Annual passholders sue Disney for billing error

Two Disney annual passholders have filed a lawsuit seeking class action status after Disney mistakenly charged them before the parks officially reopened from the coronavirus pandemic shutdown.

Disney’s error happened Friday, prompting a blaze of complaints on social media from passholders who were normally billed monthly but now had unexpectedly had lump-sum bills pending in their bank accounts. In April, Disney had promised not to bill passholders on the monthly payment plan until the parks were back open.

Sarah Heinman and Liza Bertran, both from Miami-Dade County, said they are among those passholders and filed an

Orange Circuit Court lawsuit that day, seeking more than $30,000. They accused Disney of breach of contract. Disney charged Heinman $905 and Bertran $520, the equivalent of four months of payments “in one fell swoop,” the lawsuit said.

At the time, Disney acknowledged it was a glitch and apologized. The charges will be reversed, the company said, although it will depend on each passholder’s bank how long it would take.

Disney did not provide a comment Wednesday. Francesco Zincone and Armas Bertran Pieri, two Miami-based attorneys handling the suit, also did not respond.

Disney World’s theme parks shut down March 16 from the coronavirus pandemic.

This week,

the Magic

Kingdom and the Animal Kingdom are reopening up again, first to employees, then to passholders on Thursday and Friday, then finally to the general public on Saturday, although people are required to have advance reservations, a move meant to limit crowds.

Elsewhere in Orlando, SeaWorld and Universal Orlando are both back in business and, like Disney, are requiring visitors and employees to wear masks as well as other safety precautions.

In California, a San Diego resident sued SeaWorld for charging her annual pass while the parks were closed from the pandemic. That lawsuit also is seeking class-action status.