Fri night West Coast DVC party report.....

[moredisneyplease]

After much debate I decided to make the drive (in the rain, Friday afternoon LA traffic Memorial day weekend!) and I’m glad that I did! DVC put on a great party and presentation. Heres the skinny:

-30 mins of music, mingling, food and drinks (cheese, fruit, veggies, crackers, soda, water, beer, wine), and collecting various DVC Pins from the five different DVC “areas”: general DVC, DCL, Adventures by Disney, theme parks, and one other that’s slipping my mind… for you pin traders, all CMs were wearing lanyards w/ loads of pins. There was also a guy doing a little bit of trivia and passing out small prizes for those that answered a question right: I received a DVC travel coffee mug. Once most made it through this we were led to the presentation room:

-There were about 250 in attendance (just a rough eyeball estimate) and we all received a Yellow raffle card to fill out….later collected for the Giveaways! Once we were all seated, the show started with a video of a family talking about time spent together (of course at WDW!) and how much the memories meant to them. Then out came M.C. Casey who gave “hellos” and “welcomes” and brought out two Orlando based DVC reps: Dave and Joan (D&J). Of course they gave their quick hellos and started into the presentation:

- Getaway #1: Animal Kingdom Villas. 4 live African drummers and 2 live African dancers came out for a few minute show and then D&J showed pictures and spoke about the newest DVC resort and all of its amenities. They talked about an upcoming restaurant named Janna and said it will be a “restaurant with Indian flavors mixed with African cuisine”. Of course they discussed the plans of an amazing pool/water play area. From here they started talking Add-on incentives and did a Giveaway, both I will list below.

-Getaway #2: Disney’s California Adventure and the GC villas. Of course out came more music (banjo, fiddler, guitar, bass), some entertainment (Chip & Dale), and a new speaker, Mike Bronson, Sales Director of CA DVC. He spoke of the DisneyFiles magazine and showed a video clip of all of the changes being made to DCA. There are a lot of changes coming but the two that stood out to me were The Little Mermaid ride and CARSland, which will include a hovering tire ride similar to the 1960’s alien UFO ride and a CARS ride which reminds me of Test Track but w/ a CARS theme. In regards to the DVC Villas, he said they would be open fall 2009, that there would be an observation deck upstairs overlooking DCA and DTD, and that there would be direct access to DCA. Mike also mentioned DVC Hawaii in Oahu (I think this is where it is) will open in 2011 and will have 800 units, half of which will be villas. They wrapped up Getaway #2 with another add-on incentive and another Giveaway.

-Getaway #3: Disney Cruise Line. Another presenter and info about DCL in general. She didn’t talk all that long but did mention that there are two new luxury liners coming in 2011 and 2012. She did not release the itinerary but Dave joked that it would be Lake Michigan. Then came Add-on incentive #3 and another Giveaway.

-Getaway #4: Adventures by Disney. The presenter (Jennifer) spoke all about the many Adventures and of course showed some amazing videos from various adventures all over the world. Finally Add-on incentive #4 and yet another Giveaway.

-MC Casey and D&J had a nice closing with another family video clip about time together and that ended the presentation. From here you could either 1) go home, 2) visit w/ a DVC sales person, or 3) go back into the party room for dessert, music, and pictures w/ various characters dressed in vacation gear…..oh, it came with a card for a free picture w/ the characters. Now for the incentives and Giveaways:

INCENTIVES……all were for AKL:
1) Add on 100 Vacation points: $8 off a point, 130 developer points
2) Add on 160 VP: $8 off a point, 2 AP for either DL or WDW, and either 3 nights at a California Concierge Collection OR a week at either a 1 or 2 bedroom through Interval International.
3) Add on 250 VP: $8 off a point, 2 APs, and a 7 day Land and Sea Adventure with 3 days in a veranda room on a cruise and 4 days in a studio at SSR
4) Add on 350: $8 off a point, 2 APs, a 2 person Adventure by Disney trip (limited selection of location), and a one night stay in the Mickey Mouse Penthouse
5) Add on 500+: $8 off a point, 2 APs, a 2 person Adventure by Disney trip (no limit in selection of location), and the night in the Mickey Mouse Penthouse

Giveaways:
1) 50 points and art work from AKL
2) 7 night trip with Interval International
3) $200 Gift card and a DCL model ship
4) A digital camera and a digital picture frame
5) All of use received a DVC photo album

I thought DVC did a nice job and I can’t wait to hear about the Sat, Sun, and Monday parties!! Please post with any differences!!

 

[nunzia]

Sounds great! Wish I could have come..no dates on sales starting at GC or points..eh?

 

[moredisneyplease]

no and I specifically asked. Also, no good SSR deals, which is what I was hoping for!

 

[grizbuzz]

Thanks for the wonderful write-up!

Sounds like a wonderful event. Incentives looks great (especially for those who want to add on a LOT of vacation points), but I think we'll wait for VGC to go on sale!

 

[#1DisneylandFan]

That sounds awesome! We will be there tonight, so I can't wait! Thanks so much for the post.

 

[IknowDoYou?]

Good morning folks,

For those of you who are going tonight or tomorrow night, can one of you ask if these incentives are available for non-owners? The DW and I were planning on hitting DL this weekend and were going to meet with a CM to join the DVC family.

Since I'm not sure how previous (East Coast) events have gone, do they have separate deals during these events for owners and non-owners? Obviously I would have to get 160 points or more, but beyond that, I have not idea what goes on.

Thanks!

Ryan

 

[momof3poohlovers]

Thanks for the post. We are going Sun. night and it sounds awesome! I can't wait. I don't think we will be adding on any points but you never know! Maybe I can talk DH into it!

 

[moredisneyplease]

YES!! The deals are for NON DVC owners as well!! And from what my guide told me the deals are available at the Expo happening during the day so this way no one misses out on a deal because they can't attend the mixer.

 

[toocherie]

I'm not surprised that SSR points were not offered/pushed--my guide has indicated that they are getting pretty low on inventory at SSR . . . .

 

[IknowDoYou?]

YES!! The deals are for NON DVC owners as well!! And from what my guide told me the deals are available at the Expo happening during the day so this way no one misses out on a deal because they can't attend the mixer.

Awesome, that's good to hear. Does this mean that the matching SSR dev. points incentive is gone? 2 APs with 3 nights at California Concierge vs. matching SSR points...I'm not sure what's better but I certainly wouldn't mind both.

 

[ACDSNY]

I'm assuming any add-on would get you into the Founding Member program for VGC, is that correct?

 

[disneynoob08]

question, when you say 8 off per point, how much are the points right now? is it 10 dollars per point right now and you get 8 off? or it'll be 8 dollars per point? i'm trying to figure out how much it'll cost to add on...

TIA!

 

[ACDSNY]

question, when you say 8 off per point, how much are the points right now? is it 10 dollars per point right now and you get 8 off? or it'll be 8 dollars per point? i'm trying to figure out how much it'll cost to add on...

TIA!

AKV are $104 - $8 off = $96 per point

 

[PSWGal]

Our documentation for our AKV purchase specifically says:

3. Pursuant to this Founding Member Opportunity Program (the "Program"), if and when We construct the Grand Californian Resort, We shall provide You with the opportunity to become a "Founding Member" of the Grand Californian Resort by granting You the opportunity to purchase one (1) Ownership Interest or Additional Ownership Interest in The Grand Californian Resort symbolized by up to 160 Home Resort Vacation Points, prior to allowing non-participating or prospective purchasers to purchase an Ownership Interest in the Resort (the "Pre-Sales Opportunity"), as further described below.

It then goes on to say they're notify you 90 days in advance of the pre-sale period and that the pre-sale period will be of a 60-day duration.

We are "Founding Members" at AKV and purchased though "Disney Vacation Club Sales Center located at Disneyland Resort in California."

We'll be attending the party tonight. As I understand it, the model for GCV is not yet available. That's disappointing.

 

[Califgirl]

I'm assuming any add-on would get you into the Founding Member program for VGC, is that correct?

I believe you have to add on 160 pts at a non-sold out resort (AKV or SSR, maybe now only AKV?) to be a VGC founding member. At least that's what I remember from a few months ago.

 

[toocherie]

I believe you have to add on 160 pts at a non-sold out resort (AKV or SSR, maybe now only AKV?) to be a VGC founding member. At least that's what I remember from a few months ago.

Chris--I think when they had the DVC Dream Suite tours they said a 100 point add on would get Founding Member status . . .. but they might not be offering that now . . . . or Founding Member status may be sold out at this point.

 

[Chim Chiminy]

Do you have to buy through DL's DVC sales center to get these incentives?

 

[ACDSNY]

I believe you have to add on 160 pts at a non-sold out resort (AKV or SSR, maybe now only AKV?) to be a VGC founding member. At least that's what I remember from a few months ago.

Not necessarily. In March we were offered the Founding Member status if we added-on 110 points during the Dream Suite tour. So I'm assuming they're doing the same thing now with AKV.

 

[moredisneyplease]

Do you have to buy through DL's DVC sales center to get these incentives?

Thats a great question........I dont know. I do know, however, that if you called one of the CA DCV reps (I can refer a great person ) you'd get the same deal via phone.