This screenshot is directly from the Walt Disney World website When Walt Disney World announced that they would be closed because of Coronavirus, Annual Passholders (myself included) wondered what would happen with our passes. The initial information was that days would just be added on at the end of the pass. For Passholders like myself who are on the Florida Resident Payment Program, we would continue to make payments. Those days would be added to the end, and our passes would be paid off before they expired. Everyone would have a new expiration date.
A few days ago nearby Universal Orlando Resort announced that they were going to suspend payments for Passholders who pay monthly. That put a lot of pressure on Disney. Even with a Payment Plan, Annual Passes are expensive. A good part of the job market in Florida is in the tourism industry, which is hurting badly right now. Many people begged Disney to suspend Passholder payments while the passes can’t be used.
Disney listened. If you are an Annual Passholder who has paid in full, you will have two options. You can add the missed days onto your pass, which will change your renewal date. If that won’t work for you, you can choose to be refunded the amount for the number of days that the parks are closed. Information is not yet available on obtaining a refund, make sure that the email address on your My Disney Experience Account is correct.
The confusing part comes for people like me who pay monthly. Disney will stop taking money for our passes on April 5. We then have two options. The first option is to let Disney refund the amount that has already been taken out of the account, and keep the same renewal date. The second option is to let them suspend payments right now, then pick them up again once the parks reopen. There would be no refund, and the days already paid for will be added on at the end of the ticket. At least that is my understanding of how this works.
I have heard from several people that the first option for the payment plan will be the default one. The problem is that there is no official word from Disney yet on how to make a request for one way or the other. Again, it’s important to have your correct email address on file.
I’ve added a screenshot of the information instead of pictures at the top, and here’s the link to the latest information as well. The info that I’ve been talking about is found under the Annual Passes tab. As soon as I hear any updates, I’ll let you know.