Disneyland and Walt Disney World began closing in mid-March and no reopening dates have been announced yet. While the company is not offering refunds on nonrefundable and nontransferable tickets, it has issued refunds for annual passholders and has introduced additional guidelines for ticketholders and package deals.

Disneyland_California_G.jpg
Disney has updated its refund policy for annual passholders ©Disney

On Monday, the Walt Disney Company announced that annual passholders will see their payments refunded or waived throughout the closures. Initially, the company had continued to take payment amid the COVID-19 shutdown but the policy was reversed this week. In a statement released on Monday, the company said "effective 5 April, 2020, we will automatically stop and waive all upcoming monthly payments while the theme parks are closed. We will also retroactively refund payments made between 14 March through 4, April, 2020." 

Payments will resume once the parks reopen. The company said expiration dates will not be extended and passes will expire upon their originally scheduled expiration dates.

Walt Disney World remains empty during business hours due to the Coronavirus threat
Walt Disney World remains empty during business hours due to the Coronavirus threat ©Alex Menendez/Getty Images

Meanwhile, customers who purchased nonrefundable and nontransferable won't get a refund as per Disney's policy. However, they can postpone their visit. According to the website, unused single-day tickets and wholly unused multi-day tickets are valid for a future visit through the end of their validity period. Multi-day ticketholders who made their first visit to the parks between 28 February and 13 March will see their 13-day expiration period extended to 15 December 2020 if they have days left to fulfil.

The Walt Disney Company is also working with guests to refund or reschedule their travel plans due to closures. If you had a reservation for a Disney hotel, you can modify your existing travel dates or make a new date for a reservation from 1 June 2020 or later. The company has confirmed that guests can modify these dates if the resorts open before or after that time.

Outside of the US, Disneyland Paris customers whose tickets expire during closures will see their validity date automatically extended to 31 March 2021. Those who purchased holiday packages are being offered a voucher for the same value that is valid for 18 months. Alternatively, customers with a booking valid from now until 30 June 2020, can rebook at the same price for an arrival before 1 October 2020, if they rebook before 15 May.

Keep up to date with Lonely Planet's latest travel-related COVID-19 news here.

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