Disney Vacation Club has very quietly made a major change to their policy on which resort reservations qualify for early registration to all 2024 Moonlight Magic events.
Disney Vacation Club has very quietly made a major change to their policy on which resort reservations qualify for EARLY registration to all 2024 Moonlight Magic events. This change is already in effect, and it will impact the upcoming early registration window on Tuesday, January 9th for Epcot’s events and all subsequent registration opportunities. This change was not announced publicly, and the wording describing the policy on the DVC website is incredibly vague.
So, let us be clear. The ONLY reservations that qualify for early registration are as follows:
- Standard DVC reservations booked with Vacation Points online or over the phone with DVC
- Reservations booked with DVC for the Disney Collection using Reservation Points
- Cash reservations booked over the phone with a DVC representative for a DVC villa.
Please see below for further details and clarification.
Legally speaking, DVC maintains the right to change their policies at any time and without notice. However, ethically speaking, this change is so major that—in our humble opinion—members deserved notice and an explanation for the change. Heck, even just an announcement that the change was made would have been better than this. Regardless, the change is here now. We will get to the implications of this and our take on it later; for now, we will dive into the details of what this means.
The Basics: What is Moonlight Magic and Who Can Attend?
Moonlight Magic is a special after-hours event that Disney Vacation Club (DVC) hosts at various theme parks exclusively for select DVC members and their guests. During these events, attendees enjoy lower crowds, shorter wait-times, unique entertainment, special character meet-and-greets, and a variety of complimentary snacks/beverages. All of that is amazing, but the best thing about these events is that they are FREE! Everything from parking to park admittance to numerous food and beverage options—it is all completely complementary!
Given how wonderful that all sounds, we must address the caveats. These events are not free-for-alls with no limits or restrictions. Pre-registration is required, and there are several restrictions placed on who is eligible to register. Additionally, space is limited, and these events *always* sell out.
The primary registrant for Moonlight Magic events must be a DVC member in good standing with a valid digital DVC Membership Card and access to “Membership Extras”. To obtain this status, members must either be legacy owners from before April 4, 2016, be established as eligible between April 4, 2016 and June 2, 2021, or as of June 3, 2021, own a total of 150 vacation points through direct purchase with Disney. After April 4, 2016, members who purchase vacation points solely through the resale market are not eligible for “Membership Extras”. For additional information on eligibility, please contact Disney Vacation Club directly at (800) 800-9800.
An eligible member can register themselves and up to 4 guests or up to the number of guests on the eligible member’s resort reservation. Only one group is allowed per eligible membership, and members are only allowed to register for one event date per theme park per year.
Got all of that? Great, let us move on to the 2024 event dates, the joys of registration, and the major change that was just implemented!
DVC Moonlight Magic in 2024
At the end of October 2023, DVC announced the dates for multiple Moonlight Magic events in 2024. The dates are as follows:
Epcot:
- January 25th
- March 1st
Disney’s California Adventure Park:
- January 29th
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park:
- February 27th
- April 23rd
Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park:
- June 4th
- July 11th
Disney’s Hollywood Studios:
- August 27th
These are all the dates that have been released thus far. Please note though, it is possible DVC will add more parties later in the year with fairly short notice. They have done this several times previously, so there is still hope for another Moonlight Magic or two later in 2024.
There are two registration windows for each event: early registration and general registration. Early registration is for eligible members with “qualifying resort reservations” and general registration is for eligible members with or without resort reservations. Traditionally, the likelihood of successfully securing a spot is far greater during the early registration period as there are fewer reservations available during general registration and a larger group of members is trying to secure them.
The New “Qualifying Resort Reservation” Policy
The first Moonlight Magic at WDW in 2024 is set to take place on Thursday, January 25th, and early registration for this event and the second Epcot event on Friday, March 1st is set for Tuesday, January 9th. To be eligible for early registration, all qualifying resort reservations and modifications must be made by 11:59 p.m. EST on Sunday, January 7th. This will be the first early registration period where the policy change is in effect.
The Moonlight Magic page on the DVC website (https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/discounts-perks-offers/member-events/moonlight-magic) now states the following in the, “Know Before You Register” section:
“When staying using their Membership with Vacation Points, Reservation Points or cash, Members who booked a qualifying Resort reservation by the cutoff date will have access to early or general event registration and can register themselves and up to the number of individuals on their Resort reservation(s).”
This means that the ONLY reservations that qualify for early registration are as follows:
- Standard DVC reservations booked with Vacation Points online or over the phone with DVC
- Reservations booked with DVC for the Disney Collection using Reservation Points
- Cash reservations booked over the phone with a DVC representative for a DVC villa.
The new policy means that reservations made at all Walt Disney World (WDW) resorts via the WDW website, by calling a WDW representative, through a travel agent or through any other means NOT using an eligible DVC membership DO NOT QUALIFY for early registration. It does not matter if your My Disney Experience account is linked to your eligible DVC membership. It does not matter if you booked your resort stay at one of the All-Stars prior to the change. It does not matter if all the studios at Disney’s Saratoga Springs were booked with points, so you went to the WDW website and paid with cash for a reservation—it does not qualify under the new policy. Previously, a standard reservation booked with cash by the deadline for any of the official WDW resorts qualified for early registration, but it absolutely does not anymore.
We are working to flush this out more, but we wanted to share this information as quickly as possible. Thus, please check back for additional details on what this means shortly.
Is this Sneaky Move DVC’s Latest Money Grab?
Yes, we went there, and we have SO much more to say about this! However, we wanted to get the critical information about the change released as soon as possible. As a result, we are posting this blog without this portion flushed out, and we will update it shortly. Be certain to check back for our thoughts and perspectives on the likely motivations behind this change and the impact on the members!
Until then, what are your thoughts? Does this new policy change things for you and your family and friends?
