Digital Member Cards

[dischris11]

I’m here now and the entire time I have used my membership in MDE to show I’m DVC. It just says you are a DVC member and gives your membership number. I am a resale owner but I have received all discounts. I don’t see how the elimination of the hard copy card will change anything. It seems pretty easy for everyone just to access their membership in the MDE app.

 

[kristenrice]

Is that hypothetical ("I wonder what people without smart phones will do?") or individual ("I do not own a smart phone, what do I do?")

....if my phone dies and I forgot the charger.

...or if, heaven forbid, you lose your phone entirely

 

[Lee Matthews]

I've had my DVC contract for 5 years now. We bought a resale contract at Boardwalk and are white card owners. We typically go three times a year and stay about a week at a time. We shop a decent amount and also dine out the whole time we are there. I have only been asked for a blue card and declined the discount one time in 5 years. It was at the gift shop in Pandora at the Flight of Passage exit when they first opened. I've probably gotten the discount in that same store 10 times since then. We have also been to Hilton Head and had the same experience there, no problem with the white card. This is so widespread and existed well before covid that I don't think it's a training issue. Maybe Disney isn't as strict about it as DVC would like them to be. I would say it probably helps Disney parks tremendously to offer the 20% discount to white card members. Our family would have spent thousands less in the shops without the discount over the last 5 years. I'm sure all of that is about to change if there's no card at all, but who knows what DVC is doing. I was definitely hoping I could upgrade my tickets to sorcerer's pass in January like so many white card holders have done, but I may be a month too late. Probably need to fly down in December. If not, I'll just do resort only for our second 2022 trip and do 3-4 day tix for the third. I wonder if Disney selling the sorcerer's pass to everyone has prompted this change for DVC. Was everyone's blue card set to expire on 12/31/21 already or no?

Did they just ask whether you were a DVC owner and apply a discount or did you show them your digital white card?

seems the rule isn’t really enforced

 

[kdm31091]

Although it is kind of sad because I enjoy feeling "disconnected" to a degree in WDW, the reality is how much time do you really spend on your phone showing the card? Maybe 30 seconds a few times a day while shopping or dining. So yes, it's kind of a bummer, but it's not the end of the world.

They should offer an alternate option for people who don't have or want a smartphone. But it's not like they said they will not. I imagine there will be an accommodation for those truly is need of it. MagicBands came out many years ago, and now MagicMobile, and yet you can still get a plastic card if you prefer. I'm not sure how easy it will be to get a physical DVC card, but I'm guessing there will be an option if truly needed. But for the vast majority of guests, who have a smartphone anyway, now the card is one less thing to carry.

 

[dischris11]

Did they just ask whether you were a DVC owner and apply a discount or did you show them your digital white card?

seems the rule isn’t really enforced

I showed them my digital membership. It isn’t a color, it just says you are a DVC owner and gives your membership owner. It’s in MDE in your profile under memberships and passes. It is different than our digital white card.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Actually, my thought is that those that are not eligible for membership extras will no longer be even noted as DVC. They really don't need a card. I doubt pool hopping comes back and TOTWL could just become something that is eligible just to those with DVC extras or for any guests staying on points...regardless if they are renters or owners.

So, it will be interesting to see moving forward how it is coded.

I think TOTWL will always be open to all members because they need the revenue. Every time I have been there (except holidays) it was never that crowded

 

[Princess Merida]

Did they just ask whether you were a DVC owner and apply a discount or did you show them your digital white card?

seems the rule isn’t really enforced

They ask DVC or AP and I pull out my digital white card screen shot and my ID. Other than the one time I stated in Pandora and of course when trying to purchase an annual pass I haven’t had any issues.

 

[DonMacGregor]

I think TOTWL will always be open to all members because they need the revenue. Every time I have been there (except holidays) it was never that crowded

If they ever open it again...

 

[chrish2]

Have a feeling the card is going to be something akin to the annual pass you can now hold on your phone so can be "scanned" over NFC and the entitlement be digitally verified. This might be part of a bigger scheme (I'm looking directly at Tables in Wonderland which could be sold "digitally" without interaction with staff).

Makes you wonder, did they have a counterfeiting problem? Did a large box of blank blue cards go "missing"?

 

[JETSDAD]

Have a feeling the card is going to be something akin to the annual pass you can now hold on your phone so can be "scanned" over NFC and the entitlement be digitally verified. This might be part of a bigger scheme (I'm looking directly at Tables in Wonderland which could be sold "digitally" without interaction with staff).

Makes you wonder, did they have a counterfeiting problem? Did a large box of blank blue cards go "missing"?

I doubt there was any counterfeiting. It's just a lack of following policy by CM's. A new system like this could make it very easy to see if someone actually qualifies for discounts or not.

 

[Sandisw]

I think TOTWL will always be open to all members because they need the revenue. Every time I have been there (except holidays) it was never that crowded

Except they can open it to all people who are staying on points, which eliminates the card, Scan the MB and go from there.

Personally, I don’t see it coming back anytime soon, and if it does, they will use for paid events. But, I figure they can find a way to do it without cards because it’s not DVC who decides…but Disney who gets to visit as its commercial space. They could even open to all guests

 

[Yinn]

So now I need to get a smart phone and carry it with me all the time to get my 'perks'? How much are they saving by not having the card??? 10 cents?

Without a smart phone, you can’t make impulse Genie+ purchases. Do you have a better idea to help push this new revenue stream without anyone else noticing?

 

[AliceIn]

If they are able to tell what discounts you are eligible for without the CMs asking, it will be better for me at restaurants at least. I don't know how many times that we told them we were DVC, but we didn't get the discount on the first bill. They had to go back, apply the discount and then come back again for us to pay the check. I found that pretty annoying. If they can tell by scanning your magic band or cell phone right when you sit down, that would make it faster at the table service restaurants. At the quick service I didn't find this as much of a problem, because it automatically deducted it at nearly all locations.

 

[Sunnyore]

I have both DVC (1/2 contracts Direct, 1/2 Resale) and AP. I carry both AP & DVC. I have found that the discount has been exactly the same on both of them so I take out the first one I grab.

Has anyone actually had a merchant specifically ask for a DVC card rather than take an AP? I have not. Possibly restaurants I don't go to?

There are a few restaurants that offer DVC discount and not AP. The one example I can think of off the top of my head is Ragland Road. And sometimes the values are different between DVC and AP. The discount seems more consistent at WDW and more variable at DLR with the AP often times a bigger discount. Because of that I've gotten in a habit to check on Mouseperk prior to asking for a check.

 

[Sunnyore]

I'm a little wary about the card going digital and integrated into MDE seeing that they still can't get the DVC member recognition to link to the DLR MDE. It was never a big deal before since the AP discount at DLR is usually better than DVC. However, I was asked for my DVC card when purchasing a DVC item at GCV last week and so I hope they'll figure it all out by the end of the year.

 

[dez1978]

Of course, as we should all realize based on the website history, you will have many times when you will be unable to get a DVC discount while at WDW because the only thing the app will be showing is the dwarves.

So take a screen shot of it just in case.

 

[dischris11]

So take a screen shot of it just in case.

This also happened to me while I was there and I took a screen shot. It worked. The network was really overloaded one day and I couldn’t get access to the app- just kept spinning- but everyone accepted the screen shot.

 

[Sandisw]

I'm a little wary about the card going digital and integrated into MDE seeing that they still can't get the DVC member recognition to link to the DLR MDE. It was never a big deal before since the AP discount at DLR is usually better than DVC. However, I was asked for my DVC card when purchasing a DVC item at GCV last week and so I hope they'll figure it all out by the end of the year.

While I use my phone and stuff a lot, and no issue with digital, I will still print out a copy and keep it with me each trip. It will only be good for one month at a time (if the new version is the same as the one there today) so easy to print and take with me....just in case!

But, what I really want them to do is simply have it show up for those of us eligible and then they ask for the ID, without needing more!

 

[Brian Noble]

Without a smart phone, you can’t make impulse Genie+ purchases. Do you have a better idea to help push this new revenue stream without anyone else noticing?

Looking around the park---and the college football game, the library, and pretty much anywhere else---it seems to me that the vast majority of folks already have their phones with them for other reasons. This doesn't strike me as some nefarious plan to get those last few people to buy or carry their phone.

 

[kilik64]

This day and age I'd think the "i dont have a home printer" demo is way bigger than the "i dont have a smart phone" one.

Luckily(?) my wife still has to go to the office 3 days a week so we have easy access to a printer lol.

More on topic, seems to me this is a way to better shut down White Card Plebs possibly getting discounts since it doesnt sound like there will even BE a White card now?