Anyone else getting a little annoyed?

[rowbear]

I have been a dvc member for 8 years and now that saratoga springs has come around it seems like unless I book a vacation well in advance only OKW and SS are available. I always go in the off times and until SS was built I never had a problem booking a vacation even a couple of months out.

1) I am not sure why DVC only properties are treated this way. I love staying at OKW but like everyone it is nice to have a little variety. I actually prefer OKW to my home property of Wilderness Lodge.

2) If this trend continues shouldn't they do something to make staying at DVC only properties more appealing to the average vacationer so it balances out demand a little better?


One thing that I have suggested a number of times by comment card is having dinner buses so we don't have to do double hops to get to other property restaurants. Since it would not be feasible to bus to all the properties every night they could have a rotating schedule so you could pick from 3 or 4 properties every night.

 

[hakepb]

I do believe SSR and OKW are the largest DVC properties. Larger usually means more availability in many areas of life. Pro Sports teams have realized that somewhat smaller stadiums usually sell more total tickets than the "old" 60's/70's mega seating multi-use arenas. Because smaller sadiums mean a game might sell out, so you better plan in advance and plan/buy a ticket early. With the huge stadiums, people would always think "there's always going to be a walk-up seat", procrastinate, and never come, thus lower season attendance in a larger stadium..
...And, of course OKW and SSR are not "hotel-style" and are not adjacent to a theme park.... Some argue that guaranteed views/sections may help SSR (Some love one SSR section and dis-like the others, so they do not risk a "dis-like" and choose another DVC)

Your rotating "dinner bus" idea is really, really interesting! Personally, I would prefer a Breakfast bus, but same principal. Such an idea would require a "set-in-stone", regular schedule (so users could remember it), and probably only an M (MK area?)-W(EPCOT area)-F(AK and?) schedule. A "killer" addition to the service would be a small block of seating times for those DVC bus users...

Unfortunately DVC just "killed" the quicker boat service from SSR-OKW (as now there is a THV/SSR boat and an OKW-only boat) Personally, I think DVC never sold the nice SSR boat service, but i also suffered by not operating as reliability as the EPCOT Frinedship boats)

 

[rowbear]

But what is happening is that people have bought into SS but are not staying there and since that is such a huge property it is getting harder and harder to stay at places like the boardwalk. There was a time I never had to worry about booking 7 months in advance and could take last minute (2 months in advance or so) and stay just about anywhere I wanted because I always went in the really slow times of year.

Why breakfast? Disney serves the same stale breakfast food almost everywhere. There are some exceptions but not many.

 

[hakepb]

why Breakfast?
I cannot have a WDW trip without a Mickey Waffle.
I love to start the day with a "proper meal."
Character Breakfasts are wonderful family experiences.
It is also a great cost-savings idea to eat a sit down breakfast (or lunch)instead of a sit-down dinner.
While, sure, there are many similiar items (which is helpful when you have plain, picky eaters), I like to focus on the few unique items like a different sausage, variety of French toast (some time, I'll have to have a French Toast "tour"), carved meat...

..and to help your problem, it is too difficult/time consuming to have a proper breakfast at SSR (AP i not really "proper" and is always packed in the AM), so you have to do a multiple bus hop (plan an hour) to get to most decent breakfasts... If you book another resort, you can sleep in longer before that breakfast ADR

 

[5forDiz]

But what is happening is that people have bought into SS but are not staying there and since that is such a huge property it is getting harder and harder to stay at places like the boardwalk. There was a time I never had to worry about booking 7 months in advance and could take last minute (2 months in advance or so) and stay just about anywhere I wanted because I always went in the really slow times of year.

Why breakfast? Disney serves the same stale breakfast food almost everywhere. There are some exceptions but not many.

So what are you saying, SSR owners should be mandated to stay at SSR because it is a larger resort - why ? You yourself said you prefer another resort over your HR.

Sometimes booking at 7 mos or less works out and other times not - nothing new there & maybe you've been far more lucky than most in previous years. Also, there is thread here in past couple of days that members have been booking DVC resorts for August past week or two and not just SSR or OKW. ETA - here is link to thread & waitlists coming through too (particularly Post 1,6,7,12.13)

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2211631


Best wishes, hope things go well when you call to book.

 

[drusba]

The plain fact is that SSR is the 800 pound gorilla in the room. OKW is the second largest resort but when it was OKW and BWV and then also BCV and VWL, there were not huge issues with being able to get BWV, BCV or VWL less than exactly 7 months out most times of year (back in the late 90s I could still get Easter time at BWV at 6 months out). Most OKW owners bought because that is where they preferred staying and majority still do and thus they did not create a huge 7 month demand for other resorts and OKW actually had some demand going from other resorts to it at 7 months out because of the significantly lower points and much larger 1 and 2BRs.

SSR now makes up about 1/3 of all owners and it is well known that Disney sold SSR more than other resort with the speil that the owners could easily stay elsewhere and many bought there without the intent of staying there much if at all. Net effect is that we now have a huge demand right at the seven month window for anything open at BCV, VWL or BWV. Even AKV is affected although on a lesser scale. But you don't have any significant demand going the other way at 7 months out -- owners at BWV, BCV, VWL, or AKV aren't clamoring for SSR. That has led to more and more dates being more difficult to get at any time less than 7 months out at places other than SSR or OKW and at the same time has led to more owners at BWV, BCV and VWL, and even AKV making their reservations further and further out with the 11 month window rather than risking waiting, with the result that at times even owners can't get what they want at their own resort 8 months out.

 

[rowbear]

why Breakfast?
I cannot have a WDW trip without a Mickey Waffle.
I love to start the day with a "proper meal."
Character Breakfasts are wonderful family experiences.
It is also a great cost-savings idea to eat a sit down breakfast (or lunch)instead of a sit-down dinner.
While, sure, there are many similiar items (which is helpful when you have plain, picky eaters), I like to focus on the few unique items like a different sausage, variety of French toast (some time, I'll have to have a French Toast "tour"), carved meat...

..and to help your problem, it is too difficult/time consuming to have a proper breakfast at SSR (AP i not really "proper" and is always packed in the AM), so you have to do a multiple bus hop (plan an hour) to get to most decent breakfasts... If you book another resort, you can sleep in longer before that breakfast ADR

I prefer to have breakfast in the room. We hit the Kona cafe for 1 breakfast every trip and occasionally we eat at the concourse steakhouse (aka the wave) but those are the only two I like. Disney breakfasts are just so bland and I don't know who told them whatever that hideous stuff they tried to sell me as gravy at the whispering canyon but BLECH.

 

[Chuck S]

But it isn't just SSRs overall size and number of room, it is also the sheer additional numbers of DVC owners.

Say, for example, that 50% of all the various DVC owners want to stay at WDW sometime in December. They dropped the minimum buy in to 150 points a few years ago from the original 230. So if a resort has 5 million points to sell, it can now mean you'll be competing for those date with nearly 6,000 additional owners, simply because each owner, on average, now owns fewer points, making for MORE owners overall.

Now if DVC continues the trend of building and selling offsite resorts, even in popular areas, you can bet the situation will continue to get worse as far as WDW bookings.

The size of SSR may be a factor in the equation, but there are many other contributing factors, too.

And isn't there already an early bus to the parks for character breakfast meals?

 

[hakepb]

And isn't there already an early bus to the parks for character breakfast meals?

I was more talking about going from SSR to Boma, Cape May, Ohana and Chef Mickys that always requre multiple bus/monorail hops... (unless you know of an easier Disney Transport way)

(I've heard earlier, pre-park-opening busses exist, but I refuse to adjust to the "earlier" Eastern wake-up time zone on vacation..)

 

[starbox]

Well - I just called for last minute studio reservations for next week (July 6-10). VWL was open all week, AKV Concierge level was open the Monday after the 4th. VB had studio and GVIR.

Nothing at SSR or OKW.

 

[Sammie]

But it isn't just SSRs overall size and number of room, it is also the sheer additional numbers of DVC owners.

Exactly DVC could have built 2 or 3 resorts with the same number of rooms as SSR and the problem would be the same.

 

[Chuck S]

I was more talking about going from SSR to Boma, Cape May, Ohana and Chef Mickys that always requre multiple bus/monorail hops... (unless you know of an easier Disney Transport way)

(I've heard earlier, pre-park-opening busses exist, but I refuse to adjust to the "earlier" Eastern wake-up time zone on vacation..)

SSR to AKL/AKV for Boma and Jiko can be a problem. The others you've listed are pretty easy, if it is during park operating hours. For Ohana or Chef Mickey, bus to MK, then resort monorail to Contemporary or Poly. For Cape May, bus to Studios, then boat to Y&BC.

If the parks are closed, I'd probably take a taxi, even though it would be an expense. I hate transferring at DtD. But we almost always have a car, no matter where we stay.

 

[3 Hobbits 2 Disney]

To the OP: I am an SSR owner; I bought where I wanted to stay. While I may try Kidani at some point, I have no interest in any of the other WDW DVCs so I hereby "deed" you all of my stays elsewhere.

SSR owners enjoy their home resort but some owners may like to try elsewhere -- and then get add-on disease and buy elsewhere -- as is their right.

Frankly I am getting tired of the "It's SSR's fault it's too....fill in the blank." We bought later than you did in the Disney sales cycle but guess what...some of us were too young to buy in to OKW. Things change and evolve, some times for the better, some times for the worse -- it all depends on your perspective.

My perspective is that a day at "home" is almost better than a day anywhere else.

 

[Chuck S]

Exactly DVC could have built 2 or 3 resorts with the same number of rooms as SSR and the problem would be the same.

Yes indeed. It is a numbers game. It just seems to have been SSR that tipped the scale, but in reality, all new DVC construction, along with lower initial buy-in requirements, add to the 7 month booking window backlog.

 

[rowbear]

So what are you saying, SSR owners should be mandated to stay at SSR because it is a larger resort - why ? You yourself said you prefer another resort over your HR.

Sometimes booking at 7 mos or less works out and other times not - nothing new there & maybe you've been far more lucky than most in previous years. Also, there is thread here in past couple of days that members have been booking DVC resorts for August past week or two and not just SSR or OKW. ETA - here is link to thread & waitlists coming through too (particularly Post 1,6,7,12.13)




Best wishes, hope things go well when you call to book.

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.

 

[rowbear]

To the OP: I am an SSR owner; I bought where I wanted to stay. While I may try Kidani at some point, I have no interest in any of the other WDW DVCs so I hereby "deed" you all of my stays elsewhere.

SSR owners enjoy their home resort but some owners may like to try elsewhere -- and then get add-on disease and buy elsewhere -- as is their right.

Frankly I am getting tired of the "It's SSR's fault it's too....fill in the blank." We bought later than you did in the Disney sales cycle but guess what...some of us were too young to buy in to OKW. Things change and evolve, some times for the better, some times for the worse -- it all depends on your perspective.

My perspective is that a day at "home" is almost better than a day anywhere else.

But you can imagine that those of us who bought in earlier have gotten used to things working a certain way and now the value of what we purchased is being impacted. It doesn't help that disney reserves a portion of OUR rooms to sell to the general public and will not let you have it on points but someone from the outside can buy them. Now we not only have to compete with the general public but a huge new population of owners.

 

[El&Asmom]

SSR owners enjoy their home resort but some owners may like to try elsewhere -- and then get add-on disease and buy elsewhere -- as is their right.

Frankly I am getting tired of the "It's SSR's fault it's too....fill in the blank." We bought later than you did in the Disney sales cycle but guess what...some of us were too young to buy in to OKW. Things change and evolve, some times for the better, some times for the worse -- it all depends on your perspective.

Yea, it's been a while since there was a good, "it's all SSRs fault I can never make a reservation thread".
We too are too young to have bought in at the older resorts. SSR and then AKV were being offered when we bought in. We chose SSR because of the lower dues. Is it our "first" choice for a reservation? Probably not. But we're more than happy to play by the rules and book at SSR at 11m, and see what else is available elsewhere if we choose to try out somewhere else at 7 months. If nothing is available, fine we're happy at SSR. By doing this, and often just calling a few months in advance, we have been able to stay at every DVC property on site except AKV which we are now booked for in January.

I just have a hard time understanding why people are so upset about not getting reservations. We all play by the same rules. We book at our home resort, and everyone gets the same shot at 7 months out.

 

[yitbos96bb]

But what is happening is that people have bought into SS but are not staying there and since that is such a huge property it is getting harder and harder to stay at places like the boardwalk. There was a time I never had to worry about booking 7 months in advance and could take last minute (2 months in advance or so) and stay just about anywhere I wanted because I always went in the really slow times of year.

Why breakfast? Disney serves the same stale breakfast food almost everywhere. There are some exceptions but not many.

Yes, well tickets used to cost half of what they are now. Things change. Adapt, or stay at SSR or OKW. Its as simple as that. SSR added many new owners. Many will be added with Hawaii. Some with GCV. The program is expanding. The whole point of a home resort is you have that advantage to book there before anyone else. After 7 months, its open for everyone. Simple as that. If you don't like SSR or OKW, then start making reservations before 7 months at your home resort, OR Make them right around 7 months. I can usually get one of my top 2 choices at 7 months.

 

[rowbear]

Yea, it's been a while since there was a good, "it's all SSRs fault I can never make a reservation thread".
We too are too young to have bought in at the older resorts. SSR and then AKV were being offered when we bought in. We chose SSR because of the lower dues. Is it our "first" choice for a reservation? Probably not. But we're more than happy to play by the rules and book at SSR at 11m, and see what else is available elsewhere if we choose to try out somewhere else at 7 months. If nothing is available, fine we're happy at SSR. By doing this, and often just calling a few months in advance, we have been able to stay at every DVC property on site except AKV which we are now booked for in January.

I just have a hard time understanding why people are so upset about not getting reservations. We all play by the same rules. We book at our home resort, and everyone gets the same shot at 7 months out.

It is not SSRs fault it is Disney's fault and if this trend continues on its current pace it is going to get harder and harder to have any variety and since that is a selling point they need to fix it. At the very least they need to stop blocking off our available rooms to sell to the general public. That always gets my blood pressure up when I think of it.

 

[Steve@BWV]

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. BWV and BCV have Epcot and the Boardwalk. BCV has the pool. AKV has the animals and superb themeing. WLV and BLT have MK. 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.) OKW is a wonderful place for retired folks (and great point structure).

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) and applauded as my options expanded. Good luck to all reserving where they wish.