some random complaining

[gmboy95]

Leaving for VB and OKW on the 13th.....just figured out for a family of four, we will pay almost $1,200 for just tickets.....thats not including park hoppers, and only one annual pass renewal

I guess i am one who thinks as a DVC member who had laid out tens of thousands of dollars to disney, that having to pay the same rate as someone visiting for the day is ridiculous!!!!.....yeah the annual pass discount is great, but when you only travel one time per year, and may not be able to do two weeks in one calendar year...it sucks!!!.....there needs to be significant discounts on base tickets!!!

 

[Connears]

When we became members in 1994 we received free passes to all the parks with each visit until 2000 (number of passes corresponded to type of your accomodation(studio, 1 bdroom, 2bdroom). It was, by far, the best purchase incentive that I have witnessed since then and we hit a reality shock when we had to start purchasing ticket in 2000, but now its a a reality we have learned to deal with by planning. The annual pass discount is great if you have more than 8 days a year at wdw or using discount ticket agencies like ticketmania.

Connears

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I guess i am one who thinks as a DVC member who had laid out tens of thousands of dollars to disney, that having to pay the same rate as someone visiting for the day is ridiculous!

1) What is it that you expected?
2) You bought an Orlando timeshare, that happens to be on Disney property.
3) The free tickets some of us got in 1992 were due to promotions.
4) Now that DVC is a success, they don't need these promos.

 

[gmboy95]

1) What is it that you expected?
2) You bought an Orlando timeshare, that happens to be on Disney property.
3) The free tickets some of us got in 1992 were due to promotions.
4) Now that DVC is a success, they don't need these promos.

you are absolutely correct in all of these points....i am not arguing that...i know what i was getting into!!!.....its just annoying as hell!!....of course we used to have free valet parking when we bought, and disney had no problem taking that away!!.....oh and ticket prices where a HELL of alot cheaper when i bought the first time!!!!

 

[Lynne M]

The 'laying out thousands of dollars to Disney' really isn't relevant. We paid that money for contractually defined use of the DVC resorts. We're getting exactly what we paid for.

Saying that we're owed something beyond what's in the contract because the contract was expensive is kind of like saying that the car dealer should pay for your gas because you bought a BMW, or the contractor that you bought your house from should buy food for your family because the house cost a lot.

The second example is the better one. All that Disney Vacation Development is, is a real estate developer that sells timeshares. That's who you gave the thousands of dollars to. They don't operate theme parks, or sell theme park tickets. That's a different division of Disney, and if they're going to give DVC members additional ticket discounts, a business case has to be made for that. How will they profit from it, or recoup the cost? Disney Parks didn't get any of that money that you paid to DVD, and they have to justify in their financial reports why they're giving DVC members a discount.

Companies don't give discounts to be nice, or as thank-you present. They're giving you a discount to entice you to spend additional money. Evidently the theme parks division has determined that an AP discount will get DVC members to spend more money in the parks, and that discounts off regular tickets don't have the same bang for the buck. Believe me, if they found that discounts off MYW tickets got us to spend more money, we'd get the discounts.

 

[RLRDA]

I agree that it would be nice if Disney offered a discount on any type of park ticket to DVC members (not just on APs) but I won't hold my breath. I think the AP discount sounds great but I wonder what percentage of DVC members have APs? Would it be a majority? APs don't work for our family right now. We've done well getting the 10 day non-expiring tix with park hoppers and fun passes. We can usually squeeze 3+ trips out of these (5 night trips). I hear your vent, OP.

 

[El&Asmom]

DVC AP discount or not. Tickets in general are just plain expensive. I try to rationalize our tickets by getting 2-3 trips in per year somehow. Thankfully, I have a work conference every Jan that pays for most of that trip. We take one weeklong vacation as a family, and then try to fit a long weekend in before our APs expire. Last AP we got about 20days out of the pass. That's about $20 per day per person for tickets. Not too bad when you think about it. I also think there is a lot of value in the tickets compared to so many other theme parks.

I also agree that it would be nice if Disney gave us discounts on MYW tickets. Especially for those years when we can't go on 2-3 trips. We are point poor, so we have to bank and borrow to make the most of our APs when we get them.

 

[Chuck S]

DVCers used to get a 10% discount on Length of Stay (LOS) passes, and not other ticket discounts. So I really wouldn't hold me breath for any new ticket discounts, especially on non-expiring media.

It would seem the purpose of the AP discount is to encourage members to spend more time in the parks. They even encourage staying at a cash resort in a Disocunted AP rate room if you are short on points. A discounted non-expiring discount would not accomplish that, as it would be saved for multiple trips over several years.

Now, if they ever reintroduce a LOS pass, without any non-expiring option, I could see a small discount on those. But I sure don't want them to eliminate the AP discount. Remember, for most businesses, a discount has to be good for the consumer AND for the business. That is why we see more "buy one, get one for 1/2 price" sales in many stores, instead of one at 25% off. Same discount, but they sell two units, better for the business.

The free passes were LOS passes, limited to 1/2 the capacity of the room. And they were a purchase incentive, much as the free cruises and $x off per point are used today. Ticket prices will always increase, along with the price of everything else. I wish I could still get a one day "passport" to Disneyland for $11 like we did in the mid 1980s.

 

[rentayenta]

We only visit once a year or two years. At what point does getting an AP become more cost effective then a park hopper? We usually buy 10 day park hoppers- would it be cheaper to get APs?

 

[JoQuo711]

AP is never less expensive than passes for one stay (assuming that stay is 14 days or fewer with 10 or fewer being park days). Going once a year, you could make an AP worth it by going once and then planning your next trip a week or two short of 12 months from the first one so you get two uses out of one pass. Should save around $150-$200 per person on tix by doing that (assuming your stays are 4+ days).

 

[kaytieedid]

Going once a year, you could make an AP worth it by going once and then planning your next trip a week or two short of 12 months from the first one so you get two uses out of one pass.

We're planning to do this, but if our AP starts on 10/28/10 when is the last day I can use it next year? Is it 10/27/10 or 10/28/10??

thanks!

 

[El&Asmom]

AP is never less expensive than passes for one stay (assuming that stay is 14 days or fewer with 10 or fewer being park days). Going once a year, you could make an AP worth it by going once and then planning your next trip a week or two short of 12 months from the first one so you get two uses out of one pass. Should save around $150-$200 per person on tix by doing that (assuming your stays are 4+ days).

I think it depends on how long your stay is. I think I remember reading the point where APs are cheaper is a stay of 8-10 days. allears.net has a section talking about AP vs MYW break even. We looked at MYW park hoppers for our next trip and APs still came out cheaper esp with the DVC discount.

 

[a742246]

I know tickets are expensive, I get around it by not going to the theme parks every year (I vacation only once a year at DVD). You will be surprised how many things there are to do if you plan ahead.

 

[TisBit]

you are absolutely correct in all of these points....i am not arguing that...i know what i was getting into!!!.....its just annoying as hell!!....of course we used to have free valet parking when we bought, and disney had no problem taking that away!!.....oh and ticket prices where a HELL of alot cheaper when i bought the first time!!!!

While you say you know what you were getting into, you are now complaining about it. Yes, you had a perk of free valet parking, something that has always been said can be removed, you also have other perks that can be removed......including the AP discount.

Truth is, you don' thave to go to the parks, you can go and stay at your resort, go shopping, visit other areas of Orlando. You are not being forced to spend time in the parks, DTD or anywhere else. I am sure if many of the DVC members began skipping the parks, they may consider enticing us back into them.

 

[Deb & Bill]

you are absolutely correct in all of these points....i am not arguing that...i know what i was getting into!!!.....its just annoying as hell!!....of course we used to have free valet parking when we bought, and disney had no problem taking that away!!.....oh and ticket prices where a HELL of alot cheaper when i bought the first time!!!!

So sell off your contracts. When we didn't like shelling out $2K a year plus to DVC for dues, we sold off two contracts.

 

[ToddyLu]

I would be happy paying for APs on some kind of payment plan throughout the year.

 

[IknowDoYou?]

We only visit once a year or two years. At what point does getting an AP become more cost effective then a park hopper? We usually buy 10 day park hoppers- would it be cheaper to get APs?

What we do is schedule a "yearly" trip that fits inside an AP "year". For example, my kids have two weeks off in October for Fall Break. Year A we'll go the second week of that break. Year B we'll go the first week of the break. Since the Year B end date is before the Year A start date, we can get two trips in within the 365 day window of the AP.

 

[Simba's Mom]

We're planning to do this, but if our AP starts on 10/28/10 when is the last day I can use it next year? Is it 10/27/10 or 10/28/10??

thanks!

The last day you can use it is 10/28. Not only do they tell you that, but also, I have first-hand experience that it's true. I got my AP on 5/3, used it 5/3 the next year.
To the OP, I agree that a reward for loyalty would be such a great idea-don't many places have "loyalty" programs? But like someone else said, unfortunately I'm not holding my breath for that.

 

[Brian Noble]

I guess i am one who thinks as a DVC member who had laid out tens of thousands of dollars to disney, that having to pay the same rate as someone visiting for the day is ridiculous!!!!

One of the true genius features of DVC is that it builds in an ever-growing captive audience---people who more or less come down each and every year to spend time at WDW. Those folks have to do something---and most of them will want to visit the theme parks. Indeed, the parks are pretty much the drivers behind the entire WDW business model, and so individual tickets are rarely discounted in a serious way.

don't many places have "loyalty" programs?

But loyalty programs are designed to retain business that might move elsewhere. For example, airlines offer status to frequent flyers in the hopes that they won't spend their airfare dollars with someone else. Disney has *no reason* to offer such a program to DVC Members. They are already locked in, and can't easily go elsewhere!

The AP discount looks like a counter-example at first, but it really only pays after your second trip in a year. You can offset to fit two "annual" trips in the same "AP year", but most people will just come down a second time---and that will probably require them to buy more points!

It is important to remember that *nothing* Mickey does is designed to save you money. Instead, Mickey wants to make sure that he gets as much of your money as possible. If he knows he's already going to get it, why would he give some of it back, or let you keep some?

 

[BeesKnees]

I see no reason to be curt. If they offerered a discount I doubt anyone here would turn it down. I see the main gripe at how expensive it is to vacation at disney and that is a valid complaint. Even though we only go to the parks half of the days we spend there and we eat many meals in the room somehow they still manage to extract a lot of money from us while we are there. As far as I am concerned they can keep on extending member perks.