DVC new 2005 Annual Discount - I am only eligible for just ONE !

[PHILCT]

I sent this message below to the DVC MEMBER SERVICES.
Is there anyone else disappointed that they can only
get one DVC annual pass discount if they are living by themselves?



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Hi Member Services

Thank you so much for the new DVC Annual Pass Discount, I have been hoping for this for quite some time.

I have a problem, I am a household of "one", and I have 350 annual points where I often bring my closest relative and closest friends multiple times a year. With 350 points one can go several times a year to Disney, especially in the off season.

I kind of wish I had a chance to buy at least two annual passes, as I bring these same people often to Florida multiple times a year.

I think of them as family (I am now thinking of that magical word O'Hana).

I realize Disney shouldn't be taken advantage of on Annual Pass DVC Discounts, but I always travel with these same "family" of people who just don't happen to live with me.

I kind of feel that another member who has 130 points and their sisters and brothers who live with them are getting a very good deal on annual pass discounts, compared to myself only getting one discount.

I thought of inviting my closest friends and relative to come live with me, but that kind of scares me.
I even have an empty loft, where they could live, but
I prefer to use it for storage.

I much prefer my vacation "FAMILY" just travels with me several times a year to Disney World. I love them, I just don't want to live with them every day, I need my space.

I do love them enough to actually treat them to Hopper Plus Passes when we go two to three times a year to Disney.
It can be expensive, but I enjoy being with them and making their dreams come true at Disney.
I just get scared when the credit card bill comes the following month.

I was wondering if DVC could consider changing the policy to at least 2 passes per member, regardless of where they live? 4 Passes per member would make me sing "A KUNA MATATA".

I feel so lonely "me" and "myself" requesting this expanded perk, is there any solution ?

Thanks for listening.

Thanks for the new perk for "myself" and "I".
A household of "one".
(I feel so lonely, I need a hug from Mickey Soon !)

I am thinking how lucky Snow White would be if she was a DVC member, she could enroll for 8 Annual Pass Discounts. (Counting the dwarfs).
I am assuming they are a family. Don't tell me otherwise, I couldn't bare to hear anything differently.

I hope your laughing and not snoring !

Hugs,

Phil, The One and Only.

 

[TDC Nala]

yeah, but it isn't a big enough deal for me to write anybody about it. I did choose to live alone. I could go live with my parents if I wanted them to have my perks. Believe me, they'd love that, they work on me about living with them all the time.

Sounds like most of your travel companions aren't even relatives.

 

[PHILCT]

Hi Nala

I do go to Disney more with friends than relatives, most of the relatives drive me crazy after 48 hours.

If I had a choice between no discount and living with my parents, I would choose the no discount.



Phil

 

[WithDisneySpirit]

It may not get you anywhere but it was definitely funny Thanks and good luck for your response. I hope you get one!

Lisa

 

[Granny]

I sent this message below to the DVC MEMBER SERVICES.
Is there anyone else disappointed that they can only
get one DVC annual pass discount if they are living by themselves?

It's a difficult position for Disney to be in, as to how to limit something like this.

I am the kind of person who would figure that even with the restrictions, I am $100 better off than I was a month ago.

But I can understand your disappointment. Your disappointment is understandable...the anger of others who feel "cheated" is not as easy to empathize with.

 

[CarolA]

I am not disappointed. I get a discount!!! (I live alone and no one else pays for my DVC so why should they get a discount? I have over 500 points and I figure if my friends/family get to stay free that is more then most people get.)

 

[OneMoreTry]

I think members should be allotted passes PER POINT. Not number of people in household. About 1 pass per 25 or 30 points. That would be fairest. You'd get over 10, Phil.

 

[WDWorld2003]

I would be frustrated if I were only able to get 1 pass with the amount of points you have while someone who has 50 points could get 4 passes if all lived at the same address. They would save $400.00 with a 50 point contract and you would save $100.00 with a 350 point contract. They could pay for 2 years dues with the amount saved. You couldn't even pay for a month's worth of dues with what you saved.

I think it would be easier if Disney would allow the number of passes to be based on the number of points you own. Maybe 1 pass for every 50 points. It seems it could eliminate a lot of problems and would be fair since those holding many points pay more in dues.

I think this perk is great but I think it needs to be fair.... Having the member purchase them in person would eliminate selling the passes at a profit.

 

[tjkraz]

DVC had to draw the line somewhere.

To offer an AP for every 25 points means that someone with 500 points would have access to TWENTY APs. Assuming that many (but not all) members primarily use their points for their immediate family, that means you could see 15 or more of those AP vouchers on eBay.

If the system remains as-is (with proof of ownership required to get the discount), there will be ZERO vouchers on eBay.

I'd love to be able to get the discount for my parents who have vacationed with us in the past, but 'thems the breaks.' Far as I'm concerned, if they want the discount, they can buy into DVC. Most important to me is that DVC administers the discount properly, no matter what criteria they establish, to help ensure that the discount remains in force for years to come.

 

[Pixie_Dust]

How do they know how many people live with you?

Also, during the first several years of the DVC, didn't members get free passes every time they stayed? We only joined at the end of that time, but it was the best perk! I mentioned that in our survey, that discounts are fantastic, but it begs the question of the perk we would really want, which is the free passes back! It doesn't hurt to remind them of that (also they used to give Disneyland passes when you used points at those hotels).

 

[KNWVIKING]

One of the problems though Phil is that even if they allowed you to purchase extra AP's you would have to bring that same guest with you for the whole year. The AP is asigned to a specific person.

There is no one good answer or solution. There will always be someone who will get left out, get less, get more, etc.

 

[crisi]

A number of years ago I had a cousin living in Florida, alone. She could get the Florida annual pass, but she couldn't get it for her sisters, her parents, and her friends.

I really see this as similar - what DVC has done is made us "honorary" Florida residents - with the same limitations Florida residents have always had - discounts for the residents, but not the guests - regardless of how many homes in Florida they owned or how big the square footage on their house was.

 

[Chuck S]

...during the first several years of the DVC, didn't members get free passes every time they stayed? We only joined at the end of that time, but it was the best perk! I mentioned that in our survey, that discounts are fantastic, but it begs the question of the perk we would really want, which is the free passes back!

I think you misunderstand the free passes. They were not a "DVC Perk", they were a marketing tool, much as Magical Beginnings is. They were not supplied to DVC members free by the Walt Disney World company, they were, in fact, paid for by DVD, the developer and marketer of DVC, as a purchase incentive for those that purchased before a specific date...I believe the incentive ended prior to 1996, and those that purchased points prior to that received the free passes (1/2 the capacity of the room). Those that purchased after that did not receive passes, unless they bought a resale contract that had originally had the incentive. Even though the passes ended Dec 31, 1999, you had to have purchased points prior to the cut-off date to receive them....so not ALL DVC members got those passes, even if they stayed at a DVC resort prior to Y2K.

I may be wrong, but I don't think anyone buying BWV received the free passes, so the incentive ended just about the time that BWV started selling.

 

[KNWVIKING]

We purchased in Nov of '97 and the pass program was not in affect then. At the time they were selling OKW and BWV.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

Phil CT I feel your pain. Although I now live with Mom in the past I could not have purchased an extra pass for anyone. I can now buy one for Mom but she wouldn't want it.

Truthfully I think it is amazing and a bit much that DVD/Disney would let members buy up to 8 passes. As much as I'd love it if they would let me purchase one extra pass for an unrelated, non-residing person of my choice I'd rather see the restrictions remain in place and the pass be available to just me. If things roll out without too many complaints perhaps Disney will do all passholders a favor and give them a gate discount to online prices for hoppers (5 or 10 percent)...after all that might bring in a few more people with a simple marketing tool.

 

[CarolA]

This discount was never suppose to be a "reduction" in your dues cost. Some of you are making a connection that does not appear to be resonable.
As another poster indicated this is the same as the Florida pass discount. My dad can get it, I can't.

 

[Kelly Nelly]

Call me crazy here but am I not the only one who thinks that people are getting a little bit bent out of shape here on $100 dollars off per pass. Like lets think about it a little bit here folks, if you have 4 people in Disney and go out for supper at a place like Ohana you have got $100 bucks spent on dinner just like that. I can't believe people are contemplating moving in with friends and othere relatives to get the DVC annual pass discount. Calm down here folks and think it over a little bit more logically here, it is only $100 dollars off per pass, it is not like Disney is paying us to go to parks or anything. Life is to short to be so petty.

 

[lllovell]

I am guessing the "moving in" thing was tongue in cheek.

To the person that said how would they know, in some of the postings I have read, it says that all adults must have identification showing they live in the same household. That is how.

 

[Doctor P]

I feel that, as much as they have apparently tried (and that effort is appreciated), this annual pass perk is poorly designed and poorly conceived. If the goal is simply to increase the amount of time DVC'ers go to the parks and how much money they spend, they have missed the mark. If the goal is to provide a perk that is fairly distributed among DVC members, they have missed the mark. If the goal is to get NEW annual pass holders, the program has not been designed to do so. If the goal is to encourage renewals of passes, I'm not sure how well it will do so (that is an empirical question, but according to many posts on these boards, RENEWAL behavior does not seem to be a major shift factor). I think that they could have done a lot better, with better results, and I hope they take the time to listen to the many issues that have been raised by a variety of members as to the issues with the strategy they have chose. However, I must say that if they STRICTLY (and I mean NO EXCEPTIONS) enforce the policy as outlined it may be about the best that one can realistically hope for, imperfect as it may be.

 

[tjkraz]

Personally, I really don't care what their motivation might be. I'll just be happy to save money on the APs that we would have bought anyway. In fact, we might just use the $125 PAP discount to get a PAP for the AP price.

Regardless of the behind-the-scenes reasoning, I just hope that WDW/DVC see the results they are looking for and that the perk becomes a permanent fixture.

I think the Florida resident analogy is absolutely perfect for the scenario. Thanks crisi.