Dvc non perks

[Chuck S]

I don't understand how it would benefit Disney to have DVC members at the 90 day ADR mark. Most DVC owners are (some would call obsessed) pre-planners. Making reservations at the 180 day mark for DVC owners should not be considered a "perk" in my opinion.
I have yet to make a reservation as a DVC owner, but I can tell you without any doubt, when I request LeCellier, I will be locked out at 90 days. I called at the exact 180 day mark for our trip this year, as a "regular" guest and even then many (I'd estimate about 60%) of the times I requested were already gone (thanks to the 180 + 10 rule). Just my .02

The reverse is also true, it wouldn't benefit Disney to give DVC a 180 priority ADR window while their Deluxe cash guests are using a 90 days ADR window. In fact, it the perception of favoritism fo DVC may actually harm cash room sales...and Disney needs those right now. In fact, it would likely require a comuter programming modification to recognize a DVC reservation vs a cash reservation.

Why would you "without a doubt" be locked out? No one can currently call before 90 days (or 90+10 if your room reservation starts up to 10 days earlier). That applies to every one, just as the 180 days window applied to everyone. No one had an advantage over anyone else at 180 days, the same at 90 days.

Currently the problem is likely the free dining promo boking at 90 days. If they are offering the promo, Disney had better have sufficient plans to feed those cash guest free dining people or face very unhappy cash guests. They have even had to set up temporary dining facilities and re-open normally seasonally closed venues in previous years to accommodate them. It would be of no advantage to Disney to give DVCers a special booking window.

 

[DVCJones]

The reverse is also true, it wouldn't benefit Disney to give DVC a 180 priority ADR window while their Deluxe cash guests are using a 90 days ADR window. In fact, it the perception of favoritism fo DVC may actually harm cash room sales...and Disney needs those right now. In fact, it would likely require a comuter programming modification to recognize a DVC reservation vs a cash reservation.

Why would you "without a doubt" be locked out? No one can currently call before 90 days (or 90+10 if your room reservation starts up to 10 days earlier). That applies to every one, just as the 180 days window applied to everyone. No one had an advantage over anyone else at 180 days, the same at 90 days.

Currently the problem is likely the free dining promo boking at 90 days. If they are offering the promo, Disney had better have sufficient plans to feed those cash guest free dining people or face very unhappy cash guests. They have even had to set up temporary dining facilities and re-open normally seasonally closed venues in previous years to accommodate them. It would be of no advantage to Disney to give DVCers a special booking window.

I think that there is a heavier volume of calls at 90days than at 180. Not too many people know what they want at 180 days. Except of course the over obsessive DVC planner. By being allowed to make ADRs at 180 days, we would have a better chance at getting through to CS. A small perk that wouldn't cost Disney much $$$. JMHO

 

[Dean]

I don't profess to know much about other timeshares, but in my limited time over on TUG I have yet to run across any threads talking about all of the "freebies" that people get owning non-DVC timeshares. So why should we expect DVC to do something different ?

There are various perks. Some timeshares offer free golf. Some offer a lot of discounts. Marriott's often have a long list of discounts. Comparing the HH DVC discounts to Marriott is amusing. While DVC lists maybe 20-25 places, Marriott tends to list in the range of 80-100. There is some overlap but not as much as you'd think. Also, Marriott's generally allow you to stay in one unit till the next is ready, a major benefit in my book. A lot offer various discounts and benefits. That's not to downplay what DVC offers, which I feel if very good overall, but simply to acknowledge that many others offer similar options and in some situations, better than does DVC.

 

[3DisneyKids]

This type of thread was VERY popular at this time last year. Some folks were reporting that they had booked a Value at $59/night and free dining. Then they got upgraded to a 1BR at SSR. So they still got free dining and since they were "cash" guests, they also got daily mousekeeping.

Many DVCers were WILD. We paid a ton of money and didn't free dining, didn't get upgraded from 1BRs to 2, and didn't get daily maid service. Where is the love, people were clamoring.

Here's the thing....I hear you, OP, I really do. And while these folks *may* be getting a great deal on this one particular vacation, we as DVCers get great deals on ALL of our trips to Disney.

People are forever asking my husband and I how we can afford to go to Disney so often. We laugh and say "it's the only place we CAN afford to go!"

And I do agree with an earlier poster...Disney isn't giving anything away for free. They are getting their money for free dining, don't worry.

 

[Chuck S]

I think that there is a heavier volume of calls at 90days than at 180. Not too many people know what they want at 180 days. Except of course the over obsessive DVC planner. By being allowed to make ADRs at 180 days, we would have a better chance at getting through to CS. A small perk that wouldn't cost Disney much $$$. JMHO

Perhaps there is greater call volume, but do you honestly think Disney, or any company, would give somewhat captive timeshare owners a booking priority over a $450+ per night cash deluxe guest that could change their mind and cancel? That would be very foolish from a business standpoint.

 

[DizDays]

The annual pass with the DVC discount is about the same price as the 14 day ticket is. It doesn't include the waterparks, but obviously that's a trade off for the multiple days.

It would be incredibly dumb for Disney to give away non-expiration... It could potentially hurt them financially... that's why they raised the Non-expiration costs on MYW. Now, I could see Free Park hopper, but I'm not sure what their incentive would be.

The Free Park Hopper would be a great perk - and I don't see how it would cost Disney anything (other than losing the Hopper upcharge, if the guest actually intended to add it).

 

[Lynne M]

The Free Park Hopper would be a great perk - and I don't see how it would cost Disney anything (other than losing the Hopper upcharge, if the guest actually intended to add it).

Giving away profits you would have made, is still a cost.

I, too, am baffled by the non-enough-discounts complaints. Other timeshares don't give away free meals and large discounts to their members, why is DVC expected to do that?

DVC owes us what's in the contract. Nothing more. The contract is very clear as to what we get for our money, and what we don't get.

 

[yitbos96bb]

The reverse is also true, it wouldn't benefit Disney to give DVC a 180 priority ADR window while their Deluxe cash guests are using a 90 days ADR window. In fact, it the perception of favoritism fo DVC may actually harm cash room sales...and Disney needs those right now. In fact, it would likely require a comuter programming modification to recognize a DVC reservation vs a cash reservation.

Why would you "without a doubt" be locked out? No one can currently call before 90 days (or 90+10 if your room reservation starts up to 10 days earlier). That applies to every one, just as the 180 days window applied to everyone. No one had an advantage over anyone else at 180 days, the same at 90 days.

Currently the problem is likely the free dining promo boking at 90 days. If they are offering the promo, Disney had better have sufficient plans to feed those cash guest free dining people or face very unhappy cash guests. They have even had to set up temporary dining facilities and re-open normally seasonally closed venues in previous years to accommodate them. It would be of no advantage to Disney to give DVCers a special booking window.

I will say this though... while I agree with you on the DVC priority issue and how that would probably bite them in the butt... I do wish they'd move it back to 180 days for everyone.

 

[yitbos96bb]

There are various perks. Some timeshares offer free golf. Some offer a lot of discounts. Marriott's often have a long list of discounts. Comparing the HH DVC discounts to Marriott is amusing. While DVC lists maybe 20-25 places, Marriott tends to list in the range of 80-100. There is some overlap but not as much as you'd think. Also, Marriott's generally allow you to stay in one unit till the next is ready, a major benefit in my book. A lot offer various discounts and benefits. That's not to downplay what DVC offers, which I feel if very good overall, but simply to acknowledge that many others offer similar options and in some situations, better than does DVC.

Very true... however, I assume you and most others bought DVC for the same reason as me... location, location, location. I prefer on property to the close to property places.

 

[alady89]

How would discounts on dining or park tickets encourage members to use their points more frequently? Members have a finite number of points.



And yet you still bought into DVC, so doesn't that mean you saw the value of DVC without ticket discounts?

Yes - I see value since we come to Orlanda twice a year but just because I use my DVC points for accomodations does not mean I have to go to DisneyWorld. I can go to SW or US or other options. While I adore Disney, it is not the only show in town.


If additional perks definitely led to increased revenue, don't you think Disney would do it? Not that they're infallible, but don't you think they are already offering exactly the amount/level of perks they feel will maximize revenue? Why would they intentionally do otherwise?

My thoughts are it would be nice to receive even a 10% off cost of normal tickets, while nominal it would definately encourage me to spend more time at Disney and less time at other venues. For all of us, AP do not work but a discount on normal tickets would. Places such such as US offer Fan Club pricing etc. Is not DVC the ultimate fan club? While not entitled, it would be a nice "customer service" issue and definately increase our satisfaction with our purchase. I really believe they would see an increase in DVC satisfaction with just a few discounts which would ultimately return themselves 10 fold in revenue.

 

[alady89]

The Free Park Hopper would be a great perk - and I don't see how it would cost Disney anything (other than losing the Hopper upcharge, if the guest actually intended to add it).

I think this is a great idea. We never pay for this option but if was given as a freebie to DVC members, I think we might "play" just a bit harder. . and spend more. . .lol

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Giving away profits you would have made, is still a cost.

I, too, am baffled by the non-enough-discounts complaints. Other timeshares don't give away free meals and large discounts to their members, why is DVC expected to do that?
DVC owes us what's in the contract. Nothing more. The contract is very clear as to what we get for our money, and what we don't get.

My answer to your bold is that it's one of the reasons we never even looked at other timeshares. There were enough unique aspects to DVC that it became attractive enough for us to purchase. I can say with assurance that while we may not always own timeshares, they will *only* be Disney...

 

[DVCJones]

Perhaps there is greater call volume, but do you honestly think Disney, or any company, would give somewhat captive timeshare owners a booking priority over a $450+ per night cash deluxe guest that could change their mind and cancel? That would be very foolish from a business standpoint.

I think you are right about that. However, Disney could bring back the old 180 day rule.

 

[mattmommy]

I remember going through the timeshare presentation many years ago. Do they still do the free ice cream and picture at the end? I remember they had free length of stay passes for the owners. Is that not the case now?

They should definitely give you folks a leg up on reservations over us non-Disney timeshare owners.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

Ok, you know what a really stupid answer to this question is?

Because we LOVE Disney, enough to sink TONS of money in to it, and the guy staying on cash at the GF doesn't (most likely).

Shouldn't you treat the people who love you better than the Johns who are just passing through?

Seriously, though, I'm deeply, weirdly bonded to WDW...

I want my daughters to get married there, someday...

I want to have my ashes scattered at Bay Lake someday (ooooh now that's another thread ATG)

Shouldn't my devotion be rewarded?

Or maybe Disney needs to open a mental institute. Sign me up!

 

[Chuck S]

I remember going through the timeshare presentation many years ago. Do they still do the free ice cream and picture at the end? I remember they had free length of stay passes for the owners. Is that not the case now?

They should definitely give you folks a leg up on reservations over us non-Disney timeshare owners.

They still give ice cream, I don't know about pictures. The free park passes were for contracts that were purchased before mid-1996 or so, and the passes themselves were for stays at OKW ending on or before December 31, 1999.

 

[Dean]

Very true... however, I assume you and most others bought DVC for the same reason as me... location, location, location. I prefer on property to the close to property places.

My situation is not the same now as when I first bought. I am far more educated about my choices and do none Disney trips as much or more than Disney ones. And we enjoy the off property resorts more in some ways but it depends on our mood and what we're going to be doing. And the truth is I can have my cake and eat it too by exchanging in for most trips. One of my possibilities was to keep on a 25 pt contract and sell everything else, might still do that at some point.

Ok, you know what a really stupid answer to this question is?

Because we LOVE Disney, enough to sink TONS of money in to it, and the guy staying on cash at the GF doesn't (most likely).

Shouldn't you treat the people who love you better than the Johns who are just passing through?

It depends on the reason you are giving the perks. If it's to entice one's dollars to follow the perks, then they already have MOST of our dollars they're going to get and the perks may actually cost them money. If you view it as a reward, then that would be a different answer. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle. I've never thought DVC was aggressive enough at going after perks in support of their members. However, I think the members need to realize there can be a downside to pushing hard for perks because to get the best discounts/perks, you've got to be willing to push and that may mean only offering some of the choices that are now offered for things like the DC.

 

[LarryKeith]

I would think that most are upset with the change. DCV owners such as myself have always made our ressies at 180 day window. A lot of Cash disney ressies are not even made at that time. So we do have to compete with alot more people for our favorite rest. We are going in July and did make our ressies at the 90 window mark and got all that we requested. We had to juggle times and days to make it happen but that the usual. Of course we are going for 12 nights so we had room and we also could plan out whole vacation on first day of opportunity to call.
We try to take advantage of the perks when we can fit them into our plans but only then(1/2 price mini-golf),other than the $100 off anual pass. It totaly controlls my plans. I will bank and borrow to get the maximum amout of visits (days) in that 365 day period. We didn't even have that for a perk when I first joined. TY Disney people. We will have a total of 33 night in a 365 period by good planning ( and yes its still not enough). I could never afford such a thing without DVC.

 

[BostonDisneyKid]

DCV owners such as myself have always made our ressies at 180 day window

There have been many changes to the ADR (formerly PS) system through out the years. I recall way back that it was up to 1 year in advance. I think in the 90's it was at 180 days and I think it was somewhere around 2005-06 it was 90 (+10) and then a couple of years back it had changed back to 180 (+10) and is now back to 90(+10). I am sure it will change again at some point in the future as well...

 

[Chuck S]

There have been many changes to the ADR (formerly PS) system through out the years. I recall way back that it was up to 1 year in advance. I think in the 90's it was at 180 days and I think it was somewhere around 2005-06 it was 90 (+10) and then a couple of years back it had changed back to 180 (+10) and is now back to 90(+10). I am sure it will change again at some point in the future as well...

I remember way back when if you had a confirmed room reservation, you could make a dining reservation. Off-site guests could not make reservations. And they went from reservations, to priority seatings, back to reservations. Personally, I wish all ADRs were either secured by credit card or for onsite guests linked to a room, and if you failed to show or cancel within 48 hours, your room account or credit card would incur a $10 minimum charge, and increase for larger parties.