AP Only Info Thread Reservation System /Extensions / Refunds

[yulilin3]

In terms of park reservations, this truly is infuriating. Annual pass holders are being treated as bottom of the barrel. Blocked out of every park except for Epcot until September. Why are theme park ticket holders getting priority? I can understand resort guests, but correct me if I'm wrong... annual passes are theme park tickets.

Essentially, I paid for an annual pass with only 3 weeks of blockouts, but I'm now losing value to my ticket because I'm incurring additional.

I don't think we'll be renewing.

remember you have until August 11th to actually cancel your AP, so you don't have to wait until the renewal day if you are not happy with the current situatiion

 

[Judique]

remember you have until August 11th to actually cancel your AP, so you don't have to wait until the renewal day if you are not happy with the current situatiion

It certainly makes sense to cancel if you are not visiting during the extension period, especially for out of state passholders. I haven't made up my mind yet, as I have a trip scheduled in November and I fall into the at risk category, but I love to visit Florida when it cools down up here. For me it will depend on numbers in the state.

For those upset at Disney who say they don't think they will renew: Are you planning to 'give up' going to Disney? I certainly am not, and will definitely be a future annual pass holder. Anyone that goes twice within a year for a week is probably always going to save money with an annual pass. I've had annual passes for 20 years and this is the first time that I've ever seen this situation. I've always saved money. Whether it be TIW, store discounts, room discounts, dining discounts, my annual pass has saved me as well as providing admission at a reduced rate.

I just don't get why people can't understand that everybody, including businesses are seriously affected and it's not 'business as usual'.

My only hope is that within 1-2 years, things will return to our previous normal. It's not going to be instant. I will be getting another pass (actually have an extra one in MDE) and will continue to use them as things get better for all of us, customers and businesses alike.

Edit: Disney is not selling AP's right now. What if they decide that's a good idea for the future? We would certainly see the 'other side' very quickly. Sure hope they don't decide to quit selling to us out of state buyers/visitors/fans.

 

[MeridaAnn]

Just a thought. They stopped charging monthly Passholders (or refunded them) during the closure period. Monthly payment folks can opt. to cancel as well with no additional charges (refund for July if they were charged). That means the monthly payment folks only ended up paying for the time period

So, one element I really haven't seen discussed anywhere is the down payment part of the monthly passes. For those who had monthly passes that were just cancelled (no more payments and no more access), was there any indication that part of the down payment would be refunded? I don't think so, from what I've seen, but I'm not sure. My pass is paid in full, but I'm definitely wondering if Disney is calculating in anything like the down payment when they are deciding the daily refund rate. I know we don't know *anything* about how Disney is calculating this (which is ridiculous), but it's just an element that I haven't seen discussed at all and I was curious.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to select the refund before the deadline comes. When I had tried to calculate things before, it seemed like my estimate for the refund was pretty close to the discount I would get for renewing. My numbers could be high, though, since I don't know how Disney is calculating them, but I'm also not even sure I'm going to be ready to go back when my renewal date comes around this fall. It's all so unknown, but I'm pretty done with giving Disney the benefit of the doubt. Between the communication failures, their complete refusal to be transparent about our money, the careless over-charging glitch that they hit my friends with, so many of my favorite things at the parks being unavailable for now, and so many other things plus how things in Florida are going in general on the pandemic front... I just need to wait until I'm excited to go back again and right now the idea of going to Disney does not excite me personally and I don't see that changing soon enough to justify a renewal for me just now. [I'm not trying to convince anyone else one way or another here, btw, just trying to sort out my own thoughts on the decision.]

 

[SunnyBunny33]

I’m a Silver AP and chose extension option. I have Christmas blockout days with my pass. Disney recently added the one extra bonus month, but it cuts across the Christmas blockout dates, so I’m not REALLY getting 30 days extra. Anyone have similar issue?

 

[OKW Lover]

So, one element I really haven't seen discussed anywhere is the down payment part of the monthly passes. For those who had monthly passes that were just cancelled (no more payments and no more access), was there any indication that part of the down payment would be refunded? I don't think so, from what I've seen, but I'm not sure. My pass is paid in full, but I'm definitely wondering if Disney is calculating in anything like the down payment when they are deciding the daily refund rate. I know we don't know *anything* about how Disney is calculating this (which is ridiculous), but it's just an element that I haven't seen discussed at all and I was curious.

The amount of "down payment" is irrelevant to the calculation of the refund amount. Its based on the total cost of the pass.

 

[PrincessV]

Edit: Disney is not selling AP's right now. What if they decide that's a good idea for the future?

That's exactly why I'm opting to keep my AP with extension. With my late-March renewal, I'm effectively getting 13 months for the price of a pre-price increase 12. And I'm local enough that I can do day or overnight visits on pretty short notice. So I'm reasonably confident I can get my money's worth before it expires, even if I take the next few months off. I can't see me ever getting regular tickets, so if I canceled, I'd just write off WDW entirely for a long while.

 

[MeridaAnn]

The amount of "down payment" is irrelevant to the calculation of the refund amount. Its based on the total cost of the pass.

Okay, that would be good - is that certain now? The last I saw, some of those who had started to receive their refunds were still not getting what they expected for their refunds and no one was certain what formula was being used. Has it been confirmed now that they are in fact doing a straight (total/365)*(days lost) now?

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

It certainly makes sense to cancel if you are not visiting during the extension period, especially for out of state passholders. I haven't made up my mind yet, as I have a trip scheduled in November and I fall into the at risk category, but I love to visit Florida when it cools down up here. For me it will depend on numbers in the state.

For those upset at Disney who say they don't think they will renew: Are you planning to 'give up' going to Disney? I certainly am not, and will definitely be a future annual pass holder. Anyone that goes twice within a year for a week is probably always going to save money with an annual pass. I've had annual passes for 20 years and this is the first time that I've ever seen this situation. I've always saved money. Whether it be TIW, store discounts, room discounts, dining discounts, my annual pass has saved me as well as providing admission at a reduced rate.

I just don't get why people can't understand that everybody, including businesses are seriously affected and it's not 'business as usual'.

My only hope is that within 1-2 years, things will return to our previous normal. It's not going to be instant. I will be getting another pass (actually have an extra one in MDE) and will continue to use them as things get better for all of us, customers and businesses alike.

Edit: Disney is not selling AP's right now. What if they decide that's a good idea for the future? We would certainly see the 'other side' very quickly. Sure hope they don't decide to quit selling to us out of state buyers/visitors/fans.

Our APs originally expired in September and have now been extended to January. Our July trip was cancelled but we have a trip booked for 14 days in October. I have no idea whether the borders will be open, but as of today, our flights are scheduled. Our choice is, do we leave the APs in place and risk ‘losing’ the possibility of a refund or do we cancel our APs and obtain a refund of about $600 each. I thought of cancelling the APs and buying ordinary park tickets, but even non hoppers would be about $1000 for 14 days. I thought about cancelling the existing APs and buying new ones but not activating them, to keep our APRs , but my TA tells me that WDW are not selling APs right now. I e mailed guest services three weeks ago and sent a few polite reminders but so far no response. No correspondence whatsoever infact from WDW regarding our APs.

 

[elaine amj]

Ugh. I don't know what to do. I don't get any passholder emails so very thankful for ppl posting the verbiage in theirs. Trying my best to stay semi-up-to-date with what Disney is offering. I was originally ecstatic about the extension but with everything in Florida, it's better for me just to cancel and get refunded.

But nobody seems to have a clue how they will process the refund since I purchased my APs third party from Sam's Club. On top of that, I bought my tix before the last big price increase in June 2019 so paid $924.78 per ticket (instead of $1191.74) for my Platinum Passes.

How much will I get back? Will they send me a check or what?

I activated my APs on Dec 22, 2019 (so it was only valid for 3 months before the park closed). My current expiry with extension is May 22, 2020.

I wished they offered a pause and reset like Universal did. Yes my money would be tied up but I'd be ok with that. It sucks to make a decision without knowing the numbers. Will I get back nearly $900 per ticket? Or just under $700?

I'm still wishing and hoping we can go back this year but there are so many unknowns to be stuck with nearly $2k in tickets. We just cancelled our end of August trip.

 

[Judique]

Our APs originally expired in September and have now been extended to January. Our July trip was cancelled but we have a trip booked for 14 days in October. I have no idea whether the borders will be open, but as of today, our flights are scheduled. Our choice is, do we leave the APs in place and risk ‘losing’ the possibility of a refund or do we cancel our APs and obtain a refund of about $600 each. I thought of cancelling the APs and buying ordinary park tickets, but even non hoppers would be about $1000 for 14 days. I thought about cancelling the existing APs and buying new ones but not activating them, to keep our APRs , but my TA tells me that WDW are not selling APs right now. I e mailed guest services three weeks ago and sent a few polite reminders but so far no response. No correspondence whatsoever infact from WDW regarding our APs.

I can certainly understand where you are coming from. You need a crystal ball for your decision.

The fact that WDW is open and will probably remain open doesn't mean that the borders will open.

Truth be told, the risk is in coming here. If I lived elsewhere in the world, I wouldn't be trying to come here even in October. As someone who lives here with an AP that I've already received a partial refund for, I'm debating taking the remainder refund and giving up my November DVC trip. I'm leaning towards cancelation. There will be other trips. For me, not because I'm safer at home, but because there is no need to expose myself. I can wait.

So, Disney is not going to give you an answer because they really can't foresee whether this country will let you in. The fact you have an airline that has kept your flight scheduled means little - they are just trying to survive.

The decision is yours to make. I know what I would do in your case. I'd play it safe. But I'm pretty risk averse. And in the high risk category.

 

[Judique]

That's exactly why I'm opting to keep my AP with extension. With my late-March renewal, I'm effectively getting 13 months for the price of a pre-price increase 12. And I'm local enough that I can do day or overnight visits on pretty short notice. So I'm reasonably confident I can get my money's worth before it expires, even if I take the next few months off. I can't see me ever getting regular tickets, so if I canceled, I'd just write off WDW entirely for a long while.

Your decision makes sense for your situation. With both extensions my AP would have gone through April. And maybe by then I'd be comfortable going - who knows?

If I lived close enough to go for a day every so often, no brainer - keep the pass.

It's the whole travel thing, plus concentrated park visits and a desire to try to do as much as possible, Disney Springs, eat out, all the parks, visit favorite spots in Florida, that combines to increase exposure and condense it into a week or so. That's too much for me right now. But, one day in the parks, drench myself in sanitizer and back home to my own space - sounds like a plan. Enjoy! Keep the magic alive for the rest of us.

 

[Judique]

Ugh. I don't know what to do. I don't get any passholder emails so very thankful for ppl posting the verbiage in theirs. Trying my best to stay semi-up-to-date with what Disney is offering. I was originally ecstatic about the extension but with everything in Florida, it's better for me just to cancel and get refunded.

But nobody seems to have a clue how they will process the refund since I purchased my APs third party from Sam's Club. On top of that, I bought my tix before the last big price increase in June 2019 so paid $924.78 per ticket (instead of $1191.74) for my Platinum Passes.

How much will I get back? Will they send me a check or what?

I activated my APs on Dec 22, 2019 (so it was only valid for 3 months before the park closed). My current expiry with extension is May 22, 2020.

I wished they offered a pause and reset like Universal did. Yes my money would be tied up but I'd be ok with that. It sucks to make a decision without knowing the numbers. Will I get back nearly $900 per ticket? Or just under $700?

I'm still wishing and hoping we can go back this year but there are so many unknowns to be stuck with nearly $2k in tickets. We just cancelled our end of August trip.

I would think you would be looking at 282 days of refund. Probably $918 or so, but it's difficult to determine. Or if your refund is based on what you actually paid at Sam's then $718 or so. Either way you activated them and got some use out of them for either almost free or for about $200 - you should be looking good.

 

[Aravan24]

So my family of 3 renewed our WDW Platinum Annual Passes back on June 20, 2019. At the time, the going rate for the Platinum AP was $1119.00 per person, plus tax. With the 15% renewal discount, that made it $951.15 per person, plus tax, for a total of $1012.97 per person. Keep in mind that our APs were set to expire on June 21, 2020...well before the parks were set to reopen.

On May 15, 2020, I called V.I.Passholder line and chose to get the refund for the portion of my ticket when WDW would be closed, per the email I'd received back in April of 2020. Additionally, since our renewal was paid for with the value of some unused tickets, plus about $600 in Disney gift cards, I opted for a different form of payment (I no longer had the gift cards that had been used). Further, my expectation was that since WDW was closed for the last 14 weeks (98 days, to be exact) of my valid AP year, that I would be receiving a refund of right about $270.00 per person, for a total of $810.00.

Between Thursday of last week and yesterday, we received 3 separate checks from Disney in the mail. One each made out to me, my wife, and my 12-year-old son. Each check was in the amount of $215.68...significantly less than what I'd expected. Further, these checks were not accompanied by any information on how these amounts had been calculated, nor did I receive any email or other communication from Disney about them. On Monday of this week, I called the V.I.Passholder line again and asked to get an explanation of where this amount had come from and was immediately told that the Cast Member helping me would need to make an appointment with their escalation line for them to call me back about this. It took an hour and a half on the phone just for the VIP line CM to schedule this call...which I have yet to receive from Disney.

I cannot and will not cash the checks prior to knowing how they were calculated. Sounds like it's yet another case of this mess of a 'process' Disney is using.

Rob
Host of the Jedi Temple Archives Podcast
Co-Host of the Hoop-Dee-Duo Disney Review Show Podcast

 

[OKWFan88]

Hoping some one can shed some light... I just called the AP line and cancelled my out of state Platinum annual pass which per the CM goes into cancel status on 8/12/20. The CM I spoke with didn't know a lot about the process. So, I am a little confused. I got the annual pass 12/15/2019 as I upgraded it from a 8 day park hopper park ticket about two days before my trip ended. My AP was extended out until 5/2021. Per the conversation with the CM, they can't tell you what your refund is and you won't receive it until maybe September and it will go back to the original payment, which is fine as I used the Disney credit card... But she said that the refund is based on the park closure until your original expiration date. So if the park closed in March, does that mean that I would get basically a 7 month (March to December) refund on the pass? Also, you don't receive a confirmation on the cancellation which I thought was odd.

 

[elaine amj]

Hoping some one can shed some light... I just called the AP line and cancelled my out of state Platinum annual pass which per the CM goes into cancel status on 8/12/20. The CM I spoke with didn't know a lot about the process. So, I am a little confused. I got the annual pass 12/15/2019 as I upgraded it from a 8 day park hopper park ticket about two days before my trip ended. My AP was extended out until 5/2021. Per the conversation with the CM, they can't tell you what your refund is and you won't receive it until maybe September and it will go back to the original payment, which is fine as I used the Disney credit card... But she said that the refund is based on the park closure until your original expiration date. So if the park closed in March, does that mean that I would get basically a 7 month (March to December) refund on the pass? Also, you don't receive a confirmation on the cancellation which I thought was odd.

7 months? Isn't March to December 9 months? Was your original expiry Dec 9 2020? So you should be getting back 8+ months, right?

 

[OKWFan88]

7 months? Isn't March to December 9 months? Was your original expiry Dec 9 2020? So you should be getting back 8+ months, right?

See that's why I am confused - because the CM kept saying 7 months, but March to Dec is close to 9 months. My original Expiration is 12/15/20. I did just get an email to confirm my cancellation even though the CM said I wouldn't get one... And the email says something different than she said. Email says "receive a partial refund for the remaining access days of your annual pass from July 11, 2020 through your pass expiration date (as extended, if applicable) So, then does that mean I am getting a refund from 7/11/20 thru 12/15/20 or 7/11/20 thru 5/15/20 which is what the extension is now showing for my pass?

 

[nicko]

I called today and cancelled my out of state Platinum passes. I cancelled three of them and then received two "generic" email confirmations (which is a little disconcerting). All three of the passes I was cancelling were for adults yet I was able to cancel them without the CM having to talk to the other adults. This is different then some have reported on this thread.

I asked for the amount I am to be refunded but the CM was unable to tell me. She said I would find out in September. I no longer have the credit card that I used originally to purchase the passes. She said I would get a check.

This is what bothers me:
1) How is it acceptable to give refunds but not tell the consumer how much the refund will be?
2) Why do I have to wait until September to get the refund?
3) The generic email confirmation I received does not specify which pass I cancelled so what if they don't cancel all of them.
4) Why did I have to spend almost an hour on hold with Disney to achieve this less than satisfying result? I never received a cancellation email link like many passholders did even though I get other passholder emails from Disney.
5) Why am I not sent a real receipt for my cancellation? Every other merchant I have ever dealt with could generate a refund receipt.

 

[dlavender]

I called today and cancelled my out of state Platinum passes. I cancelled three of them and then received two "generic" email confirmations (which is a little disconcerting). All three of the passes I was cancelling were for adults yet I was able to cancel them without the CM having to talk to the other adults. This is different then some have reported on this thread.

I asked for the amount I am to be refunded but the CM was unable to tell me. She said I would find out in September. I no longer have the credit card that I used originally to purchase the passes. She said I would get a check.

This is what bothers me:
1) How is it acceptable to give refunds but not tell the consumer how much the refund will be?
2) Why do I have to wait until September to get the refund?
3) The generic email confirmation I received does not specify which pass I cancelled so what if they don't cancel all of them.
4) Why did I have to spend almost an hour on hold with Disney to achieve this less than satisfying result? I never received a cancellation email link like many passholders did even though I get other passholder emails from Disney.
5) Why am I not sent a real receipt for my cancellation? Every other merchant I have ever dealt with could generate a refund receipt.

I’m frustrated with that as well.

After my call where I was told I’d get a refund as well as a $50 gift card for all the trouble all I got was a generic email. Didn’t outline anything that we talked about. So I’ve got no “proof” if it comes down to it.

 

[elaine amj]

So I called tonight (8pm on Thursday night) and waited about 20+ mins to talk to an agent (not bad). I called but DH is the owner of the account. The agent had to talk to him to confirm he was good with it (I got the impression that if he called, they wouldn't have needed me since he manages my account).

She told me my refund would be from July 11 (park reopen) to May 20 (new expiration with 1 month extra) instead of March to December 20, 2020 (my original expiration) which I had expected.

I explained I purchased from Sam's Club and asked how they would know the original method of payment. We joked around a bit and she said essentially that they do know (feels a bit like a breach of privacy to me since I gave my payment info to Sam's and not to Disney - unless they go through Sam's to refund me somehow).

I didn't get the original email offering me the option to cancel by email but I surprisingly did get an email confirmation of the cancellation. Two separate emails for DH and I with no names included.

I had 9 months left so I better get $700-900 back or I will be calling back.

The agent also explained that even though I cancelled, my pass is valid until August 11. A bit bummed I can't make use of that lol. Oh well - I'm safer where I am right now so I'll stay put and wave at Mickey from a distance.

 

[bloomcruisers]

Since getting confirmations of the cancellations appear to be hit or miss and specific details are inadequate on the confirmations that are received, is there any problem with recording the conversation with the cm so that can serve as documentation of cancellation?

I know I would have to tell the cm that I am recording.