Boardwalk pool down - no discounts?

[msjprincess]

When you go into the online booking page, there is a list of renovation projects planned for each resort. Over the last couple of years, the list has been maintained quite well. But for whatever reason, the BWV pool closure is not listed. (The BoardWalk pool slide also closed rather abruptly for maintenance back in the fall of 2015. It happens.)

The notes are typically listed on the main page for each resort on the site as well.

Oh okay, never mind. I misunderstood what he meant by pool schedules.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

VWL owners have been without one of their pools for a year now.

 

[bobbiwoz]

VWL owners have been without one of their pools for a year now.

True, and it was my preferred pool at the resort.

 

[crisi]

Suck it up and just enjoy? What if this happens to you? Mialias is totally right to be upset. Not having the feature pool is huge. It's easy to be armchair happy when someone else's trip is ruined. But if it was yours you'd be fighting for your rights.

As to there being no guarantee the pool will be open... that's bogus. Hours and schedules were printed on the Disney site months in advance. They advertise a pool, you secure a pool view room, you get a pool. If they can't deliver on what you reserved then they compensate. Access to an alternate pool is okay, but not enough. If this happened to us my DW would be down there at the desk getting whatever we felt was fair.

I'm genuinely disappointed for the OP, but also at the people saying to just accept this last minute change so happily. Yes you make the best of your trip and make it great... but you also pursue fair compensation like a bulldog. I have to wonder if you would just enjoy when you show up somewhere and the feature item you went for isn't there and you'd just be like "oh well, we knew it wasn't guaranteed so that's cool".

As a start, a fair compensation might be a $20 food voucher or 1 any-ride FP+ per day, plus BC pool access.

Its happened to us twice in fifteen years. It doesn't ruin our trip. We either use the community pools or hop over to SAB. At some point the pools need to close for maintenance. I'd rather have no pool once every seven years than a pool that hasn't seen a draining and cleaning ever, where the pool slide is cracked and in need of repainting, is surrounded with cracked tile, and the filter broke two years ago.

 

[Sammie]

Have to agree with Crisi. Hotels never close so rehabs will always inconvenience someone. I figure in January a pool being out of service is almost expected. If there were no other options, it would be different, but there are.

 

[MrInfinity]

I love making the most of a challenging situation... it's one thing we do best. And we've dealt w far worse than the lack of a pool on trips... But the OP was still justified in her frustration and expectation that Disney make them feel good about the value they got out of their stay. They are, after all ~the customer~. Who is anyone else to say... "it happened to me and I did this so you should be happy w it yourself". I'm not going to sit here and tell an upset stranger that they're wrong and they should really smile about it because it's normal to have your pool unexpectedly closed (when the norm is to post extended closures in advance) for your entire trip -- because it's not... It's not at Disney, it's not anywhere.

@MIALIAS , I hope your trip is wonderful, but at the same time, I get it. Good luck. Moving on...

 

[crisi]

Mr. Infinity,

First off, you were the one who ASKED how we'd feel if it happened to us. We told you. We don't let it ruin our trip. Are we disappointed - some of us are (especially when you managed to book BCV specifically for SAB - only to discover it is closed), but it certainly doesn't "ruin our trip."

As for being the customer - welcome to DVC. You are now the owner/customer. Disney now has your money. Sell your points and they'll have someone else's money. Rent your points and they'll have someone else's money. To them, that's all interchangeable. You are locked into the contract. The contract does not include guaranteed access to pools or compensation if the pools are down. Disney is having no problem filling its parks or its DVC rooms - and its customer profile is such that it doesn't have a need to make sure that every customer walks away delighted - there is always another little girl falling in love with Anna and Elsa. Don't like these terms - Disney will be delighted if you sell your contract to someone who won't complain - saves them money on customer service calls.

When you travel, a lot of things can go wrong. Your itinerary can get changed without notice on an ABD trip so you are in a different hotel. You can cruise DCL and not manage to stop at Castaway Cay. You can go to Disney and have the park closed for a hurricane. Your flight can be delayed for hours and you can miss half a day of vacation. You can arrive at the rental car company to discover the car you booked isn't available and you need to drive a different car (for me, a minivan in San Francisco on a business trip - I can't recommend a minivan in San Francisco - unless you need a minivan.) In the vast majority of those cases (and I've had many of them happen to me), you suck it up and make the best of it - the company in question - whether Disney or Delta or Hertz - does not fall over themselves with freebies.

Maybe this sounds unsympathetic. But the faster a DVC owner gets over the "it must be perfect or we must be compensated" expectation, the easier they will find to be content with DVC - and they can have many years of happy usage. And if they retain the expectation that Disney will bend over backwards to delight them - they'll be discontent with their membership. Long term, I'd rather they find this crowd unsympathetic now, than spend the next 40 years of vacations unsatisfied.

 

[MrInfinity]

Mr. Infinity,

First off, you were the one who ASKED how we'd feel if it happened to us. We told you. We don't let it ruin our trip. Are we disappointed - some of us are (especially when you managed to book BCV specifically for SAB - only to discover it is closed), but it certainly doesn't "ruin our trip."

As for being the customer - welcome to DVC. You are now the owner/customer. Disney now has your money. Sell your points and they'll have someone else's money. Rent your points and they'll have someone else's money. To them, that's all interchangeable. You are locked into the contract. The contract does not include guaranteed access to pools or compensation if the pools are down. Disney is having no problem filling its parks or its DVC rooms - and its customer profile is such that it doesn't have a need to make sure that every customer walks away delighted - there is always another little girl falling in love with Anna and Elsa. Don't like these terms - Disney will be delighted if you sell your contract to someone who won't complain - saves them money on customer service calls.

When you travel, a lot of things can go wrong. Your itinerary can get changed without notice on an ABD trip so you are in a different hotel. You can cruise DCL and not manage to stop at Castaway Cay. You can go to Disney and have the park closed for a hurricane. Your flight can be delayed for hours and you can miss half a day of vacation. You can arrive at the rental car company to discover the car you booked isn't available and you need to drive a different car (for me, a minivan in San Francisco on a business trip - I can't recommend a minivan in San Francisco - unless you need a minivan.) In the vast majority of those cases (and I've had many of them happen to me), you suck it up and make the best of it - the company in question - whether Disney or Delta or Hertz - does not fall over themselves with freebies.

Maybe this sounds unsympathetic. But the faster a DVC owner gets over the "it must be perfect or we must be compensated" expectation, the easier they will find to be content with DVC - and they can have many years of happy usage. And if they retain the expectation that Disney will bend over backwards to delight them - they'll be discontent with their membership. Long term, I'd rather they find this crowd unsympathetic now, than spend the next 40 years of vacations unsatisfied.

Right -- it doesn't ruin your trip. But you still go down to MS and get fair compensation. You are making this weird assertion that one should just be all happy and make the best of it with nothing more said. Do you have to just be happy if you get a bad meal at a restaurant? Really you can "make the best of it" and your family is fed, so you should just be happy right? No you make the best of it while sending it back or getting it comped. If you order a veggie pizza and you find out you got pepperoni do you just move on, be happy? By your assertion, you've already paid them on the phone, so they no longer have any incentive to help you. No- you call and fix it, and you're still happy. If a construction team installs the wrong windows in your house do you just accept it, be happy? No you decide if you can live w the windows and get the price comped or get them fixed. In no case should one simply not get something they thought they were paying for, and just be happy without also doing their best to fix it. Yes you are still happy and making great memories but at the same time the OP was fully justified in expecting to get something for the 1st world problem that was her experience. Your preaching about "when you travel, a lot of things can go wrong" falls on deaf ears, because we've been there, done that. Your trips sound like ours. Does not change the OPs situation. We seem to have the same view on making vacations great and going w the flow, yet we differ (?) in that you think you should not raise problems to MS with the expectation of them doing something about it, and I think one should bring it up and get what they feel they deserve (all the while not being mad or creating a ruckus, and having a wonderful time). You seem to be jumping to the extreme that the owner is unaware and needs to be educated that things can go wrong in life and she'll have to learn to deal w those. That's condescending. Everyone knows that about life and about traveling. It was just an internet gripe. And a legit one -- she should talk to the manager about it and get comped fairly.

 

[crisi]

Right -- it doesn't ruin your trip. But you still go down to MS and get fair compensation. You are making this weird assertion that one should just be all happy and go on and make the best of it with nothing more said. Do you have to just be happy if you get a bad meal at a restaurant? Really you can "make the best of it" and nobody is going hungry, so you should just be happy right? No you make the best of it while sending it back or getting it comped. If you order a veggie pizza and a delivery guy shows up with a pepperoni do you just move on, be happy? By your assertion, you've already paid them on the phone, so they no longer have any incentive to bring you a pizza you'll like. No- you call and fix it, and you're still happy. If a construction team installs the wrong windows in your house do you just accept it, be happy? No you decide if you can live w the windows and get the price comped or get them fixed. In no case should one simply not get something they thought they were paying for, and just be happy without also doing their best to fix it. Yes you are still happy and making great memories but at the same time the OP was fully justified in expecting to get something for the 1st world problem that was her experience. Your preaching about "when you travel, a lot of things can go wrong" falls on deaf ears, because we've been there, done that. Your trips sound like ours. So you're preaching to the choir. Does not change the OPs situation. We seem to have the same view on making vacations great and going w the flow, yet we differ (?) in that you think you should not raise problems to MS with the expectation of them doing something about it, and I think one should bring it up and get what they feel they deserve (all the while having a blast, not being mad, not creating a ruckus, and having a wonderful time). You seem to be jumping to the extreme that the owner is unaware and needs to be educated that things can go wrong in life and she'll have to learn to deal w those. That's condescending. Everyone knows that about life and about traveling. It was just an internet gripe. And a legit one, and she should talk to MS about it and get comped fairly.

What fair compensation? What is fair? When the Boardwalk pool was closed on our trips, we got "fair compensation" in the opportunity to use SAB - no more, no less. When my compact car wasn't available in San Francisco, my fair compensation was a minivan unsuited to the Bay Area and my purpose. When my flight was delayed eight hours and then I froze on my way to Europe because the air conditioning was running full blast and they couldn't fix it, my fair compensation was that the flight attendants came by with extra hot tea and coffee - I was traveling with young kids and they didn't have hot chocolate - they ran out of blankets, too.

She will NOT get comped for this. This happens regularly. I've been a member of this board for something like fifteen years, and no one, to my knowledge has ever reported getting comped for this. Contrary to your belief that these are always scheduled far in advance, this happens frequently - and has happened often since I've been a member of this board. She can call MS, she'll waste her time and be frustrated and make no headway. I don't know about you, but beating my head against a wall trying to get something I'm not going to get does not make me feel better about the situation. She can call MS and express her displeasure. The call will get logged and maybe evaluated, but I doubt anyone will do anything other than send her a "we hear your concerns" email.

It is normal if you send your meal back to the kitchen to get comped for the meal. It is not normal to get comped for lack of pool access at a DVC resort staying on points. It is not normal to get comped for a flight delay. It is not normal to get comped for the inability to reach a cruise itinerary stop.

(The worst case of DVC issues - early in the existence of VAKL, the concierge rooms were pulled from service less than six months out. There are no similar rooms within the DVC system. People who booked those rooms ended up scattered throughout DVC resorts - with a refund in points difference if applicable, but nothing else. Plan on a hard to get concierge stay at VAKL, end up at SSR. Was anyone thrilled. Nope. Did anyone get additional compensation - not to my knowledge.

Before than - right around 2002, people who booked OKW Grand Villas suddenly found themselves put in two bedrooms and a studio - somewhere around the DVC system. The PGA tour was in, and the golfers got the Grand Villas. Again, no compensation other than rooms that would sleep the same room count.

I'm not saying these things are right - the Grand Villa thing was particularly egregious (and they haven't done it since so I suspect they know that), I'm saying that the reality of the system we bought into is one that does not compensate us when non-contracted features are removed from service.

 

[Friendlyadvice2]

At this point, I guess all guests staying at the YC/BC/BCV will have to be compensated as well since they were expecting/paying to get exclusive access to SAB and will now be joined by all of the displaced BWV members. They'll really have get down to SAB early to throw towels on their chairs of choice since they'll have increased outside competition.

Since I own at both resorts, I guess I can expect an increase in MF to replenish the capital reserves used to cover the unexpected cost of the Luna pool, the amounts to compensate BWV owners for their inconvenience, and now the amounts to compensate the BCV owners for their inconvenience. I might even call MS myself and ask to be compensated because, quite frankly, even though I'm trying to make the best of this, I'm still irritated by this whole scenario as well. This is really getting expensive........darn clown pool

 

[MrInfinity]

What fair compensation? What is fair? When the Boardwalk pool was closed on our trips, we got "fair compensation" in the opportunity to use SAB - no more, no less.

Fair is up to each individual. You accepted the opportunity to use SAB as fair. Great.

I'm not saying these things are right - the Grand Villa thing was particularly egregious (and they haven't done it since so I suspect they know that), I'm saying that the reality of the system we bought into is one that does not compensate us when non-contracted features are removed from service.

That doesn't mean people shouldn't try. That's so defeatist. You should push for what you believe is right.

 

[crisi]

That doesn't mean people shouldn't try. That's so defeatist. You should push for what you believe is right.

I prefer to see it as accepting the reality of the situation.

There are also consequences to compensation. Lets say they give one additional fastpass to everyone - what about people who aren't going into parks - ok that isn't far. And even if it was, that leaves Fastpass slots unavailable to other guests - it isn't an unlimited resource and while its a tool that can (and is) used, additional Fastpasses are something Disney is very wise to keep in limited use and not hand out for every inconvenience. Lets say they give you $20 a day in food vouchers. Who pays for it? It is a different company with a different P&L that runs the restaurants - it will want to - and legally need to - be compensated. Do member dues pay for that? Does it come out of DVC profits - in which case it really comes out of my pocket as a shareholder? TANNSTAFL. Who are you going to screw in order to get "fair compensation" every time something undergoes maintenance.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Discounts are for guests.

As a timeshare owner, you're not a guest.

I have to ask, are you someone who has been angry that resale buyers have been treated "the same" as direct buyers, too?

 

[tjkraz]

Clearly we have different interpretations of reasonableness.

This started with the question "What if this happens to you?" I have encountered issues with Disney resorts in the past. Remedies have been offered--including compensation--and I felt we were treated fairly.

In this set of circumstances, *I* would not respond by approaching resort management with: "despite your good faith effort to substitute one pool for another, I'm still pissed about it. But slip me a $20 and we're square." The alternate pool arrangement seems entirely reasonable, even if it takes me 5 minutes extra to get there.

That is all.

 

[wilkeliza]

Clearly we have different interpretations of reasonableness.

This started with the question "What if this happens to you?" I have encountered issues with Disney resorts in the past. Remedies have been offered--including compensation--and I felt we were treated fairly.

In this set of circumstances, *I* would not respond by approaching resort management with: "despite your good faith effort to substitute one pool for another, I'm still pissed about it. But slip me a $20 and we're square." The alternate pool arrangement seems entirely reasonable, even if it takes me 5 minutes extra to get there.

That is all.

Resort management has little to offer when it is a DVC booking. They often refer you back to member services since all they can really do is see if there is a room somewhere in another DVC villa available to move you to which in the past such moves have ended up cost people points unknowingly when there is a points difference.

 

[Lynne M]

Discounts are for guests.

As a timeshare owner, you're not a guest.

Yes. As someone who used to live in an apartment and now owns a condo, I have a slightly different perspective on the "Disney should give us..." debates. I know condos and timeshares are very different beasts, but there's still the idea of shared ownership.

When I lived in an apartment and the pool was closed for months for major renovations, we got a partial reimbursement of our gym fees from the company that owned the building.

Now that I own a condo, our indoor pool is occasionally closed for repairs. We don't get any discounts on our condo fees. Who would give it to us? Our condo association? We ARE the condo association. We own the pool. We pay for the upkeep and repairs of the pool. We'd be reimbursing ourselves.

So, that's my question about getting a discount or some other reimbursement for the main pool being closed. Where would the money come from? Disney manages the resort and the facilities, but the money comes from BWV owners. Should they be assessed a fee to compensate themselves and other guests of the resort because the pool needs to be fixed? I think Disney has discharged their duty by arranging for the use of SAB.

It's the difference between thinking like an owner and thinking like a hotel guest.

 

[MrInfinity]

Clearly we have different interpretations of reasonableness.

This started with the question "What if this happens to you?" I have encountered issues with Disney resorts in the past. Remedies have been offered--including compensation--and I felt we were treated fairly.

In this set of circumstances, *I* would not respond by approaching resort management with: "despite your good faith effort to substitute one pool for another, I'm still pissed about it. But slip me a $20 and we're square." The alternate pool arrangement seems entirely reasonable, even if it takes me 5 minutes extra to get there.

That is all.

Great! So when you are put out in a way that you feel warrants a compensation, you get it. When you are put out in a way you don't mind, like the pool, you're fine w it. This seems like a perfectly reasonable way to handle things. So when the OP (who has a different view of what's important) finds herself put out in the 1st way that mattered to you (but doesn't bother her) she might have been fine w it and not pursued that compensation, but when something bothers her (the pool) more than you, she does. Different things will put people off in different ways. You say yourself you'd pursue a compensation for some issues but not others. Your cases are just different because you value different things.

I have to ask, are you someone who has been angry that resale buyers have been treated "the same" as direct buyers, too?

I'm not following what you're asking... I don't think I'm angry about anyone's purchase, resale or direct. Are you?

 

[tjkraz]

Great! So when you are put out in a way that you feel warrants a compensation, you get it. When you are put out in a way you don't mind, like the pool, you're fine w it. This seems like a perfectly reasonable way to handle things. So when the OP (who has a different view of what's important) finds herself put out in the 1st way that mattered to you (but doesn't bother her) she might have been fine w it and not pursued that compensation, but when something bothers her (the pool) more than you, she does. Different things will put people off in different ways. You say yourself you'd pursue a compensation for some issues but not others. Your cases are just different because you value different things.

And I, for one, hope that Disney has the spine to politely decline any additional compensation.

I don't need my resort dues going up because they're giving handouts every time someone comes to them with a marginal complaint.

 

[MrInfinity]

I have encountered issues. Remedies have been offered--including compensation--and I felt we were treated fairly

I, for one, hope that Disney has the spine to politely decline any additional compensation.

So in summary... When you encounter an issue that is important to you, you'll take a remedy including compensation, and leave feeling treated fairly. But when someone else encounters an issue that is important to them (but not so important to you) and they feel treated unfairly, you'll hope Disney declines. Got it. But I don't agree with it.

 

[tjkraz]

So in summary... When you encounter an issue that is important to you, you'll take a remedy including compensation, and leave feeling treated fairly. But when someone else encounters an issue that is important to them (but not so important to you) and they feel treated unfairly, you'll hope Disney declines. Got it. But I don't agree with it.

Again, reasonableness. My situation was an uninhabitable room at a resort which was full, necessitating that we pack our belongings and be relocated. Over the years, I have wholeheartedly supported many members seeking remedy and compensation for inadequate service at DVC resorts. But not every situation falls into that category, and I certainly hope that the resort staff is applying reasonable standards in dealing with DVC members.

Compensation should not be arbitrarily offered whenever requested.