NEWS: Disney Vacation Club Cancellation Policy During Temporary Closure

With the closure of the parks, many Disney Vacation Club members have also had their vacations canceled. Because members are using points with expiration dates, in some cases borrowed points, etc. handling canceled DVC reservations is trickier than just processing a refund. We recently received an update on vacation points for reservations checking in within the next 30 days.

The full notice is below.

Dear Members,
I know the last couple of weeks have been a challenge for all of us. As we navigate the rapidly changing COVID-19 environment, we continue to make decisions focused on the health and wellbeing of our Members, Guests, and Cast Members. Today I want to share another update with you.

As a result of this unprecedented pandemic and in line with direction provided by health experts and government officials, Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort will remain closed until further notice. This closure affects all Disney Vacation Club properties, including Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort and Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa.

During this temporary closure, it is our priority to continue providing you with helpful and efficient service, even as the majority of our Cast Members are working remotely, including those in Member Services and Member Accounting.

Until the decision is made as to when the resorts will reopen, all reservations scheduled for arrival during the closure time will be automatically canceled by Disney Vacation Club on a week-by-week basis. Members do not need to cancel the reservation online or contact Member Services. In light of the unusual circumstances and to provide more flexibility, Disney Vacation Club established a temporary cancellation policy to supplement our existing cancellation rules. Details include:

• 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 canceled, 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.

The following existing cancellation rules continue to apply:

• Reservation Points returned due to a cancellation of a Disney Collection Resort reservation will be returned as Reservation Points to the current Use Year.
• Reservations made with points Banked from the previous Use Year will be returned as Banked Points to the current Use Year.
• One-time use Points will be returned to the current Use Year as one-time use Points.

In addition, some Members may have questions about reservation cancellations involving Points that are set to expire soon. At this time, we are evaluating the banking and expiration policy and the use of certain Points impacted by the closures. As a part of our evaluation process, we need to be considerate of the impact any changes could have on future inventory availability for the Membership overall. A decision will be made when we better understand how long COVID-19 will impact our operations.

As we anticipate high call volume in the days ahead, we encourage you to use the Disney Vacation Club website for general information – and we ask that you contact Member Services only if you need assistance with an existing reservation. Any Member who would like to book a new Disney Vacation Club Resort reservation or modify an existing reservation may do so through the Member Online Booking Tool.

We realize that disruptions related to COVID-19 are altering your family’s vacation plans, and we thank you for your understanding during this unprecedented time. It is our commitment to stay focused on serving you with ongoing communication and updates.

We look forward to “welcoming you home” as soon as we can.

Stay well,
Terri Schultz
Senior Vice President
Disney Vacation Club, Guided Adventures & Expeditions and Golden Oak