Disney Vacation Account - what a mess!

[bubblesaunty]

I just got off a phone call from Disney. I was refunded my entire DVA deposit. I actually saw it on my online bank before they had even called me. I spoke to a very nice manager who apologized and said that they had researched my account and found out the individuals who spoke with me and coached them on the issue. She said that DVA is new but that every CM has the information about it. I felt bad, I was not out to get someone in trouble...She said that it should have been the policy to get a supervisor if they did not know or to offer a call me back with the information requested. I never should have been told to use the contact us e-mail to address my issue with the DVA. My son is celebrating his 6 birthday at Disney and she wished him happy birthday in advance. She said the DVA gives 20.00 gift card for every 1000 deposited. She gave me a credit for 25.00 for every 1000.00 of my reservation total and credited it right to my balance due. I was very impressed. It is not the money but I did appreciate the fact that she did take the time to see my numerous calls about it and call me to apologize.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

The problem is that the system is not really active yet. Yes, you can find the website, but it will not come up on any a Disney website search. CMs have been briefed on how to process future DVA account payments, but the structure on refunds, etc wasn't structured from the beginning.

 

[Fjobe]

Does anyone have a better number for me to call to close my account??? I can't get anyone on the line that knows what to do. :/

I called the DVA number and talked to a Guest relations CM named Eric and Disneyland. I sent an email to DVA the same day. I am not sure which avenue worked, but that was a Saturday and I had my money back the next Tuesday (that Monday was a bank holiday).

 

[TheRatPack]

I tried using my DVA today to make a reservation online and it didn't work, gave me the error saying the number was wrong and to call 1-877-650-4327. I called but after the prompts I realized it was Disney Gift Card services I was calling so I hung up and figured I'd give 1-407-W-Disney a try.....got a great CM who was going to direct me to someone who could help me out but then decided to give the DVA number a try first.

She said it worked, gave me a confirmation number and explained that they have to verify the account first then enter the numbers, not sure what all that entails. Either way, she said I was her first DVA booking and she was great about it all.....not sure I'll be using it in the future though after reading through this thread LOL.

 

[dreamseeker9]

I tried using my DVA today to make a reservation online and it didn't work, gave me the error saying the number was wrong and to call 1-877-650-4327. I called but after the prompts I realized it was Disney Gift Card services I was calling so I hung up and figured I'd give 1-407-W-Disney a try.....got a great CM who was going to direct me to someone who could help me out but then decided to give the DVA number a try first.

She said it worked, gave me a confirmation number and explained that they have to verify the account first then enter the numbers, not sure what all that entails. Either way, she said I was her first DVA booking and she was great about it all.....not sure I'll be using it in the future though after reading through this thread LOL.

I'm glad it ended up working out for you in the end!

My money was refunded in full, and I won't be using the DVA again.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Thanks for the help, but that is the number that I called - twice - and though it says it's the DVA phone number, every CM I spoke with didn't know what the DVA was. I even had a CM call the number while on the phone with me, and it was a mystery to her how to reach someone who was actually connected to the DVA.

I don't think the DVA funds can be used in the parks themselves, only to pay for a room reservation and tickets via the Disney website, though it didn't work when I tried it.

I know this is an older thread, but I just want to say the same thing happened to me. So, employees still aren't really sure what is going on. I called to request a refund, they have to fill out a form since no one is there from DVA today (Saturday) and someone will contact me next week. Definitely will just be using a different type of savings account in the future. Maybe once they get it figured out it will be a better option, but for right now I'll stick with regular savings!

 

[Halloweenqueen]

.

 

[poohfriend]

It is officially rolled out and we should be able to use. However the terms are already changing.

You can no longer use a TA to book rooms/ cruises.

Well that totally destroys why I was doing it.

My plan was to use my account to buy target gift cards and then have one account to give to my TA to pay off a cruise and then get bonus gift cards. It was a great deal plus it was helping me save a little at a time for a very expensive holiday cruise.

Truly wish Disney and Chase had thought this all the way through BEFORE rolling this out at all. It's a HOT MESS.

I would stay away from it.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

.

 

[CouponCon]

I just signed up last weekend to save for our "room only" in April 2015. Hopefully all the kinks are worked out by then. It just seems like an easy way to save. I have it set to pull out weekly.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I have processed DVC payments, but every time I go to GS I've been told that the customer service infrastructure isn't set up because it is not officially rolled out.

Oh you can use it for DVC payments? In what way? I'm curious about this. Can it be a way to save up to buy more points??? Uh oh i would be in trouble. On a positive note, I requested a refund from my DVA Saturday, the CM filed the request, and my refund was processed first thing this morning. So, it is not 100% yet but I could see myself using it in the future

 

[clanmcculloch]

It is officially rolled out and we should be able to use. However the terms are already changing.

You can no longer use a TA to book rooms/ cruises.

It's not a case of no longer being able to. If they're now saying this then they're finally coming out and stating it up front. I tried using it for a reservation through a TA back when it was new and it just couldn't be done. If they're now saying it at least it's in black and white before loading money into the account.

 

[Haywardhauler]

It's not a case of no longer being able to. If they're now saying this then they're finally coming out and stating it up front. I tried using it for a reservation through a TA back when it was new and it just couldn't be done. If they're now saying it at least it's in black and white before loading money into the account.

I asked my trusted AAA Travel Agent back in December when these accounts were first rolled out if you could book through a TA. IMHO there are some decent perks when you book with AAA (i.e. 8-10% package discount if no PIN or Room or Dining offer available) and additional perks when booking a package with Dining (i.e. Story time with Characters, preferred location for Fireworks) You are 100% correct, when it was first introduced she verified with Disney that you could in fact use a TA for booking. Like a moron I went ahead and signed up for an account without checking the DIS boards first. I emailed my TA to ask about having to book direct with Disney. She then called her Disney contact. This is the answer I got:

I just got a call from my Rep and she said that they just received word today that as of right now the launch of this program is TBA. Right at this moment if you have to book your Disney vacation and use this account, it would have to be booked direct with Disney.
Sorry that I do not have a definitive answer just yet. It’s kind of still in limbo.

So the answer is "maybe" at this point. Ugh. Really, this is the best that Disney can do? I don't understand why they would add this type of restriction in the first place? Are they trying to cut commissions paid to TAs?

 

[clanmcculloch]

What I was told regarding the TA limitation is that because DVA is an actual bank account, only the owner of the account can authorize money to be deducted, not a 3rd party which is what a TA is in this instance. Rules are different for credit cards than they are for bank accounts I guess. But, because the trip was booked through a TA the owner of the account can't call themselves because the reservation is owned by a TA. I'm not sure if they could have managed if there was a 3 way call between Disney, the TA, and the guest. We didn't try. I just got my money refunded to my gift cards.

 

[Haywardhauler]

What I was told regarding the TA limitation is that because DVA is an actual bank account, only the owner of the account can authorize money to be deducted, not a 3rd party which is what a TA is in this instance. Rules are different for credit cards than they are for bank accounts I guess. But, because the trip was booked through a TA the owner of the account can't call themselves because the reservation is owned by a TA. I'm not sure if they could have managed if there was a 3 way call between Disney, the TA, and the guest. We didn't try. I just got my money refunded to my gift cards.

OK this sorta goes with what my TA told me originally

The Disney Vacation Account was launched on 12/19/13. It is a new online resource designed to assist Guests in creating a personalized budget and save for an upcoming Disney Vacation. When you are ready to book your vacation, the funds that have been saved in your Disney Vacation Account can be used towards the cost of a Disney vacation. As an incentive to use the program, Guests with a Disney Vacation Account can receive a Bonus $20 Disney Gift Card for every $1,000 of qualified pre-arrival purchases made with their Disney Vacation Account.

You may make travel arrangements for your vacation through a travel agent. However, only you may make a payment for your vacation with your Disney Vacation Account. You will need to call the Disney Reservation Center to make payment(s) towards your vacation directly. As your travel agent, I would provide you with your reservation number and you would be required to make the payments.

I think its the last paragraph (that I cannot find anywhere in the FAQ or Terms) that is causing the issue. Only an authorized user can make a payment but as long as you have a valid reservation number than it should not be an issue. UGH !!!

 

[clanmcculloch]

You would think, but it seems that it can't possibly be that easy. I tried a couple times to see if I could get a CM who could figure out a way to have the system allow me to make the payment myself but none of them could make it happen because the reservation was owned by a TA. It's unfortunate that nobody on the team figuring out DVA considered this little roadblock.

 

[elaine amj]

I used it a few weeks back to put twenty gift cards toward a ticket purchase, thinking it would be easier than reading the numbers off over the phone. HA! Setting up the account and figuring out how to enter the gift cards was a royal pain, and then once I had the funds, there was no way to purchase the tickets online. When I tried to purchase the tickets over the phone, I was on the phone for no less than 40 minutes, being passed from CM to CM. Someone finally figured out how to take my freaking money eventually, but I wish i hadn't bothered.

Hi! Just wanted to share my experience.

I opened the DVA on Monday (2/24), not having read this thread. I saw it in another discussion and looked right into it. I read through ALL the fine print. Got the first deposit using my Disney Visa. Then that evening I loaded roughly 20-$50 Disney GC that I've purchased at Target over the last few months. It was very simple, typed in the numbers and it loaded right into the account. I had some left overs from our last trip and loaded those. It only takes full dollars, so I have 1 card with 82cents on it

Tuesday I tried buying annual passes online. Tried several times, did not work. An error saying it's an invalid number kept popping up. I emailed DVA, got a generic responses pasted from the FAQ. Chatted with the ticketing people, they didn't know what DVA was. Then they said you could only purchase packages, not tickets.

Today I called ticketing. Got transferred a few times, not sure if it's DVA or the annual passes. Got a CM named Sedona (sp?). She was great! I gave her an excellent rating afterwards. She said she'd done it once before. Got all my info, gave her my DVA account number, and were done! (Make sure they put the acct number into the "Gift Card" option.)

I see the money going out of my DVA online. I have a reference number for the tickets. It could not be easier! Now I hope I can link the will call number to my MB and start booking FP+. If it wasn't for DVA, I would have had to wait till I get there to buy the tickets because they will only take 2 GC over the phone.

Yes, it's more work. But saving at least 5% using the Target GC is worth the trouble.

My only regret is not opening it sooner and getting the $20 bonus. But I'll get it for our fall trip.

I've had my eye on the DVA - thinking it would be an awesome way to input Disney gift cards bought at Target and also earn some extra rewards. So far everything on this thread is not inspiring confidence. I think I'll be a "wait and see" - especially since I typically book Disney trips via a TA.

We bank in the US and Canada so can open this US bank account. However, we live in Canada and have to call Disney from canada. I HATE calling Disney from Canada. Even a simple reservation cancellation can eat up many expensive long distance minutes. So I usually use a TA - calling my TA's 1-800 number and letting THEM sit for half an hour on the phone with Disney.

Throwing in an off-topic pet peeve - WHY in this day and age can I not simply cancel/change my Disney reservation online?? I often want to book speculatively with expectations of frequent changes/cancellations (what can I say - I like dreaming) and hate to bother a TA with these types of speculative bookings. Having to spend money on a long distance call to Disney to change/cancel drives me up the wall.

 

[nalajms]

Throwing in an off-topic pet peeve - WHY in this day and age can I not simply cancel/change my Disney reservation online?? I often want to book speculatively with expectations of frequent changes/cancellations (what can I say - I like dreaming) and hate to bother a TA with these types of speculative bookings. Having to spend money on a long distance call to Disney to change/cancel drives me up the wall.

Because they want to try and talk you into not canceling


What doesn't make sense is if I have a trip booked through Disney, and my mom wants to pay off some of it for me, she can call and do so. I'm not sure they actually take a bank account and routing number, but there's nothing saying you can pay for a vacation that's not yours.

I love the DVA and have had no problems with APs and DDP. But it seems like I need to open a new account for each trip, since each account can only redeem up to $500 GC at the end. Seems kind of silly

 

[Haywardhauler]

Because they want to try and talk you into not canceling


What doesn't make sense is if I have a trip booked through Disney, and my mom wants to pay off some of it for me, she can call and do so. I'm not sure they actually take a bank account and routing number, but there's nothing saying you can pay for a vacation that's not yours.

I love the DVA and have had no problems with APs and DDP. But it seems like I need to open a new account for each trip, since each account can only redeem up to $500 GC at the end. Seems kind of silly

Just so I understand. Have you been able to use the a DVA with a TA or were these trips you booked directly with Disney Travel. Which when you think about it Disney Travel is just that, a travel agency which happens to be owned by Disney. So again I cannot understand why they would not let their sales force (Independent Travel Agents) use this as well

 

[Haywardhauler]

Just some more info I found on DVA
All contributions to your Disney Vacation Account and all contributions made to other Disney Vacation Accounts in the Program are deposited with a bank in a non-interest bearing deposit account that is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"). The bank account is held in the name of "Walt Disney Travel Co Inc as Agent For Benefit of Its Customers Participating in the Disney Vacation Account". Initially, we will use JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Walt Disney Travel Co., Inc. is not a bank.