Just an interesting piece about Club 33

[crownprincesslexi]

Howdy All!

I just found this interesting piece about Club 33 from the LA Times about the perks and benefits that are being taken away from the members. I know that the team is always talking about how Disney is taking things away and not giving anything extra for what people pay to be there and I guess it doesn't just stop at those who pay normal park admissions...

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-disney-club-33-20141213-story.html

Let me know if anyone has any thoughts!

 

[connie1042]

I would not be a happy camper either. I could never afford that, but man, this just proves they are out for the mighty dollar, now, not guest experience. So sad.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Club 33 members are really upset at this, from my understanding.

 

[mytripsandraces]

I'm not a Club 33 member, but I'd be plenty annoyed if I found out that ticket prices went up to pay for the enhancements to the Club. All of those expenses should be covered by Club 33 members, not by regular park goers who have no access to that experience. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they needed additional money to complete the project, so opened up part of the renovations to regular guests so they could get money from the general pool.

 

[JimmyV]

The article says:

The cards allow a lucky few to enjoy many of the benefits of a member, including access to Disney parks and dining at the secretive Club 33 restaurant, tucked away in Disneyland's New Orleans Square. VIP cardholders, who don't need to be related to the member, enjoy those perks without the member present.

Sounds to me like it was an opportunity for scalping. No doubt people were selling their VIP passes to the highest bidders since recipients didn't need to be family members nor did they have to have the member present when they used the Club. I don't think it would be too difficult to find people who would pay a pretty penny for those VIP cards, thus offsetting the upfront cost of membership. The irate members are probably upset because they have now lost the ability to fund a portion of their membership by selling their passes. Frankly, it doesn't make any sense why Disney allowed the VIP passes to begin with. Nothing wrong with making membership limited to the actual member, his/her spouse/partner, and household minors. That is the way most clubs work.

Edit to add:
Found this article. The last paragraph confirms my suspicions.
http://gadling.com/2012/10/22/member-of-secret-disneyland-club-tells-all/

 

[wilkeliza]

I am pretty sure the passes were taken away due to abuse. Almost everyone I know who lives in the Anaheim/LA area has been to Club 33 because they knew someone who knew someone who had the guest pass and would just call and get them a reservation. They didn't know the actual member. I almost got to eat that way when I went for Avengers but sadly the reservation was made for the time I needed to leave so I wasn't able to go.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I agree with the previous 2 posters, giving 3 additional passes per membership with no limitations is a bad idea and opens the door for abuse.

With as long as the waiting list is I'm sure many members where selling the VIP passes for thousands more than their $11,000 membership cost. A lot of members probably see this as losing out on a 2nd source of income.

 

[crownprincesslexi]

Just to play Devil's Advocate.. the same could be said for our Cast Member main gate passes. We can get in whomever we want, does that mean we should lose our privileges and only let our spouse/children in?

 

[wilkeliza]

Just to play Devil's Advocate.. the same could be said for our Cast Member main gate passes. We can get in whomever we want, does that mean we should lose our privileges and only let our spouse/children in?

For the main gate to work though the CM has to be present. My understanding with the Club 33 passes it extended the benefits without the member ever needing to be there. Also CM passes are limited. These were not.

 

[crownprincesslexi]

Not necessarily true, I've gotten people in on my pass without being present and a ton of others have too. Also, just to be clear are you speaking on DLR or WDW CMs because the systems are totally different?

 

[wilkeliza]

Not necessarily true, I've gotten people in on my pass without being present and a ton of others have too. Also, just to be clear are you speaking on DLR or WDW CMs because the systems are totally different?

I know when I was with the company DL and WDW were similar except for the biometric scans. CM had to be present with main gate card (well CM or spouse) and then the front gate CM printed the guest passes for the number of people present or up to what was allowed based on the main gate.

Now they are drastically different but I know we always had to at least be there to get the initial passes for guests and then it was up to you if you stayed with your guest or trusted them not get in trouble and thus you in trouble. Has it changed at DL where the CM is no longer necessary? I know giving away your maingate card can get you in trouble.

 

[Kristina4109]

Back when my sister was a CP CM, she had to be present to sign us into the WDW parks. I just got signed into DL for the first time this year, and the Imagineer who signed us in had to be present. He also warned us that if we did anything to get kicked out of the parks he would get fired.

 

[Stacy's a freak]

OK so Disney upped the price by $1000 (about 9%) and they have taken away extra passes for guests of guests. If they truly have a wait list which has been closed due to sheer demand, I do not see this causing a problem for Disney. If they lose members, they have plenty people to fall back on.

I doubt this decision will hurt its bottom line as a business.

 

[JimmyV]

Not necessarily true, I've gotten people in on my pass without being present and a ton of others have too. Also, just to be clear are you speaking on DLR or WDW CMs because the systems are totally different?

All they need to do to curb the CM abuse of passes is require the CM to be present (or if that is already a requirement, enforce it). With Club 33, they could require the member to be present with their guests. But they have chosen to go in a different direction. It will be easy to see how fast the waiting list shrinks now that members must actually pay for their memberships without a way to offset the cost through selling VIP passes. I'll bet lots of people will conclude that the cost is too high.

 

[crownprincesslexi]

There is always a way around the system. And yes, if someone gets in trouble on your pass you can be held responsible because you are essentially putting yourself on the line for a specific guest. How often that is held up is up for debate backstage.

The difference between being a CM and a Club 33 member is different though. I don't pay for the privilege of being a CM, while a Club 33 member is, and paying a lot by anyone's measure. It's one of those situations where the majority probably wasn't doing anything wrong and everyone got the slap on the hand for it.

 

[DisneyKingpin]

Gee, I feel so bad for all the rich people who have to pay a little more for privileges 99.99% of us could never get.