In case you haven’t heard the great news yet, Walt Disney World plans on a phased reopening of its theme parks starting July 11. Annual Passholders, DVC members, and Club 33 members will have special access to reopening previews prior to that date, however given limited capacity, there may be certain regulations in place.
As you may be aware, Advanced Reservations will be required for theme park access upon the reopenings, and new details released by Disney indicate that limitations will be implemented to mitigate demand.
According to Scott Gustin, Disney has confirmed new information pertaining to Annual Passholders and the process of securing theme park reservations:
All guests with a valid admission ticket or annual pass will be allowed to book park reservations, however the number of total bookings held by Annual Passholders will be limited. That is, if your plan is to just hoard a bunch of reservations, Disney may place a limit on your account. Given those circumstances, it may be difficult to get reservations on certain dates. In addition, certain pass benefits and features may not be available initially.
Additional details are available on the Annual Passholder “Know Before You Go” page:
Our Annual Passholders are some of our most loyal and valued Guests. We truly can’t wait to welcome you back—and we will do it with great thought.
With that in mind, when the parks reopen, park capacity will be significantly limited—and may continue to be for a period of time, based on guidance from health experts to promote physical distancing.
We understand how much excitement, thought and time goes into planning your Disney visits and realize some new changes may be disappointing. For example, during this unprecedented time, an annual pass will not guarantee park entry and Annual Passholders will be required to make an advance reservation to enter a park.
Please note that:
- During the limited capacity period, it may be difficult for Annual Passholders to get park reservations to visit on certain dates. To help manage capacity, total reservation days held at one time will be limited. More details will be shared in the coming weeks.
- Some pass benefits and features will not be available during periods of limited capacity. Also, park experiences and offerings will be modified and subject to limited availability or even closure.
- Annual passes are subject to blockout dates. Guests should ensure their pass type is valid for park entry prior to making a park reservation.
As we prepare for the reopening of the parks, we’re planning a special preview opportunity for Annual Passholders. We look forward to sharing details with you soon.
Please know we will be here to help you as we remain focused on delivering a wonderful experience for everyone who visits.
If you have any questions, please contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. Options to manage your annual pass continue to be available during the closure period.
Policy Updates and Refunds
Due to the closure of the Walt Disney World theme parks, some policies were modified to assist Passholders.
If you are an Annual Passholder who has paid in full:
All active Walt Disney World Resort theme park and water park Annual Passes will be extended for the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the parks.
As an alternative, and in lieu of an extension of their passes, Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the park closure period. To request this alternative option, we ask that you contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We do anticipate heavy call volume and appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.
If you are an Annual Passholder on the monthly payment plan:
On April 5, 2020, we automatically stopped and will waive monthly payments due while the theme parks are closed. We will also retroactively refund payments made between March 14 through April 4, 2020. Payments will resume on the Passholder’s regularly scheduled payment dates once the parks reopen. Please note, pass expiration dates will not be extended and passes will expire upon their originally scheduled expiration dates.
As an alternative, Guests who are paying for Walt Disney World Annual Passes using our monthly payment program may choose to have their monthly payments postponed starting with payments due April 5, 2020 through the park closure period, and then resumed on the Passholder’s regularly scheduled payment date once the parks reopen. Postponed payments will be collected in the months following the end of the Passholder’s currently scheduled payment term. The pass will be extended the number of days the parks are closed. The new expiration date will be reflected on the Annual Passholder’s account prior to the reopening of the theme parks. To request this alternative option, we ask that you contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. We do anticipate heavy call volume and appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.
If you have any questions, please contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277.
Any word about how resort reservations may affect this? We are annual passholders who are traveling from out of state and have a resort reservation, will our access also be limited? We are tentatively booked for September.
“Our Annual Passholders are some of our most loyal and valued Guests. We truly can’t wait to welcome you back—and we will do it with great thought.” Also from Disney: “LOL thanks for spending $1500 on a trip. Enjoy staying at our hotel with absolutely no perks when compared with Best Western anymore and possibly not even getting to spend a day at the parks. But we have cable!”
Also, my AP expires next week. If it expires, will they still be able to extend its life? As it is, they’re making me pay more for it than it was the first time I bought it. 15% discount, yeah right. Only in Chapek’s world does a discount mean pay more. I hate to say it, but I might spend my vacation period exclusively at Universal. They seem to be handling this a LOT better than Di$ney has been.
I can live with the reservations in the short term And I understand why they’re limiting the number of reservations a passholder can have at once but what’s unfair is that it seems like passholders won’t get any compensation for the reservation period like they’re getting in Shanghai. I’m addition to being compensated for the day’s the park was closed we should also be compensated for the days it’s effectively closed off because we couldn’t get a reservation
I 100% agree! We are out of state APs and can’t go every day like someone who lives in Florida can!
That is my question as well. We pay for the ultimate in flexibility and ability to go to the parks when we want, but now we can’t do that, so what are we we paying for? Is there going to be compensation like in Shanghai?
My issue is, we have reservations for our vacation club resort, but on tickets for the parks. Don’t know what happens in that situation.
Soooo I have to pay my full monthly payment, but probably cant visit on days I’m paying for based on my pass. How does that work?
What if you are an out of state AP who is staying at a disney resort? We should be able to get in just like regular ticket holders. We don’t live in FL where we can get up and go any day. We have to plan an entire vacation like ticket holders do, we just happen to have an AP.
Resort guests, no matter what type of ticket, should be able to get into parks. The details haven’t been released yet.
I hope so! Thank you so much!
Sounds horrible. Guess I’ll have to forego my 2x year trips for a while, doesn’t sound like it’s going to be worth the expense.
So why am I paying to be an Annual Passholder and can’t go when I want, but yet I’m expected to pay to for the Annual Pass still in full?
100% agree! This is ridiculous!
Just called to modify a June reservation for an All Star resort. Yes, I can move it to October…but the only room available is a cabin at WL. 4 days for $2200. No discounts, no value or moderate rooms, no guarantee to get in the parks, no information on MNSSHP or Food & Wine. Disney needs to stop with MLS and the NBA and focus on it’s guests!!!
The All Stars are one of my favorite resorts but they are NOT reopening and no one knows when.
Years ago, they were mainly group hotels for school, and sport events.
Maybe that is why they are not reopening.
You can try making reservation at the Hotel participants.