I agree…I joined D23 because I love Disney, but basically all it got me was a magazine subscription and a poster. As far as any sense of community goes, Disney World visitors seem to definitely lose on that one. Most of the events seem to be at Disneyland as well as any discounts.
It works for us, I bought my son a gold membership for his birthday last year and we’re from Canada. He loves the magazines and the small gifts and its convenient to have them mailed. Its closer for us to visit Disneyland but we’re not annual pass holders. The discounts work in our favor when we visit Disneyland Resort plus we have not been able to attend any special events so it makes us feel like we’re getting a little more out of the membership.
I really want to like D23, but there is nothing about it that really saves me money or gives me advanced inside details into WDW or Disney cruise line. I wish they would do something like the old Magic Kingdom Club again.
They need to create areas in the theme parks for members to meet up and see who else in in the park that day. A great way to meet people, like AAA used to have.
This is a great idea. I loved the old annual passholder lounges they had at Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Every time I visited, there were always a few other people in there. It’d be a great place to just hang out and chat for a while, taking a rest from walking around the parks.
I would join if there were comfortable D23 lounges.
Josh Bunting wrote: “I joined D23 because I love Disney, but basically all it got me was a magazine subscription and a poster.”
That’s odd, because I’ve gotten four copies of a magazine that I pick up almost constantly (there’s a lot in it), a calendar, a poster, a pin, a Tomorrowland patch, the Disneyland fan replica…and I honestly can’t remember the other gifts? Plus I actually did use my D23 discount the other day at Downtown Disney, and I saved $15 all told. (Trust me, it is NOT difficult to rack up hundreds at Downtown Disney!) And I am planning on using the D23 discount to buy the new Heart Box that EFX just announced. Now, I also went on one of the Archives tours, which was amazing and which I never would have gotten to do otherwise.
But even taking that out of the equation, I figure it thusly: $15.95 for each magazine is $63.80. The calendar would probably be $10. The patch would be another $10 if they even sold them. The fan replica, if it were available at retail, is probably $5 or $10. And the $15 I saved at Downtown Disney, PLUS the $75 I’ll save on the Heart Box, that all adds up to $120 in SAVINGS. Add to that that I have never found D23 magazine at the local Barnes & Noble, so I’d have to order it online, which adds $5 shipping and handling, so that’s $20 savings a year, which brings me up to $140, so I’ve nearly doubled the cost of my membership.
It’s a HUGE value to me. The Lounge sounds like a great idea, but how many people would use it? Can you imagine what the cost would be to Disney to manage a place like that? I’m all for it, though, if it were to happen. But there’s no literal price tag on the value of that.
Oh, yeah, and since I’ll probably go to Disneyland again this year, and now might check out the spa, too, I’d save another $30 or $40, so that’s nearly $200 in savings for the D23 membership, which makes it a big bargain to me. WAY better than the cost of an annual pass, which for two visits a year I just can’t justify.
All those gifts must have come in the first part of the year. I joined D23 about halfway through the charter year and got two magazines and a poster. We’re not saying D23 is not a great value to those in CA. The discounts/tours you mentioned are all for the west coast only. For those of us who visit Disney World, we get no discounts in Downtown Disney, there’s no Archive tours, spa discounts etc. Not to mention that the D23 Expo is held in CA. It’s great if you are in CA, but for Disney World fans there’s just not much there….
…also, the D23 magazine is available in my local Barnes & Noble, here in eastern VA so I may just drop my membership when it expires and buy the magazine in the store.
Actually, correction — you DO get the spa discount, plus the ESPN Zone discount. You also get the Scrapblog material and the eFX discount. (If you happen to live in New Orleans, you also get a Ralph Brennan’s discount.) If you want to go out and buy the magazine “sans” gifts and pay $15.95 plus tax for each, go for it. Or, you could just get it delivered to your house, pristinely packaged, with a special gift. And if you drop your charter membership and go to D23 Expo in 2011, you won’t be able to take part in the Charter Member lounge.
Comments for New Disney D23 Benefits Enhance Membership Value
Josh Bunting
I agree…I joined D23 because I love Disney, but basically all it got me was a magazine subscription and a poster. As far as any sense of community goes, Disney World visitors seem to definitely lose on that one. Most of the events seem to be at Disneyland as well as any discounts.
Jody Clarke
It works for us, I bought my son a gold membership for his birthday last year and we’re from Canada. He loves the magazines and the small gifts and its convenient to have them mailed. Its closer for us to visit Disneyland but we’re not annual pass holders. The discounts work in our favor when we visit Disneyland Resort plus we have not been able to attend any special events so it makes us feel like we’re getting a little more out of the membership.
Steve Griswold
I really want to like D23, but there is nothing about it that really saves me money or gives me advanced inside details into WDW or Disney cruise line. I wish they would do something like the old Magic Kingdom Club again.
Steve – Pixie Vacations
Dennis Brown
They need to create areas in the theme parks for members to meet up and see who else in in the park that day. A great way to meet people, like AAA used to have.
Dennis
Ricky Brigante
This is a great idea. I loved the old annual passholder lounges they had at Epcot and Animal Kingdom. Every time I visited, there were always a few other people in there. It’d be a great place to just hang out and chat for a while, taking a rest from walking around the parks.
I would join if there were comfortable D23 lounges.
JT73335
Josh Bunting wrote: “I joined D23 because I love Disney, but basically all it got me was a magazine subscription and a poster.”
That’s odd, because I’ve gotten four copies of a magazine that I pick up almost constantly (there’s a lot in it), a calendar, a poster, a pin, a Tomorrowland patch, the Disneyland fan replica…and I honestly can’t remember the other gifts? Plus I actually did use my D23 discount the other day at Downtown Disney, and I saved $15 all told. (Trust me, it is NOT difficult to rack up hundreds at Downtown Disney!) And I am planning on using the D23 discount to buy the new Heart Box that EFX just announced. Now, I also went on one of the Archives tours, which was amazing and which I never would have gotten to do otherwise.
But even taking that out of the equation, I figure it thusly: $15.95 for each magazine is $63.80. The calendar would probably be $10. The patch would be another $10 if they even sold them. The fan replica, if it were available at retail, is probably $5 or $10. And the $15 I saved at Downtown Disney, PLUS the $75 I’ll save on the Heart Box, that all adds up to $120 in SAVINGS. Add to that that I have never found D23 magazine at the local Barnes & Noble, so I’d have to order it online, which adds $5 shipping and handling, so that’s $20 savings a year, which brings me up to $140, so I’ve nearly doubled the cost of my membership.
It’s a HUGE value to me. The Lounge sounds like a great idea, but how many people would use it? Can you imagine what the cost would be to Disney to manage a place like that? I’m all for it, though, if it were to happen. But there’s no literal price tag on the value of that.
Oh, yeah, and since I’ll probably go to Disneyland again this year, and now might check out the spa, too, I’d save another $30 or $40, so that’s nearly $200 in savings for the D23 membership, which makes it a big bargain to me. WAY better than the cost of an annual pass, which for two visits a year I just can’t justify.
Josh Bunting
All those gifts must have come in the first part of the year. I joined D23 about halfway through the charter year and got two magazines and a poster. We’re not saying D23 is not a great value to those in CA. The discounts/tours you mentioned are all for the west coast only. For those of us who visit Disney World, we get no discounts in Downtown Disney, there’s no Archive tours, spa discounts etc. Not to mention that the D23 Expo is held in CA. It’s great if you are in CA, but for Disney World fans there’s just not much there….
Josh Bunting
…also, the D23 magazine is available in my local Barnes & Noble, here in eastern VA so I may just drop my membership when it expires and buy the magazine in the store.
JT73335
Actually, correction — you DO get the spa discount, plus the ESPN Zone discount. You also get the Scrapblog material and the eFX discount. (If you happen to live in New Orleans, you also get a Ralph Brennan’s discount.) If you want to go out and buy the magazine “sans” gifts and pay $15.95 plus tax for each, go for it. Or, you could just get it delivered to your house, pristinely packaged, with a special gift. And if you drop your charter membership and go to D23 Expo in 2011, you won’t be able to take part in the Charter Member lounge.
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