On March 12th, Disney announced the temporary closure of Walt Disney World theme parks “beginning at the close of business on Sunday, March 15th” in order to promote safety of the Resort’s guests and cast members in light of the current global situation. PLEASE NOTE: On March 27th, Disney announced an extension of the closure “until further notice.” And on April 2nd and 16th, Disney announced updated information regarding Disney World Annual Passholders, and this post has been updated accordingly.
Walt Disney World Annual Passholder
On the Walt Disney World website, Disney has notified Annual Passholders as to how this will affect the status of their Annual Pass.
Annual Passholders Who Have Paid in Full
For guests who have paid in full “Walt Disney World Annual Passes will be extended for the number of days the parks are closed.” The Annual Passholder will see their new expiration date reflected in their account prior to reopening of the parks.
Disney World website screenshot
Annual Passholders who have paid in full and wish to forego the extension will be eligible for a partial refund. In order to receive the partial refund, Passholders should call V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277.
Annual Passholders on the Monthly Payment Program
Passholders who utilize the Annual Pass Monthly Payment Program will want to know that monthly payments are being waived until the parks reopen (effective April 5th), and Disney will be refunding any payments made between March 14th and April 4th. Regular payments will resume when the parks reopen, and pass expiration dates will not be extended (with passes expiring on their originally scheduled expiration date).
Also for Passholders on the Annual Pass Monthly Payment Program, as an alternative to the above, Passholders may postpone their monthly payments through the parks closure, with payments resuming when the parks reopen. “Postponed payments will be collected in the months following the end of the Passholder’s currently scheduled payment term,” with the Pass to be extended for the number of days the parks are closed. Annual Passholders who wish to choose this option should call V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407)939-7277.
Disney World website screenshot
We will be keeping you posted on these and other Frequently Asked Questions in regards to the situation as it develops.
We here at DFB have been tracking the steps that Disney has taken around the parks to promote safety for cast members and guests. You can learn more about that here.
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what about ap passes for dl
Am assuming the 2 water parks are still open, as they didn’t list they would close, also.
Thank you so much DFB for all these updates. We live near Orlando and visit all the time. DVC member and Annual Passholder.
Hope they extend the 2 weeks for the passholder magnet at Epcot.
While I understand their intention here, this is not good for me. I already have a trip planned for right before my pass is up.. who doesn’t get in one last vacation?! Lol What am I supposed to do.. come back and then go down again a week later? I think they need to compensate people for their already planned trips. I know you have nothing to do with this. I am just a bit upset about it. Annual passes are SO expensive.
I’ll take an extra 2 weeks! Whether i can go or not ! Helps with my next pass purchase! Into another month!
I’ll take it! Ya never know ! Extend a trip? Plan an extra trip!! Why not !
Since I have the silver pass and my spring break was open for me to go next week, do you think they will open a week of normal blackout time so Silver pass holders can go? Like a week of summer blackout?
What about the socal passed that are up in may will they be extended
I wonder if they would just lift the spring break blockout?? Because right when the parks reopen, if they do by said date, then a few days later the passes block for yet another two weeks or so, so that’s like a double whammy right now.
Hi DFB gang! Thanks for all the great content! Denise-I’m right there with you on them extending the magnets! I’m bummed to know I might miss out on them. I have all the others they’ve offered these last years. Jenna-did I somehow miss that Disney in fact is responsible for the Corona virus??? Otherwise, how could you hold them accountable for the fact that they need to close to try to keep this virus from spreading any faster then it already is!?! They’re doing the right thing, and losing a huge chunk of money in turn, as so many industries are right now! Every single Disney theme park, and the cruise lines are currently not operating! Doesn’t that tell you anything? While I do love Fantasyland myself, we can’t live there for goodness sake! Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised that they were offering anything to passholders. I don’t know anybody who actually reads the passholder agreement, but you can be darn sure it lists every reason under the sun for them not to be accountable for much of anything. Despite that, they’re still compensating us with extra days. I would really be shocked if the park resumes operation April 1st anyway. April Fool’s is on me, as I am scheduled to arrive the day before. While less than thrilled not to go to say the least, there’s something much larger and of importance going on in the world, an annoying little thing called a WORLDWIDE PANDEMIC-now I’m the one laughing out loud! You really need to get your priorities in order! Since the decision they made isn’t “good for you”, maybe you could hit up Shanghai or Hong Kong Disneyland for some freebies, since China’s negligence at the beginning of this virus has allowed it to be a lot worse than it could’ve been!
Disneydamsel.. thanks so much for your personal response. Trust me I am very well versed in what is going on. I am from NJ/NYC where we have some of the highest numbers and now even a curfew to abide by. I am also a teacher who is now faced with teaching virtually to inner city children who don’t even have internet at home. My point was that there are people who save up for an annual pass. This is my one year that I bought it for a big birthday. I don’t live nearby and need to fly every time. My goal was to get in four trips in the year. I have two coming up that I might not be able to get to. What I am saying is I think there will need to be some other things they do for people. I will not have gotten my money’s worth from the pass and that is not fair. I am not asking them to open prematurely, I am already counting my April trip out and possibly my June trip. And I am okay with that because this country needs to get this under control. Trust me it’s a mess up here in NY/NJ/CT, not sure where you are from. But when this is all over I would like to have my trips to looks forward to and I am afraid I will not. Trust me my priorities ARE in order since I have students who don’t know where they will be getting their meals from for the next month or longer. Sometimes it’s nice to have something to look forward to when the world is in the state that it’s in.
I had to cancel my trip because you closed. But I did rebook at a much later date that hopefully will be. Free of this virus. My annual pass also expires while you are closed. Please extend the pass when I give you my voucher you mailed me because I gave already paid for the annual pass in full already. Please keep us all up to date how things are going. Praying everyone stays safe and you might as well be happy because there isn’t much I can do about this terrible situation. Sit back and pray for the best.
Carol, you’ll need to reach out to Disney directly to inquire about this. DFB is not affiliated with the Walt Disney Company.
Hi Jenna – I feel your pain. I am a New York resident and we listen every day to our Governor tell us how many more New Yorkers have died due to the coronavirus and how many more are in the hospital. It’s heartbreaking. New York and New Jersey are in such great need now of ventilators, mask and gloves for our doctors, nurses and healthcare professionals, along with shortages of food and groceries and the situation is dire. But you are right, we all need something to look forward to, especially now. I had to cancel my April trip to Disney World and a Disney cruise along with it. But I was able to rebook both for late August. If possible, that may be an option for you to look into? Disney did extend the “Sun& Fun” room offer through August 31 which gives a discount on rooms. So in faith, we booked a room for the end of August along with rebooking our Disney cruise. We all need a little Disney right now don’t we (smile)? I actually had a little tear in my eye speaking to the Disney booking agent on the phone. We both expressed our hope that we would all get back to Disney World soon as they are working from home as well. We hope and we pray that better days are coming. Until then, I hope you are able to rebook your trip. Thank you for all you are doing with your students and teaching from home! I know it’s not easy. But just to let you know – you are appreciated! Hang in there! Better days are coming. And it would be great if you could rebook your Disney vacation too. It made me feel a little better after I rebooked ours . Hopefully you and your family can do the same. I wish you all the best! Stay well and stay safe!
There has to be a way to reinstate the Annual Passholder system. We visit more and, of course, spend more by having the flexibility to dos so. Paying a daily fee for every visit is restricting our visits to WDW.