Purchasing tickets as a DVC member.

[kgd061]

I am a new DVC member (Old Key West). We booked our first DVC stay for this may. When I went to purchase park tickets I quickly discovered a big inconvenience. Before DVC we would purchase a vacation package which included everything under one confirmation number. I could make a down payment while paying off the balance before the trip. As a DVC member I now have to purchase park tickets, special events, meals etc. all independently with multiple confirmation numbers to link to MDE. Whats more everything has to be paid in full in advance. Is there a better way that I am unaware of? Is this something Disney should address in that DVC members are definite repeat customers for the long term. It was so much easier before joining DVC.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

You can add a dining plan to your DVC reservation.

As a DVC member, you also have access to discounts for WDW annual passes. If you need stand-alone tickets for just one trip, you can purchase them directly through the WDW website so you can very quickly link them to your MDE profiles (without having to deal with confirmation numbers) or save some money and purchase tickets through a third-party seller like UT which will provide you with one confirmation to link to MDE. You will still make dining reservations and purchase special event tickets the same way you did prior to purchasing DVC - I'm assuming that was through your MDE account, so no extra confirmation number linking is required.

 

[Judique]

I am a new DVC member (Old Key West). We booked our first DVC stay for this may. When I went to purchase park tickets I quickly discovered a big inconvenience. Before DVC we would purchase a vacation package which included everything under one confirmation number. I could make a down payment while paying off the balance before the trip. As a DVC member I now have to purchase park tickets, special events, meals etc. all independently with multiple confirmation numbers to link to MDE. Whats more everything has to be paid in full in advance. Is there a better way that I am unaware of? Is this something Disney should address in that DVC members are definite repeat customers for the long term. It was so much easier before joining DVC.

If you want to take the dining plan with DVC and not pay far in advance, just wait until a few days before your trip and pay for it then. Be sure to do it on at least the 3rd day before your trip as the online signup blocks you out as the 3rd day ends. You can get your funds together and pay on that day which is actually better than a package.

Once you make your DVC reservation there is nothing to stop you from making ADR's business as usual. I think it's 180 plus 10 - someone please correct me if I'm wrong as I make very few ADR's and usually day of the dinner. You do have to pay the guarantee $10 for each person per ADR. I have yet to be charged this fee in advance, but again I don't make a lot of very early ADR's. I usually see a pending charge which disappears from my credit card, and then I'm charged fully when I consume the meal. I think the pending charge is the test to see if your card is indeed valid and to charge you for uncanceled no shows. People used to make multiple ADR's and decide later what they would actually keep. So the dining system in place did not give an accurate picture of what availability was. This $10 helps mitigate that somewhat.

As a 20 year owner I've heard loads of 'wouldn't it be great if we could purchase tickets (AP's mostly) with a monthly payment plan same as Florida residents? For me I'm grateful that I can get an annual gold pass at a significant discount, and stagger my visits to get at least 2 trips from them. This year's pass will give me 4 trips with a potential for 30plus park days, so I'm not complaining about paying this price up front.

Special events usually need to be paid for up front as far as I know, but obviously I haven't done a package lately. I didn't know that they were included in the budgeting aspect of paying down a package.

Other than booking my room at 11 months to the second (I'm a Boardwalk owner and travel during the late fall which is 'high' time at BWV, I find it very easy to be a DVC member. Knowledge of the product and the new set of rules you will learn helps tremendously and that comes with time although there are certainly lots of primers available on the subject.

All that said, WELCOME HOME!!

 

[DisneyWishes14]

If you want to take the dining plan with DVC and not pay far in advance, just wait until a few days before your trip and pay for it then. Be sure to do it on at least the 3rd day before your trip as the online signup blocks you out as the 3rd day ends. You can get your funds together and pay on that day which is actually better than a package.

Once you make your DVC reservation there is nothing to stop you from making ADR's business as usual. I think it's 180 plus 10 - someone please correct me if I'm wrong as I make very few ADR's and usually day of the dinner. You do have to pay the guarantee $10 for each person per ADR. I have yet to be charged this fee in advance, but again I don't make a lot of very early ADR's. I usually see a pending charge which disappears from my credit card, and then I'm charged fully when I consume the meal. I think the pending charge is the test to see if your card is indeed valid and to charge you for uncanceled no shows. People used to make multiple ADR's and decide later what they would actually keep. So the dining system in place did not give an accurate picture of what availability was. This $10 helps mitigate that somewhat.

As a 20 year owner I've heard loads of 'wouldn't it be great if we could purchase tickets (AP's mostly) with a monthly payment plan same as Florida residents? For me I'm grateful that I can get an annual gold pass at a significant discount, and stagger my visits to get at least 2 trips from them. This year's pass will give me 4 trips with a potential for 30plus park days, so I'm not complaining about paying this price up front.

Special events usually need to be paid for up front as far as I know, but obviously I haven't done a package lately. I didn't know that they were included in the budgeting aspect of paying down a package.

Other than booking my room at 11 months to the second (I'm a Boardwalk owner and travel during the late fall which is 'high' time at BWV, I find it very easy to be a DVC member. Knowledge of the product and the new set of rules you will learn helps tremendously and that comes with time although there are certainly lots of primers available on the subject.

All that said, WELCOME HOME!!

Just to clarify ADRs - there are a few ADRs which are full price, pre-pay (CRT, HDDR, etc.), otherwise, when you make a traditional ADR, you are only giving them a credit card to hold the reservation. You will not be charged $10 per person to hold the reservation. You are only charged $10 per person if you don't cancel by the day before the ADR or are a no-show. This is the same policy whether you have booked through DVC on points or booked with cash through WDTC.

You are correct - special events have to be paid for upfront regardless as to how you've paid for a resort reservation. You cannot combine a special event such as MNSSHP tickets or tours with a package.

The only difference between booking with DVC points and booking a WDTC package is the ticket purchase and, of course, as you mention, the recommended timeframe for booking as a DVC owner.

 

[kniquy]

For park tickets you generally make out better buying from undercover tourist. I have used them many times and they are always cheaper than directly through WDW.

 

[WhitneyMB]

We’re brand new DVC members too (just bought RIV in Jan) & planning our first trip for June. You’re right about having to pay for our tickets all at once vs a package. We just bought 4 day tickets last week before the prices changed, but generally we figured this was a fair trade off for the $30 off (per person) we got when we booked VAH.

I bought everything online and it automatically connected to my Disney account, so I didn’t have to worry about any confirmation numbers. Good luck planning!

 

[TiggerBouncy]

I had some of the same feelings when I first joined DVC 10 years ago. I have since come to appreciate the way it's done, since after you get a few trips under your belt, you come to appreciate the flexibility Your way of seeing and visiting Disney will change dramatically after a few trips.



Also, I would suggest this topic be moved to the DVC boards.

 

[Brave teacher]

I know that the turnaround for ticket purchase is very short between now and May. However, spread out the ticket purchase throughout the year when you have booked at the 11 month window. You don't need to purchase them all at the same time. They should all be purchased before your FP day though. To spread the upfront cost, buy one every month/every other month...kind of like paying a little throughout the year. Yes, you'll have multiple confirmations numbers, but it's easier on the wallet. Another option is to put money aside each pay period and buy them all at once. I have bought my tickets on day 61 and 62 and had no problems booking FP.

One idea to have all of of your confirmations in a place to have easy access is to make a Disney folder in your email account. Each of my Disney trip related emails go in this folder. When I'm in WDW and need to find it, I'm not scrolling through and filtering to try to find it. I just go to the folder and they're all in one spot.