You’ll have heard it said it many a time before, but you should NEVER buy DVC membership based on the perks that you get. The real ‘perk’ of membership is being able to regularly stay in deluxe Disney resorts. That is why we bought in and any other perks are exactly that! I often find that as a UK DVC member, we are sometimes a little limited on the DVC discounts that we can actually take advantage of which will be the subject of a future article. That being said, there have been a few perks that we have enjoyed over the years and that I would absolutely recommend… Please note, these were all discounts offered at the time but those discounts may no longer be available. We are not currently annual pass holders so these discounts may also be available to those that are at a better rate.
Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party
One of the first
DVC Members save $5 on tickets.
Family Portraits
Back in 2010, I was trying to plan an entire vacation for my husbands birthday. With his birthday in early December, it was the first time we would not be visiting in September so I wanted to make up for the fact we would be missing Mickey’s Not So Scary… with something a little different. After hunting around the DVC website (as it was back then) for a while, I came across Disney Professional Portraits.
The offer was a little different back then, but we had a whole hour on Marc’s (my husband) birthday with a photographer at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo House. Neither of us had ever done anything like it but it was absolutely wonderful experience and we got some of my absolute favourite pictures of us together. I can highly recommend the experience. I believe the set-up for the portrait sessions has changed a little now, but you can still find them listed as Family Portraits on the DVC Member Benefits Page.
DVC Members save 15% on select services from Disney Fine Art Photography & Video
Disney’s Keys To The Kingdom
I didn’t stop there though, I also stumbled across a link for something called the ‘Keys To The Kingdom Tour’. I had never heard of it, but even if you didn’t know what it was, that name would probably pique the interest of any Disney fan – it certainly did me. An opportunity to tour the Magic Kingdom including some of the backstage areas like the famed ‘Utilidors’ was precisely the extra sprinkle of magic that I wanted to help celebrate a birthday. It most definitely did not disappoint. I could probably write a whole new article singing the praises of the tour, from the guide right down to what we saw. It is a fantastic opportunity to peek behind the curtain (just a little) at how the magic is made. A few words of caution though, there is an age restriction in place, so no children allowed. Also, I would not recommend this trip if you are at all worried about it ‘spoiling’ the magic. That said, if you are at all interested in how the whole ‘production’ comes together, you will LOVE this tour!
DVC members save 15% on this tour.
Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Visiting in December did mean that we could enjoy Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Much like Mickey’s Not So Scary, the discount is not huge but when you are already purchasing a 14-Day ticket, it is worth taking advantage of any discount you can. We had an incredible time at the party despite a rather unusual cold spell that was blasting through Florida at the time. Attending this party did leave us with an everlasting debate though. ‘Mickey’s Not So Scary’ or ‘Mickey’s Very Merry’, which one is better? Just shy of ten years later that question still arises every so often and the discussion, no, the debate, no, the mild argument comes up. He is very much a ‘not so scary’ lover and didn’t really enjoy the Christmas party. I love them both. What about you? If you had to choose between the two which would you prefer? Let me know in the comments below!
Special DVC Member pricing and early entry for tickets are available.
Shopping & Dining
The last one should really go without saying, especially if you are not an annual pass holder. After all, this is probably our most used ‘perk’. That perk is
Ok, so it is not an exhaustive list. As UK DVCers we do find that at times, we are quite limited in which perks we can take advantage of, which, as I mentioned at the start, will be a discussion for another time.
What about you? Which DVC perks or discounts do you most recommend? Let us know in the comments section!
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The Christmas tree picture is the cutest ever!