Disney's Long Term DVC Strategy

[sbbobe]

On our recent vacation at WDW my wife and I had to show the DVC-Y in my wallet to receive the discount at The Cake Bake Shop, Boma, Narcoossee’s and Skipper’s Canteen. We have noticed that the CM’s are becoming more and more aware of the need to have the guest show in their wallet the type of membership they have.

 

[Sandisw]

On our recent vacation at WDW my wife and I had to show the DVC-Y in my wallet to receive the discount at The Cake Bake Shop, Boma, Narcoossee’s and Skipper’s Canteen. We have noticed that the CM’s are becoming more and more aware of the need to have the guest show in their wallet the type of membership they have.

Yes…when I was at MK getting my discount off the specialty popcorn creation, the CM even asked what the difference was beteeen Y and BY because they had been trained to look for Y.

So, it is a matter that many CMs have been trained about.

 

[eticketplease]

On our recent vacation at WDW my wife and I had to show the DVC-Y in my wallet to receive the discount at The Cake Bake Shop.

We were told they didn't offer DVC Discounts but did for the Disney Visa Card which I forgot to use ApplePay for since I didn't bring the card with me.

 

[eticketplease]

Disney does a moderately good job on their website to describe who is entitled to what, but this thread of highly-informed DVC members makes it obvious that the system is still too confusing. Also, Disney has the issue of its credit card pushing DVC buyers from direct to resale.

I could see DVC making the line in the sand:

• DVC-N: Room only
• DVC-Y: 10-15% discount on all dining (all restaurants in all US locations, quick service or sit down) plus everything else as it stands.
• Credit Card: Refresh the card to either make its dining discount 5% less than what DVC Direct offers, or ditch the benefit altogether and make the card more of a cashback proposition that's only redeemable at Disney.
• Annual Pass: Ditch the dining discount altogether, and make the passes ~$50/yr cheaper to offset.

I'm pretty sure the DVC-N benefits are already pretty close to "room only" already, but they would axe whatever marginal perks still exist "to better streamline the customer experience".

DVC doesn't have any control of the discounts from my knowledge. I'm sure @tjkraz has a lot more insight into this.
As far as I know they can negotiate with parks to grant the AP/Dining/Merch discounts.
They have no control whatsoever on the credit card perks.
If the AP was to remove the discounts it would upset a lot of people that are not DVC and have passes.

I'm also not sure how the Disney Visa would push Direct purchasers to resale. The Disney Visa discounts are very miniscule and when offered are generally lower and have had in the past stipulations such as you had to buy $50 and use the card for the discount to be applied. AP/DVC we can get a 20% discount on a bottle of water in the shop and use a discounted gift card to get that bottle of water closer to gas station prices lol.

Although not promoted as eligible by Chase many here use the card for 0% for 6 months when adding on direct and that is certainly not valid for resale purchases.

 

[Girlstar30]

Ummm yes like i said and others have stated the app automatically gives resale the discount for DLR mobile orders , there is no taking it off. I guess the app is unethical and playing dumb

If someone asks me if im a DVC member im going to say yes. If they ask to see my membership and im paying, I pay with my Chase Disney Visa or AP instead because i know im not entitled to the dvc discount. If someone asks me if im entitled to direct benefits its a No. Really it would be stupid to say yes because they will most likely ask to scan it and then what. It's not that serious.

There are def gray areas that I stated such as the Halloween party where it lets resale purchase and doesn't ask if we are dvc y.

I didnt purchase that because I have an ap, but it did make me wonder what would happen if I did. Paying $10 extra won't break the bank if thats the case but still annoying if I needed it and not sure. I'd rather have the $10 discount than not if eligible.

 

[DVC Gma]

Got it! And you are correct, Disney doesn’t have a loyalty program for anyone.

Bounce back offers are the closest those you are cash guests who go regularly can hope for at this point.

We just returned from BW 1 bed on a cash stay and no bounce back was offered....

 

[tjkraz]

DVC doesn't have any control of the discounts from my knowledge. I'm sure @tjkraz has a lot more insight into this.
As far as I know they can negotiate with parks to grant the AP/Dining/Merch discounts.
They have no control whatsoever on the credit card perks.
If the AP was to remove the discounts it would upset a lot of people that are not DVC and have passes.

Yeah. Like any large company, different business units have to negotiate with each other for crossover benefits. Less than 20 years ago, there was no DVC merchandise discount. Dining discounts were few and far between. Even the AP discount / sorcerer pass didn't happen until 15 years into DVC.

These days, there's pretty good synergy between DVC and the parks. DVC is "paying" significant dollars to rent the lounge space and to host Moonlight Magic events. I'm sure that factors into negotiations between the two parties.

There is a fair amount of crossover between perks afforded to DVC vs AP vs Disney Visa. But that's been the case for years. Disney has never really shown an interest in stratifying those classifications and making each unique. At the end of the day, theme park access is the key selling point for APs. For DVC, the benefits are cheaper accommodations, Moonlight Magic, lounges, discounted AP. For the Visa, it's probably the reward points. I don't know that it's worth the effort to slice and dice who how much each group is entitled to save at Chef Mickey's.

 

[Sandisw]

We just returned from BW 1 bed on a cash stay and no bounce back was offered....

They just came out with the 2026 dates. The offer is in the materials they give you but not always easy to find!

If you are within 7 days, you should be able to get it still.

 

[Brian Noble]

This doesn't apply to me but if I was asked if I was DVC then I would simply state yes.

really it is for the CMs to ask the right questions, I.e. do you have membership extras?

I mean, I guess, but that strikes me as at least a little disingenuous. It is technically true, so if I am sitting for a deposition it is fair game, but if a CM standing in front of a cash register and/or holding my bill is asking, I know that's not the question.

The guy-who-took-philosophy-courses would draw a distinction between actively answering a question and passively using mobile checkout. One has intention, the other does not. And so for me intentionally using mobile checkout because you know it gives you the discount sits on the "active" side of the line. I don't know that I wouldn't do it though! I'd like to think probably not---at least most of the time---but it's hard to know in the abstract.

 

[eticketplease]

I mean, I guess, but that strikes me as at least a little disingenuous. It is technically true, so if I am sitting for a deposition it is fair game, but if a CM standing in front of a cash register and/or holding my bill is asking, I know that's not the question.

The guy-who-took-philosophy-courses would draw a distinction between actively answering a question and passively using mobile checkout. One has intention, the other does not. And so for me intentionally using mobile checkout because you know it gives you the discount sits on the "active" side of the line.

90-95% of the time I would agree with that as well but if it was new resale member they might not know ie they are a SO of someone on the boards that does all of the research and they just enjoy the vacation but know nothing about how it works.

Since I'm asked if I'm a DVC member I would truthfully answer yes. I would not adlib or say anything else if they ask for verification they could then walk me through how to show that information. If it turns out I don't have the required information on my phone then no discount unless they end up seeing that I could receive a discount through an alternate way such as AP or Visa card.

 

[Girlstar30]

I used mobile ordering all the time before being DVC so thats how I discovered that that discount was on there. Helps me get my QS food faster.

Im not going to be begging them to fix it and im going to continue doing what i was doing before DVC, but if other direct members would like to complain so they pull it, be my guest, doesn't affect me.

It has apparently been a known issue for a while and Disney hasn't fixed it.

 

[Brian Noble]

I would truthfully answer yes. I would not adlib or say anything else

One has to make one's own decisions about this. But, I know the point of the question, and so if I were DVC-N, I'd answer "Yes, but I'm not eligible for discounts."

im going to continue doing what i was doing before DVC

This is getting into the weeds of PHILOS 10 (and based on what is probably my very faulty memory of it), but: If I'd use it anyway, I would consider using it ethical behavior. If I wouldn't use it anyway, then I would consider it unethical. So, based on my past behavior, I"d use it for food, but not for merch, because that's what I'd be doing absent its handling of discounts.

 

[Brian Noble]

My son has taken ethics more recently than I have. I'll have to ask him what he'd think of "Now that I know, under what circumstnaces should my behavior change?" It'd make an interesting dinner table conversaiton, but that's largely because our dinner table conversations are weird.

I had dinner with him and his significant other last night, and we went on some philosophical-discussion tangent. Her reaction: "Yeah, I already knew this about him, but I'm putting some things together about why." Luckily she's a good sport and he's learning that there is a time and place.

 

[cruisehopeful]

For some reason I am getting drawn into this, even though I don't care about it either way. I think everyone has their own guidelines for morals and ethics. What works for someone else might not work for me, but it's not my place to push my own ethics on to someone else.

What's intriguing me is that it sounds like the merchants ask if you have DVC. In the California resorts, they ask, "Do you have any discounts?" I know that my Inspire Key has the highest discount so I offer my Key to be scanned. If I didn't have the Key, I would say that I have DVC and the credit card and ask them which they want to see. I've never been asked if I had DVC, so it's kind of blowing my mind that it's a normal question in WDW.

 

[Girlstar30]

One has to make one's own decisions about this. But, I know the point of the question, and so if I were DVC-N, I'd answer "Yes, but I'm not eligible for discounts."


This is getting into the weeds of PHILOS 10 (and based on what is probably my very faulty memory of it), but: If I'd use it anyway, I would consider using it ethical behavior. If I wouldn't use it anyway, then I would consider it unethical. So, based on my past behavior, I"d use it for food, but not for merch, because that's what I'd be doing absent its handling of discounts.

I didnt even know you could mobile order merch. I just checked and it seems as though if you're at the store you can check out with the app.

It doesnt show any discount for me yet because it wont let me add anything as im not at the store, but im going to assume it may pop up. You just gave me an unethical temptation I didnt need

 

[cruisehopeful]

I didnt even know you could mobile order merch. I just checked and it seems as though if you're at the store you can check out with the app.

It doesnt show any discount for me yet because it wont let me add anything as im not at the store, but im going to assume it may pop up. You just gave me an unethical temptation I didnt need

How is it your fault if the App gives you a discount, though? Can you imagine how much time it would take to go to a supervisor and try to get it fixed. Like, if I fill my tank with gas and it looks like I got a discount that I wasn't expecting, I'm not going to take the time to try to pay more.

 

[Girlstar30]

For some reason I am getting drawn into this, even though I don't care about it either way. I think everyone has their own guidelines for morals and ethics. What works for someone else might not work for me, but it's not my place to push my own ethics on to someone else.

What's intriguing me is that it sounds like the merchants ask if you have DVC. In the California resorts, they ask, "Do you have any discounts?" I know that my Inspire Key has the highest discount so I offer my Key to be scanned. If I didn't have the Key, I would say that I have DVC and the credit card and ask them which they want to see. I've never been asked if I had DVC, so it's kind of blowing my mind that it's a normal question in WDW.

So when I went to Florida i noticed DVC was way more heavily asked about and emphasized.

I believe this vgc trip was the only one I've taken where I was asked about DVC because I was wearing a jacket I purchased at the Acorns shop that said "Disney Vacation Club Member" so that did make it so that cast members chatted with me about it and asked if i was DVC at the restaurants and stores.

I honestly did want to see how they handle the discount and if they enforced it, but thats not why i bought the jacket . I wanted the whole picture before making a choice to purchase direct, it turned into kind of an experiment of which discounts do they take, do they take DVC discount at the carts because they dont with any of my other discounts etc. Would this discount offer me more than anything else i have so yes I asked if places take DVC discounts. Nothing nefarious as I get the same discount percentage from other sources. Pretty much me overanalyzing everything of being resale vs direct.

In the end, I found it annoying to be acknowledged/asked if im a DVC and then wonder if they would ask to see a card to scan or not. For this and other reasons, we decided that we would like to be direct regardless of discount.

 

[Brian Noble]

What works for someone else might not work for me, but it's not my place to push my own ethics on to someone else.

It's worth considering the difference between "I think this is ethical/this is what I would do" and "You should (not) do it." The former strikes me as sharing an ethical judgement; the latter is more of a "push".

How is it your fault if the App gives you a discount, though?

I don't see how I could make that argument (and I'm not sure anyone on this thread has). But, if I know it gives me a discount to which I am not entitled, I might ireasonably consider that in deciding whether or not to use it going forward. That doesn't necessarily mean I won't use it, but it's a factor I would weigh.

 

[Girlstar30]

How is it your fault if the App gives you a discount, though? Can you imagine how much time it would take to go to a supervisor and try to get it fixed. Like, if I fill my tank with gas and it looks like I got a discount that I wasn't expecting, I'm not going to take the time to try to pay more.

Exactly and I bet just about everyone on here if given a discount would take it. And I know it would be a complete waste of my time going to a supervisor asking to fix it as DVC themselves haven't fixed it and IT is a trained mess

I think if people want to be upset they should probably complain to DVC and not at the resale people who are being given it.

 

[Brian Noble]

I bet just about everyone on here if given a discount would take it.

I have corrected a restaurant bill that was missing something (and therefore under-charged me) and I have done it more than once. That isn't partricularly difficult, though. Much easier than "correcting" a mobile order.