Digital Member Cards

[Brian Noble]

This day and age I'd think the "i dont have a home printer" demo is way bigger than the "i dont have a smart phone" one.

The main use case for our home printer is to print the recipe I happen to be making that night. Paper is much more convenient than a laptop/tablet/phone in the kitchen.

 

[bwang123]

We did this years ago with our annual pass. Didn't have the card so the CM let us show them in the Disney app for the discount. Worked great and didn't see the need for a physical card. I am good with this move.

 

[Imkarlawithak2005]

I wonder for those who were able to buy the sorcerer’s vouchers over the phone with a white card and plan to activate in 2022…if DVC decides to only offer a digital membership card to blue card holders, and you have to show a DVC card to activate, will the vouchers be honored?

 

[Sandisw]

I wonder for those who were able to buy the sorcerer’s vouchers over the phone with a white card and plan to activate in 2022…if DVC decides to only offer a digital membership card to blue card holders, and you have to show a DVC card to activate, will the vouchers be honored?

IMO, no because the terms and conditions from the start on the DVC website have stated that the Sorcerer Pass is only for those who are eligible for membership perks and those with white cards do not qualify.

Granted, we have seen people getting these passes, but it doesn't change the official rules so honestly, if I was a white card holder and I was able to get a CM to sell it to me, , all I can do is hope for the best when it becomes time to activate.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I don’t think there is any ulterior motive or some plan in place surrounding the discontinuation of the hard copy membership cards. I think in this age of everything being digital it makes more sense to just have a virtual version of the cards available in the MDE app or on the DVC membership site. Personally, I took a screen shot of my member card from the DVC site and showed it to cast members when requesting the discounts. It sounds like I will be able to do the same thing starting January 2022. The only people this will affect or those who relied on the hard copy cards, but a screen shot is just as easy to use and doesn’t take up room in a wallet.

 

[DVCjj]

The main use case for our home printer is to print the recipe I happen to be making that night. Paper is much more convenient than a laptop/tablet/phone in the kitchen.

I definitely agree about always print recipes. Also any email that I want on hand and don't want to hunt for it.
For DVC card.... I will put it in phone photos but will also print out a copy for me and DH also. I actually still print out boarding passes along with digital. Been behind too many people whose phone has problems while the gate check (and a long line) are waiting.

 

[MI_firefighter]

I've had my DVC contract for 5 years now. We bought a resale contract at Boardwalk and are white card owners. We typically go three times a year and stay about a week at a time. We shop a decent amount and also dine out the whole time we are there. I have only been asked for a blue card and declined the discount one time in 5 years. It was at the gift shop in Pandora at the Flight of Passage exit when they first opened. I've probably gotten the discount in that same store 10 times since then. We have also been to Hilton Head and had the same experience there, no problem with the white card. This is so widespread and existed well before covid that I don't think it's a training issue. Maybe Disney isn't as strict about it as DVC would like them to be. I would say it probably helps Disney parks tremendously to offer the 20% discount to white card members. Our family would have spent thousands less in the shops without the discount over the last 5 years. I'm sure all of that is about to change if there's no card at all, but who knows what DVC is doing. I was definitely hoping I could upgrade my tickets to sorcerer's pass in January like so many white card holders have done, but I may be a month too late. Probably need to fly down in December. If not, I'll just do resort only for our second 2022 trip and do 3-4 day tix for the third. I wonder if Disney selling the sorcerer's pass to everyone has prompted this change for DVC. Was everyone's blue card set to expire on 12/31/21 already or no?

This is exactly what I've experienced. I bought resale and saved a ton. I knew I wasn't getting the same benefits and that was ok with me. The first trip at the Palm golf course I was chatting with the guy there and how it was my first trip as an owner. He showed me how to see my member number in MDE and said just to show that with my I.D. and it was the easiest way. One time at Old Key West I was asked for a real card. Hey, it's been good while it lasted and I've saved some here and there but if I never get a discount again, oh Well!

 

[DVCSunDevil]

This is exactly what I've experienced. I bought resale and saved a ton. I knew I wasn't getting the same benefits and that was ok with me. The first trip at the Palm golf course I was chatting with the guy there and how it was my first trip as an owner. He showed me how to see my member number in MDE and said just to show that with my I.D. and it was the easiest way. One time at Old Key West I was asked for a real card. Hey, it's been good while it lasted and I've saved some here and there but if I never get a discount again, oh Well!

Yep. That's how it has worked for me too. It sounds like the change to a digital only version will simply be replacing the hard copy blue card to a digital version for the blue card owners, which will make accessing the blue card the same as how white cards have been accessed. It doesn't sound like there will be a change for white card owners. To be honest, I have always wondered why blue card members were mailed a hard copy blue card instead of just having a digital version. It's not like it would make one iota of difference in them getting a discount or not, and it would save DVC some $$.

I don't think Disney/DVC is too concerned with white card owners sometimes getting a discount. That stuff is always going to happen. It's always going to come down to CMs enforcing the policies. I think this change is more about streamlining things. However, I could be wrong...but I hope not

 

[CarolynFH]

To be honest, I have always wondered why blue card members were mailed a hard copy blue card instead of just having a digital version. It's not like it would make one iota of difference in them getting a discount or not, and it would save DVC some $$.

They started with the blue card/white card thing in 2016 (which is why the blue cards all expire in 2021, 5 years later). I think the DVC management’s idea at that time was that to get a discount you would have to show a physical card plus photo ID. White card owners wouldn’t have a physical card so wouldn’t get discounts. Obviously that’s not how it worked out. And that’s why I wonder whether they’ve figured out a way to differentiate between them when linked to MDE. Or they may have thrown up their hands and decided on some other way to “reward” direct buyers going forward. I guess we’ll find out sometime in January.

 

[Boopuff]

If I were to guess, people with blue cards would have some indication on MDE showing that they are blue card owners. maybe the membership number itself will be blue. and quite possibly they’ll retrain CMs on what to look for and accept

 

[Wakey]

My guess is that they will eventually scale perks to number of direct points, and therefore needed the card linked to your points on MDE to know how many points you have automatically. I noticed in MDE, under memberships it’s got DVC (and Disney+ interestingly) and it is only linked to my direct contract number with a decimal point, not one of my resale contracts.
Total speculation by me, but maybe you’ll get restaurant discounts with every direct purchase, but want Epcot Lounge, that will be 150 points minimum, want Moonlight Magic, that will be 200 please (could be wrong about that as it is effectively a DVC points selling and marketing event) etc. Maybe even one day Disney+ subscribers may get in park perks. Otherwise why link that to MDE as well?

 

[CarolynFH]

Maybe even one day Disney+ subscribers may get in park perks. Otherwise why link that to MDE as well?

On "Disney+ Day" Nov. 12, D+ subscribers got into the parks 30 minutes before official opening (resort guests got in an hour early that one day). So Disney already used that linkage for benefits.

 

[AdamsMum]

So now I need to get a smart phone and carry it with me all the time to get my 'perks'? How much are they saving by not having the card??? 10 cents?

I'm going to miss that little card in my wallet. I get a little burst of happiness every time I see it. It also reminds me of how lucky I am to afford such luxury. I'll still keep it in my wallet. I'm being dragged into the digital age kicking and screaming. My brain just doesn't think in digital.

 

[AdamsMum]

If I were to guess, people with blue cards would have some indication on MDE showing that they are blue card owners.

MDE won't even accept me as a DVC member. It's on my DVC Account but not MDE. I spent about an hour on the phone with Disney IT, and the CM said it was fixed. Then noted "you are a DVC member". I told him it's been bugging me for years, and thanked him profusely. I should've checked my account before I let him hang up! I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thought that after a conversation with Disney IT.

 

[dcfromva]

I was wondering how one would handle the activation of a DVC annual pass for a household member visiting Disney World without the DVC member?

 

[CarolynFH]

I was wondering how one would handle the activation of a DVC annual pass for a household member visiting Disney World without the DVC member?

There are several reports of success. In general, the DVC member calls MS to tell them who exactly will be activating an AP, so a note can be placed on the member's account. Then the household member goes to GR with a photocopy or printout of the member's DVC member card, a photocopy of the member's photo ID, and their own photo ID showing the same address as the member's ID.

 

[EatMoreVeg]

Not sure if this is relevant to this discussion but we are here at the parks now and had an interesting experience trying out mobile check out at the Emporium in Magic Kingdom. Tried it out for kicks and surprising when checking out through the app, it applied a DVC discount even though we are white card. I hear it’s hit or miss when showing your DVC card in person but it sounds like the mobile features are just not set up to recognize the difference.

 

[CarolynFH]

I was just reviewing my profile in MDE and noticed that my DVC membership shows my Club ID, not the 12 digit member number on my current card. Has it always been that way, or is that something new potentially related to the new linkage through MDE for discounts and member perks? Not sure if I’m being ultra sensitive to potential changes!

 

[JETSDAD]

I was just reviewing my profile in MDE and noticed that my DVC membership shows my Club ID, not the 12 digit member number on my current card. Has it always been that way, or is that something new potentially related to the new linkage through MDE for discounts and member perks? Not sure if I’m being ultra sensitive to potential changes!

I believe it's always used the Club ID. I recall discussion about that and people asking why the number wasn't the same as their member number.

 

[Sandisw]

I was just reviewing my profile in MDE and noticed that my DVC membership shows my Club ID, not the 12 digit member number on my current card. Has it always been that way, or is that something new potentially related to the new linkage through MDE for discounts and member perks? Not sure if I’m being ultra sensitive to potential changes!

Always that way.