Past Perks and Present perks About This Page:

[disney]

Ok let me say with DVC on the verge of cancealing free valet parking .
I have owned my DVC for just over 10 years and i'm really curious on how many past perks that were really good and they took away??
And at the same time what perks do you like that they have now ???
As for us as for the past ones when we bought i loved the 10% off at the disney store and it got yanked when the chirdrens place bought the stores .
i also herd many moons ago that dvc gave out free passes to the parks but i'm not sure .
as for the present perks i usually do not keep up with them unless i'm at disney sorry my bad .
So how about everyone else .

[rescuesk]

Great topic!

I don't keep up with all of the perks unless I'm at Disney, either, with the exception of the AP discount.

There was a time, early in DVC history, that you did get free passes. I'm not sure when they stopped that, it was well before 2001, when we joined.

I don't like the $95 on-property booking fee. Not at all. I think a lower booking fee would be acceptable to me, and save the $95 for exchanges.

We used to get 10% off at the WoD store in DD, but I think that's gone too.

And I LOVED free valet. This aggravates me to no end.

I like the small discounts you get at lunch and dinner. Even 10 or 15% off your bill is nice. And although I haven't been there in a bit, I think you still get 10% off at Ghiradhelli's!

I like the discount on tours and the DVC nights at MNSSHP and MVMCP, etc. And I loved the perks we got on the DVC member cruise. Gratuities included, booking fee waved, tonsd and tons of stateroom gifts and 2 stops at Castaway Cay!

As the perks disappear, I can see us using our DVC points more and more outside of WDW. For instance, we are leaving next week for 6 days in Cape Cod on an RCI exchange. I didn't mind paying the $95 booking fee at all for that, it was well worth it and only 96 points. We loved HHI and are planning on a return trip next year. We have also researched exchanges in Niagra Falls and Las Vegas. And I still haven't gotten to Vero Beach! :

As I posted before, I still think DVC is a good value and was a wise investment for us, I'm just a little sad about the latest lost perk.

[MickeyWatch]

I am also interested in this topic because we are thinking of becoming members.

[jimmymac]

They already have our money and this is the latest slap in the face

[Kynna]

I was lambasted on another board for being dissapointed in the perks but I just feel that as a person who has committed to 40 years of vacations at Disney there are things they can do to make us feel a little special. Most of the discounts we get are trumped by discounts Disney Visa Holders or Passholders get. Little things like special seating to a showing of The Nemo Musical or other shows or a weekly ice cream social (How much can some soft serve cost?) at the resorts would not only be PR for how "Membership is Magical" but make members feel appreciated.

Here's the thing, before I became a member I would get a little box of cookies or some little "thank you" for being a repeat visitor. When I joined DVC that stopped.

I LOVE being a member but they put so much emphasis on it being a "club" rather than a timeshare during the sales pitch that I expected it to be different.

[tjkraz]

I don't think there has been much of a net change in the level of perks over the last 8-10 years.

The free park tickets were a purchase incentive offered only to folks who bought in the first couple of years they were selling DVC. That wasn't really a perk--it was more along the lines of the current cash discounts ($5-10 off per point), one-time free cruise, set of AP vouchers, etc. The exact terms were that buyers would get free tickets for 1/2 the occupancy of the villa up through 1999. If they stayed in a One Bedroom villa with a max occupancy of 4, they would get 2 free passes for the length of stay. Initially the passes weren't valid for the Animal Kingdom (since the incentive was specifically limited to MK, Epcot and MGM), but I believe Disney relaxed this clause after a few months.

The $95 non-DVC booking fee is definitely new for some destinations. Disneyland resorts are exempt, and I believe there has always been a booking fee for DCL. But other destinations had this fee added 2 or 3 years ago.

As for actual perks, the most noteworthy losses are 10% off of the price of a Length of Stay park ticket and now the valet parking.

The most noteworthy gains are the Annual Pass discounts and the free Internet.

Other little perks have come and gone. Restaurant discounts have always fluctuated over time (some added, some removed.) Overall the number of discounted locations is about the same.

Member discounts for MNSSHP and MVMCP are new within the last couple of years. There have been occasional offers for discounted Cirque tickets and Broadway show tickets--those are new in the last 2-3 years. We have fairly new discounts on tennis and golf lessons.

As for other deductions, the only one that comes to mind while flipping through some copies of Portable Perks is that the SSR spa discount went from 20% to the current 10%. Sue mentioned the Disney Store discount which has been gone for a few years now, although we still have a discount at the on-line store.

I don't remember a WoD discount for DVC. Passholders, yes, but not DVC (not to say that my memory is flawless. )

With free Internet being added in the last 18 months and valet now subtracted, I think we're pretty close to zero change over the last decade when viewed as a whole. But that's not to say that individual members don't value one perk (either gained or lost) moreso than another.

[mdobereiner]

Our neighbors are DVC, and when they purchased many moons ago, they threw in park tickets- basically for life. I almost fell over with jealousy when she told me that! I wish the deals were that sweet now!

[DVCBird941]

I understand that they don’t need to give us perks, but its nice to have them. The only problem I have is that we should get the same perks as AP Holder or Disney Visa Card holders +++++ other perks for investing in their product. As many DVC members more than likely already have a DCC/AP

While in the World a few weeks ago the DW and I were in WoD in DDT and had the gift card from the Disney Visa Card with us for our purchases. Well we had left our AP's in our room and they said we had to put the whole charge on the Visa to get the discount, therefore we could not use the rewards card just because DVC does not get a discount there. WHY NOT!?!?! Why the other 2 but not DVC?!?!

I do like the free Internet that DVC members get but even that is kind of a joke, as it does not cost $9.99/24hrs for Internet service. EVERY hotel, not just Disney should offer this free as it cost nowhere near what they charge. If on one day every room purchased the internet they would get enough cash to pay for the service for the next 10+ years.

Even though we don’t get a car nor have a problem of parking myself if we did have one, loosing the free valet is very crappy. I can see that might of needed to start charging but like DVCMike stated in another thread why go to the full $12/day and not some discounted rate for members.

It just seems that since becoming a member in Nov 08, we have lost more perks than we have gained. We were told the pts never change to having them changing months later. I get the fact that we will save tons of $$ in room fees by owning DVC but the fact is that we will also spend tons more $$ because we will be coming there way more often than the average person. Disney makes Billons each year, I think they can afford to match the perks given to AP/DCC holders and add a few more to those who invested in there company.

[tjkraz]

Originally Posted by DVCBird941

I do like the free Internet that DVC members get but even that is kind of a joke, as it does not cost $9.99/24hrs for Internet service. EVERY hotel, not just Disney should offer this free as it cost nowhere near what they charge.

You're right--it is a very inexpensive amenity to offer. But as long as Disney is charging all other guests $10 per day, free service is a legitimate DVC perk. And a beneficial one at that.

As for why perks vary, I assume it's merely an incentive to get you to buy those other programs.

Take the Disney Visa, for example. There are hundreds of other Visa reward programs on the market. I have an Amazon Visa (also from Chase) because it gets me 3x rewards for all purchases at Amazon.com. But I also have a Disney Visa because of perks like the World of Disney discount and cheap stroller rentals at Disneyland. If I received those same perks with my DVC membership, then the Disney Visa is just another card that gives me 1% rewards.

I do agree that perks could be better but I guess Disney disagrees. Aside from the AP discount (which is relatively new compared to the overall age of DVC), I don't see any trend of perks getting worse--they're just as mediocre as ever.

[Kynna]

I have said this before but I feel that discounts are great but are usually a way of encouraging you to spend more $. I am very glad for the AP discount but to be honest it encourages us to buy AP's in the first place rather than LOS Hoppers and try to fit in more trips therefore spending more $ at WDW rather than elsewhere. I think that true perks could come in other forms. I look at things like the Merry Member Mixers, Welcome Home Wednesdays, ect that distinguish a DVC Member trip from a Cash Reservation/Rented Point trip to be of value to me.

[lukeandbrookesmom]

I'm very new to this, but maybe they are focusing more on the incentives given to get more members to join then on the perks once you become a member? I'm only saying this because we got some amazing incentives to join which totalled $10K (double points and our down payment was matched dollar for dollar - those were the two biggies). I also know that another family buying in at the same time was able to buy in for only 100 points instead of the former 160 point minimum. Just a thought.....

[ilovedisney247]

In my humble opinion DVC members should be considered Disney's "Highest Value" guests. We have committed to 50 years of Disney vacations. Sometimes at the rate of two or three times a year. How many other repeat guests do they have in the parks, resorts, and restaurants with that frequency?

It is VERY common right now in the hotel industry to be looking at "heads in beds" instead of catering to the High Value guests--these include Reward Club members (like Marriott Rewards or Hilton Honors) and corporate contract guests who stay frequently. It is extremely frustrating for those of us who work in the industry and value customer service--to see the short term bottom line as being far more important to our owners!

[audrey77]

I guess you really have to analyze things in terms of business units. The parks (which would cover the AP holders, etc) make their own money in their own way with resort guests, off property guests, and locals. The resort unit makes money through hotel stays (I think Food and Beverage is completely separate- as is Merchandise). DVC- separate business unit.

So, I guess the perks correspond with what each unit can do, and what jives with their business model. Hate to use the term apples and oranges... but you would hope that each would be as profitable to be sort of equal. In terms of discounts at restaurant/shop discount- Isn't it more of a marketing ploy to get more of your money?

[DVCBird941]

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

In my humble opinion DVC members should be considered Disney's "Highest Value" guests. We have committed to 50 years of Disney vacations. Sometimes at the rate of two or three times a year. How many other repeat guests do they have in the parks, resorts, and restaurants with that frequency?

It is VERY common right now in the hotel industry to be looking at "heads in beds" instead of catering to the High Value guests--these include Reward Club members (like Marriott Rewards or Hilton Honors) and corporate contract guests who stay frequently. It is extremely frustrating for those of us who work in the industry and value customer service--to see the short term bottom line as being far more important to our owners!

Very well stated.

[jenjen1127]

Originally Posted by ilovedisney247

In my humble opinion DVC members should be considered Disney's "Highest Value" guests. We have committed to 50 years of Disney vacations. Sometimes at the rate of two or three times a year. How many other repeat guests do they have in the parks, resorts, and restaurants with that frequency?