Can Disney change this too???

[mickeys girl 52]

With the recent changes in the 2010 pts I was wondering about any other changes they could make. I no right now we can change out resorts at 7 months. Is that something that could be changed. Could the "powers that be" decide no more hopping around, or is that one of the perks that makes DVC so unique.

 

[oakmanner]

My guess is legally they could but the anger of the members and bad publicity DVC would receive, they would never do it.

Dennis-

 

[tomandrobin]

Not only can they change the 7 month booking window, but can take it away completely. The can also sell a resort, but that won't happen.

 

[DebbieB]

I believe the contract only guarantees a 1 month home resort priority, so they could change it to 11 and 10 months.

 

[Chuck S]

Legally, they could restrict us to our home resorts only. This is extremely unlikely, but may go into effect as the resorts near the very end of their contracts, along with suspending banking/borrowing.

 

[Nikisha421]

WHAT AN EYE OPENER

 

[JimMIA]

Legally, they could restrict us to our home resorts only.

Chuck is right, and this is actually the ONLY thing we are guaranteed to have with our DVC ownership -- accommodations at our home resort, subject to availability.

IF DVC continues to allow us to book at non-home resorts, the home resort owners will always have at least a one-month booking advantage. Could be 11/10, 6/5, 3/2...whatever numbers DVC likes at the moment.

I think it is unwise to believe anything is unlikely to happen, given the number of changes over the last two years. DVC today is very different from what we bought five years ago -- it has become a very unstable and unreliable vacation plan, IMHO.

Caveat emptor should be any prospective purchaser's watchwords. You'd better know what you are buying...and what you are not buying. Guides' statements that "nothing will change" are just sales pitches. DVC has certainly shown great willingness to change things if there is even a miniscule benefit to them. Don't forget -- guides are just timeshare salespeople, and purchasing DVC is no different from purchasing any other timeshare.

Anyone purchasing DVC today would be wise to only count on staying at their home resort -- all of the rest can change. Banking, borrowing, transfering points, exchanging out, using points for non-DVC Disney hotels, perks, benefits, discounts -- any of that could change with the stroke of a pen.

 

[keishashadow]

My guess is legally they could but the anger of the members and bad publicity DVC would receive, they would never do it.

Dennis-

never say never
going by the response here to recent changes, there r plenty of angry DVC DISers, once the rest of the population finds out (those who don't keep up here or elsewhere) when they have issues booking, the fallout can more readily be determined

I think it is unwise to believe anything is unlikely to happen, given the number of changes over the last two years. DVC today is very different from what we bought five years ago -- it has become a very unstable and unreliable vacation plan, IMHO...


Guides' statements that "nothing will change" are just sales pitches. DVC has certainly shown great willingness to change things if there is even a miniscule benefit to them. Don't forget -- guides are just timeshare salespeople, and purchasing DVC is no different from purchasing any other timeshare.
.

agree 100% with ur assessment

im beginning to think that there are so many from SSR trying to trade out that it has become unweildy for MS to process, whether an online only system would rectify is questionable in my mind. Many reported here of long wait times yesterday with booking BLT & THV, i could imagine that many online systems would crash under that volume

While i bought where i did want to stay (thanks to the advice here ), that dynamic has changed with the point reallocation & i would hate to see the option to book @ a resort w/lower point requirements (AK & OKW) disappear

 

[drusba]

They can change the "7" in the seven months. They must retain at least a one month home resort booking advantage but they could go to 11 and 10 months, 8 and 6, other combinations.

As to ending the ability to reserve at multiple resorts, there are actually restrictions in the official documents on their ability to do that. If a particular resort is temporarily out of service, e.g., a fire causing significant damage, they can prevent owners at that resort from reserving elsewhere. A resort can also be removed from the DVC system, thus restricting its owners to that resort and taking away the ability of others from reserving there, if Disney is ousted as the managing entitity (the members can actually do that with a 60% majority vote), if the government seizes the place under eminent domain, if the resort is not maintained to usual Disney standards (this goes along with what happens if the members actually ousted Disney), and, obviously, when the resort's end date occurs.

 

[Chuck S]

I'm just surprised all of this seems to shock some people. These possible legal restrictions are really pretty standard throughout the Timeshare industry. For instance, if you own a Marriott, Wyndham (or whatever) and that resort property is sold to another company, or becomes independent, it is reasonable that you wouldn't be able to exchange to a different resort. I also suspect much of the legal contract is governed by state law, which surely requires disclosure of this possibility in the documents. Now, I will admit I didn't read the entire document before signing on the dotted line for our first DVC purchase, but I sure did take a good look after returning home while we were in our allowed time to rescind the contact, as it was our first timeshare purchase.

 

[keishashadow]

I'm just surprised all of this seems to shock some people. These possible legal restrictions are really pretty standard throughout the Timeshare industry. For instance, if you own a Marriott, Wyndham (or whatever) and that resort property is sold to another company, or becomes independent, it is reasonable that you wouldn't be able to exchange to a different resort. I also suspect much of the legal contract is governed by state law, which surely requires disclosure of this possibility in the documents. Now, I will admit I didn't read the entire document before signing on the dotted line for our first DVC purchase, but I sure did take a good look after returning home while we were in our allowed time to rescind the contact, as it was our first timeshare purchase.

believe many of us (admittedly unrealistically) expected kindler, gentler treatment from the mouse , all that pixie dust got in our eyes and we thought with our hearts, not our heads.

 

[Chuck S]

believe many of us (admittedly unrealistically) expected kindler, gentler treatment from the mouse , all that pixie dust got in our eyes and we thought with our hearts, not our heads.

I think that happens with every timeshare, Disney or not, if it is a place you enjoy. DVC just isn't as "high pressure" on the sales end. But folks need to realize that while many companies, including Marriott, now call their point based units Vacation Clubs, they are still legally and contractually a timeshare.

 

[JimMIA]

I'm just surprised all of this seems to shock some people.

Well, I'm no longer surprised, but I was at first. It's mind-boggling to me that so many people take what the guides tell them at face value and do zero research on such a large luxury purchase.

Then, they wander over here to the DIS and see an accurate description of DVC, or run into their first experience with "streamlining" and go .

A great example is all the "How come I can't get a points ressie, but CRO has availability" threads. Or the "I had to cancel my ressie and mean old MS won't let me put the borrowed points back! " threads.

I'm sure the comment of trusting the mouse and being overwhelmed by pixie dust has something to do with it, but people who approach things that way often end up as victims of self-inflicted harm.

 

[Chuck S]

Well, I'm no longer surprised, but I was at first. It's mind-boggling to me that so many people take what the guides tell them at face value and do zero research on such a large luxury purchase.

I think some people also are in a hurry to get back to the parks. We really went into the DVC presentation being skeptical with no intention to purchase. When we decided to do a tour, we scheduled a tour for the first thing the following morning, so we would be "fresh" and not tired, and we had no pre-conceived "time allotment." It took longer than we had thought it may, but we took that time to ask questions and our guide let us discuss it privately between ourselves.

I can't think if a single thing our guide said that was mis-representative of what was in the contract. He covered re-allocations, no guarantee of trading to other resorts (even though there WERE no other resorts at that time,) the limits on possible dues increases, etc. He actually summarized all the basics quite well. But we also made sure that we were "hearing what he was saying" rather than "what we wanted to hear." We knew there was a possibility that OKW may not even be fully built. Only Phase I (Miller's Road & Hospitality) was open and operating when we purchased.

 

[JimMIA]

I think some people also are in a hurry to get back to the parks. We really went into the DVC presentation being skeptical with no intention to purchase. When we decided to do a tour, we scheduled a tour for the first thing the following morning, so we would be "fresh" and not tired, and we had no pre-conceived "time allotment." It took longer than we had thought it may, but we took that time to ask questions and our guide let us discuss it privately between ourselves.

I can't think if a single thing our guide said that was mis-representative of what was in the contract. He covered re-allocations, no guarantee of trading to other resorts (even though there WERE no other resorts at that time,) the limits on possible dues increases, etc. He actually summarized all the basics quite well. But we also made sure that we were "hearing what he was saying" rather than "what we wanted to hear." We knew there was a possibility that OKW may not even be fully built. Only Phase I (Miller's Road & Hospitality) was open and operating when we purchased.

You have a much better guide than mine...which is one big reason why we bought our first contract resale! Our guide is not great. She never lied to us or misled us in any way -- she is just clueless.

Fortunately, we were able to get info elsewhere -- including here on the DIS.

 

[keishashadow]

Well, I'm no longer surprised, but I was at first. It's mind-boggling to me that so many people take what the guides tell them at face value and do zero research on such a large luxury purchase.

I'm sure the comment of trusting the mouse and being overwhelmed by pixie dust has something to do with it, but people who approach things that way often end up as victims of self-inflicted harm.

the mouse made me do it

shamefully, im a realtor & should've known better , although TS contracts r indeed different from standard RE ones. Along with the verbal assurances I received from talking to more than 1 guide before we did make 1st purchase-resale, I relied on Disney doing the 'right thing'...unfortunately, the right thing for Disney isn't necessarily the right thing for me. Just glad i bought in small increments and for cash, not as invested as many.

yes, the legal jargon is in the contract, just unlikely that it would be invoked based on past practice that i could determine when i bought in, not a good excuse-but it's mine

Who hasn't heard of swamp land being sold as a vacation opportunity, with easy financing? It was the Disney brand that made me feel safe in wading in the murky FL TS market.

i look forward to many more trips to WDW via DVC, yet w/new point allocation no longer need i make a 2nd or 3rd trip every year in order to utilize all my points; plenty of other places to spend my vacation $s

 

[tjkraz]

...I relied on Disney doing the 'right thing'...unfortunately, the right thing for Disney isn't necessarily the right thing for me.

Not only that but even changes which may be in the best interest of membership as a whole may not be the right thing for you.

Some people don't like the booking changes (check-in day instead of check-out) but the vast majority of feedback I've read suggest that people are still getting their dates and saving a ton of phone calls.

The waitlist changes (max 2 active requests) will be unpopular with some owners, but if DVC is correct in its estimation that success levels will rise as a whole then it too was justified.

I'm sure some decisions will benefit DVC--financially or otherwise--but that doesn't necessarily mean that members will be left to suffer.

Of the things discussed here, I don't have any great worries over the non-Home bookings being eliminated. That's part of the package that DVC wishes to sell. As attractive as BLT is on its own, being able to tell buyers that they would also gain access to BWV, BCV, AKV, etc. is a big part of their pitch.

The things I would be most concerned about are:

1. The possibility of Vero or HHI being sold-off down the road. DVC appears to be looking to branch-out to more off-site locations right now (Hawaii in progress, rumors of Lake Tahoe and others.) But 30+ years is a long time during which that philosophy could change.

2. The Home resort booking window getting smaller. As stated it could be reduced to as little as one month. Still, i'm not sure how that would benefit DVC and it seems like most current members would be very upset with the move. But as long as people go into DVC with the idea that they should get at least 1 month to book their Home, they should be prepared to deal with any changes which may occur.

 

[starbox]

I have always thought that DVC will eventually reduce the home resort advantage to one month. While some disboarders live and die by the "buy where you want to stay" mantra - that has never been Disney's perspective or sales pitch - which is why guides push whatever is currently selling with promises that the program is flexible and guests can stay at all the resorts.

Disney's goal with DVC is to sell whatever resort is currently being offered - directly through Disney-at the maximum current point price.

DVC is already approaching the threshold where guests are finding it difficult to get reservations. As the program grows (and as Hawaii comes online), I think the writing is on the wall and DVC will adjust the booking advantage to make it easier for the majority of owners to book anywhere.

I'd bet that 95% of real-world DVC owners bought whatever resort was selling and would be happy with a shorter home-resort advantage and easier -to-get reservations at all resorts. As we've seen, Disney does not really care about the small minority of owners that use the intricacies of the system (sun-thursday trips, multiple point transfers, small contracts for multiple home resort advantages, wait-listing) to their advantage.

 

[DisFamily2006]

Let's face it. Those of us on these message boards only account for a VERY, VERY, VERY small number of DVC'rs. Most aren't nearly as picky as many of the folks here. They're just happy to be on vacation at Disney in addition to saving money on accommodations. I talk to DVC members all the time that have no idea what home resort means or where they even own. All they know is they call member services to book a stay. Maybe there's availability or maybe there's not. Worse comes to worse, they'll pay the exchange fee and stay at one of the moderates. THEY DON'T CARE. One family I was talking to on the bus to one of the parks thought their home resort was the Poly...uhhhh yeeeeeaaaaa.

That being said, I've always felt that the 7 month non-home-resort booking window will eventually change. Not that I want it to, but DVC is just now starting to take off in comparison to other time share companies. The upper management have strict orders to "grow" the business.... The more offsite resorts they open (and they will), the harder it's going to be to get onsite accommodations outside of your booking window. I wouldn't be surprised if they keep the 11 month booking window and reduce the non-home window to 4 months. The only way they'll be able to avoid anything like this is to be mindful of keeping the ratio of onsite and offsite resorts at an adequate level.

In the end, although I love Disney and DVC, they are going to do what's best for them, not us. Hopefully, they'll realize that keeping members happy will help them in the long run.

 

[kdzgon]

Chuck is right, and this is actually the ONLY thing we are guaranteed to have with our DVC ownership -- accommodations at our home resort, subject to availability.

...

Isn't this true of any timeshare?