Summary of all WDW changes thread

[Niki Mouse]

Originally Posted by Disneyleo

Got excited thinking I’d received something from Disney but it was just an email to say balance is due in 14 days. Boo haha!
Am I correct in thinking they are extending payment due dates? Is this automatic or do you need to phone and request it.

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Woke up to the same email And thought the same thing. I did ring the other day and they changed the date, so generated.

I think if it was me, I would ring them and get them to confirm

[cd900]

Originally Posted by Lozzi

Disney are still going through the legal side to see what they can and can't do. It's not as simple as looking at some T&Cs and knowing you don't owe the customer anything - you don't have to look far to see how this has come back to haunt companies, even years after the event.

Add into the mix withdrawing accommodation that is then offered to others, it will be a legal minefield.

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They wouldn’t be withdrawing the accommodation though. They’d be saying - this is what we can now offer, if you don’t want it you have the option to cancel for a full refund. And then if you exercise the option of a full refund it’s open to them to sell to someone else. Also open to them to sell to someone else for cheaper than what they offered it to you.

It honestly isn’t legally complicated. Disney’s lawyers wont be spending a lot of time on this particular issue. What is more complicated is the PR/guest satisfaction angle. It might take them some time to work out exactly what they plan to do. But I do feel confident that they’ll do something.

[Lozzi]

Originally Posted by cd900

They wouldn’t be withdrawing the accommodation though. They’d be saying - this is what we can now offer, if you don’t want it you have the option to cancel for a full refund. And then if you exercise the option of a full refund it’s open to them to sell to someone else. Also open to them to sell to someone else for cheaper than what they offered it to you.

It honestly isn’t legally complicated. Disney’s lawyers wont be spending a lot of time on this particular issue. What is more complicated is the PR/guest satisfaction angle. It might take them some time to work out exactly what they plan to do. But I do feel confident that they’ll do something.

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Will have to disagree on that one, the combination of both the withdrawal of the dining plan with the accommodation and other changes is what my understanding is part of the delay. The legal team is still ensuring they are watertight on the changes they are making.

I'm no lawyer however do work in compliance, this information which could be completely untrue came from someone that also works with this sector.

[cd900]

Originally Posted by Lozzi

Will have to disagree on that one, the combination of both the withdrawal of the dining plan with the accommodation and other changes is what my understanding is part of the delay. The legal team is still ensuring they are watertight on the changes they are making.

I'm no lawyer however do work in compliance, this information which could be completely untrue came from someone that also works with this sector.

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I am a lawyer. Admittedly this isn’t my area so it’s a bit like a heart surgeon trying to do your brain surgery However, just thinking about basic legal principles, I’d expect a day or two’s work at best to come up with a decent legal opinion on consumer rights when you need to vary their contract. Disney managed to work out what they were doing in the US (a much more complicated and claimant friendly legal system than the UK) in very short order. I would be incredibly surprised if that’s the reason for the hold up with making any offers to UK guests.

The logistical nightmare of it all causing a delay - yes! I’m just saying I don’t think they’re having a tricky time from a legal perspective on this particular issue. But who knows. Perhaps I am oversimplifying things and the UK jurisdiction is presenting unique problems that they didn’t have to consider in the US.

[WeHeartOrlando]

Does anyone think that because we are such a small market they might be weighing up the cost (financial and PR wise) of allowing the UK market (or others?) to keep their free dining?

Would those of us with table service plans take a downgrade to free QSDP if it meant still having some costs covered?
I have no idea about other international markets by the way, as in do German, Australian etc guests book free dining packages far in advance like us? My understanding is that US guests book dining much closer to their trips, what about Canadian and South American guests?
Also if we make up a smaller percentage of their total guests and they’re looking to reduce numbers surely US guests would be their main target for encouraging to cancel or move?
Just thinking out loud on here (mainly because my family are fed up listening to me haha) re the fact that we book over a year in advance, are a smaller market, and that we’d still have to eat somehow.
Would certainly explain the delay

[Lozzi]

Originally Posted by cd900

I am a lawyer. Admittedly this isn’t my area so it’s a bit like a heart surgeon trying to do your brain surgery However, just thinking about basic legal principles, I’d expect a day or two’s work at best to come up with a decent legal opinion on consumer rights when you need to vary their contract. Disney managed to work out what they were doing in the US (a much more complicated and claimant friendly legal system than the UK) in very short order. I would be incredibly surprised if that’s the reason for the hold up with making any offers to UK guests.

The logistical nightmare of it all causing a delay - yes! I’m just saying I don’t think they’re having a tricky time from a legal perspective on this particular issue. But who knows. Perhaps I am oversimplifying things and the UK jurisdiction is presenting unique problems that they didn’t have to consider in the US.

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Wouldn't argue with anyone in the same field of business 😀

Couple of years ago we got were due to goto universal, couple of weeks before they got in touch and had booked us a single room instead of a Jurassic suite. This resulted in two groups of the party being at one hotel and them moving the other guest to another hotel (We needed the additional room due to the other person needing privacy). They covered all costs of the move however on return we put an official complaint in, due to inconvenience etc... we managed to get over 1k back, which by memory I think was 80% of what we spent with them.

I'm not saying it's the same thing, but in this day and age it only takes one to start the ball rolling, as you say though who knows and it's certainly not my area of expertise :-)

[lisad]

I had to cancel a trip with WDTC for April this year. From my dealings with Disney at that point, I got the impression they wanted me to cancel and were really efficient in making a full refund.

Unlike the airlines and tour operators, I did not sense any encouragement from Disney to re-book. They offered an initial incentive to the US market with the free dining offer they are now having to withdraw, but we didn't get anything similar. They didn't even extend the free dining past the original cut off date.

Disney seem to like being in total control and are clearly reluctant to make new bookings that will potentially need to be cancelled or amended. They don't need the cash flow in the same way as the airlines do and I think they would rather we just cancel and come back when it's all over!

It's my guess that they will offer a fair, but not generous compensation offer for stays up until the end of the year. Bear in mind that although the dining plan is worth thousands of pounds if we bought it, the actual cost to Disney is nowhere near that! So, whatever they offer is unlikely to match up in value to a family

It is my hope that when they are fully open to capacity they will release a re-booking incentive for all those who had to cancel this year (as they did with the US customers).

[macadoo]

Originally Posted by Goldia

Lots of interesting and conflicting opinions expressed already. And I'm in the mood to share my thoughts. Of course none of us know and all are speculating and I'm just adding to that speculation so feel free to ignore.

Many of UK WDW customers believe we are booking direct when we make a booking. But we are actually booking with Walt Disney Travel Company UK and that is not actually anything to do with the American WDW or any of the American travel agency's. We feel that we are booking direct as when we phone the 0800 number we get through to an American accent at the other end of the line. But the booking is not direct with wdw. So, any discount or offer made to an American market or audience doesn't have to translate to a UK market or audience. Why would it? It would be like saying any offers by BA would be the same as Virgin, they're different companies operating different profit margins.

So the question then is will Walt Disney travel company UK and all the other travel agents offer any recompense or discount to their customers and to my mind any offer or discount will have absolutely nothing to do with what American customers have been offered. My thoughts are they are looking at the packages they have sold and working out how they can get themselves out of a mess. In the same way that Virgin, BA and a thousand other travel agents are now trying to do, because the contract originally agreed by both parties doesn't exist anymore. They could choose to withdraw their offer of sale and refund any deposits, but they don't have to offer any discount.

At least that is my understanding of tort law. Others may disagree and hope/wish for a different outcome.

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Well no they don’t HAVE to offer anything, but they probably will.

[wifey]

Maybe the legal aspect it causing the delay, combined with the non existent visitors at Disney Springs right now since the vloggers and AP locals have swooped in and left just as quickly. Things may change there once the parks and resorts for their domestic guests. It’s going to give them a chance to review things in depth long before any international visitors have the chance to arrive.

[Firsttimer2017]

Originally Posted by WeHeartOrlando

Does anyone think that because we are such a small market they might be weighing up the cost (financial and PR wise) of allowing the UK market (or others?) to keep their free dining?

Would those of us with table service plans take a downgrade to free QSDP if it meant still having some costs covered?
I have no idea about other international markets by the way, as in do German, Australian etc guests book free dining packages far in advance like us? My understanding is that US guests book dining much closer to their trips, what about Canadian and South American guests?
Also if we make up a smaller percentage of their total guests and they’re looking to reduce numbers surely US guests would be their main target for encouraging to cancel or move?
Just thinking out loud on here (mainly because my family are fed up listening to me haha) re the fact that we book over a year in advance, are a smaller market, and that we’d still have to eat somehow.
Would certainly explain the delay

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I would love it if you’re right 🤞🤞