DVC at Contemporary

[salmoneous]

Has Disney (in the past) ever waited until a DVC resort was almost built to announce that it would be dvc?

As far as I know, Disney has never waited to announce what anything they are building is. Their behavior is odd no matter what they are up to.

Now, if they are just building hotel rooms, I can't think of any reason not to say so. But if they are building DVC, it might make sense to hold off an announcement as there are two other on-property resorts Disney is trying to sell.

 

[pilferk]

Has Disney (in the past) ever waited until a DVC resort was almost built to announce that it would be dvc? I too would love to see dvc at Contemporary, but my little voice says "they've already announced GCV and they haven't even broken ground yet". At what point did they announce AKV? Did they already have units built?

If it is their strategy to build buyers into a frenzy before announcing, so we'll all buy without expecting any promotions, it's working.

p.s. love the construction pictures, keep em coming

Couple things:

Florida timeshare law says you can't sell until 70% completion (or something close to that %...I may be off on the exact #) is achieved.

AKV was able to sell quickly because 70% of the construction on the Jambo units had been complete for about 5 years....because they were remodels of existing lodge rooms that were built out already.

CRV wouldn't be able to sell units until 70% of the building for those units is complete....and that's a LONG way from bare ground. I think the speculation is, it will sell well.

Disney wants to sell AKV and SSR units in the interim. They KNOW announcing CRV will likely make some people wait to purchase there, canabilizing sales for the existing WDW resorts (AKV, SSR, and even "new" OKW). So there's some logic behind not announcing what it is.

In addition, you can look at it from the flip side: IF it were only a hotel expansion...what POSSIBLE reason would Disney have for delaying the announcment that that is what's going on. I mean, it's obvious they're building SOMETHING so why NOT tell people what it is? Unless there is some reasoning behind it.

 

[spiceycat]

When BCV were first opened I would never have described it as looking shabby chic. And I have never heard anyone on staff there call it Grandmother's Cottage, which I am not sure what that is.

T

it was believe me - ask your guide.

WDW use to make up stories on the resorts - which they use to tell us.

BCV was done after Grandmother's cottage so nothing in it was surpose to look brand new.

now some of it might be abuse - but don't think so. It was that way from the beginning. THen I did the tour - one of the guides points out the aging (aging is very expensive).

 

[spiceycat]

Has Disney (in the past) ever waited until a DVC resort was almost built to announce that it would be dvc? I too would love to see dvc at Contemporary, but my little voice says "they've already announced GCV and they haven't even broken ground yet". At what point did they announce AKV? Did they already have units built?

florida law is different than Ca, as pilferk pointed out.

I think BCV was done this way. Kept saying it can't be a DVC. was I surprised when it was!~

trying to remember VWL - and I can't...

with AKV they didn't need to wait because they were just changing some rooms in the AKL, again as pilferk mentioned.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

Couple things:

Florida timeshare law says you can't sell until 70% completion (or something close to that %...I may be off on the exact #) is achieved.

AKV was able to sell quickly because 70% of the construction on the Jambo units had been complete for about 5 years....because they were remodels of existing lodge rooms that were built out already.

CRV wouldn't be able to sell units until 70% of the building for those units is complete....and that's a LONG way from bare ground. I think the speculation is, it will sell well.

Disney wants to sell AKV and SSR units in the interim. They KNOW announcing CRV will likely make some people wait to purchase there, canabilizing sales for the existing WDW resorts (AKV, SSR, and even "new" OKW). So there's some logic behind not announcing what it is.

In addition, you can look at it from the flip side: IF it were only a hotel expansion...what POSSIBLE reason would Disney have for delaying the announcment that that is what's going on. I mean, it's obvious they're building SOMETHING so why NOT tell people what it is? Unless there is some reasoning behind it.

was SSR 70% complete when it went on sale?

 

[pilferk]

was SSR 70% complete when it went on sale?

The UNITS that went on sale were 70% complete, yes.

The whole RESORT doesn't need to be 70% complete, just the units that are going on sale. That's why units have gone "on-sale" by building throughout the SSR sales process.

 

[sjdisneywedding]

The UNITS that went on sale were 70% complete, yes.

The whole RESORT doesn't need to be 70% complete, just the units that are going on sale. That's why units have gone "on-sale" by building throughout the SSR sales process.

thats cool
thats what I figured
interesting

 

[Muushka]

florida law is different than Ca, as pilferk pointed out.

I think BCV was done this way. Kept saying it can't be a DVC. was I surprised when it was!~

trying to remember VWL - and I can't...

with AKV they didn't need to wait because they were just changing some rooms in the AKL, again as pilferk mentioned.

VWL was announced as being a DVC resort. But we could not buy until it was 100% complete (if I remember correctly). I remember this because we were chomping at the bit to buy and we could not. We could only book thru CRO (a 1 BR), which we did, to try it out. We did the paperwork at that time (Dec 2000) and closed about a month later.

 

[spiceycat]

besides SSR was a conversion - that kept getting bigger. Conversion don't need to meet the same rules. I think at first DVC actually thought they could just update the DI - until they did their study and realized it would have to come completely down.

the CRV doesn't fall into this - because the building will so much bigger. they can't use the plumbing and stuff that was there.

here is the first plan for SSr
http://www.magictrips.com/images/maps/ssr.jpg

here is the current one for SSR
http://www.magictrips.com/images/maps/ssr.jpg

oh here is the original DI to compare
http://www.magictrips.com/images/maps/dimap.gif

I think they notified us earlier because they had just mentioned building near that golf course (that they sold or leased - and I can't remember the name).

had the plans and details - and they wanted to tell us that they got something better!

 

[tjkraz]

As far as I know, Disney has never waited to announce what anything they are building is. Their behavior is odd no matter what they are up to.

In recent history it's not so strange. Since Iger took over Disney has been much more deliberate about announcing projects. "Millionaire" closed last August and it wasn't until the following January that Toy Story Mania was announced. Timekeeper closed in Feb '06 and Laugh Floor wasn't revealed until a couple months later. Most other recent attractions have been handled the same way including the Nemo ride at Epcot, DL subs, etc.

Now, if they are just building hotel rooms, I can't think of any reason not to say so.

The one benefit I can think of is that DVC as a whole benefits from the rumors. People considering a DVC purchase at SSR or AKV may be enticed by the possibility of using their points at the CR. If Disney were to announce a different purpose for that new building, then a potential CR point use doesn't factor into the decision.

If the facility were not DVC, one could argue that they are also losing sales vis-a-vis people who are waiting for the CR instead of buying elsewhere. On the other hand those sales will always be there. In other words, if I were holding out for the CR, upon discovering that there will not be a CR I'd simply buy elsewhere at that point.

I DO still think the odds are greater than 50% that it will be DVC, but I wouldn't be pick-my-jaw-up-off-the-floor shocked if it ended up just being more cash rooms.

 

[tjkraz]

florida law is different than Ca, as pilferk pointed out.

But that has no bearing on simply announcing the nature of a project. "Eagle Pines", a FL project, was announced and scuttled.

This FL 70% rule may keep the developer from selling until a certain point, but it has no bearing on their ability to reveal an intent to build (or existence of a project already under-way.)

 

[sjdisneywedding]

But that has no bearing on simply announcing the nature of a project. "Eagle Pines", a FL project, was announced and scuttled.

This FL 70% rule may keep the developer from selling until a certain point, but it has no bearing on their ability to reveal an intent to build (or existence of a project already under-way.)

no but the point being, Disney certainly does not want to announce CRV now only to tell people they have to wait x number of months until it hits 70% completion in order to sell it

if they announce it now, how many people would be either calling every day to buy or not buying the current offerings.

it probably does more good to hold off a bit longer and get some more SSR and AKV sales in

 

[spiceycat]

On the other hand those sales will always be there. In other words, if I were holding out for the CR, upon discovering that there will not be a CR I'd simply buy elsewhere at that point.

Not necessary there are some guests who only want a monrail DVC resort - anything else and they won't buy it.

heck it might even get some of the previous DVC owners back again.

boy I am expecting alot out one building.

 

[tjkraz]

Not necessary there are some guests who only want a monrail DVC resort - anything else and they won't buy it.

Then the issue is moot.

The point I'm tyring to make is simply that there's at least one justifiable reason for not making an announcement even if the new CR building is to house cash guests. That reason is to keep people buying SSR and AKV, thinking they may eventually have the option of CR at 7 months.

If the CR is to be cash rooms, those who are simply deciding where to spend their money will add-on elsewhere. Those who only want the CR will have nothing to buy. Whether DVC announces its intentions next month or next year has zero bearing on that last group.

 

[RoutemanDan]

BCV was done after Grandmother's cottage so nothing in it was surpose to look brand new.

now some of it might be abuse - but don't think so. It was that way from the beginning.

I think you are mistaken. I have never read or heard this story for BCV.

When BCV opened everything did indeed look brand new. Grandmothers Cottage?? BCV is hardly a Cottage.

 

[spiceycat]

promise - it was the story told for that resort.

if you don't believe and your guide was around then - ask them.

the beach club itself was beach resort - so grandmother beach cottage was surpose to blend it.

 

[RoutemanDan]

I'm sorry but I don't think that is correct. I cannot any information supporting it either.

Disney presents it as:
Step into the casual elegance reminiscent of mid-Atlantic seaside homes. Immerse yourself in the romantic architecture of 20th century craftsmanship filled with intricate wooden accents and picturesque pastel colors.....

Now they didn't do any remodeling, so to initially present as "Grandmothers Cottage" and then change it to that is a bit of stretch.

I am pretty sure I would remember Grandmothers Cottage.

 

[salmoneous]

For what it's worth, the good folks at google don't have many references to BCV being called a grandmother's cottage. They do find this thread, and a thread from 2006 where spicycat used that term on "another forum".

I was about ready to declare this myth "busted" when I did some slightly deeper digging. There is this quote about the Beach Club, pubilshed in a Yacht Club review just before the Villas opened:

The 572-room Beach Club, just down the wide boardwalk, has a more whimsical feel. Architect Robert A. M. Stern, who designed the Yacht & Beach Club (and Disney's Boardwalk, too), says the Beach Club is done in "stick style," the prevalent architecture for seaside wooden cottages in the 1860s and '70s. "It's a little bit of this, a little bit of that," he said. "Like grandmother's fabulous beach house--ceiling fans, chintz, gingham." A seashell motif, white wicker furniture, and French limestone floors adorn the lobby.

So, maybe...

 

[goofy4tink]

I just bought Birnbaum's WDW Without Kids-2008. On page 58, where it is describing DVC, it says "At press time, construction was under way to add Vacation Club lodging at the Contemporary Resort." Thought that was sorta interesting, since it is 'the' official guidebook for Disney.

 

[rinkwide]

...sorta interesting, since it is 'the' official guidebook for Disney.

I'd actually put more faith in it if I read it in The Unofficial Guide.