I am so upset with Disney right now...

[Love the Mouse]

We had a trip planned to go to Disneyland in Oct. We had to nix that and changed it to WDW instead. We are DVC members and since we were using our points for the Grand Californian and switched to WDW, we have to stay at a NON-DVC resort. Something to do with the fact that they are now "reservation points" now instead of DVC points. Okay, fine. No problem. I book the Caribbean Beach Resort.

Now, I go and call Disney to book the Disney Dining Plan and they say that I can't because we are using reservation points and that we can't do the Dining Plan. Even though we ARE using our points. But, they tell me to call Central Reservations to see if they will do it anyway.

They said no, that I would have to give back all of my points and pay for our reservation and book a package with the tickets, dining plan and room.

I am just so frustrated! We are using our DVC points, I am paying for my DVC and I can't book the darn Dining Plan. We love Disney and go 1 to 2 times a year, but I am just plain mad about this.

I just don't understand how I can call DVC, book a room, use my points and not be able to add the Dining Plan.

Just venting!

 

[DVCLiz]

Sorry to hear your sad tale!!! It's just one of those things about DVC - they have rules they must follow and it sounds like they just didn't allow you to wiggle through. It's too bad, especially if someone told you they might have, but it still is just the way the system works.

Anyway, have fun on your trip, and try to remember all the things about DVC that we love and that you can look forward to on your future trips!!!

 

[Luckymomoftwo]

I'm so sorry to hear about your negative experience. I know DVC has some pretty weird rules and it has something to do with DVC being a different entity than WDW and WDW resorts...but I would think that they are all owned by one parent company (there's got to be one parent company to all the different Disney entities like DL, WDW, DCL, DVC, etc.) so you would think they could bend the rules...If you have less to spend on food you have more to spend on SHOPPING!!! So, either way they're getting their money from you!!

Good luck! I hope everything works out. When we joined DVC in 97, we were told that DVC allows you to "correct" ONE mix up during the entire contract of your membership...you may want to call MS to see if they'll let you use your ONE exception and re-book with your points and get the dining plan. The only problem with that is you still have many years of using DVC and somewhere down the road you may have to cancel last minute due to an emergency and if you use that ONE exception now then you wouldn't have the option to use it if a true emergency ever arrises. I hope that makes sense.

 

[dis-happy]

Yeah, those are the rules. I know whenever I book they do warn about cancellation deadlines and reservation points.

Since you go a couple times of year I would get an AP (at the DVC discount of course!) and a DDE card. Then you can save 20% on all your TS meals and drinks, plus at a couple of CS places. We prefer the DDE over the DDP anyway.

 

[janets]

There is a difference between booking at a DVC villa resort and using "reservation points" to book at a non DVC property. When you book directly at a villa resort (WL, BC, BW, AK, OKW, SS), you can purchase the dining plan. However, if you use your points to book a room at a Disney hotel (CBR, CS, CR, etc.) you are booking outside the DVC system.

The dining plan is available if (i) you book a package with Disney (room, tickets, DDP), or (ii) if you book using DVC points at a DVC villa resort. Anything else does not qualify you to purchase the DDP.

I'm sorry you found this out the hard way, but it's one of the rules of DVC. And since you had a ressie for the GC and had to change and rebook, the status of your points changed too. So that makes things different as well.

The points rules can be challenging at times and it makes sense for all DVC owners to be up on the rules at all times (as difficult as that can be, for the money I paid and pay each year, I make sure I know exactly what I can and cannot do).

 

[elderfam]

I'm so sorry for you. I understand why it upsets you as well. Anyway you look at it, your a paying guest. I have to say I didnt know that there was a situation where they wouldnt let you get the Dining plan.

I would write an e-mail to DVC customer service so that they can address this in the future. More importantly, try not to let this bump in the road upset your looking forward to a great vacation.

Best of luck!

 

[DVCLiz]

I'm so sorry for you. I understand why it upsets you as well. Anyway you look at it, your a paying guest. I have to say I didnt know that there was a situation where they wouldnt let you get the Dining plan.

I would write an e-mail to DVC customer service so that they can address this in the future. More importantly, try not to let this bump in the road upset your looking forward to a great vacation.

Best of luck!

There isn't any need to write an email because there won't be any addressing it in the future, as it's not a DVC issue. It's simply one of the rules, and not likely to change. You can get the Dining Plan if you are staying on points, or you can get it if you buy a package at rack rate with at least one day's admission, but you can't get it otherwise, and no amount of wishing is going to make it so.

There are specific reasons why Disney does everything it does, and the way it offers the Dining Plan is no exception. Otherwise Disney would simply offer it to all guests, on or off site, and be done with it.

I'm sorry you can't get the Dining Plan for your upcoming trip - I hope you have one in the planning stages for next time!!!!

 

[Love the Mouse]

There isn't any need to write an email because there won't be any addressing it in the future, as it's not a DVC issue. It's simply one of the rules, and not likely to change. You can get the Dining Plan if you are staying on points,

I understand why Disney has rules. But I am using my points....95 to be exact. I booked the trip through DVC. The glitch is the fact that the DVC points were changed to "reservation points" when we were going to go to DL. Now that has changed and we changed it to WDW, they have to stay as reservation points.

My point was, I am a DVC member, I am using DVC points, I booked through DVC.

It's just as one of the posters said, it's a bump in my trip, but I still LOVE Disney and I LOVE having my DVC. I wouldn't give it up for anything! I just found out the hard way about all of this that I am going through.

Thanks for all of the posts.

 

[owensamo]

I understand why Disney has rules. But I am using my points....95 to be exact. I booked the trip through DVC. The glitch is the fact that the DVC points were changed to "reservation points" when we were going to go to DL. Now that has changed and we changed it to WDW, they have to stay as reservation points.

My point was, I am a DVC member, I am using DVC points, I booked through DVC.

It's just as one of the posters said, it's a bump in my trip, but I still LOVE Disney and I LOVE having my DVC. I wouldn't give it up for anything! I just found out the hard way about all of this that I am going through.

Thanks for all of the posts.

I've done this in the past - traded out to use my DVC points at a non-DVC Disney resort. When you do this, what you're essentially doing is giving your DVC points to DVC to use and trading them for a "credit" to use at a non-DVC Disney property. DVC is separate from the other Disney hotels (which from what I understand are somewhat separate from each other as well), and in order for us to use our points there, they have to pay the other Disney hotel cash for the room. So what they do is they take your DVC points and use those to rent for cash reservations at a DVC resort, then take that cash and use it to pay for your non-DVC Disney reservation.

Because the points have been "sold" to DVC in order to be able to reserve at the non-DVC resort, if you have to cancel the reservation, you can't get them back. Instead, they give you an equivalent "credit" in "Reservation Points" to use at another non-DVC resort. Which is great - at least you don't totally lose the points when you cancel!

The one drawback is that using "Reservation Points" for a non-DVC hotel stay precludes you from being eligible for a package - which is what you have to be on in order to get the DDP. Once you trade your points in to use at a non-DVC resort, they're not really DVC points anymore - instead they're kind of like cash credits, but without the option of using them for packages, you can't get the DDP.

It's really kind of an icky mess, and it may well be worth emailing someone at DVD about - it seems like it's a hole they might want to fill if possible. However, given they're going to start charging $95 per trade to the Disney Collection, maybe they're hoping we *don't* trade out of DVC and are trying to make it less attractive to do so.

Amanda

 

[DVCLiz]

My point was, I am a DVC member, I am using DVC points, I booked through DVC.

I know, I know - if it quacks like a duck, and it has feathers, it should be a duck, right?

But in the eyes of DVC you are NOT going to use those points in the same way, so you are not technically in the same category you were - even though you are still doing everything else the way you would have if you had been making a regular DVC reservation. I know it doesn't seem fair, though!!!