Does anyone think they will do the $399 Premium AP again this year for DVC members? Was that an anomaly last year?
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Annual Pass DVC Discount
- Thread starter tissandtully
- Start date
disneysince71
Well-Known Member
Yes.... I do and this is why.... They sent me a survey asking me what I thought of it and would I do it again if it was offered. I am not sure if that means anything but my guess is yes... But we will see... Loved when they did 18 months for the price of 12 and we have not seen that one again... 
toolsnspools
Well-Known Member
That deal got me to buy PAPs for the family this year. I won't be renewing them unlss the deal is available again. For the 5 of us, there's just so many other things to do with the cost of regular APs.
DVC4bestvacations
Well-Known Member
Disney is conditioning it's customers to wait on a deal. Free Dinning, discounted vacation pkgs, all good things come to those that are flexable and willing to wait.
We too have no intention of renewing our passes unless there is a deal.
We too have no intention of renewing our passes unless there is a deal.
SnapShotAmanda
New Member
We didn't do it this year and siince the offer expired I am kicking my own self in the butt. If it comes out again. I will be all over it.
disneysince71
Well-Known Member
Welcome to wdwmagic!We didn't do it this year and siince the offer expired I am kicking my own self in the butt. If it comes out again. I will be all over it.
BCVTalsJam
Active Member
I wish they would let DVC members pay for their pass monthly like Florida residents. I mean with our contracts being for so long...we have a bigger commitment than Florida residents.
I hope they do a discount again this coming year. We couldn't take advantage of it because of my wife being pregant this year....we just booked two weeks at BCV this coming January so please Disney any discount would help
I hope they do a discount again this coming year. We couldn't take advantage of it because of my wife being pregant this year....we just booked two weeks at BCV this coming January so please Disney any discount would help
disneysince71
Well-Known Member
Does anyone remember the year they had the 18 months for the price of 12!!! By the time renewal came I was able to pay for 2 passes with Chase/Disney dollars! Loved that special!
DVCOwner
A Long Time DVC Member
I got the Premium AP's (or any annual pass) for the first time last year when DVC offered the great price. So far we have made two trips from SC to WDW just because we have the passes. Would not have gone (and spent money on food and gifts) unless we had the passes. We are planning two more trips before they expire. Will not renew without a great offer again this year.
Disneykidder
Well-Known Member
We also got in on this deal. We have never been AP holders but this was too good to pass up. Resort paid for, tickets paid for...that's a huge bulk right there. We will be getting two trips out of it so if they offer it in November, we won't be needing it because we are first starting to use it in August. If it is offered the following year, we will definitely get in on it!! We are also a family of 5.
toolsnspools
Well-Known Member
The kids are psyched to be able to go to the waterparks. We going in July, so I think it will be warm enough to swim. We were going to plan on hitting the waterparks on a trip that didn't include park passes, but the PAP will allow us to do both. We went to DQ a while ago, and had a good time, but it certainly isn't worth the normal extra cost of a PAP.
it will be warm enough to swim. We were going to plan on hitting the waterparks on a trip that didn't include park passes, but the PAP will allow us to do both. We went to DQ a while ago, and had a good time, but it certainly isn't worth the normal extra cost of a PAP.I'm going to guess that the incentive wont' reappear anytime soon.
Retailers tend to get the best response from this sort of incentive when offered inconsistently and unpredictably. If a similar offer appears later this year, that trend (2 years in a row) will encourage many to defer future purchases in anticipation of a similar offer. IMO, Disney would rather see some owners get hooked on the Premium AP advantages (waterparks, etc.) and renew those at full price, rather than seeing DVC members holding-off on their future purchase until another discount materializes.
I see the 2012 PAP offer as having served two purposes:
1) It increased goodwill among members. Everybody likes a discount and this one helped owners feel better about their decision to buy DVC.
2) Dovetailing from #1, it paved the way for point sales at the Grand Floridian. We all know those prices will be sky high. But DVC has created a situation where:
a) Many owners with discounted PAPs will schedule extra trips in 2013 to take advantage of the passes.
b) Extra trips means borrowing and ultimately running short on points. Well good news--the flagship Grand Floridian will soon be available for sale!
c) Thanks to the PAP discount everyone feels great about DVC, which removes one roadblock to a purchase.
It would be nice but there are a lot of good reasons for not offering a payment plan to others. Most of them administrative. It would require Disney to perform collections nation-wide and perhaps even in other countries if they want to offer it outside of the US. Overall administration costs would grow dramatically.
Also the travel habits of AP holders outside of FL are quite different. Florida-based pass holders tend to visit with regularity. Could be a few times per month or even multiple times each week. As such, the odds of defaulting on the payment plan are slim...the passholder would be cut off immediately.
A DVC owner could justify an AP purchase with just two long trips over the 365 day period. If money gets tight, it would be much easier for the non-resident to default on the payments.
DVC-discounted PAP is $600. For a family of 4, that's $2400 or $200 per month. Imagine a scenario where a family spends 10 days at WDW and signs up for the payment plan. Two months later, dad is laid-off. DVC points go up for sale, so why continue paying $200 per month for passes that won't be used? That would happen.
Not saying Disney will never expand the AP payment program...just that there are very good reasons why they have not done so thus far.
Retailers tend to get the best response from this sort of incentive when offered inconsistently and unpredictably. If a similar offer appears later this year, that trend (2 years in a row) will encourage many to defer future purchases in anticipation of a similar offer. IMO, Disney would rather see some owners get hooked on the Premium AP advantages (waterparks, etc.) and renew those at full price, rather than seeing DVC members holding-off on their future purchase until another discount materializes.
I see the 2012 PAP offer as having served two purposes:
1) It increased goodwill among members. Everybody likes a discount and this one helped owners feel better about their decision to buy DVC.
2) Dovetailing from #1, it paved the way for point sales at the Grand Floridian. We all know those prices will be sky high. But DVC has created a situation where:
a) Many owners with discounted PAPs will schedule extra trips in 2013 to take advantage of the passes.
b) Extra trips means borrowing and ultimately running short on points. Well good news--the flagship Grand Floridian will soon be available for sale!
c) Thanks to the PAP discount everyone feels great about DVC, which removes one roadblock to a purchase.
It would be nice but there are a lot of good reasons for not offering a payment plan to others. Most of them administrative. It would require Disney to perform collections nation-wide and perhaps even in other countries if they want to offer it outside of the US. Overall administration costs would grow dramatically.
Also the travel habits of AP holders outside of FL are quite different. Florida-based pass holders tend to visit with regularity. Could be a few times per month or even multiple times each week. As such, the odds of defaulting on the payment plan are slim...the passholder would be cut off immediately.
A DVC owner could justify an AP purchase with just two long trips over the 365 day period. If money gets tight, it would be much easier for the non-resident to default on the payments.
DVC-discounted PAP is $600. For a family of 4, that's $2400 or $200 per month. Imagine a scenario where a family spends 10 days at WDW and signs up for the payment plan. Two months later, dad is laid-off. DVC points go up for sale, so why continue paying $200 per month for passes that won't be used? That would happen.
Not saying Disney will never expand the AP payment program...just that there are very good reasons why they have not done so thus far.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
For the DVC dues they only allow a monthly payment plan if you sign up for automatic deduction from your bank account. They could extend that to a credit card too for APs. If they do that the majority of collections are automated and it doesn't matter which state or country you are in.
Nothing to stop you from closing the bank account or credit card.
When I say "collections", I'm referring to getting money from those who refuse to pay. Laws vary from one state to the next, and it would be a much greater challenge than performing collections solely from those living in FL and SoCal as they do now.
And it's reasonable to assume the rate of default would be higher among those who do not have easy access to the parks. Rate of default among those living in Wisconsin, Illinois or Arkansas is sure to be much higher than among residents of Winter Park.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Sure you could close the account, but you would actively be attempting to avoid the payment. It could happen, but most of the administrative collection cost would probably just be people late with payments not people trying to get out of paying. The auto payment takes care of that.
I don't know about the default rate either. If you bought into DVC you already made a sizable investment in visiting Disney. If you default on an AP payment they would make your pass invalid which means you check into your DVC resort but can't go to the parks. The DVC dues are more than the cost of the AP it wouldn't be a smart move. If they wanted to they could suspend your DVC account as well as your AP if you don't make a payment. That would severely cut down on defaults. Not saying everyone who owns DVC is filthy rich or anything, but it's a big chunk of change to lay out there. I know it's not everyone but the demographic of DVC owners probably trends towards a higher income level than the average Florida resident. I would think that the risk of default would be lower for DVC members.
That's pretty much the point. Disney is a big target for abuse and fraud.
About 5 years ago, DVC got hit pretty hard by scammers. Back then DVC would finance buyers with only a token downpayment. They ran incentives where buyers received 1-2x the number of points purchased as a buy-in incentive (i.e. buy 160, get 320 one-time-use points.) Scammers took the incentive points and borrowed against the contract as much as possible, used all available points, and then simply defaulted on the loans. That's why we now have higher downpayment minimums and policies which hold-back incentives until a certain number of loan payments are made.
As for suspending the DVC account due to non-payment of other charges, that most likely is not legal. Even though Disney is involved in both transactions, there are some pretty stringent laws protecting property owners from being locked-out of their domain. And even though DVC is "just a timeshare", owners / members would be granted those protections.
It's no different than getting your home mortgage and car loan from the same bank. If you default on the car loan, the bank can't just toss a lock box on your front door and bar you from accessing the house.
If you really believe that this would be a slam-dunk benefit for Disney with no downside, I'll just agree to disagree.
Whether they ever introduce a payment plan or not, Disney fans can very easily create their own payment plan. All you need to do is open a separate vacation savings account and arrange for the money to be swept from normal savings accounts on a regular schedule. Gets you to the same end...and you'll even earn some interest in the process. Would take 15 minutes to set-up with an on-line financial institution.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
For me personally, I could care less. I always pay my DVC dues in January in a lump sum and if I did buy an AP I would do the same thing.
I don't know enough about the details of timeshare law to know whether it would be legal or not, but they could collect a combined payment for dues and AP from owners. If you default on the combined payment you default on both dues and AP and your account gets suspended for both. Again, not sure if that's legal, but for most people taking advantage of a monthly plan I assume they would prefer just 1 payment taken out of their account to cover both AP and dues.
I don't think I said it would be a slam dunk benefit with no downside. It would add a level of risk to Disney and for some people it would be viewed as a benefit. There are probably some people who would be willing to buy an AP if there was a monthly plan but won't without it so they are losing potential sales. It doesn't make sense to me that they are willing to take the risk of default on monthly DVC dues but not on an AP. Seems like the same risk for the same customer and they already take the AP risk for FL residents.
I doubt that would pass muster with Disney's legal team. Assuming the dollars could even be co-mingled, it could jeopardize their ability to suspend the account due to non-payment of dues. Even DVC owners who are making a monthly mortgage payment and dues payment get two separate debits per month.
None of this is a mystery to Disney and they have chosen NOT to pursue payment plans at this time. That pretty much says it all.
Today, you buy the AP and are done.
With a payment plan, there is paperwork to be completed and payment schedules to be established. The monthly debits have transaction fees associated with them. Simply deferring a portion of the revenue--collecting 1/12 per month rather than all at once--has a cost associated with it (interest lost on Disney's part.) And performing collections on delinquent accounts in 50 states and beyond requires administrative overhead.
These are not insurmountable obstacles. Sure there would be benefits to Disney. But the fact they haven't gone down this road suggests they've run the numbers and determined it's not a net win.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
You are right here. I'm sure Disney looked at the numbers and decided it wasn't going to result in enough additional sales so they passed. They could just offer it as a benefit to DVC members without making a profit from it, but I know it's out of character for WDW these days to do anything just for the benefit of the guest without meeting a certain rate of return.