Anyone else getting a little annoyed?

[Sammie]

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

Point is you have no "facts" to support your "opinion". You might be able to support your theory based on posted comments on this forum, but that is not fact. It simply means those that do not favor SSR are very vocal on this forum.

There is a huge world outside of this forum.

Your opinions are simply that, your opinion of what makes a resort desirable, there are many that book SSR that would disagree with your take on what makes a resort desirable.

If there is one reason that SSR owners and those that don't own there, but really like the resort, feel the need at times to "defend", it is because those against SSR try to always present their opinion as fact.

That would be similar to me saying that due to the fact that BLT does not appeal to me, it will not be successful, which is of course ludricious.

 

[bobbiwoz]

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%

...

What surprises me is that 49% of the DVC villas are in the condo style resorts!

I do not like it that OKW doesn't have elevators in all of the buildings, but I've gotten first floor or elevator building when we've stayed there. I wish SSR had guaranteed sections available to reserve. Since I don't own at either of them, my opinion may not count as much, but I would be glad to stay at either one, given my needs being met at OKW. I think that both of those resorts are visually appealing to me. I love boat rides and have ridden the canals for the fun of it.

Bobbi

 

[theww228]

That would be similar to me saying that due to the fact that BLT does not appeal to me, it will not be successful, which is of course ludricious.

BLT does not appeal to me either... so look we already have one thing in common!

I would imagine that 1 in 10 members like BLT and that works out well with BLT having 10% of the rooms.

I am not saying that everyone dislikes SSR, I am simply saying that it would seem more plausible that 14% (1/7) of DVC members love SSR not 33%.

Yes, SSR does have some nice features, but I do not think it has something that attracts 1 out of 3.

When David's Point Rental has last minute points available, they are always at OKW and SSR resort only. I have never seen last minutes point available at any other resort. Sorry to muddy the discussion with facts.

 

[Chuck S]

When David's Point Rental has last minute points available, they are always at OKW and SSR resort only. I have never seen last minutes point available at any other resort. Sorry to muddy the discussion with facts.

If you're presenting that site as "proof" for your opinion consider this:

Why in the world would a site that rents DVC units for profit, and has the been added to the contracts of owners as an "associate," giving the site owner access to the DVC owners account to reserve and cancel reservations, reserve rooms at OKW or SSR in the first place if they were not popular locations? If you're saying this person has the ability to reserve from multiple contracts purely on the speculation of renting that reservationin the future, it really makes no sense to make spec reservations at those resorts if those resorts are unpopular, does it?

 

[theww228]

If you're presenting that site as "proof" for your opinion consider this:

Why in the world would a site that rents DVC units for profit, and has the been added to the contracts of owners as an "associate," giving the site owner access to the DVC owners account to reserve and cancel reservations, reserve rooms at OKW or SSR in the first place if they were not popular locations? If you're saying this person has the ability to reserve from multiple contracts purely on the speculation of renting that reservationin the future, it really makes no sense to make spec reservations at those resorts if those resorts are unpopular, does it?

When the points are going as low as $6/pt at SSR I would say the law of supply and demand is alive and working. Let me know when you see points at BCV for $6/pt.

 

[Mississippian]

I don't like SSR, but SSR owners are not to be blamed for owning there. They own what Disney sold them!

The problem, as I've said before, is that it is just too large. 200 units would have been too many. I frequently hear people talk about how wonderful SSR is because it has a spa. Ordinary people don't go to spas, and they certainly don't to to WDW to go to one. I'm not saying a few people don't go, it's just not a mass market thing.

I personally don't believe Disney will ever sell all the SSR units. I don't believe they were ever really sold out in the first place, and they certainly can't manage to sell well in competition with AKV and BLT. They continually get units back at all the resorts, through both ROFR and foreclosure and deed backs, and the latter two are going to be real factors for SSR.

If Disney would just eat some of its loss and reduce the point chart (they could, by not selling some of the slots), then SSR would cost about the same in points as OKW, which is what it should cost. It might not make it people's first choice, but people wouldn't cancel or change their vacation rather than stay there.

 

[Chuck S]

When the points are going as low as $6/pt at SSR I would say the law of supply and demand is alive and working. Let me know when you see points at BCV for $6/pt.

Again, if the points are so undesirable, why would a for profit site use their "associate member" rights to reserve them in the first place?

The only points I see close to $6 on our own rent/trade board are distressed, having to be used by July 31, 2009, and they aren't for SSR.

 

[Alexander]

If you don't like SSR and that is all that is available, then stay home.

 

[Chuck S]

If you don't like SSR and that is all that is available, then stay home.

That would seem to be the simple solution, along with earlier planning.

 

[Mississippian]

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.

Annie,
First of all, you are playing by the rules and are doing nothing wrong. I blame Disney. They know the hot demand is for hotel or semi-hotel resorts located smack dab on top of the amusement parks, and instead they build a humongous resort with terrible transportation and dining issues.

I think it is fair to say that most, NOT ALL, EPCOT, resort owners find SSR undesireable in relation to their home resort. They simply don't want to stay there. Had Disney built in line with demand, it wouldn't really matter if they couldn't get their home resort, because they would just get one of thousands of other rooms that Disney had built within walking distance of the parks.

Of course, Disney didn't build these rooms. They built a spread-out thousand units in Bumfuzz, Egypt with beautiful grounds, a nice swimming pool and a spa. For those who want that, it's great. For those who don't, it's a disaster.

Back before SSR, OKW probably was the least popular. It didn't get criticism, but it was the most available, and there wasn't the terrible imbalance that there is today. If we count VWL as a walking distance resort, then the pre-SSR mix was 60 percent hotel/amusement park/walking distance units, 40 percent spread out condo units. Based on usage patterns, Disney owed it to the members to try to get that ratio more to a 70-30 mix to even out demand.

Instead, they built SSR and threw everything out of whack. And there is going to be no way to make the membership happy over this. SSR is always going to be unwanted step child that gets everyone's dander up.

There is no way to know what AKV will do to the mix. Some of the rooms have hotel amenities, some don't. It's not walking distance, but it's close to AK in the same way that WL is close to MK. It's remote in relation to the most popular parks, but there are only two bus stops, so you don't have to spend all day riding around the resort. So we'll see. My thinking is DVC still needs about 1,000 low-cost hotel-affiliated units with within walking distance to EPCOT or MK to even out the mix.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

I guess I am having a problem with the title of thread referring to being "annoyed" that rooms at many resorts are not available unless they plan well in advance.

When I call to book and cannot get the accomodations I want, I am disappointed, but never annoyed.

I understood that I was purchasing a timeshare when I bought DVC and timeshares by their very nature require more advance planning. (I will always remember my parents taking off for 2 weeks in Costa Rica just after their first grandchild was born because their timeshare had been booked more than 9 months in advance and could not be changed!) To me, this need to book early is one of the nonmonetary costs members pay. While DVC may try to disguise the fact that DVC is a timeshare, certainly no one on these Board can claim to be ignorant.

And I have many helpful members on this Board to thank for giving me the knowledge I needed to buy BWV directly from DVC in 2005 when SSR was the only new resort for sale. Again, thanks to these boards, we maximize our DVC value by booking SV and BW view rooms at our home resort.

My logic for buying BWV vs. SSR was simple: Due to its size, I felt confident that I would have no need for the home resort booking window at SSR, so why buy there? Instead, I bought at a resort where I typically need my home resort booking window for most of the year.

If it wasn't completely true in the past, booking early is the new reality of DVC.

The vast majority of visitors come to WDW for the theme parks. Short of adding a 5th park next to SSR, I don't believe that anything is going to balance demand for this resort simply due to its size. -- Suzanne

 

[theww228]

Again, if the points are so undesirable, why would a for profit site use their "associate member" rights to reserve them in the first place?

Let's say that I have a meat counter and I am selling steaks for $13/lb. I am selling sirloin and T-bone steaks. I am sure that I will sell some of both as some people like sirloin better than a T-bone, however most people will choose the T-bone. If I paid the slaughterhouse $10/lb for the t-bone and $7/lb for the sirloin I am willing to take a risk on not selling the sirloin. I will also discount it when it gets close to be being outdated, probably $6/lb.

Back to my original post, it would have been better if SSR would have been split into 3 smaller resorts with different themes and locations. Think of it as a buffet line that has been stocked for 100 people in the following manner:

# of servings of each entree
18 pork chops
13 lasagna
4 filet mignon
7 veggie stir fry
31 lamb
17 fried chicken
10 fish

There are some people who love lamb and will be very glad to see it on the buffet, but will 1/3 of the people be excited about lamb? If there would be 11 servings of lamb and 10 servings of meatloaf, and 10 servings of turkey it would appeal to a larger group. If someone does not like lamb, then 1/3 of the buffet does not appeal to them. If lamb was only 11 servings, then there would be only 1/10 of the buffet that does not appeal to them.

With SSR being 1/3 of the rooms it seems like a lot of eggs in one basket.

BTW.... can anyone tell that I am starving?

 

[Tara]

Let's say that I have a meat counter and I am selling steaks for $13/lb. I am selling sirloin and T-bone steaks. I am sure that I will sell some of both as some people like sirloin better than a T-bone, however most people will choose the T-bone. If I paid the slaughterhouse $10/lb for the t-bone and $7/lb for the sirloin I am willing to take a risk on not selling the sirloin. I will also discount it when it gets close to be being outdated, probably $6/lb.

Back to my original post, it would have been better if SSR would have been split into 3 smaller resorts with different themes and locations. Think of it as a buffet line that has been stocked for 100 people in the following manner:

# of servings of each entree
18 pork chops
13 lasagna
4 filet mignon
7 veggie stir fry
31 lamb
17 fried chicken
10 fish

There are some people who love lamb and will be very glad to see it on the buffet, but will 1/3 of the people be excited about lamb? If there would be 11 servings of lamb and 10 servings of meatloaf, and 10 servings of turkey it would appeal to a larger group. If someone does not like lamb, then 1/3 of the buffet does not appeal to them. If lamb was only 11 servings, then there would be only 1/10 of the buffet that does not appeal to them.

With SSR being 1/3 of the rooms it seems like a lot of eggs in one basket.

BTW.... can anyone tell that I am starving?

Who knew Sam the Butcher was a poster here?

 

[Lady V]

Well I'll admit it...I own 350 points at SSR and you can tell by siggy that I have stayed in all the DVC with those points. Heck-last year I even used points for The Grand Californian! I always book SSR at 11 months and at 7 months I try to change it. If I can't change it that would be just fine as I really love it there. But-I figure as long as i can change it I will because I know there will be other times I can't. Just playing by the same rules as everyone else!!

 

[Lady V]

very odd that my siggy is not in prior post--expecially when I asked you to look at it!! Hopefully it shows here!! haha

 

[theww228]

Well I'll admit it...I own 350 points at SSR and you can tell by siggy that I have stayed in all the DVC with those points. Heck-last year I even used points for The Grand Californian! I always book SSR at 11 months and at 7 months I try to change it. If I can't change it that would be just fine as I really love it there. But-I figure as long as i can change it I will because I know there will be other times I can't. Just playing by the same rules as everyone else!!

You are playing by the rules. I have no issues with SSR owners who use their points at other resorts. The system has rules and if you play by the rules then why would others be upset. Our family really wanted to stay at VWL so we bought there. I did not want to book at 11 months and then try to switch at 7 months. The DVC is not set up for last minute ressies. Planning out ahead is key.

Please give me a minute to put on my asbestos suit to protect me from the flamers who cannot plan ahead due to "insert excuse here". If you cannot plan out ahead then DVC is probably not the right product for you.

 

[Chuck S]

Let's say that I have a meat counter and I am selling steaks for $13/lb. I am selling sirloin and T-bone steaks. I am sure that I will sell some of both as some people like sirloin better than a T-bone, however most people will choose the T-bone. If I paid the slaughterhouse $10/lb for the t-bone and $7/lb for the sirloin I am willing to take a risk on not selling the sirloin. I will also discount it when it gets close to be being outdated, probably $6/lb.

Back to my original post, it would have been better if SSR would have been split into 3 smaller resorts with different themes and locations. Think of it as a buffet line that has been stocked for 100 people in the following manner:

# of servings of each entree
18 pork chops
13 lasagna
4 filet mignon
7 veggie stir fry
31 lamb
17 fried chicken
10 fish

There are some people who love lamb and will be very glad to see it on the buffet, but will 1/3 of the people be excited about lamb? If there would be 11 servings of lamb and 10 servings of meatloaf, and 10 servings of turkey it would appeal to a larger group. If someone does not like lamb, then 1/3 of the buffet does not appeal to them. If lamb was only 11 servings, then there would be only 1/10 of the buffet that does not appeal to them.

With SSR being 1/3 of the rooms it seems like a lot of eggs in one basket.

BTW.... can anyone tell that I am starving?

But a businessman isn't likely to buy something that he knows will have to be discounted later to sell.

I sure wouldn't want to be the owners that agreed to use that site, giving them access to my account, and paying a percentage fee to the site for $6 per point, even it they were distressed points. If they weren't distressed points, they should have been banked, no?

 

[Anthony1971]

I don't like SSR, but SSR owners are not to be blamed for owning there. They own what Disney sold them!

The problem, as I've said before, is that it is just too large. 200 units would have been too many. I frequently hear people talk about how wonderful SSR is because it has a spa. Ordinary people don't go to spas, and they certainly don't to to WDW to go to one. I'm not saying a few people don't go, it's just not a mass market thing.

I personally don't believe Disney will ever sell all the SSR units. I don't believe they were ever really sold out in the first place, and they certainly can't manage to sell well in competition with AKV and BLT. They continually get units back at all the resorts, through both ROFR and foreclosure and deed backs, and the latter two are going to be real factors for SSR.

If Disney would just eat some of its loss and reduce the point chart (they could, by not selling some of the slots), then SSR would cost about the same in points as OKW, which is what it should cost. It might not make it people's first choice, but people wouldn't cancel or change their vacation rather than stay there.

MY town has 2 Spa's on the same 3 block main strip much less the ones in the malls.
Disney has always done well with the one in GF and smaller services in other resorts. They have spa's on the ships.... The Spa's at Disney are well used while not a reason for most to go to Disney certianly an attraction for a lot to stay at a particular resort like SSR... not everyone goes to Disney to go to the parks everyday there is a lot more to do...

SSR is sold out.
I do not understand the rest of this post it makes no sense.... losses????

 

[castleri]

SSR is sold out.

SSR is currently selling inventory that opened up when they added the THV so I do not believe you can say it is sold out.

 

[theww228]

But a businessman isn't likely to buy something that he knows will have to be discounted later to sell.

I sure wouldn't want to be the owners that agreed to use that site, giving them access to my account, and paying a percentage fee to the site for $6 per point, even it they were distressed points. If they weren't distressed points, they should have been banked, no?

If I could get SSR points for $8 with opportunity to rent them for $13 I would take the gamble. All the ones that I rent for $13 I make $5 profit. If there are some left over that I sell for a $2 loss the $5 profit ones make up for them.

Also, renting your points for $6 does cover your MF's and then some. If someone has lost their job and they are behind on their bills they would be better off to rent thier points to cover their MF's then to bank them for next year.

Back to my original point about about renting points... the site says, "There is only availability at OKW and SSR". It makes it seem obvious that OKW and SSR are not filled and the other resorts are.

Also, on the rent board the SSR are renting for less per point than others, such as BLT.

MY town has 2 Spa's on the same 3 block main strip much less the ones in the malls.
Disney has always done well with the one in GF and smaller services in other resorts. They have spa's on the ships.... The Spa's at Disney are well used while not a reason for most to go to Disney certianly an attraction for a lot to stay at a particular resort like SSR... not everyone goes to Disney to go to the parks everyday there is a lot more to do...

Once again, I am not saying that everyone hates SSR and the features there (spa, golf, DTD, etc.), BUT on an average day there is 44,000 guest that go to the MK alone. I would love to see the line of 44,000 people wainting to get a facial.

I enjoy the fact that I keep getting blasted for using my opinion when I am the only one to give any facts.