Do you regret your investment?

[Eeyore2U]

Do you regret making an investment in DVC with all that is going on? I don't. Can't wait to go in Februrary and I am trying to figure out how to get a GV at OKW for 2/2003. Wish I had the money for another add on at BCV when they open.

[Scott H]

No, Never.

[DVC-94]

I was thinking about this last night. I'm not sure if you were talking about the terrorist attacks, or the cuts at Disney, but either way, I don't regret our investment in DVC.

Even with all the cutbacks at Disney, I'm still looking forward to our next visit to OKW. The cuts may effect our decision to renew our annual passes. Depending on what's going on when we go back next June, we may not spend any time at any Disney parks. Instead we'll do some of the other things in the Orlando area that we keep saying we're going to do but never seem to get around to them. I look at our investment in DVC as more of an investment at a wonderful resort that we will enjoy regardless of what's going on in the parks.

[wdwnut]

no regrets here either! the cutbacks at wdw seem to be of a temporary nature. ScottH, i love that line about attitude. can i use it at work? there a couple of people to whom getting through the day is more of an ordeal than an adventure.

[antnee]

cuts wont last forever. I look at this as a long term investment

[robinb]

I voted "NO", but the cuts will certainly effect my stay.

I have a 2 year old who is up between 6 and 7 am. It makes going to EE very easy and we got a lot of things done before things got too busy. Plus, hours have been cut from parks which were already closing early :(.

[ceejay13]

Being the Diznoids that we are, it was one of the best things we have spent our money on.

[JaneDE]

The only thing that I regret is not buying more points before OKW sold out. I guess there are always resales!

[hoosiergirl]

I feel like we could do a MasterCard commercial for DVC---230 points at OKW $XXXX, Disney Hopper Passes for family of 5, $XXXXX, Memories of a lifetime....Priceless!!!

We bought into the DVC back in '93--we had those wonderful "free passes" through 1999 (Boy do we miss those!!) and so we would book larger accommodations than we needed at the time so we could have more "free passes". (Still had "under 3" kids at the time) We brought family members with us that might not have had the chance to stay onsite otherwise. What wonderful memories! We feel we've already gotten our investiment's worth just in those early years--nothing could replace the looks on some of those faces. I get teary-eyed as I write this!

So--to make a short answer LONG ;) , NO!! I/We do NOT regret our DVC investment!!

[sgtdisney]

I voted no, but I am not pleased with the cuts. I love the DVC and OKW as a resort destination and the cuts, will just prompt me to spend even more time in off property and non-theme park activities.

[lyndon1]

Our family recently closed in early October. We are a family of 4 with 2 daughters, 9 and 14. We made the decision to join DVC as a family because we knew that our girls would be the major beneficiaries. We are all Disney fanatics and even with recent changes that some are calling cuts we come out way ahead in the long run.

I'm not going to preach but DVC is a business and inorder to maintain the spirit of what is DVC some changes have to be made. Some we like, some we don't, and others make us get out our thinking caps. We remain positive and believe that in the end our decision to join will be rewarded in ways that have yet to be "imagined". We joined because we see the benefits to our family.

God Bless America

The Girvins

[Dizzy4Dizney]

I do have one regret......I regret I didn't get into DVC sooner!!!!

[Eeyore2U]

I figured that I would get this response. I guess we all know what we did and why.

Dizzy, I agree, I wish we had done it sooner!!:D

[ralphd]

We agree Dizzy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Granny]

I am a new member and I'd be less than honest if I said that I haven't wondered about the decision I made a few months ago.

It's not so much these cutbacks, but I'm wondering if the "Golden Age" of Disney has cycled past us for a while. This is not related to terrorism, or even current economic times, but to demographics of our country.

The "echo boomers"...children of boomers.....are now starting to hit 21 years old. There is a downturn in the 1 - 12 year old age bracket compared to the echo boomers coming through 10 - 15 years ago. Still a lot of kids, but smaller numbers than we have seen the past several years.

The new animation movies (starting with Little Mermaid), the huge investments Disney has made in new attractions (as well as Universal, etc) and the immense growth in popularity of Orlando as a destination all started when the echo boomers came through.

I'm not being morose. I just know Disney is a business and they have to hit profit figures. If attendance goes down, they will have to make cut backs.

I voted no regrets because I think we will still get our value out of the investment. However, I do think that those who joined DVC in 1991-1996 saw an immediate payback and are now living on the "gravy". It'll just take longer for us.

Enough of this. I am still happy to be a DVC member and am sure the memories I will be building with my family will be more than worth the investment. Like hoosiergirl said....."priceless".

[KNWVIKING]

I in no way regret my purchase,however,like a previous poster stated, I may rethink may AP purchase. I'll get my 3rd trip out of this pass in Nov-Dec so it really isn't an issue yet. But when we return in May if things are still down we'll strongly consider doing other things. I would be willing to bet the Orlando Flex Pass will have some great discounts which includes Sea World, Universal & Islands,Wet-n-Wild and Busch Gardens. Right now it's a buyers market and Disney needs to treat its faithfull members as such.

[nickglover]

We made an informed decision, but I do regret the lack of flexibility, as far as staying at the non-Disney properties for less than a week, and at a reasonable point cost. I guess the only thing I did not completely understand was how the Concierge Collection properties were not very good values, as far as using points. We like Disney, but unlike most on this board, we don't have "Disney fever", so to speak.
Still, we knew what we were getting into and we just love Vero Beach, so we made the decision with the understanding that we would re-evaluate in 5 years and possibly sell our interest then. So far, we have enjoyed trips to Vermont, DL and OKW and VB!

[Pluto4President]

I see 5 regrets on the poll but did I miss the post why?

Not a regret here, not for a second!

29 Days 17 Hrs 34 Mins 36 Secs

[disnefile]

Never, never, never.

DVC is wonderful and I look forward to each visit as much as I did the first. I am sure most will agree. Best investment I ever made and not just monetary.

Pete

[Pluto4President]

Welcome to The DIS Pete!

[dianeschlicht]

No regrets here!!! It is interesting, however, that none of the "regreters" posted why!

[KNWVIKING]

.... Did you vote YES or NO.

[Snow Shoe]

There's no regrets from this family, only that we didn't do it sooner!!! I'm like most not happy about the cut backs, but it won't affect our going and enjouying ourselves at WDW-VB.

[JonHM]

The very phrasing of the question in the poll perplexes me a bit. What 'cutbacks' are we talking about? Pool hopping being limited for a week around major holidays? Or the Disney Collection going up in price? Besides that and some other things like shower curtains and soaps, I don't really understand what 'cutbacks' you are talking about. The phrasing of the 'No' vote makes it sound like you agree that there *have* been horrible cutbacks, but that you won't let them get in your way. Well how do you vote if you don't think that there have been horrible cutbacks?

We have had some family health problems of late, so I have not been around the board as much as I would have liked - have I missed some additional cutbacks other than the ones that I listed above?

[Eeyore2U]

Hi JonHM,

I was trying to find out with the WDW reduction of hours, loss of ee and e night what people felt about their investment in DVC.

[CampTKRAJ]

I never really viewed the purchase of our family's DVC membership as an investment but more as an opportunity to be part of a special "club" that ensured a quality vacation experience for our family. I guess all of us have our concerns about cutbacks we hear about in the news but I will choose to believe that DVC will continue to have high standards of performance. Otherwise, all that Disney and DVC have built in their reputation for excellance is at risk and those in the business world know how important a great reputation is.

[nickglover]

I did not vote. We do have regrets, but we do not feel we were misled, so I chose not to vote.

Don't you think many polls are determined in advance by the way the questions are worded? (I am thinking mainly of the ones on CNN.com).

To summarize, we have regrets and I stated "why" above, but I was not one of the ones who voted.

[Eeyore2U]

Sorry, I tried to word it better. I think this is skewed due to a VERY biased audience. To quote Captian Rex "I promise to do better next time!" :D

[OKW91]

ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NO REGRETS!!!!!

[Bennet]

None.

[JonHM]

As I said, over the past 2 months I have not been on the board as much as I would have liked due to family situation. So fill me in: When was it announced that DVC members would no longer have access to Early Entry and E-Night? What are the details? I couldn't find anything about it on the DVC website. Can you please provide a link to further information?

[Eeyore2U]

The cutbacks are for WDW not DVC. IMO it is a periphary affect on DVC.

Here is one thread.

http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=113962&goto=newpost

And another

http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=113097

Basically no ee, enights, reduced park hours, shorter restaurant hours, closed restaurants, blah blah blah

[JonHM]

The first link seemed to take me to a thread that had nothing to do with any of this - it was asking people where they had travelled.

The second link was an interesting read, BUT I didn't see ONE cold, hard fact in the entire thread. It was all speculation and worries about 'what if'.

Several things: First, I *thought* you were saying that Early Entry and E-Nights still were going on, but that DVC Members had been excluded from taking part in them. Now THAT would have upset me, but (as you pointed out above) that does NOT seem to be the case.

Secondly, I would not classify either of these things as 'cuts', even IF they are true. E-Nights, in every WDW book I have read, are listed as a temporary phenomenon that could end at any time. When we were planning our June trip, a lot of what I had read implied that it was an experiment which had ended. But they did have 'E-Ride Nights' while we were there, and we attended one. If they HAVE, in fact, suspended them for now, which it is not clear to me that they have, I *strongly* suspect that they will be back within either a few months or within the year. The same goes for the rumors swirling about early entry - it is longstanding policy at WDW that when fewer people are attending the parks, they are open shorter hours. If they are doing this now, it is a temporary measure to combat the after-effects both of the Recession and of September 11th.

I am not at all convinced that any of these cuts are real, and I am CERTAINLY not convinced that they would be permanent, even if they are real. So far I have not been able to find anything out about them on any of Disney's official sites. If anyone can find any 'official' links or press releases regarding these cuts, I would be greatly appreciative.

Eeyore2U: I did NOT mean this as any sort of rant or lashing out at you personally, I am basically ranting in general. :) There was a lot of panic around here a few months ago - some of the worries turned out to be warranted, some did not. I am not someone who would always defend Disney, no matter what, but before I'm going to get upset, I want to have hard information, not speculation. I am very sorry if this reads in a negative way. I greatly appreciate your responses to my questions, and this itself has been a very interesting thread to read.

[sgtdisney]

I think you will be hard pressed to find any official press from Disney Announcing the cutbacks. The fact that the cutbacks have been made is self evident though. Hours were cut this week at last moment, and this is according the the hours page on the Disney Website. Early Entry was also unceremoniously dropped this week as well and all reference to it was removed from the resorts page on Disney's Website. E-ticket nights were cancelled earlier in the month for this month and next month at least. I spoke to a friend who was at WDW this last week and he confirmed the hours changes and early entry changes. He also confirmed that, as far as he was concerned, the parks were relatively crowded for mid October.

I am sure no one would question the fact that some changes and cuts may be necessary if Disney is having the financial problems which it would seem that they are to prompt these sweeping changes. The question is in the logic of making *all* these changes at the same time, on short notice and immediately after the kick off of a year long celebration designed to entice people to visit Disney World. Can you still have a great time at Disney World even after these changes? Sure.. But, when will it stop? At a time when incentives are being made in other tourist oriented places to draw people in, Disney is cutting services and still keeping the prices at a level that was set before these service cuts and the 9/11 tragedy. On top of that, there are now rumors flying that SpectroMagic and CoP are closed or stopped indefinitely and even further unsubstantiated rumors about a resort closing temporarily and the delayed opening of Pop Century....

Disney really needs to entice people back to the 'World' not scare them away with a 'world' of cuts.

[JonHM]

Your points are very well taken, but they also reinforce what I'm talking about. The only real information that we have is what has happened in the last week and is on the schedule for the next month, and we are taking that information and running with it, and coming up with all sorts of horrible possible scenarios.

All I'm saying is let's get upset, if we're going to, about what HAS happened, and not what MIGHT happen.

Disney's public relations people could *definitely* be doing a much better job of presenting whatever IS going on to the public.

I really do think that these schedule changes (including e-ride nights and early entry) are only temporary.

One last point: as far as things like crowds, what someone in a park *perceives* to be 'crowded', and what specific numbers Disney has about how many people actually ARE in the parks, compared to that time of year in other years, are two totally different things. So it might seem crowded to someone in a particular park on a particular day, and still be well under the numbers that Disney expects and schedules for based on their history.

[sgtdisney]

I agree with you on worrying about what has happened and not what might happen. What has happened is bad enough as it is. Disney is completely dropping the ball on this and I just hope that their stock doesn't suffer anymore as a result of it. What might happen truly frightens me...

You are right about the perception of crowds, it is subjective. He just told me that there were lines on almost every attraction, not the walk on situation you might expect if Disney World was truly a ghost town. September/October are typically one of the slowest times as it is...

[KNWVIKING]

somewhere on this thread or another very similar thread is a link to a site which lists what cutbacks have actually occurred at WDW. Unless this site is totally untrustworthy I think it's a fact that EE has been canceled for all resort guest-DVC included- as well changing all the park hours, canceling certain shows,etc. The only DVC cutback I remember reading about was no CB at Olivia's, but there may be others. But the thread also stated something to the effect that almost on a daily basis,crowds permitting,hours could be expanded. Bottom line is that if people aren't going to be in the parks they're going to reduce hours. One positive way to look at it is if the parks were crowded it would take say 14 hrs out of your to do the park,now with small crowds you can do the same amount in 10 hrs.