Disney Vacation Club adjusts 2010 Vacation Points charts

[twebber55]

Maybe I'm not thinking this through well enough, but might it mean less money for Disney as far as the parks are concerned? It seems plausible that people might shorten their stays (especially those who normally stay over a week with only one weekend) and therefore be in the parks fewer days--spending less money on food and merchandise.

Am I way off or missing something obvious?

SAmil this is exactly my thought i will be losing a day every trip to Disney.
one less day of the parks and one less day of DDP

 

[Cindaddy]

I have to disagree on this one. I think it would depend on your resort and time of year.

We typically go for 8-10 nights (9-11 days). We own at both SSR and BLT and get a 1 bedroom.

Adventure Season at SSR
8 nights in 2009 = 223 pts
8 nights in 2010 = 212 pts
10 nights in 2009 = 263 pts
10 night in 2010 = 256pts

Choice Season at SSR
8 nights in 2009 = 236 pts
8 nights in 2010 = 228 pts
10 nights in 2009 = 280 pts
10 night in 2010 = 276pts

Adventure Season at BLT MK View
8 nights in 2009 = 325pts
8 nights in 2010 = 323pts
10 nights in 2009 = 389pts
10 night in 2010 = 391pts

Choice Season at BLT
8 nights in 2009 = 343 pts
8 nights in 2010 = 342pts
10 nights in 2009 = 413 pts
10 night in 2010 = 414pts

At SSR we make out both ways. At BLT we make out at 8 days, it's at push at 9 days and it costs us 2 more pt at 10 days for Adventure Season, 1 more at Choice.

So it all depends on the season you travel and what resort. It's just a blanket that only shorter stay DVCer's benefit. Don't get me wrong, I am not happy about it costing a few more points at BLT but on the flip side I save at SSR.

Guess we'll have to wait and see what the final chart looks like.

You're including an extra weekend night in those totals. I said 8-12 days with only 1 weekend. I agree that there can be a benefit when including more than two weekend days. There's always going to be variations between resorts. I was generalizing a bit.

 

[toocherie]

Disney's MAJOR mistake is that this change is being done with too little notice. I agree with those who say that Disney has the fiduciary responsibility to have the DVC units filled 100% each night. In so far as they do not do this, all of us will have a hard time getting reservations for the dates that we want because the demand is not even. We all signed contracts stating that these changes are possible. Many of us expected that Disney would be respectful enough of members to make necessary changes to the point structure with a fair warning, to allow members to adjust their plans. My beef with Disney is not the changes, it is the short notice. I do NOT think Disney stands to gain revenue from this. DVC units CANNOT be empty on a regular basis on weekends. If weekend rooms are empty, then there will more demand for weekdays than there are rooms to meet the demand. IMPLEMENT THE NEW POINT STRUCTURE BEGINNING IN 2011, NOT 2010!

Jean: I totally agree with you. I don't think overall this change is going to affect me that much (I hadn't even begun thinking about 2010 and didn't buy based on a calculation "to the point") but would think for those of you planning early 2010 vacations this was not a good thing for Disney to wait so long to give notice.

 

[Laurabearz]

I just got off the phone with my guide who has been with DVC for a very long time. He told me that Disney pulled the point charts because they were not the final version. He told me to post that you should not rely on those charts. He said that they are still working on the charts and they should be out in the next couple of weeks. He expects some changes but was told by higher up that the published charts were not the final version. Stay tuned.....

Couple of weeks??

Unless they delay these changes, they have to be in place by 9pm eastern on 1/26. On that date a member will be able to reserve 12/26/09 to 1/2/10 at their home resort.

What happens if you book at the old prices?

Question? Since the 11-month winddow for January 2010 opens in 10 days, wouldn't the points charts have to be finalized and "official" by then? Can they change the point requirements after booking has begun for that year? If that is the case, I am going to try and make it through the next 10 days before I make any downgrades to my 2009 trip.

Going to be an interesting couple of weeks

hmmm ...when i asked why the weekends were so much higher when i originally bought in, i was told it was to protect the interests the non-locals...otherwise, the weekends would be impossible to book as many Floridians (and others able to make short trips) would buy in specifically to book numerous long weekends as opposed to a weekly stay

guess we'll find out if those who feel confident in their ability to book a standard week (assuming they rn't booking @ 11 months, 10 days out, etc) start posting they've been shut out with any regularity

I was told the same thing... weekends needed to be higher to keep the locals at bay and I thought that was really smart of DVC

Disney's MAJOR mistake is that this change is being done with too little notice. I agree with those who say that Disney has the fiduciary responsibility to have the DVC units filled 100% each night. In so far as they do not do this, all of us will have a hard time getting reservations for the dates that we want because the demand is not even. We all signed contracts stating that these changes are possible. Many of us expected that Disney would be respectful enough of members to make necessary changes to the point structure with a fair warning, to allow members to adjust their plans. My beef with Disney is not the changes, it is the short notice. I do NOT think Disney stands to gain revenue from this. DVC units CANNOT be empty on a regular basis on weekends. If weekend rooms are empty, then there will more demand for weekdays than there are rooms to meet the demand. IMPLEMENT THE NEW POINT STRUCTURE BEGINNING IN 2011, NOT 2010!

Bolding mine. I totally agree. At the very least give us time to bank/borrow our points.

 

[kenny]

You're including an extra weekend night in those totals. I said 8-12 days with only 1 weekend. I agree that there can be a benefit when including more than two weekend days. There's always going to be variations between resorts. I was generalizing a bit.

Understood.

Even without the extra Sat SSR pts went down most seasons for 1 week. Studio's went up.

So I guess it all depends on size of accomodations too. I am sure some trips we will get screwed and some we will make out better.

 

[kristenrice]

Disney's MAJOR mistake is that this change is being done with too little notice. I agree with those who say that Disney has the fiduciary responsibility to have the DVC units filled 100% each night. In so far as they do not do this, all of us will have a hard time getting reservations for the dates that we want because the demand is not even. We all signed contracts stating that these changes are possible. Many of us expected that Disney would be respectful enough of members to make necessary changes to the point structure with a fair warning, to allow members to adjust their plans. My beef with Disney is not the changes, it is the short notice. I do NOT think Disney stands to gain revenue from this. DVC units CANNOT be empty on a regular basis on weekends. If weekend rooms are empty, then there will more demand for weekdays than there are rooms to meet the demand. IMPLEMENT THE NEW POINT STRUCTURE BEGINNING IN 2011, NOT 2010!

YES!!! My sentiments exactly. The change itself is a bit of a problem for us. We'd planned on going 5 nights every other year in a 1BR for now, but expanding to a 2BR in a few years. Now, a 2BR won't be possible because we will fall about 10 points short. I am certainly not planning on an add-on just to account for 10 more points. We'll have to stick to 1BR's I guess. I had hoped to maybe do a studio one year and then a 1BR the next year, but annual trips are definitely not possible now.

I wonder if people will start to alter their 2009 plans in order to accommodate their plans for 2010. The timing stinks because a lot of people (like myself) may have already booked airfare or rented out points for 2009 trips and now find themselves short points for 2010 plans. This was really crummy timing on Disney's part.

I also feel bad for the BLT owners. Good heavens, they changed the chart before one single reservation was made with the original one! AND, they changed it right after they upped the minimum add-on requirement and price. That's just dirty. So much for Disney having great customer service.

 

[Sammie]

So you (DVC'ers) are caught between a rock and a hard place. DO you buy more to add on or do you sell for a loss? Or do you keep them and just go for fewer days?

I will rent them and start staying at Universal. DVC best never think they have us between a rock and hard place, it will be their loss. Or rent them and stay at Disney resorts using the great deals they are offering.

Or stay fewer days, eat all my meals in my villa or off property, and not even go to Disney parks.

At this point I will not buy any more points nor will I be the salesperson for them that I was for years. For many years DVC's best salesperson was a member. With the recent changes, to the banking policy, the $95 charge, the wait list changes, and now this, I really think they are biting the hands that feed them.

It would be one thing if their product was far and away better than anyone else, but lately with houskeeping and maintenance issues, there are alot of places to stay looking alot better.

 

[hakepb]

actually for my family we lose a day at disney and they lose my money for tickets and DDP ....understand your point but just disagree

The deck is always stacked in the house's favor.

While they loose a little of your money, they do that (one day reduction) to ,say, 7 families and they open up enough availability for an 8th family in the same period.

 

[Val]

We bought at BWV in 1998- so 11 years ago. We bought just enough points for a week in July- the only time we get vacation time. We now will be two points short for a weeks stay.

Given the decline in quality at WDW, the cost of tranportation to/from WDW, and the decline in BWVs, we decided to rent our points this year and take a break. Once those obligations are fulfilled, I regret to say we will cut our losses and be done with it.

Our dues have increased significantly- by about 75% over 11 years, and we get less and less. We will now always be 2 points shy for a weeks stay each year. Where am I going to "buy" two points? Our work situation has been stablWe will always be 2 points short. We do NOT want the required 25 or 50 points....we bought what we needed 11 years ago. When we bought, we were promised that the week total would never change for a season- just the individual days. We were also given the line that the weekends were so high to protect us from sell-outs by locals. Yes, I know that they can legally make changes- but they also risk losing customers- and we will be included in that loss tally.

At some point, it just doesn't make sense....and so we will be cutting our loss. At least we got some cheaper vacations for a few years, and we can probably get more than our original $63/point that we originally paid.

Yes, Disney is making a business decision, but it is also our business decision to go elsewhere. It seems risky in a down economy to be driving OLD established customers away and bet on attracting new ones. There is a saying that a bird in the hand......oh well, I guess the real world even penetrates WDW.

 

[kerickson]

It's very bad timing to publish changed points charts 1 week after the min add on increases from 25-100. I'm more upset about that. If I needed some extra points then I might add on 25, but not 100. I think that new policy will hurt them, but I can see how small resales may have started hurting their new member sales..

I think they should have a policy where you can do small add ons to your existing resort, but if you want to add on at a different resort then there is a higher min...

 

[starbox]

While the chenges won't impact us very much (we do studios and typically do a weekend) - but it's not going to save anybody a bunch of points.

And although I'll end up saving a very small handful of points - I can appreciate the very real strain that these changes put on larger families that have to get a 1-2 bedroom - the extra weekday points really add up fast.

In the end, it seems like this will hurt more members than it helps. And again, in tough economic times when cash guests are being given everything free under the sun to make their week-long vacations affordable - it just seems like the wrong time for TPTB to bite the DVC hand that feeds them. Members are the ones actually paying tens of thousands of dollars plus MF for our hotel room PLUS cash for food and tickets.

 

[mybabesuz]

I really take exception to this comment. It has absolutely nothing to do with being "set in our ways". It has to do with we have a finite number of points and this change is making our points less valuable. We have to be very careful how we use our points and that means taking vacations on Sun-Thurs, with an occasional Friday thrown in. But now we're finding our points will not allow us to do that anymore.

Example...
We just purchased a 180 point contract. Sunday thru Friday stay at SSR 2BR was 180 pts.
If these new numbers hold true the same Sun-Fri trip would be 200 pts. 20 points more is quite a jump!
Anyone want to sell a 20 point contract...Probably not.

 

[SCDizneyDawn]

Just incase anyone missed this under it's own post, here is an update from DVCmember.com

On January 21 a version of the 2010 Vacation Point Charts was incorrectly posted. An updated version will be made available within the next week. Members with valid email addresses on record will receive an email when the new charts are available. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

 

[spiceycat]

on the points chart now

On January 21 a version of the 2010 Vacation Point Charts was incorrectly posted. An updated version will be made available within the next week. Members with valid email addresses on record will receive an email when the new charts are available. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

so who knows what the new charts will look like - but at least they are telling us first.

 

[WolfpackFan]

On January 21 a version of the 2010 Vacation Point Charts was incorrectly posted.

Very interesting. So maybe it won't be as bad as we thought. We can only hope .

 

[Laurabearz]

I will rent them and start staying at Universal. DVC best never think they have us between a rock and hard place, it will be their loss. Or rent them and stay at Disney resorts using the great deals they are offering.

Or stay fewer days, eat all my meals in my villa or off property, and not even go to Disney parks.

At this point I will not buy any more points nor will I be the salesperson for them that I was for years. For many years DVC's best salesperson was a member. With the recent changes, to the banking policy, the $95 charge, the wait list changes, and now this, I really think they are biting the hands that feed them.

It would be one thing if their product was far and away better than anyone else, but lately with houskeeping and maintenance issues, there are alot of places to stay looking alot better.

I agree

We bought at BWV in 1998- so 11 years ago. We bought just enough points for a week in July- the only time we get vacation time. We now will be two points short for a weeks stay.

Given the decline in quality at WDW, the cost of tranportation to/from WDW, and the decline in BWVs, we decided to rent our points this year and take a break. Once those obligations are fulfilled, I regret to say we will cut our losses and be done with it.

Our dues have increased significantly- by about 75% over 11 years, and we get less and less. We will now always be 2 points shy for a weeks stay each year. Where am I going to "buy" two points? Our work situation has been stablWe will always be 2 points short. We do NOT want the required 25 or 50 points....we bought what we needed 11 years ago. When we bought, we were promised that the week total would never change for a season- just the individual days. We were also given the line that the weekends were so high to protect us from sell-outs by locals. Yes, I know that they can legally make changes- but they also risk losing customers- and we will be included in that loss tally.

At some point, it just doesn't make sense....and so we will be cutting our loss. At least we got some cheaper vacations for a few years, and we can probably get more than our original $63/point that we originally paid.

Yes, Disney is making a business decision, but it is also our business decision to go elsewhere. It seems risky in a down economy to be driving OLD established customers away and bet on attracting new ones. There is a saying that a bird in the hand......oh well, I guess the real world even penetrates WDW.

((hugs))

on the points chart now

On January 21 a version of the 2010 Vacation Point Charts was incorrectly posted. An updated version will be made available within the next week. Members with valid email addresses on record will receive an email when the new charts are available. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

so who knows what the new charts will look like - but at least they are telling us first.

Now it says the charts were incorrectly posted but not that the charts were incorrect...

 

[Plutofan]

I just got off the phone with my guide who has been with DVC for a very long time. He told me that Disney pulled the point charts because they were not the final version. He told me to post that you should not rely on those charts. He said that they are still working on the charts and they should be out in the next couple of weeks. He expects some changes but was told by higher up that the published charts were not the final version. Stay tuned.....

I should have said with in a couple of weeks. Most likely before the end of January due to bookings.

 

[bookwormde]

It does seem to be all “one way” If DVC was going to cause everyone’s point amounts to be “off” the least they could have done is to allow member to buy a few points each year from DVC (like other time share do) even if it was at a high point value like $15. Oh I forgot that would cause more points to be used and fewer points to expire thereby giving less rooms for DVC to transfer to CRO.

One thing to remeber is that jan 1 booking starts 1/25. I cant wait till they tell someone with a booked reservatin that they need more points to keep reservatin they allready have when they do not have any points available.

bookwormde

 

[Cindaddy]

Very interesting. So maybe it won't be as bad as we thought. We can only hope .

Notice they didn't say an incorrect points chart. Just that it was incorrectly (read:unintentionally) posted. I doubt the new chart will be much different. They wouldn't have written up the PR blurb that went with it, if it wasn't real.

 

[dzorn]

Notice they didn't say an incorrect points chart. Just that it was incorrectly (read:unintentionally) posted. I doubt the new chart will be much different. They wouldn't have written up the PR blurb that went with it, if it wasn't real.

What was incorrect is that the did not schedule enough staff to handle all the complaints.

Denise in MI