Anyone else getting a little annoyed?

[jade1]

you are absolutely correct, but something I think some miss, is the "s" on theme parks, there are 4 parks, and 2 water parks and SSR and OKW are very centrally located to "all" the parks not just one or two.

That is the main draw to us for SSR and OKW, central location to "everything" at WDW including Downtown Disney.

I could see that-if you like DTD and the water parks. We skip all 3 and even AK is only a half day that week for us (especially with the early closing and no night show) so staying at BCV/BWV is ideal (we like EPCOT for dining/Illuminations mostly) and plan to start splitting stays with BLT for our MK visits.

 

[Sammie]

I could see that-if you like DTD and the water parks. We skip all 3 and even AK is only a half day that week for us (especially with the early closing and no night show) so staying at BCV/BWV is ideal (we like EPCOT for dining/Illuminations mostly) and plan to start splitting stays with BLT for our MK visits.

That is what is great about choices, not everyone likes the same thing.

 

[starbox]

I agree, hopefully they will be good quality restaurants, and not a chain that uses pre-seasoned foods to which we have allergies (like the Landry's chains.) Pre-seasoned foods and seasoning packets have taken RFC, Yak & Yeti and T-Rex off our list of places we can eat.

Me too - but thankfully Sanaa is Disney-operated and safe.

 

[DonnaL]

Again, the advice "Buy where you want to stay" comes into play. Our initial purchase was at VWL .....which was and is our favorite ........especially for our January trips. We also own at SSR and have stayed there four times in the past five years (we had developer points also).
However, that said we do enjoy trying the other resorts, also. We are booked for BLT 2 bdrm lockoff first week of January, 2010 booked at exactly the 7 month window......which will mean we've stayed at all WDW DVC resorts during our nine years of ownership (well, not Kidani, but did stay at Jambo). We probably will be looking at some resale points within the next two years (looking forward to retirement) and are leaning toward more VWL or possibly BVW.......since once we retire.....most of our trips will be in January and February (getting away from the cold PA winters) and those two resorts have become our favorites....but, once we do retire and are spending 10 to 14 days at one resort we're also thinking SSR and OKW are the best resorts for longer stays since they both have a more "condo" like feel to them...............

 

[jfinke]

I miss PI but also have outgrown it...
Now like most in my age and having children group we like to eat as we can no longer drink all night
We do not spend our life in the parks been there many times and will be going to them for many years to come and even in the parks dinning is a huge part of Disney. we enjoy the resort and dinning options at them or near them and by far SSR and OKW offer the best options that are close to the resorts and do not require park admission. I also feel there are many dinning options at DTD that are far better than what is in the parks.

Well, we went there to enjoy the comedy club, adventurers club, and the adult only area. My wife does not drink, so we never went hog wild anyways. Not to sidetrack the thread too much, but once they opened the turnstiles, the game was up. Now, there is no area even close to that on property.

 

[Brian Noble]

once they opened the turnstiles, the game was up.

I think this is exactly right.

Unfortunately, the turnstiles were a real problem for guest flow between Marketplace and Westside. I'm guessing that removing them was an important step towards increasing the ROI on the overall property, even though PI ended up dying because of it.

 

[bevis]

I don't buy the "SSR is the problem" argument.
Have those of you complaining about non-availability at high demand resorts at the 7 month window ever considered that maybe the resort you attempt to book is filled with owners of said resort who booked at 11 MONTHS.

We own at BWV. Most of you know how desirable BWV and BCV are almost all year, let alone F&W, Christmas, etc. We always book at 11 months. Period. I don't know with absolute certainty but I would assume most BWV(BCV) owners also book at 11 months. Of course there will be a number of non-BWV owners at BWV at any given time, but I bet it is a small percentage. And I have to say, we did not "learn" this. We thought it through before we purchased several years ago. The saying "buy where you want to stay" came into play for us even before we found the DIS Boards. It just made sense to us to buy into the resort we were most attracted to.

I guess the point is, if we had to ONLY stay at BWV and never another DVC resort, we would perfectly content.

Now I'm ready for the "but we can't plan that far in advance" arguments.

 

[Anal Annie]

No. What I am saying is that research should be done to find out why they don't want to stay there and fix the problem or make additional incentives to make staying there more appealing. I have never stayed at SS but I have stayed at OKW a bunch of times and loved it and I imagine SS is much the same. However, I am not a typical vacationer. I do not have kids and I own 300 points so I am usually going to disney twice a year sometimes with additional family in tow. My wife and I are going in november and turning around to go back in february again and I have invited my mother and sister to go with us.

We purchased at SSR because that was the only resort that was for sale at the time that we bought. We like SSR just fine and prefer it hands down over OKW. We don't "have a problem staying there" however we like to resort hop and stay somewhere different each time that we go so that each trip is as different from the last trip as possible. Because of this open attitude the "buy where you want to stay" mentality was not as important to us. This is not a "problem that needs to be fixed" IMHO. It is our perogative to stay somewhere else if that's what we desire and if we attempt to plan at 7 months and if it's available. We almost always call to book right exactly on the 7 month mark. If we call at any time under that date then I expect to just ask what IS available for the dates we want and we're open to take what we can get, provided we have enough points to do it. I will always have a first, second, third preference in mind tho...just to keep our resort rotation going.

The outlook by many seems to be that if I attempt to plan at 7 months to go to a non-home resort that I am "bumping" an owner there who decides at 3 or 4 months that they want to go. I didn't "take their unit". Last minute ressies is not how the DVC system was designed to work. I don't think I am wrong or that I am putting someone else out onto the street if I can finalize my plans "on time" so to speak and they cannot. I think everyone needs to be a little more flexible if they're calling for a "hot" date or less than 7 months. Get a grip. There is always the next time... I dont' buy the old "there's nothing available except SSR" line.

 

[TDC Nala]

PI is closed because Disney no longer wanted to run it and decided to outsource the area, much as they've done with Downtown Disney at Anaheim (I believe only two establishments there are run by Disney and they're both stores.)

I get "buy where you want to stay" but I don't get the "you should stay where you bought" argument.

 

[Brian Noble]

True, but the reason they no longer want to run it is that it can't return the same $/sq ft as the leased retail/dining locations. I suspect that, prior to eliminating the turnstiles, it came a lot closer to the sort of ROI needed to justify its existence.

 

[Anal Annie]

Whatever. I have gone over this enough times so that if you don't get it by now I am wasting my time. I still see SSR people defending themselves too which boggles the mind.

I just now saw this. What the ???? You attack SSR owners as if you're hoping to put us in our place so that we will ONLY stay at SSR from now on out and you think you will win bonus points ???? You even said in one of your earlier posts that you prefer another resort over your own home resort... How can you POSSIBLY justify this statement???? Of course we will defend ourselves. We have every right to stay wherever we want just as you do as long as there's availability. And it mostly has nothing to do with whether or not we LIKE SSR. It has to do with the fact that we're ALLOWED to and we CAN. It is a benefit of membership to be able to switch up where we stay if there's availability.

 

[Tara]

Whatever. I have gone over this enough times so that if you don't get it by now I am wasting my time. I still see SSR people defending themselves too which boggles the mind.

Perhaps you should consider the possibility that people DO get it and still disagree with you. I fully understand the point you are trying to make, but I do not agree with you.

SSR owners (I am not one) have no need to defend themselves as they are doing nothing wrong.

 

[going/again]

I believe they should find a way to balance demand and if there are SS owners who do not like staying at SS they should find out why and fix it.

If I were to take a guess it would be the isolation factor. No easy access to a variety of restaurants without spending most of your vacation on disney transportation. .

sorry but thats not true its only a 15 minute walk to the crossroads from ssr, more places to eat down there than you need

 

[DisneyFreaks]

I just now saw this. What the ???? You attack SSR owners as if you're hoping to put us in our place so that we will ONLY stay at SSR from now on out and you think you will win bonus points ???? You even said in one of your earlier posts that you prefer another resort over your own home resort... How can you POSSIBLY justify this statement???? Of course we will defend ourselves. We have every right to stay wherever we want just as you do as long as there's availability. And it mostly has nothing to do with whether or not we LIKE SSR. It has to do with the fact that we're ALLOWED to and we CAN. It is a benefit of membership to be able to switch up where we stay if there's availability.

ITA! Thank you for saying it!!

 

[BostonDisneyKid]

Some people love apples and some people love oranges... Just because you love apples doesnt mean you cant also like/love oranges. Every now and then you get a sour apple when you dont expect it, but that doesnt mean you should hate apples because of it.

I intend to stay at all the wdw DVC resorts (AKL in aug and then plan on BLT in the future) and will have stayed at them all. I will continue to do so until a time comes when either I can no longer go to wdw or DVC takes away that ability. If I have to stay at OKW (home resort) every trip to wdw, life will still be grand and I will still feel appreciative and greatful that I am a dvc owner and am able to do so.

As for SSR owers (or others) taking others units... Because there are more of them means nothing to me. If they are smart enough to plan ahead and use the system correctly (11/7 rule), I say more power to them!!! I dont suspect any conspiracys of the SSR owners uniting and taking over another resort (nor could they). I know many people purchased at vero and HHI long ago with no intent of ever staying there and they dont get attacked for this. I dont understand why SSR and its owners takes such a bad rap all the time. If we get waitlisted or blocked out of a resort at 7 months (or less) then thats the breaks. We all knew when we signed the dotted line what we were getting in to and understood the rules. If you didnt, you should have, and its that simple.

I think we should be more appreciative of the fact we have the ability to change resorts and be greatful that we are owners of DVC in general. That perspective seems to be often overloooked and people feel the privilege of ownership is a right or entitlement- BS!!!

 

[Disney Doll]

See bolded

The contract size does nothing to affect demand. 1,000 points spread out among 5 or 50 owners is still 1,000 points. It can book a fixed number of nights regardless of the number of owners. It could affect demand for lower point per night resorts as owners try to maximize their points but I see no other issue.

IMHO, SSR just does not have the appeal the other resorts have. In your opinion. BWV and BCV have Epcot and the Boardwalk. Agreed BCV has the pool. Agreed AKV has the animals and superb themeing. Like the animals, hate the themeing. This would be my last choice of where to stay. WLV and BLT have MK. Don't personally need proximity to MK, I do like the themeing of WLV, don't as much like the themeing of the Contemporary resort area. SSR has downtown but it is so spread out it downtown can be very far away (and does not hold much appeal for me and my family of young ones.) DTD holds a lot of appeal for me and my husband an no kids. OKW is a wonderful place for retired folks (and great point structure). My favorite and home resort x2 contracts and neither DH nor I are retired, although I'd love to be & if I win the lottery I will be.
I have seen the same issues. We have owned at BWV since 98 and the availability of resorts has greatly diminished since SSR has come fully online. I do not begrudge anyone for this. I bought where I wished to vacation (BWV and AKV) The first and best advice I give anyone who asks me about DVC..."Buy where you want to stay" and applauded as my options expanded. I agree Good luck to all reserving where they wish.

Just an addendum....when DH & I were buying, we looked at our options, bought at OKW. Our question to ourselves was "If this program ever changed so that you could only stay at your home resort, could we always be happy here at OKW?". For us, the answer was yes, so we were OK with buying there and happily stay there to this day. I am also happy to try other resorts, but if I am told "All we have is OKW available" it's OK with us.

 

[Disney Doll]

I think the biggest change that has occurred in the last 6-8 years is DVC being exposed to the Internet age. Whenever we message board denizens offer advice to current or prospective members, the message is always are always the same:

* Buy where you want to stay
* Book right at 11 months
* If you want to book a non-Home resort, call right at 7 months

I would add

*Be willing to waitlist

I have gotten waitlisted choices literally the day before I was leaving on my trip. It does hapen.

 

[Disney Doll]

OKW is a wonderful place for retired folks (and great point structure).

I take offense to this.... My dear departed SIL was one of the first to buy into OKW. She was two yrs older than I am. I'm now 43. While we were staying @ OKW last yr we took the DVC tour & had the option of AK or OKW. We decided on OKW. It's a place we prefer over other properties.
BTW, since joining 17 months ago we've already gone 13 times. Not bad for non-retired people.

Plus not that long ago they put that nice slide into the main pool near the children's...oops, I mean "retired folks" play area.

It's a bit tough for us retirees to get our walkers onto the slide, but we manage.

 

[Disney Doll]

See bolded

Actually, the problem wouldn’t be the same if Disney built 2-3 resorts with different themes and locations. I have no desire to stay at SSR and would get a cash reservation for a different resort before I would use my points at SSR. Let’s just say that there are 900 rooms at SSR. If SSR was built with 300 rooms and there was another DVC built with 300 rooms located on bay lake with a European theme and another 300 room resort built next to BB with a ski lodge theme there would be different choices of where to stay. I would maybe try to other 2 resorts. The THV have added a little variety to SSR, but overall it is pretty much the same.

I am not sure why Disney built the largest DVC resort with no main “draw”.

BLT is close the MK and on the monorail Don't have kids, no need to be close to MK, cna ride the monrail whether I am staying at BLT or not.
WLV have a strong theme, close to MK Agree that I love their theme, no need for me to be close to MK
BCV close to Epcot & DHS, SAB Agree
BWV close to Epcot & DHS, Boardwalk Agree
AKV close to AK, savannah views, concierge Don't care about AK that much. If it is a short trip, AK is the park we usually skip, savannah views are neat, but how long can you look at a zebra before it starts to get boring, concierge doesn't interest me, and I hate the themeing...that African thing is just not my thing.
OKW has low points, bigger rooms, 2 beds in studio LOVE OKW!!!
What is the draw to SSR? DTD? Seems like a weak draw to me. "To me" being the operative words in your post. DTD is a weak draw to you. To me, it is a big draw, as is the ability to be on a golf course and have a lovely spa opportunity, and be close to being able to get off WDW property (gasp) if I so desire.

I am not complaining if SSR members book outside of their home resort (I would too if that was my home resort).

My philosophy is that Disney wanted to grow the DVC after OKW and they knew that they needed rooms in the locations that people wanted to stay (BC, BW, WL, AKL). After building these desirable locations then they could build SSR and draw people in with, “you can stay at all these other places”. Then they needed to boost the system with BLT to spark some new interest in DVC. They are saving the poly DVC for the future for the ultimate adrenaline shot to the DVC system. Poly wouldn't interest me a bit.

 

[theww228]

See bolded

OKW - 761 Max. Available Rooms

BWV - 532 Max. Available Rooms
VWL - 181 Max. Available Rooms
BCV - 282 Max. Available Rooms
SSR - 1320 Max. Available Rooms
AKV - 708 Max. Available Rooms.
BLT - 428 Max. Available Rooms

okw 761 18%
bwv 532 13%
vwl 181 4%
bcv 282 7%
ssr 1320 31%
akv 708 17%
blt 428 10%

Point is that SSR has about 1/3 of all DVC rooms and the "things" (spa, golf, DTD, condo style, etc) does not strongly appeal to 1/3 of the DVC members. I do see where 1 out of 5 members would be interest in AKV, that seems reasonable even thought I have very little desire to stay there. It does seem that more than 1 in 25 members would enjoy VWL.

Once again not everyone likes the same things. You stated that you do not like the poly, but I imagine that there would be a bunch of people that would be very excited it about a poly DVC. Would a 1/3 of the members be excited? Maybe, but there would be more members excited by a poly DVC than the SSR resort.