APs: what option are you choosing?

[whiteness]

This was just updated today.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/travel-information/

Annual Passports

This is a truly unprecedented time for all of us, and we want to thank
you for your patience as we work through the many details related to the
temporary closure of the theme parks. We recognize this may be a
challenging time, so we wanted to share how we will assist our Annual
Passholders.

*If you are an Annual Passholder who has paid in full:*
All active Disneyland Resort Annual Passholders who have paid for their
Passports in full will automatically have their Passport expiration date
extended due to theme park closures to provide additional access
opportunities at the end of the Passport term. The new expiration date
will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s Passport account prior to
the reopening of the theme parks.

As an alternative, and in lieu of an extension of their Passports,
Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund
for the theme park closure period. To request this alternative option,
we ask that you contact Annual Passport Member Services at (714)
781-4567 <tel:1-714-781-4567>. We do anticipate heavy call volume and
appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.

That may be what their website says, but it's not what I was told by a Cast Member and her Supervisor the last time I called. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I would NOT be allowed to request a refund unless I did so prior to my own Annual Pass's original expiration date of 6/15/20. If that is their official policy, then it certainly isn't clear from their website, and a lot of people are going to lose the option to request a refund if they just read the announcement on Disney's website and assume they understand the policy based on what it says!

I am finding what they did with Blake 's passport very confusing. This quote from Disney's policy:

The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s Passport account prior to the reopening of the theme parks.

Seems to suggest that our pass's expiration dates won't be updated until the parks officially reopen. However, Blake's pass expiration date apparently was updated a couple of time, and then no longer. What does this mean?

[WaltDisney'sAlec]

That may be what their website says, but it's not what I was told by a Cast Member and her Supervisor the last time I called. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I would NOT be allowed to request a refund unless I did so prior to my own Annual Pass's original expiration date of 6/15/20. If that is their official policy, then it certainly isn't clear from their website, and a lot of people are going to lose the option to request a refund if they just read the announcement on Disney's website and assume they understand the policy based on what it says!

I am finding what they did with Blake 's passport very confusing. This quote from Disney's policy:

Seems to suggest that our pass's expiration dates won't be updated until the parks officially reopen. However, Blake's pass expiration date apparently was updated a couple of time, and then no longer. What does this mean?

I started this thread over a month and a half ago hoping we could all get some clarity, but now I feel like Disney is even more confused than before. To me all of this just means a failure to both articulate and implement a clear policy on how to treat annual passholders. I keep trying to be patient given the scale and difficulty of the circumstances. I just can't understand it when other Disney parks (Shanghai) and other non-Disney theme parks have their act together. Maybe the issue is being buried or lost because of the abrupt leadership change at the domestic parks. But with only some people receiving refunds, extensions of annual passes that lack logical consistency, and conflicting information from phone calls (if you don't get trapped in their phone-tree funhouse), I am just getting a bit overwhelmed with the hassle.

I was planning on extending my pass before my expiration date (November, lol). If Disney still forces us to pay full price for no parade, no fireworks, and no meet and greets, I'll probably just let it lapse. This period of my life was a very specific window I had to make the most of a pass, and I don't think it makes much sense for me to continue when management seems pretty indifferent to addressing concerns or providing clarity.

[Blake]

Well, I just spent a long time on hold to talk to somewhat who said she was looking up my passes and submitting the request to extend them (as was supposed to happen automatically in the first place). She then tried to transfer me to the monthly payment line to finalize the request, and I got a recording that said I had to press "1" to get where I needed to go. But it didn't recognize my key presses. And then it hung up on me. I'm on hold again.

Okay, I finally got a chance to wait on hold for a while and talk to someone. I was told that there's nothing to worry about and that my annual passes not showing up after the expiration date is due to the fact that they still don't know when the parks are reopening. After that's known, they're supposed to show up again with whatever revised dates are appropriate. I got the impression that the prior extensions that appeared automatic were far from automatic and that it was generating too much work (my interpretation, so don't take that as an official statement or anything). Letting them "expire" and then fixing them after the fact must be less work under the circumstances. So if your expiration date is sometime before the parks actually open, you may see the same thing I do, but it's supposed to be temporary.

She reiterated that I can call again if the problem isn't fixed after dates are announced, and they'll fix it by hand. I assume that won't be necessary, but I'm comfortably reassured.