DVC Discount on Theme Park Tickets - Will it ever return?

[Principessa]

I just can't believe that there is no discount on theme park tickets for DVC owners. Will this perk ever return? I tried to find threads on this topic already, sorry I am late to the party and lost, LOL. I just feel like I imagined the past DVC discount on tickets. I mean we used to get a discount, right? I understand they have no interest in selling APs to non FL residents. This no DVC discount must fit into that same basket. Anyone think ticket discounts could come back in 2023?

 

[Sandisw]

There have been times here or there where owners got a discount on tickets but it was normally a mirror of what cash guests were getting.

Since I have owned…2009…there has never been a time where a consistent discount was offered on multi day tickets.

 

[artesian]

In the 20 years I owned maybe half that time we got some sort of discount on an AP or a pass. More so on APs as I can only recall a 4 days pass may have been discounted here or there.

 

[tjkraz]

The cynic in me believes that if a MYW ticket deal is offered to members, it will be little better than what can already be obtained thru third party ticket vendors. That's been the case with Disney's occasional offers. They have also been very specific in how the tickets can be used. For instance, there was an offer for a 4-day pass with no hopping where you had to use one day at each of the 4 parks.

Maybe the lack of APs will eventually convince all parties to agree to something which fits DVC members. But I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[DebbieB]

Right now AP’s can only be renewed. Members can renew Incredipass or Sorcerer.

 

[Principessa]

There have been times here or there where owners got a discount on tickets but it was normally a mirror of what cash guests were getting.

Since I have owned…2009…there has never been a time where a consistent discount was offered on multi day tickets.

Thanks for your answer! I must have purchased the odd special ticket or AP with small discount in the past. Sure miss that AP.

 

[Principessa]

The cynic in me believes that if a MYW ticket deal is offered to members, it will be little better than what can already be obtained thru third party ticket vendors. That's been the case with Disney's occasional offers. They have also been very specific in how the tickets can be used. For instance, there was an offer for a 4-day pass with no hopping where you had to use one day at each of the 4 parks.

Maybe the lack of APs will eventually convince all parties to agree to something which fits DVC members. But I'll believe it when I see it.

I remember that one park 4 day ticket. Ok, well we can hope for something for DVC members....

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I miss the ticket discounts too. We purchased them a few times. Last trip we bought from a 3rd party vendor. For our next trip I ended up buying discounted Disney gift cards and then buying tickets directly from Disney. I was able to get about 10% off which I think beats the 3rd party vendors.

 

[lionqueen]

I miss the ticket discounts too. We purchased them a few times. Last trip we bought from a 3rd party vendor. For our next trip I ended up buying discounted Disney gift cards and then buying tickets directly from Disney. I was able to get about 10% off which I think beats the 3rd party vendors.

can i ask where you got the gift cards from? The best i've been able to do is about 5% at BJ's

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

We took advantage of the offer last year that gave you 6 days for the price of 4. Loved it. We were about to buy a 4 day ticket right when they announced it so it was a fantastic bonus.

I honestly think they leave money on the table by not consistently offering ticket deals like this. We spent way more on ADRs and other random charges than those two days would’ve cost in tickets.

 

[tjkraz]

I honestly think they leave money on the table by not consistently offering ticket deals like this. We spent way more on ADRs and other random charges than those two days would’ve cost in tickets.

The goal is to attract customers who are willing to spend money on ADRs and souvenirs while also paying full price for tickets. That has ALWAYS been the goal, it's just receiving greater attention these days because Chapek is under such a microscope and he's probably more beholden to these metrics than his predecessors.

The problem with any discount is that it applies to a large group of people and everyone can take advantage of the discount. You can't just assume that discounting one aspect of the experience (tickets) by 20% would increase spending elsewhere. Some people will just stick the savings in their pocket and call it a win. Discounts can reduce revenue. And, if not monitored properly, also reduce profits.

In Disney's case, it's further complicated by the fact that many resources are limited in capacity. Specifically dining reservations. A "free" day at the Magic Kingdom may have lead to you personally dining at BOG and Crystal Palace. You're thinking "see Disney, give me a free day at the park and we paid $150 per person just for two meals!"

But there's a high probability Disney would have filled those seats at BOG and CP even without business specifically from you. Table service restaurants can only accommodate so many diners per day and many locations are fully booked 60 days in advance. If YOU personally had not paid $150pp to eat at those locations, someone else would have. Ideally, someone who also paid full price for park tickets.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

If YOU personally had not paid $150pp to eat at those locations, someone else would have.

Ok, yes, it was just me and my opinion on how it affects my family. I guess I should have specified that. I don’t work for Disney so it was just speculation.

OP, I liked the deals and still wish they’d return. We don’t go often enough to make an AP (if they were available) make sense.

 

[drusba]

The DVC annual pass discount began in 2005. Before then there were some discounts on regular theme park tickets available to members but none were all that flexible or great. Couple examples:

(a). a four-day park ticket introduced after Animal Kingdom opened. You could not buy more than four days (unless purchasing another four-day ticket) and they could only be used once at any given park , e.g., you could not do two of the park days in MK but instead could do each of the four parks only once. In essence, you had a ticket discount that anyone going to the parks more or less than four days, or wanted to do one park two times, thought useless.

(b) A 10% discount on a Length-of-Stay (later renamed an Ultimate Park-Hopper) pass that had a stated 10% discount which was not really 10%. It was 10% off the stated full price of the length of stay ticket but that stated full-price applied only to those buying the tickets upon arrival to WDW. Anyone could get a UPH for about a 6% to 7% discount if purchased in adance of arricval. Moreover, your supposed DVC discount was further reduced in value if you were not going to a park your arrival and departure dates or planned a non-park day

After the creation of the AP discount, other DVC theme park ticket discounts disappeared. The only AP discount currently is simply doing renewals of the Sorcerer's Pass using the same price as Florida residents. Unknown is whether buying new ones will ever return.

 

[Mickeypooh99]

I miss the ticket discounts too. We purchased them a few times. Last trip we bought from a 3rd party vendor. For our next trip I ended up buying discounted Disney gift cards and then buying tickets directly from Disney. I was able to get about 10% off which I think beats the 3rd party vendors.

can i ask where you got the gift cards from? The best i've been able to do is about 5% at BJ's

I get them at Meijer. They run an mperk deal usually about once per month. So you buy $50 gift cards and get $5 back in Mperks to spend at Meijer which I use for my groceries that I would buy there anyway. You can get up to $500 in gift cards each time. One time they had Buy $50 get $10 back. I’ve only seen them do that once, but I’ve hoping they do it again!

 

[jimim]

I just want to be able to even buy season passes at full price. I'm fine with that at this point.

 

[Nabas]

The goal is to attract customers who are willing to spend money on ADRs and souvenirs while also paying full price for tickets. That has ALWAYS been the goal, it's just receiving greater attention these days because Chapek is under such a microscope and he's probably more beholden to these metrics than his predecessors.

It's receiving greater attention these days because in recent months, Disney executives have said the quiet part out loud.

Before Chapek, Disney executives publicly talked about making "Guests" happy.

More recently, they have openly discussed extracting every last cent from customers, going so far as to say that they want to increase prices to drive attendance down.

Then, of course, there's all the recent price hikes and value cuts.

Maximizing earnings has been the goal for decades.

Opening showing contempt for paying customers has not.

 

[AliceIn]

We plan to cut our park back in a big way. We hated having to get up before 7 to book our rides, Even the paid ones were a bust half the time because you can’t pick the time. We had to run around like crazy people trying not to miss rides that were too close to dining reservations.

Last year we got 10 day park hoppers with length of stay genie plus. This year we will get a few days for Disney and a few for Universal and leave the rest open. We want to enjoy our vacation, so no more genie plus. We all hated it, even though we did get all the rides we wanted. Big, expensive lesson learned for us.

I would like APs to come back. Here’s hoping.

 

[Sammie]

Ok, yes, it was just me and my opinion on how it affects my family. I guess I should have specified that. I don’t work for Disney so it was just speculation.

OP, I liked the deals and still wish they’d return. We don’t go often enough to make an AP (if they were available) make sense.

what does working for Disney have to do with this discusion?

Having had DVC for almost 24 years, we had many years without any ticket discounts. I like them as much as anyone but I never count on it.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

what does working for Disney have to do with this discusion?

Having had DVC for almost 24 years, we had many years without any ticket discounts. I like them as much as anyone but I never count on it.

The real answer? I was between classes at school and posted my answer quickly. Perhaps I didn’t take the time to really think in depth about what I was writing and think about Disney’s business practices. For me, Disney not offering it leaves money on the table.

I’m ok with someone pointing out another point of view and that I may be wrong, but the response felt a little like it was being shoved back down my throat (the part I bolded). So yes, I was talking about me. The working for Disney part is me saying I’m not an expert. I’ll admit it was a little snippy and I apologize for that.

Sometimes it feels like people are so eager to correct each other on here we forget that we’re all fans.

*Edited because I’m on my phone and autocorrect is killing me.

 

[zavandor]

We'll get a discount on tickets when Epic Universe will open.