Disney Vacation Club adjusts 2010 Vacation Points charts

[RobDoc]

AKV might be an exception here. In Jambo House there are units that consist of just one GV and nothing else. There are also several units that consist of either 3 or 4 dedicated studios and no other room type.

Then that supports the ability to change the charts without regard to room type as long as the total points at the resort are not changed, they can rearrange the points any way they choose. Owners of those units are certainly not restricted to reserve only that type of villa.

Thanks, Debbie!

 

[wildernessDad]

We just bought 180pt. AKV contract so we could stay every other year in a 2BR SV for a week Magic season... 360pts
And a SSR 2BR Sun-Thurs would be 180pts...Now 200 points !!!
We specifically asked if the points would change. Our guide said that they might sift around the weeks or a day shift here and there,
But the points we needed would not change.
Well with the new chart that week is now 361 points instead of 360.
Leaving us short ONE point for each trip.
And now we can't even add on another 20 or 25 points!
I think I will be calling my guide to see if there is anyway we could add on that 25 points, since we feel he mislead us.
I guess we should have bought the 200 points...
We didn't because we were hoping eventually to also buy a BWV or BCV contract resale.

This is the worst part of all of this imo - the fact that they raised the minimum add on points purchase just before issuing the new points charts. It really seems underhanded even if it wasn't meant to be. Flexibility is one of the hallmarks of this system and yet DVC is, in affect, funneling people into staying during the weekend. Personally this change has little affect on my plans, but I can see why those who don't normally stay during the weekends are upset.

 

[supersuperwendy]

This has really thrown a wrench into my plans for 2010.

 

[MiaSRN62]

My guide asked "why did you choose x number of points?" I explained that this number would allow us to stay in a 1 bedroom Sun.-Th. every 3rd year with banking and borrowing. And her response..."Wow, you really thought this out. Great! And how are you paying, etc...."

I feel for ya ems_mom....this is how our original contract discussion went with our guide as well back in 8/00. We were staying at VB at the time and took 3 days (with a couple phone calls back and forth with our guide) before settling on the point amount we did.
So we thought we had done the right thing......we knew weekend stays would not be the ideal for us, so planned around that. Our guide knew this. She knew we had an offsite timeshare and wanted to supplement our stay in Orlando with DVC.

the fact that they raised the minimum add on points purchase just before issuing the new points charts. It really seems underhanded even if it wasn't meant to be. Flexibility is one of the hallmarks of this system and yet DVC is, in affect, funneling people into staying during the weekend. Personally this change has little affect on my plans, but I can see why those who don't normally stay during the weekends are upset.

Exactly WD.....this is the caveat for me.

 

[Sheribo]

A 2 bedroom at VB in March has gone from 225 to 270 for a Sun-Thurs. That's a whopping 45 points. That's another vacation right there.

OK, so who do we write to???

 

[lugnut33]

I'd be irritated beyond belief. Disney did NOT handle this well at all.

That's all I've been saying the whole darn time!!

And a previous poster brought up a really really good point, DVC knew this was coming months ago and said nothing. However they were able to promote the new price increases and min. point buys for months.

 

[KLR-wlv]

I too - as a VB owner - am shocked at the increase in VB. 20% in all times I looked Sun-Thur. And that is the legal limit. So - again - I wonder if they're 'done" or should we - as many here are saying - obviously expect another hike next year? I didn't think this increase was "obvious" - I haven't been planning my vacations sun-fri, snickering all the way at how I was scamming the system - I was using the points I purchased in the point system which has been in place for 12 years. Sorry to feel a bit ripped off when my VB stays are devalued 20% when MF's certainly keep going up. (I just checked - the point difference isn't as bad as the previous poster listed - I believe a 2 br in March went up 11 points per night - so 55 points from Sun - Thurs)

 

[Uncle Remus]

Maybe we need to show Disney our member interest in reverting the point chart?

member interest, my butt.

 

[Inkmahm]

Have they handled anything well in the last year?

The change in the reservation system? No on that one.

Change from II to RCI? No on that one.

Now the new point charts? blundered that one too,

If this was a hockey game, I would throw my hat on the ice because DVC has a hat trick!

(player scores 3 goals in a game is called a hat trick, for the non-hockey fan members out there).

Is this DVC upper mgmt?

Even though it wasn't in the last year, I'd through in the sudden limit on transfers in and out. The limit of one in or out each year wasn't handled well a couple years ago, either.

 

[iloveokw]

Point charts are back up on the web site - look the same as before they yanked them for OKW, Vero, HH and BCV.

 

[kristenrice]

Even though it wasn't in the last year, I'd through in the sudden limit on transfers in and out. The limit of one in or out each year wasn't handled well a couple years ago, either.

Yup...and I am guessing there are going to be a lot of people looking for transfers now that they are going to be short a few points for their vacations. I wonder how many members are going to be willing to use their one transfer per year for just a few points.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

. . . To know, that in a span of days I go from 150 to 180 points for my yearly vacation. We asked our guide back in 2000...."how much should we buy". Went with their recommendation so apparently she was clueless and useless in "guiding" me through the sale .....[/B]

I feel your pain because I think very few of us realized that DVC would not work well in the long run for those who were not flexible with their dates, Season or unit sizes.

However, unlike some other posters who just bought their contracts, you really do have another option: sell. If you have owned since 2000, it is likely that even in this down market you could break even on your contract after factoring in the value of all the vacations taken.

If, on the other hand, you still feel that your DVC membership provides the best vacation value for you $$$, then you will have to adjust to these changes. Many of us are finding that we are havign to pay more to get the same thing we got in years past (say, checking luggage on an airline) and none of us like it. Ultimately, you have decide it if you will live with it or no longer use that which has become more expensive.

I wish you the best in whatever you decide -- Suzanne

 

[Sammie]

Question here, and honestly it has been so long since we purchased I don't remember. Is everything that is in the POS concerning the realignment of points included in the documents you sign to purchase or do you purchase then receive the complete POS after the fact.

 

[Inkmahm]

That's all I've been saying the whole darn time!!

And a previous poster brought up a really really good point, DVC knew this was coming months ago and said nothing. However they were able to promote the new price increases and min. point buys for months.

It's the timing I disagree with though and the way they announced it. NOT the actual change in the charts.

 

[GANUT4WDW]

So bummed with this news!!! Hasn't it been said that DVC is what sustained Disney after 9/11 when things weren't doing so well for the parks?
Now it seems as though they are almost expecting DVC to do the same thing during this economic crisis by creating a situation where members who have been happy with their vacations have to buy more points to continue their vacations as usual. I truly don't see where this will change situations for S-Thurs people to entice them to add Fri and Sat to their schedules. Not with this ecomomy.

 

[KLR-wlv]

What is an added annoyance is the haphazard point values now - some 1 brs are the same points - some weekends are more than other resorts (comparing between WL and BCV for instance) there doesn't seem to be much rhyme or reason to it. And again - the fact that AKV GV's went DOWN during the week - and VB Beach cottages went up the full 20% - it's very random and seems to negatively effect certain resorts over other.

 

[Inkmahm]

Yup...and I am guessing there are going to be a lot of people looking for transfers now that they are going to be short a few points for their vacations. I wonder how many members are going to be willing to use their one transfer per year for just a few points.

I think it would make Disney look a LOT better if they relaxed the transfer rule for a few years to allow people to adjust their vacations or get transfers as needed. Those with extra points might be willing to do smaller transfers but not probably won't if they can only do one in a year.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Not to add any further fuel to the fire, but I noticed that many of the changes for any single Use Day were the maximum allowable under the POS: 20%. This is especially true for those Use Days with low point values such as studios at OKW. So a 9 point per night rental only went up by 1 point because 2 points would be more than 20%. It would not shock me if we see another reallocation at some time in the future to further even out the weekday/weekend differential. -- Suzanne

 

[tjkraz]

Then that supports the ability to change the charts without regard to room type as long as the total points at the resort are not changed, they can rearrange the points any way they choose. Owners of those units are certainly not restricted to reserve only that type of villa.

Thanks, Debbie!

I looked at AKV changes, though, and don't see any evidence of changes crossing over from one room size to another. There were posts which implied this had happened (i.e. "ALL of the Concierge went up", "All of the Savanna View went up", "All of the one bedrooms went up.") But when I look at the point charts, I don't see any evidence of that.

Comparing the weekly values for each room class and size, there are only variations of 1-2-3 points per night when comparing the old weekly values to the new weekly values. (Those variations are to be expected since they are lowering the points for 2 days and raising them for 5 in each weekly bucket.)

I haven't looked at all of the point charts side-by-side, but I have yet to find any evidence that suggests certain room sizes were adjusted up or down at the expense of another.

Also, this passage caught my eye in the POS where reallocation is addressed:

...the total number of Home Resort Vacation Points existing within a given Unit at any time may not be increased or decreased because of any such reallocation.

 

[DVC92]

I believe this clearly affects the manner in which a majority of owners use their points since most stays are from Sunday-Friday (departure day). Personally, I usually go for 12 nights in a 1 bedroom, overlapping a weekend. It will definitely require more points.

I can only surmise that the change is an attempt to get members to purchase additional points if they want to continue maximizing their points for weekday use.

One thing to remember, DVC can only reallocate the points 20% from the previous calendar year. 2011 might bring about a further reallocation to even out the daily point requirement.