DVC/Disney has lost the Magic.

[snowbunny]

Most folks on this board have made a large financial and emotional investment in Disney and DVC. Criticizing Disney indirectly criticizes their (our)decision to be members. I think it's a natural response to get a little defensive.

It's natural but it's extremely tiresome as well. The only topics that seem to be considered "OK" to criticize DVC are if they change the flooring in Old Key West or attempt to get their reservation system into the 21st century

 

[PBB]

Oh drat, it looks like in the second two pages, someone allowed you to skirt the rules.

There was no skirting the rules.......The executive team at DVC told me that Member Services was incorrect in stating several things.

1. I was told ONLY the member received the discount. This is not the case.

2. I was told that college age students could not receive the discount. Again, not true. Disney allows college students who live at home and has the same address as the member to enjoy a DVC member discount without the member being present.

So, I was well within the rules as interpreted by Disney Management. In fact, I just hung up with my son who was in front of the Castle watching a show. I am glad I allowed Disney Management to correct the mistake of the personnel at member services.

I hope my disagreement with DVC will allow other families whose Son's and Daughters visit WDW the opportunity to save some money and enjoy the parks with some cash in their pocket.

 

[PBB]

DVC has been around for nearly 20 years now and members have never been eligible for FL resident discounts. I wouldn't expect that to change anytime soon.

The DVC buying power has gotten pretty big. I believe it is well over 100,000 members strong. I can promise you this buying block is stronger than any weekend or convention. If they want to be. Even a small percentage of members expressing their concerns can create changes.

 

[crisi]

2. Regarding putting your son on the deed, the AP discount will only get him by as long as he is living in your household. So you're living on borrowed time in that respect anyway. If you were to add him to the deed, not only would he be eligible for the discount but also eligible relatives of his own (spouse, children.) Food for thought...

Though as some people have posted in the past, that can have its downside if your kid divorces his spouse or goes bankrupt - then YOUR DVC is part of THEIR assets (depending on your state law, I am not an attorney, nor do I play one on TV). Its risk for an AP discount that may not exist long term.

 

[tjkraz]

It's natural but it's extremely tiresome as well. The only topics that seem to be considered "OK" to criticize DVC are if they change the flooring in Old Key West or attempt to get their reservation system into the 21st century

In my experiences there has always been room for thoughtful discussion. Not all posters share the same interpretations, opinions or sensibilities.

No matter what the topic of discussion may be, there are usually folks on both sides of the aisle. Seems like there should be room for tolerance from all. I'm not sure why you would expect universal condemnation or praise on ANY single topic.

1. I was told ONLY the member received the discount. This is not the case.

2. I was told that college age students could not receive the discount. Again, not true. Disney allows college students who live at home and has the same address as the member to enjoy a DVC member discount without the member being present.

You are correct--both of those statements are in error.

However the redemption rules state that the Member must be present with his DVC Member ID and photo ID in order for an eligible child to receive the discounted ticket or redeem a voucher.

The DVC buying power has gotten pretty big. I believe it is well over 100,000 members strong. I can promise you this buying block is stronger than any weekend or convention. If they want to be. Even a small percentage of members expressing their concerns can create changes.

The dynamics are quite a bit different--Disney has to continually compete for convention business and business from FL residents while DVC is pretty much a captive market.

Many people suggest that they should be owed perks as a "thank you" from Disney...but few perks actually work in that manner. Disney offers discounted park admission to FL residents to keep them coming into the parks and spending dollars elsewhere. The alternative is to lose that business to Universal, Sea World, Busch Gardens, etc.

Convention groups are offered some special incentives (ticket packages, etc.) because Disney stands to make quite a bit on the entire block of business (meeting rooms rented, hotel rooms booked, food and beverage, some park tickets.)

For the most part, DVC members are just run-of-the-mill park guests who happen to have spent $20K to pre-pay for their vacations.

There's really no business reason to do it. Are people selling their contracts--or deciding not to buy--simply because DVC doesn't offer a blanket 10% discount at all restaurants? Are people buying Marriott instead of DVC because Disney doesn't make us eligible for FL resident passes?

For every dollar that Disney would sacrifice in terms of a DVC member discount, they need to make up that discount elsewhere. I don't think the numbers add up.

My suspicion is that most people who claim a 10% merchandise or dining discount is some sort of DVC "tipping point" (keep vs. sell) actually have other issues. The discount wouldn't have any impact on their mindset, while costing Disney millions of dollars in the long run.

 

[dmoore22]

There was no skirting the rules.......The executive team at DVC told me that Member Services was incorrect in stating several things.

1. I was told ONLY the member received the discount. This is not the case.

2. I was told that college age students could not receive the discount. Again, not true. Disney allows college students who live at home and has the same address as the member to enjoy a DVC member discount without the member being present.

So, I was well within the rules as interpreted by Disney Management. In fact, I just hung up with my son who was in front of the Castle watching a show. I am glad I allowed Disney Management to correct the mistake of the personnel at member services.

I hope my disagreement with DVC will allow other families whose Son's and Daughters visit WDW the opportunity to save some money and enjoy the parks with some cash in their pocket.

Please, don't take this the wrong way. Your only mistake, from my point of view, was venting your frustration on this board. You did the right thing in working your way through MS to get to the bottom of this issue. I did not catch anything in your posts suggesting that you were attempting to circumvent the "rules." It appears to me that all your requests where well within the parameters of the DVC Members Benefits Guide (page 6). The good news for us is that you gave us all a wake call as to issues DVC is experiencing (Good help is hard to find). This could have happened to any of us. As a result of your intervention it will be less likely to happen to another DVC member in the future. You deserve our thanks.

PS. I can totally empathize with you. I had back surgery about 8 years back and am still dealing with the side effects. Better living through chemistry? I wish.

 

[cpdwiz]

How is protecting you ? Please.......It does not take away anything from anyone.

My son is a college student whose permanent address is our home. He lives here 4 months a year and is away at school for 8 months. He can not be a resident of the State he goes to school in. His legal residence is at our house. We take him off as a dependent on our taxes as well. What is next ? Do I need to submit a DNA sample to prove he is my son to appease WDW ticketing ? Please......I can't believe the stupidity some times.......

Associate members are not eligible either for a discount on their own. Perhaps, you should have to register your family members with DVC so they know who is part of your family and who is not.

I am sorry I can't be with him......My morphine pump that is implanted in my spinal canal does not work well with rollercoasters and ECV's.

Isnt there an age limit to "children" for DVC stuff??

 

[cpdwiz]

Who is eligible to receive the Annual Pass discount?
Disney Vacation Club Members receive a discount on the Pass for themselves and their immediate family residing in the same household only. At the time of purchase or redemption, your Disney Vacation Club Member ID Card must be provided and ALL ADULTS must present a valid driver's license or state identification card showing they reside in the same household.

So, have him show his ID, and YOUR Dvc card for an annual pass....I dont read where YOU have to physically be there......

 

[cpdwiz]

It appears I was correct.

I just got off the phone from a member of the Executive Team with DVC. Disney guidelines allow for children of members who are High School/College age that are not with the Parent/Member to receive the discount. This is not uncommon and has been done before.

He was very surprised that 2 member service agents quoted the rules incorrectly to me and he is going to speak with member service manager about her comments as well. He stated that as long as the address on the ID is the same as the member they would accept that as proof. In fact, that the reservation with our son's name and our name and address on it should have been enough for guest services as long as his ID matched up with this information.

He wrote up a Guest Service Ticket and provided me the number to give my son for any guest service agent to pull and provide him a DVC Annual Pass.

It appears that Member Service agents and Managers needs some more training........It is a shame that they were more concerned about arguing than actually putting me on hold and looking up the guidelines that provided me the perk that I was actually due our family.

It is a shame that we can not critique DVC here without being attacked for our criticism. DVC is not beyond making a mistake and neither am I but there has to be some consideration each other.

I do not know what other information I could have provide the Member Service Agents other than what I provided. Son going down on our points (so a disney representative checks his license upon check in), the reservation is in his name using our points (we approved of him using our membership) and a legal Identification card that is over 4 years old shows his legal address to be the same as our membership. The last name, the address and the reservation should have been enough. I asked the DVC what more could I have provided the agent to succeed ? Nothing......was his comment.

So at the end of the day.....No one in my family is cheating anything out of anyone. We got the "perk" that was due us.

I dont think you were attacked...I think the way you presented it was somewhat hostile....I understand your frustration and glad it worked out.

 

[NewJerseyDVCMembers]

The obvious problem here is the child. He has cost you and your spouse tens-of-thousands over the years. Now he is blowing off his highly paid education to take trips to Walt Disney World rather than study.

My suggestion is to teach him the value of your hard work by spending his future inheritance on more DVC points.

Just my two-cents.

 

[tjkraz]

It appears to me that all your requests where well within the parameters of the DVC Members Benefits Guide (page 6).

At risk of sounding like a broken record (I know, too late), I have to disagree to a point.

I'll preface my remarks by saying I'm very glad OP got this worked out. Whomever he spoke with opened a guest relations ticket so the pass will probably be forced through without incident. Frankly the first time I heard that there was no mechanism in place for children to buy the AP without a parent present, I was very surprised.

That said, the rules you quoted do specifically state that the Member has to be present:

"Members must present their DVC Member ID Card..."

Based upon what I have read, Member Services has been very consistent in saying that an eligible child cannot obtain the discounted pass without the presence of the Member parent.

It's one thing to be eligible for a certain perk or benefit but you still need to follow the guidelines put in place if you want to take advantage of the perk.

Take DME for example. Every guest staying at a Walt Disney World resort is eligible for DME, but you still need to follow the posted rules if you expect to get to the airport. If Disney instructs you to be at your resort 3 hours before your flight, you'd better not expect that DME bus to pick you up outside the Magic Kingdom 90 minutes before the plane leaves.

A theme park ticket makes guests eligible to use the FastPass system, but there are rules which dictate how many FPs can be obtained at a time and how those FPs can be redeemed.

Similarly, the AP perk states that children living in the same household are eligible, but it also states that a Member must be present with his/her Member card and photo ID in order to buy the discounted pass.

DME isn't going to pick you up at the MK, the FastPass machines aren't going to let you grab a dozen FPs for Toy Story Mania, and (unless they relax the rules) use of the AP perk requires the presence of a deeded DVC owner with a Member card and photo ID.

 

[PBB]

This is what was posted at www.disneyvacationclub.com. regarding the DVC annual pass. This was posted in the Members Only section as cpdwiz stated.........

Who is eligible to receive the Annual Pass discount?

Disney Vacation Club Members receive a discount on the Pass for themselves and their immediate family residing in the same household only. At the time of purchase or redemption, your Disney Vacation Club Member ID Card must be provided and ALL ADULTS must present a valid driver's license or state identification card showing they reside in the same household.

Who is defined as "immediate family"?

"Immediate family" is defined by Walt Disney World Resort for discount purposes as noted below: Spouse/Registered Domestic Partner, Parent/Step Parent, Mother-In-Law/Father-In-Law, Child/Step Child, Brother/Stepbrother, Sister/Stepsister, Brother-In-Law/Sister-In-Law, Grandparent, and Grandchild.

This answers the age question.......They can be any age as long as they reside at the resident. No age cap......


Regarding the attack comment.......

When people cheer or are happy that you are upset you are not treated right. I find this type of response as doing nothing but throwing gas on the fire. Did this person add to the thread by stating:

I don't understand why you are having such a fit about DVC not wanting to bend the rules specifically for your situation. I am happy they are sticking to their guns on this one. If your son's name is not on the account, he is not a DVC member even though he has been able to benefit from your membership for the past 12 years. He is not due anything here


I am having a fit because I was right and DVC was wrong. Common Sense tells that it is ridiculous not to offer a child whole lives in the membership household the proper discount that he deserved. When some derives being happy at someone's frustration. That is kind of sad. To state, that my son was not due anything was flat out wrong.........So, I took offense to the post above. Nothing positive was said and just inflamed the situation. I guess I should ignored the poster........I don't like people that are happy when someone is troubled or upset by something.

This what I mean by attacked................Sometimes people should think if they are lending anything constructive to the conversation.

 

[mac_tlc]

Just to add to the discussion:

My daughter was at WDW in January. My wife and I were not with her, we were 1200 miles away. She wanted to upgrade a one-day ticket to a DVC annual pass. She was at the Animal Kingdom. She went to Guest Services, called me to get our DVC member number, gave it to the agent, produced her drivers license that shows she lives at our address. .. Got the DVC AP rate... took 10 minutes, tops.

mac_tlc

 

[Muushka]

PBB, I see your post count is low. Take it from someone who has gotten into it with some on these boards.

You won't win.

 

[PBB]

Just to add to the discussion:

My daughter was at WDW in January. My wife and I were not with her, we were 1200 miles away. She wanted to upgrade a one-day ticket to a DVC annual pass. She was at the Animal Kingdom. She went to Guest Services, called me to get our DVC member number, gave it to the agent, produced her drivers license that shows she lives at our address. .. Got the DVC AP rate... took 10 minutes, tops.

mac_tlc

Nice.....A reasonable accommodation for a guest. I am glad they were able to take care of your daughter.

 

[wulfekamp]

These things happen. We have had our share of problems on trips to Disney. You have to let it go. I am not going to let this problem ruin my vacation. I repeat this over and over. Problems ARE going to happen its how you let it effect you that you control. We have had rude cast members, Disney lost our tickets to the chistmas party. I let roll off my back. I am not about to let some rude cast member ruin my only vacation for the year. I will have a great time just to spit them. Don't let this beat you. Go and have fun that will teach them.

 

[jade1]

Just to add to the discussion:

My daughter was at WDW in January. My wife and I were not with her, we were 1200 miles away. She wanted to upgrade a one-day ticket to a DVC annual pass. She was at the Animal Kingdom. She went to Guest Services, called me to get our DVC member number, gave it to the agent, produced her drivers license that shows she lives at our address. .. Got the DVC AP rate... took 10 minutes, tops.

mac_tlc

Gald all has worked out.

 

[Cmbar]

PBB, I see your post count is low. Take it from someone who has gotten into it with some on these boards.

You won't win.

Oh boy is that true! I've been on the boards 10 plus years and boy you can't argue with some folks. Especially DVC'ers. They are tough!

 

[Be1021]

 

[BWV Dreamin]

PBB, I see your post count is low. Take it from someone who has gotten into it with some on these boards.

You won't win.

That's why I keep my flame suit ready!! Those flames come at ya fast and furious!