An end to pool hopping for DVC

[TiggerFreak]

Someone just posted a thread on the DVC board about two dfferent OKW CM's telling a guest that DVC has decided to end pool hopping and that letters will be sent soon explaining the new policy.

Look out, another 6000 view, 500 post pool hopping thread is soon to be born

 

[CarolMN]

IMHO, it was only a matter of time before that perk ended. If you think about it, the number of DVC members and DVC rooms has grown SIGNIFICANTLY since DVC first began. At some point, it just won't be practical to allow the priviledge to continue. We may have already reached that point.

 

[Luv2Roam]

Well, we now need:

5 people to suggest politely that letters be sent to DVC/WDW.

2 to start long posts about how DVC is going downhill as never in before.

1 newbie to ask if they should tip the CM's at the pool they will be using.

105 people to get off on the tipping policy.

50 Disney loyalists who flame others who think DVC/Disney is wrong.

5 who are more than willing to post that DVC/WDW is doing this to save money.

1 newbie who forgets how to use the quote function and ends up writing:

An end to pool hopping for DVC

.

2 who say, "If they're gonna be like that, perhaps I should cancel my trip next year."

 

[TiggerFreak]

Carol,

Exactly what I said in a post on the DVC board!
How did we get so brilliant?
Just guessing at this:
1992 OKW new 400 rooms, other Disney resorts 4000 rooms
2002 DVC 1500 rooms, others 8000 rooms.

I'll do the math and post the numbers later, gotta go.

 

[RoutemanDan]

Luv2Roam,You kill me!<img src=http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/family/lol.gif><img src=http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/family/lol.gif><img src=http://www.wdwinfo.com/sites/family/lol.gif>
Thanks for the laugh today,but,as funny as it is,it's so close to the truth.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Folks, this is still just a rumor. Two different CMs told one guest that "that pool hopping had been discontinued and that all members would be getting a letter shortly." The CMs may actually know what's going one. Or they may only think they know what's going on.

Pool hopping is a DVC member benefit that costs very little to provide in terms of real, incremental cost. But it helps DVC sell memberships. Some DVC members use the pool hopping benefit; some don't. But it makes all of us feel a little special, as in "here's something only DVC members are allowed to do."

Pool hopping has been restricted in recent years (no pool hopping on certain dates and never to AKL or SAB), but has hasn't been officially discontinued. In fact, the DVC Members Only web site clearly states, "The current pool-hopping program at other Walt Disney World® Resort pools will continue to be available to Members with the exception of certain restricted dates and/or further capacity issues."

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Folks, this is still just a rumor. Two different CMs told one guest that "that pool hopping had been discontinued and that all members would be getting a letter shortly." The CMs may actually know what's going one. Or they may only think they know what's going on.

Pool hopping is a DVC member benefit that costs very little to provide in terms of real, incremental cost. But it helps DVC sell memberships. Some DVC members use the pool hopping benefit; some don't. But it makes all of us feel a little special, as in "here's something only DVC members are allowed to do."

Pool hopping has been restricted in recent years (no pool hopping on certain dates and never to AKL or SAB), but it hasn't been officially discontinued. In fact, the DVC Members Only web site clearly states, "The current pool-hopping program at other Walt Disney World® Resort pools will continue to be available to Members with the exception of certain restricted dates and/or further capacity issues."

 

[eeyore0062]

The end to pool hopping is at Stormalong Bay!

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

2 to start long posts about how DVC is going downhill as never in before.

I'm firing up the old Microsoft Word program right now!

I'll be back!!!

 

[Bob O]

Im sure LB can enlighten me/us but i was under the impression pool hoping was one of the distinct perks for being a member of the DVC and if it is stopped that is more BS from the disney company and another cutback, if true they are treating DVC owners in the same low life manner that people in the town of Celebration have been treated!!

 

[manning]

Did anyone see the post on DVC forum where a CM told a guest that Eisner would be voted out last thursday. Sounds like CM's are having fun.

 

[TiggerFreak]

1992 dvc
Rooms on site 709
Members 2300

2002 dvc
Rooms on site 1478
Members 60000/ approx.

Well so much for our brilliance!
Even though membership increased 3000%, onsite rooms only increased 100%. So the effect of DVC members pool hooping could not be that much greater with only twice as many staying onsite now as in 1992.

Okay more guessing.
1500 rooms with 4 people average per room (remeber just guessing), equals 6000 people. At any given time lets say 5% are swimming, and 25% of those are pool hooping, so 75 people a day pool hop. Now that could put a real strain on resources

Aren't numbers fun

 

[KNWVIKING]

While I have never pool hopped & probably never will,I would hate to see the perk go away for those who do. HOWEVER, I would hate to think that a guest who was staying at the resort was irratated because a bunch of DVC'ers were using their pool. And I'm not neccasarily talking about over crowding. All pools have "prime" locations- shouldn't resort guests be entitled to those areas rather then DVC'ers. Usually there are a limited number of tables around the pool,who should get those. I have no idea how many people pool hop,or how often or where to. But I doubt the perk is costing Disney anything,so why would they want to end it ? Maybe OKW is upset because people pool hop & spend money at the other resorts rather then Olivias or Gurggling Suitcase. Perhaps if Disney ends pool hopping it's because they listened to complaints by cash paying guests, but I really doubt it will be because of penny pinching.

 

[Walt's Frozen Head]

Perhaps if Disney ends pool hopping it's because they listened to complaints by cash paying guests, but I really doubt it will be because of penny pinching.

Pool hopping complaints have their roots in Disney's penny-pinching decision to steal existing pools from deluxe resorts instead of building pools when they build new DVC rooms.

DVC has directly decreased the value of Wilderness Lodge and Yacht and Beach Club stays. Disney damn well knew that at the time, they just thought guests were too dumb or too addicted to notice/complain about the difference.

It turns out that not all of Disney's guests are as dumb or addicted as Disney thought.

The vast majority of Disney's current problems are of their own making, and most of them are due to spending money in short-sighted, margin-maximizing ways rather than long-term, product-maximizing ways.

-WFH

 

[DemoBri1]

WFH,

Please explain how you come to the conclusion that DVC has decreased the value of a stay at WL and YC/BC? I would have thought that adding 1 and 2 bedroom villa rooms to a resort would be an enhancement to the resort.

 

[KNWVIKING]

... the topic is pool hopping. VWL and BCV guests using the Springs and SAB is not pool hopping, we are entitled to use those pools per our contract. One observation I will make: We stayed one time a VWL in Dec. The majority of the people in the spa and the quite pool were WL guests,not DVC'ers, who are not entitled to DVC property.

Pool hopping has been an issue long before VWL or BCV were even built.

 

[Walt's Frozen Head]

DemoBri1:

What DVC "added" to the Wilderness Lodge is more people using the busses, the launches, the nice pool, and the restaurants. Disney took the WL's resources and spread them out over a larger area.

Would you think it was an "enhancement" if Artist Point took half your meal, gave it to a DVC member and still charged you the original price? Would you think it was an "enhancement" if you were staying at Wilderness Lodge and there was a line of DVC members in your room waiting to use your shower?

KNWVIKING:

Sorry, I didn't realize I'd have to explain things to this level of detail to be understood. My mistake.

Pool hopping got to be a problem when Stormalong Bay got so popular that the Y&BC guests complained about the pool crowds. Disney has already outlawed pool hopping for resorts.

Now DVC pool hopping is the problem, because Disney sold more DVC memberships than they built infrastructure to support... and the deluxe guests are complaining, again.

If you insist on ignoring history, you will continue to repeat your mistakes.

And about the spa... didn't you just ***** about the topic being "pool hopping?" Any chance you'd wanna practice what you preach? But, whatever, I understand what you're saying... they shouldn't have been so cheap on the quiet pool and spa options when building the original Wilderness Lodge.

-WFH

 

[KNWVIKING]

.. The way I interpreted your post was that VWL & BCV guests were pool hopping because they only had "quite" pools. My point was they are not pool hopping at the WL and BC pools, they are entitled to use them. As for my spa remark: You stated something to the affect about DVC/Disney cheaping out on our pools. If ours were done so poorly,then why were WL guests going out of their way to get to ours?

From what I've read about pool hopping on the DVC board,the vast majority of hoppers are from OKW for obvious reasons. Not building a "theme" pool at VWL or BCV had little affect on hopping because these guests rearly have need to hop. So if penny pinching caused the problem, then the problem started back in '92 when OKW was built without a theme pool. I don't feel adding VWL or BCV had anything to do with the existing problem.

IMHO, if a theme pool was built at OKW......... never mind,to tired of that debate.

 

[mjstaceyuofm]

Originally posted by Walt's Frozen Head
What DVC "added" to the Wilderness Lodge is more people using the busses, the launches, the nice pool, and the restaurants. Disney took the WL's resources and spread them out over a larger area.

Would you think it was an "enhancement" if Artist Point took half your meal, gave it to a DVC member and still charged you the original price? Would you think it was an "enhancement" if you were staying at Wilderness Lodge and there was a line of DVC members in your room waiting to use your shower?

OK - The DVC portion of the resort is comprised of 136 units (studio, 1 br and 2 br) compared to the 728 rooms at the WL (or roughly 19% of the total resort less the DVC rooms). They added a pool, hot tub and a health club along with the DVC that are available to ALL WL guests - DVC or otherwise. I'd say that adds extra value to the resort in general. Just my opinion though. As far as the other things are concerned:

Busses - No big deal, who's to say that haven't added more busses to the routes with the addition of the DVC?
Launches - Ditto, same thing for the boats - see above.
Nice pool - They added a second pool with a hot tub.
Restaurants - Show me substantial proof that a paying guest has had reservations displaced by a DVC member and maybe you have a point for discussion.

The fact of the matter is half your meal isn't given to DVC members nor do you have DVC members using your shower when you stay there.

Yes, I'm biased being a DVC member and all, but I just don't see myself or my family or any other DVC member bringing down your resort experience all that much nor do I see adding rooms to a resort including additional resources reducing that experience either.

 

[Walt's Frozen Head]

Not building a "theme" pool at VWL or BCV had little affect on hopping because these guests rearly have need to hop

It is not the hoppers that are complaining, it is the deluxe guests being hopped on. OKW DVCers were banned from the WL pool on the basis of "resort pool-hopping" until the Villas, now that pool is fair game, yes? DVC pool hopping means far more traffic at the WL pool than suggested by the number of Villas there, and that's the reason there are complaints.

Actually, I could be wrong about the DVC pool-hopping policy: my assumption was that they were allowed to hop to other DVC pools, which means VWL and BCV opened those pools to all DVC members, not just those staying at the Villas in question.

Of course, if DVC members have always been allowed to hop to non-DVC resort pools, then the crowding problem and complaints should have been even easier to foresee, and represent an even larger and more basic failure on the part of management than I had originally estimated...

Show me substantial proof

I feel no obligation (nor even desire) to "prove" anything to you: you are free to believe whatever you must to hold your world together.

I'm not the one complaining. I'm explaining why the complaints. If I don't "prove" something to your satisfaction, who cares? Do you think guest complaints will stop because those complaints weren't adequately justified to you, by me? I think you vastly overestimate both our spheres of influence.

There are too many people here who think I'm the enemy, and that "beating" me will make some kind of difference. I'm not, and it won't. As long as Disney's focus is somewhere other than their products, there will be complaints. Waste your breath arguing with me all you want, it's not going to change a damn thing at WDW.

-WFH

PS: Pressler is missing a Golden Opportunity... judging from the defensiveness of the reactions so far, I'm thinking pre-wadded panties would be huge sellers at DVC resorts...