How important are future resorts to you?

[DanCali]

but I'm curious as to the actual real life usage of RIV, VDH, and CFW non-home resort stays

That's a tricky one too. Sometimes you just want to try something just because you can.

We switched one of our upcoming stays at 7 months from VGF (with direct points) to CFW just to check those out. Now I'm considering doing a split stay for that trip with 1 night at PIT just to check that out, if I am able to book that.

But normally, I'd probably be happier being at VGF on the monorail or a 15-20 minute stroll from MK, so (ignoring things like lounges and MM) I'm not sure I'd be missing much with resale VGF.

 

[MsChristy12]

All our contracts are resale, no direct. We figured if we want to try new resorts down the road, we can always rent points and that still saved us tens and thousands of dollars from buying direct. If the price for direct were more reasonable, I would have considered it.

 

[DVCjj]

No importance at all. Love the ones I own and/or presently stay at. I have Zero interest in Reflections or Ft Wildermess in general except for Hoop.

 

[Sandisw]

I think what ruined Riviera for me was (a) preferred room looks out to CBR and (b) skyliner is shared by a moderate resort and a value resort. Those features diminish the deluxe feel to me. I am by no means a snob. I’ve stayed at value and moderates growing up and in early adulthood but deluxe shouldn’t be commingled with non-deluxe.

I’m confused as to why who uses transportation matters…RiV has its own station..in terms of it not being deluxe enough?

Plus, plenty of non deluxe resort people use the monorails at the monorail resorts every day.

 

[ClaraOswald]

As of this moment, I don't think it's that important to our family. Of course, we've only been DVC members for a year and a half so it's possible I will change my mind later. But right now, I'm happy with my options at WDW. Our BRV contract is up in 2042. Maybe at that point we'd consider direct but who knows. But so far, I'm not really into the newer resorts like Riviera.

As for future Disneyland resorts....I'm not sure if I'd ever choose DLH or any future resort over VGC. I suppose if I ever really wanted to try them, I could just rent points or something. But right now, I can't imagine picking anywhere other than VGC.

Oh...and right now, the "perks" for direct don't really appeal to us. At least not enough to rationalize the price.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

Future resorts are not a major concern for us. We like our homes and would be happy to stay just there. We're open to trying a new resort if it appeals to us.

 

[davidhr]

One pro to direct points is if the biggest cost over the length of the contract is all the dues you pay, then I don’t want to pay all those dues on points that don’t let me stay wherever I want.

Same for myself.

I do have resale SAP that I got pretty cheap for Saratoga and I’m fine with those being restricted because I use those for quick trips when it doesn’t matter where I stay. But my bulk of points are unrestricted and I’d be annoyed knowing I can’t use them wherever I want.

Some people mention that you can rent your points and rent stays in those restricted resorts, and that might be a viable option for some. But if I were ok with renting, I wouldn’t have purchased DVC. I can’t live without the flexibility to modify reservations and switch resorts when I see availability at a better place.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I think they could be more creative in new resorts, like they used to with Animal Kingdom and Wilderness Lodge. Perhaps a Villain's themed resort to go along with the new land. Seeing as I have plenty of points, I can always trade into any new resort and don't need to purchase.

YES.

I think the recent resorts have been a bit "blah" and sterile for me. There's nothing wrong with them, of course. But I suppose it's because I fell in love with VGC and BRV which have a very specific feel to them. The somewhat generic towers they are building just don't appeal to me.

Now, if they build something on par with VGC or BRV (or some of the add-ons, like VGF)....I'd possibly consider buying direct if we wanted more points or something. But I wouldn't buy direct now for a future possibility that may never happen.

 

[Kingkonig]

We do not view DVC as an investment that we intend to recoup financially on - just prepaid vacations, basically - so didn't try to play the game of "what would our money do if we put the same amount in X fund" or whatever a lot of folks here are much better at doing than we

This is the way we think about it too. Don't get me wrong, we also have a fund that we throw money into in order to maximize returns, but that's not what DVC is about. I wanted to prepay family vacations for at least the next 10 years, which included Aulani twice, Disney World, and potentially a Disneyland trip. Disney cruises would be nice if the points charts weren't awful, but at the end of the day I'm not actually saving any money via DVC - I'd have a ton more returns if I put all the money I put in DVC (and Disney vacations on top of that) in an index fund and let it grow. But at some point, spending the money on luxuries we like is what we actually want to do with the money we make.

Saving a few thousand dollars on points that we can't use where we want to use them, having to go through resellers/travel agents to schedule the vacation we want was not something we wanted to do. So we bought direct.

 

[MyDogTink]

I’m confused as to why who uses transportation matters…RiV has its own station..in terms of it not being deluxe enough?

Plus, plenty of non deluxe resort people use the monorails at the monorail resorts every day.

Oh I have a big issue with the monorail system. I fear what the GF stop to MK will be like with the increased Poly occupancy.

I get annoyed when CMs at MK park closing redirect people on the TTC monorail line over to the resort line and that means hotel guests are now waiting for several monorails. This also caused the line at the CR to go down the escalator.

Especially for GF, a car (or cabin or whatever it’s called) of the monorail should be reserved. Honestly, I thought VGF was going to be my new favorite DVC resort but that changed after the monorail situation and we weren’t even there during a peak holiday period. (I know….we could have taken the boats but the monorail is nostalgic for me).

The monorail situation isn’t just an issue for deluxe DVC, it’s an issue for cash deluxe, especially GF with the highest cash rates.

I did voice this opinion/concern in the survey.

 

[Sandisw]

Oh I have a big issue with the monorail system. I fear what the GF stop to MK will be like with the increased Poly occupancy.

I get annoyed when CMs at MK park closing redirect people on the TTC monorail line over to the resort line and that means hotel guests are now waiting for several monorails. This also caused the line at the CR to go down the escalator.

Especially for GF, a car (or cabin or whatever it’s called) of the monorail should be reserved. Honestly, I thought VGF was going to be my new favorite DVC resort but that changed after the monorail situation and we weren’t even there during a peak holiday period. (I know….we could have taken the boats but the monorail is nostalgic for me).

The monorail situation isn’t just an issue for deluxe DVC, it’s an issue for cash deluxe, especially GF with the highest cash rates.

I did voice this opinion/concern in the survey.

I get frustration that some of transportation isn’t always the way we’d like it…but, it sounded like you were saying that RIV is less deluxe simply because non deluxe users can use the Skyliner.

Just pointing out that the monorail being open to all guests doesn’t make those less deluxe because of it.

And, while it can be very busy, I personally don’t think it detracts from those resorts being a deluxe experience.

 

[Kingkonig]

I get frustration that some of transportation isn’t always the way we’d like it…but, it sounded like you were saying that RIV is less deluxe simply because non deluxe users can use the Skyliner.

Just pointing out that the monorail being open to all guests doesn’t make those less deluxe because of it.

And, while it can be very busy, I personally don’t think it detracts from those resorts being a deluxe experience.

And for what it's worth, depending on the time of day it is a LOT easier to get a private skyliner gondola than a private monorail car

 

[Cfabar1]

But normally, I'd probably be happier being at VGF on the monorail or a 15-20 minute stroll from MK, so (ignoring things like lounges and MM) I'm not sure I'd be missing much with resale VGF.

My view, personally, is that VGF is the crown jewel in the WDW DVC Resorts (and is priced accordingly). Every time we look at booking a long term stay, this is the only resort we want to stay at. A night or two at AKV, sure. BLT has some advantages too, and maybe Poly booking won't be as bad as I fear....

And that brings me to another piece of advice that I often give: Money is for spending.

Truer words have never been spoken....

Also, all of this said, I have long thought that the restrictions were silly for DVC to do... It made a lot of sense to do this in say MVC where you are deciding whether going to Hilton Head or Paris every year.... It made less sense to me when you are deciding between going to the Riviera or Saratoga Springs every year. The diversity of offerings are not enough to justify the "restrictions" in my view. And, as many have said, its not like you can't stay there ever, its just you can't use the direct points to stay there.

 

[Sandisw]

And for what it's worth, depending on the time of day it is a LOT easier to get a private skyliner gondola than a private monorail car

Yes, it’s why RIV is tops for me!,, It is also why having access to all and future resorts is important to our family.

 

[Unclelude]

Value, moderates, white carders peering into my lounges... You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy!

Direct, this is the way!

 

[DanCali]

My view, personally, is that VGF is the crown jewel in the WDW DVC Resorts (and is priced accordingly). Every time we look at booking a long term stay, this is the only resort we want to stay at. A night or two at AKV, sure. BLT has some advantages too, and maybe Poly booking won't be as bad as I fear....

I don't necessarily disagree, but we're still looking to experience some resorts as a first visit. Some of the stays we've had (e.g. Treehouse Villas) end up being surprisingly fun and memorable even though I don't usually think of SSR and the DS vicinity as a top-5 choice for us. We'll probably end up with a similar conclusion about VGF and BLT, but with DVC many resorts are an actual attraction on their own, so I feel we should at least see most of them...

 

[samsp99]

DVC would have to create a new resort with much better theming than RIV or Poly tower for me to consider buying direct. If the did something starwars that was really good, that could possibly move the needle, but it would have to be way beyond AKV or CCV level theming to do it, and I don’t think they have that kind of mindset for new DVC construction these days.

 

[DanCali]

And that brings me to another piece of advice that I often give: Money is for spending.

That's generally good advice, because you can't take it with you.

But money is finite and people should also pay themselves first as generously as possible to be able to also enjoy retirement.

Depending on your age, every dollar you spend today can be $5-$15+ in retirement (if it grows at 7%, it doubles every 10 years), so replacing the latest model iPhone annually, or other luxury/discretionary purchases, can be a lot more costly than people think.

Unlike governments, most people can't borrow from future generations. When we spend too much and save too little (among other possible reasons) you end up getting this phenomenon in our society:



Source Link

 

[teamsamant]

That's generally good advice, because you can't take it with you.

But money is finite and people should also pay themselves first as generously as possible to be able to also enjoy retirement.

Depending on your age, every dollar you spend today can be $5-$15+ in retirement (if it grows at 7%, it doubles every 10 years), so replacing the latest model iPhone annually, or other luxury/discretionary purchases, can be a lot more costly than people think.

Unlike governments, most people can't borrow from future generations. When we spend too much and save too little (among other possible reasons) you end up getting this phenomenon in our society:

View attachment 902419

Source Link

I know too many people who never got the chance to retire. No they aren't still working, they are dead.

Retirement isn't guaranteed, tomorrow isn't either! Save a few dollars in the case you get to retire, but make sure you enjoy your life. Balance is important.

Oh and Disney could eventually start to build more interesting resorts again, then I'd be interested in future resorts.

 

[MyDogTink]

While access to future resorts is one thing, accessibility at the 7 month window is different yet important.