Could Disney have a little consideration for DVC Members

[Dean]

I agree with the pp, negative, insulting comments aren't needed or helpful at all.

I don't look at the price increases as Disney's way of spreading out the crowds at all. If that is the problem, they can just close the park like they do. They keep building resorts to get more people in. The prices go up to generate more income. The company is there to make money. They know many people come at Christmas, so they know they can get more money during that season. Period! They are not a non profit!

I'm not sure if either of you are referring to me but if you are, I take insult at the idea that not completely agreeing is being negative.

 

[wdrl]

I don't look at the price increases as Disney's way of spreading out the crowds at all. If that is the problem, they can just close the park like they do. They keep building resorts to get more people in. The prices go up to generate more income. The company is there to make money. They know many people come at Christmas, so they know they can get more money during that season. Period! They are not a non profit!

Closing a Park is not a very good way to manage overflowing crowds. Getting to the Ticket and Transportation Center and finding out you can't gain admission to the Magic Kingdom creates a lot of problems for Disney and the guests. Disney has to redirect the crowds to other Parks, or make provisions for the guests who are outside the gates waiting to get in. Confusion, and anger, too, arises because Disney has a staged multilevel closure plan where Annual Pass or WDW resort guests are permitted entry but day guests are the first to be barred from the Park.

Granted, Disney has expanded the number of rooms at WDW over the last few years. But the growth of hotels, timeshares, vacation rental homes, etc. in the Orlando/Osceola area greatly exceeds anything Disney has built. Orange County alone has 69 timeshares and 282 hotels containing 88.252 hotel rooms. To paraphrase the old saying, "Even if Disney doesn't build it, they will come."

 

[jnjhuddle]

I'm not sure if either of you are referring to me but if you are, I take insult at the idea that not completely agreeing is being negative.

Dean,

I don't think they were referring to your posts which tend to spark a good debate , but are pretty straight forward and don't involve any name calling and such. There were a couple posters on here that I'm guessing are pretty comfortable being snarky and name calling behind their computers but would probably (I hope) not say these nasty comments to a complete stranger face to face. I fear that technology, while helpful in many ways, is also changing humanity in many negative ways. I think we should all be mindful of the things we say on here or on any social media for that matter, should be things we would also be comfortable saying face to face with the person. Let's try to put human back in humanity.

That being said, to contradict your theory on Disney not doing anything for members that feel they got slighted...a friend told me they may have done an online complaint about their situation (needed 1 more AP that they were planning on buying next month to use for that and their New Years trip), and may have received a phone call today to help resolve their situation. And while they cannot get the AP at the old rate, they may be getting a $100 credit on their upcoming vacation to be used for whatever they choose. My friend didn't feel comfortable sharing that tidbit on here, but I'm thinking it may help out a few people. If you don't ask, the answer is no....I'm just saying.

 

[ImTempest]

I know this is going to sound funny, but the price increase helped me with a decision. We bought Premier passes in April because we did WDW and Disneyland this year. My husband has been all for renewing, but I had reservations about it because both coasts are having major additions. We've got Avatar Land, Star Wars Land, and Toy Story Land coming at WDW, and now a two-year disruption at Disneyland for Star Wars Land (they say 18 months, but we all know better). I wasn't enthusiastic about paying huge amounts for decreased value at the resorts. To add to the problem, we also discovered Universal Orlando and I was blown away by the Harry Potter areas; the Wizarding World will be opening soon here in California. I would definitely like to spend more than a day there. And we also did a 7-night cruise on the Disney Cruise Line (although I am hearing the siren song of the well-priced Norwegian Cruise Line), and I found out I LOVE cruising. So, we will be skipping the parks for the next two years, perhaps more. I still love Disney, but it doesn't make sense for the money anymore for my family, and now my husband agrees with me.

 

[Dean]

Dean,

I don't think they were referring to your posts which tend to spark a good debate , but are pretty straight forward and don't involve any name calling and such. There were a couple posters on here that I'm guessing are pretty comfortable being snarky and name calling behind their computers but would probably (I hope) not say these nasty comments to a complete stranger face to face. I fear that technology, while helpful in many ways, is also changing humanity in many negative ways. I think we should all be mindful of the things we say on here or on any social media for that matter, should be things we would also be comfortable saying face to face with the person. Let's try to put human back in humanity.

That being said, to contradict your theory on Disney not doing anything for members that feel they got slighted...a friend told me they may have done an online complaint about their situation (needed 1 more AP that they were planning on buying next month to use for that and their New Years trip), and may have received a phone call today to help resolve their situation. And while they cannot get the AP at the old rate, they may be getting a $100 credit on their upcoming vacation to be used for whatever they choose. My friend didn't feel comfortable sharing that tidbit on here, but I'm thinking it may help out a few people. If you don't ask, the answer is no....I'm just saying.

Maybe but people around here seem to be more and more sensitive about any disagreement, that's the actual difference I've noted over time.

IMO Disney often over compensates when there are issues and to make matters worse, they are inconsistent in how they do it which is the largest problem I have with them. That said, I don't have any problems with someone complaining to Disney about this exact issue nor with Disney helping them out. The issue I have is expecting it and esp with thinking that one should get special consideration for being a DVC member/owner which was the title of this thread.

 

[Philliesfan56]

I don't believe I titled this thread special consideration for DVC members I think it was could Disney have a little consideration for DVC members. It should have been could Disney have a little consideration for the members that booked their vacations with DVC 7 to 11 months out and were not smart enough to realize Disney would change the AP benefit structure. They raised the new Gold pass 3.5 % acceptable but added blackout dates or you could buy what you were basically buying before with no blackout dates for 22% more. For a larger family that budgets for these vacations that's quite a huge increase. If you have unlimited money resources I guess this is no big deal. As smidgy posted a lot of people buy annual passes so they can get multiple vacations in a year. If you have an annual pass that expires the end of November you most likely would not renew it until you arrived again in December. What I'm saying is DVC members that booked their vacations for the Christmas season cannot just cancel those blackout dates and go a week or two before the blackout dates, because there is no weekly rooms available for those dates now. This is why you book so far ahead. If you would cancel you could lose your points depending on when your home resort booking begins. If you were booking a non DVC resort you could cancel up to five days out and get a full refund. For some people this is the only times they can go. I do not think there are to many Einsteins out there that saw a 22% increase coming for a PERK that has been given to DVC members for over 20 years. For people that can only book on these blackout dates this is a major price increase for them and may force them to cut down on the number of times they come to Disney or even price them out. Besides the DVC members who can only go at that time there are the DVC members who have booked and were caught off guard by this last second announcement and wanted to renew or get an annual pass at that time. I realize this is a small but faithful customer base who is being affected by this change and it could have been averted had they not changed the AP policy until after the Easter 2016 season. This way if they had announced this is when it would take effect everybody would have known the rules before booking and buying AP's. I find that if you call Disney and are polite with the people you talk with, you can eventually reach someone that is high enough up to help you with any problems you think you may have, as jnjhuddle had posted. I know they are a business but I do feel they have a responsibility to their loyal customers. I have always found them to be exceptionally friendly and understanding when I call them or go to the resorts or the parks. I enjoy the cleanliness, maintenance, safety and outstanding friendliness of the cast members at the resorts and parks. I guess I do expect these things and that is why I go to Disney and belong to DVC. So if we are card carrying Mickey Mouse Club Members, thumping on our drum with our Mickey Mouse marching sticks, then we are proud to be entitled DVC BRATS.
We would like to thank everyone that has posted. We truly appreciate the people who have defended what we had said and want to thank you for being so kind. We also understood when we posted this not everybody would agree. That is what makes these posts so interesting you get to see different views. I know this only affects a small amount of people so I guess some of the snarky views can be expected.

 

[Dean]

I don't believe I titled this thread special consideration for DVC members I think it was could Disney have a little consideration for DVC members. It should have been could Disney have a little consideration for the members that booked their vacations with DVC 7 to 11 months out and were not smart enough to realize Disney would change the AP benefit structure.

It's the same thing as I read it.

They raised the new Gold pass 3.5 % acceptable but added blackout dates or you could buy what you were basically buying before with no blackout dates for 22% more. For a larger family that budgets for these vacations that's quite a huge increase. If you have unlimited money resources I guess this is no big deal. As smidgy posted a lot of people buy annual passes so they can get multiple vacations in a year. If you have an annual pass that expires the end of November you most likely would not renew it until you arrived again in December. What I'm saying is DVC members that booked their vacations for the Christmas season cannot just cancel those blackout dates and go a week or two before the blackout dates, because there is no weekly rooms available for those dates now. This is why you book so far ahead. If you would cancel you could lose your points depending on when your home resort booking begins. If you were booking a non DVC resort you could cancel up to five days out and get a full refund. For some people this is the only times they can go. I do not think there are to many Einsteins out there that saw a 22% increase coming for a PERK that has been given to DVC members for over 20 years. For people that can only book on these blackout dates this is a major price increase for them and may force them to cut down on the number of times they come to Disney or even price them out. Besides the DVC members who can only go at that time there are the DVC members who have booked and were caught off guard by this last second announcement and wanted to renew or get an annual pass at that time.

IMO anyone either knew or should have known that changes could come. I doubt anyone actually expected it to happen the way it did or many of the other changes either. Would it have been any different had they simply kept the same passes and did away with the discount.

I realize this is a small but faithful customer base who is being affected by this change and it could have been averted had they not changed the AP policy until after the Easter 2016 season. This way if they had announced this is when it would take effect everybody would have known the rules before booking and buying AP's. I find that if you call Disney and are polite with the people you talk with, you can eventually reach someone that is high enough up to help you with any problems you think you may have, as jnjhuddle had posted. I know they are a business but I do feel they have a responsibility to their loyal customers. I have always found them to be exceptionally friendly and understanding when I call them or go to the resorts or the parks. I enjoy the cleanliness, maintenance, safety and outstanding friendliness of the cast members at the resorts and parks.

IMO Disney is often overly flexible and over compensates when people complain but a discussion and options would be potentially reasonable. They might offer a credit or the chance to cancel and bank if needed.

 

[Philliesfan56]

I think it is inconsiderate that no one thought to make these changes until after everyone who had booked during these blackout dates knew the rules and could plan accordingly.

 

[Dean]

I think it is inconsiderate that no one thought to make these changes until after everyone who had booked during these blackout dates knew the rules and could plan accordingly.

While I think it would have been better if they had waited, they clearly have a history of announced changes going into affect fairly rapidly when it comes to ticket prices. Remember we're talking about future purchases, not currently held passes. IMO it is not unreasonable that they made the change effect immediately.

 

[texas disney mom]

I think that unfortunately Disney has become less customer oriented in general.

 

[Sammie]

Considering that many guest book a year in advance someone is always going to be inconvenienced by changes.

As a DVC member I expect nothing except what I paid for and that was lodging. Any else is just extras. If anyone thinks that disagreeing with someone is candy coating Disney and being negative, if you come to a public forum you will get some that agree and some that don't.

I personally think it is unrealistic to expect Disney the business to favor DVC members over other guests. Sadly many members have that attitude.

As I stated early on in this discussion, contacting DVC about ticket prices is the wrong place to lodge a complaint. If you feel the need to complain, do it where it belongs with those that are responsible for changes. DVC has no control over ticket prices or changes.

I lost empathy for the OP, when "paying people's salaries" was mentioned, until then I could understand, while might not agree, that it would be upsetting.

 

[karrit2000]

I think Part of the problem with these increases is that Disney has resorted to what I'll term Stealth Increases when raising ticket prices. I keep seeing people stating that they always have done the increases at the same time of year in the past. I don't know if anyone has an actual list that tracks when the ticket price increases have happened but a few years back I think the increases usually came in August because I started noticing the last few years the increases had started occurring earlier & earlier. The February one was a shocker but two in one year is plain greedy. I've had the special priced DVC Premium AP for the past few years due to the deal they gave us for those so I didn't have to contend with the regular increases until this year. Fortunately for me I renewed last month so I could book my FP+ so at least I was spared from this latest Stealth Increase for now. I just don't know for sure what pass they will issue me when I pick it up next month. I'm going to be thinking really hard about how I use my points and which tickets to buy in the future. I understand why they don't give people a heads up about the increases because it's definitely more money in their coffers when they catch most people unaware. I don't like that they totally changed the pricing structure without warning but that's their prerogative. I also wish the PhotoPass thing had been left as an option rather than part of the Package because it isn't something I want to be paying for as part of my admission ticket. I really feel for those who have trips planned for the holiday blackout periods that now have to figure out what to do about the admission tickets they need to buy.

 

[jnjhuddle]

I think the biggest problem here is the rate of increase in ticket prices in general, not just for DVC. When I started going to Disney World regularly 10 years ago when my first 2 were toddlers, the ticket price for a 1 day pass was almost half the cost that it is today. The rate of increase of ticket prices most certainly does not coincide with the rate of increase in most people's salaries. My salary while increasing significantly, (sadly) has not doubled in the last 10 years. My last two trips (in March and September) I did not purchase park tickets. Would I have purchased tickets if the price was more reasonable? Probably. I'm going 4 nights next month prior to my cruise and have yet to purchase park tickets. Was considering the AP, but have decided against it for now as the price even with now owning DVC is just too much for a family of 6. To think that in the beginning of 2012 I purchased 6 non discounted AP's for $519 each prior to owning DVC makes me sad. A $230 increase in the non discounted AP in just 3 1/2 years is kinda crazy. I was thinking perhaps next year of using my points to try Aulani, as I could get a r/t flight from the east coast to Hawaii for a similar price as buying the DVC platinum AP. I am very disappointed in the price increases the last few years, but I'm sure I will continue to make sacrifices with other things to be able to continue to go, just not as often as I would like. When we are there it IS the happiest place on earth. I just hope that I don't get completely priced out of going.

 

[Dean]

I think the biggest problem here is the rate of increase in ticket prices in general, not just for DVC. When I started going to Disney World regularly 10 years ago when my first 2 were toddlers, the ticket price for a 1 day pass was almost half the cost that it is today. The rate of increase of ticket prices most certainly does not coincide with the rate of increase in most people's salaries. My salary while increasing significantly, (sadly) has not doubled in the last 10 years. My last two trips (in March and September) I did not purchase park tickets. Would I have purchased tickets if the price was more reasonable? Probably. I'm going 4 nights next month prior to my cruise and have yet to purchase park tickets. Was considering the AP, but have decided against it for now as the price even with now owning DVC is just too much for a family of 6. To think that in the beginning of 2012 I purchased 6 non discounted AP's for $519 each prior to owning DVC makes me sad. A $230 increase in the non discounted AP in just 3 1/2 years is kinda crazy. I was thinking perhaps next year of using my points to try Aulani, as I could get a r/t flight from the east coast to Hawaii for a similar price as buying the DVC platinum AP. I am very disappointed in the price increases the last few years, but I'm sure I will continue to make sacrifices with other things to be able to continue to go, just not as often as I would like. When we are there it IS the happiest place on earth. I just hope that I don't get completely priced out of going.

If enough people pay it, then it's "worth" the price charged. IMO this should be one of the considerations before anyone buys in given the long term nature of the commitment just like they should at least consider if the parks close, they have major medical issues or they were to lose their job. One option is to go and invest in Disney ticket media, I wonder how this will work for the passes given the changes.

 

[DenLo]

I don't understand, DVC members are still offered the same AP as before but it was renamed, the Platinum AP, which has no blackout dates as usual. We also have been given the option of purchasing another kind of AP, called the Gold AP, which does have black out dates. Disney just raised the price of the regular AP and they always raise prices at last minute. But this time, the price increase was a whooper. Sometimes I think WDW is trying to get the AP prices to match DLRA, which are ridiculously expensive.

I too think it is great that Disney is giving us a second AP option which is cheaper. But it does not help families that normally travel during the premium travel periods. I am sorry it is turning out to be so expensive for the OP's family.

 

[edk35]

I can feel for the OP. It would SUCK to have a trip planned out for 7 or 11 months to find out that you pretty much HAVE TO GET the more expensive AP. We were tossing the idea around this summer about going back over spring break which NOW happens to be during the black out dates. GRRRR However, we decided to just go in Nov. week before last and since our son has a trip to Universal with his school in early April...we will just stay and visit there.

 

[freediverdude]

Like someone else said, there is a way around it, you can buy a MYW ticket to use during the trip, and then upgrade to the annual pass on the last day. This should work as long as the MYW ticket costs less than the pass. Just make sure you don't get the WPF&M or you'll have to upgrade to the platinum plus.

 

[edk35]

The way you get around the blockout dates at DL for new APs is you purchase a 5-day ticket and use it on the blockout dates. Then, on the last day, you upgrade to AP. You could probably do something similar at WDW.

Don't you have to update before your last day?? Don't you have to update before you go thru the park ticket gates on day 5??

 

[jnjhuddle]

If enough people pay it, then it's "worth" the price charged. IMO this should be one of the considerations before anyone buys in given the long term nature of the commitment just like they should at least consider if the parks close, they have major medical issues or they were to lose their job. One option is to go and invest in Disney ticket medial, I wonder how this will work for the passes given the changes.

People will definitely pay the price for the AP and some years, I may also choose to do so when it works for my vacations planned.
Not sure if the price of the AP and or park tickets has anything to do with my decision to buy into DVC or if that was even what you were referring to. After 4 trips to WDW in 11 months, I won't need the AP because I haven't yet decided what I will be doing with next years points. IF there was a really good deal on the AP it may have swayed me into purchasing one for my November trip...but since there isn't, a 3 day park hopper, it is. We are also the type that don't always go park commando, so a trip without passes works sometimes too. To be disappointed in the price increases for myself and for everyone else doesn't mean that I'm no longer a good candidate for owning/purchasing DVC. (I may be reading more into your post, as it sounds like you have read more into mine).

I am not farmiliar with what Disney ticket medial is.

 

[Minniesgal]

I actually think DVD members have come out ahead here.

We have the same two passes as before the Platinum and the platinum plus with the same benefits as before. Ok there is a price increase but it is not a DVC price increase price has gone up for everyone.

DVC now have the benefit of choosing a new lower price ticket the Gold which is cheaper but the downside is it has blackout dates. Great for anyone who doesn't travel Easter for Christmas.

I really don't get hoe disney is showing lack of consideration for DVC members in particular, any guests who buy annual passes are impacted, DVC members who can buy Gold are impacted less than the general public.