Will DVC add bungalows everywhere?

[deedisneydream97]

After our last stay at BLT we got one of the Disney survey's. It asked lots of questions about adding plunge pools or hot tubs to the ground floor units. It seems like Disney is thinking about something at least.

I am most concerned with the disneynutz presented. I am not sure that is going to work out long term for DVC members.

Don't lose sleep over speculations. When the "Treehouse Villas" first became part of Saratoga Springs, it was cheaper per night to stay at a treehouse than it was to stay in a 2 bedroom at SSR. Until they were able to readjust the points charts. Those treehouse villas had fallen into such disrepair...and DVC turned them into something great. I think those are hard to get now too.

There are many DVC options that are way out of my reach. I own at four different resorts, but could never afford the points for Grand Villas at any of those resorts (except VWL....I don't think there are any). But they are always booked, so some people can. At today's direct prices, I could not afford to buy into the poly or GFV. Nor would I want to spend the points required for a weeks stay (although we did stay at poly for one night just to try it). Then again, I am older (60) and don't really need the newer resorts with the older expiration dates (because I will expire first). But I am sure younger people that are making much better money than we were making in '97 are very happy with their decisions. Everything is relative. I remember my dad chastizing me when we first bought...."timeshares....the WORST thing you can do with your money". The $$$ we paid for our first BWV contract seemed very expensive back then.

People love to be armchair "quarterbacks" on these boards. Disney is ALWAYS thinking about something. But their new stuff has never really had an impact on my initial purchases. Remember that if they do something that is seriously detrimental to DVC members, there would be a huge backlash, negative media and all that. Regardless of what some people may think or say, keeping a good image is important to Disney.

I know when we signed our contracts, we checked them over. Nothing has ever surprised us or enraged us. I was a little bummed when they changed cheaper mid week stays and weekends point wise, but I adjusted. And it was well within the contract guidelines.

Interesting about them asking about the ground floor units. I would never want one because of privacy issues and the fact that if you leave your slider door open, all kinds of critters can slither in. But if they enclosed those and made them more fun for a higher point cost...I would reconsider. As long as they kept a number of them the same for those with disabilities that need a ground floor in case of a power outage.

 

[gmi3804]

But isn't what makes Disney money, by extension, satisfying what we want? Or vice versa? There must be a market for these; they wouldn't be built based on the hope that they'll cultivate our needs and wants, for the most part. Do you see much Brother Bear stuff out there?

While I'm undecided about freestanding units at BLT, I'll bet the design would be really cool!

I don't think that holds true for DVC. Disney knows that once we buy, they have a customer for the life of the contract so the need to really satisfy is better spent on cash customers who you have to convince to return. That's why they can build studio only projects, not fix the DVC website, not do a better job cleaning rooms or really care about the looks of a refurbished room.

Bill

You're supposing an awful lot. In adding these types of accommodations, it seems to me that Disney is providing a new type of vacation experience, that is, answering the needs of the the super-exclusive traveler.

Not addressed to anyone in particular, I think Disney has no obligation to make their new offerings "affordable" to those who are already owners. The speculation is that many owners purchased to "lock in" nicer accommodations' prices so they could take upgraded vacations at a fixed (dues increases notwithstanding) prices. I have no idea to which this speculation is true, but they're still getting exactly what they paid for. At what point does the point requirement become a bone of contention to owners? There's always been a graduated scale of accommodation sizes and types. Now we have one more, i.e., the Poly Bungalow, to add to that scale.

 

[wildernessDad]

Maybe they'll add them to the Grand Floridian. People getting married can have a nice view of them from the wedding chapel.

 

[gmboy95]

With bungalows introduced at the Polynesian Villas & Bungalows and similar cabins coming to the Wilderness Lodge, will DVC add bungalows or cabins to other DVC resorts?


Might we expect to see this happen at Bay Lake Tower?

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I cant see me reserving one of these bungalows just because of the point cost....it seems nice, but it would cut into my vacation point allotment by half for just one night

 

[southerngirl528]

Though of course it's impossible to predict, as a 22 year DVC member, I can NOT see the bungalow thing being a "build-em everywhere" trend. While I don't have a huge amount of points, I do have right at 500 pts/year, and 120 points a night for a weeknight in October is just plain stupid. I've been in the bungalows a few times now, and while I think they're gorgeous, they are still just a 2 bdrm. and sleep only 8. And only 2 "real" beds. I can't imagine how crowded that living room would be with both the pull down bed and the sofa bed out and in use. Wall to wall bed! And to make it worse, let's say 2 couples are staying in a bungalow. So you put the kids to bed earlier than the grown-ups want to go to bed. Those beds in the LR are RIGHT there almost in the kitchen/dining area! It's one big open area. There's no way grownups could sit and chat, play cards, whathaveyou, with the kiddos sleeping mere feet away. While it's a pretty design to look at, I don't find it very practical.

Granted one could use the deck to sit on while kids sleep, but what if it's inclement? If mosquitoes are bad that night? Or? When I can book a GV at Aulani or VGF for the same points/night as a PVB bungalow and sleep at least 4 more people in WAY more room, in my mind it's no contest.

It will be interesting to see how many members actually stay for several night stays in these bungalows at ABD prices….

 

[tjkraz]

The image attached shows bungalow availability through the end of the year. (I didn't bother to include June, but it's completely sold out.) Over a span of 200+ nights remaining in 2015, only 21 have some availability. And on those nights, it's likely as little as 1-2 villas unbooked.

I'm sure many of these reservations were booked at 7 months using points other than Poly. But that's to be expected given that only a small percentage of the Poly points have even been sold.

IMHO, this pretty clearly demonstrates that there is demand for the bungalows at their current point levels. Maybe we all need to take a step back and realize that there are people with far more points--and different priorities--than ourselves. *I* won't be using my paltry 300 points for any bungalow stays, but apparently there are hundreds of owners who have already chosen to do so.

 

[Granny]

The image attached shows bungalow availability through the end of the year. (I didn't bother to include June, but it's completely sold out.) Over a span of 200+ nights remaining in 2015, only 21 have some availability. And on those nights, it's likely as little as 1-2 villas unbooked.

I'm sure many of these reservations were booked at 7 months using points other than Poly. But that's to be expected given that only a small percentage of the Poly points have even been sold.

IMHO, this pretty clearly demonstrates that there is demand for the bungalows at their current point levels. Maybe we all need to take a step back and realize that there are people with far more points--and different priorities--than ourselves. *I* won't be using my paltry 300 points for any bungalow stays, but apparently there are hundreds of owners who have already chosen to do so.

Thanks! That's some great data. The only thing I'll add is it's still early as this is the first year of booking. Once somebody stays in a bungalow will they always want to stay there? I hope that the occupancy rates for bungalows is as great as that for Grand Villas which have a high point requirement but always seem to book up at all DVC resorts.

Bottom line, we don't know what the impact will be. In the case of VWL bungalows, I think the immediate impact will be on the overall ambiance of the resort with the trees being felled. Still, no point in worrying until we see the finished product.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I am surprised the bungalows are so popular! The lack of many real beds turns me off. I am planning a gals get away and never gave those accommodations any thought at all.

 

[ParkHoppers]

Being selfish I wish the new WL cabins would be multiple lock offs so I had enough points to book one but looking at the layout and sq footage doesn,t look like that will happen.

 

[paults]

how many of those booked bungalow nights are for a 1 nighter from members just to see what there like? I know I wouldn't blow my pts on them JMO for a night.

 

[tjkraz]

how many of those booked bungalow nights are for a 1 nighter from members just to see what there like?

How many people book a Grand Villa for the same reason? Or a club level room? Or intentional split stays in any size villa? Or single day stays for a variety of reasons (before or after cruise, to catch cheaper airfare, etc)?

Why does any of this even matter?

 

[disneynutz]

How many bungalows are currently available for DVC bookings based on declared units, a model for DVD to use, 60 day turn over to CRO, and breakage?

Bill

 

[wdrl]

How many bungalows are currently available for DVC bookings based on declared units, a model for DVD to use, 60 day turn over to CRO, and breakage?

Bill

Ten of the 20 bungalows have been declared for the DVC inventory. This mean that are any given Use day no more than 10 bungalows can be booked by DVC members using points. The other 10 bungalows still belong to DVD and can be used by it for cash reservations or any other purpose it chooses.

 

[disneynutz]

Ten of the 20 bungalows have been declared for the DVC inventory. This mean that are any given Use day no more than 10 bungalows can be booked by DVC members using points. The other 10 bungalows still belong to DVD and can be used by it for cash reservations or any other purpose it chooses.

Of the 10 that are declared, is it for certain that all 10 are used for DVC bookings or is their a benefit to Disney to move units to CRO if still available 60 days prior to any given check-in date?

Bill

 

[wdrl]

Of the 10 that are declared, is it for certain that all 10 are used for DVC bookings or is their a benefit to Disney to move units to CRO if still available 60 days prior to any given check-in date?

Bill

Its probably a benefit to both Disney and the DVC membership for CRO to have access to any declared inventory that has not been booked 60 days before any given check-in date. No one gains by having a villa go unused. If the DVC members haven't booked a villa at that late date, it makes sense to broaden its availability to include the general public.

142 studios and 10 bungalows are declared for the DVC inventory, which represents 40.71% of PVB's total points. Because of the Reciprocal Use clause in each DVC resort's master declaration, DVC can access undeclared inventory belonging to DVD; in exchange DVD can access inventory that has been declared. Each Use Day DVC members can book as many villas and different accommodation types as they want as long as the aggregate number of points used does not exceed 40.71%. Thus, if members want to book more than 10 bungalows on any given Use Day, they could. In exchange, DVD would take over a number of studios belonging to DVC that are equivalent in points to the extra bungalows.

So, to answer your question, there is no way to know how many bungalows are, on any given Use Day, actually booked by members using points. It could be zero, it could be 20, or any number in-between. Nor would it be easily discernible whether a cash guest is booking a bungalow that belongs to DVD's undeclared inventory or from breakage inventory that originated from DVC's inventory.

 

[disneynutz]

Its probably a benefit to both Disney and the DVC membership for CRO to have access to any declared inventory that has not been booked 60 days before any given check-in date. No one gains by having a villa go unused. If the DVC members haven't booked a villa at that late date, it makes sense to broaden its availability to include the general public.

142 studios and 10 bungalows are declared for the DVC inventory, which represents 40.71% of PVB's total points. Because of the Reciprocal Use clause in each DVC resort's master declaration, DVC can access undeclared inventory belonging to DVD; in exchange DVD can access inventory that has been declared. Each Use Day DVC members can book as many villas and different accommodation types as they want as long as the aggregate number of points used does not exceed 40.71%. Thus, if members want to book more than 10 bungalows on any given Use Day, they could. In exchange, DVD would take over a number of studios belonging to DVC that are equivalent in points to the extra bungalows.

So, to answer your question, there is no way to know how many bungalows are, on any given Use Day, actually booked by members using points. It could be zero, it could be 20, or any number in-between. Nor would it be easily discernible whether a cash guest is booking a bungalow that belongs to DVD's undeclared inventory or from breakage inventory that originated from DVC's inventory.

So looking at RAT, we don't know how popular the bungalows with DVC owners or if availability is low due to non-DVC bookings.

I'm just wondering how many DVC owners will be spending that many points to stay in the bungalows.

Bill

 

[dsneygirl]

I hope that no where else gets as "lucky" as Poly and VWL. And yes, I'm using "lucky" facetiously. Until they actually have the cabins up at VWL I will continue to hope that the plans fall thru. Yuck.

I really don't have a good feeling about these cabins. We love VWL and it is perfect to me. I worry these will just be an eyesore.

 

[mort1331]

People we have gotten off topic from DVC Mike. I like to think that maybe staying with the modern theme of BLT we could have some underwater studios with personal sub-water crafts to whisk you to private docks at MK. Yea that's it.

 

[tiggerguy2000]

I think it's making the resorts horrible.I don't like the Poly or will I like the Wilderness Lodge which was one of my favorite resorts.I still don't see the point.

 

[Sammie]

Sorry no way to delete that I can find.