disney travel protection plan

Credit cards
View all credit cards
Banking guide
Loans guide
Insurance guide
Personal finance
View all personal finance
Small business
Small business guide
View all taxes

Is Disney Travel Insurance Worth the Cost?

Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money .

Table of Contents

What Disney travel insurance covers

How much is disney travel insurance, reasons to get disney travel insurance, reasons to skip disney travel insurance, better alternatives to disney travel insurance, when is disney travel insurance worth it.

Disney travel insurance has a flat fee: $82.50 per adult and $6 per child.

That's a great deal if your trip is expensive, not so much if you're on a budget.

Coverage is relatively limited.

Most travelers can consider other, more flexible options.

A Disney vacation can be a trip of a lifetime. It can also be the most expensive trip of your lifetime.

For many, buying travel insurance should be just as essential as buying a churro as you cruise down Main Street. Maybe you booked a vacation but later lost your job; you might want to delay until you regain a stable income stream. Maybe your kid breaks his leg and you want to rebook when it’s healed.

Trip insurance can be purchased from a dedicated travel insurance company , or you might already have it by holding certain credit cards. Otherwise, you might buy it directly from Disney, which offers insurance as an add-on for vacation packages at its U.S. theme parks.

Is Disney travel insurance worth it, or are there better deals out there?

If you’re heading to Walt Disney World in Florida or Disneyland in California and you’ve booked a vacation package (meaning a hotel and theme park tickets), you’re eligible to purchase Disney’s Travel Protection Plan. Underwritten by Arch Insurance Company, it’s available for purchase by U.S. residents and U.S. citizens living abroad who book through Disney’s website.

Exact coverage and benefit availability varies based on where you live, but it typically includes:

Trip cancellation or interruption: Reimburses prepaid travel up to your total trip cost for covered reasons including illness, injury, job loss or military service.

Trip delay: Reimburses eligible expenses of up to $200 per day ($600 per trip).

Baggage loss: Reimburses up to $2,000 for lost, stolen or damaged luggage.

Bag delay: Reimburses purchases of necessary items if your bags are delayed 12 or more hours.

Emergency medical expenses: Provides up to $25,000 of coverage if you get ill or injured while traveling.

Rental car damage: Reimburses repair costs up to $25,000 in the event of collision, theft, damage or vandalism.

While Disney doesn’t outright state its prices, a NerdWallet analysis of several travel packages found that it costs a flat rate of $95 per adult (children age 17 and under are free when travel protection is purchased for the adults on the reservation).

Flat-rate travel insurance can be good for ultra-expensive trips, but a bad deal for budget trips.

Take a seven-night stay during the week of Christmas 2022 for a family of four (two adults and two children) at Disney’s opulent Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. Book it alongside six-day theme park tickets with all the add-ons — like water park admission — and you’d pay about $12,000. Adding on travel insurance would cost $190, which is 1.6% of your overall cost.

But say you instead planned a trip at the end of September when the kids are back at school. Two adults could stay at Disney's All-Star Movies Resort with basic, two-day tickets for just $850. Adding Disney’s insurance would increase your package cost to over $1,000, which is an overall price increase of nearly 20%.

Travel insurance that nets out to just 1.6% of your overall trip cost is a deal, but 20% is far from it. After all, most travel insurance costs between 4% to 8% of the total trip, according to the U.S. Travel Insurance Association.

Flat-rate travel insurance, as Disney offers, is pretty rare. Most policies are priced based on factors including the length of your trip, your destination and the age of the policyholder.

Here’s why it might make a good deal:

Flat-rate pricing is better for more expensive trips: If a costly trip is going to result in equally costly travel insurance, opting for flat-rate pricing is smart. And it’s not just a fancy hotel and Disney theme park tickets with all the add-ons like front-of-the–line passes. Factor in other nonrefundable trip elements, such as airfare and pre-paid rental cars. If you’re flying first class , or you’re hit with rising rental car prices , then flat-rate insurance is especially appealing.

You’re an older adult: Travel insurance costs are based on risk, and insurance is more expensive for older travelers, who are more likely to experience health problems, according to Allianz Travel Insurance.

Because Disney’s only age differentiator is child versus adult, its plan might be cheaper for older adults versus going with an independent insurer.

Many other policies won’t cover theme park tickets: Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney has required travelers to make advance reservations to enter its U.S. theme parks. The days of buying tickets first thing in the morning are gone. For popular days, you’ll often have to reserve your tickets months in advance. But while most policies cover cruises, airfare, lodging and tours, it’s tough to find policies that cover theme park tickets.

Because of the high cost of Disney tickets (and the fact that most Disney tickets are nontransferable and nonrefundable), you likely want to be covered for those too.

But most people would be better off skipping Disney insurance. Here are a few reasons why:

Maximum coverage is relatively low: Disney’s insurance will pay out a maximum of $25,000 in the event of accidental death and dismemberment, while it’s common to find coverage of up to $500,000 elsewhere.

Similarly, Disney’s policy covers up to $2,000 for lost baggage. That might be insufficient if you’ve packed a fancy camera. With other insurance policies, coverage of at least $3,000 is common.

And Disney’s rental car coverage only reimburses repair costs of up to $25,000. Especially given rising car prices , that might not be enough for serious accidents.

Coverage is limited: Actually getting reimbursed with your Disney travel insurance can be tricky. Covered events are restricted to narrow situations, including injury, a family member’s death or jury duty. Plus, you must provide proof, like a court order or death certificate. Disney’s insurance also won’t cover pre-existing conditions.

You don’t want to book a Disney hotel: Disney’s insurance is only available to travelers staying at one of Disney’s own (expensive) resorts. If you’re going to Disney World on the cheap , staying off-property is almost always cheaper. Don’t let eligibility to purchase Disney insurance persuade you to book a Disney resort that’s outside of your ideal budget.

Before your Disney trip, compare travel insurance quotes from multiple providers. And don’t overlook these other types of travel insurance:

Cancel For Any Reason coverage

Perhaps an uptick in COVID-19 cases has you considering travel. Or maybe an injury is preventing you from travel, but you don’t have a doctor’s note to prove it. Given the limited number of reasons that qualify for coverage, you might be better off with “ Cancel For Any Reason ” coverage, which covers you no matter why you cancel.

Look to your credit card

Some credit cards offer travel insurance as a benefit, as long as you purchased the trip on that card. Given the high cost of travel insurance, this benefit alone can often be worth the often-high annual fees these cards charge.

Check with your bank to see what’s covered. For example, the insurance offered via many Chase credit cards explicitly won’t cover theme park tickets.

Given the uncertainty of travel these days, even a quick weekend getaway should have some degree of insurance. But you might not need to pay for Disney’s travel insurance.

As long as you’re OK with your theme park tickets not being insured, the travel insurance offered through many credit cards is likely a better bet, and might not cost you anything once you hold the card. If you really want to ensure coverage, paying for a Cancel For Any Reason might be even better.

Photo courtesy of Disneyland Resort.

[Limited Time] New Cardholders Can Get up to $1,050 in Chase Travel℠ Value

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

✈️ Our Nerds say it's "nearly a must-have for travelers " because of its big sign-up bonus, high-value points and money-saving perks like hotel credit and rental car insurance.

🤑 Better yet, it's offering one of the best bonuses ever right now, only for a limited time...

Help Center

How can we help you.

Travel Insurance – Frequently Asked Questions

What are the benefits of the Travel Protection Plan?

The Travel Protection Plan helps protect you and your family for unexpected covered losses from the moment that you step out of your front door until the moment you safely arrive back home. The Travel Protection Plan provides coverage if you cancel or interrupt your Walt Disney World, Disneyland or Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa package for covered reasons described in the plan such as illness or injury. If you cancel due to a covered reason, the Travel Protection Plan will provide a refund of the prepaid, nonrefundable travel package, including the cost of airfare that is scheduled for travel within 7 days of the travel packages.

The Travel Protection Plan also provides coverage for covered losses while traveling, such as trip interruption, trip and baggage delays, baggage protection and medical expenses protection (including emergency medical transportation). In addition, the Travel Protection Plan contains non-insurance services for 24-hour worldwide emergency assistance (provided by LiveTravel).

To view the terms, conditions and exclusions, visit: www.affinitytravelcert.com/docs/DSP01 .

If you have questions, please call (844) 203-3123 to speak with a representative from Aon Affinity, the program administrator.

To purchase Travel Protection, please select the "Add Travel Protection" option when booking your vacation package . Travel Protection may also be added to your reservation by calling the Disneyland Resort at (714) 520-5050. Guests under 18 years of age must have parent or guardian permission to call.

Travel Protection Plan can be purchased any time prior to final payment for your trip.

Aon Affinity is the brand name for the brokerage and program administration of Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. (TX 13695); (AR 100106022); in CA & MN, AIS Affinity Insurance Agency, Inc. (CA 0795465); in OK, AIS Affinity Insurance Services; in CA, Aon Affinity Insurance Services, Inc. (CA 0G94493), Aon Direct Insurance Administrators and Berkely Insurance Agency and in NY, AIS Affinity Insurance Agency. Affinity Insurance Services is acting as a Managing General Agent as that term is defined in section 626.015(14) of the Florida Insurance Code. Aon Affinity Contact Information: 900 Stewart Ave #400, Garden City, NY 11530; 800-842-4084; [email protected] . As an MGA we are acting on behalf of our carrier partner, Arch Insurance Company (NAIC #11150). Arch Insurance Contact Information: 844-289-3443.

Travel insurance benefits are underwritten by Arch Insurance Company, with administrative offices in Jersey City, NJ (NAIC #11150) under Policy Form series LTP2013 and applicable amendatory endorsements. Assistance services are provided by the designated travel assistance company listed in your Travel Protection Plan. This is a brief overview of the coverages. Subject to terms, conditions and exclusions. This is a general overview of insurance benefits available. Coverages may vary in certain states and not all benefits are available in all jurisdictions. Please refer to your certificate of benefits or policy of insurance for detailed terms, conditions and exclusions that may apply.

DSP_101619A

Did you find this answer helpful?