Membership Magic Beyond

[permavac]

I am also surprised at how many people use OTUP. As you can only use at 7 months if there is availability I assumed a lot of good inventory left by the time you called and hour after online booking opened up. Or can you buy points and addon if you already have something and there is availability?

We actually book a lot of our "trips" last minute. We live locally so we only need to snag one night and one night studio rooms come available ALL the time.

We like using the OTU points because we traditionally have never had enough of our own points for stays. We used to get transfers from other members but now we just do the OTU points because it's so much easier and we don't need as many extra points. OTU points for us is like having an extra contract without having to pay the MFs.

We also will buy the discounted hotel rooms through Disney here and there because we still like to stay at the Moderates (and want to try Art of Animation next year).

 

[DanCali]

$99 is a very fair price I feel. Maybe they’re playing the psychology game - we will undervalue this perk in hopes to get future direct members? As a resale member I am definitely feeling the FOMO. My pea brain doesn’t care that the perk is still not worth the difference in price between direct and resale.

I'm a resale member and feel absolutely no FOMO. Feels like only Disney fans would jump at the chance to pay more money for perks that are a mix of useful and not useful, most of which cost Disney hardly anything to offer.

These type of tiered ownership levels have been around for a while. Other companies (e.g. Marriott - see here) usually design their benefits so that the more you buy direct, the more benefits you get (dedicated phone lines, better booking windows, extended banking deadlines, longer banking "shelf life", access to "extras" etc). The required spend to jump up in perks can sometimes exceed $50K, so it's a pretty tough sell.

DVC seems to have gone the route of a less tiered approach, but one that will reliably generate millions of dollars in extra recurring revenue that falls directly to the bottom line annually. The value here is subjective as well, but I suspect many won't mind paying the $99, which is less than 1 family meal in the park and the equivalent in dues for ~10 points.

 

[Hubalorian]

I hope it fails, I’m fed up of the DVC Class wars,

So now some people can ‘Stay Magical’ more than others if they open their wallets….again!

Well great, that really sounds like the harmonious community of tomorrow

Class wars? Are you referring to the difference in perks if you buy direct vs resale? I’m sorry, there is several thousand dollar difference between the two, your perk is saving 10k. My perk is having access to moonlight magic, lounges, paying an upgrade fee, etc.

 

[DanCali]

I love Disney, I go there 4-5 trips a year, and I spend a lot on signature dining and cocktails and such - and spread my costs out by having an AP and DVC...and nothing at Universal holds any appeal to me at all, but there's a side of me that wants Disney to get a drubbing with Epic park opening - maybe causing them to pare back some of the out-of-control price increases and more and more paid extras.

They've been getting that drubbing for at least 3 years - the type any CEO understands (see 5 year comparison to S&P 500).

But it seems to take them in the opposite direct from what you (or I) might suggest or hope for.

 

[CastAStone]

Regarding the discounted 5 day ticket perk: it sounds like the general consensus is that you can’t add days to it.

So if I need a 6 day ticket, I’d have to purchase this, plus the special 5 day ticket, then purchase a separate 1 day ticket in a separate transaction, correct? That seems, silly, but I guess we’ll find out more details as they come out.

You also can’t use it on the weekend, so adding days to it seems counterproductive.

 

[PrincessKL]

if you take 3 or 4 trips a year, and buy MM each time, but now you get one trip's MM for free, is that not still a benefit? what am I missing?

People who take 3 or 4 trips a year will probably have the annual passes to save the cost. And then if they want photos for all the trips, they would have paid the $99 with the annual pass to get the photos for a whole year. So this DVC extra for 30 days of MM for $99 is worthless for them.

My trip starts exactly on January 12 for next year and I already purchased the annual passes and tickets for my family. So now the only perk that is really useful to me is the BOGO one-time use points. We don't really need these points, but I might just buy them so that I can upgrade our room to a better one. I don't like the idea that I am spending more money ($99 and fees for OTUP) for the sake of using this new DVC extra benefits. But DH is totally into this.

I don't know how the availability of rooms at seven months would be when it is time to buy OTUP though. I am the one who is always online at 8 am at 11-months and then 7-months to book everything I want. Now this just made it more complicated.

 

[Genie+]

I laughed hard when Wicked Wind Down was released.

A resale member at the time, I was like - let me get this straight. If we buy Direct, we’ll have the honor of spending $60 each in a lounge that used to allow all of DVC before it reopened?

Live and learn though. We were content with resale back then. The smaller buy-in seemed worth giving up the perks. We were looking to buy more points when VGF Direct had great incentives and that’s how we got our blue card. So far I have to say it feels like we’re getting a much better value out of our direct purchase. The perks have been more useful than I ever expected.

We even tried Wicked Wind Down because my niece requested. Loved it so much we’re repeating this year.

So I definitely would’ve laughed at this ‘Beyond’ thing too back when we were resale plebes. After seeing how much direct perks were commonly disparaged then having a totally different experience, I’m willing to risk $100 to see how useful this program will be. If we had it the past year I see ways we likely would’ve used it to make it worth every dollar.

 

[Brian Noble]

All direct members are equal.

But some are more equal than other$.

I am surprised that they haven't created tiers of direct ownership yet. 150 points for the "base" set of perks, and extra benefits for those who own more. This would not exactly be groundbreaking; pretty much every other timeshare developer does this.

I hope it fails, I’m fed up of the DVC Class wars,

This is all a matter of degree. Owning DVC resale is something that many WDW visitors can only aspire to. Furthermore, visiting WDW is something that many other people can only aspire to.

 

[Stitchescape]

We are DVC-Y across multiple contracts/resorts. Whilst we wouldn’t use the park ticket discounts since we have APs and already add MM, I could see that there may be value to us to get reduced cost OTP and if priority is given to getting into the oh so elusive DVC lounges that could also be beneficial.
But no, wait - when is DVC-Y not DVC-Y? … When you’re international of course! Not cool Disney, but DH says it does have the bonus of ensuring our wallet will be staying firmly shut so Disney are finally saving us some money lol. Great job marketing.

 

[LoveMugsNPins]

My guess is the 30-day memory maker is a place holder for future price increases.

When they raise the price for this Membership Magic Beyond they will give the full year of memory maker. They they can claim all of that as savings.

Even though the currently call the memory maker a $210 savings? I don't understand that.

 

[DonMacGregor]

I have passes on both coasts, and have never once paid for Memory Maker. Somehow. I don’t feel compelled to make any memories out of my oh so uniquely memorable 768th ride on Space Mountain, especially when it’s with the exact same people I’ve done it with 534 times before. Even back in the before-times, we would only very occasionally purchase a single ride photo here and there if the visit was somewhat unique.

However, I MIGHT be compelled to take advantage of the included 30 days IF we were on a unique trip that made memorializing it somewhat special (friends first trip, extended family, etc.) or because it didn’t cost me anything. I’d wager there are quite a few AP’s and DVC members who, for the very reason that they make multiple trips per year, find it LESS important to have Memory Maker on EVERY trip, and would be quite content only having photos from every second or third trip (if that even).

 

[Unclelude]

If you’re getting it just for this perk, you’re paying $99 + $240 to get 24 OTU points, so that’s $349 for 24. $349/24 = $14.54

$99 + $240 = $339
$339 / 24 = $14.13

But yeah, paying $99 counts for something!!

Plus it's cool to be DVC-BY

 

[MICKIMINI]

$99 + $240 = $339
$339 / 24 = $14.13

But yeah, paying $99 counts for something!!

Plus it's cool to be DVC-BY

So a studio at 15 points would cost $212. I would say that is a deal, especially if you have orphan points and can combine to get at least two nights or more. That is a huge win to preserve next years points, add on a few nights, upgrade or take a long weekend trip!

 

[nalababybear]

Who's wondering if those cabins are the source of huge number of floating points available and dvc wanting to make lemonade from it?

 

[Ruttangel]

Class wars? Are you referring to the difference in perks if you buy direct vs resale? I’m sorry, there is several thousand dollar difference between the two, your perk is saving 10k. My perk is having access to moonlight magic, lounges, paying an upgrade fee, etc.

Nope, I’ve got blue card too, I just can’t believe they are introducing another tier of DVC ownership, what next…. pay $30 to get to the front of a bus queue at park close? Pay $300 to get access to the booking system at 7:45 instead of 8:00?

 

[PalmettoPath]

Q: Who is eligible to purchase the Membership Magic Beyond option?

A.The Membership Magic Beyond option is available for purchase to Disney Vacation Club Members (DVC-Y) with eligible ownership interests currently in good standing, who are U.S. residents. Corporate Memberships are ineligible. To learn more about Membership Extras, including eligibility, Members should see the Membership Extras Acknowledgment and Disclosure Statement. The 2025 Membership Magic Beyond Option Terms and Conditions apply.

Sadly, we longtime Canadian DVC members (who are also APs) are not even eligible to purchase.

 

[han22735]

As a family that does 1 long trip a year and usually buys MM this is a no brainer. Curious on the ticket cost and how it compares to a 10 day regular ticket vs 2 of the new weekday tickets.

 

[Hubalorian]

Nope, I’ve got blue card too, I just can’t believe they are introducing another tier of DVC ownership, what next…. pay $30 to get to the front of a bus queue at park close? Pay $300 to get access to the booking system at 7:45 instead of 8:00?

They can’t grant early access to booking system due to our contract. That is an extreme. They already have an up charge to get to your resort quicker and more comfortably, it’s called the Minnie Vans.

You can be upset all you want, don’t buy it if it doesn’t give you value. However, don’t complain if other people see the value in this option and buy it.

 

[PalmettoPath]

Class wars? Are you referring to the difference in perks if you buy direct vs resale? I’m sorry, there is several thousand dollar difference between the two, your perk is saving 10k. My perk is having access to moonlight magic, lounges, paying an upgrade fee, etc.

Not sure what OP meant by class wars, but we do feel a little put out to become second-class DVCers here as we are longtime direct owners and APs, but not even allowed the option to buy-in if we wanted to, as Canadian owners are excluded.

 

[Hubalorian]

Not sure what OP meant by class wars, but we do feel a little put out to become second-class DVCers here as we are longtime direct owners and APs, but not even allowed the option to buy-in if we wanted to, as Canadian owners are excluded.

I do feel bad for any non-USA resident DVC owner. I feel like they got majorly slighted by this upcharge. I feel like that population of DVC Owners have the best rationale to be upset. I am sorry they decided to leave you all out. I will support emailing DVC to let them know that eligible non-USA owners shouldn’t be excluded