[Other] Annual Pass extension choice is somewhat inflexible

[whiteness]

We are planning to relocate to the Orlando area sometime late summer early fall.

We are also Disneyland annual passholders. When we purchased our passes, paid cash in full, we "knew" that they would expire before we would move.

That's no longer true.

Today, I called Disney to find out what my options were. They are:

1. Take our chances that Disney reopens before we move and we can get some value out of them.
2. Cancel our passes before they would "expire" mid-June and get a pro-rated refund.

Here is what we cannot do:

A. We cannot transfer them to Disneyworld. I wasn't too surprised, but it would have been a nice gesture.

B. We cannot wait until we are closer to our moving date, to see if Disney will re-open in time, before requesting a refund. After our nominal "expiration date", the passes are automatically "extended" for the number of days that Disney is "closed", and getting a pro-rated refund after that point is impossible!

#B was absolutely shocking to me, and I wonder how many people have already been silently burned by this, and don't know it yet?

To be clear: if you are in possession of an annual pass that would have expired on or before May 21st, and you lose your job, have to move out of town, or whatever, Disney will NOT give you a prorated refund for the days that Disneyland was closed since March. You are now stuck with a useless pass. I'm sorry if you didn't realize that until reading this, and I hate to be the one to break it to you, but that's Disney's policy at this point.

I certainly didn't know it, and if I hadn't called them today, I potentially also would have waited until after mid-June before giving up and deciding to request a refund. Which would have been denied.

[Mr Wiggins]

Sad to say, "tough on customers, tougher on vendors, toughest on employees" has been woven into Disney's corporate DNA for 35 years -- along with the hypocrisy of how much they claim to luuuuuve their customers while exploiting every opportunity to nickle-and-dime them.

[oceanbreeze77]

What happens if you're on monthly?

[Sun Bonnet]

What happens if you're on monthly?

My husband was on monthly and was able to cancel his pass completely about a week and a half ago. I called and they cancelled his monthly and my paid-in-full at the same time, but he did have to talk to them for his part of the transaction since it was a different payment than mine was.

We cancelled before our expiration date and I am guessing that if paid-in-fulls can't cancel after expiration date, neither can monthlies. But prior to expiration date, I can confirm that this was possible in our household for both types of payments.

[whiteness]

My husband was on monthly and was able to cancel his pass completely about a week and a half ago. I called and they cancelled his monthly and my paid-in-full at the same time, but he did have to talk to them for his part of the transaction since it was a different payment than mine was.

We cancelled before our expiration date and I am guessing that if paid-in-fulls can't cancel after expiration date, neither can monthlies. But prior to expiration date, I can confirm that this was possible in our household for both types of payments.

Thanks for the info. It's good that we share our experiences, so people don't get caught out.

I fully intend to get my entire family annual passes after we relocate. But I do wish that Disney didn't force me to risk losing hundreds of dollars just because I am still hoping to see my beloved Disneyland one last time before I leave forever.

This is not how it was supposed to be for us: I was in California Adventure and Disneyland on March 13th but I never imagined it could really be the last time for years that I'd pass through that gate. If I had known, I'm sure I would have made an effort to visit more of the park. Maybe insisted that my family go with me. Oh, well...

[Yamamoto364]

I guess I just don’t understand what people want. So they are letting you cancel and get all of the money back for the time you weren’t able to use it. Or keep it for when it reopens. How is that unreasonable? There are so many pass holders it would be so unrealistic to have a bunch of different scenarios for them to offer when both of those are reasonable and one of them offered the Guest their money back.

[whiteness]

I guess I just don’t understand what people want. So they are letting you cancel and get all of the money back for the time you weren’t able to use it. Or keep it for when it reopens. How is that unreasonable? There are so many pass holders it would be so unrealistic to have a bunch of different scenarios for them to offer when both of those are reasonable and one of them offered the Guest their money back.

I can’t speak for anyone else. But what I want is to be able to visit the park for at least one last time as a local pass holder before we relocate.

My original plan was to hold off on canceling our passes for as long as possible in the hope that the park will reopen in time. But, according to Disney, if I don’t cancel my pass prior to mid-June, and the Parks don’t reopen before we have to leave, we won’t get any refund. If I do cancel prior to mid-June, then I’ll never again visit what had been “my” park for so many years as a local pass holder, even if they announce they are reopening the next day after I cancel.

I don’t understand why I cannot cancel my pass at any point up until they actually reopen. It seems like a reasonable thing to allow. If you understand why it is impossible for Disney to permit this, please explain.

[Yamamoto364]

I can’t speak for anyone else. But what I want is to be able to visit the park for at least one last time as a local pass holder before we relocate.

My original plan was to hold off on canceling our passes for as long as possible in the hope that the park will reopen in time. But, according to Disney, if I don’t cancel my pass prior to mid-June, and the Parks don’t reopen before we have to leave, we won’t get any refund. If I do cancel prior to mid-June, then I’ll never again visit what had been “my” park for so many years as a local pass holder, even if they announce they are reopening the next day after I cancel.

I don’t understand why I cannot cancel my pass at any point up until they actually reopen. It seems like a reasonable thing to allow. If you understand why it is impossible for Disney to permit this, please explain.

Ok so in the scenario you mentioned. You’d want to visit the park once. Let’s say early July. Then you wouldn’t get anything refunded because it would be extended out for the number of days the parks were closed. But then you’d move and wouldn’t be able to use it anymore while you’re in Orlando.

Or you just want to be able to cancel it whenever works for you?

[whiteness]

Ok so in the scenario you mentioned. You’d want to visit the park once. Let’s say early July. Then you wouldn’t get anything refunded because it would be extended out for the number of days the parks were closed. But then you’d move and wouldn’t be able to use it anymore while you’re in Orlando.

Or you just want to be able to cancel it whenever works for you?

Ideally more than once, of course. And we are not sure exactly when we will move. It might be in August, or even September. There’s a lot I need to sort out for this move.

The point is, it doesn’t makes any sense to me that Disney will let me cancel my pass for a refund only until mid-June, even if the Parks are still closed (for example) until September. By mid-June, maybe there is still some hope that we can visit the parks again in July or August, so I’d rather not cancel my pass if I didn’t have to.

But, come late July or August, maybe it’s clear that our wish to visit the parks again won’t come true, so with great sadness and reluctance, I cancel my passes. But now, according to Disney, I cannot get a refund anymore. Why? Because, due to our love of Disney, we stayed loyal and held out hope that we could visit as pass holders when Disney reopened. Again, I just don’t understand why Disney has decided to “reward” folks who jump ship at the first opportunity with a refund, but are less generous with those hold out hope for as long as possible? I’m saying to Disney “I know times are crazy right now, but we love you. As long as we can get at least some more value out of this pass before we leave, we don’t need a refund. But, if not, please refund us and we’ll invest it in Orlando passes.”

Is that really such a terrible, unreasonable thing to request of Disney?

[Sun Bonnet]

I just don’t understand why Disney has decided to “reward” folks who jump ship at the first opportunity with a refund, but are less generous with those hold out hope for as long as possible? I’m saying to Disney “I know times are crazy right now, but we love you. As long as we can get at least some more value out of this pass before we leave, we don’t need a refund. But, if not, please refund us and we’ll invest it in Orlando passes.”

Is that really such a terrible, unreasonable thing to request of Disney?

I don't think it's a reward situation. In my case, I'd love to go back to our weekly trips, but I don't like my chances if I get the virus so I'm staying home. But let's say they open in July and they gave me those extra months from the closure. They'd go to waste. So we're not jumping ship. We'll be back when it's safer for us.

What I'm trying to say is that since they seem to be planning to go all "enter at your own risk" about things, they have to give people an option to not do so.

[Yamamoto364]

I guess the reason I don’t see it as an issue at this point is because they’ve given more than ample time to let you decide if you want to cancel for a refund. It’s not like it was a two week, decide now situation. I am not saying there aren’t people in your boat where there is a deadline for moving. But that’s not that vast majority of people and the time they’ve given seems ample time to make a decision. With things being so fluid and constantly changing I think it makes sense to have some sort of deadline in order to wrap this stuff up.

[whiteness]

I guess the reason I don’t see it as an issue at this point is because they’ve given more than ample time to let you decide if you want to cancel for a refund. It’s not like it was a two week, decide now situation. I am not saying there aren’t people in your boat where there is a deadline for moving. But that’s not that vast majority of people and the time they’ve given seems ample time to make a decision. With things being so fluid and constantly changing I think it makes sense to have some sort of deadline in order to wrap this stuff up.

The deadline is not, specifically, mid-June. It is when your annual pass happens to expire. So, there are/were potentially 365 different deadlines. Within my family, there are 3 different "deadlines", just because we all 3 happened to activate our passes on different dates.

The only hard deadline is when the park actually re-opens. Or, at least, when they announce WHEN the park will reopen, plus a week or so for people to think it over. Why not just give everyone until then to decide what they want to do? Some people will know before then, and that's fine: they can give Disney their decision earlier.

But why force people to make a choice before it actually matters? I'm sorry, but I just don't get it. I'm trying to see this from Disney's viewpoint, and I'm searching for any logical reason why they are unable to be more flexible about this specific issue, but I cannot see why it is impossible for them. Perhaps someone who works for Disney and was involved in crafting this strategy can explain the reasoning behind it, but given the information I have right now, it seems unnecessarily inflexible.

[Mr Wiggins]

Is that really such a terrible, unreasonable thing to request of Disney?

No, it's not. The underlying theme of what you're requesting is for Disney to express the same empathy for your situation that you have for Disney's situation. You're asking for Disney to put itself in your shoes, and in the shoes of other AP holders in similar situations. You're asking for Disney's refund policy to be informed by at least a modicum of empathy for its customers, instead of corporate self-interest.

The fact that Disney's supporters have to evoke convoluted explanations to justify Disney's action (or in this case, inaction) says all that one needs to know about where Disney is coming from.

[whiteness]

I don't think it's a reward situation. In my case, I'd love to go back to our weekly trips, but I don't like my chances if I get the virus so I'm staying home. But let's say they open in July and they gave me those extra months from the closure. They'd go to waste. So we're not jumping ship. We'll be back when it's safer for us.

What I'm trying to say is that since they seem to be planning to go all "enter at your own risk" about things, they have to give people an option to not do so.

Like I said, I was there on March 13th and, the minute Disney opens those gates back up, I'll be back in the park (if I'm still here and still have a valid pass.) I don't want to cancel my pass as long as I can still use it. But, since nobody knows at the moment WHEN Disney is opening their gates for pass holders, I don't know if I'll still be able to use it when they do. If they gave me a date, at least I could make an informed decision.

I don't blame Disney for not being able to give us a date. They didn't cause this, they are coping the best they can, and I'm sure they would give us a date if they could. They need that information even more than we do, as does every single CM and business owner and worker that depends on Disneyland for their livelihood. This is a really stressful and uncertain situation for so many people right now!

Dear Disney,

Please: there is already enough stress and uncertainty imposed on us by this nasty, faceless, enemy. Why add to it unnecessarily? Nobody knows when it will be safe to re-open, so why force people to make a decision about their annual pass while things are so uncertain? Please, let us wait until we know when our passes will be usable again, and then decide if that will work for us or not, OK?

Thanks, Disney!

Your loyal fan, Whiteness

[pattimarie]

Whiteness--I agree with you completely. i don't think Yamamoto364 understands the various parameters and maybe is unaware of what Disney has already said. I have read the e-mails they sent me and the notices on their site--the last time was last week.

Here's the problem. In the first notice they mentioned no final date for a refund. At that time, I don't think any of us had any idea what was happening or how long it would last. What they did say was that your pass would be extended by the number of months of the closure, after it reopened. That's how I understood it, because no one could know when they would reopen, so how else could they figure it out? They did not say at that time, or even a week ago when I checked, that you had to get refund before your pass expired or you could never get it. That's my personal complaint--why am I finding this out in a comment section and not from Disney itself? My pass expires in February, so I'm good to go, but I can see others being hurt by lack of information on what could be a costly decision. Why weren't passholders sent an e-mail, and the info posted on the site the minute they made the decision?

If I understand Whiteness correctly, he is saying that he has to get refund or commit to keeping pass by the time it expires--even though the park may be closed and no opening date may be on the horizon. That makes the decision very hard, and I don't like Disney's approach. If one doesn't know when it's even going to open, how can one make an informed decision? It does not seem fair in the purest sense of that word. Businesses don't have to be fair (well there are certain laws they have to follow), but we also don't have to like their decisions. If PR is important to them, if retaining passholders is important, then they should want to be perceived as fair. The only caveat for right now is that they can't fill the parks like they were doing, so maybe retaining all passholders is not a priority like it used to be. But they might want us all back in a few years if things improve--and not want us hesitating because they messed us up the last time.

I have a suggestion for Whiteness. Try another operator. The info they gave you over the phone is not explicitly in writing as far as I can see. Sometimes another operator will quote policy differently or be more accommodating. That just happened to me in Feb. First operator argued with me about a renewal snag, 2nd did what I wanted in about 3 minutes. Of course, it can be frustrating if 2 operators say different things--maybe call a third. Maybe there's some fine print somewhere that I haven't seen that will better explain it. And I always ask if they or a supervisor can make an exception.

Haven't made my own decision. If I cancel now and get refund, I will lose the photo pass which has been grandfathered in to my signature pass if it is renewed before expiration date. It's 125.00 value, so it's something to consider. I wanted to wait until they announce opening date--if it's too soon, I'll get refund because I'm not going back this soon. I wouldn't feel safe. But if they open in January 2021 or so, then I might feel better about it and wish I had kept it for the photo pass. (I think they can social distance photo taking--but who knows.) I'm also watching WDW--what will be closed, will there be absolutely no parades or other entertainment, etc. They might reopen suddenly, and then I'd really be messed up because I'm assuming you couldn't get full refund once they open. Maybe that's not even true? I think all of this should have been clearly laid out by now, but I can't find it. Anyway, thanks for bringing this up, and good luck whatever you do.

[whiteness]

Whiteness--I agree with you completely. i don't think Yamamoto364 understands the various parameters and maybe is unaware of what Disney has already said. I have read the e-mails they sent me and the notices on their site--the last time was last week.

Here's the problem. In the first notice they mentioned no final date for a refund. At that time, I don't think any of us had any idea what was happening or how long it would last. What they did say was that your pass would be extended by the number of months of the closure, after it reopened. That's how I understood it, because no one could know when they would reopen, so how else could they figure it out? They did not say at that time, or even a week ago when I checked, that you had to get refund before your pass expired or you could never get it. That's my personal complaint--why am I finding this out in a comment section and not from Disney itself? My pass expires in February, so I'm good to go, but I can see others being hurt by lack of information on what could be a costly decision. Why weren't passholders sent an e-mail, and the info posted on the site the minute they made the decision?

If I understand Whiteness correctly, he is saying that he has to get refund or commit to keeping pass by the time it expires--even though the park may be closed and no opening date may be on the horizon. That makes the decision very hard, and I don't like Disney's approach. If one doesn't know when it's even going to open, how can one make an informed decision? It does not seem fair in the purest sense of that word. Businesses don't have to be fair (well there are certain laws they have to follow), but we also don't have to like their decisions. If PR is important to them, if retaining passholders is important, then they should want to be perceived as fair. The only caveat for right now is that they can't fill the parks like they were doing, so maybe retaining all passholders is not a priority like it used to be. But they might want us all back in a few years if things improve--and not want us hesitating because they messed us up the last time.

I have a suggestion for Whiteness. Try another operator. The info they gave you over the phone is not explicitly in writing as far as I can see. Sometimes another operator will quote policy differently or be more accommodating. That just happened to me in Feb. First operator argued with me about a renewal snag, 2nd did what I wanted in about 3 minutes. Of course, it can be frustrating if 2 operators say different things--maybe call a third. Maybe there's some fine print somewhere that I haven't seen that will better explain it. And I always ask if they or a supervisor can make an exception.

Haven't made my own decision. If I cancel now and get refund, I will lose the photo pass which has been grandfathered in to my signature pass if it is renewed before expiration date. It's 125.00 value, so it's something to consider. I wanted to wait until they announce opening date--if it's too soon, I'll get refund because I'm not going back this soon. I wouldn't feel safe. But if they open in January 2021 or so, then I might feel better about it and wish I had kept it for the photo pass. (I think they can social distance photo taking--but who knows.) I'm also watching WDW--what will be closed, will there be absolutely no parades or other entertainment, etc. They might reopen suddenly, and then I'd really be messed up because I'm assuming you couldn't get full refund once they open. Maybe that's not even true? I think all of this should have been clearly laid out by now, but I can't find it. Anyway, thanks for bringing this up, and good luck whatever you do.

Yes, I think you understand the problem very well. It’s nice that I’m not the only one who thought that we would not have to make a decision about this before we knew when the parks would reopen.

But, sadly, Disney is forcing us to make this decision without having all the information we need to make the best choice for our individual circumstances.

And, yes, I did speak to a supervisor. And she confirmed that this really is Disney’s policy. Once your pass would have expired pre-COVID, then Disney automatically “extends” it. Which means it can no longer be canceled for a refund, even if the parks stay closed until 2021. And, according to the supervisor, this cannot be overridden by supervisors. She was very clear about that: this policy cannot be overridden by anyone. So, from that I assume that people have already started being impacted by this and she’s already been fielding calls from unhappy pass holders being denied refunds that, up until moments prior, they naively thought they could simply request...

And the cynic in me wonders: perhaps this was intentional? Disney has a million local pass holders: would it really be so terrible for Disney if they got to keep the money from as many of them as possible? Including the ones that will eventually never get a chance to use the remaining balance on their passes? But...while still getting credit for offering people the POSSIBILITY to cancel. Which many of us have already forfeited without even knowing it. And many more will lose it in the coming months no doubt...

[tarheelalum]

Disney could have created a lot of good with annual passholders by being more flexible with them in this situation but instead chose another path. Disney is still under the impression that crowds will pour in from all corners of the globe when they reopen no matter how they treat their paying customers. Time will tell how that works out for them.

[MychaelP]

Seems to make the most sense to refund the pass unless you have parking added and can't get it back. When they reopen you are not guaranteed to get in and if you have the Flex pass it may be even worse for you. The value of the experience will be less with no entertainment, parades, fireworks and such limited use of rides and distancing. The price should also be dropped for tickets at some point. I let my pass expire and glad I did because it would be a hard choice. I'll buy a new pass when things are close to normal again, with the money saved I'll be able to afford a better pass this time, that's how I'm looking at it.

[SoCalDisneyFan]

Seems to make the most sense to refund the pass unless you have parking added and can't get it back. When they reopen you are not guaranteed to get in and if you have the Flex pass it may be even worse for you. The value of the experience will be less with no entertainment, parades, fireworks and such limited use of rides and distancing. The price should also be dropped for tickets at some point. I let my pass expire and glad I did because it would be a hard choice. I'll buy a new pass when things are close to normal again, with the money saved I'll be able to afford a better pass this time, that's how I'm looking at it.

Except for the fact that in Shanghai, they are not counting the re-opening time against your Annual Pass time, so any visit(s) you make, are essentially Free. We'll see how restrictive it is, but I'm hoping with a Flex Pass, I'll get a chance to visit at least a couple of times, depending upon how comfortable I feel doing so.

[Starcade]

That's the key problem isn't it. What if they open back up but with limited capacity, now your Signature AP doesn't grant you access when you want because the park gets booked up so fast with lowered capacity levels. So now you are paying for a Signature pass but getting a SoCal Select Experience. That is going to be something hard to square with guests unless they do like Shanghai and only count the time in which they are at normal capacity as the time in which your AP starts it's count down to expire again.

For the OP I would simply suggest cancelling and buy a single day ticket for one last trip if they open in time. You will in essence not be penalized anything more then the opportunity to visit the park more than once or twice but that is due to your move so it's on you.