Disney Vacation Club adjusts 2010 Vacation Points charts

[figment795]

I think you can expect early to mid Dec to change designations in the next few years to likely Dream season.

I agree with you. I told DH this might happen and without skipping a beat he said we whould then sell it. Some of the changes have been hard to swallow but changing 1st week of DEC not good for us.

 

[Dean]

I agree with you. I told DH this might happen and without skipping a beat he said we whould then sell it. Some of the changes have been hard to swallow but changing 1st week of DEC not good for us.

We'll see but it does seem to be a higher demand than many of the other Adventure and Choice times. Another variation is going to 4 seasons instead of 5 at WDW esp since there is little difference now between Adventure and Choice.

 

[mickeymom629]

]TisBit I think this would be a self defeating reasoning. By saying that people will change their vacation habits due to a negative affect on points, it would thus mean that those that are benefiting would also change their vacation habits in a positive way, by staying extra night, adding a trip, etc.

Maybe, but I think you missed my point which was for the reasoning that DVC gave for changing the points - you have to read what I was commenting to, which was that they lowered the weekend points so that more people would want to stay the weekend nights. I was saying that the people who like to go Sun-Thurs, because it fits their vacation preference (traveling on the weekends, etc) will not necessarily be adding the weekend nights TOO , etc. etc., just because they lowered the points. Those who already go on weekends are benefitted because their typical stay has been lowered.

Yes, those who spend less points for the time they usually stay might add a night (a trip?? - that would be a substantial savings), but I'm sure for some of those there will still be banking and borrowing to add the extra night or vacation. By the same token, those who are negatively affected will also find a way to bank and borrow to adjust.

 

[White_Sox_Fan]

True, just because they lowered weekends doesn't mean that the S-F people will start booking weekends, but by raising the weekday points requirements they have created more supply (not in days obviously but in points) on the weeknights. If people stay one less day that is one more open day for someone else to use.

 

[Mississippian]

From everything I've been able to read about booking habits, this is a change that Disney really needed to make.

I don't think I've ever stayed on a weekend night, because they are so expensive. Now that they are cheaper I might give it a shot.

DVC shoujld do everything they can to equalize demand. I support them. Remember, for every "bargain" that they take away they are creating a new one.

 

[DVC92]

Back then, point systems were pretty uncommon. Was Disney really encouraging weekly stays, or just trying to make the system more understood by customers whose concept of a timeshare was a weekly stay.

I felt at the time they were encouraging weekly stays. Our sales rep suggested 270 points so that we could alternate weekly stays between 1 and 2 bedroom units every other year during different seasons. Studios were deemphasized since OKW has a lot of dedicated 2 bedroom units.

 

[MiaSRN62]

White Sox Fan : but by raising the weekday points requirements they have created more supply (not in days obviously but in points) on the weeknights. If people stay one less day that is one more open day for someone else to use.

some of us...myself included....plan on still staying the same amount of weeknights, but instead, just doing so in a smaller unit. So the same amount of points will be used by us (and I'm sure we're not the only ones that will do this.).

Besides, is there really that much need for weeknights to open up ? I have NEVER had a problem getting several different DVC units at under 4-5 months even. Granted, we don't go during holiday times (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Pres Week, Easter, July 4th) or early Dec. I would never try and book BWV or BCV during Food and Wine under 3 months. But I have gotten VWL in under 3 months for that time period.

But in the months of Feb, May, June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, and early Nov we've gotten the villa we wanted in under 4-5 months at : OKW, SSR, VWL, BWV. I've had a little more trouble getting BCV (but that's a very small resort and I'm talking under 4-5 months). And even with BCV---some of the nights were available. Funny thing was, one Aug (2003 I think ?) I could not get the WEEKEND at BCV but the weeknights were available but we chose to not have to switch resorts and went with BWV instead.

So was there really a big need for this (raising weeknight points to free up weeknights) ? We just never had any problems in over 10 years of being Members. I mean, my 2 bedroom OKW villa went up from 30 to 36 points per weeknight for Magic season. We're talking August when we usually go. I know there's always been availability last minute during the week because we've added days and extra rooms at under 4 months. So who is on a waitlist for a 2 bedroom villa at OKW in Aug where DVC deems it demands a 6 point per night jump ? I really don't get it ?

Maria

 

[jekjones1558]

I know there's always been availability last minute during the week because we've added days and extra rooms at under 4 months. So who is on a waitlist for a 2 bedroom villa at OKW in Aug where DVC deems it demands a 6 point per night jump ? I really don't get it ?

Perhaps the weekend nights at that time have very high vacancy rates and the reallocation is an attempt to get at least some of those empty rooms filled by locals or others who might now consider an end-of-summer long weekend holiday? Of course it remains to be seen whether that happens...

 

[Dean]

some of us...myself included....plan on still staying the same amount of weeknights, but instead, just doing so in a smaller unit. So the same amount of points will be used by us (and I'm sure we're not the only ones that will do this.).

Besides, is there really that much need for weeknights to open up ? I have NEVER had a problem getting several different DVC units at under 4-5 months even. Granted, we don't go during holiday times (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Pres Week, Easter, July 4th) or early Dec. I would never try and book BWV or BCV during Food and Wine under 3 months. But I have gotten VWL in under 3 months for that time period.

But in the months of Feb, May, June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, and early Nov we've gotten the villa we wanted in under 4-5 months at : OKW, SSR, VWL, BWV. I've had a little more trouble getting BCV (but that's a very small resort and I'm talking under 4-5 months). And even with BCV---some of the nights were available. Funny thing was, one Aug (2003 I think ?) I could not get the WEEKEND at BCV but the weeknights were available but we chose to not have to switch resorts and went with BWV instead.

So was there really a big need for this (raising weeknight points to free up weeknights) ? We just never had any problems in over 10 years of being Members. I mean, my 2 bedroom OKW villa went up from 30 to 36 points per weeknight for Magic season. We're talking August when we usually go. I know there's always been availability last minute during the week because we've added days and extra rooms at under 4 months. So who is on a waitlist for a 2 bedroom villa at OKW in Aug where DVC deems it demands a 6 point per night jump ? I really don't get it ?

Maria

But if you stay in a smaller unit, that will still free up something for someone else who very possibly will stay weekends. As a minimum, it uses up more points allowing for others with points they might not have been able to use to now use those points. The very fact that some resorts at times have been so easy to reserve suggests there were extra points not being used either at that resort or at all.

 

[TinklednPants]

When I first viewed the new point charts I did not see much that would bother me. 2 points here, three points there, some in my favor and some against.
However, a look at my upcoming 5 nights in a VB Beach Cottage showed that next year this same trip would cost an extra 50 points. 50 points, IMO, is not inconsequential.

 

[LVSWL]

But if you stay in a smaller unit, that will still free up something for someone else who very possibly will stay weekends. As a minimum, it uses up more points allowing for others with points they might not have been able to use to now use those points. The very fact that some resorts at times have been so easy to reserve suggests there were extra points not being used either at that resort or at all.

Sounds like a whole lot of wishing and hoping on DVCs part to me,"someone who will very possibly"

 

[bobbiwoz]

When I first viewed the new point charts I did not see much that would bother me. 2 points here, three points there, some in my favor and some against.
However, a look at my upcoming 5 nights in a VB Beach Cottage showed that next year this same trip would cost an extra 50 points. 50 points, IMO, is not inconsequential.

Yes, it's us VB owners (and I think HHI owners) who really should have the pity parties Those weekend point costs were so high to begin with, we're all faced with about 10 points more for each weekday now.

Bobbi

 

[Laurabearz]

Yes, it's us VB owners (and I think HHI owners) who really should have the pity parties Those weekend point costs were so high to begin with, we're all faced with about 10 points more for each weekday now.

Bobbi

Our 6 night Summer trip to Hilton Head trip went from 231 points to 256 points.

With the Saturday night going from 99 points down to 81 points, which is still to rich for our blood.

Thankfully all that means for us, is we cant bring friends with us in 2010, 2014, 2020, 2024 etc....

 

[tjkraz]

some of us...myself included....plan on still staying the same amount of weeknights, but instead, just doing so in a smaller unit. So the same amount of points will be used by us (and I'm sure we're not the only ones that will do this.).

Many resorts--particularly the newer ones--have a high number of lockoff units meaning that the number of studios available for guest booking can increase.

Member habits will certainly be altered by the reallocation but it's far too soon to predict what sort of trends may emerge.

Some will book smaller room sizes.
Some will book cheaper room classes (say, Savanna down to Standard View.)
Some will book cheaper seasons.
Some will shorten their trip by a day.
Some will reduce the frequency of their trips to DVC resorts.
Some will alter their patterns to include more weekends.
Some will buy more points to maintain established patterns.

In reality, I suspect many of us will utilize several of these approaches at different times. One trip going from a 1B to a Studio may seem like a fair compromise. Another time we may value the larger room and shorten the trip by a day.

So was there really a big need for this (raising weeknight points to free up weeknights) ? We just never had any problems in over 10 years of being Members.

With hindsight being 20/20, I would say yes, absolutely!

I can honestly say this is the first time I've seen someone claim that there have been no changes in resort availability over the last 5+ years. For the last several years I've been reading the same things over and ove and over again in terms of availability:

"Book day by day or you might not get it!"
"The new reservation system is awful because I'll get blocked by others who can book before me!"
"Remember you're competing with all of those SSR owners!"
"Used to be that I could always get something on short notice but now I never can!"

The blame was usually cast on SSR owners with the assumption being they were booking every resort but their own. But that explanation doesn't address why people were rushing to book their own Home resorts 11 months out. With this move it seems clear to me--we've had 14 years of resort-specific add-ons and an imbalance of members buying into DVC to use their points for weekday stays. Owners at BCV, BWV, etc. are competing with SSR owners or AKV owners or BLT owners for the limited number of weekdays available--they are competing with themselves.

 

[Inkmahm]

I'm not sure about that for a couple of reasons. Weather, hurricanes and school being the primary ones . A lot of people like me are willing to pull their kids out of school in Dec. because they're well into the school year. I would never pull them out end of Aug.-beginning of Sept. because they're just starting and need to get acclimated, settled, etc. Given a choice I'd rather go when the weather is more moderate than when it's guaranteed stifling, and lots of people aren't willing to risk being in Florida when a hurricane might appear.

So I could be wrong, but if they make Dec. higher I probably won't go then (or at least as often), but I won't change to Aug./Sept. simply because they lower it, and I imagine there are many others who feel the same .

Exactly the same. I don't care how cheap they make end of Aug / early Sept, I'm not going to Florida at that time of year.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Our 6 night Summer trip to Hilton Head trip went from 231 points to 256 points.

With the Saturday night going from 99 points down to 81 points, which is still to rich for our blood.

Thankfully all that means for us, is we cant bring friends with us in 2010, 2014, 2020, 2024 etc....

Yes, I'm afraid that it's our DF's who will be losing. I'll be booking Garden View Inn rooms at 7 months for them if available. We're still hoping for the BC for us and the DGC!
Bobbi

 

[Anal Annie]

I'll bet Thursdays will be very easy to get now that all the Sun-Thur peeps have to drop a night off their trips. I just hope there are enough studios to go around now for everybody who has to cut back on their unit size to meet the new point requirements. I wonder if they will track these kinds of pattern changes to see how the new charts affect things like this.

 

[Inkmahm]

I agree with you. I told DH this might happen and without skipping a beat he said we whould then sell it. Some of the changes have been hard to swallow but changing 1st week of DEC not good for us.

I'd be unhappy, too, if they changed early December. But I'd understand it.
At that point I'd have to decide if using points was the best option for that time of year or if using one of the Disney deals offered to AP holders, etc. would be better.

I'm guessing we'd still end up using points for our December trip rather than sell our VWL contract. We'd probably alternate between a studio one year and the 1 bedroom the next year. That would save points but still allow us to use them.

 

[MiaSRN62]

"Book day by day or you might not get it!"
"The new reservation system is awful because I'll get blocked by others who can book before me!"
"Remember you're competing with all of those SSR owners!"
"Used to be that I could always get something on short notice but now I never can!"

For high DVC occupancy times, yes, I would agree with the above quote Tim. I mentioned this. Food & Wine, early Dec and all holiday times (Christmas/New Years/Pres Week/Easter/July 4th/Thanksgiving).

This still leaves ALOT of time during the year where we have had absolutely no trouble getting into a DVC resort. I've been able to book often at under 4-5 months. In 10+ years of Membership, I have been on exactly 2 waitlists :

1)1st week of Nov 2004 for OKW 2 bedroom : I attempted to switch from a 1 bedroom to a 2 bedroom at about 3 months out. Never came through so MS allowed us to book 5 in a 1 bedroom. And at that time, there was additional 1 bedrooms available because MS offered me a second 1 bedroom---which I did not want.


2)mid August 2008 at VBR : I attempted to add a family member on at 2-3 months out and needed either an Inn room or studio. I was on a waitlist for about 2-3 weeks when 2 of my 3 nights came through.

every other time I've booked, I've always found something. It might not have been my 1st choice, but I usually could find a room and usually had a choice of resorts. So I just simply cannot believe there is a mad rush and lots of waitlists at OKW for the summer to justify such a hike in nightly weeknight points. We NEVER book at 11 months.....often times at less than 6 months. And by people complaining they can't get "last minute" as mentioned in your quote, well I simply don't believe any timeshare works well when booking last minute. And I'm assuming last minute is at 30 or 60 days out ? And believe it or not, I've gotten VWL for the first week of Oct in 2006 at 45 days out. This was for a studio. And I had a choice of a couple different resorts. I think BCV was the only one not available for my dates (which was something like Oct 4-8).

So I've never heard any complaints about calling day by day except for those really high DVC occupancy times that I listed Tim.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'd be unhappy, too, if they changed early December. But I'd understand it.
At that point I'd have to decide if using points was the best option for that time of year or if using one of the Disney deals offered to AP holders, etc. would be better.

I'm guessing we'd still end up using points for our December trip rather than sell our VWL contract....

December is a must go time for us, too. We alternate between BWV and VWL.

Selling, even VB where the new point charts for June's BC are definitely a shock, just isn't on our list of options.

Bobbi