The coronavirus caused virtually everything in the United States to shutdown including Walt Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California. As a result the company had to drastically rethink their approach to every aspect of their business – including annual passholders.

Tomorrow 11 August 2020 is the last day for annual passholders to decide if they will continue with their annual pass or cancel it.

Important Dates for Annual Passholders Who Decide to Cancel Their Passes

Annual passholders at both parks fall into two categories: those who pay in full (typically out-of-state guests) and those on the monthly payment plan (reserved only for that park’s in-state guests). Throughout the last couple of months, Disney has continued to refine their policy for annual passholders.

In order to reduce park capacity and maintain social distancing Disney instituted a park reservation system where guests needed a reservation to go into a park and park hopping was suspended. In addition, annual passholders were restricted to three park reservations at one time. Many passholders were unhappy with these changes and felt they were being cheated and not getting what they paid for.

Typically annual passholders are prohibited from cancelling an active pass, but because of these new procedures and the number of disgruntled guests, Disney has made an exception and is allowing guests to cancel their annual passes for a limited time. However passholders only have until tomorrow to decide on how they want to proceed. The deadline applies only to Walt Disney World as Disneyland is currently still closed.

“We know that many Passholders are excited to get back to the magic—and we’re eager to see our cherished Passholders, too,” read a statement on Walt Disney World’s annual passholder page. “We also recognize that park reservations will change the way that many of our Passholders use their pass.”

Disney gave both types of passholders the option of continuing with their passes or cancelling them. For those who have decided to remain a passholder, and forgo any refunds, Disney gave them an extension on their expiration date based on the number of days the resort was closed as well as an additional 30 days due to the new park reservation system.

If you are an Annual Passholder that has paid in full, your options are:

• Receive an additional one-month (30 days) extension to your pass (unless you choose to cancel your pass). This additional month will automatically be processed and visible in your My Disney Experience account over the coming weeks.
• If you prefer, and in lieu of the one-month extension, you may choose to cancel your annual pass(es). Your pass will remain valid through August 11, 2020 and will be canceled effective August 12, 2020. You will be refunded for the remaining access days of your annual pass from July 11, 2020 through your pass expiration date (as extended, if applicable). Refunds to original form of payment can be expected by mid- to late September. Refunds may take up to an additional month to receive if original form of payment is not available. To request this option, contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277.

If you are an Annual Passholder on the monthly payment plan, your options are (Note, options previously communicated have been clarified – no new options added):

Option 1: Continue with your pass(es) and receive a 30-day extension (no additional action required). You’ll receive an additional one-month (30 days) extension to your pass(es).

• This additional month will automatically be processed and visible in your My Disney Experience account over the coming weeks.
• With this option, you may also be eligible for an automatically processed partial refund if your payments exceed the usable value of your pass(es) per the details here on when partial refunds apply and how they are calculated.
• Refunds to original form of payment can be expected by mid- to late September. If original form of payment is not available, you should expect a check by mid- to late October.
• Please note that the V.I.PASSHOLDER Support phone line is not able to provide a specific refund amount since each pass circumstance is unique and based on factors such as: new or renewal, down payment amount, refunds to date, future payments, etc.
• Learn about refunds for Annual Passholders who opted to continue their annual passes.

Option 2: Cancel your pass(es). If you prefer, and in lieu of the additional one-month extension, you may choose to cancel your annual pass(es).

• Monthly payments will be stopped starting August 12, 2020. Your pass(es) will remain valid through August 11, 2020 and will be canceled effective August 12, 2020.
• You may also be eligible for an automatically processed partial refund if your payments exceeded the usable value of your pass(es) per the details here on how partial refunds, if applicable, are calculated.
• Refunds to original form of payment can be expected by mid- to late September. If original form of payment is not available, you should expect a check by mid- to late October.
• Learn about refunds for Annual Passholders who opted to cancel their annual passes.

How to take action:

• If you have already elected to cancel your pass(es), this will be automatically processed for your pass(es). You do not need to take any additional action.
• If you have not selected any option (no action) and would like to select this option to cancel your pass(es), please refer to the email from Disney Destinations on July 14, 2020 and use the personalized link available through August 11, 2020. Or, you may contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.
• If you previously took action to elect to continue with your pass(es) and now would like to cancel your pass(es), please call V.I.PASSHOLDER at (407) 939-7277. We appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.
• Please note that the V.I.PASSHOLDER Support phone line is not able to provide a specific refund amount since each pass circumstance is unique and based on factors such as: new or renewal, down payment amount, refunds to date, activation dates, etc.

Disney has also stated that those annual passholders who paid in full and decided to remain a passholder should already see an extension of their previous expiration date. These passholders were also given a option to receive a partial refund for the time the park was closed. Those who chose this option forfeited an extension of their passes. Disney has said “if you elected this option during the closure period, these refunds are still being processed.”

Active annual passholders on the monthly payment plan were also given two options:

If you are an Annual Passholder on the monthly payment plan:
On April 5, 2020, we automatically stopped and waived monthly payments during the theme park closure period. We also retroactively refunded payments made between March 14 through April 4, 2020. Payments will resume on the Passholder’s regularly scheduled payment dates starting July 11, 2020. Please note, pass expiration dates were not extended and pass(es) expire upon their originally scheduled expiration dates.

As an alternative, some Guests using our monthly payment program elected to have their monthly payments that would have been due from April 5, 2020 to July 10, 2020 postponed. Under this alternative, payments will resume on the Passholder’s next regularly scheduled payment date after July 10, 2020. Postponed payments will be collected in the months following the end of the Passholder’s currently scheduled payment term. The pass(es) will be extended the number of days the parks were closed. In early August, Guests that elected this option will receive a contract amendment which must be signed and returned to complete this election.