Hi Deborah!
Welcome home, and welcome to planDisney.
Here at planDisney, we are fellow Guests and Disney experts here to share our recommendations, tips, and tricks to make the most of your vacation! I am an experienced
Disney Vacation Club Member who can offer advice on using your Membership, help you understand how it works, and give recommendations based on my personal experience. I also noticed the change this year, that Disney Vacation Club Members will not be admitted an hour early to the holiday parties as they occasionally have been in the past.
As a Member for more than a decade, I have seen
Member perks and benefits change over the years. When we were first Members and bringing small children, there was no early entry at all. This perk was added the past few years and it was definitely nice to get that extra hour! With a party start of 7 PM, Guests could enter at 4 PM and Disney Vacation Club Members could enter at 3 PM. For this year’s After Hours parties, the party begins at 9 PM, and all Guests may enter at 7 PM. I am sorry you are disappointed. After more than a year of many of us giving up so much, I know we all wish things were back to the ways we remember. I don’t know if this will be a permanent change going forward, or just an adjustment for this year, we will have to wait and see. It is always possible that this perk could be added back in the future.
There are still many perks available to Members, and although perks and benefits are technically not part of our contracts, they certainly are nice to have. Let’s be honest, perks do make a difference in how much we love and appreciate our Membership! Overall, my family has seen an increase in the number of perks since we became Members twelve years ago. While we have been sad to see some go, we’ve been thrilled with some of the added benefits such as the
DVC Member Lounge at Epcot, (Don’t you wish we had one in every park? I do!) more dining and shopping locations to use our discount,
Disney Vacation Club specific merchandise, and we’ve taken advantage of quite a few limited-time ticket discounts over the years. We just got back from a week's stay where we brought friends for their first-ever Walt Disney World visit. Let me tell you, I worked that DVC discount every place I could!
We love being Disney Vacation Club Members, and while I’m probably still a decade or so from grandkids, I’m already mentally planning all the wonderful vacations with my family in the future. (I think I can hear my teenagers’ eyes rolling from here!) If the last 12 years are any indication, I anticipate that we will see other perks come and go as our Membership continues. But I am hopeful the overall trend will continue to be in the right direction!
If you ever want to chat more about your Membership, Deborah, like tips on snagging those hard-to-get dining reservations, which DVC resort is my favorite for teens, or any other questions, feel free to send me a question here on planDisney. I always love talking about Disney Vacation Club!
Wishing you Membership Magic!
- Kate