Bad experience I read about that makes me question buying DVC

[bakerworld]

In 12 years of membership we've never been upgraded or left without a room. Both pre and post DVC we've waited hours for our room to be ready and have been sent to a room that was already occupied, as in people in the bed. In the case of being offered another room, I would've pressed for a walkable location rather than the Riviera or Treehouse (although I've always wanted to stay in the Treehouses).

 

[RoseGold]

Both pre and post DVC we've waited hours for our room to be ready and have been sent to a room that was already occupied, as in people in the bed

Dear muses. I really need to start traveling with that door stopper alarm again... Between this and the aggressive check out day housekeeping.

Never seen either at any other hotel.

 

[Marionnette]

Dear muses. I really need to start traveling with that door stopper alarm again... Between this and the aggressive check out day housekeeping.

Never seen either at any other hotel.

I used to travel for business and walking into an occupied room happened to me more than once. Fortunately, no one was in bed or coming out of the shower but it's still unnerving for both parties.

 

[PinkPixel]

One other big difference for us was they called us at around noon saying there would be a problem and asked if we would accept the room change. Waiting until 5:45 and then finding out they won't have a room for you is a terrible guest experience. I suspect the lack of in-resort upgrade availability probably contributed to the late decision that the room wouldn't be available, but they need to make those decisions, and communicate them, earlier.

What would have happened if you didn't accept the room change? I agree being notified earlier allows time for the change to be processed instead of on arrival. We fly from CT so we would be in the air at that point, but interested what the other option was.

 

[tjkraz]

Interesting to me that with 4000+ DVC villas at Walt Disney World, the only two options offered were a Tower Studio or Treehouse Villa. Two of the most unique / sought after DVC accommodations at WDW.

Not that it's germane to the topic but makes me wonder if the CM didn't think they were doing poster a favor by offering such unique options. Unless your party is really suited for the treehouses (large group including small kids for bunk beds; looking for that back woods feel), I suspect most people would prefer a One Bedroom at SSR with the larger points refund.

 

[Brian Noble]

What would have happened if you didn't accept the room change?

What do you mean by this? Do you mean waiting until the room you booked is ready? If so, you might be waiting until tomorrow, unless you want to bunk with another family. If there isn't a room for you for some unexpected reason, there isn't a room.

I get why you are concerned about this. But I suspect the odds of it happening are somewhere between "Hit by lightning" and "Was rear-ended while driving." There are many more things that can go wrong with a Disney vacation, whether you are using DVC points or renting a cash room.

In general, Disney is an average hotelier/timeshare operator, and while they are not e.g. Marriott, they do a decent job. The pixie-dust-fueled/never-say-no guest service ethos also means that if you don't like the options you are offered they will do what they can to find something different.

 

[Minniesgal]

What would have happened if you didn't accept the room change? I agree being notified earlier allows time for the change to be processed instead of on arrival. We fly from CT so we would be in the air at that point, but interested what the other option was.

If you re being given a room change it is a rare problem because something is really wrong with a room and can't be fixed quickly, At this point you don't have the option not to accept.

 

[Sandisw]

What would have happened if you didn't accept the room change? I agree being notified earlier allows time for the change to be processed instead of on arrival. We fly from CT so we would be in the air at that point, but interested what the other option was.

If they offered you something because your room is no available due to an energy and you simply decline what they can give you the points reservation would be canceled and you are be out a room. They may even say you have to forfeit the points as reservations canceled day off forfeit then all.

They may agree to return the points but in holding status which means they are restricted.

While many have shared how rare it is, it is a possibility and if you decide DVC is right for you would need ti accept it as something that happens.

 

[sethschroeder]

The 1BR at VGC is fantastic (to my standards anyway).

For a week in October:
1BR - 291 points
Studio - 148 points
2BR - 390 points

So you are talking about a 143 point uplift to get a 1BR but only 99 points to go from 1BR to 2BR.

So I don't view that as properly priced. The room can be great but I am not talking about that I am talking about how the pricing falls. As an example if Disney was properly balancing the charts it would be flipped where getting to a 1BR would only be an extra 100 points and going up to a 2BR from 1BR would be the 150 point uplift range.

Also each resort is a little better or worse with how inflated the 1BR point chart is.

PS - they will never fix it because its a sneaky way to build in extra points to the resort that actually don't exist so that means there are empty rooms that Disney can claim and sell for cash.

 

[PinkPixel]

What do you mean by this? Do you mean waiting until the room you booked is ready? If so, you might be waiting until tomorrow, unless you want to bunk with another family. If there isn't a room for you for some unexpected reason, there isn't a room.

I get why you are concerned about this. But I suspect the odds of it happening are somewhere between "Hit by lightning" and "Was rear-ended while driving." There are many more things that can go wrong with a Disney vacation, whether you are using DVC points or renting a cash room.

In general, Disney is an average hotelier/timeshare operator, and while they are not e.g. Marriott, they do a decent job. The pixie-dust-fueled/never-say-no guest service ethos also means that if you don't like the options you are offered they will do what they can to find something different.

Thank you!

 

[Dis Runner]

My friends and I had a one night stay in a 2 Bedroom Villa at the Grand Floridian last year. The previous guests accidentally opened the door too quickly, and they apparently made a massive hole in the wall. I got a call from the Grand Floridian concierge, and they gave us a free upgrade to the Roy Disney suite. It was an absolutely awesome experience.

I've only had one negative experience with Member Services. They lost a few rooms that I booked for 9 people, and they tried to tell me that nothing could be done. I pushed back hard, and they were able to pull those rooms from the cash inventory. Of course, I was respectful the whole time and reiterated that it wasn't the Cast Member's fault. I think some people get "softballed" and don't know how to navigate other options.

 

[limace]

I’m not a huge RIV fan but I would also have been super upset in the situation posted here-if I was planning on a romantic luxurious vacation in the lovely 1 bdrm at the RIV with all the nearby amenities (Skyliner! Maybe dinner at Epcot!) and the only two options they could give me in all of WDW were a tiny tower studio or a treehouse-which is great for a completely different vacation type-yeah, that’s not great.

 

[ehh]

What would have happened if you didn't accept the room change? I agree being notified earlier allows time for the change to be processed instead of on arrival. We fly from CT so we would be in the air at that point, but interested what the other option was.

I didn't ask.

I don't totally agree with the various 'them's the breaks' cancellations/forfeiture/etc. takes above. In my case, I suspect they would 'get back to me' and potentially ask others if they'd be willing to take the upgrade. Another advantage of asking/informing early (in my case, noon) is the resort can increase their odds of finding someone willing to accept the change. They probably didn't have that option at 5:45, or had already exhausted the list (hopefully not).

I think Riviera management definitely bungled this, especially compared to my experience with AKV. Finding someone to more happily accept the change is especially important when the options are in the downgrade spectrum, as was the case for this guest, and asking/informing earlier could have helped find the right match.

 

[kboo]

I have found that DVC tries its best to make things right. So I can't see them saying to you "sorry, you're outside of your banking window on these points so you lose them." They can and do make exceptions for things, especially if they are at fault. Also you might also ask for some anytime LL passes or a comped Genie+ day for your trouble if you are super inconvenienced (eg. going from a walkable resort to one that you bus to plus a downgrade in room). Worse they can say is no, but you may get lucky, especially if you are polite and understanding about things.

My cautionary tale though is the one and only time we had a mishap with the bungalows we ended up at CCV in a 3BD and now I desperately want (but can't afford at the moment) CCV points as well to be able to stay there again. DVC upgrades can be dangerous...

I used to travel for business and walking into an occupied room happened to me more than once. Fortunately, no one was in bed or coming out of the shower but it's still unnerving for both parties.

I have had one Disney cash stays and one DVC stay that had slight snafus; in both instances Disney made it right. (also had 2 other stays where we were free-upgraded, once from a studio to a 1br, and once from a standard to preferred view)

1. Grand Floridian, lagoon view, hotel side - we walked into an occupied room (got room ready alert AND our magic bands opened the door). Eek. They put us in another room that had clearly seen better days (threadbare couch and carpet, and it was dusty and dirty). I gently complained and they said, so sorry, but we are completely full tonight, but we can move you tomorrow? I said, we had a whole day planned tomorrow and it would be a pain to move, but ok, because we would prefer not to stay in this sad room. They comped us some anytime FPs (back in the paper days), helped us move, and refunded us for 1.5 nights.

2. last winter several of us got Covid on our 2nd to last day at Riviera. We ended up leaving a day early and the front desk (Riviera) helped us cancel all our meal reservations without penalty and canceled our last night and refunded our points without putting them into holding.

Agreeing with @theMoreDisneytheBetter, I wouldn't necessarily expect a return of more points than the point difference, but LL passes or some other credit (food and bev?) might be possible. I've definitely had that happen at non-Disney hotels where the hotel was just plain out of rooms and did nothing to find me another place, or gave me a rather crummy room (arguably not what I had booked) because I was checking in late and the pickings were slim.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

I’m not a huge RIV fan but I would also have been super upset in the situation posted here-if I was planning on a romantic luxurious vacation in the lovely 1 bdrm at the RIV with all the nearby amenities (Skyliner! Maybe dinner at Epcot!) and the only two options they could give me in all of WDW were a tiny tower studio or a treehouse-which is great for a completely different vacation type-yeah, that’s not great.

Nobody ever linked the FB DVC group where the original complaint originates, but from what OP posted it sounds like mother and son for one or 2 days. Hardly a romantic luxurious vacation, more like try out the new Riviera. But as I say, I never saw the original source material, so may misunderstand.
I also think tjkraz makes a very interesting point.

 

[limace]

I saw the original post and my memory was son and his gf-mother was posting. I could be wrong though.

 

[vacay77]

For a week in October:
1BR - 291 points
Studio - 148 points
2BR - 390 points

So you are talking about a 143 point uplift to get a 1BR but only 99 points to go from 1BR to 2BR.

So I don't view that as properly priced. The room can be great but I am not talking about that I am talking about how the pricing falls. As an example if Disney was properly balancing the charts it would be flipped where getting to a 1BR would only be an extra 100 points and going up to a 2BR from 1BR would be the 150 point uplift range.

Also each resort is a little better or worse with how inflated the 1BR point chart is.

PS - they will never fix it because its a sneaky way to build in extra points to the resort that actually don't exist so that means there are empty rooms that Disney can claim and sell for cash.

It depends on when you go and for how many nights you stay. We stay 4 nights. We got a 1 BR for a little over 150 points for a stay in Oct and a 2 BR in June for something like 220 points (I don’t remember the exact amount). So for us, it works out. Again, it is a subjective standard. In any case, I misunderstood your original comment since I thought you meant one bedrooms weren’t worth it.

 

[Sandisw]

Nobody ever linked the FB DVC group where the original complaint originates, but from what OP posted it sounds like mother and son for one or 2 days. Hardly a romantic luxurious vacation, more like try out the new Riviera. But as I say, I never saw the original source material, so may misunderstand.
I also think tjkraz makes a very interesting point.

I did read it and the mom was not there. The only piece is that we know is the tower and treehouse was offered..and with a group of two, it does make sense to present it if that is all they could move them to to keep them at RIV.

 

[PinkPixel]

To continue my random reporting on anecdotal accounts from FB, today I read someone and other posters complained that a dvc reservation was moved from a Poly studio, to a cash Poly theme park view room. Party of 5 (which to me is too big for either, but I understand that many and most max out occupancy.) This seems like a great upgrade for that room, the cash room is usually sold out and frequently not available for discounts most of the year and often over $1k a night, ( I've booked it, and love the view). So goes to show how complicated room preference and customer satisfaction is.

 

[Sandisw]

To continue my random reporting on anecdotal accounts from FB, today I read someone and other posters complained that a dvc reservation was moved from a Poly studio, to a cash Poly theme park view room. Party of 5 (which to me is too big for either, but I understand that many and most max out occupancy.) This seems like a great upgrade for that room, the cash room is usually sold out and frequently not available for discounts most of the year and often over $1k a night, ( I've booked it, and love the view). So goes to show how complicated room preference and customer satisfaction is.

I read it to and it was another case of a room with an issue..broken bed so they needed to be moved.

Because Poly had cash room that was open, they got something there. But shows that when they can keep you in something similar or better at the same resort they do.