Disney has been weathering some criticism recently for their handling of the theme park and resort closures due to COVID-19 in the United States. From refusing to suspend annual pass payments to only guaranteeing Cast Members pay through April 18th (despite the shutdown now lasting “indefinitely”), many have criticized how Disney has responded to this unprecedented situation. And though we don’t have any updates about the above situations, Disney has announced a new bonus offer for guests whose vacations were impacted by the closure, a new policy is enacted for DVC Members, plus Disney has quietly stopped taking reservations for several months…
1. No reservations available for resorts or dining from now until June 1
Though Disney has said that their parks in the United States will remain closed “until further notice” they have also announced that they will only begin accepting reservations for dining and resorts for travel dates starting June 1 and later. Of course, they have added a caveat that if an earlier resort opening occurs, they will begin accepting earlier reservations, but with this recent update it looks like Disney is preparing for a VERY long closure.
2. Free dining deal offered for guests who re-book impacted vacations
Guests who booked a vacation package or room reservation to stay at a Disney Resort hotel from March 16 through May 31, 2020 are now being offered a new deal that includes complementary free dining when they re-book their vacation. This offer not valid for reservations cancelled before March 1, 2020, and cannot be combined with other deals.
3. Disney sets new Disney Vacation Club cancellation policy
Disney Vacation Club members who had previously made reservations using points that have been affected by the resort shutdown have been issued the following guidance regarding DVC points spent on reservations:
- All reservations scheduled for arrival during the closure time will be automatically cancelled by Disney Vacation Club on a week-by-week basis.
- Vacation Points returned due to a cancellation of a resort reservation will not be placed in a holding account and will be returned to the current Use Year. This applies to all reservations checking in within the next 30 days.
- When a reservation involving Borrowed Points is cancelled, the Borrowed Points will be returned to the Use Year they were borrowed from. This applies to all reservations regardless of arrival date. Please allow up to 15 business days for this process to be completed.
Though these new policies should help guests directly impacted by the COVID-19 closings, Disney has said that Reservation Points returned due to a cancellation of a Disney Collection Resort reservation will be still be returned as Reservation Points to the current Use Year and reservations made with points banked from the previous Use Year will be returned as Banked Points to the current Use Year. Guests who used one-time use Points will have those points returned exactly as they are to the current Use Year.
As always, while this situation is evolving, all travelers should check out the CDC’s official site here, which has information on the virus and how to prevent its spread.
