Disney Parks have been closed for nearly three weeks now, and with a statewide Stay at Home order in effect for Florida until at least May 3, 2020, it looks like it is going to be a LONG time before parks reopen. With that in mind, Disney has made two big announcements regarding policies at its parks going forward in regards to both payments for annual passholders as well as ongoing payments for Cast Members while the theme parks are closed.
Disney Cast Members to be furloughed without pay beginning later this month
Unfortunately Disney announced earlier this week that non-union Cast Members, which have thus far been paid through the shutdown, will have their paychecks stopped after five weeks of compensation on April 19. Right now this furlough does not apply to union employees, but sources say that Disney is working with union representatives this week to work out some kind of deal. In addition to to theme park Cast Members, non-essential Disney Cruise Line, Disney Store, and Film Studio employees are also included under the furlough. Though we don’t know exactly how many non-union employees are affected, it is estimated that the entire Disney Parks, Experiences and Products segment has around 177,000 Cast Members in total, with the vast majority affected by this furlough.
Disney has stated that it will maintain health and insurance benefits coverage, paying both employer and employee contributions during this furlough. In addition, Cast Members currently enrolled in Disney Aspire will continue to have access to the education program.
Though many Cast Members will be able to resume their positions when the parks eventually re-open, with no end in sight for the COVID-19 Pandemic, under the furlough they are allowed to apply for unemployment assistance in their respective state until their job is reinstated.
Disney Annual Passholders no longer have to pay monthly
Perhaps bowing to public pressure, Disney announced this week that all automatic payments for Walt Disney World and Disneyland Annual Passholders on monthly payment plans will stop for the remainder of the theme parks’ closure. Walt Disney World and Disneyland will also retroactively refund payments made between March 14 through April 4, 2020. In addition, Annual Passholders who have already paid for their passes in full can opt to receive a partial refund for the closure period.
However, even though these refunds sound nice, there is a bit of a catch here, as Disney has said that guests who take advantage of this option will not have their annual passes extended while the parks are closed, and their expiration dates won’t change.
Though Annual Pass payments will be suspended automatically, Walt Disney World Annual Passholders who have questions can contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support for assistance at (407) 939-7277. Disneyland guests can call Annual Passholder Member Services at (714) 781-7277 for assistance as well.
As we’ve said previously, there is no way to know exactly how long theme parks will be dealing with the effects of Coronavirus, but while this situation is continuing, all travelers should check out the CDC’s official site here, which has information on the virus and how to prevent its spread.
