DVCNews June Direct Sales article - Direct Sales Continue to Trend Upward in June 2024

[Cfabar1]

I’ve been an owner for 15 years and I do not ever remember a time when a DVC owner paid less than a FL resident.

FL resident have always had more options and ways to reduce costs for park visits.

Since we never needed a pass without black out dates, because we didn’t travel during those times, the discount that was given didn’t matter because even with it, it was more then the DVC pass that worked.

But wouldn't a FL resident have paid full fare for the Gold Pass and a DVC member have had a discount to purchase the Gold Pass?

 

[Sandisw]

But wouldn't a FL resident have paid full fare for the Gold Pass and a DVC member have had a discount to purchase the Gold Pass?

No…the price for the gold pass has always been the same for both DVC and FL residents.

FL residents pass options have always been better…more choices, including for multi day tickets.

And, FL residents have the monthly pay option which we don’t get as DVC owners.

 

[maui22]

No they didn’t. In fact, I think it may have overlapped more with BoardWalk. Several BWV rooms were added when the sales center relocated to SSR.

Beyond that, SSR was probably the only resort available for about 4 years until AKV came along in 2007. And DVC direct was still pretty under-priced relative to demand.

There was definitely an overlap between BWV and SSR without BCV.

We first looked at DVC sometime in 2003-2005. We had the opportunity to buy BWV or SSR. BCV was waitlist only. We were told they had just reopened the BCV waitlist.

SSR was priced lower and I liked Pleasure Island. Tried to convince DW but she liked the BWV/BCV area. We ended up not buying because the timing wasn’t right for us. Worked out because if we had bought SSR, I would have never heard the end of it when Pleasure Island was closed.

Adventurer’s Club was a lot of fun. Kungaloosh!!!

 

[Cfabar1]

There was definitely an overlap between BWV and SSR without BCV.

We first looked at DVC sometime in 2003-2005. We had the opportunity to buy BWV or SSR. BCV was waitlist only. We were told they had just reopened the BCV waitlist.

SSR was priced lower and I liked Pleasure Island. Tried to convince DW but she liked the BWV/BCV area. We ended up not buying because the timing wasn’t right for us. Worked out because if we had bought SSR, I would have never heard the end of it when Pleasure Island was closed.

Adventurer’s Club was a lot of fun. Kungaloosh!!!

I have often wondered when PI closed if DVC got any or a lot of complaints from owners. Especially in the dark days before Disney Springs became what it is now.

 

[Mai Ku Tiki]

You can spin it all you want, but the fact is that there used to be a discount on APs for DVC members and that has been taken away. I know that most of you seem fine with that, but the more things like this are accepted, the more will be taken away. That's my beef.

Many people complain about those of us that talk about "the way it used to be" as that we are out of date, and maybe so, but what I find is that time brings perspective. I will admit that I may have conflated the old Annual Pass/Premium Annual Pass with Gold/Platinum. They keep changing the naming of the passes so much it's hard to keep track.

Here is a good link to the history of DVC perks (thanks @tjkraz !):

https://www.dvcnews.com/other-resou...aring-more-than-a-decade-of-membership-extras

Agree. It seems such a simple way to offer perspective buyers & AP renewals tangible reminders they're a "Member of the DVC Family" like in the old days. A 5% discount on APs wouldn't kill Disney. Throw in a coupon for a free Mickey Bar or cupcake or to help celebrate your 1st visit each renewal as an owner ... Just a liitle something. Icing on the cake.

 

[Disney_escape]

It could be as simple as "We needed to replace the existing cabins, we may as well make them DVC and sell what we can sell as we go, and who cares how fast that is? In the meantime, we'll just rent out what we have."

That's not a terrible idea of the alternative is: replace the cabins and have them be all-rental all-the-time. In other words, the comparison might be to that property as a rental, not to other DVC properties. In that case, any sales are fine.

My thoughts too, it seems to be a profitable plan on RIV, VDH and Aulani.

 

[Cfabar1]

I mean, @Brian Noble's thought seems to be the obvious thought they are playing here... especially as they continue to increase inventory as @tjkraz has recently reported....

 

[tjkraz]

Agree. It seems such a simple way to offer perspective buyers & AP renewals tangible reminders they're a "Member of the DVC Family" like in the old days. A 5% discount on APs wouldn't kill Disney. Throw in a coupon for a free Mickey Bar or cupcake or to help celebrate your 1st visit each renewal as an owner ... Just a liitle something. Icing on the cake.

Enough is never enough...

At one time there were no AP discounts. No private lounges. No 20% shopping discount. No 10% TS restaurant discount. No Moonlight Magic. No holiday party treat stops. No holiday character meets. No Welcome Home Weeks.

But no matter what they do, there's always an expectation of more "icing on the cake."

The Sorcerer Pass covers 346 days. 95% of the calendar year. At a cost 30% less than the Incredi-pass. I realize that doesn't cover everyone, but it covers the vast majority. Why no token $100 discount off the Incredi-pass? Perhaps as simple as Disney doesn't want to discount people visiting during those peak periods. Philosophies change. IMO, it's silly to treat it as some sort of personal slap in the face when other things are regularly being introduced.

 

[tidefan]

Enough is never enough...

At one time there were no AP discounts. No private lounges. No 20% shopping discount. No 10% TS restaurant discount. No Moonlight Magic. No holiday party treat stops. No holiday character meets. No Welcome Home Weeks.

But no matter what they do, there's always an expectation of more "icing on the cake."

The Sorcerer Pass covers 346 days. 95% of the calendar year. At a cost 30% less than the Incredi-pass. I realize that doesn't cover everyone, but it covers the vast majority. Why no token $100 discount off the Incredi-pass? Perhaps as simple as Disney doesn't want to discount people visiting during those peak periods. Philosophies change. IMO, it's silly to treat it as some sort of personal slap in the face when other things are regularly being introduced.

If they could just manage to have one of these going on when we are down there. That would be great. Missed the “Welcome Home Weeks” by 2 days when we checked out on the 20th and they’ll be gone again when we get back down for Labor Day.

I am happy they have these special events, but it seems to me that they overly reward local DVC members more than those that aren’t in say a 4-hour radius. I constantly see local members that go to multiple of these and I wish I could just get to one.

 

[walt34]

It could be as simple as "We needed to replace the existing cabins, we may as well make them DVC and sell what we can sell as we go, and who cares how fast that is? In the meantime, we'll just rent out what we have."

That's not a terrible idea of the alternative is: replace the cabins and have them be all-rental all-the-time. In other words, the comparison might be to that property as a rental, not to other DVC properties. In that case, any sales are fine.

Quite possible. But if this is the case, DVD will scale back marketing for the cabins significantly (Aulani levels?) once the Poly tower goes live. There is a limit of how many properties they can actively market concurrently and don't you always point out that not confusing the customer is one of their main objectives?

And not a minute too soon, btw. I personally believe that the current advertising of the cabins at all POS is detrimental to other DVC sales as well. Looking at a picture of a cabin is quite a different experience than looking at RIV, VGF or Aulani and not representative of the overall deluxe theme in my opinion. And judging from the sales of the cabins, not many customers seem to find this desirable either.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Quite possible. But if this is the case, DVD will scale back marketing for the cabins significantly (Aulani levels?) once the Poly tower goes live. There is a limit of how many properties they can actively market concurrently and don't you always point out that not confusing the customer is one of their main objectives?

And not a minute too soon, btw. I personally believe that the current advertising of the cabins at all POS is detrimental to other DVC sales as well. Looking at a picture of a cabin is quite a different experience than looking at RIV, VGF or Aulani and not representative of the overall deluxe theme in my opinion. And judging from the sales of the cabins, not many customers seem to find this desirable either.

We attended the 30-minute "Member Update" at Saratoga one day this weekend and a heavy portion of the session was dedicated toward the Cabins (although the videos were still using the artist's renderings for a lot of it- I wonder if they will update that now they're open, if they continue to sell slowly). I can't imagine they'd lay off the gas this soon.

 

[Cfabar1]

We attended the 30-minute "Member Update" at Saratoga one day this weekend and a heavy portion of the session was dedicated toward the Cabins (although the videos were still using the artist's renderings for a lot of it- I wonder if they will update that now they're open, if they continue to sell slowly). I can't imagine they'd lay off the gas this soon.

Existing members have known about Riviera resort for about 5 years now...

The cabins are a new product, and they want to get the membership buying "something"...

 

[maui22]

Might another Riviera declaration be coming soon?

On May 7, 2024 13 vacation homes were added to DVC inventory for a total of 278,538 points.
https://www.dvcnews.com/wdw-resorts...re-vacation-homes-for-riviera-s-dvc-inventory

DVCNews sales tracker shows 74,589 points showed up on the county website in May.
https://www.dvcnews.com/dvc-program...t-from-strong-old-key-west-demand-in-may-2024

June was another 71,785.
That's 146,374.

We're waiting for July numbers, but OKW likely had fewer sales so RVA may have had more. Either way, I believe July + August deeds showing up on the county website will show all those declared points are gone.

Remember, deeds showing up on the county website could have been contracts initiated 3 months earlier with payments spread over 3 months.

Another reason I think Riviera is about to have another declaration is because DW and I just had a waitlist come through for RVA studio preferred view on Dec 13-14. We decided to put a waitlist for RVA studio (changing our studio standard view to preferred view) for Dec 14-15. That came through in less than 24 hours.

 

[byurick]

Might another Riviera declaration be coming soon?

Another reason I think Riviera is about to have another declaration is because DW and I just had a waitlist come through for RVA studio preferred view on Dec 13-14. We decided to put a waitlist for RVA studio (changing our studio standard view to preferred view) for Dec 14-15. That came through in less than 24 hours.

So that means less cash rooms and more DVC dedicated available? Not sure I understand.

 

[maui22]

So that means less cash rooms and more DVC dedicated available? Not sure I understand.

When another declaration happens (based on what I posted above, it seems reasonable to expect it in August or September), that will be the case.

Based on DVCNews calculations.

• Today 79.5% declared, so 79.5% is available for DVC points and 20.5% for cash.
• If they declare 5% more of the rooms, it will be 84.5% for DVC points and 15.5% for cash.

Typically, Disney eventually declares 100% of the inventory. Exceptions occur when DVD decides to keep a room to show. I'm not positive, but I believe DVD still owns the BWV room used to show potential buyers. (It's first floor next to what was Big River).

 

[Sandisw]

When another declaration happens (based on what I posted above, it seems reasonable to expect it in August or September), that will be the case.

Based on DVCNews calculations.

• Today 79.5% declared, so 79.5% is available for DVC points and 20.5% for cash.
• If they declare 5% more of the rooms, it will be 84.5% for DVC points and 15.5% for cash.

Typically, Disney eventually declares 100% of the inventory. Exceptions occur when DVD decides to keep a room to show. I'm not positive, but I believe DVD still owns the BWV room used to show potential buyers. (It's first floor next to what was Big River).

All units are eventually declared….if they choose to do that…but they can’t sell all points associated with them. They must retain 2% of ownership of units part of the association.

The law applies to those units that are part of association…cash rooms never declared don’t count.

The POS also gives DVC the right to hold rooms back for marketing purposes.