Buy Four Get.....

[bwvBound]

They probably aren't offering for the Dolphin or Swan - those are not Disney resorts and you can't book a Disney package at them. That would have narrowed your choices way down.

Both Dolphin and Swan showed up on the results list (started from the Special Offer search page). It wasn't until you tried clicking all the way through [Check Availability] that they dropped out. I would have gladly accepted a chance to revisit the Yacht Club ... I've been too many years in a row at the Boardwalk.

 

[TDC Nala]

That's interesting - that you can book a package at Swan/Dolphin through Disney - they still dont' allow the dining plan though I assume.

 

[n2mm]

I also book the resort promotions and save my points. It does take a little getting use to staying at a regular resorts. Just this morning I booked the Disney Holiday Shopping Getaway pin offer that came out for AP holders. I'm paying $49 a night at a value for 2 nights and getting a 35% discount on all shopping. I figured I could get some of "my" Christmas gifts. I really struggled whether I wanted to do this or not. It would be great if DVC members were given a bonus shopping timeframe during the holidays. I wasn't sure I wanted to do this promotion until someone recently came back and said you could use it everywhere and on collectibles, that convinced me. I'll finally pick up some of the DVC stuff I've had my eye on. It's like being a CM for a couple of days and not having to do the work for it. (Hubby use to be a CM, so I really miss the discount.) I do wish they would offer a few special limited perk for DVC members, like reduced dining or an increased shopping discount. It doesn't have to be a permanent perk, just a little something extra, esp when we see lots of incentives be mailed out. Even today there is a buzz out that there are new pin promotions for free dining that is from April to June. Now I might be tempted if I got one of those.

 

[DebbieB]

I usually stay in a 1 bedroom. Considering the rack rate is over $400 per night, I think we are getting a better deal than buy 4/get 3 free. My original purchase was at $65 per point (1999) and my maintenance is about $1300 a year (250 points). I can stretch my 250 points into about 11 nights per year in a 1 bedroom, which would rack for over $5,000. The problem is our discount is spread out over many years, not instant like 4/3 so it's harder to see.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

And I only got lemonade and cookies when I signed on the dotted line.

We did our contract by mail... didn't even get lemonade and cookies It does kind-of ruffle my feathers when I see all these people getting hundreds and hundreds of developer points and gift cards. But that's marketing.

But if they don't fill the rooms, they don't need all the housekeepers and bell services and servers, desk clerks, etc. They could decide to shut down parks earlier in the day, entire days. Or just close down attractions, like Fantasmic, Illuminations, Spectromagic, etc. Disney is out to make money and if it takes a little money to make a lot of money, they will do it.

Very well said. They are just trying to bail themselves out and save some jobs while keeping attractions running. Makes good sense to me.

I guess if I wanted I could rent out my points and take advantage of this particular promotion too. But then I don't get to stay in a DVC resort.....

 

[CraftyMouse]

Flame me if you must, but I'd LOVE to get a $200.00 gift card, or even "free dining" once every 5-10 years!

No flames from me, but I will say that it makes no sense to me to be complaining about not getting something you were never promised. As DVC members we have gotten exactly what we paid for...great accommodations on Disney property at a fantastic price. Sure, there are deals for the regular resorts right now. But over the long haul of a DVC membership we're still making out so much better. I'll take my 50 years of membership over the random discount or gift card any day.

 

[johde]

I understand the OP comments. There are things they could do that might be good for business be good relations with DVC members. For example, they could offer the ticket portion for the 4 day get 3 free. Giving DVC members 3 extra days would not cost Disney much (about $12 a ticket) and it might convice members to spend more days on Disney property instead of venturing off to Universal or Sea World.

 

[allshookup]

just remember folks, these are unusual economic times. It's not like a deal like the buy 4/get 3 free comes around every year. The last time was after 9/11, almost 8 years ago. If you're depending on these kinds of deals as deals good enough to come to Disney, then you'll have to be hoping for a lot of bad times. And you'll be waiting a long time between each trip.

I agree, if you are flexible with your travel times, Disney seems to offer a lot of good deals during their slower periods. But, if you have to travel during peak times/school holidays, there still aren't many great deals. I think for this ongoing 4/3 offer, it excludes the 2 weeks around Easter, which is my spring break and also ends just when my school year ends. I'm sure Disney is aware that the more deals they offer, the harder it would be to sell DVC. A business have to weigh the risks. It's even a risk for Disney's reputation to be offering such a huge discount as they would like to keep to their triple D motto: Disney Doesn't Discount. But times are tough. They need to keep making money. All that magic comes with a big price tag.

But I do understand the need to vent...

ITA & exactly what I was going to say. The reason we finally bought DVC is because we like to go during the holidays sometimes & it's almost impossible to get any kind of discount at that time. After paying rack rate to stay in a tiny hotel room, we took the bait & bought DVC & I never regretted it for a second.

I usually stay in a 1 bedroom. Considering the rack rate is over $400 per night, I think we are getting a better deal than buy 4/get 3 free. My original purchase was at $65 per point (1999) and my maintenance is about $1300 a year (250 points). I can stretch my 250 points into about 11 nights per year in a 1 bedroom, which would rack for over $5,000. The problem is our discount is spread out over many years, not instant like 4/3 so it's harder to see.

That too! I never thougt I needed extra room, washer & dryer & kitchen till I had one & now I'm so spoiled that I find it very difficult to stay in a regular hotel room. I could never afford a one bedroom even with a discount if I didn't have DVC!

We did our contract by mail... didn't even get lemonade and cookies It does kind-of ruffle my feathers when I see all these people getting hundreds and hundreds of developer points and gift cards. But that's marketing.

Same here! No cookies & lemonade for us at signing either!

But I do have to agree with the OP, that it would nice if they'd offer us loyal die-hard fans a little more than a discount on AP tickets & show tickets & free cookies & lemonade at their little get-togethers, but I'm not holding my breath!

 

[lugnut33]

I just think it would be nice if they let DVC members have like 20% off all merchandise and food if they present their member card and key to the Kingdom.

 

[TDC Nala]

I just think it would be nice if they let DVC members have like 20% off all merchandise and food if they present their member card and key to the Kingdom.

Forget that. Then they can't talk us into buying Tables in Wonderland when we get the AP with the discount.

 

[Dean]

I just think it would be nice if they let DVC members have like 20% off all merchandise and food if they present their member card and key to the Kingdom.

I've always said DVC should go after better deals and discounts for DVC members. This includes better deals on DC, DCL, etc. But it assumes DVC is willing to argue for it and in the case of things like the CC or DC, offer the ones that will deal and leave off the ones that don't. Take HH DVC. The list of discounts there is maybe 20 where for Marriott it's almost 2 pages 12 or 14 point size.

 

[TK Brown]

This might be a little off topic...but when I saw the 4/3 deal, I thought it was a great deal. but then I did a little research. For 7 nights at POP in Jan 2009, adding park hoppers and DDP (basic plan), it came out to $1820 for @ adults and 1 child. We went in Jan 2008 (before joining DVC) and using AAA and the Disney Visa discount, it was $1643. Im no math major, but this isnt such a great deal after all, to me at least. Which is why im so happy to be in DVC.

 

[David Raguso]

Maybe im getting greedy but its tough to swallow that there are so many low rates, packages, freebees for regular people and not for DVCers

However DVCers how spend thousands of dollars on club membership get so little back. Are there special offers im missing? anyone else feel the same way?

Im sure disney sees that club members can more likely afford disney visits but at the end of the day the economy is affecting us all and the people who shell out the big cash and a lifelong commitment should be getting a break as well.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Those are only ways to fill up empty rooms. They already have our money. Our rooms are already filled whether we use our points or not. But if the other resorts aren't filled, there is no need for Illuminations every night, no Spectro Magic four times a week, no need for Wishes every night. Etc.

These are not "thanks for being a nice customer". These are "we're getting a little desperate from all the holiday cancellations".

Bank your points and pay cash for a nice little 4+3 trip. Use double the points next year for a big blowout vacation.

 

[ranthony]

This might be a great time to try out one of the non-DVC resorts as a 'regular Joe'.

Bank your points and make that reservation at the Poly, or rent your points (although deals like these may make renting tougher) and use the cash to book one of these promotions and have extra cash to spend on your meal plan or travel costs.

Look at it as an opportunity, not a 'cold shoulder'.

 

[eliza61]

I guess I'm the weird one out the box. I generally don't go around saying "look what some one else got". I purchased DVC for the long haul, I based in on the fact that with or without promos I love disney and want to keep travelling there.
The economy is bad, disney is doing what they need to do to keep profit margins up (since I am also a stockholder I'm happy with this). Right now baragins can be found in 10 years who knows. I'll still be enjoying my dvc.

 

[CraftyMouse]

Maybe im getting greedy but its tough to swallow that there are so many low rates, packages, freebees for regular people and not for DVCers

However DVCers how spend thousands of dollars on club membership get so little back. Are there special offers im missing? anyone else feel the same way?

Im sure disney sees that club members can more likely afford disney visits but at the end of the day the economy is affecting us all and the people who shell out the big cash and a lifelong commitment should be getting a break as well.

Not another one.

You are comparing apples to oranges.

While these packages look great, they really aren't that much of a deal. You get about 40% off of your room (also possible with an AP) and $10 off of your MYW pass. It really isn't a huge savings.

And remember...if you want to, you are welcome to take advantage of the new promo. It is a way to fill unreserved WDW resort rooms. Just book a package and pay cash instead of using your DVC points. You are as welcome to do so as anyone else.

You are getting exactly what you signed up for with DVC. None of us have any right to expect any sorts of discounts, simply because the economy is bad. DVC works differently than the regular resorts. They don't need to fill empty, unsold rooms as the rooms are, essentially, sold out year round. DVC and WDW are separate entities. WDW is offering a promo that it feels is necessary. DVC does not have the same need.

As I said in another thread...people need to stop seeing what they don't have and focus on what they do have. We have DVC memberships that will save us far more money, over the years, than any once-in-a-while promos.

 

[allshookup]

There's a lot of threads about this lately, so I know DVC'ers aren't happy to see all these "deals" & it looks like we get nothing. However, like CraftyMouse said, those "deals" aren't as great as they make them out to be. It's the same with free dining. Yes it's free, but you're paying rack rate & buying park tickets to get it. To really figure out if it's a great deal, find out with the room discount is at the resort you would want to stay at & what the dining plan would cost vs paying rack rate & free dining. Not to mention the park tickets vs discounted AP.

Plus as others have mentioned, these "deals" come & go, and when times are good, those discounts get harder & harder to find. Believe me I know, because I got tired of chasing those deals which is why we bought DVC. And I don't know about you, but I couldn't afford a one bedroom villa, if I didn't have DVC & now that I'm used to that accomodation, it would be really tough to stay in a regular hotel room, deal or not.

Not that I don't understand the need to vent or wish there were more discounts, yes times are tough for everyone, but sometimes you have to look at the bigger picture & compare the savings we get over a lifetime compared to these occassional "deals".

 

[yaawgmoth]

I have been reading alot of this online and have spent time thinking of what each side has had to say.
I agree with all sides. Yet I wander if those of you complaining about having the chance to buy 4 get 3 free are looking at this objectively.
Each point you purchased was one you spent time thinking about, agonizing over and really considering if you had the money and how you would spend it. If you want to, you have options with your points. Spend them and go on vacation, or sell them.
You have a piece of the magic in which you hold part of the wand. People who are signing up to come get something free, are in essence getting nothing free. Disney has to pay for its employees, buildings and other costs. IF the rooms are empty, then the parks are empty and the concept gets ruined.
Basically, Disney is offering to people a chance to come see the magic and be part of it, just long enough to spend a boatload of money.
Many of the people coming still have to buy tickets to get into the park. For a Family of 4 for a week this just became a $2000 investment.
What do you get for $2000? As a DVC member you already get the 40% discount on the rooms and you get a %20 discount on your AP.

The bigger picture is that DVC will stay and you will get to come to the Magic for a 50 year period. Many of these people paying 2k to enter the parks will spend another 2k for the week and go home, with just memories. Am I being slightly sure...but Disney counts on the family of 4 to spend its money, regardless of where it is spent.

Last thought, when they are at Disney they are captive. Get wet, buy a towel. Get hungry, buy food. Better to get them to Disney and get their money than to let them stay home and get nothing.

Thanks for letting me have my 2c...

 

[DisFlan]

We're playing "Joe" next year. We grabbed the bounce back for next fall at SSR (30% room discount and free dining). It doesn't make me value our DVC less. We'll be back on points in 2010, and I know that with DVC we won't be hit with the rising cost of rooms like the "average Joe" is likely to be.

As noted, this is an unusual year, but as a rule "Joe" only gets a break once in a while, and (hurricane-free-dining aside) some of them aren't really that great - or predictable.



DisFlan