Connections Membership

[Aquagirl]

I just read some of your discussions about the connections meal vouchers. I went to the mousesavers web site which led me to the Connections site. You can join Connections for 30 days for one dollar and then cancel or pay 79.95. I just wanted to order a couple of meal vouchers. Can you join for the trial period, order your vouchers, and then cancel??? Or do you have to join for the year to receive the vouchers??? Please help!!!

 

[Teacher510]

From what I have read I believe that many people do just that. I kept my membership since we'll be going back next summer and I think I'll make use of movie tix and store/restaurant certificates.

 

[chris1gill]

I think most people (ourselves included), signed up for the $1.00 trial offer & then cancelled before the 30 days were up.... We ordered the meal vouchers & were very happy with them!! The two best bargains are eating at the Pepper Market or Beaches & Cream with the 10.50 vouchers... a lot of the other counter service options weren't a real savings... I'm sure there are at least a couple of other options that are worth doing....

 

[bigsis1970]

Do i understans this right .. pay the $1.00 buy the voucher and then cancel..
the voucher don't have an early exp.date do they.. We will be going in Dec and
i have posted anther question about Connections. but if i can join for the dollar
and get the vouchers and they will be good while we are there then i will just do it..
thanks for any additional advice..

 

[chris1gill]

Hi Bigsis,

You are correct, you can pay the dollar, order the vouchers & then cancel the service. All of the vouchers seem to have an expiration of May, 2002.... so you should be all set for your December trip, order them anytime... Be careful to look over the menu's at www.wdwig.com & see which ones make sense to buy...

 

[bigsis1970]

you have made my day.. I have looked over the menu and i will order some as it will save us $$ in the food courts ! Thanks Michelle

 

[xplor144]

Lets not forget, however....you CAN join- get what you want and then cancel, but if noone stays with the program and everyone "runs" with the stuff.....these places won't stay around, and won't keep offering this stuff.

 

[chris1gill]

Xplor144... I should have mentioned that as well!! This is actually a good program for anyone that shops at Kids/Toys/Babies R Us.... it gives you a 20% discount when you buy the certificates... That's a really good deal.... They also have some restaurants, such as Red Lobster, Olive Garden, The Outback & a bunch of others we don't have around here... We don't do any shopping or dining at those places, so it really was a wash for us as we only wanted the vouchers.... I was thinking of joining back up at another time (when we need to do a Kids R Us run) At that point it would be worth it for us to stick with the program....

 

[dreamflight99]

I am having trouble locating the site for "connections", where the vouchers can be purchased. Can anyone help me, with a possible www site? Thanks so much... &

 

[dg39]

Could someone explain to me how the meal vouchers for connections work. If I buy them for x amount of money. Lets say $15.00 and I go to a restaurant, do I have to order a meal for 15.00 and pay with the voucher. If I order a more expensive meal do I give in the voucher and pay the difference. I don't understand how it works. Everyone seems to love connections so I'm assuming its a good deal. Can I order as many vouchers as I want or is there a limit. Does each person in the family need a voucher. The connections site doesn't explain anything and when I called them they told me I had to join to get the info. I was hoping to get the info first and then see if I'm interested in joining. Also, is WDW connected in any way with them. Do they except everything from connections without any problems. Sorry this is so long and thanks for any help you can give me. One last question, do all the restaurants at WDW, resorts, and park accept these vouchers or is it only certain ones. Thanks again

 

[wheatenwalker]

This is how it works, you order your meal and then pay with the voucher. If the total is $15 all you have to do is give them the voucher. There are certain restaurants you can use the vouchers at, some you can save alot and some it wouldnt be worth using. We had some of the Quick and Casual and some more expensive vouchers and used then this last trip without a problem. Do a search adn you'll be able to find which restaurants you can use them at.

 

[BuhByeNebraska]

I would like to take adantage of Connetions too, but I am a little concerned. Several other discount clubs have filed for Ch. 11 (Flooz, CitySpree) Certificates weren't being honored.

Connections is part of a larger company,Memberworks. They were hiring like crazy and now I don't see their advertisements. Perhaps someone can attest to their financial strength. If they continue to pay out $20 for a meal on a $10.50 voucher, definately a greal deal. I would just like to make sure this is the case before everyone invests their hard earned money.

 

[chris1gill]

I think I can answer some questions here....

Regarding ALL the meal vouchers.... these vouchers are issued by Disney... they are not issued by Connections.... It doesn't matter where you get your vouchers... they will always be good at Disney, up until the expiration date..... This is just like the park hopper tickets they sell... they are Disney issued, not Connections... although it's Connections that is selling them....

Regarding the voucher, the quick & casual meal vouchers sell for 10.50.... they can be used at many of the fast food/food courts on Disney property..... What you get is any entree, any non-alcoholic beverage, and any dessert.... it doesn't matter how much any of those things cost... whether the meal is 9.00 or 50.00, you just use 1 voucher per meal.... My daughter & I shared meals, because she is only 3, and doesn't eat anything except bread & dessert... My son is six, and we ordered kids meals for him.... vouchers are not a good value when buying a kids meal.... the voucher is 10.50, but the kids meals are only 5.00... so we paid cash for him... The CM's must get these vouchers a LOT, because they knew exactly what they were & never even had to read them.... We stayed at Coronado & used the vouchers at The Pepper Market, the food court at Coronado... We ordered Prime Rib, Sprite & a piece of cake with ice cream.... with tax & gratuity, the bill was like 52.00, we gave them 2 vouchers & owed nothing... Pepper Market & Beaches & Cream at Beach Club are exceptional values... But there are definitely other food courts that aren't a good value, since the food is so inexpensive to begin with.....

I hope this answers some questions! Look through the board, you'll definitely find more info!!!

 

[dg39]

Yet another voucher question from someone who was born with 1/2 a brain. Using a dinner voucher worth 29.50 you can order any dinner entree on the menu regardless how much the dinner costs. If the meal including salad,dinner and dessert totals 40.00, I just give them that 1 voucher? If 4 adults and 1 child go, do we give them 4adult vouchers and pay cash for the child (the child isn't going to eat a bg meal). If I'm getting it right, it pays to go to the most expensive restaurants to make this a bargain. How does the charcter meals work.(17.50 for a breakfast voucher and 16.00 for the buffet) is it worth it for the character meals? We're going to WDW for 10 day-2 adults, 2-teens, 1 child- we want to do maybe 2 charecter breakfasts, 3 expensive dinners and the rest of the meals casual, based on the amount of family members how many vouchers should we buy. Thanks for all your help, maybe it'll click in my head and I'll finally understand how this works.

 

[chris1gill]

Dreamflight99, the website is www.connections123.com

Dg39, You have it right, even if your entree/drink/dessert/tax/gratuity is 40.00, you just give the one voucher, and all is taken care of for YOUR meal... We had a child with us that we ordered for, so we usually had a six dollar or so balance, for his kids meal... I would not order any vouchers for the child, as the kids meals are less money....

What you have to do is check out the menu's at www.wdwig.com & see which restaurants you want to take advantage of... not all restaurants are a good deal, some are really bad deals, like the Garden Grill for lunch....

Some of our bills were 53.00 for my husband and I, and we just gave 2 10.50 vouchers... That was at the Pepper Market.... I felt both the Pepper Market & Beaches & Cream were good values for us....

As for the breakfasts, the vouchers are 17.50 and include gratuity (usually 15%) & tax (around 8%).... so a character breakfast that exceeds 17.50 with gratuity & tax is a deal... although you may only save a dollar or two... take a look at the www.wdwig.com menu's

Also, for the sit down lunches (these can only be used for lunches), the vouchers are 29.00... The restaurants that made the most sense for this, were Alfredo's (Italy) LeCelier (Canada) & Concourse Steakhouse (open only til 2:00 for lunch & is located at The Contemporary)....

You may find other restaurants that are similar bargains, this is just what I chose for us... If you think each of the 4 older people in your party will eat a full meal/beverage/dessert, I'd get a voucher for each of the 4... then calculate how many times you'll be eating where this is a good deal.....

I think this answers all your questions!!

 

[dg39]

Chris, Thanks so very much for answering my questions. I finally understand how it works. I'm sure I will be ordering them.

 

[Minybear]

Boy am I glad I decided to read this post. I had never heard of connections before even though I have been on Marys site (I just look at her room discounts and car rental). I have signed up with them for the $1 and they should be sending me info in 10-14 days.

My only comment. You have to order these vouchers. You are paying for the $10.50 and the $29.50 out of your own pocket. When you have a meal at Liberty Tree Tavern or Brown Derby the voucher you will give to them you paid for it. So in other words you have already paid some of the that meal and when you give them the voucher then you pay the rest of that meal. There is not really a savings? Due to you have aleady paid for that voucher. Right? To me the only thing good about this is you the consumer will pay for that meal anyway and its good to have most of your meals on voucher instead of cash on hand.

Is there anything free with this membership? Due to you have to pay a membership fee of appox $79.

I though I read some where you could get a 10% savings on AP through them? I coud only find Park Hoppers.

 

[RLMS56]

It all depends on which restaurants you are using the vouchers for. I researched this in depth yesterday and found the Quick and Casual vouchers are a great deal at Beaches & Cream and also good at Yakitori. As for the dinner vouchers Alfredo's was the best deal with LeCellier, Teppenyaki and Brown Derby being good deals. In order for the vouchers to be a great deal you need to order an appetizer, expensive entree and dessert. A non alcoholic drink, tax and tip are included so be sure to add that in when making your decision. I printed out all the info about Connections from mousesavers.com and then went to Deb's site and reviewed the menus and prices.

 

[dreamflight99]

chris1gill...could you please tell me if ALL the vouchers include "tax, gratuity,etc"? I went to the connections site you gave me (thanks ^_^) and they really have little info unless you join.
I am not traveling to wdw again until next July, when should I join and purchase the vouchers? I am a member of the Disney Club...(used to have the MKC for free)..and didn't use it once this summer while on property! Where are the discounts listed for this card? Also, I just ordered an "Orlando" entertainment book for 35$ on their online site. Do you know anything about this book? Does it contain any wdw discounts for F&B, or lodging/auto rentals, etc.? Sorry for all the questions-you seem so helpful and very knowledgeable! Any info/reply is greatly appreciated. I am stunned I have been traveling to WDW from Ca. for the past 11 consecutive years...staying on prop. for more than 4-5 weeks each year, and have never been acquainted with any of these money-saving tips!! I've been paying full $$$ for the meals, passes...etc. I get a 10% discount on the national rental...and sometimes a room discount...but never anything off the meals, and they can be costly! I feel I've been on another planet. This past summer I met some Disney folks who told me about this site, and even wrote down the address! I just looked last night when I came across the address--and can not believe the WEALTH of info!! Thanks to all the Disney veterans...your postings are invaluable!

 

[jrrandme]

I found the other half of your brain!!!!! Now for the other half of a dumb question...with the "vacation kingdom" lunch vouchers, they sell a "childrens size" ($12.50) does this mean the kid can also order anything on the menu???? Also I notice that there are no restuarants listed for the AKL... has anyone ever used them there or is it to new??