Let's be happy for once

[sgtpet]

Hello fellow DVC members. I just wanted to voice the opinion that this is the best perk we have gotten in quite a long time. DVC was more than fair in figuring out who should be able to get the discount.

Let's give credit where credit is deserved.

Congrats to DVC management.

 

[Doctor P]

DVC was more than fair in figuring out who should be able to get the discount.

Where you stand depends on where you sit--it may be fair to you, but as someone who belongs to a class of DVC members that has consistently been cut out of just about every perk offered, I strongly disagree that this perk has been fairly distributed.

 

[roadtripper]

"as someone who belongs to a class of DVC members that has consistently been cut out of just about every perk offered, I strongly disagree that this perk has been fairly distributed."

Forgive me if I missed something, but how have you been "cut out"? From what I've read, it looks like we all get the same deal.

 

[chris1gill]

I say EXCELLENT perk!!! I'll say my thanks Even though I can't use it for our December trip, hey, I'll be able to use it in all future years!

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I agree with the Original Poster. We too will be "shut out" of the AP the first year by just a few days, since we will be visiting WDW in December, and we'd love to be able to buy Annual Passes for our kids and grandkids, none of whom live with us, but for Pete's sake, someone at the DVC had to go to bat for a perk that a few days ago didn't exist at all! I'm grateful for that.

We will use this perk when we can, but it's not an entitlement. It's just a little extra. If it makes most DVC members happy and Disney makes some money from the plan, it will probably be extended into next year and beyond. If not, it will probably be discontinued. I say, thanks Disney for trying it!

I'm happy for the DVC members whose next trips are scheduled for after January 2, and for those visit WDW every other month, and who have 8 family members they are related to living in their house. Make the most of this new perk! Not everything is always all (or almost all) about me.

 

[Doug7856]

It's a wonderful perk and we are one very happy family! We may not be able to use it every year, but it will be great on the years we can. My wife is a teacher and we can't travel for many parts of the year, but that is life! DVC can't be held responsible because she chose a vocation without checking in with DVC first to see if she could maximize the use of all perks. By the way, a perk is a bonus feature we didn't pay for!

 

[JCW]

Let's face it, no matter what perk DVC offers, it will not be perfect for EVERYONE. However, I think this is the BEST perk they have ever offered, even though I already bought my AP's for my next trip and will not be taking advantage of it (unless I come into some extra $$ and purchase for the future). I can only hope they continue this great discount.

We have been voicing our opinions regarding park pass discounts, and guess what, they listened!

Maybe this discount won't fit with everyone's vacation habits, but I think they made us an extremely fair and reasonable offer.

From DVC & WDW's point of view, the AP will not only get us back in the parks, but will most likely, bring us back to the parks more than once in a 12 month period (meaning, we will be spending more money, probably more than the amount we are saving on the AP. We can do that in just one dinner at Epcot WS). Hopper passes get us there for that visit, and that visit only. What benefit is it to WDW & DVC to offer discounts on these tickets? We would be buying them anyway, and most likely, only using them for one visit each year (I know there are some exceptions to this too). When I was using hopper passes, I never came home with any days left, so there was no urgency to go back (other than my severe Disney withdrawal).

I am not trying to flame anyone (as I know I need to specify that here), I am just trying to point out that nothing is perfect in this world and not everyone will be happy with everything that DVC offers. Hey, we all bought DVC without any ticket discounts and would do it all over again. I consider this perk a gift and comfort in knowing they do listen to and care about our opinions.

Thank you Disney and DVC. This makes me even more proud to be an owner.

 

[Pinnie]

Count me in as another happy DVC'er with this new perk!

I am a teacher, too, and never once have I felt "shut out" because I can not attend a member cruise or some other member gathering that DVC sponsors. It is just the way my schedule is. I knew what my schedule entailed going into both my profession AND DVC. I sure can't whine because the only time I can use my DVC points is the most expensive time. I bought in knowing full well what the deal included. Maybe one of these days when I retire (soon) I can also participate in some of the other DVC "perks". But until then, I will take the AP discount and thank DVC for it and wish good times for those who get to participate in the other activities!

If you look at my countdown, you can see that I have a trip planned in a couple of weeks. I will be using my 2 "personal days" to take this trip to enjoy the holidays with my family and friends who live in FL. Maybe Dr. P has a few PD days he could use once in awhile?

pinnie

 

[JulieWent]

We are extremely happy. We don't do all the DVC member extras, but we do live close enough to Disney that if we had AP's we would go for quick trips from time to time. This will make that easier.

Julie

 

[Doctor P]

Having heard from many other DVC members who, unfortunately, have been scared to expresss their own opinions on these boards for fear of being ridiculed the way I have been, I will reiterate that there is a whole class of DVC members who have been cut out of these perks. If you can only travel each year at the Christmas holidays and can basically only consider trips that essentially fall from December 24-31 (with travel days included), you are out of luck. If you can't spend more than seven nights, you are really out of luck. I never knew that it was an unwritten requirement to own at least 181 points or more, go at least eight nights, and be able to travel in low season to be worthy of the major member perks. If this is the case, then perhaps it should be part of the disclosures, official or unofficial.

 

[Doug7856]

Originally posted by Pinnie
snip . . .If you look at my countdown, you can see that I have a trip planned in a couple of weeks. I will be using my 2 "personal days" to take this trip to enjoy the holidays with my family and friends who live in FL. . .
pinnie

We're doing the same thing!! My wife is taking her two personal days and we will enjoy a great Christmas trip to WDW the first week of December!

 

[Doug7856]

Originally posted by Doctor P
. . . I never knew that it was an unwritten requirement to own at least 181 points or more, go at least eight nights, and be able to travel in low season to be worthy of the major member perks. If this is the case, then perhaps it should be part of the disclosures, official or unofficial.

Actually, we don't meet most of the qualifications you list, but we are able to take advantage of several of the perks! But then, the DVC disclosures indicate that perks are a bonus and are not guaranteed to be available in the future. I hope that at some point you are able to take advantage of the perks that interest you. I don't feel that DVC is responsible for verifying that all members can take advantage of all perks. This is just my opinion; you are entitled to your opinion and are fee to express it here in this forum. Please don't feel that I am "flaming" you, I just disagree with your point of view. You expressed your view and I’ve expressed mine.

 

[CapeCodFam]

This isn't about which sibling gets the best presents under the tree. It's not a reward system. It's a money making venture. It's solely about enticing DVCers into the parks, shops, and restaurants every day on every trip while at home.

They don't make as much by offering discounts on tickets you were already going to buy. I think the target audience are those who will be home for more than 5 days/year.

Even though I can not take advantage of this perk, I am entirely grateful and happy. A BIG YEAH! to all who can use it!

 

[roadtripper]

Lots of DVC members have travel limitations. We are 150 point owners, with no plans to add on (right now). However, we are staying at Port Orleans for three nights in 2 weeks because of cheap flights and the great AP discount of 79 dollars a night. If you look at the APs as a way to get REALLY reasonable cash-only rooms, you might be able to sneak in a weekend trip, making an AP worthwhile. Of course, that's what Disney wants us DVC members to do, IMHO. Since we never use our points on the weekends, anyway, I don't consider it an extra expense to pay cash only.
By the way, I was not ridiculing you, I was simply asking you to explain your position...

 

[Doctor P]

They don't make as much by offering discounts on tickets you were already going to buy. I think the target audience are those who will be home for more than 5 days/year.

CapeCodfam, I couldn't agree with you more! That's why I want it explained to me why the 56% of DVC'ers who are reported to already be buying annual passes should be eligible for this discount. Seems to me that anyone who has had an annual pass in the last two/three years should not be eligible since that is just rewarding past behavior and not inducing a behavior change.

BTW, seven days in the parks is the new breakeven point for the annual pass. Five days would be fine, and would be a fantastic benefit that should be of use to any DVC member, but seven days closes out a lot of members. At almost every DVC resort, you need 181 points to stay seven nights at the Christmas holidays (not making a judgement, just stating a fact), and a lot of families CANNOT change their vacation dates to accomodate getting two such trips into a twelve month period. I don't think that DVC owes me any discount, but when a large proportion of members are being rewarded for not changing any behavior, that is not a perk, it's a kickback to a selected group of members to which some of us find impossible to belong to even though we own more than the minimum number of points and can travel seven nights each year (in the best of circumstances).

 

[Deb & Bill]

Originally posted by roadtripper
Lots of DVC members have travel limitations. We are 150 point owners, with no plans to add on (right now). However, we are staying at Port Orleans for three nights in 2 weeks because of cheap flights and the great AP discount of 79 dollars a night. If you look at the APs as a way to get REALLY reasonable cash-only rooms, you might be able to sneak in a weekend trip, making an AP worthwhile. Of course, that's what Disney wants us DVC members to do, IMHO. Since we never use our points on the weekends, anyway, I don't consider it an extra expense to pay cash only.
By the way, I was not ridiculing you, I was simply asking you to explain your position...

That's exactly what I was thinking. How many members might stay at AKL or GF now on an AP rate for the night before or after or the weekends instead of moving to the All Stars or Pop Century, just because they can? What a great way to extend the vacation! Plus you get the World of Disney discount, too. AP discounts are not always the same as DVC discounts, so you get extras that you didn't get before, not just the entrance into the park.

 

[johde]

I agree that the annual pass discount is a great discount. I will not use it most years. I do 5 nights once a year. Even if I could swing 2 trips into a year (I teach college so the one week earlier does not work well for me either it would need to be two different breaks) that would only be 10 nights with travel days I can get 8-9 days at best. If you figure 1 or 2 relaxing non park days I am down to 6-7 days in the parks. A 7 day PHP is $315 at several of the ticket discounters (and even cheaper through connections). Depending on what you value plusses at I get a breakeven point of between 7 and 10 days in the 4 main parks.
I think part of the reason DVC has not offered a discount on PHP is that currently there is no way of tracking who is using the passes after they are purchased. AP have names on them and require biometric scans each time they are used. Therefore you only need to control who activates passes and you control who gets the discount. PHP do not currently use any controls (That's not to say they couldn't add that it the system).

 

[idratherbeinwdw]

I guess it's true that you can't please all of the people all of the time. But it sure seems like most of us DVC-ers are thrilled with this new perk. I know I sure am, although I just bought new Aps in September I will be happy to save $$$ when I renew next year.

I'm sorry not everyone can take advantage of this, but it sure seems like a large majority can and will, and that's super!
:thewave:

 

[Doctor P]

I agree, johde, that a PH or PHP discount is just not reasonable to ask for or expect (even though it would benefit me greatly and be much appreciated). What I have suggested to DVC is that the UPH passes be more deeply discounted for people in our situation. Frankly, we don't really like the UPH because they are way too much pass for us given our trips, and the cost is sky high if you don't use all the various admissions (and even very high if you use DQ and the water parks). Right now, for someone who will go to the parks 7 days, the PHP tickets are $316 (give or take) and include 4 plus options. A regular annual pass is $303 and does not include any of the Water Parks or Pleasure Island. Disney ends up with quite a bit of future admission liability when people do not use all the days on their hoppers, not to mention the ease with which the passes can be transferred to other persons. Unfortunately, the Disney discount structure has not encouraged people to buy the UPH rather than the regular PH and PHP tickets. Right now for a 7 day UHP pass, DVC members with discount can get a 7 DAY UHP for $333.00 (and the general public through advance purchase can get the same pass for $347.00--not much of a break). So, you end up paying about $20 more per pass for a pass that expires, and ahs basically the same benefits (except for DQ) as the PHP pass. What I would suggest is that the DVC discount, same restrictions as DVC has put on the new annual pass discount, on the UPH be 25% off the full at the desk price of the UPH AND that you not be allowed to drop the first or last day anymore. For us, this would require us to buy an 8 day/7 night pass. At a current price of $408, this would mean the pass would cost us $306. This would be a win/win situation, I think. the UPH give the incentive to be in the parks every day of your trip in the same way an AP or PAP would give the incentive. It would also eliminate the sometimes inconsistent issue of whether you are allowed to drop the first, last, or both the first and last days of the trip. Third, it eliminates any future liability for Disney as far as the admission medium goes. Fourth, it gives a deep discount to DVC'ers who take shorter trips, but also requires most to substantially upgrade their admission medium. Fifth, it does give DVC'ers using this option an incentive to buy the pass to get admission to DQ, the water parks (including being able to hop between water parks when both are open--not an option with the PHP passes without using more than one day of plus options). It also gets the breakeven point similar to that with the PHP passes, but without the problems of future liability or transferability that you have with the PH and PHP passes. On a typical trip, the availability of this discount would likely mean 2-3 additional days in the parks for us on a typical seven night trip.

 

[SnowWitch]

Although our group will miss this perk during our Dec trip I'm still thrilled. We bought 5 day park hopper pluses for this trip but next summer "AP's here we come!!!!!!" We haven't bought AP's since they started the policy in 2000 of they start when you renew.