Disney Vacation Club Adds Extra Cost Membership Extras

A Disney Vacation Club membership doesn’t just let you stay in Disney Vacation Club Villas. If you’re eligible for Membership Extras, you also get a whole bunch of pixie dust, including dining and shopping discounts, access to Member Lounges, and more. Up until now, it was like the Sneetches: Extras-eligible Members had a “Y” on their cards, and Members without Extras had none upon thars. Today, Disney announced the upcoming “Membership Magic Beyond”, a paid upcharge that creates a two-tiered Membership Extras system.

What’s Included in Membership Magic Beyond

Eligible Members can purchase for $99 starting December 3, 2024 for usage January 12 through December 31, 2025.

Disney touts three categories of benefit: Enhanced value, Exclusive Access, and More Flexibility. The below are directly from the Disney Vacation Club Membership Magic Beyond page. Disney has clarified that although the enrolled member needs to be present to use the benefits (to show proof of eligibility), owners with multiple contracts only need to enroll once.

Enjoy Enhanced Value

⭐ Purchase specially priced 5-day weekday Walt Disney World Theme Park tickets with one water park visit included. Available for the enrolled Member and up to 7 family members living in their household. More pricing details to come.

⭐ Purchase specially priced 3-day weekday Disneyland Resort Theme Park tickets that include Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Available for the enrolled Member and up to 7 family members living in their household. More pricing details to come.

⭐ Receive a 30-day Memory Maker entitlement to capture and share treasured Walt Disney World memories. (Up to a $210 value if purchased separately.)

Get Exclusive Access

⭐ Meet and mingle with special Disney Characters at Disney Vacation Club ImaginAtrium – A Member Lounge at EPCOT. The enrolled Member must have a Resort reservation and be staying on Points. The enrolled Member can bring up to 4 guests or the number of guests on their resort stay reservation, whichever is greater. Available 7 days a week. Capacity restrictions may apply.

⭐ Take advantage of priority access to Disney Vacation Club ImaginAtrium – A Member Lounge, Disney Vacation Club Star View Station – A Member Lounge and a new Member lounge projected to open in 2025 in Magic Kingdom Park. Use this benefit when lounge access goes on a waitlist. The enrolled Member can bring up to 4 guests or the number of guests on their resort stay reservation, whichever is greater. Capacity restrictions may apply.

Experience More Flexibility

⭐ Use your Points to purchase the Disney Sorcerer Pass to enjoy Walt Disney World Resort Theme Parks.

⭐ Get one bonus One-Time-Use Point for each One-Time-Use Point purchased! Members can purchase up to 12 Points for a total of 24 One-Time-Use Points in a Use Year. Excludes bookings offered through the hotel exchange program.

⭐ Enjoy having your $95 transaction fee waived when booking Disney Collection Resorts and experiences, including Adventures by Disney, Disney Cruise Line and National Geographic Expeditions experiences.

The Membership Magic Beyond option is part of Membership Extras which, effective June 3, 2021, requires having an ownership interest with 150 Vacation Points or more purchased directly from Disney Vacation Development, Inc. This is an incidental benefit subject to availability, change or termination. Yearly enrollment fee applies. All offers are subject to availability. Special ticket and Annual Pass offers are not part of the ownership interest and are subject to change or termination.

Our Commentary

Being able to get the Sorcerer Pass is one of the biggest-benefit Membership Extras, and it continues to be available without having to purchase Membership Magic Beyond. It’s nice to see similar offerings extended to families for whom an Annual Pass just doesn’t make any sense, although we’ve yet to see the pricing on the tickets. Assuming it is a similar savings, this will be a nice benefit for owners who fall in that group.

That said, I don’t see why it needs to come with a price tag instead of simply being part of Membership Extras. Disney’s FAQ says that the cost of Membership Magic Beyond is not included in Annual Dues because: “Annual dues cover the operating cost for Resort upkeep, maintenance, Cast Member salaries, property taxes and reserves. Operating expenses of Membership Magic Beyond are funded through the enrollment fee of Members who choose to participate and are not charged to the common expenses of the Disney Vacation Club or any Disney Vacation Club Resort.”

While that sounds plausible, I don’t see Membership Extras on that list of what Annual Dues cover. Why are these Extras different from the other Extras? I don’t know, and I don’t find Disney’s argument convincing. And priority lounge access is definitely a “some Members are more equal than others — the ones that paid for it” feature. Call me crazy, but I do feel there should be some limits on paying to skip the line. Next thing you know you’ll be able to hop to the front at the supermarket checkout if you’re willing to pay 5% more for your basket.

If the specially-priced tickets would make sense for my family, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy this based purely on the math. But in an era where Disney is continually accused of making vacations too complex, this choice doesn’t feel like it’s helping with that.

What are your thoughts about this new DVC Extras offering? Let us know in the comments!