Disney Vacation Club rumors take another left turn

[crazy4wdw]

Another DVC rumor to consider! Hopefully someone who will be staying at the Contemporary in the near future can confirm if the north wing has closed or is still open. Wasn't the rumor that the north wing would close on 10/1?

From Mouseplanet:

Disney Vacation Club rumors take another left turn

Rumors indicating that the Contemporary Resort's North Garden Wing could be completely rebuilt as Disney Vacation Club lodgings are still strong, but we're now hearing that the next DVC resort to be announced will be at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The Contemporary DVC building will reportedly not be started until after the first DVC resort is built in California. The California resort would immediately follow the Animal Kingdom Lodge resort. A preview center for the Animal Kingdom Lodge DVC resort is being set up in the theater at the Saratoga Springs Resort.

 

[pouncingpluto]

Interesting. I like this rumor, though I'd be happy with Contemporary too. Just hurry up already!

 

[minnie61650]

There is a thread on the resorts board saying that the North Wing of the CR is closing today (Oct.2,2006) for refurbishment.

Here is the thread:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1239769

 

[Tink's Tormentor]

Wow... Interesting... Animal Kingdom Lodge huh? But Saratoga Springs isn't sold out yet... Why would Disney want to open another location when a previous location isn't sold out? Maybe, if they open AKL then Saratoga Springs price will lessen?

 

[tjkraz]

It takes a minimum of 18-24 months to construct a new resort. They must start building something soon or they will have nothing to offer for months after SSR is sold out. Frankly, I'm surprised it's dragged out this long without an announcement.

 

[buckylarue]

I agree; after all, they were selling OKW, BWV and VWL when they announced BCV. As for us, Animal Kingdom, Contemporary and Disneyland are all very tempting...

 

[Tink's Tormentor]

Tempting yes, but too expensive.

 

[karrit2000]

I agree. AK is tempting to me. I would not purchase at CR. I'm still hoping something in California is next though.

 

[flyinglizard]

I spoke with a DVC employee yesterday, but not as a potential customer- just as a casual friend talking about business. He said that Saratoga is expected to sell through 2007 and that sales of SSR are exceeded any previous offering, with add-ons accounting for over 38% of sales. I asked him about the Contemp and he said there are four or five rumors out there but about the only thing to really be decided was the "priorities".

How about that sportsfans?

 

[mitros]

All of these rumors and suggestions and ideas. Someone needs to kick the guys running DVC in their collective butts and make them tell us what's next!

 

[lovemickeyshouse]

the master plan is a dvc at every single resort i been told this by a former castmember in line to checkin at pop on sept 30th take it for what its worth

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

the master plan is a dvc at every single resort i been told this by a former castmember in line to checkin at pop on sept 30th take it for what its worth

That's a cast member rumor, not something that's on the Disney property master plan.

 

[vonpluto]

That's a cast member rumor, not something that's on the Disney property master plan.

The way I understand it, DVC has an agreement with every resort for possible future expansion. Tentative locations are part of the agreement. This is not a hard and fast DVC expansion plan, more of a blue sky feasibility plan. The only resort not part of the is the Poly.

 

[minnie61650]

The way I understand it, DVC has an agreement with every resort for possible future expansion. Tentative locations are part of the agreement. This is not a hard and fast DVC expansion plan, more of a blue sky feasibility plan. The only resort not part of the is the Poly.

That is very interesting.
Any idea why the Poly was able to opt out?

 

[vonpluto]

That is very interesting.
Any idea why the Poly was able to opt out?

The word was space limitations.

 

[Jynohn]

The word was space limitations.

That's too bad. The Poly is the one resort I would LOVE to own at.

 

[caseymaureen]

I had previously heard the AK news from a cast member friend who works at OKW, he's usually pretty reliable. And something to remember is that Disney often floats ideas, at corporate and in the cast, to get feedback, and then never follows trough. Just a word of caution. I do like the idea of a DVC at AK though, it would be nice.

 

[mitros]

The way I understand it, DVC has an agreement with every resort for possible future expansion. Tentative locations are part of the agreement. This is not a hard and fast DVC expansion plan, more of a blue sky feasibility plan. The only resort not part of the is the Poly.

Well, cost wise, that make all the sense in the world. Build where there are utilities already in place. Speaking of no room at the Poly, I guess there isn't much room between the Poly and the Wedding Chapel {pavilion?, you know, the place you get married in}.And the TTC is on the other side.

Horace: You have a lot of inside info, do you recall Disney, years ago, trying to build another resort on the monorail, but the area that they tried to build in was very swampy, and when they drove pilings into the ground, they just sunk, maybe into a sinkhole area?

 

[2angelsinheaven]

On local news is reporting an announcement about a new Disney timeshare (I assume DVC) being built that was announced today. The teaser clip they showed was AK Lodge. I'll report back when more is announced.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

Horace: You have a lot of inside info, do you recall Disney, years ago, trying to build another resort on the monorail, but the area that they tried to build in was very swampy, and when they drove pilings into the ground, they just sunk, maybe into a sinkhole area?

The original souvenir book for Walt Disney World showed plans for:

• Venetian Resort — a monorail resort on the Seven Seas Lagoon between the TTC and the Contemporary
• Persian Resort — a monorail resort in Bay Lake, north of the Contemporary (which would have been served by a monorail spur line, possibly the same track the goes up to the monorail garage/maintenance facility)
• Asian Resort — a monorail resort on the site that is now the Grand Floridian

I just did a Google image search and found more information about this. See http://www.disneyworldtrivia.com/articleViewer.php?aid=76

As far as the story about trying to build on the Venetian Resort site — "but the area that they tried to build in was very swampy, and when they drove pilings into the ground, they just sunk, maybe into a sinkhole area" — is concerned, I'm not sure how much of this is true, and how much this an Internet legend.

I don't doubt that the site has a water table issue. After all, it's Florida. And I wouldn't be surprised if they did tests to determine what kind of foundation a resort at that site would need.

However, I don't think that Disney started actual construction of a new resort, only to be surprised when pilings disappeared into the ground.

Building engineers in Florida know how to deal with the ground in Florida. The cost of doing so may be much higher at some building sites than at others. So it becomes a financial matter. Yes, it could be more expensive to build at the Venetian Resort site than on more stable ground elsewhere on property. (But the location is unsurpassed!)

At this time, Disney is not building additional deluxe resorts. They have many deluxe rooms already. And guests who might have stayed at the deluxe resorts in the past are now often choosing moderate resorts, or they may now be part of the 100 thousand DVC members. Disney doesn't need an additional deluxe resort.