Disney Club - Retroactive Discount Possible?

[sarabi59]

New to this board! This is kind of long-sorry

Our family is going to WDW for the first time 4/15-4/19 2001 and will be staying at the Polynesian Garden View Concierge! We have already paid for the trip in full. That's the good news. However, we only started planning this trip in mid-Feb (to get away from cold Upstate NY), and the trip is the week after Easter, so we are paying full-price for our hotel and unlimited magic passes (Resort Magic Package) purchased through Disney. At least we got a good deal on the airfare ourselves!

nullHere's my question: I can join the Disney Club for $29.95, through my husband's work. If I join the Disney Club now, will I be able to get any retroactive "rebate" from Disney on the price I already paid for the passes?Apparently there is no DC discount on the hotel during our stay.

One CM I asked said they would be able to "make some sort of adjustment", and then mentioned Disney Dollars. But someone else I spoke with at the Disney Club said that wasn't possible.

nullWhat do you experts think - should I join the Disney Club in the hopes of getting more than $29.95 in some sort of rebate for this trip? Because I don't know if I'll use any of the other "benefits" of the Disney Club. Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[dvm2b]

Any discounts you might receive with the Disney Club are definitely not retroactive. In order to obtain a discount on a reservation after joining DC, you would need to inquire about a new reservation; if you find one to your satisfaction, you'd then need to cancel your existing one. This is how things are done with *any* sort of discount applied to a WDW reservation. (e.g. I had a rack-rate ressie at Animal Kingdom Lodge; after securing a nice discounted rate, I had to make a 2nd deposit & then cancel the first ressie)

As for discounted admission media: You will save a few dollars (in the ballpark of 5%) on WDW multi-day tickets. However, tickets that are already purchased *are not* refundable (check the fine print & you'll see). The only work-around for this is to apply an existing pass toward the purchase of a new (more days) one -- for example, if you have a 4-day Park Hopper, you may be able to purchase a 5-day Park Hopper at DC price, and apply the cost of the 4-day to the balance. This can only be done at a Guest Services location at WDW (gates or resort).

Joining the DC does not guarantee that a discount will be available for the dates you need. It's a matter of weighing the pros & cons. In the past, I've easily saved what is now the cost to join with my (obsessive<g>) Disney Store purchases - let alone the cash I've sunk at Downtown Disney, admission discounts, meal discounts, etc. If those things are not important to you, you just might decide that the 'risk' of 'maybe' getting a room discount for your specific dates isn't worth the $ to join.

Hope this helped some
Brend

 

[dvm2b]

I just re-read your message & I see that you purchased the Resort Magic package.

If I've filed away my mental notes properly, this means you probably booked through Walt Disney Travel Company. If so, the package has a 45-day cancellation policy. Read your reservation fine print to catch the details on this.

If indeed you've got a 45-day policy, I doubt that any possible discounts w/ a DC membership would counterbalance the loss on your existing reservation since you're within the 45-day window.

Brend

 

[Gillian]

DC members get 50 disney dollars with the resort magic package, and a discount on the passes part of the trip, regardless of room disount availability. BUT, because you booked with WDTC, if you change or cancel your reservation within 45 days, there is a fee. So the change fee + $29 membership might not be worth the $50 in disney dollars you would get. not sure what the passes discount is.

As you know, no DC discounts are available for your dates because it is holiday season.

If you do get the disney club for the next time you go, the cancellation policy is more lenient - 5 days.

 

[sarabi59]

Thank you very much to those who responded to my long inquiry. You confirmed what I was thinking about trying to get the DC now. Our family will enjoy the Polynesian and Disney World anyway - even without a discount! Now I know next time to research and plan well in advance. I've learned so much already from these boards!

 

[Gillian]

Have a great trip! Think of us back here (not there)!