LONG POST WARNING...
Did you upgrade from Gold or did you buy a brand new Platinum AP?
Do you have new pass price or renewal price? And if renewal, when did/does the clock start ticking?
We *had* Platinum plus, but since water parks aren't open, we were asked if we wanted Platinum or Gold. We are hoping to go next Easter and Christmas breaks, so Platinum it is. Our family of 4 had a saga** with annual passes, so the ones bought today were the NEW Platinum with DVC discount price ($899 + tax) They sold us (my 4yo) a renewal but made a note that it should be extended to coincide with the expiration date of the 3 new passes once we activated them.
I called one day earlier than you, now 10 days still no callback. Wondering what to do, is there a different number that I can actually reach these guys?
I have only called 1-407-WDW-PASS or whatever the pass holder line is. One time the DVC AP page looked different so I called member services and they sent my to the AP line. So don't do that, it's a waste of time.
Did you cancel AP during the shutdown until now time period? I think the October 1 announcement was for people who had canceled by that August 11 date, they were trying to get people to commit to renewing or canceling outright.
If you canceled by August 11, did you get your refund yet? Ours came in late September.
[ I think I lucked out with knowledgeable CMs who were willing to draw some inferences on various calls - when I waited for over an hour on hold to cancel the APs, I asked the CM when we might be able to buy new APs, since we wanted to be able to make park reservations for 2021 trips soon. They said something like, my best guess is October, because I think they want to *finish* dealing with all the APs that were affected by the actual shutdown between March and July, and then they will start selling new APs.]
Even though your last call was a day earlier than mine, I might have been higher up in the queue than you - I called on/around
October 1 (told 48 hours for call back),
October 5 ("it's been over 48 hours" ... "oh sorry yeah we're backed up, let me get your info again"), and
October 7 (**see SAGA below**). Each time I waited 60-90 minutes on hold, and the people I spoke to on October 1 and 7 clearly had some ability to see some info about our passes, but the October 5 person did not (they were a Disney Vacations CM who normally sold magic your way packages, handled hotel reservations, etc.) So I may have been in the queue as early as October 1 but with some extra special problems...
Anyway - good luck - maybe give them a call on Monday or Tuesday if you haven't heard by then?
Our travel dates are 9/23/21 - 10/8/21. I'm in the same boat and a bit frustrated but have decided to go ahead and purchase basic tickets so I can secure park reservations sooner rather than later. I was told by MS that there's a separate park reservation inventory for those who have rooms booked as opposed to those who only have theme park tickets in hand and that I shouldn't worry about getting in. However, I want to err on the side of caution and make them now and tick that off my to-do list.
I plan Disney trips when I'm stressed, and then cancel them later. I have canceled 3 2020 trips so far, and now have a November 2020 trip at the Swan on Marriott points (that's looking unlikely, sadly), 3 DVC trips booked in 2021 so far, and a Christmas 2021 trip "planned." I told the August 11 CM (purple, above) about how I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get park reservations for my early 2021 trips, and they said not to worry; if staying on site, we would be able to get in, for sure. They were spot on with when I'd be able to get a new AP, so I wouldn't worry too much. I booked November 2020 a few weeks ago and have yet to bother with park reservations. I think it will be fine. I am trying to get used to this new, relaxed, Disney planning ...
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**the
SAGA: maybe get a cup of coffee to stay awake reading this:
Family of 4, we were halfway through our 2018 APs when our now 4yo turned 3. It didn't make $ sense to buy a ticket for one of our trips and wait to renew - it was too much $. So we bought her a new AP that was 6 months off of the rest of ours. Not a problem until 2020 and we have to start canceling trips.
They extend our APs due to covid, but not enough - DD2 is extended to August and then later to September 2020, the rest of us to February 2021, like a day before President's Week (which we decided not to go anyway) and then they extend again to sometime in March 2021, which is again a week or two before Easter break. I wait until the last day to cancel because if Disney extends just a little more, our Easter 2021 trip will be covered and then we can renew more cheaply too.
August 11 - I spend a few hours with Disney CM canceling all 4 APs (so I think). CM seems very knowledgeable and was able to also located DD2's AP which was not a consecutive number with the rest of ours. Puts in request to cancel all.
August 11 - late September: Check Disney Visa account frequently - no refund issued... waiting and wondering how much $ we will get back. FINALLY, three sizable checks arrive. We are happy - Park hopping over Christmas and New Years cost about $30/day. Wonder what happened to DD2's check. Maybe it is taking longer because hers was a completely different number ... no check comes ...
Oct 1 - We can call pass holder line if we canceled APs due to covid, and get in a virtual queue (haha) to buy new APs! Yay! I spend 60-90 min on hold, then a long time on the phone giving the CM our information to buy 4 new APs. CM can see that we called to cancel on Aug. 11, remarks that we do qualify, will get a call back in 48 hours. "We aim to do 24-48 hours, but it's been busy. So if you haven't gotten a call back in 48 hours, definitely call back and remind us ... "
No call back.
Oct. 5 - another afternoon spent on hold, at least it's on speaker so everyone can learn the words to the Canada song, andI can do some work. This CM just takes our info again, and says they have no visibility into the AP system whether we qualify or not, clearly says they're just passing the info on to the AP people ... Again says, "we are trying to call everyone back within 48 hours, but we are kind of bogged down ... "
Oct. 7 - looking on DVC and WDW sites, maybe I can buy a new AP online? Nope.
On a complete whim, I go to
MDE and click on "tickets" looking for maybe a magic number to call and give a secret password to buy new APs. Nope, EXCEPT:
I see an expired AP for DD2 that "expired" in September! NOOOOOOOO" Call the AP line again, wait on hold over 90 minutes, but at least I got someone who escalated everything. Long story short:
-they have a record I called to cancel everyone's AP back in August, but somehow DD2's didn't get canceled and its end date just ... ran.
(on hold, escalate, escalate, on hold ...)
-we can process the refund now, as if we'd done it in August ... I say, ok, but is this going to set us back in getting new APs for everyone?
("hold on" ... more escalation ... more escalation ... )
-Actually the refund you would get is a little less than the difference between a new pass purchase and the renewal discount, how about you just renew, and get the benefit of a little more $? I say, oh ok ... and then, WAIT NO because if I renew now our Christmas 2021 trip wouldn't be covered, and then we'd be all out of sync with the other 3 APs.
("hold on" ... more escalation... )
-how about we renew DD2's pass, and I'll put a note to extend it so it ends when your new passes end? (ok! deal!)
The CM then gave me all this info about our call so if I had to talk to someone new and explain the situation, they could all look it up. They opened up MDE somehow (?) for 24 hours for me to renew DD2's expired pass online.
Oct. 16 - GOT THE CALL. purchased new APs for the rest of us, and confirmed with the CM that DD2's AP, even though it's a renewal, won't get an expiration date until the rest of our new APs are activated and get an end date. She took credit card info on the phone the whole call was like 5 minutes, and when I refreshed MDE, all our new APs are showing with a 2030 end date. YAYYYYYY and we can make park reservations for every day that we have an onsite stay. YAYYYYY.
I have to say, even with some snafus - not canceling DD2's pass with the rest of ours, the delays in calling back, etc. Disney managed to make it all right.