Scoop says:
But, I do want to specifically point out the GC's points have been exceptionally agreeable to me, especially this one:
And I failed to mention that the All Stars also provide folks who couldn't otherwise afford to stay on-site that opportunity. No doubt, many hundreds of thousands of families are thankful for that.
Ok! Fair enough. I don't think anyone can successfully argue against the concept (although If I were head mouse, I wouldn't have even considered it). So we can concede the point. But the question here is:
Did they do it right?
Now the argument boils down to taste. Some say a huge Buzz icon is a wonderful image. Kids love them. Great "Disney" ties. Yada-yada-yada!
But do they live up to the "Disney" standard? Here's where I completely disagree. I contend that they do not! In fact, I further contend that they deliberately dumbed down the theme in order to justify and quantify the price difference between the three venues.
KaraJade sums it up pretty nicely:
IMHO, the Allstar resorts can be as tacky as they want to be. If it means I can get that great rate and save a TON of money during the times when my budget is pretty tight, yet STILL stay onsite at Disney, I'm happy.
You see, they've got her, and potential millions more like her, and they know it!! They could put out cardboard boxes and they'd still have people lining up for the "Disney" experience. Except it really isn't a "Disney" experience, is it?
I can totally understand her concept though. And I empathize. I was quickly falling into this category concerning WDW visits, even though my income was rising much faster than inflation. But each year Disney was getting more and more out of my reach. I started out, comfortably, in the Poly. As the Ei$ner years went by the Poly was no longer affordable to me. A quick change to the Caribbean and Port Orleans. Still some pretty nice theme, but not quite so much care regarding some of the details. And the outdoor-access-only, was quite a change. But still not too bad at all! Very nice. At the time the main drawback was NOT being on the monorail run.
That lasted a couple years, but even they began to get a little pricey. Just at about the time that the cost was almost out of reach for these resorts, (wouldn't you know it!) they built the All Stars!! I was pretty fed up by this time and seriously reviewed my options. This is one of the major reasons I bought into the DVC concept.
Now if you think about it, just what can justify the cost difference between the three classes of resorts? Do you really mean to tell me that, other than a slightly increased capital investment (for a bit better theming) it costs any more to maintain? The rooms still have to be cleaned. The size of the staff is the same. What is the difference? I'm not talking about the difference between the Floridian and the All Stars. I'm talking about the difference between Port Orleans and the All Stars. What are the differences that can possibly account for the price difference? I don't get it. Unless, of course, they
chose to minimize the theme in order to make it clearly apparent that the All Stars was
well
how to put it
CHEAPER!!!
Now, I'll admit that it's hard for me to verbalize this elusive concept. And it may well be that the words will become clearer throughout the discussions. I do know that I've had this 'feeling' for years, but I've never really had to translate these 'feelings' into logic, concrete concepts that can be easily communicated.
Any thoughts??
PS: SCOOP: Boy - Girl or Other? And
congratulations!!!! (But I hear they're a lot of trouble for the first
for the first
for the first
21 years or so!!!