to them, so we will see if it is actually cancelled and my money refunded. I have sent 2 messages through the contact us section on the website with no response or even confirmation that the message was received. I also sent an email today requesting that the account be closed and my money refunded. Hopefully one of those will pan out.

 

[dreamseeker9]

You need to call the DVA Service Center at 407-939-7734 to request a refund per the FAQ page on the DVA website.

Thanks for the help, but that is the number that I called - twice - and though it says it's the DVA phone number, every CM I spoke with didn't know what the DVA was. I even had a CM call the number while on the phone with me, and it was a mystery to her how to reach someone who was actually connected to the DVA.

I don't think the DVA funds can be used in the parks themselves, only to pay for a room reservation and tickets via the Disney website, though it didn't work when I tried it.

 

[dreamseeker9]

Calling that number was the first thing I tried, and all it does is ask where you are going and transfer your call to your selection.

OP, I am in similar shoes. I read everything - all the fine print before opening the account. It says in the FAQ that you can use a DVA with a travel agent, but when it comes down to it, no one knows how to apply the payment. My TA and I both made multiple phone calls and no one could help us. I had added a day on to my reservation, and was going to use the DVA account to pay for the additional day. That reservation ended up falling through because no one could figure out how to apply the payment from the DVA. At one point, they thought the payment had been applied, but my reservation disappeared, couldn't be found, and the money was never take out of the DVA.

Anyway, because of all that, I have decided to close the account. The phone number provided only sends you to your selected destination. I will say I had much more luck when somehow I was transferred to Disneyland instead of Disney World. They were able to fill something out and submit it electronically to cancel the account. It was just today when I spoke to them, so we will see if it is actually cancelled and my money refunded. I have sent 2 messages through the contact us section on the website with no response or even confirmation that the message was received. I also sent an email today requesting that the account be closed and my money refunded. Hopefully one of those will pan out.

Wow, I'm sorry you are having to jump through so many hurdles as well to get your refund. I never got confirmation, either, after submitting my message through the Contact Us section on the DVA website.

I spoke to 2 different people in the Disneyland billing, which is who one CM on the number listed on the DVA website transferred me to after not knowing what the DVA was. Neither knew how to help me. I'll keep calling the Billing Department until someone can help me. Let us know if it works out for you!

Meanwhile, I'll try again on Monday to call and get this account closed.

 

[Fjobe]

I will let you know if it works out! Good luck to you too!

 

[arthur06]

I thought about the Disney Vacation account, but it felt to restrictive for our use.

We have a Capital One 360 account for general issues, car license, repairs and such.

We just opened up an Ally account for vacations with a .87% interest. It has a smaller interest, but is not at all restrictive on how we spend our vacation dollars.

Hope you have good luck with your money.

 

[pocomom]

why anyone would use the disney vacation account. .

I have one and I use it only for putting my Disney gift cards I have bought at a discount into. Especially helpful for used Disney cards, where I wouldn't want to hang on to them for months due to potential of original users committing fraud by retaining the numbers and using them ... for that use it is very helpful, being able to double dips (buying them at a discount and getting a modest reward, or in some cases triple, purchasing the gift cards in the first place with Disney visa and getting rewards) and also protect the value on my cards, and not having cards laying around that could get lost etc.

I would probably be unlikely to put a direct deposit of cash into it however, as I have better way that work for me to save that.

 

[mum of two pirates]

I have one and I use it only for putting my Disney gift cards I have bought at a discount into. Especially helpful for used Disney cards, where I wouldn't want to hang on to them for months due to potential of original users committing fraud by retaining the numbers and using them ... for that use it is very helpful, being able to double dips (buying them at a discount and getting a modest reward, or in some cases triple, purchasing the gift cards in the first place with Disney visa and getting rewards) and also protect the value on my cards, and not having cards laying around that could get lost etc.

I would probably be unlikely to put a direct deposit of cash into it however, as I have better way that work for me to save that.

I thought we couldnt earn rewards on ojr disney visa when webuy gift cards