There are few things in life more exciting than the anticipation of a Disney World vacation! That’s why it can feel like the worst feeling in the world when you may potentially need to cancel your upcoming reservation. For a variety of reasons, you may be faced with the difficult decision of whether or not it’s best to cancel your Disney World reservation.

Disney World had a very flexible cancelation policy throughout 2020 following the park closures, and even into 2021. However, that cancelation policy has ended and Disney has reinstated their cancelation fees.

So, what is Disney World currently refunding, and what are they no longer providing refunds for? Let’s break it down!

What Disney World Will Refund

Now that Disney is enforcing their cancelation fees again, guests need to pay extra attention to when they cancel their reservation to determine how much of their trip will be refunded.

As of this writing, Disney World’s cancelation policy states the following:

• “For cancellations made 30 days or more prior to guest arrival, amounts paid, minus cancellation fees assessed by third party hotels or other suppliers, non-refundable air transportation, non-refundable runDisney race registrations, non-refundable travel protection plan costs, and other amounts owed, will be refunded.”
• “For cancellations made 2 days to 29 days prior to guest arrival, amounts paid, minus a cancellation fee of $200.00 per package and minus any cancellation fees assessed by third party hotels or other suppliers, non-refundable air transportation, non-refundable runDisney race registrations, non-refundable travel protection plan costs, and other amounts owed, will be refunded.”
• For cancellations made 1 day or less prior to guest arrival or for no-shows, the full price of the package is non-refundable.

So, if you cancel your reservation far out enough, you stand to receive a full refund on your vacation; however, if you wait too long and cancel last minute, it could be costly. Depending on how close you are to your arrival date, and if there’s any chance your vacation can happen at a future date, you may want to consider rescheduling your trip to a date down the road rather than fully cancel your entire reservation.

If you would prefer to reschedule your trip instead of cancel, just be aware that you will owe the difference in price to Disney and the total package cost will reflect the new dates of your vacation. Also, keep in mind that changes made within 30 days prior to your original arrival day may incur a $50 change fee per package.

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What Disney World Won’t Refund

If you read Disney World’s cancelation policy above carefully, you’ll notice a few things included that will NOT be refunded, regardless of when you cancel your reservation. These include travel insurance, a $200 cancelation fee if the reservation is canceled between 2 and 29 days prior to arrival, nonrefundable runDisney deposits, any amounts paid on any personalized products or experiences, and any amounts paid to third parties.

It’s important to note that your airline reservation or rental car reservation may have an entirely different cancelation policy, so it’s important to read through those details carefully at the time of booking.

Special event tickets are also non-refundable, so if your upcoming vacation includes tickets to Disney After Hours BOO Bash, you will likely be unable to secure a refund on the amount paid.

Deciding whether or not to cancel your upcoming Disney World reservation is a choice no one ever wants to make, but you may find yourself facing those options. If or when that happens, we hope this overview was helpful in letting you know what you may or may not receive as a refund, depending on when you cancel your trip. As always, we’ll be on the lookout for the latest policy updates from Disney World, so be sure to follow along for all of the most up-to-date news and events.