DVC due's for Gondola

[Dave Hollywood]

I read that part of our DVC dues went to pay for the gondola system. Can anyone confirm that or is it just a rumor?

 

[crvetter]

I read that part of our DVC dues went to pay for the gondola system. Can anyone confirm that or is it just a rumor?

Just as any resort, Riviera is responsible to pay transportation costs for its guests. So Riviera has a transportation line item (not broken out by which modes, Skyliner, buses) but it's there so it is safe to assume it will cover their share of the operational/maintenance/replacement costs of the Skyliner (just as every resort pays these for the monorails, buses, boats).

 

[aoconnor]

Just as any resort, Riviera is responsible to pay transportation costs for its guests. So Riviera has a transportation line item (not broken out by which modes, Skyliner, buses) but it's there so it is safe to assume it will cover their share of the operational/maintenance/replacement costs of the Skyliner (just as every resort pays these for the monorails, buses, boats).

Transportation dues for Riviera are $1.34 per point which is exceptionally high (Poly and VGF are $0.65 and $0.46 respectively and those both share monorail costs). It's odd because gondolas are supposed to be cheap to run and CBR/Pop/AoA have over 5,000 rooms also sharing the costs. Perhaps they're being extra conservative and it will turn out to be less.

That is the primary reason Riviera's dues are so high. 2020 wages are likely also baked in, but the transportation line item is double or more the other resorts.

 

[Ben E N]

Transportation dues for Riviera are $1.34 per point which is exceptionally high (Poly and VGF are $0.65 and $0.46 respectively and those both share monorail costs). It's odd because gondolas are supposed to be cheap to run and CBR/Pop/AoA have over 5,000 rooms also sharing the costs. Perhaps they're being extra conservative and it will turn out to be less.

That is the primary reason Riviera's dues are so high. 2020 wages are likely also baked in, but the transportation line item is double or more the other resorts.

It could also be because those costs are helping to pay down loans that paid for the gondolas, while the other resorts are only helping to pay for maintenance of the monorails.

 

[crvetter]

It could also be because those costs are helping to pay down loans that paid for the gondolas, while the other resorts are only helping to pay for maintenance of the monorails.

They are paying the loans they are paying operational and replacement costs. The actually upfront cost is something they can’t explicitly charge.

 

[crvetter]

Transportation dues for Riviera are $1.34 per point which is exceptionally high (Poly and VGF are $0.65 and $0.46 respectively and those both share monorail costs). It's odd because gondolas are supposed to be cheap to run and CBR/Pop/AoA have over 5,000 rooms also sharing the costs. Perhaps they're being extra conservative and it will turn out to be less.

That is the primary reason Riviera's dues are so high. 2020 wages are likely also baked in, but the transportation line item is double or more the other resorts.

Agree with all you stated. Perhaps it’s likely because it’s going to operate more dedicated buses too. Not sure which resort it could feasibly coshare buses with.

 

[OPDman]

When I purchased, I was told that the bulk of the transportation costs were going to dedicated buses to and from the Riviera. According to my guide, the resort will not share buses with the Caribbean Beach. There is a portion that will go to the Skyliner, but that’s not the driving cost factor.

 

[CarolMN]

The Disney Company should be paying the capital costs of building the gondola system - annual dues should not be paying for any loan or pat of the cost to construct the system. Annual dues will pay for operating the gondolas, though.

If they apportion the costs of operating the gondolas the way they do for the boats between Epcot ad DHS, they will divide the total by the number of resort stops. So since the gondola has 3 resort stations, - at Pop Century/Art of Animation, CB & DRR, Member dues at DRR should bear the cost for 1/3 of the operating & maintenance expense. I agree that buses are way more expensive than the gondolas (think of the labor costs) and DRR will have buses to AK & MK. I've been told that the DS merchants generally pay for the DS bus service and of course, each resort helps pay for the Magical Express bus service

 

[TexasChick123]

So if we RR owners are paying for and get our own buses, Lord let them come more rapidly than once every 20-25 minutes! I'm not going to get my hopes up, but if we are the only stop, shouldn't they come more frequently?

 

[zavandor]

I'd be very curious to know how they split the costs between the resorts.
The most reasonable way would be to split it by room occupancy: since the two values have more rooms, they should pay more.

Another way would be to split it "by stations". There are three stations: AoA-PC, CB and DRR, so DRR will pay 1/3 of the costs. This would be doubly unfair, because of the room count and because the DRR station will be used by half CB rooms as it's more convenient to them.

So the first option is fair, the second is unfair but would put a lot of the costs on the shoulders of DRR owners saving Disney millions over the next 50 years. What do you think Disney has chosen to do?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Kind of like the renovated lobby at the Polynesian paid for by DVC dues.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

So if we RR owners are paying for and get our own buses, Lord let them come more rapidly than once every 20-25 minutes! I'm not going to get my hopes up, but if we are the only stop, shouldn't they come more frequently?

Other resorts have dedicated buses. Disney's decision is to operate them on 20 minute intervals. No reason to expect Riviera to be any different than the norm for all other resorts.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I have seen Disney allocate greater shares of expenses to DVC owners over the years. All they have to be certain to do is have a reasonable allocation method. If Gondolas are put in as transportation for resorts I don't know that it couldn't be considered to have a basis to allocate charges that cover construction if that's what they decided to do. Or at least charge a usage fee that includes covering construction costs.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

With DVC, supposedly all that is guaranteed is a room. Parks, and other activities are not. It then baffles me why they can charge for transportation to the parks??

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

With DVC, supposedly all that is guaranteed is a room. Parks, and other activities are not. It then baffles me why they can charge for transportation to the parks??

It's an amenity like the pool or a tennis court or a gym which many people may not use either. It doesn't have a per use charge. Same with MDE. That charge is passed to all.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

Kind of like the renovated lobby at the Polynesian paid for by DVC dues.

Really? I never heard (read) that before.

 

[crvetter]

Really? I never heart (read) that before.

DVC shares in the cost of Common Elements on the cash side of the resort if it is a mixed use resort. The dues don’t pay for these costs directly, but each year you pay a capital assessment charge for repairs and replacements. So DVC is saving money in a reserve account for replacement and repairs of roofs, hallways, siding, furniture in and out of room, lobby, etc.

However I would assume DVC dues didn’t pay for the lobby renovation since DVC opened the same year as the lobby was renovated. So yes DVC is paying for lobby renovation through the capital assessments, but that isn’t for prior repairs it’s for the future repairs (the capital assessments are always future repair).

 

[Maistre Gracey]

It's an amenity like the pool or a tennis court or a gym which many people may not use either. It doesn't have a per use charge. Same with MDE. That charge is passed to all.

Indeed I agree... I was being a bit
facetious with my comment.
That said, there is some seriousness to my point. That is, Disney can do or build whatever they want to enhance their marketability of a resort, yet they don’t pay for it. Seems a bit leveraged, but as I’ve said before I have no dog in this fight at this point.
I take that back.... it’s not beyond us to book a few cash nights at the resorts. At least I can weigh my decision before I book. That is not always true for Members.

 

[Wakey]

The Disney Company should be paying the capital costs of building the gondola system - annual dues should not be paying for any loan or pat of the cost to construct the system. Annual dues will pay for operating the gondolas, though.

If they apportion the costs of operating the gondolas the way they do for the boats between Epcot ad DHS, they will divide the total by the number of resort stops. So since the gondola has 3 resort stations, - at Pop Century/Art of Animation, CB & DRR, Member dues at DRR should bear the cost for 1/3 of the operating & maintenance expense. I agree that buses are way more expensive than the gondolas (think of the labor costs) and DRR will have buses to AK & MK. I've been told that the DS merchants generally pay for the DS bus service and of course, each resort helps pay for the Magical Express bus service

I do wonder if it’s possible they could also say the operating cost of Gondolas to Riviera is not just a split one third proportion but it’s more because the line is longer out to the Riviera? Also The gondola will be bringing offsite guests into eat at the expensive Riviera restaurants - should Disney not be paying a proportion for that? I have no idea as to the answers because I cannot get a breakdown or total cost of running the gondola and the rationale behind how much members are charged.

 

[CarolMN]

I do wonder if it’s possible they could also say the operating cost of Gondolas to Riviera is not just a split one third proportion but it’s more because the line is longer out to the Riviera? Also The gondola will be bringing offsite guests into eat at the expensive Riviera restaurants - should Disney not be paying a proportion for that? I have no idea as to the answers because I cannot get a breakdown or total cost of running the gondola and the rationale behind how much members are charged.

No idea if that's something they could do. I just remember what we were told when someone challenged the split for the boats on the EPCOT - DHS route. I assume (could be dangerous) that they use the same method for the monorails, gondolas & other boats that serve the resorts.

IIRC, the review following the challenge resulted in BCV owners paying more for the boats. This was several years ago.