For those who bought Direct in the last 4 years, which benefits were worthwhile?

[Lorana]

I want to limit this to new Direct owners in the past 4 years since the extra benefits enjoyed by Direct purchasers have varied considerably over time.

For those who purchased their first Direct contract in the past 4 years, which of the extra benefits have proven in practice to be the most valuable to you personally? A lot sound like nice to have benefits, but I am wondering if that has proven to be the case.

I haven't read through the entire thread, so I'm sure I'm repeating things people have already said, but here's the benefits I've enjoyed personally:

- DVC Member exclusive trips and events. Yes, I know folks will argue that exchanging points isn't the most economically way of using your points, but some of these you MUST use points on. This has included going on The Galactic Starcruiser (points for 3rd/4th guests, 30% off cash rate for 1/2), the DVC Member Sailing to Lighthouse Point (1 in points, 1 in cash), and next year, the DVC Rhone River Cruise (no points used, but have to be direct member to book).

- Sorcerer Annual Passes (essentially a nice discount off of Annual Passes, and was one of our big reasons for wanting direct points when we first bought in)

- 20% discount at WDW store/merchandise locations. We have made far too good a use on this one*

- 10% most sit-down restaurants*

- Wicked Wind Down. It is our new favorite way to watch the fireworks sans-crowds and relax and have a meal (for us, those appetizers + dessert really are a meal unto themselves).

- Being able to book at Riviera and Fort Wilderness Cabins (we've done both), and Disneyland Hotel Villas (will do soon)

- Moonlight Magic. Only managed to do it once, but it was a lot of fun.

- Membership Magic Plus, allowing us to use points for purchasing our annual points, getting 12 OTU points for free, Disneyland discounted tickets, and priority entry to lounges

* I do realize that we get some of these with our Annual Passes, but we also wouldn't be buying annual passes if we didn't have access to the Sorcerer's Pass.

 

[cruisehopeful]

@Lorana I love how you are using your membership to the fullest. You've really summed up most of the advantages.

 

[Lorana]

@Lorana I love how you are using your membership to the fullest. You've really summed up most of the advantages.

Thanks! I do try to maximize our value.

We do have about half of our points direct and half resale -- it used to be 2/3 resale, but we've been swapping out resale for direct when the incentives have been favorable, as we have discovered we really do like doing member events/cruises/trips, and sometimes we HAVE to use direct points for those, at least for one guest on the reservation. Otherwise, we do rent out points to cover the costs (which is what we're doing for the Rhone River Cruise).

Also, we're very excited about Lakeshore Lodge, and those will also require direct points.

 

[LadySarathano]

I was resale first, then added on Direct earlier this year with member discounts. The #1 reason I bought Direct is because I wanted Riviera points but not *only* Riviera points, and the ability to exchange into other new resorts in the future, which I couldn’t with my resale points. I also wanted to pick a Fixed / Favorite Week which would likely have not been possible to ever find resale.

#2 I know for the years it makes sense for our calendar, the Sorcerer Pass is a significant savings even for a 2-person household. With our work schedules, we are not available to travel (or interested in doing so even if we were available) during the Sorcerer black-out dates.

#3 The other fringe benefits are not guaranteed but fun and a nice show of appreciation from DVC / Disney. We have attended one Moonlight Magic so far on our new membership, and are looking forward to checking out the lounges on our next trip. Discounts when we don’t also have the AP are also appreciated. Better than the Disney Visa discount because of no minimum purchase amount on merch, and I can use my discounted Disney gift cards as available.

Hope this is helpful!