What if Test Positive Beforehand?

[Frozen2014]

We have a trip planned in August and have a flight from Toronto.

Our other planned trips during covid have been on Royal Caribbean. For the cruise, a negative test is required to board the ship and they have a policy that if you test positive, then they refund your money. This past December, we had to cancel a couple days before...not due to us testing positive but due to close contact less than two weeks before our trip. 100% of cruise will be refunded, and we were driving so nothing lost.

For Disney, I know they don't require a test to enter the parks, but we need one to board the plane.

So silly question...but if we test positive, does this mean that we will loose the thousands of $$$$s once we pay it off a month before? I'm hoping things are much better by the summer but it's still a risk., and our kids will be in camp before our trip so can't quarantine ourselves. DH and I are still working from home due to the pandemic but no idea by August. I believe our insurance covers covid during vacation but not beforehand.

Has this happened to anyone? Or does Disney refund you?

 

[dismom57]

We bought trip cancellation insurance, but don't know how it would work (didn't use). It covers "expenses" up to $10k, again there is a lot of fine print. But flights and hotels are covered.

 

[Frozen2014]

We bought trip cancellation insurance, but don't know how it would work (didn't use). It covers "expenses" up to $10k, again there is a lot of fine print. But flights and hotels are covered.

Thanks. Can I ask what insurance? We purchased Blue Cross but I guess they are all different.

 

[CanucksRock]

I not believe trip cancellation insurance covers Covid related reasons. Most insurance companies have exclusions for it.

 

[Starwind]

IF it is covered under trip insurance the circumstance you describe falls under the trip cancelation part because you are canceling before travel starts.

However, you need to read the fine print of your policy.

Some policies exclude anything covid related entirely when it comes to trip cancelation.

Other policies make a distinction between covering things that are a result of being SICK with covid (so if you test positive and have to cancel because of medical conditions related to that illness, you are covered like other illnesses that would prevent travel), and other types of covid-related coverage (eg government issues "do not travel" advisory and you decide to cancel, or airline cancels all flights to destination due to covid reasons... ) those things usually they consider as falling under the "covid is a known event" clause and don't cover.

But it all depends on your specific policy.

An example from Tugo's covid FAQ on some of the nuance in their plans' coverage; your plan may be very different:

Can I cancel my trip if I or a family member test positive for COVID-19 and need to quarantine? 
Yes, TuGo’s Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance provides coverage in the event quarantine is required due to COVID-19 sickness for the following: 
 The insured traveller and their family members  
The travelling companion and their family members  
The host at the travel destination

Can I cancel my trip if I or a family member comes in contact with a positive case and need to quarantine?
No, coverage is not provided if you or a family member come in contact with a positive COVID-19 case.

Can I cancel due to a travel advisory, border closure or because I’m no longer wanting to travel due to COVID-19 case levels? 
TuGo’s Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance doesn’t provide coverage if a traveller has to cancel due to COVID-19 travel advisories, border closures, or the traveller not wanting to travel due to high case levels. However, TuGo’s Trip Cancellation & Trip Interruption Insurance will provide coverage if the traveller must cancel or interrupt their trip due to their medical condition related to COVID-19 (or the medical condition of those listed in the applicable covered risks).

 

[dismom57]

Thanks. Can I ask what insurance? We purchased Blue Cross but I guess they are all different.

The insurance offered by WestJet, however with a Level 3 travel advisory I believe you need the deluxe version. We made it back just before changes.

 

[IndyWDWDad]

Not sure about airlines, but I have cancelled a Disney resort and park reservation on the same day and been credited for the tickets and refunded for the resort. They have been incredibly generous in their cancellation policy due to Covid. We did book directly with them in case it makes any difference.

 

[Starwind]

I just went through the WDW website as if I was doing a booking for next December for a package.

The terms and conditions have the following:



There is also the change clause:



If I am reading this correctly, it looks like if you cancel in the 2 to 30 day window you loose your $200 deposit plus some other amounts, but the bulk of your money would be refunded. It may be possible to change the dates of your trip to a later date within the 30 day window for a $50 fee if Disney allows the change (presumaby they would if it involved a covid positive situation since they would not want covid positive people in the resort).

We are planning a future WDW trip that is going to involve travel to another US city first, then a WDW resort stay, then DCL cruise, then WDW resort stay. Since our resort stays (for right now) are room only stays, they have a 5 day cancelation clause. We are planning on having enough days in the other city that we create enough of a "buffer" that if something goes wrong at the start of the trip we can cancel the first WDW stay without penalty because we would meet the 5 days clause. [the second stay would also not be a problem, and we have both trip cancelation and CFAR coverage for the cruise].

You could create something similar by doing something like a split stay at WDW [one night at one resort, even possibly the same resort, then switch to another resort for the rest of your stay] which then puts only the first night in jeopardy as you would be testing two days before the second part of your stay.

But before you get into messiness like that, you need to find out what your travel insurance will and won't cover.

 

[Starwind]

Here are the package terms and conditions for 2021: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/online-package-terms-conditions-2021/

 

[Frozen2014]

Thank you. I'm pretty sure Blue Cross doesn't cover covid prior to trip but will double check.

Assuming the testing rules are the same in August as they are now, then it seems worthwhile to try and test 2 days before such that if positive, we can at least get our money back minus deposit. If we wait for the day before (which is what the flight needs), then we would lose everything. If we were to test positive, we would have to move it to the following summer as the trip is last week in August between camp and start of school (and even then, I'm not sure if it's possible due to our son starting university that year)

Not sure about airlines, but I have cancelled a Disney resort and park reservation on the same day and been credited for the tickets and refunded for the resort. They have been incredibly generous in their cancellation policy due to Covid. We did book directly with them in case it makes any difference.

That's great. Did they make an exception in your case? We booked directly with Disney and a package (resort on site + park tickets). Am sorry though that you had to cancel. We had that with our cruise and it sucks. Such dissapointment.

 

[Starwind]

Here are the package terms and conditions for 2021: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/online-package-terms-conditions-2021/

And for 2022: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/online-package-terms-conditions-2022/

Haven't found the page for the room only terms and conditions, if anyone finds that please post the link !