Vacation Magic - I mean, Disney Files

That discounted PAP is an excellent way to keep people on property, worked for us.

I understand the value a lot of you got out of that, but ours didn't expire until mid-June anyway and we wouldn't be going back again until October or December at the earliest. I just couldn't see letting Disney use my money that long with absolutely no ROI for me over the period.

I'm really surprised and disappointed, and a little offended, that it didn't become a standing offer post Dec 31. It signals to me that Disney is looking at us still as a free lunch and they can give and take from us as they please, and we'll all just sit around like good little minions and lemmings and do what they essentially tell us to do. "Buy the tickets now or you won't get them." That's another reason we didn't buy the vouchers. Stop treating me like a lemming because I refuse to be one.

They need to get their act together and treat us with some respect. We've made an investment, but that doesn't mean we have to spend our future dollars at only WDW.
 
if disney wants to keep us and our dollars on-property, they are going to have to earn it "back." just like they don't owe us anything, we are slowly realizing collectively, i think, as a "group," that we don't owe them anything in return either. disney is going to have to up the perks associated with dvc or risk totally losing the intended long-term value to them with which i bet the entire system was based. They may have only sold us accommodations, but they're lure was to get us in the parks and resorts to spend our money there and only there.
amen!
 
I'm really surprised and disappointed, and a little offended, that it didn't become a standing offer post Dec 31.
Agreed ... and I remain both disappointed and a little offended that they did NOT offer a similar deal for DLR!
 
I really don't have much interest in visiting Orlando without going to WDW.

Our few adventures off property have never been very fulfilling.

I guess the conference at the Peabody was ok, but I didn't care for dining at the hotel or on International Drive. I did not like Medievel Times several years ago and will not go back. I would like to see Sea World or Cape Canaveral but DH doesn't want to venture away from Disney.

With that said, I am more than ready to go to a National Park, or go to historical sites on the East Coast...and would go to Europe in a minute if somebody else was paying.
 

Agreed ... and I remain both disappointed and a little offended that they did NOT offer a similar deal for DLR!

I have written member Satisfaction about this a few times. They seem to ignore those DC owners who are based on the west coast, or at least treat us like second class citizens.

I got a call back from one of them a few months ago. I got the typical, Disney is a big company and DVC has to negotiate these discounts with other departments line they like to use.

Then he said the difference between WDW and DLR is that the NUMBERS of DVCers at the former made a discount on APs viable, but since there are so few DVCers going to DLR they can't justify the discount.

I looked at the phone. Let's see. One resort with 48 rooms vs what, 9 RESORTS are WDW catering to DVC? No wonder there are more DVC members going there! I mentioned that might change if they actually added some more DVC rooms at DLR. I mean, do they not have enough data to show VGC is a success?

Granted, the two resorts are so different that visitation patterns must be very different for all types of guests. That's why I also suggested maybe instead of a discount on APs at DLR, maybe a discount on a length of stay pass might make more sense. Also make people feel more tied into going to DLR each day rather than using VGC as a hotel from which to visit other things LA has to offer.

So the upshot was we get $50 off an AP at DLR because there aren't enough DVC members going there because there aren't enough DVC rooms to justify giving those of us who DO go more.
 
Then he said the difference between WDW and DLR is that the NUMBERS of DVCers at the former made a discount on APs viable, but since there are so few DVCers going to DLR they can't justify the discount.
I was also told it was a numbers game -- but with an entirely different backstory. I was told it was because there were millions of DLR APs already issued compared to hundreds of thousands of WDW APs. The wild success of the existing DLR APs made it unnecessary to offer additional discount.

So the upshot was we get $50 off an AP at DLR because there aren't enough DVC members going there because there aren't enough DVC rooms to justify giving those of us who DO go more.
$50? More like $20 :(

dvcmembers.com Portable Perks for DLR said:
Become a Disneyland ® Resort Passholder
Enjoy Member savings on new Disneyland Resort Annual Passports! Disney Vacation Club Members and their immediate family (residing in the same household) are eligible to receive a $20 discount on new Disneyland Resort Deluxe and Premium Annual Passports. Enjoy more than 100 attractions, shows, and parades, as well as dozens of unique restaurants and shops at the Disneyland Resort. Plus, based on the Passport you choose (Deluxe or Premium), you’ll enjoy a number of additional Passholder benefits, subject to restrictions (including, but not limited to, blockout dates, capacity, and operating hours).*

Passports can be purchased at any Main Entrance ticket booth. To purchase or redeem this offer, present your Disney Vacation Club Member ID, and ALL ADULTS must present a valid driver’s license or state identification card showing they reside in the same household. Limit eight purchases per household per 12-month period.

*Excludes separately priced activities and events.

Our response? We watch for multi-day passes (PH or not) from Costco if/when offered but otherwise skip the parks. We did visit the parks during our GCV visit earlier this month but will likely skip the parks when we return in May.
 
I know this will never happen, but I'd like to see an occasional feature on one of the "old" Florida attractions, like Gatorland, or the history of Cypress Gardens (now Legoland), Silver Springs, World of Orchids, etc. A lot of those more classic attractions have a relaxing charm all their own.

A little OT but thanks for this info! I've been meaning to get online and check out what happened to Cypress Gardens. I caught an old movie reel I guess on TCM approx a month ago that was a little story about Cypress Gardens and it brought back many fond memories. I had zero idea that's where the often mentioned Legoland is now.
 
A little OT but thanks for this info! I've been meaning to get online and check out what happened to Cypress Gardens. I caught an old movie reel I guess on TCM approx a month ago that was a little story about Cypress Gardens and it brought back many fond memories. I had zero idea that's where the often mentioned Legoland is now.


Here's a link for you. http://florida.legoland.com/en/EXPLORE-THE-PARK/Park-Map/Cypress-Gardens/

Cypress Gardens closed suddenly, cancelling even scheduled weddings and events. Property then was the site of a small carnival like park, with a few animals. The gardens fell into disrepair.

I think the property then was sold to Legoland, and they've restored the historic gardens.
 
After 13 years of membership and some 30 trips, we don't go into the parks as much anymore either. Usually 3 days out of a week stay or 2 days out of a 4 day stay. The park ticket prices have gotten insane, I have an AP but DH, DD, DS buy non expires every few trips, they used to buy park hopper no expires. When their current tickets are up we will be rethinking all of it. It's just too much money for the initial layout to buy a 10 non expire park hopper, even though it saves in the long run, coming up with hundreds of dollars is tough for my now adult working kids.

That said, WDW is still where we want to vacation most of the time and I don't see that slowing down anytime soon. I would love to see other DVC resorts on the East coast in the future, like in or near Bar Harbor, ME or along the CT shore. We dont mind pouring our vacation dollars into Disney, whether they are as up to par as in the past or not, In our opinion, they still do it better than anyone else. As far as off property things, we have visited universal and cape canaveral and perhaps will again but WDW parks are still our preference.

For us, off property is Vero Beach and Hilton Head :cool1:
And RCI which we've only begun using and definitely will again.

In closing, yeah it's getting expensive, so is everything else! Food shopping has gotten ridiculous! But Disney is still where we want to keep coming back to. As long as DVC is made up of others like us, they already have us and our money, they don't have to offer anything else, although more perks would be AWESOME!
 
Personally I would not consider DLR being off Disney property. And there is a VGC there as well. I think you are still continuing to drink the Disney Koolaid like many of us are too, whether in WDW, DLR or Aulani.
Oh yes I am still drinking the Koolaid, but not from WDW. That's what I meant. We have been using our points at the VGC for a few years now instead of WDW. We have no intention of going to WDW for a while. We would stay at our VWL, but not go to WDW much if at all. It's time to see other things in FLA.
 
I think it's both interesting and ironic that this would come up, especially given the fact that we have to remind newbies that come here all the time that DVC essentially only guarantees you a room. Everything else can come and go. Mostly go lately it seems, but I digress.

I think that the initial allure to most of us was the entrapment of WDW and its surroundings and to be encapsulated in the magic, I, for one, got caught in the trap of ignoring all the other costs associated with my travels south outside simply the cost of the "room." It's the board/meals. It's the tickets. It's the transportation back and forth. It's the recurring and ever-rising annual dues.

Don't get me wrong. I love WDW. I suspect I always will. But just as the "rumors" have guessed, we a now focusing our attentions more and more to Orlando as a destination and hence the attractions outside WDW proper. It's the best of both worlds. We almost always go off-site to eat now. The parks are too expensive to eat at and it's a quick diversion down 192 (We stay at AKK and BLT most of the time.) and we're right back in the magic, especially when we eat early, which we do most of the time. There's a lot of Orlando outside the boundaries of WDW and we are investigating it more and more.

For example, Seaworld and Universal are doing more and more to lure WDW guests outside Disney's sacred boundaries. Both have very aggressive AP prices now very much aimed at a captive audience like us; an audience that comes back year after year and many of us multiple times in one year.

As has been said a thousand times on this board, Disney "owes" us nothing except a room. That's what we paid for. That's ours. Guaranteed. They don't really even "owe" it to us. We own it and they are obligated to make it available. The point I'm trying to make is that as most of us age in our memberships, more and more of us will begin to do as we have done of late and venture out more when we are there.

It's true they don't have to "give" us anything, but my bet would be that their initial bet on the come with DVC was that ventures outside the walls would be few and far between. That may have been true, especially at the onset when it was all new to all of us, but as time passes and economic conditions force many of us to stretch our vacation dollars to gain value, we are now seeking better value for our hard-earned dollar. If Disney chooses to continue to raise prices at and in the parks and resorts while continuing to diminish perceived value, this problem is just going to get worse over time.

If Disney wants to keep us and our dollars on-property, they are going to have to earn it "back." Just like they don't owe us anything, we are slowly realizing collectively, I think, as a "group," that we don't owe them anything in return either. Disney is going to have to up the perks associated with DVC or risk totally losing the intended long-term value to them with which I bet the entire system was based. They may have only sold us accommodations, but they're lure was to get us in the parks and resorts to spend our money there and only there.

There's a lot of money to be lost to DVCers traveling and touring off-property. The first person at Disney and figures out a way to "fix it" will be a hero and will be rewarded beyond belief. As long as they sit there like ostriches with their proverbial heads in the sand ignoring what's going on, those dollars are going elsewhere. We get tired of being treated like second-class guests at the resorts too. That has to end as well, because that's part of the reason we venture off-property now too.

Incentive perks for DVCers are good for us but they're good for Disney too. Notice I didn't say good for DVC. The quicker somebody figures out the big picture and looks outside the boundaries of DVC alone, the better off we will be. Disney too. That's my whole point.

{ramble/rant off}
Thanks, and you read my mind exactly. I would add that we love to cook, so the accommodations are perfect for us. Especially so after not being able to get dinner reservations for the last few years that we went. We started buying groceries, saved money, ate better, and higher quality than what we had been getting after the DDP took hold. Eventually we stopped going to WDW altogether, and use our points at DLR, and DCL.
It would be nice to go back to FLA in a few years, and visit the other places we haven't been, and still have our great villa to come back to.
 
Here's a link for you. http://florida.legoland.com/en/EXPLORE-THE-PARK/Park-Map/Cypress-Gardens/

Cypress Gardens closed suddenly, cancelling even scheduled weddings and events. Property then was the site of a small carnival like park, with a few animals. The gardens fell into disrepair.

I think the property then was sold to Legoland, and they've restored the historic gardens.

Thanks for the link! I also looked it up on Wikipedia and found the full history including what the film was that I saw of it - "This is Cinerama" - a film done to showcase that film technology.

I'll miss the waterski shows but we'll now be going to Legoland on one of our visits for a little trip down memory lane in the Gardens. :goodvibes
 
It's always going to be a cyclical thing. DVC doesn't exactly move a light speed. Some quarters they can share info about Saratoga Springs refurbs, AP discounts and other new perks. Other quarters there just isn't a lot happening and they have to dig deeper with tennis discounts.

Speaking as someone who follows DVC news pretty closely, it's been a really uneventful year so far.

It was a pretty boring issue but (IMO) that has more to do with a lack of any noteworthy happenings than poor editorial decisions.



Not until they are licensed and ready to sell.

Well said. :thumbsup2 11 pages out 31 isn't bad, considering as Tim said, not much going on. I mean they could make it just 12 pages or so and be all DVC but I enjoy the other articles.

I would never, ever expect them to cover anything other than Disney, that is what the Internet is for. There is a wealth of info available for off site excursions.
 
Once the Magic Bands are in full use I'm assuming Disney will have hard data on who is using the bands as a room key, with park admission to WDW, and who is just using it as a room key. I think that's when we DVC members will see some gravy.
 
Once the Magic Bands are in full use I'm assuming Disney will have hard data on who is using the bands as a room key, with park admission to WDW, and who is just using it as a room key. I think that's when we DVC members will see some gravy.

Well, they've actually had that sort of data for ages, except for those using APs. Most folks already had their charging privileges and MYW tickets added to their room keys. Disney could easily track those park admissions and spending habits. AT least at WDW. Disneyland, as far as I know, never had a system quite as fully integrated, so this technology will be quite an upgrade for them.
 
Well, they've actually had that sort of data for ages, except for those using APs. Most folks already had their charging privileges and MYW tickets added to their room keys. Disney could easily track those park admissions and spending habits. AT least at WDW. Disneyland, as far as I know, never had a system quite as fully integrated, so this technology will be quite an upgrade for them.
I agree and I believe they also know which DVC members have APs or PAPs or Florida resident passes. That would be an easy cross reference for them.
 
Agreed ... and I remain both disappointed and a little offended that they did NOT offer a similar deal for DLR!

I have written member Satisfaction about this a few times. They seem to ignore those DC owners who are based on the west coast, or at least treat us like second class citizens.

<snip>

So the upshot was we get $50 off an AP at DLR because there aren't enough DVC members going there because there aren't enough DVC rooms to justify giving those of us who DO go more.
Honestly, it would be nice if they could link an AP for both parks, whether purchased separately or as a single medium, as that Premier Passport costs way too much to be feasible (at a crazy stupid $850 (even for the 7 year old), this ain't gonna happen).

As such, a nice perk for DVC members would be to link their APs together into one medium (whether from WDW, DLR, DLP, DLHK, DL Beijing, or wherever). No special discount, just the going price linked together.

As for the Disney Files, they should have an "Ask DVC" section, where members can email, write, or post on the various boards questions and ideas for the magazine to use for stories. If things are slow, just ask us what we want to learn about, we'll tell them ;)
 
Since DVC Members pay for the publication to be published and mailed, I would like to see 2/3 DVC content and 1/3 Disney.

Use it as a way to communicate between DVC Management and owners. Share upcoming refurb plans, a Q&A section, construction details on new resorts, info on members sharing how they use their membership. Spotlight other members of the DVC team, a MS Advisor, a team lead, a resort manager, a Mousekeeper.

Tips on planning, best time to call MS, new perks, how a reservation wait list works.

The content possibilities are endless.

I would also like to see an opt out option for the printed version and make the publication available online the day that the printed version is mailed.

:earsboy: Bill
That is exactly how Vacation Magic WAS used! It changed into a General Disney advertisement (eliminating most of the true DVC information) when it became Disney Files. We have seen at least 4 names for the publication, and each time it changes, it becomes less about DVC and more about Disney attractions.
 
Well, they've actually had that sort of data for ages, except for those using APs. Most folks already had their charging privileges and MYW tickets added to their room keys. Disney could easily track those park admissions and spending habits. AT least at WDW. Disneyland, as far as I know, never had a system quite as fully integrated, so this technology will be quite an upgrade for them.
Yep, and and I'm sure they might have noticed I'm using my FLA based points elsewhere.
At DLR we can charge to our room key, and usually do to keep track of our park spending. We alternate between AP, and DVC discounts on dining and purchases, as they are both the same. We love to flash our DVC card, and the CM's are mostly up to speed on it, and thrilled to do a DVC discount. Some DTD locations can't charge back to the room key, but everyplace else can.
As for MM+ Fastpass +, I don't think many DLR fans know of it yet. At least none of our friends do. Most have never been to WDW, and never will.
 



















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