Is Connections Too Good to Be True?

[Thumper1]

I'm always wary of things that seem too good to be true. Do the vouchers for meals really work? Is this officially sanctioned by Disney?

Nowadays you can't be too careful.

 

[Lan]

I would like to know about this also.

 

[tammie]

hello, i just got the 10.50 lunch or dinner voucher and i ordered six of them and it say got of one entry one side order or combo and a drink and a destert............it says it includes tax and tip on it.........we are going to try it at beaches and cream and i printed out all foods location and what they serve off a wedsite........ i belive it will work............tammie

 

[FoodLover]

The vouchers and passes are issued by Disney. I was given identical meal vouchers after touring a Disney Vacation Club property, and the passes are the same ones you would buy at the Disney gates.

Connections has nothing to do with Disney. It just buys the vouchers and passes at a quantity discount from Disney and resells them to its members at about cost, making its money from the $79.95 annual fee you pay.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[unfreshdiva1]

I bought 4 of these for my labor day trip this year. Used two at Beaches & Cream and had no problem (had milkshake for drink, prime rib sandwich, and snickers sundae for desert). Milkshake was normally $3.95, sandwich was $10.95, and sundae was $7.95 so we got a great deal when we only paid $10.50 by using voucher. Planning on using other 2 at Pepper Market at Coronado resort when we go back for Thanksgiving. Only trouble I've had with Connections is that they seem to lose my order (happened twice). I ended up canceling subscription after the first month as I was tired of their customer service giving me made up excuses for losing my order.

 

[NotTooGoofy]

I've used Connections before, but not for purchasing tickets or vouchers. They are legit but you have to figure out if it's worth the annual fee (a few years ago it was $80). Purchased enough gift certificates for various restaurants and Toys R Us to make it worth while, but quit after a year.

 

[NancyIL]

You need to spend $400 to save $80 (20%) on non-Disney gift cards just to break even. After reading the fine print - I saw that each restaurant is limited to 10-$10 gift cards and each merchant is limited to 15 gift cards. For the ones that I'd definitely use (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Blockbuster, and Barnes and Noble) - the savings would amount to less than $100, minus the $80 annual fee. That doesn't include any savings on theme park tickets or meal vouchers, but I wouldn't purchase many of them. So - I will probably be one of the many that cancels before the end of 30 days.

 

[tlduckie]

NancyIL you are able to purchase 10 $10.00 vouchers for each household member. Ex. I have 6 in my family so I could order 60 for red lobster if I wanted. Also if you buy toys from kb toys or toy r us you get savings for every $25.00 you get back $5.00 back. Good for me I have 4 children and spend easily $1000.00 on Christmas stuff. Also you save on movie tickets they are only $4.50 a ticket. Buy blockbuster $10.00 giftcards and save $2.00. there is so much that they offer it is too good to give up.

 

[NancyIL]

tlduckie - I understood the fine print to limit the restaurant gift cards to 10 per member family - not per family member. Have you ordered more than 10 from any one restaurant?

 

[tlduckie]

NancyIL Yes I have and in the terms it states that you agree to use it only for you and your immediate family. Immediate Family meaning you, your children and your spouse living in the household. You will promptly notify them if you become aware of any unauthorized use of your membership card or membership number, or if your card is lost/stolen. I have order PLanet hollwood,Hard rock cafe,outback steakhouse, Perkins, Applebees,ChuckE. Cheese Steak & Ale Disney vouchers also. I figure we are leaving Dec13 and returning Dec 25 we our going to have to eat somewhere why not eat at nice places and save money why we are at it.

 

[chris1gill]

We used these vouchers & they worked great over Labor Day Weekend.... We used two vouchers for The Pepper Market where our original bill was over 50.00 each time... so we paid with two vouchers at a cost of 21.00 for the two vouchers... Same thing with Beaches... the bill was over 40 & we paid with 2 vouchers....

You can definitely order more than 10 vouchers... I ordered 13 of the quick & casual lunch vouchers.... I could have ordered more if I wanted....

I believe you can also buy more of the other gift certificates.. they increased the # but didn't reflect the change on the website....

If you spend money at either Toys/Kids/Babies R Us or Barnes & Noble... this could save you a lot of money...

 

[bluedoggy]

We just got back on 10/6 from 8 ni at CSR and we had 8 Connections Quick & Casual certs that we used at Pepper Mkt. I had read many posts that they were a good deal and I can confirm that we had no problem at all using them. In fact our DD and her boyfriend each had Prime Rib dinners, beverages and desserts one night - bill was over $50 and they used 2 certs. Tip is included on the certs, but we always left at least a couple of $ extra because the service we got all week was superb - If you go to Pepper Mkt - say Hi to Gene (Mgr) he's very nice!

 

[NancyIL]

Here's what the Connections site says about the restaurant and merchandise certificates:

As a member of ConnectionsSM you may participate by purchasing certificate(s)/ GiftCard(s) online or by calling Membership Services.


For every $10 certificate/GiftCard you purchase you will receive $2 back at the end of the month. For every $25 certificate/GiftCard you purchase you will receive $5 back at the end of the month.


This is an exclusive offer of Connections. In order to save, certificates/Gift Cards must be purchased through Connections. Credits are not available for certificates/GiftCards purchased through participating retailers. Merchandise certificates/GiftCards are limited to 15 per retailer per member family per membership year and limited to 10 certificates/GiftCards per restaurant per member family each membership year. You must be an active member of Connections at the time your credit is processed.

I also called Connections, and the 10 restaurant/15 merchandise limit is still the same. It's a per MEMBERSHIP limit and not per family member! There doesn't appear to be a limit on theme park tickets or meal vouchers, however.

 

[mjmissy]

Is there any way of finding out all on-property restaurants that these Connections meal vouchers could be used at? Also, is there any other agencies that perhaps sells these disney meal vouchers

 

[NancyIL]

Go to http://www.mousesavers.com/connections.html#quick for info about the participating restaurants.

 

[lawgs]

what other restaurants do they have "coupons" for......eg planet hollywood.....Hard Rock Cafe......are they the same or are they just "dollar for dollar on gift card"

 

[NancyIL]

lawgs - you use the $10 gift cards that you purchase (with a 20% rebate) at Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe, and the other chains: Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Perkins, Outback Steakhouse, Bennigans, Chuck E. Cheese, Steak & Ale, Smokey Bones BBQ.

 

[tlduckie]

You need to spend $400 to save $80 (20%) on non-Disney gift cards just to break even. After reading the fine print - I saw that each restaurant is limited to 10-$10 gift cards and each merchant is limited to 15 gift cards. For the ones that I'd definitely use (Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Blockbuster, and Barnes and Noble) - the savings would amount to less than $100, minus the $80 annual fee. That doesn't include any savings on theme park tickets or meal vouchers, but I wouldn't purchase many of them. So - I will probably be one of the many that cancels before the end of 30 days.

NancyIL..... I just wanted to tell I called connections again and I am eating my words!You are right about 10 per restaurant per year. I am sorry the person I spoke with before told me wrong info. Way to keep me on my toes....

 

[NancyIL]

You are very gracious, tlduckie!

I'm sure Connections IS a great deal for a lot of people. If my kids were younger (my "baby" is 11) and I bought a lot of toys - I'd get my money's worth by shopping at the toy stores, too. Hmmm...I'm just not sure what I'll do.

 

[Thumper1]

I called Connections yesterday. I wanted to know who ate the rest of the money if you purchased the $10.50 voucher and the meal was $50.

A young gentleman had no idea what I was talking about when I referred to the meal vouchers for Walt Disney World. He had to look it up on the internet. He took quite a while too. I then asked to speak with a supervisor when the young man read to me what I already had up on the internet screen. (I always wonder why we seem to have more information then the people at the companies). He then asked why I wanted to speak with a supervisor and I told him he was doing a fine job ( but that the supervisor might have more information. It took ten minutes waiting to get someone. All the while there was loud laughing and carousing in the background of the office. Real professional! When the supervisor came I heard him speaking with the lady supervisor and heard him tell her "some lady wants more information" in a disdainful voice. She reacted like she couldn't believe she had to talk to a customer who had questions. I then asked her and she had no more clue than the young gentleman. I asked her about the validity of the vouchers, where the company obtained them. I told her that sometimes disreputable companies buy passes from people who were'nt able to use them and asked if there an expiration date on the vouchers. She told me there wasn't an expiration date. Which I question because several members of this board have said that there is. Overall I believe that this is a very unprofessional company and I told her so. I asked how long the company had been around and she told me four to five years.

I'm going to try to make a purchase, against my better judgement, because this is a good deal if it is legit. I'll use a credit card just in case it isn't and they mess up my order.

Thanks for all of your advice!