How to Cancel Disney World Annual Passes
Walt Disney World continues to release new details regarding AP refunds and monthly payment plan holds for Annual Passholders. In this post, we’ll cover the cancellation process, how to calculate your refund, and offer some commentary about the process. (Updated August 11, 2020.)
The policies and protocol for cancelling Annual Passes has “evolved” over the course of the closure and subsequent reopening. When the parks first closed, Walt Disney World was not allowing AP cancellations or any interruptions to payments. Unsurprisingly, there was mass outrage that garnered local media attention with stories of people who were laid off from their jobs yet still had to make their AP payments.
Consequently, Walt Disney World reversed course, pausing monthly payments, revealing options for cancellation, and more. Over the course of the last few months, new info has continued to trickle out, with the latest developments occurring in the last two days–just in time to meet today’s cancellation deadline…
Let’s start with the official word from the latest WDW AP emails and updates to Walt Disney World’s Annual Pass “Know Before You Go” page. We’ll follow with some commentary trying to make sense of all this, and offering our recommendations about what to do…
If you are an Annual Passholder who has paid in full, your options are as follows…
Option 1: Continue with your Annual Pass(es) and receive 30-day extension (no additional action required): 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.
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).
- Your pass will remain valid through August 11, 2020 and will be cancelled effective August 12, 2020.
- You will be refunded for the remaining usable value 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. If original form of payment is not available, you should expect a check by mid- to late October.
Partial Refund Eligibility/Calculation:
- The refund amount, if any, for each pass is unique and based on factors such as: new or renewal, refunds to date, and activation date.
- If the total amount that you paid for your pass(es) (minus any refunds already given) exceeds the “usable value” (see below) of your pass(es), that excess will be refunded to you.
- The usable value of your pass(es) equals the total sale price of your pass(es) multiplied by the number of days that you could have visited any park prior to March 16 and divided by the total number of access days to any park permitted under the pass(es) at pass activation.
How to take action:
- If you have already elected to cancel your Annual Pass, this will be automatically processed. You do not need to take any further action.
- If you have not selected any option and would like to cancel, 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 Support at (407) 939-7277. We appreciate your patience as we answer all inquiries.
IF YOU’RE ON THE MONTHLY PAYMENT PLAN
If you are an Annual Passholder on the monthly payment plan, your options are as follows…
Option 1: Continue with your Annual 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).
- 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 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.
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 cancelled 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).
- 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.
Partial Refund Eligibility/Calculation
- The refund amount, if any, for each pass circumstance is unique and based on factors such as: new or renewal, down payment amount, refunds to date, activation date, etc.
- If the total amount that you paid for your pass(es) (minus any refunds already given and any payments waived, returned or not collected) exceeds the “usable value” (see below) of your pass(es), that excess will be refunded to you.
- The usable value of your pass(es) equals the total sale price of your pass(es) multiplied by the number of days that you could have visited any park prior to March 16 and divided by the total number of access days to any park permitted under the pass(es) at pass activation.
- If you made a payment between July 11, 2020 and August 11, 2020 or a payment between March 14, 2020 and April 4, 2020 that was not already refunded, your refund will be at least the amount of any such payment(s).
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 further 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.
- 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 Support at (407) 939-7277.
- 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.
Important Note:
While Walt Disney World is encouraging all Annual Passholders to call the V.I.PASSHOLDER support line, several readers on the monthly payment plan have advised that they have had better success (and shorter wait times) calling Passholder Payment Services at (888) 701-4100, and selecting Option #3.
We have no firsthand experience with this, but hopefully some readers can leave a comment speaking further to this.
AP Cancellation & Refund Commentary
I won’t lie: math is not my strong suit. It’s a good thing we are not cancelling our APs, because my eyes glaze over when looking at the “usable value” and refund calculation factors. I feel like I need to pull Donald in Mathmagic Land up on Disney+ for a quick refresher before continuing to write this post.
I’m not even going to run a sample calculation or offer an example as I’d probably just mess it up. You’re either on your own in doing that math, or you’ll have to wait for your refund to arrive before finding out its amount. (Even if you do the math, don’t be surprised if Disney’s determination varies from yours.)
With that said, we have confirmed that past usage is not a factor in the refund amount. Unfortunately, Walt Disney World will not disclose how much of a refund you will receive until you actually submit the refund request—and once that’s made, it cannot be undone. If you do request and receive an Annual Pass refund, please share the details (amount of refund, level of pass, how much time you had remaining, etc.) so we have more data points that could be helpful to other readers.
For those of you who still have unanswered questions or issues with your APs, try the ‘Chat Here’ feature (blue button on the right side of the page) on this page. It’s worth noting that wait times both online and on the phone are over 4 hours, and that’s if you can even get through in the first place and don’t just get an “all circuits are busy” message.
If you’re going to cancel, you’re much better off simply using the link you were emailed, and hoping for the best or fixing whatever other issues might exist at a later date. It’s unlikely that anyone at the call center is going to provide you with any more information than is detailed above, so unless you have a unique problem, calling is just going to be a frustrating exercise in futility.
Perhaps cynically, we think that Walt Disney World wanted to deliberately add a bit of friction and confusion to the process, making it less likely that as many people would request refunds. Sort of like back in the day when cancelling a Columbia House membership meant sending in a fax, using a courier pigeon, or jumping through other hoops. (For those of you too young to get that reference, it’s like trying to cancel AMC A-List…although that too is now probably also obsolete.)
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you cancelling or keeping your Walt Disney World Annual Pass? If you’re canceling, what’s the reason: Park Pass availability, reduced hours, scaled back entertainment, health concerns, a variety of reasons, or something else? If you called, how long did you wait on hold? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
So our situation is we had annual passes that expired 4/29/2020 and we renewed during our trip there early March. The new passes have an expiration date of 4/29/2021. I just called to confirm that the new passes will be extended for the full number of days of the closure. I was afraid they might only have extended for the days closed past 4/29 since that is when the new passes are activated. We thought about waiting until later to renew but would lose the 15% renewal discount. But now we renewed with the discount and the pass year will start when the resort opens.
Thank you, Rick, for posting this info. I had totally forgotten that I had renewed my pass (May 11, 2020 expiry) on March 14–just before I heard of the closing–and just before I had planned to be traveling. I did request the “extended days” on my current pass but totally forgot about the renewal pass and how that would be dealt with. I came back here to ask if anyone knew, and you already did.
I purchased annual passes specifically for trip I had book for April and stay for 16 days (cheaper to buy an AP rather then park tickets for that length). My annual passes are inactive and I requested a refund but haven’t heard anything. Anyone else in the same boat? I Was able to get a refund on the resort but not the AP’s.
I’m in the same boat with Disneyland APs. We were invited on two different trips, one in March and one in Sept. Since the March trip obviously did not happen, our passes have not been activated yet. I spoke to a DL castmember on the phone who very kindly informed me there was nothing she could do. Since I will still have an entire year on my pass as soon as I activate it (when the parks reopen), I’m not eligible for the park closure refund. Essentially, the product we bought is still intact and can be used to the full extent of what we agreed to purchase, so we haven’t really suffered any damages. Although, I would argue that it’s now very unlikely that we will be able to afford 2 trips in a 12 month span the way we were planning, which negates all the savings of choosing the pass (over two sets of 5-day tickets). So we will have the full benefit of our passes — it’s just whether we are still able to take full advantage of them.
I’m looking at it like we’ll have grossly overpaid for a single trip when we are able to visit, but at least it’s prepaid. And if we fit in a second trip at the end of the twelve month period, then that’s just a bonus.
I was just told on a phone call with Disney that annual pass refunds will not be made available until the parks announce their re-opening dates.
Thank you, Kurt. This is also valuable info. I’m just trying to ride it out to see what happens but any info is greatly appreciated. You and Rick probably saved me a call.
My passes have not been activated yet either. I asked for a full refund due to members of my family being high-risk. The cast member that I spoke with was very friendly and seemed very knowledgeable. He stated that it should be easier to refund our money because the passes had not yet been activated (as opposed to calculating a percentage based on time used). He stated that it would, however, take a while to process them because of limited staffing. He told me that he, and many other cast members, were working from home and that they did would not have the ability to process refunds until they were utilizing computers at WDW. So, no refund until staff returns.
Response for Melissa above
Thanks for the info! I’m content to remain in limbo for now and see what Disney will be able to do for us down the road. I definitely understand that Cast Members can’t know how they’ll handle things until they’re back at work, and frankly, I *also* don’t know if I’ll prefer a refund or not until the parks have reopened and I read some reviews. It makes sense to me that it would be easier to do a return on unused passes — they’re “brand new in box” so to speak! I’m good to just wait and see.
I called the Annual Passholder number you provided and was told since I want to extend our passes to the number of days Disney is closed, no action is needed on my part. Once they open, I’ll be given a new expiration date. I called today at 2pm, was on hold only about 20 min, transferred to wrong extension and was on hold about another 10 min then spoke to correct person, so it wasn’t too bad.
Can you please provide the contact number you used so I can call them. Many tks.
I called #407-939-7277 but it didn’t seem to matter because after I answered all the recorded prompts, I was transferred to the wrong agent. After 20 min on hold, the agent said she handled hotel reservations so i was then transferred to Passholders. She was very helpful and they are all looking forward to Disney opening, of course!
Thank you. Appreciate your help
As always thank you for the info. My husband and I are Platinum annual pass holders. Our current year runs out 5/7/2020. We had used the passes 15 times in the year. I called the VIPASSHOLDER line, waited on hold for over rat minutes, was transferred multiple times and finally received an answer. Get ready, as you aren’t going to believe this, I was told because we visited more than 10 times in the year we weren’t entitled to any refund. Our pass, PLATINUM, is the equivalent of 10 visits. We had reservations, FastPasses and dining reservations for March!
Disney appears to have dropped the ball on this. I am a long time “Disney Person”, traveling from NY many times a year to visit. We always stay on property and spend much money. They are losing out. I don’t know if I’ll ever return and that breaks my hear! It’s bad enough what we are going through up here in NY, I was dreaming about the time when once again I could experience that Disney magic. I think they lost their pixie dust for good! So sad.
Rat should have been 45 minutes, sorry!
Yep! They only value it at 10-12 days and it’s sucks and is not fair. I’ve gone 25 days on my current pass (spring break, summer, Xmas and was going for a second spring break) from Chicago so I assume I would be in the same boat as you. We stay at a Disney resort every time so. During expensive Xmas. As an AP holder, I might not spend the whole day in the park so the value is not the same. Sometimes I go
the morning of my flight for three fast passes, eat and go. I want a 7 day hopper pass instead to use on my next trip.
I agree. I would like Park Hopper pass to use whenever I can as compensation for my unused AP. This is totally unfair and I will never buy another AP!
If your passes have been used 15 or 25 times in a year, when the pass is said to be worth 10-12 visits, how can Disney owe you money?
This is a reply to Mallory. With an annual pass you can visit 365 if you want. We were never told our passes were only valued at 10 days. This is the math Disney has decided to use when it comes to reimbursement. If the parks weren’t closed, I could still be using my passes and had planned on using them. Disney decided I used my passes “enough” to get my money’s worth.
Tom, as always thanks for the update. One thing not mentioned in your article is if they do a “staggered opening“ of the parks. Do you really get the full value of your annual pass if only 2 of the parks are open? Or if only 1/2 of the rides/shows/parades etc. are operational? Would love to hear your thoughts on how that affects the overall “value”of the passes as well.
I don’t see that being something Walt Disney World voluntary takes into account. Perhaps if you complain they’ll do something, but I doubt that.
The reality is that this is pretty catastrophic event, and we’re all going to have to accept some degree of compromise and be flexible in the process.
I agree that this is a catastrophic event and we may need to compromise.
Disney did not cause this. The pandemic is not their responsibility.
Like the whole world, like all of us, Disney is a victim.
Disney shouldn’t be expected to absorb all of the losses that will be a result of this pandemic. THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BE DIFFERENT.
Disney is losing billions, many of their employees are not currently working… Disney is a business, not a magic pot of money whose purpose is to make people happy.
Everyone loses financially here. Disney couldn’t afford to make it right for every single person even if they wanted to.
People need to accept that they may not be entirely happy with their outcome/refund or the future changes to the operation of WDW. I am sure Disney is not happy to be losing billions and billions of dollars. And no one is happy to be losIng people to a deadly virus. .
Oh don’t worry with IGER back at the Wheel we are all going to be paying for Disney’s Losses! Like the say Vegas was not build from winners! Well Disney will make up for its losses from its most loyal fans! IGER is only out for money!
That was my concern as well. It is a high price to pay for a partial experience considering we do not live near WDW and it costs a considerable amount to get there. Maybe for locals it will work but its not fair to others.
I am just happy Disney is doing anything. I don’t know how far away you are but I’m from Melbourne, Australia and will probably not get there for the rest of the year – as we have been told to expect our borders will be closed till the end of the year. I am losing two holidays and have already lost money on some non refundable/ cancellation fees. I don’t expect Disney to refund my pass holder up to December if they open before then. Disney are doing their best and if they put prices up or have to cancel new attractions because they are bleeding money I would prefer they kept mine.
Is there any news on whether they will offer refunds on standard park tickets? I asked Disney UK for a refund for my 14 day tickets scheduled for May but they only offered an extension on time to use them (Sep next year I thinkl). I replied to say that i would prefer a refund and they have blanked me, not even a sorry can’t do. Most un-disney ! What is even more strange is that Disney tickets sold by third parties in the UK are being refunded but my tickets bought directly are not?
My husband and I have been Passholders for many years and we are disgusted the way Passholders are being treated. You sign a contract with Disney in good faith a n d when the tables are turned there is no good faith on Disney”s part. I was on the phone yesterday and got the runaround with no clear answer. My recommendation for Disney is to provide an online form with the ability to check off the option a Passholder wants, not this back and forth with updates.
For those making payments on the annual pass, if you go for the automatic option you end up losing money. They are suspending payments while the parks are closed, but the payments are only a percentage of your total cost. The annual passes required a big down payment. So really they should stop the monthly payments during closure, AND refund a portion of the down payment. I called this morning to request the extension option.
Only had to wait 15 minutes on hold when I called. I called at 7:30 am EST
“Annual Passholders who have paid in full may choose to receive a partial refund for the park closure period.”
I don’t see any reference to prorating from the date when Passholders purchased their tickets determining how much of the year they paid for still remains, such that someone who purchased in February would be entitled to a refund of roughly 11 months. The announcement seems simply to promise a refund based on the length the parks will have been closed and would be the same for everyone whose ticket encompasses that span. Am I missing something here?
You aren’t missing anything–I was simply assuming.
I hope they don’t offer a refund for the closure period, as that won’t be calculable until the parks reopen. That would make more sense from Disney’s perspective, though.
We have Disneyland passes. I think there’s a strong likelihood WDW will open before Disneyland – I think California is going to be stricter than Florida. In that case I’d be tempted to get a refund on my Disneyland pass to put towards a Florida trip instead.
Otherwise, I will just take the extension on the Disneyland pass.
My pass had 8 months left at the time of closure. I’ve used it twice and planned on going one more time. I paid $1200 for the Platinum Plus. If i cancel and get $800 back, I can purchase a 7 day pass w/hopper and water parks for $700 (with no discount) for 1 week. Would you take the refund to save $100 or would the perks of annual beat the $100 savings?! Or take the extension and go one more time?
If you are planning on driving a car, the annual pass saves $25 per day in parking. It also saves 10 percent at table service restaurants and add-on tours. If you plan on doing any of that, definitely keep it.
Are you assuming $800 back or is that what Disney told you. I was told they didn’t know how much of a refund we would get until the parks open back up.
I know that everything is speculation at this point, but do you think we could have a situation where Florida opens and California remains closed for an additional month or two? If so how do you think they would handle the extensions for those of us that have the Premier Pass?
Wouldn’t it be great if the extension period would be # of days closed plus say 30-60 days more for the regular AP? Wouldn’t that be great goodwill? Maybe that would help entice people to go for the extension. That way people who don’t live in Florida have at least a little time to plan and book a flight And hotel if they choose to go. For example, Like Bchicagoteacher said above, school families can only go certain times.
Just a thought…
I’d actually consider going for that option. I had about 7 days “left” on my AP when they closed the parks and had a trip scheduled in that period. The current extension offer is literally useless. I can’t possibly conceive of trying to schedule an interstate trip with small children to occur within 7 days of whenever the parks will open (who knows when that will be). This is especially true because I’d have to get there within at least 2-4 days after the parks reopen so that I have some period of time after we got there to actually go to the parks (for example, I can’t just show up on day 7, because my pass will expire the next day). All that said, I am currently planning on the refund option and I’m sure Disney is doing the best they can to manage this all, it just sucks.
I would think they’ll announce the re-opening with as much advanced notice as possible which would be important to Disney so people could plan better. So if they give you 2 weeks to a month advanced notice then maybe you’d be ok keeping the 7 last days. Anyway after the announcement you should have enough time to decide which option to go with.
Thanks for the reference! I’d also take a 7 day pass instead.
I called and ask about the weekday pass a couple of weeks ago and they had no idea what or how anything was being done. My passes expire in May so if they extend then I will be in blackout..they had no answer for how this was going to be handled so I will just wait it out. They didn’t offer any guidance on if I should get a refund or delay and when I ask about renewal they said if the parks were not open not to renew but then I would lose the 15% discount and would have to make that down payment again so we may not be renewing this year…just a mess..if anyone has info about how this is being handled I would love to know
Love the reference to Columbia House!!!
I have annual water park passes for my family of 5.
We went the end of July 2019 for a week and were planing on a June trip 2020 to the water parks for the week again before the year pass ran out.
I wonder if they will even be able to open the water parks before the end of summer season!!!
If you have been in typhoon lagoon wave pool you know there is no social distancing when that wave hits everyone!!!
If they only extend the pass the Number of days they are closed. And they open after I can go in summer. Then I would loose the summer season as I don’t go to the water parks but in June/July when kids are out of school. If they reopened after summer say August or Sept. and added the down time it puts me at Christmas. That scenario Is a Loose Loose for me.
I highly doubt they will extend it for a year! Hopefully will not get hosed on this one!
“Love the reference to Columbia House!!!”
As a former Columbia House employee, I loved it too!
For those who paid in full I’d imagine they would cancel passes and refund the amount not being used going forward. So if you bought your pass last month and cancelled now they would refund 11 months. We renew each year so the extension is fine by us.
That’s not worth it for me. I
Had a month left. A 1200 pass and only get 100 back When I was going to use it for the for a week that last month. That week is worth five to $600 a person.
I guess the decision as to which option is better depends on whether you think A/P prices in 2021 will be higher or lower than they are now. Any working crystal balls in the audience? 😉
I think aggressive discounts are coming, but Annual Passes are the least-likely to see a reduction in face value pricing. Perhaps something like “get 16 months for the price of 12,” though. Even that I wouldn’t count on, especially if WDW actually gets serious about crowd control.
Putting my money where my mouth is…we aren’t requesting refunds.
Aren’t you the same author who also admitted they would rather stalk bus wait times than wait on hold? Maybe just a little bias.
Nice deep cut on Columbja House!
If you’re an Annual Passholder making monthly payments and want to continue paying you have to call Disney, did I read that correctly. In this case the pass expiration date would be extended to the new opening date.
I just think that if they close for six months I’d rather have half my money back than 6 months added to my annual pass. If they add extra time beyond just the time they were closed I’d be more likely to consider that.
Since they don’t know how long the parks will be closed, how can they issue refunds? I guess they can give some money now and some more later, but that seems very inefficient. Personally, I’m happy to get money back, since I wasn’t planning on going anyway over this period of time. I think that if Disney was smart, they would offer a full extra year on anyone who chooses not to get a partial refund. That way they could avoid giving a lot of refunds and also encourage more people to return to the parks and spend their money there. I’d probably take advantage of that, but if they just offer an extension of the days they’re closed, I’d rather have the cash.
I wonder what the refund will be. They think annual Passes will be used for 12 days during the year. I want a week hopper pass instead of a refund. I was going to use mine for another week vacation since I’m an out of state flying Disney AP holder. As a teacher, I can only go for certain weeks during the year. Opening in September does not help me.
Agreed, same exact thing here (school counselor)!
Thank you for the information! Do we know if there is a deadline by which we have to choose the refund option, or forego it? Also, will refunds be made immediately, or after we know how long the parks are closed? Thank you!
“Do we know if there is a deadline by which we have to choose the refund option, or forego it?”
We do not, but we’d recommend requesting a refund before the parks reopen. Since there should be an announcement before that occurs, you likely have at least one month to request the refund.
Thank you! I do have another question actually. Is there any information available about how refunds will be calculated? We purchased our annual pass as an upgrade from a four day Florida resident ticket. It cost less to upgrade to a whole year than we paid for the original four days. Would that reduce the amount of refund we would be eligible for? Thank you for any information!