Holding account and reservations starting 6/22/20

[Kidanifan08]

Has anyone heard if the holding account rules are going to be enforced starting June 22? We currently have a reservation for 7/5/20. We have considerEd going, but some of decision depends on the various rules With regards to the park reservation process, dining options, etc. With the lack of information currently available (None), it is impossible to make an informed decision. In order to avoid having our points go into a holding account, we would need to cancel or modify our reservation by June 4. Has anyone heard if DVC Is going to continue waiving the holding penalty while there is so much unknown about the processes that will be in place? It is possible that there may be something that would push us towards canceling and rescheduling for later, but I don’t want to wait and risk losing the flexibility of using our points for a future stay. I tried calling member services, but got a busy sign multiple times. Chat was down, but I sent an email. Just wondering if anyone has inquired.

 

[Carol_]

I just canceled online (6/1/2020) our Jun 26-29 DVC reservations. All the points went back to their original use years, not into holding.
Hope that helps.
I don’t know how long I have to use them now. I have an August use year and I’m confused about banking dates for the 2019 points... and I’ve forgotten how it all works for 2020 points now.

 

[Sandisw]

According to what I heard when I called last to see what it said on the recording, it said it’s currently being waived,

When that will expire, it doesn’t say. Website says that each DVC resort will have food options but limited menus. It doesn’t say whether all will be open, but QS seems to be listed,

I had been told that only DVC pool will be open until nite side opens...not sure what that means for all resorts, and it could change as more guests show up closer to park opening dates.

 

[Kidanifan08]

I just canceled online (6/1/2020) our Jun 26-29 DVC reservations. All the points went back to their original use years, not into holding.
Hope that helps.
I don’t know how long I have to use them now. I have an August use year and I’m confused about banking dates for the 2019 points... and I’ve forgotten how it all works for 2020 points now.

Thanks for the feedback. This makes me feel better that we would probably be okay waiting, but I’ll be sure to post what I hear from MS via email. We’re probably going to push our arrival date into the future a little, but it would be nice to know more about the preview days.

According to what I heard when I called last to see what it said on the recording, it said it’s currently being waived,

When that will expire, it doesn’t say. Website says that each DVC resort will have food options but limited menus. It doesn’t say whether all will be open, but QS seems to be listed,

I had been told that only DVC pool will be open until nite side opens...not sure what that means for all resorts, and it could change as more guests show up closer to park opening dates.

Thanks Sandi. Now that they are closed, I listened to the FAQ message and it does say that holding accounts remain suspended. It’s just strange that it’s nowhere on the website. The 5/27/20 update just addresses expired points, but does not indicate continuance of this policy. I would prefer to see it in writing with some language about reasonable notice when it is reinstated.

We’re unfortunately leaning towards canceling entirely. We are staying at BWV and were really looking forward to going to Epcot in the evening for dinner and a stroll around the world showcase just to enjoy the atmosphere. With the park entry restrictions, that is basically out, unless we select Epcot 7/15-7/18, which is not a reasonable option.

 

[Sandisw]

Thanks for the feedback. This makes me feel better that we would probably be okay waiting, but I’ll be sure to post what I hear from MS via email. We’re probably going to push our arrival date into the future a little, but it would be nice to know more about the preview days.



Thanks Sandi. Now that they are closed, I listened to the FAQ message and it does say that holding accounts remain suspended. It’s just strange that it’s nowhere on the website. The 5/27/20 update just addresses expired points, but does not indicate continuance of this policy. I would prefer to see it in writing with some language about reasonable notice when it is reinstated.

We’re unfortunately leaning towards canceling entirely. We are staying at BWV and were really looking forward to going to Epcot in the evening for dinner and a stroll around the world showcase just to enjoy the atmosphere. With the park entry restrictions, that is basically out, unless we select Epcot 7/15-7/18, which is not a reasonable option.

I agree that the newest update took out that policy and the policy of returning borrowed points. I don’t know if that is so they can end at anytime,

I will be there from 3rd to 7th of July but we weren’t planning parks anyway, so it worked out that they were not open yet.

 

[Steph01002]

We were 27 days out when they announced DVC’s reopen date, so we would have missed the 30 day mark thinking the rolling cancellations were still happening until further notice. I would think there would have to be a time period for people to gather info and decide, but who knows.

 

[drusba]

I personally would not wait beyond the 31-day safe period, June 4 for a July 5 start date, if you are considering canceling the reservation. Even if the 30-day holding rule is now being waived, you could wake up June 5 and find out DVC has decided to start enforcing the holding rule again, and you could do nothing about it.

 

[CarolMN]

I personally would not wait beyond the 31-day safe period, June 4 for a July 5 start date, if you are considering canceling the reservation. Even if the 30-day holding rule is now being waived, you could wake up June 5 and find out DVC has decided to start enforcing the holding rule again, and you could do nothing about it.

Completely agree! FWIW, the Disney vacation experience won't be anything like most expect and at a minimum, very different than what it was pre-closure. If your decision depends on the new rules/operating procedures, it's almost guaranteed that you won't like them.

 

[Kidanifan08]

I personally would not wait beyond the 31-day safe period, June 4 for a July 5 start date, if you are considering canceling the reservation. Even if the 30-day holding rule is now being waived, you could wake up June 5 and find out DVC has decided to start enforcing the holding rule again, and you could do nothing about it.

I’m with you. I’m just surprised they didn’t mention the holding point or banking rules with the most recent announcement. They seem to dot the i’s but forget to cross the t’s.

Completely agree! FWIW, the Disney vacation experience won't be anything like most expect and at a minimum, very different than what it was pre-closure. If your decision depends on the new rules/operating procedures, it's almost guaranteed that you won't like them.

You’re absolutely right. There is no doubt this won’t be the WDW experience we’re used to. But, we have a teen who is dying to see Galaxy’s Edge and make a custom light saber and droid, so I’m emotionally holding onto the idea of going. We would be driving this time, which means 16 hours in the car there and back. I did a 3 hour drive for the first time since November over the past weekend and couldn’t wait to get out of the car! I did adjust our dates tonight for a July 8 arrival, so I have until Sunday now to cancel . With the change, I was able to snag a Boardwalk view instead of garden view! Any other time I would be more excited about that...

 

[biochemgirl]

I was afraid to do a change online so I waited until I got through to MS. I have called hundreds of times since last week. Yesterday, Wednesday June 3 I finally got through! I had to dial a few times and of course, wait on hold. But the CM was amazing, made my modification and put returned points into my normal use year. I am fortunate to be able to bank them since I have a Feb UY.

HTH and good luck

 

[Kidanifan08]

I did a chat ses with a DVC castmember via the DVC website the other day and he was very noncommittal about the reinstatement of holding accounts. I point blank asked him if he would keep the reservation past 31 day at this point in time. He made a joke about having high anxiety and not being the right person to ask. In other words, pass 31 day at your own risk. We have until Sunday, but with the lack of information from Disney so far, we’ll be canceling.