Whats your current view of Disney/DVC?

[tjkraz]

I remember a time when being a DVC member had perks and now, nothing (in my honest opinion).

When was that time? What perks have members lost comparatively speaking?

I feel that the AP holders get more perks, and that is fine but again in my opinion, AP holders are yearly passholders; DVC members have a lengthy commitment to Disney.

What perks do pass holders get that DVC does not?

 

[Tatebeck]

When was that time? What perks have members lost comparatively speaking?


What perks to pass holders get that DVC does not?

We get those sweet, sweet magnets

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

Add to that, I DETEST all of the pay-for-cuts programs in every theme park, maybe LLMP most of all. Too many people buy it and the stand-by line guests get slammed. LLPP actually gives me hope that they will end LLMP, especially as it is opened up to off-property guests. That would be far better for everyone.

Yup and Disney is incentivized to drive the standby line longer to sell more LLxx. And they’re now looking at throughput in terms of $/person. Fair winds and following seas, Rivers of America!

Not a customer-obsessed incentive structure at all.

 

[Brian Noble]

Regarding member perks: Losing valet parking was a bummer, but that's been years now.

 

[Mouseforward]

As as far as complexity:
I don't plan my solo trips or with adults , I book the room at 11 months , sometimes waitlist at 7 months and then buy AP. I really don't care at this point if I get on this or that ride, if it is open I will ride , if I feel like it I will get a LL. As far as dining booking, at 60 days is not worth it to me as everything looks booked but then opens up the day before onsite.

If I take family with kids I just suck it up and pay the price, not waiting in line with kids is worth it.

As for loss of benefits: I joined late enough that I have not lost any benefits.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

When was that time? What perks have members lost comparatively speaking?


What perks do pass holders get that DVC does not?

Last June AP holders got significant dining discounts and DVC did not. 20% at most places, 25% in a few. We were there for a week and it was definitely a nice savings. I also find the AP resort discount to be better than DVC discounted rates.

 

[BamaGuy44]

Overall my view of both Disney and DVC is quite positive still. Background: Never went to WDW as a kid, except once when I was a surly teenager, so really no "nostalgia" factor for me. First real trip was with DW and DS in 2000 when he was 4. Probably averaged close to 1 trip per year since, and now we have DGD (5) who we've taken twice

I'm a big Theme Park nerd, and we still love the parks. By nerd I mean I'm fascinated by the attention to detail in the theming, the engineering of the attractions, the great CMs, etc. I'm not weeping during the parades, or comparing what emotions I feel during HEA to whatever the fireworks show before it was called (not that there's anything wrong with that)

We've done many types of vacations (still do) but WDW is still our favorite kind. Love being in the "bubble". Doing the parks through DGD's eyes is like starting fresh almost. She loves the rides, but also meeting princesses and the Boutique and the "girly" stuff we never did before so that's keeping things fresh.

We like the current LLMP + LLSP system and don't mind paying for it, especially since they brought back pre-booking, and cracked down on the DAS abuse. IMO now a LL is what it's supposed to be, a minimal wait (usually)

We love planning vacations, so that part doesn't bother us at all. Though it does add a bit of a stress factor that's not there for other vacations or Universal.

Bottom line even though it's expensive, I never regret going or spending the money. We're blessed to be able to afford it, travel is the only thing we splurge on. We've only been DVC for a few years, so it hasn't changed much in that time. It lets us stay at the deluxe resorts which we would never do otherwise. Being able to stay so close to the parks is a game changer for us.

 

[J-Dog]

I personally do NOT think that Disney is overly expensive when compared to other vacation destinations. My wife and I go to Vegas often as our "kid-free" vacation, and, if anything, Vegas is more expensive and more "nickel-and-dime-y" than Disney.

However, the MMB thing has really left a bad taste in my mouth, and so far is the single thing I like the least about DVC. Not so much for the nickel-and-diming, but the establishment of different tiers of DVC owners. I understand the direct and resale have always been different tiers, but those are decisions made prior to buying, whereas this thing created tiers after-the-fact.

I would also say that I would rather LL was free, but like the OP, we are not stand-in-line people, so I actually use it and think it works well for what it is.

 

[muppets3d]

Other than many other timeshare products where the attitude is "we've already got your money, so too bad" - I will say that any time I've had an issue with my villa or with the experience in general, DVC member services or the resort management have been MORE than accommodating in coming up with a solution.

MMB isn't for me, I hope it fails, but if it doesn't then it'll be like Genie+ or Lightning Lane MultiPass - things that Disney offers to pad their coffers that I don't buy. I don't buy pins or other things either. It is what it is.

 

[VandVsmama]

NEVER thought I would write this, but really getting burnt out from all the 'add-on' cost at Disney, and the seemingly non-stop planning required to take a vacation. I like the LL in theory--but I'm having a lot of trouble trying to figure out exactly what Park I will be visiting EACH day--2mos ahead of time. I will never stop going to Disney, but this nickle-and-dime is really making me rethink the DVC as a whole--as I got a great deal (basically free) at Bonnet Creek for far more points. I'll keep them both for now--but seriously considering selling my OKW eventually (and I NEVER thought I'd say that).

What's everyone else's view? FYI--we are not stand-in-line type people--so we either have to rope drop, or bite the bullet and pay the LL fee. WIth that said, after 20 years of visiting, we don't spend entire days at the parks anyhow--so we can get a few rides done in the AM, and at the evening return visit.

Well, in December (last month!) we bought our 1st DVC contract. Resale at Aulani. Looking forward to staying there summer of 2026 when our youngest has graduated from high school. WOO!

In terms of WDW:

• don't like how ticket prices keep going up. But ticket prices go up every year.
• don't like having to pay for FF/Genie+/LL/Multipass when just a few years ago, it was free. But at Universal, you've had to pay for that pretty much always. So it's sort of a wash.
• For our next WDW trip, we are purposely going to get park tickets that are not as many days. And we're going to do 1 park day, then a rest day in between.
• AND on our rest days, we're going to do other non-park stuff that I've always wanted to do. Rent a pontoon boat, horseback riding, archery lesson at Ft Wilderness, sleep in. Stuff like that.

*edited to add*
I'm looking forward to going to Aulani and WDW at times of year when my kids are in college & when other families' kids are in school. Going to the fall food & wine festival, which we've never been to. Or taking my sister to WDW (she's only been 1 time when we were really little) & staying w/her at AKL. Or going to WDW w/our friends. Or going to WDW some day in the Christmas holiday season so we can go to the candlelight processional.

since we're resale DVC owners, we're not eligible to purchase that additional membership magic whatever thing for $99/yr. I kind of don't care about it because for us, at the moment at least, just being able to stay in a deluxe resort for so much cheaper is a major win for us. When we've gone to WDW before, we've always stayed in Value resorts.

 

[gmi3804]

NEVER thought I would write this, but really getting burnt out from all the 'add-on' cost at Disney, and the seemingly non-stop planning required to take a vacation. I like the LL in theory--but I'm having a lot of trouble trying to figure out exactly what Park I will be visiting EACH day--2mos ahead of time. I will never stop going to Disney, but this nickle-and-dime is really making me rethink the DVC as a whole--as I got a great deal (basically free) at Bonnet Creek for far more points. I'll keep them both for now--but seriously considering selling my OKW eventually (and I NEVER thought I'd say that).

What's everyone else's view? FYI--we are not stand-in-line type people--so we either have to rope drop, or bite the bullet and pay the LL fee. WIth that said, after 20 years of visiting, we don't spend entire days at the parks anyhow--so we can get a few rides done in the AM, and at the evening return visit.

I'm in the same boat as you. We're going down for a week in ten days, and are going to do a mostly resort/dining stay. Our APs expire shortly after, and that's one of the main reasons we're going down. It'll likely be our last trip for a while. We've sold three of our four contracts in the last year. I've been a Disney freak since 1974, and the place as it exits now strikes me as a big money-grab with much of the personality, which used to be present in spades, drained out. We might wait until our new UY starts to sell our last contract, as the annual dues aren't getting us much and we could use the cash from a sale for our travel to other places, which we've been doing a lot since we retired. We'll pay as we go from now on, if/when we need our fix.

In better news, we're visiting Tokyo Disney Resort for the first time in March, snd can't wait for that.

 

[tjkraz]

Last June AP holders got significant dining discounts and DVC did not. 20% at most places, 25% in a few. We were there for a week and it was definitely a nice savings. I also find the AP resort discount to be better than DVC discounted rates.

During welcome home weeks in July and August, DVC got their own dining discount, free ice cream / coffee / wine events, character meets. DVC has had holiday-themed character / treat events and special stops at after-hours parties. Moonlight Magic…lounges….

Even in terms of freebie handouts, yes Passholders get 3 or 4 magnets per year. DVC has handed out its own magnets, magicband sliders, pins, collectible coins, prints, etc.

I realize that a specific perk may “pop” for one group or another. If I happened to be visiting during the AP dining discount and had a bunch of TS meals planned, sure, it’s great. But viewed as a whole, not really sure that the totality of Passholder perks is better than DVC.

 

[Sprinkles&Sprints]

During welcome home weeks in July and August, DVC got their own dining discount, free ice cream / coffee / wine events, character meets. DVC has had holiday-themed character / treat events and special stops at after-hours parties. Moonlight Magic…lounges….

Even in terms of freebie handouts, yes Passholders get 3 or 4 magnets per year. DVC has handed out its own magnets, magicband sliders, pins, collectible coins, prints, etc.

I realize that a specific perk may “pop” for one group or another. If I happened to be visiting during the AP dining discount and had a bunch of TS meals planned, sure, it’s great. But viewed as a whole, not really sure that the totality of Passholder perks is better than DVC.

Interesting - I did not recall the DVC dining discount being as substantial. Thought it was for QS but could be mistaken.

 

[tom1944]

My view is at the present time it is great for my family.

 

[AstroBlasters]

1) Aulani is still enjoyable and the resale points are dirt cheap. Have a multi generational GV stay coming up this year. Points also rent REALLY quick if needed.

2) Disneyland is our home base and Grand Cal is our home resort. Disney is investing hundreds of millions of dollars to make this location even better and we are getting a room refurb this year. Love it!

3) WDW- Looking forward to our upcoming stay at BW and VGF, but all of our rooms were available at 7m and not sure we really need to own in FL. We’ll see how the trip goes.

4) Accommodation size, we still love the villas. No desire to stay in a studio unless I am flying solo for a work related So Cal trip.

5) Dues…. not happy with the no GC every month change. This equates to a 5% dues increase on top of the normal increase. Another reason to consider selling if the FL resorts.

6) WDW AP- fantastic deal. DL
MK- made sense over the next 12 months…. probably won’t most years.

7) Disney content- glad to see they may be moving past their “politically correct” phase and refocusing on just telling good stories. My youngest loved Skeleton Crew, the fam liked Moana 2, and my wife and I enjoyed Deadpool and Wolverine. Mufasa is probably a “wait for Disney+”.

8) Disney+ - Nice to have all of the Disney services located in on app.

 

[We’reAllMadHere]

As someone who bought into DVC (via resale) fairly recently, I probably have a very different perspective. We bought enough points to stay every two years, which is fine for us. We do other vacations to a variety of places and, yes, Disney is expensive but most other vacations have also risen in price (perhaps by a smaller percentage). You’re always going to have a premium on the Disney name - for us the quality is still worth that premium.

Add ons are annoying but no different than having to pay for premium airline seats. Vegas has crazy resort fees. All inclusives have “premium” areas with pool and beach access. Cruises have extra-cost restaurants and activities. Even my local zoo has add on activities and costs.

 

[crisi]

We haven't been to WDW in years. We've used points to winter in HHI. I should sell it, but I'm hoping to put in one sentimental with my adult kids trip in yet.

 

[tjkraz]

Interesting - I did not recall the DVC dining discount being as substantial. Thought it was for QS but could be mistaken.

The DVC bonus was for quick service. But again, are we really arguing that a 6-week 20% TS discount (up from the normal 10%) outweighs all of the DVC perks? Passholders don't have multiple year-round private lounges, or free after hours events, or ice cream handouts, or private character meets, or...

 

[Sandisw]

Interesting - I did not recall the DVC dining discount being as substantial. Thought it was for QS but could be mistaken.

It was....but I think the point is that DVC gets different incentives throughout the year over an AP.

The AP increase in dining last June was nice for those who were visiting, if you were not, then they were of no benefit. However, there have been times when it said it was just AP but DVC got it as well....wasn't there last June so can't confirm if they would have allowed or not.

I think the point is that DVC and AP each get different things but overall, I would not say that AP holders have an ongoing benefit over DVC owners who don't have the AP as well.....

That 20% off QS meal actually worked out better for us because we don't always do TS, but definitely do QS....

 

[Spivey378]

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