Deals on Disney

[CarolA]

Those are "Deals"? The ticket savings are $10 LOL!

The "hotel savings" Four nights at RACK to get three nights free. Average it out. It's still not a deal for a Disney quality hotel. (sorry, but Disney quality is generally below industry standards)

I don't get why folks think Disney should "pay" us to come?

 

[disneynutz]

DVC doesn't have any trouble keeping their rooms filled and they have a captive membership, so offering us additional deals is waisting Disney's money.

Lately every date that I check has no availability. MS told me today that they are busier now more than ever and they don't forecast changes anytime soon.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I agree, but Disney could still offer DVC members enticements. I bought DVC 4 years ago and have been offered nothing over the $100 discount on the AP. Don't get me wrong, I take advatage of that perk every year but Disney has made FAR more money off of it than I have. Of course they know that if I have APs I'm far more likely to return throughout the year and spend lots of money on food, souveniers, etc. The past 4 years we have done 3-5 trips per year. With the new point structure, we will be forced to go once a year and will buy only base tickets. I don't like the changes, but the bright side is it will definately end up saving ME money.

Sorry, but that's not true! There are other little discounts in those 4 years besides the GREAT AP discount.

Most timeshares give you NOTHING for spending your money with them, so I don't really think DVC owes us anything that looks like those "discounts" given to the general public. Which, BTW, aren't really discounts. They are FULL PRICE accommodations for a number of nights which they then "throw in" extra nights to help fill the rooms that would otherwise go empty. Keeping folks on site for "free" means more money in Disney's pocket in the long run, because it's nights they would not have stayed otherwise.

We who own DVC aren't really spending more or less. I'm amazed that people are having so much trouble with the new point charts. I think we all just have to adjust how and when we vacation, and the changes wont effect you as much doing that.

 

[mybabesuz]

Well, I put my info in for my July Trip...
Price for My Room and Tickets would come to $5114.23...
That's with the 4 get 3 deal... No Dining Plan...

That's almost $3000 for the room....

MY Cost for the same tickets... 2134.60

I'll keep my DVC, Thank You...

 

[princessfionasmom]

Although it would be nice to get a discount on the dining plan I am not complaining. I love my small DVC contract. Without it we would not be able to have a studio with our kitchenette which we love having. I got an ap last year and will get 2 trips out of it which is a huge savings when you include the $100 off. Before DVC we only stayed at values, and we loved Pop, but DVC gives up the opportunity to try something new and nicer than we could really afford. I'm all for getting more discounts but I'm not complaining because I love what I have.

 

[CarolA]

Well, I put my info in for my July Trip...
Price for My Room and Tickets would come to $5114.23...
That's with the 4 get 3 deal... No Dining Plan...

That's almost $3000 for the room....

MY Cost for the same tickets... 2134.60

I'll keep my DVC, Thank You...

Yes fokls. Only $400 a night for a Disney room! And we are missing the "deal" ?????????

 

[Cmbar]

DVC doesn't have any trouble keeping their rooms filled and they have a captive membership, so offering us additional deals is waisting Disney's money.

Lately every date that I check has no availability. MS told me today that they are busier now more than ever and they don't forecast changes anytime soon.

Why is this happening? I thought Disney was having hard times, and you can't find availability? I am getting nervous about buying DVC. IF Disney rooms are half full and DVC rooms are completely full, my husband is going to freak Why are we buying into DVC to only be told we can't stay. OH this is giving me a bad headache

 

[tjkraz]

Why is this happening? I thought Disney was having hard times, and you can't find availability? I am getting nervous about buying DVC. IF Disney rooms are half full and DVC rooms are completely full, my husband is going to freak Why are we buying into DVC to only be told we can't stay. OH this is giving me a bad headache

The idea behind any timeshare is full occupancy year-round. If you book 11 months out, you will be successful 99% of the time. But that success level drops as time goes on. If you try to book 1-2 months out, it's going to be slim pickings because other people are nearly a year ahead of you in planning their stays.

For all but the busiest periods (early-December, holidays) you will have a high degree of success booking 6+ months in advance. Personally I wouldn't recommend DVC to anyone who intends to regularly book on less than 6 months notice. Yes there will be rooms available but it will be inconsistent and often limited to the largest resorts (SSR and OKW.)

The person you responded-to didn't provide any details so it's impossible to even comment on those specifics. About 10 days ago I booked a room at SSR on 3 weeks' notice so no complaints here.

As for the original topic, I think DVC members need to come to terms with the fact that DVC *IS* our discount. Over the long haul we're getting Deluxe rooms at a fraction of the cost. And then there are added perks like the AP discount which reduce the cost of park admission, dining discounts, the ability to buy the DDP without all of the normal strings attached, and so on.

If I wanted to play the Disney discount game, I never would have bought into DVC in the first place. I would have kept my $15,000 in the bank and almost certainly would be worse off today even after chasing down those discounts and freebies. Funny how something "free" always costs so much money.

I can't buy into the "what has DVC done for me lately" line of thinking. Of course, I'm sure someone will come along and chalk this up as just another example of how DVC "doesn't care about its members." After all, DVC did a lot of room discounting and free dining promotions before Jim Lewis came along, right?

 

[Donna M]

If we paid cash for the villas we're staying in next week, it would cost around $10,000. That's a great deal for our $2,000 MF's. We never would be taking the type of vacations we take now or bringing down extended family like we can. We were very blessed to have been able to purchase the DVC with inherited money.

 

[disneynutz]

Why is this happening? I thought Disney was having hard times, and you can't find availability? I am getting nervous about buying DVC. IF Disney rooms are half full and DVC rooms are completely full, my husband is going to freak Why are we buying into DVC to only be told we can't stay. OH this is giving me a bad headache

We usually book 11 months in advance but the reality of life sometimes changes that.

We have been on a wait-list for a 2 bedroom starting March 20th since December. My DW brother was added to our travel plans.

Our niece now wants to take us up on our offer from last year and wants a studio for April 14th. None available since I started calling in January.

I realize that these are only a couple of months before our required dates but these things happen in the real world, not in the DVC world, but the real world.

 

[Boardwalker]

I am not one of the choir on most occasions, but I realize this...
Our investment in DVC is long term. With the current economic turmoil, Disney needs to fill rooms in the short term, to keep their employees working, and to keep the value of our investments high.
With jobs disappearing and people struggling, vacationing is going to be the first thing crossed off many people's list, unless they see something they can afford and that they see as a real bargain.
If things go bad for Disney, the resale value of our timeshares tanks with them. Even with right of first refusal, if the money isn't there to buy out the sellers, we are going to be in a bad place.
We want the popularity and the opportunity to experience the magic to stay at it's peak. That is to our benefit.
If you want to enjoy the current deals, bank your points and pay with cash.
But Disney isn't robbing Peter (us) to pay Paul (everyone else) on this. Blame that on current economic conditions... and blame this depression on whoever you want to. It won't make any difference to how long we will need to recover what we lost. I am glad Disney is doing what they can to keep things going.

 

[Cmbar]

We usually book 11 months in advance but the reality of life sometimes changes that.

We have been on a wait-list for a 2 bedroom starting March 20th since December. My DW brother was added to our travel plans.

Our niece now wants to take us up on our offer from last year and wants a studio for April 14th. None available since I started calling in January.

I realize that these are only a couple of months before our required dates but these things happen in the real world, not in the DVC world, but the real world.

So you are saying that there are no 2 bedrooms at any of the resorts for a stay March 20th? And you tried to book this three months ago? And no studio for April 14th. Of course April 14th is during the week right after Easter, so that I guess I can understand. But no 2 bedrooms anywhere in late March?? UGH!

We would most likely make plans 11 months out and like many others here, those plans may need to be tweaked a bit. I mean a year is a long time to make plans concrete. Not for us, but for family members that want to come along. I am just concerned because I see more and more people saying they can't get in in the 3-6 month time frame. So short trips down for quick getaway out of the winter won't happen with DVC. I am not picky and could care less which resort as long as I know we can get in somewhere. Is there ever a time that is not popular with DVC members?

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread....

I agree with most here that DVC IS the discount. I do think it is more scary what they can take away than what they aren't giving members. It would be really nice to have just a percentage discount on ticket prices for a limit of people. But being able to add dining is a nice perk and the annual pass is a good deal too if you end up going more than once.

I still have my headache!

 

[CarolA]

So you are saying that there are no 2 bedrooms at any of the resorts for a stay March 20th? And you tried to book this three months ago? And no studio for April 14th. Of course April 14th is during the week right after Easter, so that I guess I can understand. But no 2 bedrooms anywhere in late March?? UGH!

We would most likely make plans 11 months out and like many others here, those plans may need to be tweaked a bit. I mean a year is a long time to make plans concrete. Not for us, but for family members that want to come along. I am just concerned because I see more and more people saying they can't get in in the 3-6 month time frame. So short trips down for quick getaway out of the winter won't happen with DVC. I am not picky and could care less which resort as long as I know we can get in somewhere. Is there ever a time that is not popular with DVC members?

Sorry, don't mean to hijack the thread....

I agree with most here that DVC IS the discount. I do think it is more scary what they can take away than what they aren't giving members. It would be really nice to have just a percentage discount on ticket prices for a limit of people. But being able to add dining is a nice perk and the annual pass is a good deal too if you end up going more than once.

I still have my headache!

I got a one bedroom for the first week in March about 3 weeks ago (if that long)

However, I agree with others you MUST be flexible if you are booking late. Your chances for BCV and BWV slim.. your chances for SSR and OKW much higher. (And actually I am hitting more on SSR I think it's because the points for OKW are lower and it's booking)

Now buy ONLY because you get accomodations. You are right ANY and ALL other "perks" and "discounts" can and will change and should NOT be included in your calculations!

 

[DebbieB]

All I know is before DVC, I would have a $2,000 credit card bill when returning home (deluxe room x 6 or 7 nights). Now - $108 a month for 250 points, which gives me a larger number of nights.