Disneyland Annual Passholders have undoubtedly been the most impacted by Disneyland and Disney California Adventure’s lengthy closure — and, now, many are resorting to refunds since it doesn’t appear that the parks will be allowed to reopen anytime in the near future.
Governor Newsom has said that California theme parks won’t be able to reopen anytime soon – and that has many annual Disneyland pass-holders now asking for refunds.
Catherine Mathews of Rancho Cucamonga bought four annual passes to Disneyland in June of 2019. She says she was originally told it would take 8 to 10 weeks to get her prorated refund.
“Last week I called and a lady told me I was in a queue and when my name comes up something will happen,” she said. “Nothing has happened.”
Orange County resident Travis Griffith would take his son to Disneyland almost every week since 2015 until the pandemic shut the park down in March.
His 3 annual passes expired in September, but when he called last month for his refund, he says he was told a small team was working on refunds, and he would have to wait another 2 to 3 months.
Griffith is owed about $1,800.
“But it doesn’t matter if it’s 1,800 bucks, or someone making payments who is owed 200 bucks,” he said. “People need their money right now, and it’s not fair to keep it when they know people are struggling.”
Credit: Disney
Clearly some Disneyland Resort goers are upset about the current Annual Passholder refund situation, but the CBS article does note that this is unlikely to have a long-term effect on fans’ overall opinion of Disney Parks:
“From what I understand there has been few, if any direct communication between Disney proactively to its 1 million annual pass holders telling them exactly what it’s plans are,” Koenig said, adding that the current difficulties were unlikely to sour some of Disneyland’s most loyal fans.
A Disney spokesperson told CBS 2:
…this is an unprecedented time and they are processing refunds, but it takes time because everyone is due a different amount based on when their pass expired and which pass they have.
They said customers service will be reaching out to both of the people we interviewed to get them their refunds.
As a Disneyland Passholder myself, I can attest to the fact that we have received little communication from Disney Parks regarding our passes over the course of the continued closure. However, Passholder services have been extremely helpful in clarifying any questions — if you are a Disneyland Resort Annual Passport owner with unresolved inquiries, contact them directly for assistance.
At this time, Annual Passholders on a monthly payment plan can expect their passes to expire on their original expiration date. Annual Passholders who were paid in-full can expect that their passes will be automatically extended for the length of the COVID-19 closure.
What do you think about the Disneyland Annual Passholder refund backlog?
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Credit: Disney
