Now that Governor Ron DeSantis has approved Disney World’s proposal, Disney will officially reopen July 11th. Disney World’s reopening has come with a LOT of changes. At this time, Disney is no longer accepting new hotel reservations and guests cannot purchase tickets as Disney rolls out their new reservation system.
Mickey Waffle at Magic Kingdom
Last night, Disney shared that ALL FastPasses and dining reservations were suspended for the time being. They also shared that they were canceling the Disney Dining Plan through September 2021.
And tonight, many guests are receiving an email with even more new information. Huge thanks to DFB reader @ashleyrakow who shared her email screen shot with us so that WE can share it with you!
Ashley’s original Disney World vacation was canceled as a result of the theme park closures, and upon rescheduling her trip to a July date, she originally received a “consolation” Free Disney World Dining Plan as part of the new vacation.
According to the email, Disney “will be modifying your package to remove the dining plan,” since all currently booked Disney Dining Plans have now been canceled. The email goes on to say, “As an accommodation, the price of the package will be adjusted to reflect a 35% savings on the room portion.”
Interesting! When info on the 35% discount was released yesterday, Disney had shared that you would have to rebook to a later date in order to receive the 35% discount. This no longer seems to be the case.
The email goes on to share that, “This modified package and price will be provided in a new confirmation. You will receive a refund of the difference in the package price if you have already paid in full or a reduction in amount due if you have not yet made final payment.”
©ashleyrakow
Therefore, this 35% discount was automatically added to the rescheduled package in place of the Free Disney World Dining Plan.
If Disney releases more information regarding this discount or the Disney Dining Plan, we will be sure to let you know. We know things are constantly changing and are hard to process, so we’re here to help. If you have any questions at all, please let us know and we will do our very best to get you the answers you need!! 🙂
Read more about canceled dining reservations and the Disney Dining Plan here.
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Had you purchased a Disney Dining Plan? Let us know in the comments below.
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My email I received today regarding the Disney Dining plan purchased with my resort reservation says nothing about the 35% discount.
‘As we plan for the reopening of our Disney Resort Hotels and Theme Parks, we are keeping the wellbeing of our Guests and Cast in mind. And we’re here to help you as we introduce new measures focused on delivering an enjoyable and magical experience for everyone who visits.
To manage attendance and foster physical distancing during this unprecedented time, we will be changing and suspending some Theme Park and Disney Resort hotel experiences, including the temporary suspension of Extra Magic Hours.
In addition, we will also be introducing a new Theme Park reservation system. You will receive access to the Theme Park reservation system before new tickets are sold to other Guests.
Unfortunately, these new measures have also required us to cancel any dining reservations, experience reservations and FastPass+ selections you may have made. You will be provided with early access to book new dining and experiences.
As a result of physical distancing, capacity in restaurants and availability of dining experiences is very limited and certain experiences such as Character dining cannot be provided. Because of this, we have also made the difficult decision to cancel and temporarily no longer offer Disney dining plans.
We recognize the inconvenience this poses and we’re deeply sorry. We will be modifying your package to remove the dining plan. The price of the package will be adjusted accordingly and your modified package and price will be provided in a new confirmation. You will receive a refund of the difference in the package price if you have already paid in full or a reduction in amount due if you have not yet made final payment.
There’s nothing you need to do at this time. We will be contacting you shortly with more details on reservations.
At this time, while systems update, we are temporarily suspending all modifications. However, you have the option of canceling your entire reservation at any time.
We’re putting a great deal of thought into helping you return to the magic and appreciate your patience.’ :(?
We have a trip that we have not cancelled starting June 28-July 6. Obviously that isn’t happening. We received the same email stating the 35% discount as our original reservation came with free dining. Does this mean we would reschedule for a later date and receive the discount??
We just got our letter about 35% off the resort portion and figured we’ll save about the value of the free dining plan we had. So far, we will still plan to go in September. But let’s see what other surprises may be revealed.
I’m a UK guest with a trip booked in late September, I haven’t had an email like this yet. Only yesterday with a very vague, ‘we have change some things that might effect your trip but we will let we know in do course’. So I only found out my dining plan and reservations being cancelled from DFB. To rebook the same time next year the hotel price is up 20% so 35% (should that be offered) isn’t as great as a it sounds!
By not receiving the same information from Disney directly and reservations starting to disappear from my plans – I’m concerned that as a international guest Disney May not allow us to come but are not letting me know that yet. There doesn’t seem to be any reference of where guests can travel from in the re-opening details, so do you have any information on this? And where international guests stand in all this?
Plus, having not received any of this from Disney, do you think I should reach out or wait for them to contact me?
I received the same email last night. 35% off your room rate? So those in slightly more expensive rooms but with the same dining plan as say someone in a cheaper resort get a larger discount where both lose the dining plan? In doing the math, it still doesn’t come close to making up for the lost dining plan. I don’t know, this whole thing still leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I just think they have to do better to make up for everything being cancelled and forcing patrons to wear masks… or just open up as the state removes all restrictions and be done with it.
Melissa, if it makes you feel better to reach out, definitely do. Info is still evolving, but hopefully they can get answers for you!
Lisa, I would expect yet. Call Disney to clarify!
We have decided to go in September. I am fine with the 35% off the room portion. I like it better than the free dining. We don’t eat much and I dislike restaurants so this works great for me. I hope they add back EMH and fireworks by September. Ok either way. Have a magical day!!
Serena, it appears to be that the 35% reduction email went to those who got the DDP when they were forced to rebook their trips during the closure. I’m not sure what your situation is, but I recommend you call Disney to inquire.
I notice that one person above said they did the math and think the 35% discount will make up the difference of what the food will be but I’m not sure that mine will. When I travel to Disneyland or Disney World I always budget for about $50 (low end) per day per person for food. It was difficult to figure out just the room portion last night as we had a complete package and I’m not sure how much the room portion is and how much are our tickets. But with my best guesstimate it seems like we will only be credited about $700 total. And that’s a 6 night stay with 4 guests. And that doesn’t nearly come out to $50 per person per day. I was almost in tears last night because now I am not sure that we can afford to go.
So our booked was NOT a rescheduled booking, and they are taking 35% off it. So they must be doing this for all current reservations who had the free dining .
Hi team, thanks for the reply. I did send an email to hopefully someone at Disney that will be able to ‘listen’. The sitting on the phone for over an hour to be told nothing can be done right now. Is hard!
Thanks, for all you do here to help give input. This whole thing is hard. With having spent literally months planning for it to all be gone is disheartening. This trip was my mom’s dream for my family. She unexpectedly passed away so we have still been trying to make it happen. Now, to have planned for so long, to navigate all the uncertainties to loose the fast passes, dinning plans, extra hours and shorter hours at the parks. It is just hard. Thanks again. Hoping for the best but very discouraged. Have a great day everyone.
So after planning this vacation for almost a year, making character dining reservations four months ago everything except the room is going to be cancelled?? No discount mentioned in the email just everything they are taking away. Where is the magic? I save money on the dining plan as I book every meal so my child gets to see all the characters. I can’t believe there will not be an incentive to keep this reservation.
So we have two rooms at the pop century booked for 8 nights with dining plan for 6 adults (as defined by Disney). Cost of the dining plan on its own is $3,744. If the cost of a room is $178 per night, Disney wants to give us a 35% discount, or $997. How is that equitable? That gives each adult $21 to spend on food each day – hardly the same as a character dining meal, a quick service meal, 2 snacks and refilable mug. Seems to me they should credit the cost of the dining plan to the package, not a room discount.
For those of us who are DVC members and had to reschedule a trip what about us? A 35% room discount obviously doesn’t help us at ll.
George, still lots of unanswered questions about DVC members. Hopefully they’ll release more info soon. We will update when they do.
To Serena:
I could be mistaken, but I THINK the 35% discount would only apply to anyone that had snagged Free Dining Plan either through re-booking OR, like myself, when they ran the promo earlier this year. I think the 35% is to make up for the fact that those guests are losing free dining on top of all the other inconveniences everyone is experiencing. DFB–Please correct me if I am wrong though!
Serena, I’m so sorry for your loss. I can imagine that makes this whole situation uniquely difficult. I agree that waiting on the line only to discover the cast member on the other end of the line doesn’t have the info you need is a frustrating experience. We’ll keep updating as soon as we learn anything about the reopening process (and spend time on the line or chat asking questions, too!), and hopefully we can help some of y’all sort through it all.
Has anyone heard anything about those whose trips got cancelled this and spring and rebooked with the room discount instead of free dining? We are at PO-Riverside in early August with the room discount, which was 15% or 20%. Are we just out of luck and going to be paying more than those who rebooked with the free dining plan? Seems like they should just give everyone the 35% off and treat everyone equally at this point.
Chris, it may be that the situation is evolving. We received comments from readers in the past 24 hours who received the 35% off discount who had not been rebooked with DDP but who had already purchased it. It might be worth a call to Disney to see what they say.
My partner and I booked in April 2019 for my 30th birthday present but chose to go this September to avoid Stat Wars mania. Getting the free dining plan was the one thing that made my partner (who isnt a Disney fan) willing to book such an expensive holiday as for us it wouldhave been a major saving as we are going for two weeks. We booked through Virgin Holidays and we are not getting anywhere with our queries.
Wish we would have just gone last year and braved the crowds!
I believe it was K and MV (sorry if I’m incorrect) but they are thinking the same way I’m thinking. If you only have 2 guests in your room then the 35% discount may work for you. But we have 4 guests staying at the Port Orleans French quarter for 6 nights. I received a $650 discount. If I divide that by 4 people over 6 days it’s $27 per day per guest. I’m sorry but that is a crappy deal. I was promised 2 meals and 2 snack per day per guest and $27 a day per guest isn’t nearly enough!
DFB Sarah
Hi Sarah
I’m now seeing this message in other blogs can you please confirm
Guests who booked resort hotel reservations with a Free Dining package for dates between May 28, 2020 and September 26, 2021 will receive an automatic cancellation of their Disney Pining Plan. These guests will be able to rebook their vacation for a later date with a 35% room discount instead.
UPDATE: Disney has since removed all mentions of the 35% room discount, as well as an end date for cancellations. It’s unclear why the verbiage has changed, and whether the 35% discount will still be offered.)
So as I’ve said previously since my reservations are July 7 I’m not eligible?
Mary, I think it’s all a little unclear right now. Disney has changed some of their language, which I’m hypothesizing is a way to give themselves a little more wiggle room when they’re trying to address all the things that need to be addressed (of course I could be wrong — that’s just what seems logical to me). I would say that it sounds like you’re in the thick of all these cancellations, which must make this very stressful. The fact that Disney isn’t yet providing all the info guests need really compounds that. But we’ll keep digging and trying to clarify. And you might want to reach out to Disney (again, if you have already) to see what they tell you. (Again, they could still hedge because it sounds like things aren’t being made fully clear to the folks on the phones yet, either.) There’s so much speculation out there, we’re really going to try to bring you (and everyone else) the most straightforward, clear info we can… when we can. 🙂
DFB SARAH
Thank you for listening again! I very much appreciate it!
It’s ok I had a trip planned for March 29 – April 1 for room only as a Passholder celebrating my successful neck surgery and not being paralyzed. I was so excited to go to Disney even though it was without rides but last weekend of one magnet and beginning of second And get to go to jellyroll two nights. We were told we would get food when rebooked if by May 31 when I called to rebook I was told in middle of May that offer was cancelled and then they tried to say I needed to buy passes with it too even though that is not what I originally had So my warning to anyone who believes they are going to get anything from Disney even as a Passholder and it is in writing you might as well use that piece of paper as toilet paper because Disney World sure does not keep their words on anything. They say one thing and change their minds when it suited them. Worst part is I have been coming here since 1971 when they opened and am a stockholder thanks to my parents seen service go downHill in resorts and parks in Florida and now I just don’t trust a word they say
Hi, I’m a UK guest and we have only had 1 vague email from Disney and when I called and waited 168mins to speak to someone they said wait for a further email.
Friday the announcement regarding dining was released. We paid mega bucks to stay again but free ddp made it worth it and now we are being told despite what we booked and paid for the ddp is an optional extra disney can chose to not provide us with and we have no recourse.
All my reservations have gone including for the lightsabres and droids but still no actually booking specific information. We will move our holiday to universal if Disney’s offering is worthless but we need some form of communication from Disney first.
I am quite disturbed. I planned a trip to disney with my family back in March. Due to Covid it was cancelled. As a result, Disney offered us a free dining plan if we were to rebook by Sept. 26th 2020. So of course we rebooked in Sept. and were quite excited about this wonderful opportunity. Then on May 28th, 2020 I suddenly heard our free dining plan was cancelled. I couldn’t believe it!!! We were given such a great deal and than it was taken away after we booked by Sept. 2020. We now have been offered a 35% discount for each night. This totaling about $700 savings , a far cry from the $1600 or more we would have saved on the dining plan. How is this considered acceptable? Not only is this quite embarrassing for Disney, but also inconsiderate for the many people who have spent hours planning and rescheduling based on a false promise. Now, I have much reservation on whether I should keep my trip to disney or plan on going to Universal and/or another Florida resort.
When are UK guest going to receive some information. We booked in 2019 for our family trip this September. We have received one vague email saying they will be in contact and then the various cancellations emails but nothing to confirm what we are being offered and choices for rebooking etc. When are Disney going to communicate with their overseas guests??
Not only that, but those doing the rebooking for Value – All Star Movies, were told they were required to pay the higher full price of room ($164.95) vs the available Sun&Fun deal for exact same room ($134.95) for the exact same dates in order to get the free dining. The Disney rep actually changed my reservation from the $134 Sun&Fun I had reserved to the full higher price so they could add DDP. (I agreed to pay thirty bucks a night more for the sole purpose to get the dining because for four people the DDP was worth far more than $30/day. )
So now, my $57 day-35% discount on room minus the $30 upcharge to get said DDP means they are taking away $170day in food in exchange for $27.
So I am getting ripped off for $143 a night. On top of rebooking three times and paying all the associated flight costs.
But they have us over a barrel, right? I mean, when the March trip canceled and kids were so sad, I rebooked in these uncertain times when cash was super tight only because of the free dining offer and told the kids. I never would have rebooked without the dining sweetening the deal and making it worth the sacrifice. Now, what do I tell the kids — sorry, even though Disney promised us a way to make this happen as a thank you for our loyalty, they are now ripping me off during a pandemic financial crisis for $143 a night so we can’t go?
Alicia, I really wish I had an answer for you. The best I can do is promise we’re watching for the info and will report ASAP when we see anything.
We Are from the UK have booked with TUI. We have have not any communication at all until most of our dining had gone from MDE and then we get a raft of email one for each dining cancellation.
Still have had no communication on the cancelling of our dining plan which of course is a significant change to the package we bought.
Will have to wait and see if we get anything next week.
I understand everyone’s frustration. I had the free dining taken away as well. The 35 percent discount is a slap in the face. I sent Disney an email to that effect. More people need to send emails to Disney and complain. Make your voices heard!
I am n the uk, I called today and was advised no decision made for sept bookings and if I make any changes I would be charged a change fee or if I cancel I would lose my deposit. Recommended I wait couple of weeks as they should hopefully have info within the next week or so.
Thanks for sharing, Agnes!
Hello! I am curious if anyone has heard about what will happen for those who booked cash stays during the original July Free Dining offered back in January? We have July 5-10 on Peak FD Disney Resort Hotel Pkg plus Disney DP at Boardwalk Inn. I would like to reschedule either the same week in DVC side of Boardwalk if that is all that is open (hopefully with the 35% off to compensate for the loss of free dining) or at a later date in July. We know the parks won’t officially be opened yet July 5-10th but we are DVC members and may qualify for soft openings. We also need to modify our hopper tickets that were part of the package requirements. I originally intended to upgrade them to Gold APs so we would have them for our next DVC trip in February so we might qualify for soft openings there as well. Worst case we would like to reschedule to later in July. I have received reminders/messages about our final payment being due and now late but not one message about modifyng or refunding tickets or rooms. So far our “past due” payment is not worthy of any assistance. I can’t imagine how it makes sense for Disney to expect people to wait until less than 4 weeks out to have ANY idea what their options are other than cancelling. If anyone knows more on any of my questions/concerns, please share. Thanks!
35% discount on room if rebooking for next year would be great but I bet it’s only if you’ve booked direct with Disney. I’m one of hundreds of Virgin customers still waiting to hear from them with any information and I’m willing to bet we won’t be offered any discount! ☹️
Janey1a we are in the UK and booked direct with Disney. Got the generic email over a week ago saying ‘don’t contact us we will contact you’ but nothing since. I have a feeling we won’t see the 35% discount and think Disney will let us all down. We spend thousands there every year and I am really disappointed with their handling of this so unless they give us an decent incentive we won’t be back. We will just have to wait and see. I appreciate that this is a difficult time but they have had plenty of time to prepare so could have given their guests more details and support before now.
Bex84 when are you due to go? We are in UK and still waiting to hear aswell it seems they aren’t contacting UK guests which is unfair and strange to say the least
We are also from the UK and due to go to a Orlando in September. We have also only received the generic email with no information and had all the reservations cancelled. Have chatted via the app with Disney and emailed them and called them – got the same response – we haven’t yet been informed what will be happening for overseas guests. It’s ridiculous! We need information now to make plans – we have to pay our balance by mid July and they told me if we cancel now we lose our deposit. What??
We go every year and felt sure Disney would be on top of this but their customer support has been appalling. Universal are putting them to shame. Still no further forward and no idea what to do.
UK emails going out as follows:
Dear Guest,
As we plan for the reopening of our Disney Resort Hotels and Theme Parks, we are keeping the well-being of our Guest and Cast Members in mind. We want to assure you that we are here to help you as we introduce new measures focused on delivering an enjoyable and magical experience for everyone who visits.
To manage attendance and foster physical distancing during this unprecedented time, we will be changing and suspending some Theme Park experiences and our Water Parks will remain closed until further notice. Some Disney Resort Hotel experiences will also be adjusted and Extra Magic Hours will be temporarily suspended. You can find out more about these changes on the Experience Update page here. As more information becomes available about these changes it will be updated on this page, so please check back regularly.
In addition, we will also be introducing a new Theme Park reservation system. You will receive access to this new system before new tickets are sold to other guests. More details about the new Theme Park reservation system will follow shortly. It is important that you have a My Disney Experience account and have linked your booking, as this will allow you to reserve Theme Park access once the system is available. We strongly recommend that you have the latest version of the My Disney Experience app on your mobile device, with location services and notifications enabled.
Unfortunately these measures have required us to cancel any dining reservations, experience reservations and FastPass+ selections you may have made. Moving forward dining reservations and experience reservations will be available to make 60 days prior to arrival to allow for planning closer to your visit.
As a result of physical distancing, capacity in restaurants and availability of dining experiences are very limited and certain experiences such as Character dining cannot be provided. Because of this, we have also made the difficult decision to cancel and temporarily no longer offer Disney Dining plans. We recognise the inconvenience this poses and we’re deeply sorry. We will be modifying your booking to remove the free dining plan and upgraded meal plans if applicable, as well as add a 35% accommodation discount. As a result of these changes we have the following options available to you and we encourage you to read the below information thoroughly to make a decision based on what is best for you. You may select one of the following options and please let us know of your choice by 27 June 2020:
Accept the changes to your booking and travel as planned
If you wish to accept your revised booking without your Free or Upgraded Dining Plan and at the discounted price you will receive a refund of the difference in your booking price if you have already paid in full or a reduction in the amount due if you have not yet made final payment.
Decline the changes and cancel your booking
If you wish to decline the changes and cancel your booking you will receive a full refund of any amount paid to date
Move your holiday to a date in 2021
Should you decide to decline the changes and cancel your booking you have the option to move your holiday to a date in 2021, subject to availability and at the prevailing 2021 rate. You must call our Disney Experts for assistance with choosing a new date as we are unable to assist with this through email.
To advise us of your decision you will need to visit the Manage My Booking section of our website here https://www.disneyholidays.co.uk/walt-disney-world/manage-my-booking/. You will need your 8-digit Walt Disney Travel Company International Booking Reference and your last name to access your booking. Once logged in you can select either the option to accept your booking changes and travel in 2020, modify your booking to a date in 2021, or cancel with a full refund. Please note that if we do not hear from you with a decision by 27 June 2020 we will assume that you do not accept the changes and that you wish to cancel with a full refund.
We understand how much excitement, thought and time goes into planning a Disney holiday and realise some of these changes may be disappointing. We appreciate your ongoing patience and understanding during this time.
Kind Regards
Walt Disney Travel Company International
Doesn’t look like you will get the discount if you move the holiday to 2021. Really disappointed 😔
Also we were booked into Wilderness Lodge and 2021 price is over £1,100 higher than 2020 without the dining plan. So all in if you add the value of the Dino plan it is in excess of £3,000 more to go next year.
uk guest here. Just received my email – options are 35% room discount now or rebook next year at full price. 35% room only discount for beach club comes to about £350, while DDP was worth three times that. To say I am incredibly disappointed in Disney is a massive understatement.
As an update, I’m a UK guest with a booking in September and finally last night I received an email from Disney offering 35% off the hotel price as the dining plan has been cancelled. The 3 options provided to me were to accept the changes to the booking and travel as planned, decline the changes and cancel the booking or move the holiday to a date in 2021.
There doesn’t appear to be any offer applied for taking a booking in 2021 and it was stated that if they do not hear from me with a decision by 27 June 2020 they will assume that I do not accept the changes and they will cancel/refund the booking automatically.
The balance on my booking isn’t due until July so I’m tempted to accept and make my final decision nearer the time. As I understand it Disney cancellation policy allows me to cancel with a full refund up to 30 days before my trip. So by that time the parks will have been open for a month and I can weigh up it is worth it and/or if travel restrictions are still in force.
Thanks
Good luck with your decision, Melissa!
Thank you, Bex84!
We also received our email and have decided to cancel. The reduction in cost from the 35% discount isn’t enough to compensate for loss of the dining plan. We were booked for Beach Club and only chose that hotel because the plan was included. Gutted to say the least. No offer to rebook for next year with the discount either. So we’ve cancelled and booked for Universal hotels for next April. Will still go to Disney parks but won’t stay the Disney resorts again until everything is reinstated including dining plans.
Melissa we are the same due to go I September we have accepted the changes as we read general terms and conditions and found out we can cancel 30 days+ and get a full refund or between 2-29 days with full refund minus $200. It will cost us way more than that to book for next year so we have accepted and make a decision closer to time obviously dependant on FCO advice and if th3 airline is flying
Hi
We are also meant to travel in August from UK and have just received the e-mail. Outrageous, I have just tried to work out our costs if we change for same time next year and its coming in at over £3800 more, Disney sell themselves as family friendly, more like the worst corporate pirates out there!!!. Its against their own terms and conditions which state that should they not be able to offer the agreed packages they will offer alternatives of Equal value!
I’m in the UK and I’ve had to move our trip to next year as its part of my honeymoon and we have had to move our wedding.
Ive spoken to Disney and tried to complain as taking our dining plan and offering no compensation seemed crazy to me and on top of that costing us more!!
I just kept getting told there is nothing they can do and Disney didn’t think this would happen?!
I’m going to cancel and hope an offer pops up as what is the incentive to book for next year now?! Really unhappy, honeymoon up in the air now.
Stay safe everyone!
Joe