Dean or any other timeshare expert, is there any reason DVC cannot do this?

[Disney1fan2002]

I was wondering, you know how some of us can pay our maintenance fee monthly? Legally, does the maintenance fees have to be directly connected to the resort taxes, care and maintenance???

What I am getting at is this, could DVC come up with a way for members to pay for their AP's through their maintenance fees? They can do it where they get the money the 1st year, and then the member will get their AP in their 2nd year. All the while, paying towards the next years passes. If the rates go up in any giving year, then DVC could bill the member for the difference before they can get the AP.

Does this makes sense?

I thought of this the other day, when I realized it was going to cost me WELL over $2000.00 for the 5 of us to get a PAP. Next year, my oldest will be 10, so it will be even more. I started wishing we could be on a payment plan, like we have with the maintenance fees. That got me thinking about what a great perk that would be for us DVC members!

I know some of you will post I can just sock so much money away myself, save up. I am a HORRIBLE saver. I cannot have access to any money I am trying to save, because almost always, I spend it. So if DVC was taking it from me each month, I can't get at it!

 

[erikthewise]

One problem here is that the DVC AP discount, like all DVC perks, is not permanent and could end at any time. IMO it is quite possible this perk will only last a year or two. (though I hope not!) So it might not make sense to make special arrangements for payment.

 

[Duckfan-in-Chicago]

What if you were to change plans and take a year off after paying for an AP? This is more of a headache than I think Disney would want to deal with . But who knows? They might like to sit on your money for a year and collect interest.

Do something to make the money harder to spend, maybe. If you were to buy Disney Dollars every month, at least you wouldn't have to worry about spending the money on other things.

 

[Chuck S]

It would be hassle with no big benefit to Disney. Many contracts are already in a no-ressie status because they are behind in monthly dues, think of trying to track that AND AP payments. Along with differnt AP activation dates (unless it was based on a calendar year). I suggest that if someone want to do something like that that they start putting the money away monthly in the proverbial cookie jar.

 

[Mickmse2002]

I like the idea in concept. I would like to see Disney come up with longer term ticket packages for us DVC types, people who generally go two or three times a year. I would like to see something along the lines of a three year or five year pass. That would be cool.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

As an earlier poster has alluded to, what happens when you bank or borrow an entire years worth of points? You would be paying for APs through your fees, but not visiting WDW.

MG

 

[BostonDisneyKid]

I don't see why they cant offer mutiple year AP's either as Mickmse2002 had suggest previously. I have always wondered why they don't. Why not offer long term incentives (such as DVC is to the resorts) but for the parks in durations of say 10, 25 & 50 year plans.

 

[gjw007]

First question, I believe that legally the maintanence fee is for the maintanence and upkeep on the property and operations and is a non-profit for Disney. Second, as far as spreading the cost of AP's, there really is no reason that Disney can't set this up. Universal (SeaWorld also I believe) have it where you can get your annual passes debited every month from your checking account. It wouldn't be just a DVC activity item but as a general Disney incentive. Hell, they probably could gain even more money by treating it as an annuity and charging an interest.

 

[Caskbill]

We have annual passes to Sea World/Busch Gardens and it's set up to charge our credit card every month. That's been working pretty well.

Perhaps Disney could do something similar. It wouldn't be a DVC program but a general Disney program.

I do see some risks to the company though. What if someone signed up, then used their AP every day for a month, then went home and cancelled the credit card they were using that was being automatically charged. That would be a problem for Disney.

I don't know how Sea World handles it as the same thing could happen to them.

The other solution would be a pre-pay where they charge your credit card every month for a year, and THEN you get the pass and it's good for the next year.

 

[lenshanem]

Doesn't Universal have a payment plan for their APs, too?

I think that is a fab idea. Less sticker shock.

 

[gjw007]

Doesn't Universal have a payment plan for their APs, too?

I think that is a fab idea. Less sticker shock.

Yes. As far as cancelling, I believe for Universal part of the agreement was that if you cancelled, they would charge you in full and take it out of your account immediately. There may be some issues but I think for the most part it is a fairly safe situation for Universal. This is how I have my annual pass at Universal.

 

[Dean]

I guess they could be see no reason for them to do so. You could do the same yourself with a separate savings account.

 

[Mary Anne]

Didn't Disney have some type of 5 year annual pass deal a few years ago? I seem to remember it just didn't sell.

I think it was right after the "free" tickets that the orginal DVC owners got when they bought that expired in 2000.

 

[JimC]

The Sea World monthly ezpay program benefit is offset by full price renewals instead of a reduced rate. The buyer can pick ezpay or reduced renewal prices. I prefer the discount but the option is nice to offer.

I also like that Sea World offers a two year pass and multiple cities pass. Now that would be nice to have the option to include all Disney parks in one pass program and have it extend over two years.

 

[Chuck S]

Didn't Disney have some type of 5 year annual pass deal a few years ago? I seem to remember it just didn't sell.

I think it was right after the "free" tickets that the orginal DVC owners got when they bought that expired in 2000.

It was a weird program. I don't remember the exact details, but I think it was like a 28 Park Hopper Plus (4 weeks), but could only be used for 1 week for any 4 of the next 5 years. It was strange and not very flexible.

 

[Mary Anne]

You're right Chuck that was it, it was cheap but not at all flexible and was not on the market very long. It didn't work for 99% of the dvc-ers.

 

[Sammy]

What about setting up some kind of automatic payroll deposit to an account you don't have easy access to? I have a separate .ING savings account set up. I have a (small) set amount direct deposited from my payroll each payperiod (twice per month). I never see the $$ in my hands, and never miss it. I use that $$ towards our vacations.

 

[Mickmse2002]

There are lots of different ways to save your own money for passes as opposed to doing it through Disney, that's what many of us do now. I still think it would be a great marketing tool to offer longer term passes than annuals.