Focus Group

[beccasmom]

I forgot to mention in my earlier post that I attended a focus group at OKW last Wednesday; they had invited me a few days before I left for Orlando.

It was a discussion about DVC merchandising and how often we (members) would like to see new items, what types of items we would like to see offered, etc. They mentioned that they had started selling a DVC beach towel (I did not see it) and had sold 11 of them in one day, which they thought was a good sign. I would agree, except that many years ago I purchased an Epcot beach towel, foolishly left it on my beach chair at the Contemporary pool and it was stolen. The discussion sometimes got off topic - when it was mentioned that they were thinking of offering DVC coffee mugs, someone mentioned that if they offered them in plastic, they would bring them on their DVC trips since the studio units never have enough coffee mugs! Only eight of us were present, so it was a small group.

They gave us a gift bag at the end which included a white t-shirt which said "Members are Magical" (one of the security guards at the MK asked me if that meant DVC members!), a luggage tag that was really cute - a cut-out Sorcerer's Apprentice Hat in blue and a pen that lights up as it writes and also acts as a flashlight.
They also had munchies, but I got there too late to imbibe.

I also went to the Member's meeting on Tuesday morning. Not much new was discussed there. They talked about how BCV was the DVC that had sold out the quickest and how construction was coming along for Saratoga Springs. Our "boat captain" on one of our rides along the Canal told us that the SS would be more like OKW in style, although that was hard to discern from looking at the ongoing construction. It will have grand villas, though.

 

[Geoff_M]

Personally, I'd like some merchandise specific to each resort. After we signed we went back to WL and looked for some VWL stuff (I thought I had seen some there before), but only found a few generic DVC items (polo shirt, coffee mugs, etc.).

 

[floridafam]

I agree with more resort specific items.

I personally don't care for "Members Are Magical" in huge letters on the back of some of the shirts we have seen.

I wish they had more of the high quality polos they had at VB years ago.

Anyway, sorry to get off topic.

Beach towels sound good as long as they are good quality with colors that don't run. I imagine these would "sell like hotcakes" at VB, especially.

Glad to hear that they like to get feedback from members.

I definately think they need to have some better merchandise at VWL-who wants to buy plain WL stuff when you "own" at VWL. Owners there would probably appreciate stuff that has the name on it of the property they call home

 

[DeeP]

They gave us a gift bag at the end which included a white t-shirt which said "Members are Magical" (one of the security guards at the MK asked me if that meant DVC members!), a luggage tag that was really cute - a cut-out Sorcerer's Apprentice Hat in blue and a pen that lights up as it writes and also acts as a flashlight.

Boy that is different, they have been giving out $75.00 in disney gift certificates, or did you get both?

 

[zulaya]

Just to comment...I don't know much about what's usually available as our first BCV stay was 3 weeks ago, but in the BC/BCV store (Atlantic wear?) They had the windbreaker in navy, they had a nice sky blue polo that had the DVC logo embroidered in ivory on the left breast and on the left sleeve it had Beach Club Villas embroidered in ivory. I liked it, but wasn't prepared to pay the price for it (I think it was like $70). There was also a men's polo in darker colors that my DH liked, but again, it got left due to price. I think there was a coffee mug and perhaps a shot glass? Not sure on those.

I hope that they do expand the DVC merchandise to what people really want.

I personally wouldn't buy a beach towel ever.

 

[BCVOwner2002]

I would love to see a DVC merchandise catalog. I used to purchase the "promotional" items for the company I work for. There are some vendors who will create a catalog, keep your inventory, ship items as requested, etc. The only "cost" to DVC would be to set up the account with a dedicated vendor. If I ever move to FL I'm going to apply for this job!!! Annmarie

 

[Geoff_M]

They had the windbreaker in navy, they had a nice sky blue polo that had the DVC logo embroidered in ivory on the left breast and on the left sleeve it had Beach Club Villas embroidered in ivory.

They had tan or gray polos at WL with the DVC and "Magical" logos on them for $46. They had a decent range of WL clothing items ranging from a $19 "T" to a $150 bathrobe, but no VWL items. I don't know if the the BC's "gift shop" is a lot different than the YC's but the YC's was a lot more like a high-end clothing store than a "gift shop"! The only thing we saw with VWL on it was one medium T-shirt on a odds-n-ends rack at Belz!

 

[beccasmom]

I didn't receive a gift certificate, although I thought one had been mentioned by the person who called me - $40 is what I remember. But I was running around trying to get ready for the trip, so I may have mis-heard. I did not see a lot of DVC merchandise at OKW, although I did see the new throw which is very nice; I did not look at the price, because once I pick up an item......and my luggage was already too heavy! I only went once quickly to the store at BCV and the one at BWV, so I can't comment on any DVC merchandise I saw there. I was always in a hurry to get somewhere else!

 

[natt]

How long was your stay? Just curious how they select people to contact about the focus groups. Do they look for folks staying more than 7 days who may not mind giving up their time, or is it random. As flattered as I would be to be asked, I'm just not sure if I could sacrifice the time for the length of time we would be there. Just wondering!

 

[DeeP]

I didn't receive a gift certificate, although I thought one had been mentioned by the person who called me - $40 is what I remember. But

Maybe they have changed things or maybe they do different things for different focus groups. I participated in a group in Dec and then again in May and both times we were given 3 $25.00 disney gift certificates. For the first focus group I was approached at the BWV bus stop about 3 days prior to the meeting and for the one in May I received a call at home about a week before we left for WDW.
The focus groups were both very interesting and enjoyable but they did take up over 2 hours of vacation time, when allowing for travel time to get to the meeting and the 90 minute meeting. I felt as though it was worth it for $75.00, I do not think I would do it for a gift bag though.

 

[Laurajean1014]

I would like to see more DVC Collectibles. A yearly Lenox or Waterford would be nice. I also collect spoons, so that would be great. Bar tools would be great as well!

Also, not much for females on the DVC merchandise. What's with that?

 

[mickeys#1fan]

Feedback on this board seems pretty consistent, and I'll go along with it. DVC stuff is expensive. I'd like to see them throw us a bone, since passes aren't discounted, and give us quality merchandise at a discount to what non-members would pay. I personally like the embroidered polos and will buy one this next trip, but $58.00 is a little high. I'd like to see a member discount on member items.