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

[byurick]

75pts new and 65pts for a renewal. Only FL residents can pay monthly on passes, us out of staters have to hand over the full amount.

 

[Steelers0854]

75pts new and 65pts for a renewal. Only FL residents can pay monthly on passes, us out of staters have to hand over the full amount.

Also know you have to buy MMB to use points to buy the Sorcerer Pass. And while I assume they will keep it around, thats not guaranteed.

 

[PolyRob]

Did anyone close their Direct sale at WDW? I'm considering setting up the entire purchase with my guide, then just closing while there on a cash stay if that is possible.

It would potentially let us apply our ticket price towards at least one Sorceror Pass.

You don't need to close to be DVC-Y and eligible for the Sorcerer Pass. You become a "DVC member" the day you buy and your points are loaded. No need to rush into it or anything to plan on closing while on vacation.

Depending on how far out your trip is, DVC MS may even be able to work on booking you a "Welcome Home Stay" to replace your cash accommodation as a condition of the sale.

 

[Steelers0854]

Did anyone close their Direct sale at WDW? I'm considering setting up the entire purchase with my guide, then just closing while there on a cash stay if that is possible.

It would potentially let us apply our ticket price towards at least one Sorceror Pass.

We did exactly this. Did everything with our guide over the phone and via email. Ran into issues with the online notary and already had a trip planned, just so happened to be staying at SSR already, so that made it even easier. Took us 5 minutes, easy pessy. But as others have mentioned as soon as you give your guide your CC number your all set, you don’t have to close to get all the benefits and your points for use.

 

[auralia]

We were grandfathered in on a small old key west contract bought before resale was excluded from perks. It is a 2057, but was not enough points as our kids were getting older. We wanted the Rivera, but I was not willing to have a contract that could only stay at one resort so resale was not really an option given my wants. That said we use the merch discount a lot, dining discount too. We have never made it to a moonlight magic but would love to. We also use the lounges to escape the heat in the middle of the day. We don’t use the AP discount because we have access to military tickets every year which is a better savings option for us since we only go for a week or so every 12 months ish. We do rent our points every 3rd year to cover all dues etc associated with the contracts…. My husband required me to do this to be willing to buy in at riveria. It’s not about the money really he just wants a guaranteed Disney free year every couple of years

 

[muppets3d]

i replied to an old post by accident - delete.

 

[ldo]

1. Moonlight Magic is fun. But you have to log in a lottery--you'll see that many do not get tickets. I'd "value" that as the same as an After Hours Party ($600/4 persons this summer).
2. DVC Members cruise is very cool--with lots of swag and great guest speakers/performers-we loved it. I'd pay a bit of a premium ($500-1,000 total) over a regular Disney Cruise, where we have had (almost as) wonderful cruises.
3. The EP lounge is a nice break--let's say $7PP vs. going to inside area and getting a drink/snack.
4. I find the dining discounts similar to having Disney Visa. We don't shop enough to make the other ones matter.

We never use our points outside of DVC, so no comment on that value.

 

[tidefan]

Well, since we bought our first contract in 2007, I guess I am locked out of this thread

Maybe I should start a "For Direct Members that bought over 15 years ago, what do you miss/" thread...

That would be easy for me:

1) The $399 Premium Annual Pass deal they did in 2012
2) Free Valet Parking
3) No closing costs on direct contracts

Also, I'm sure those early OKW owners would definitely say the free park tickets!

As to what I think are my personal most used direct benefits now?

1) The Sorcerer's Pass, though we had Discounts on the Gold Pass prior to COVID. They took away the Platinum (now Incredipass) discount.
2) The "free" baseball hats they hand out on DCL (thankfully, they started this back up) and the "free" drinks during the member meeting
3) Merch discounts

 

[intamin]

Well, since we bought our first contract in 2007, I guess I am locked out of this thread

Maybe I should start a "For Direct Members that bought over 15 years ago, what do you miss/" thread...

That would be easy for me:

1) The $399 Premium Annual Pass deal they did in 2012
2) Free Valet Parking
3) No closing costs on direct contracts

Also, I'm sure those early OKW owners would definitely say the free park tickets!

As to what I think are my personal most used direct benefits now?

1) The Sorcerer's Pass, though we had Discounts on the Gold Pass prior to COVID. They took away the Platinum (now Incredipass) discount.
2) The "free" baseball hats they hand out on DCL (thankfully, they started this back up) and the "free" drinks during the member meeting
3) Merch discounts

I'm not even mad about the pass since I was taking advantage of the cheap Disneyland passes when I was in college when the highest pass without blockouts cost like 4-500 dollars.

What I am jealous of is missing out on Tables in Wonderland and also buying a bunch of resale points without restrictions on it.

 

[Brian Noble]

Out of curiosity, how much is a sorcerer pass in points for direct members and does Disney let you pay monthly if you choose cash?

No special price---just the same price as it would be for FL residents. You cannot pay monthly unless you are a FL resident.

https://www.mousesavers.com/walt-di...walt-disney-world-ticket-discounts/#dvcannual

 

[disneylandtour]

No special price---just the same price as it would be for FL residents. You cannot pay monthly unless you are a FL resident.

https://www.mousesavers.com/walt-di...walt-disney-world-ticket-discounts/#dvcannual

With DVC-Y you can buy 24 points for the cost of 12, which can be used toward the Sorcerer's Pass. (or if you want to make it less tricky, to replace other points on your dashboard.) So 24 points for $240 plus then either 41 or 51 points of your own to complete the order--depending if it's a new pass or a renewal. It depends on how you value your points to see if this is a good deal or not. On the open market, I'd say most points are worth $20, give or take. But in terms of my own cost, I have some points that are well under $10 per use (that is, member fees plus purchase price amortized over X years). So if you have some really cheap SAP points (like $68 or $70 SSR points, from a few years ago) plus the 24 OTU points, which are half off for DVC-Y. A new sorcerer's pass is around $700, while a renewal is around $600 using those second set of numbers. This would be about a $400 to $500 savings. But again, this only takes in my cost for some of my least expensive points, not what their replacement (via transfer) cost would be. If you value them at $20--that is, if you rent--using points to buy the pass is probably not a good value.

I sorta think that the three day Disneyland ticket with lightning lane at $330 (off peak, weekdays, one park per day) is a better deal for DVC-Y.

 

[Genie+]

The ‘Gold’ annual pass had the same pricing and blockout dates for DVC and FL residents.

Gold AP has been replaced with Sorcerer for DVC and Pirate for FL residents.

DVC’s Sorcerer $899 is only blocked Christmastime and Thanksgiving weekend (and Easter week is no longer blocked).

FL res Pirate pass is $60 cheaper with many more blockout dates.

 

[Cfabar1]

I think DVC should wrap the closing costs into the price of the direct contract... It would make people feel like they were getting something resale didn't give them... and it would be so opaque no one would really know the difference.

Seeing the current add-on tool closing costs for Polynesian, I forgot just how expensive those closing costs are! Just charge a couple more dollars per point and make people think they are getting a deal!

 

[ldo]

With DVC-Y you can buy 24 points for the cost of 12, which can be used toward the Sorcerer's Pass. (or if you want to make it less tricky, to replace other points on your dashboard.)

I didn't realize that those 24 points could be used for the SP. We have a small direct contract--so that is great news.
Also, if I buy MMB now with a Dec UY, could I use banked, current and then buy (10) 1X UY to get a SP and then in Dec 2025 use my (new) current points, borrow from 2026 and buy the remaining 14 1x UY points to get a 2nd pass? And activate both before Feb 2026?

 

[disneylandtour]

I didn't realize that those 24 points could be used for the SP. We have a small direct contract--so that is great news.

I believe you'll need to explain that you're using them toward a SP on the call with Member Services when you purchase them.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I believe you'll need to explain that you're using them toward a SP on the call with Member Services when you purchase them.

Yes. I did this today. I called MS and told them that I wanted to purchase OTU points to apply towards the renewal of my AP. The CM did the OTU transaction, added the 24 points to my account, and then combined those with 41 of my other points towards the renewal. Easy peasy.

 

[ldo]

DVC’s Sorcerer $899 is only blocked Christmastime and Thanksgiving weekend (and Easter week is no longer blocked).

Is there special pricing with MMB? Isn't the current pricing? $1,049+tax?