Disney Dining Plan Cancelled

gonzo999

Hi,
We have a package booked with TUI departing end of September to WDW Florida. Package includes flights, upgrades, Disney resort hotel, transfers, universal tickets and Disney park tickets (with Free Disney dining). All booked together.

Disney announced all dining plans are cancelled UFN. My question is whether cancellation of dining might constitute a “major change” to the holiday and make us eligible to cancel the holiday? We’ve paid deposit with balance not due until end of June.
We’re inclined to cancel but no news yet if we can without charge. Don’t want to pay the remaining balance and also have to find the money for food and drink whilst there. This was a holiday of a lifetime and the extra costs will be unaffordable!

Thanks in advance! Panic stations!

manetti

I have no expertise on which to base my answer but I would certainly argue that it is a significant change.

Assuming you had booked the standard dining plan, you would have expected:

"Per guest, for each night of your stay:

• 1 waiter service meal
• 1 self-service meal
• 1 non-alcoholic/alcoholic drink per meal
• 2 selected snacks
• Refillable mug

To have to replace that yourself I think the equivalent could easily be ~$70-100 per person, per day. Even assuming the lower estimate of $70, for a family of four on a 14-night stay you could be looking at $4000+

manetti

Also, have Disney offered any replacement/equivalent alternative?

Life__Goes__On

manetti said:

Also, have Disney offered any replacement/equivalent alternative?

That's an important question.
As if not the booking becomes room only/ self catering  from H/B

If the holiday did go ahead, then you could claim the cost for the meals.

gonzo999

manetti said:

Also, have Disney offered any replacement/equivalent alternative?

Thanks for your reply. Only alternative is discounted room rate on future bookings. No offer for this holiday.

gonzo999

Life__Goes__On said:

manetti said:

Also, have Disney offered any replacement/equivalent alternative?

That's an important question.
As if not the booking becomes room only/ self catering  from H/B

If the holiday did go ahead, then you could claim the cost for the meals.

Thanks. Problem is room is sold on a self catering basis. The free dining is an offer sold with park tickets. When we bought the 14 day disney park tickets free dining was included.

The free dining offer was only available on certain hotels so that was the reason we chose the holiday we did... saving an estimated £2500 on food expenditure.

Life__Goes__On

I'm not certain of this but on how I read the Package holiday rules.
You bought the whole package from TUI, and that is where the contract lays.
Part of that contract is for the dining. It's not "free" as such,  but included in the price you have paid and will form part of the contract.
You will now have to pay an extra cost for dining.
Now if this cost is over 8% of the total cost of the holiday, then you can  cancel
Also according to Which?  if the FCO advice is still don't travel you can claim a refund.
https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/advice/i-have-to-cancel-my-package-holiday-what-are-my-rights

BurnsyDude

I have exactly the same problem.

We have a package through Ocean Florida - flights, Disney hotel, park tickets, "Free" Disney Dining, 1 night in a Universal hotel, Universal park tickets, etc. We are supposed to be going in October 2020 and this is a "once in a long long time" holiday. The whole package was just right, from the time of year (climate, how busy the parks are) to the cost, of which Free Disney Dining was a major selling point. Things are still up in the air with regards to any part of the holiday being officially cancelled, so as far as Ocean Florida are concerned, our trip is still happening. For info, I have only paid the deposit so far.

From my point of view I don't particularly want to take my family on a £10k holiday when that holiday is not going to be the holiday we envisaged and there are so many risk items which may affect the holiday still. Restrictions on flights, immigration, quarantine, difficulties in local transportation, meals, atmosphere, masks, waiting times, lost dining reservations, no fastpass, swimming pool access, kids playing in play areas, etc - there is just total uncertainty over everything - you name it, it'll all be different. However, the cancellation of the dining plan is a biggy. Where the other points could be considered 'inconveniences' (at a push), the cancellation of the dining plan is something that will actually cost me money, and is probably worth between £1,500 and £3,000 to me. In any reasonable assessment the removal of this would be considered a significant change to the holiday, despite it being labelled on some documentation as a 'free' addition. I must stress that it is listed on my holiday invoice simply as "Disney Dining" with no mention of the word "free".

Up to this point, Ocean Florida have vaguely discussed options with me. I do appreciate that this must be difficult for them too, but I do feel that they are possibly holding back on offering refunds, for obvious reasons. Here are the two options put forward to me:
1. Cancel the holiday and lose my deposit (obviously not attractive)
2. Move my holiday (for an admin cost!)
In an ideal world I would simply move it until the same date the following year, I would get exactly the same package, including Disney Dining, the cost would be the same, and we would essentially have the same holiday, just one year on. The problem is that I have no idea if "Free" Disney Dining is going to be offered on that holiday in 2021 and I doubt we will know for a while yet. I am therefore not happy reorganising for a time where I may still have to find an additional £1,500+ on top of the cost I have budgeted for, and I am certainly not happy to have to pay an admin cost for this privilege either.

The Which website clearly states: 

"If your package holiday is cancelled or any part, such as the hotel, is changed significantly before you leave, you have the right to:

• a refund, with no cancellation fee"

This is from the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements 2018.
I am going to try to speak to Ocean Florida tomorrow and I'm going to say that I want the exact same holiday the following year, including Disney Dining, with no admin fee, or if they can not honour that then I am going to flat out ask for a full refund with no cancellation fee. I understand them wanting to keep my money and eventual custom, but in this instance this may not the best option for me, and that is the case then I want my money back. I'm also not a fan of them keeping hold of my deposit to hold me to a package next year, as they could tell me that the cost of next year's potentially rearranged holiday could be anything, when actually there may be significant bargains to be had if I was booking from scratch. The world may still be scared to travel and Disney may be throwing out all sorts of deals to get people back. Either way I think I woudl prefer to have the power to make that decision myself and not be held to ransom. I will report back here with my findings as soon as I have something more.

Westin

@gonzo999
I suspect you may find that TUI will shortly cancel or offer to cancel/amend your holiday, given the significant change to the Disney Dining Plan. 

Life__Goes__On

BurnsyDude said:

I have exactly the same problem.

We have a package through Ocean Florida - flights, Disney hotel, park tickets, "Free" Disney Dining, 1 night in a Universal hotel, Universal park tickets, etc. We are supposed to be going in October 2020 and this is a "once in a long long time" holiday. The whole package was just right, from the time of year (climate, how busy the parks are) to the cost, of which Free Disney Dining was a major selling point. Things are still up in the air with regards to any part of the holiday being officially cancelled, so as far as Ocean Florida are concerned, our trip is still happening. For info, I have only paid the deposit so far.

From my point of view I don't particularly want to take my family on a £10k holiday when that holiday is not going to be the holiday we envisaged and there are so many risk items which may affect the holiday still. Restrictions on flights, immigration, quarantine, difficulties in local transportation, meals, atmosphere, masks, waiting times, lost dining reservations, no fastpass, swimming pool access, kids playing in play areas, etc - there is just total uncertainty over everything - you name it, it'll all be different. However, the cancellation of the dining plan is a biggy. Where the other points could be considered 'inconveniences' (at a push), the cancellation of the dining plan is something that will actually cost me money, and is probably worth between £1,500 and £3,000 to me. In any reasonable assessment the removal of this would be considered a significant change to the holiday, despite it being labelled on some documentation as a 'free' addition. I must stress that it is listed on my holiday invoice simply as "Disney Dining" with no mention of the word "free".

Up to this point, Ocean Florida have vaguely discussed options with me. I do appreciate that this must be difficult for them too, but I do feel that they are possibly holding back on offering refunds, for obvious reasons. Here are the two options put forward to me:
1. Cancel the holiday and lose my deposit (obviously not attractive)
2. Move my holiday (for an admin cost!)
In an ideal world I would simply move it until the same date the following year, I would get exactly the same package, including Disney Dining, the cost would be the same, and we would essentially have the same holiday, just one year on. The problem is that I have no idea if "Free" Disney Dining is going to be offered on that holiday in 2021 and I doubt we will know for a while yet. I am therefore not happy reorganising for a time where I may still have to find an additional £1,500+ on top of the cost I have budgeted for, and I am certainly not happy to have to pay an admin cost for this privilege either.

The Which website clearly states: 

"If your package holiday is cancelled or any part, such as the hotel, is changed significantly before you leave, you have the right to:

• a refund, with no cancellation fee"

This is from the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements 2018.
I am going to try to speak to Ocean Florida tomorrow and I'm going to say that I want the exact same holiday the following year, including Disney Dining, with no admin fee, or if they can not honour that then I am going to flat out ask for a full refund with no cancellation fee. I understand them wanting to keep my money and eventual custom, but in this instance this may not the best option for me, and that is the case then I want my money back. I'm also not a fan of them keeping hold of my deposit to hold me to a package next year, as they could tell me that the cost of next year's potentially rearranged holiday could be anything, when actually there may be significant bargains to be had if I was booking from scratch. The world may still be scared to travel and Disney may be throwing out all sorts of deals to get people back. Either way I think I woudl prefer to have the power to make that decision myself and not be held to ransom. I will report back here with my findings as soon as I have something more.

Good luck,  hopefully  as you have an understanding of your legal rights you will get what you want.
Sadly though many TA either don't understand the Act or willfully disregards it
If they refuse to move holiday or refund,  then recovery of your money via a card might be the way to go.
 

BurnsyDude

I think I may have overstated my understanding of my legal rights! I only know from the link you posted yesterday and then what I further googled last night! Hopefully it is enough to put the power back into the hands of the customer?!
I have called them several times and their mailboxes are full so can't get through, and have emailed them twice asking them to call me, but no joy thus far. I have just sent them an email asking if I am entitled to a "refund without cancellation fee" due to the removal of the DDP. Will be interesting to see what they come back with. My guess is that they are going to argue that the Free DDP is a free perk, but obviously I see it differently as very much part of the package that I purchased.