FP+ reservations will soon be available for DVC Open House Tours

[crazy4wdw]

From WDWMagic:

Later this week, Disney will begin testing a new feature on the My Disney Experience website.

When making FastPass+ reservations, guests staying at a Walt Disney World moderate or deluxe hotel, may be prompted to arrange a Disney Vacation Club Open House Tour.

Guests that take up the offer will receive three additional same-day FastPass+ allocations on completion of the tour, which will be linked to the guests My Disney Experience account.

DVC Open House Tours give guests an overview of the DVC program and a tour of a DVC Villa at Walt Disney World. The tours can currently be booked via DVC agents throughout the theme parks.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...fer-disney-vacation-club-open-house-tours.htm

 

[wilkeliza]

This totally isn't new. I guess maybe the scheduling is new but they have been giving 3 anytime FP+ for a while now. If it is just 3 additional allocations and not the anytime FP+ (that didn't work at several locations) then it is a down step. We never took the tour just for the FP but they were always nice to have to make up for the time out of the trips we did do them on.

 

[ScubaCat]

I've done it a couple of times. I admitted openly to doing it just for the 3 FPs and they just had me take a quick 3 minute survey and gave them to me. I probably wouldn't do it again but at the time I did have a couple of actual questions (I wasn't an owner at the time) . I asked about buying BCV direct and the guide I met with had to suppress a chuckle.

All this new system does is link your info so they don't have to collect it all from you separately. Makes sense to me.

 

[verleniahall]

its leaving those at Value's out???

 

[suebeelin]

its leaving those at Value's out???

Probably doesn't make sense to target those who usually stay at values.

The maintenance fees alone are almost the same price as a value on a day to day basis. Someone who stays at value probably isn't looking to shell out $20-40k just so they can pay maint fees that is the equivalent as staying in a value hotel-- even if the trade off is a deluxe room... They are still risking/spending 20-40k right off the bat PLUS locking themselves into a not so cheap vacation every year.

I do understand their logic. Regular Value customers would not be the profile base for the typical dvc buyer. They would probably waste a lot of effort and resources pursuing the typical value customer.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'm sure marketing has been dying to start hitting up guests thru MDE.

 

[apple9117]

Interesting...

 

[mickeymom629]

Probably doesn't make sense to target those who usually stay at values.

The maintenance fees alone are almost the same price as a value on a day to day basis. Someone who stays at value probably isn't looking to shell out $20-40k just so they can pay maint fees that is the equivalent as staying in a value hotel-- even if the trade off is a deluxe room... They are still risking/spending 20-40k right off the bat PLUS locking themselves into a not so cheap vacation every year.

I do understand their logic. Regular Value customers would not be the profile base for the typical dvc buyer. They would probably waste a lot of effort and resources pursuing the typical value customer.

Well, we (DH and 4 kids) were staying at ASMu one year with my aunt and uncle. My aunt saw the DVC sign, which I had never paid attention to, and encouraged us to go. DH and I bought on that trip. We always had to get 2 adjoining rooms for our family of 6. This was 1999. Disney may be missing some opportunities by "assuming".

 

[DebbieB]

Well, we (DH and 4 kids) were staying at ASMu one year with my aunt and uncle. My aunt saw the DVC sign, which I had never paid attention to, and encouraged us to go. DH and I bought on that trip. We always had to get 2 adjoining rooms for our family of 6. This was 1999. Disney may be missing some opportunities by "assuming".

It might be a case that there would not be enough openings if they also included the values, over 5,000 rooms. Taking that into consideration, they are going after the people more likely to purchase. I know at $170 a point, I wouldn't be purchasing today (I bought at $65).

Maybe if they don't have enough people booking it, they will open it up. I doubt that, there are probably a lot of people who will go just for the fastpasses with no interest in buying. That's a matrix they will need to evaluate.

 

[JWG]

It's not as if someone in a value resort can't take the tour. They absolutely can arrange it through a kiosk (which you have to actively avoid if you want to miss them), so it's just not active marketing via the app.

 

[Shanti]

From WDWMagic:

Later this week, Disney will begin testing a new feature on the My Disney Experience website.

When making FastPass+ reservations, guests staying at a Walt Disney World moderate or deluxe hotel, may be prompted to arrange a Disney Vacation Club Open House Tour.

Guests that take up the offer will receive three additional same-day FastPass+ allocations on completion of the tour, which will be linked to the I guests My Disney Experience account.

DVC Open House Tours give guests an overview of the DVC program and a tour of a DVC Villa at Walt Disney World. The tours can currently be booked via DVC agents throughout the theme parks.

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...fer-disney-vacation-club-open-house-tours.htm

I just noticed this on my MDE itinerary. It says that the FP's must be used within 4 days, and cannot include 7DMT, Peter Pan, Test Track, TSMM, fireworks, parades, or a few others. That still leaves many good options available (including Soarin', the MK mountains, TOT, etc.), and as the front part of our trip is laid-back resort time, but we'll be doing a major park-hopping day later in the trip, I'm interested in going just for the FP's if it's convenient.

 

[jgdsoarin]

Well, we (DH and 4 kids) were staying at ASMu one year with my aunt and uncle. My aunt saw the DVC sign, which I had never paid attention to, and encouraged us to go. DH and I bought on that trip. We always had to get 2 adjoining rooms for our family of 6. This was 1999. Disney may be missing some opportunities by "assuming".

Agree...we bought our first contract on a tour when we were staying at All Star Sports. We realized on that trip that we wanted to go more often and the price worked out. For basically what we were paying at the value resort, we could stay deluxe. The buy-in price is much more now so I don't know if the math still works out...

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Probably doesn't make sense to target those who usually stay at values.

The maintenance fees alone are almost the same price as a value on a day to day basis. Someone who stays at value probably isn't looking to shell out $20-40k just so they can pay maint fees that is the equivalent as staying in a value hotel-- even if the trade off is a deluxe room... They are still risking/spending 20-40k right off the bat PLUS locking themselves into a not so cheap vacation every year.

I do understand their logic. Regular Value customers would not be the profile base for the typical dvc buyer. They would probably waste a lot of effort and resources pursuing the typical value customer.

Yep, you would have been that car salesman that missed selling me a car because "a young woman driving the bottom of the line Corolla can't afford that convertible" Which I then bought from another dealership. (I made sure to tell the manager of dealership one that 'you lost an easy sale' I had been in an accident the day before, my 9 month old car was totaled and these guys couldn't be bothered to sell me a new one because "she can't afford it'" Hmmmm.....)

Disney is just as stupid apparently

Some of us won't pay for Disney "deluxe" because the only thing "deluxe" is the pricing LOL! So there are probably people in the values who could easily afford DVC, but don't want to be ripped off by Disney hotel pricing!

 

[ScubaCat]

Yep, you would have been that car salesman that missed selling me a car because "a young woman driving the bottom of the line Corolla can't afford that convertible" Which I then bought from another dealership. (I made sure to tell the manager of dealership one that 'you lost an easy sale' I had been in an accident the day before, my 9 month old car was totaled and these guys couldn't be bothered to sell me a new one because "she can't afford it'" Hmmmm.....)

Disney is just as stupid apparently

Some of us won't pay for Disney "deluxe" because the only thing "deluxe" is the pricing LOL! So there are probably people in the values who could easily afford DVC, but don't want to be ripped off by Disney hotel pricing!

PVB is pretty expensive compared to a value resort, though. Back when it was $60-$80 per point, it was a bit closer. Also, people staying at values may be far more likely to take the tour just for free fast passes than to actually have an interest in purchasing.

While I understand the car buying analogy, it's not exactly apples to apples, although the principle is the same. It's all about the odds, staffing capacity (guides to give the tours), etc. I walked over to BWV on a previous trip (from BCV) and got the fast passes for my whole group with no intention of buying PVB. [To be fair, I was interested in buying BCV but was told the waitlist was closed.] The value resorts are very large and a lot of people looking for free fastpasses or even just window shopping could easily clog up the system in place of legit buyers. Having said that, this is just the initial pilot of the program. If it proves successful, it could always be expanded to values later. I understand both sides of the issue, though.

Footnote on buying a car: The issue you probably had was the dealer that didn't want to take the time probably had more sales people on staff at the time. Car sales people come and go constantly, and dealers will often hire more than they need because they're all 100% commission (no cost to keep extra around). The ones that are there at any time are in a rotation as to who gets the next customer (aka, an "up" it's referred to in the industry). If someone had helped you and you actually couldn't have afforded the car, that salesperson would go back to the end of the queue and may not get another shot that day. Thus, if I'm a car salesman and I'm "up" next, and if you don't appear to be a serious buyer, I may opt to wait for the next one. It's a cutthroat business and there's just no good answer to the dilemma. Going elsewhere was a wise choice. Think of it this way: There are no FP+ for car salesmen

 

[suebeelin]

Yep, you would have been that car salesman that missed selling me a car because "a young woman driving the bottom of the line Corolla can't afford that convertible" Which I then bought from another dealership. (I made sure to tell the manager of dealership one that 'you lost an easy sale' I had been in an accident the day before, my 9 month old car was totaled and these guys couldn't be bothered to sell me a new one because "she can't afford it'" Hmmmm.....)

Disney is just as stupid apparently

Some of us won't pay for Disney "deluxe" because the only thing "deluxe" is the pricing LOL! So there are probably people in the values who could easily afford DVC, but don't want to be ripped off by Disney hotel pricing!

While I understand there's a few losses in customers, they are a business and probably did a cost analysis btwn the staffing and the likely buyers.

I meant no offense.

I have been in plenty of situations where ppl assume I cannot afford the big ticket item I'm shopping for, including my home. I don't take it personally, as I understand why a realtor would request a mortgage pre approval before showing us the 3400sq ft new construction house, knowing my husband was an incoming resident in a rural medical community.

We did not have the preapproval. I had planned on buying my home in cash, but did not want to reveal this info to the realtor.

The realtor didn't want to waste her time. She lost out on a 30k commission before the split (6%?).

Disney probably did a similar analysis and may lose a customer or two, but save on the substantial resources they would otherwise allocate.

I can assure you, no other resident living solely off a resident salary live in our community. The realtor knew I would be quitting my job and moving with my husband and living on a single restricted income. She made a calculated rational decision, and in 99% of the time she would be right. We are not the typical resident family.

Likekwise, value customers are not the typical dvc purchaser. Staffing a kiosk for the possibility of a handful of sales per year would not be a good business decision.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

Last time I looked at a "value" it was over $100 a night

And you might be more likely to want to escape the overpriced cinderblock room than someone in a nicer hotel!

A Disney "value" is not like you are staying at the local Motel 6 (well except in room quality, but that's another problem)


Considering the profit margin in DVC and the amount they pay those Kiosk greeters... I think they would be surprised

 

[jtkboston]

I just noticed this on my MDE itinerary. It says that the FP's must be used within 4 days, and cannot include 7DMT, Peter Pan, Test Track, TSMM, fireworks, parades, or a few others. That still leaves many good options available (including Soarin', the MK mountains, TOT, etc.), and as the front part of our trip is laid-back resort time, but we'll be doing a major park-hopping day later in the trip, I'm interested in going just for the FP's if it's convenient.

Do you have the complete list of excluded attractions? I have a VIP fastpass to plan into an August WDW trip and want to allocate VIP vs. regular FPs--so the complete list would be helpful.

Are the VIP FPs available to be used in multiple parks on the same day, say use one in MK and two in DHS?

 

[Shanti]

Do you have the complete list of excluded attractions? I have a VIP fastpass to plan into an August WDW trip and want to allocate VIP vs. regular FPs--so the complete list would be helpful.

Are the VIP FPs available to be used in multiple parks on the same day, say use one in MK and two in DHS?

Here is the fine print about the FastPasses, the only info I have thus far, as I haven't yet decided to make an appointment.

• Theme park admission is not included.
• Upon completion of the Open House Tour, eligible participants will be provided with the ability to activate and reserve 3 Disney FastPass+ selections at Walt Disney World Resort for each member of their party, up to 6 (six) people.
• FastPass+ selections are non-transferable.
• Participants must have a My Disney Experience account and MagicBands or ticket media, and must visit a Disney Vacation Club Sales Center to activate their Disney FastPass+.
• Disney FastPass+ selections must be reserved and used within 4 (four) days of activation.
• Disney FastPass+ service given as part of this offer is not usable at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan's Flight, Test Track Presented by Chevrolet®, Toy Story Midway Mania!, Character greeting experiences, Rivers of Light, parade viewing or fireworks viewing.

 

[DVC Mary]

Can DVC members take advantage to this & get the FP+s?
Where are the tours currently located?

 

[jtkboston]

Can DVC members take advantage to this & get the FP+s?
Where are the tours currently located?

We were able to get these on our DVC account as an incentive for talking with a sales rep about an add-on while on a cruise last year. The Ts&Cs that I just dug out do say that current members are not eligible, but it must be a special deal with the presentations on board to offer this incentive.

• Disney FastPass+ service given as part of this offer is not usable at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan's Flight, Test Track Presented by Chevrolet®, Toy Story Midway Mania!, Character greeting experiences, Rivers of Light, parade viewing or fireworks viewing.

Interesting, when I finally found my printed Ts & Cs sheet (it was mis-filed in my records!), it says that the excluded attractions are Soarin, TSMM, 7DMT, Character Greetings, parades, fireworks, live entertainment.
So perhaps the offer has changed slightly, or the rules on attractions have changed on the ones we will use in August.

Also I'll note that these are different from a different kind of special fast-pass I've gotten previously as compensation for a lodging issue--that other FP was a "walk up to any attraction" FP that did not require reservations.
The FPs offered through DVC are described as needing to be booked for available times just like any other normal FP+.