DVC Members Unhappy and Avoiding the Disney Parks

25 thoughts on “DVC Members Unhappy and Avoiding the Disney Parks”

2. My biggest complaint is that I have trouble booking dates in my home property of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, but if I call and want to pay for a room they are available. the way I see it is that they sold me a room for anytime of the year and when I request one I should get one unless the whole place is booked. I also think that Disney is getting too big and it is pricing itself out of business. They offer discounts to Canadians, and UK folks and Florida residents. What about us Americans that travel over a 1000 miles one way to get there?

3. Trouble is Disney have your money, You have paid for your disney timeshare. That’s gone. You have to pay your annual dues, That’s gone too, What bargaining power do you have. None, Anything thay care to give us is a bonus,,,

4. Sad to hear…

   #ymbada

5. hi Kay, thanks for response, how did your wait go in EPCOT, for the either, of Test Track or Soarin, since they are on different tiers? How did the lines appear at the major rides now/were they shorter? just wondering for our April trip!

6. Hi! In a recent trip, my dad and I found that signing up for fastpass plus on that day (at and in park kiosk) worked out really well for us. We were able to get 3 fastpasses that were all in a row (an impossibility in the old system), but you couldn’t get all the coasters. We remedied that by park hopping and using the regular fp system.

7. There are lots of perks for DVC. It may not always be at the parks. I got FREE advance screening, with popcorn, drink, souvenir, met the director/producer to the movie “Planes” and also “Saving Mr. Banks” those were a couple of freebies I was able to attend and got to bring 3 extra guest. I’ve learned to never be a complainer. I’m just thankful that I’m able to afford DVC, and I always share my points with friends and family. I love to give back. They would never be able to afford a DVC resort otherwise.

8. I agree with you and I’m a DVC member. Choosing your FP before the trip is awesome. I prefer that then going to the park and not getting the times I want. CC for dining is only fair. There are people who want a reservation and will show up. It’s called accountability. I also took advantage of the DVC annual pass discount. One must visit the park at least twice for a few days and it pays for itself. I’m from Calif and have a DL pass too. (no discount though)

   I agree that DVC is pricey, but I have also found out it’s better to buy re-sale.

9. Just give us the deal you gave us back in 2012 – $399 for the Premium Annual. I mean you took away the 20% discount a few weeks later but it was still a great deal. I agree with most things said here. I am DVC – Charter annual pass holder and I think there should at least be a generous park ticket discount for DVC. With over 1/2 millions DVC members – do the math Disney – you aren’t losing too much money by treating your most dedicated and invested fans a little bit better.

10. Whoa, back up there, GUEST…I don’t think that the overbooking ADRs is something you can blame on DVC members! I’ve been on several different Disney boards where discussions abounded about how to beat the system and they weren’t DVC members. So back up your snide wagon and get real. We are in the same boat with everyone else…we are having to plan way out in advance because of inconsiderate people. To blame it on one group is unfair. Get a life and get real.

11. I have to agree with the last comment on the dining plans. We just became DVC members and up to now have always vacationed when we could get the “free’ dining plan for our family. This was very disappointing to learn after the fact. We tried the “Tables of Wonder” card. What a joke. It actually ended up costing us money.
    We hold high hopes that Disney will come through with some new benefits for it’s members this year. They have never let us down before.
    Hopeful.

12. We joined the DVC in 1994 and have added points over the years. Initially, we were given free park tickets (and were even used them at EuroDisney/Disneyland Paris when we booked our rooms w/DVC points) but understood that it was a limited-time offer. I worked at the Disney store for several years and bought many cast-discounted tickets at the time at the 2000 admission rate. We are still using them but don’t go to the parks nearly as often as we used to. Recently in a 12 month period, we spent 34 nights down there at DVC properties over three trips and only went to the parks 9 days total. Free tickets and free dining irks me, too, as DVC members pay a lot of money up front and face ever-increasing annual dues. We were disappointed when someone thought it was a bright idea to change the DVC logo. It must have cost a LOT of money to change all the logos on costumes, signs, promotional materials, etc to do that. Waste of money.
    However, I think it is smart business and good customer service to get dining deposits so if someone decides to be a no-show, someone else who really wants to eat there can have a chance at getting in. Evidently, too many people were booking multiple reservations and now showing, precluding others from dining.

13. 1 thing ‘Guest’ (Afraid to use a name) forgets is when we bought DVC, the perks were park of the package which made it worth the investment. Removing them after the fact is bait and switch, and ‘Guest’ is welcome to join if he wants those perks too. Its not like they are free, they were part of the price we paid.

14. There is a discount for AP, but they need one for day or week long tickets.

15. Dining deals for DVC, even if not free dining. I was there in Dec with a high school band trip, and not on my DVC membership. We stayed at an all-star, and they didn’t even offer me the 10% discount there for cafe food. When hotel guests can get free dining and we still have to pay full retail, that makes me not buy dining plans and eat in the park like I did last August when down there for DVC when they were handing out free dining.

16. Absolutely offer dining deals to the DVC, we don’t get them ever when they offer them to everyone else. I was recently there as a chaperone for a high school trip, not staying in DVC, at

17. Vacation to me is……..not that planned, not looking at my phone/computer to change a FASTPASS option, plan the whole day/week or to stand in a long line. The Fastpass plus I am no fan. Maybe because my family had the other system down pac and was easy to achieve all we wanted in a day on vacation.

18. I would love to see monthly put plan for AP’s like they do for FL residents or the play 4 they sometimes offer to
    FL residents.

19. We are fairly new to DVC and have not experienced the changes yet to the Guest Assistance Card, however, that will most likely be what keeps us away from the Disney Parks. And, while we were happy to be able to enjoy Free Dining on more than one occasion, I personally think it stinks that it is NEVER offered to DVC members. These are the people that have invested in Disney with a promise to do *something Disney* just about every year. We made sure we had enough points to go at least once a year, if not twice. Honestly, I can see where they are coming from and there are days that I am sorry we took the plunge and bought, especially now with the changes I’ve heard about with the restricted GAC. I’ve already been *pricing* out the points we would need to Hilton Head or Vero Beach this year instead of WDW.

20. A discount on the tickets would be appreciated. Guest..your comment is uncalled for…we don’t get anything extra…maybe you should check your facts.

21. This would be much appreciated here as well. We travel from Canada and usually can’t be there more than once a year to make it worth buying an AP, but a discount on a 7(+) day Park Hopper…..now that would be fantastic!

22. I don’t think that is was solely “self-important DVC people” who caused the CC guarantee for ADRs. I am a DVC member. I live with all the things like price increases just like everyone. Don’t paint us all with the same brush!

23. I see their point. DVC members and Annual passholders pay so much to vacation in WDW and are no longer being rewarded for it. The discounts that we used to get are now being given to everyone else. Because we use points to stay at DVC hotels we never get free dining…hello! Do you know how much we paid for those points? More than the $250 people are paying when they get free dining. It’s like they are rewarding people who rarely go to get them there but forgetting those of us that love it and are there all the time. It’s very disappointing.

24. Forget em! DVC people need to drop the griping. Go elsewhere if they don’t like it. Oh wait, they have. Good. 😀 Raising ticket prices is the cost of running a business. EVERY amusement park does this, but its a shocker when Disney does?? Right. Adding CC guarantees is PERFECT! Now the self-important DVC people cannot stack up 5 ADRs for the same time and date, and then choose at the last minute where they want to go and leave the rest of us without a TS restaraunt. Poor things. 🙁 Planning FP+?? Don’t do it if you don’t like it. Go to the park that day and get the FP’s lined up at that point. You don’t HAVE to plan them out 180 days out. Stop whining babies.

25. How about a discount on tickets! Any small token would be appreciated…..we don’t buy yearly passes!

26. Special priced Magic my Way Tickets for members because we already are helping Disney at the bare minimum with $1434 usually much more to help Disney upkeep there hotels that more than just DVC members use.

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