Am I the only who thinks Disney / DVC is screwing us on Annual Passes?

[luv2sleep]

There's nothing wrong with wishing for it or asking for it, it's anyone being upset about it that's simply wrong. Another's gain is not automatically my loss.

Just different perspectives is all.

 

[Dean]

Just different perspectives is all.

clearly but being upset in this situation would be an unreasonable and inappropriate perspective.

 

[luv2sleep]

clearly but being upset in this situation would be an unreasonable and inappropriate perspective.

I'm not crying about it but it does bother me. It's ok if no one agrees, lol.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

Can somebody help me understand what discounts are available? I was just on the website and saw the Premium WDW AP at $484, but nowhere could I find a price for a regular AP. Is that not an option for us anymore?

Thanks.

 

[DebbieB]

Can somebody help me understand what discounts are available? I was just on the website and saw the Premium WDW AP at $484, but nowhere could I find a price for a regular AP. Is that not an option for us anymore?

Thanks.

It's still there. Go to Membership Magic > Perks > Tickets and Tours > Savings on WDW Annual Passes. Annual Pass Member Price $464 plus tax. Click Purchase Now and it will take you to the page to buy it.

 

[fishermouse]

Am I the only one that has no idea why OP is getting screwed? She can use it for half of her next trip and twice more this year according to her posted plans of three trips in 2014

 

[fishermouse]

Another thought, if walmart offers 50% off on a 72" flat screen but thats to big for your family room are you getting screwed by walmart?.

 

[DebbieB]

Am I the only one that has no idea why OP is getting screwed? She can use it for half of her next trip and twice more this year according to her posted plans of three trips in 2014

That's why I couldn't understand. He/she never explained that.

 

[deedisneydream97]

We also took advantage of the $399 deal..worked out well for us because of the timing of our trips, so we were able to purchase one in Oct 2012 and also purchased a voucher for the following year. We knew it was too good to last. Not really sure what we will do...we still have our May trip, but passes will expire the day before our next Oct trip. It would have been nice to get a good deal on the pap renewal, but I wasn't expecting it. As previous posters said, DVC is about a wonderful resort stay. It is actually embarassing to see what some people have posted on the official DVC webpage....a sense of entitlement that DVC "owes" them because they bought vacation club. I sometimes wonder if some of these people bothered to do their research or even knew what they were purchasing.

We've been DVC owners since before 2000. There were never any passholder discounts for years. We weren't allowed to purchase the dining plan. We KNEW that Disney parks were expensive to visit. We would bank our points to visit every other year. It blows me away that people are now complaining that Disney is too expensive....they pay SO MUCH money for vacation club...shame on Disney, etc. etc. I wonder if alot of these misinformed people bought resale and just assumed that membership also came with free food, free park tickets, free t-shirts, etc. Also a number of posts on DVC about how it isn't fair that non-members get a free dining plan with their stay. Maybe they need to do the research about rack rates and what kind of "free" dining plan you get.

 

[DebbieB]

We also took advantage of the $399 deal..worked out well for us because of the timing of our trips, so we were able to purchase one in Oct 2012 and also purchased a voucher for the following year. We knew it was too good to last. Not really sure what we will do...we still have our May trip, but passes will expire the day before our next Oct trip. It would have been nice to get a good deal on the pap renewal, but I wasn't expecting it. As previous posters said, DVC is about a wonderful resort stay. It is actually embarassing to see what some people have posted on the official DVC webpage....a sense of entitlement that DVC "owes" them because they bought vacation club. I sometimes wonder if some of these people bothered to do their research or even knew what they were purchasing.

We've been DVC owners since before 2000. There were never any passholder discounts for years. We weren't allowed to purchase the dining plan. We KNEW that Disney parks were expensive to visit. We would bank our points to visit every other year. It blows me away that people are now complaining that Disney is too expensive....they pay SO MUCH money for vacation club...shame on Disney, etc. etc. I wonder if alot of these misinformed people bought resale and just assumed that membership also came with free food, free park tickets, free t-shirts, etc. Also a number of posts on DVC about how it isn't fair that non-members get a free dining plan with their stay. Maybe they need to do the research about rack rates and what kind of "free" dining plan you get.

I've been a member since 1999 and agree with you. When I first bought, the only ticket discount was 10% off length of stay tickets. People on this board were lobbying DVC to extend that to annual passes. When they first came out with the AP discount, it was 25%! We were only asking for 10%! Then a couple years ago they increased it from $100 off to $145 off to keep up with price increases. But still that's not good enough for some people.

 

[PinkTink63]

I get it that you're upset that a perk you were able to use before doesn't work out for you this time. IMO there's no reason to be upset with DVC management or Disney but it's reasonable to feel disappointed it didn't work out. The reason for the dates and timing is really irrelevant. It won't work for some including myself for either last time or this time. One of my mantra's is that someone else's gain is not necessarily my loss.

I am in the same boat as you! Didn't work for me last time because we already had activated passes and it isn't going to work for me this time due to timing! I am disappointed, but that's the breaks! Maybe next time! Third time's a charm!?

 

[PatMcDuck]

I think the new PAP discount is not working out for your this time. The $ 399 PAP deal did not work for my family last time but I did not feel cheated or deprived. I was looking foward to this new deal but I am slightly disappointed because there was no additional discount on the regular AP. I can pay $ 20 more and get a PAP but I am not sure that we would take advantage of waterparks and I am positive we will not visit DisneyQuest. Perhaps, next time the additional discounts will work for both of us.

It did not work for me last time either. Tried to forget about it. Then I bought AP vouchers (DVC discount, not PAP, just AP) awhile back. I was to activate them in May 2014. IF I was arriving earlier, I think I could confer them to PAPs (not yet activated). Or, I would maybe convert them to Premiers next week at DL, I am headed there, but I am fairly sure I cannot convert WDW AP vouchers to a WDW/DL Premier pass at DL. So, I cannot get the discounted PAPs again, or the discounted Premier. After this, I refuse to even buy an AP, unless it is under the PAP offer, maybe the 3rd time will be charm. I am kicking myself for buying those AP vouchers a few months ago.

 

[DebbieB]

The last time the PAP offer was cheaper than a regular AP. This time, it's about $20 more than a regular DVC AP. If you are not doing water parks or Disney Quest, the PAP promo is not a better deal.

 

[GBBTomorrow]

It's still there. Go to Membership Magic > Perks > Tickets and Tours > Savings on WDW Annual Passes. Annual Pass Member Price $464 plus tax. Click Purchase Now and it will take you to the page to buy it.

Thank you for the info. I wasn't looking hard enough. This upgrade offer does seem to be a good deal.

 

[chaphome]

I have a question on the DvC AP offer...does anyone know if they link it to your My Disney Experience account? Otherwise, you loose out on the FP booking window.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

You are suffering from Claire Bilby syndrome. Claire was head of DVC from Aug 2011 to end of Jan 2013, during which time DVC adopted the $399 PAP, added a number of other decent discounts, and generally seemed to be actually trying to treat the members like they were special. She left for a new position at Disneyland Paris and many suspected she was moved for being too nice to the members. We now have smiling Ken Potrock at the helm, who talks a great story but produces little (and some things are even starting to disappear). Kind of reminds me of Jim Lewis.

How true! I wrote an email to her one day and within a week a CM called to genuinely ask about my email and why I felt the way I did. It wasn't exactly a nice email either - I was frustrated after receiving another lame Vacation Magic - the one that introduced her to us. Among other things, I recall being aggravated by the continuous stupid pool hopper message - not that we pool hop or that there is anything wrong with it: I'm just too lazy to pack my stuff for a different pool.

Reading Disney War right now and can easily imagine her being shipped off somewhere.

 

[JWG]

I don't think Claire was moved because she was "too generous" to members. The reality is, she's a top talent within the Disney ranks. She wasn't long for that role and solved a short-term gap until they could determine a real long-term solution. Some of the deals are just agreements/arrangements with other departments. Not an actual cost to DVC.

Ken may or may not be good/effective (I have no frame of reference), but looking at Claire's background and history with Disney, you knew this wasn't a long-term stop for her.

 

[Greatfalls]

I have a question on the DvC AP offer...does anyone know if they link it to your My Disney Experience account? Otherwise, you loose out on the FP booking window.

They should, but you'll probably need to do it yourself. I did the last DVC PAP offer and entered the voucher numbers on MDE to get FP+'s. When I converted the voucher to the PAP, the FP+ selections carried over.