I’m so curious. Is current dissatisfaction with Disney affecting DVC sales?

[Jonfw2]

Further to some talking about Disney+. It is most definitely not a rounding error for them. $DIS stock is mostly being judged by its subscriber adds (which is silly). Adding availability in several new markets soon. Disney subscribers should include ESPN and Hulu but for some reason Dis+ is the focus. Recurring revenue from streaming is a real boon for the bottom line.

Integrating D+ (haha- terrible grade) with the parks is the next logical step in Disney's evolution. This week, they announced the first parks' discounts for subscribers, and attractions themed off of properties that are exclusively from D+ is coming I suspect.

 

[Bjaiken77]

I’m critical of DVC in a lot of places, but it’s allowing us to do things, and secure accommodations , we would never consider otherwise. We have three nights in an SSR Grand Villa coming up. Using the MyDVC calculator, that would come to over $6,500 for those nights (including taxes and parking). We would never consider doing that without DVC.

We love going to Disney and, at the end of the day, it works for us. The only time it wouldn’t work is if we decide we no longer want to go to Disney, and I’m as confident as I can be that this will never happen.

 

[DonMacGregor]

So maybe...maybe...DVC owners are collectively a little more tolerant of things like Genie+. Either they're OK with the upcharge or accept the standby waits for things they've ridden dozens of times previous.

We all still have a drawer full of magic bands. And judging by the state of resort parking lots, It's possible that DVC members drive in greater numbers than the occasional cash guest.

I agree with the Genie+ point. While there is a vocal group of DVC owner (at least on this forum) who feel that a WDW trip is not complete without hitting every ride and every attraction, be it visit number 1 or 51 and for whom "every trip is special and full of firsts" , there is also a group (large by the number of happy resort-only trip reports we see) who take a "Meh, we'll hit it next time" approach to park visits and don't care if they get Genie+ or not. We happen to fall into the latter category.

We've also integrated more resort days into each visit recently, not because of any negative park experience, but rather the positive relaxing decompression of just doing absolutely nothing while on vacation (at least for a day...LOL).

 

[smmora]

I agree with the Genie+ point. While there is a vocal group of DVC owner (at least on this forum) who feel that a WDW trip is not complete without hitting every ride and every attraction, be it visit number 1 or 51 and for whom "every trip is special and full of firsts" , there is also a group (large by the number of happy resort-only trip reports we see) who take a "Meh, we'll hit it next time" approach to park visits and don't care if they get Genie+ or not. We happen to fall into the latter category.

We've also integrated more resort days into each visit recently, not because of any negative park experience, but rather the positive relaxing decompression of just doing absolutely nothing while on vacation (at least for a day...LOL).

Question because I've been struggling with should we get it or not .... we haven't been to WDW in forever (was MGM, not Hollywood Studios)
Prior to that have had annual passes on both coasts at different, more years at Disneyland - with plans to start going again

Our first trip as owners is in 27 days , next one will be June 2023 .... I'm going back and forth between
I wanna ride them all or just relax and enjoy and eventually we will see it all

If you hadn't been in a while would you pay for the Genie+?

 

[Nappy1380]

Question because I've been struggling with should we get it or not .... we haven't been to WDW in forever (was MGM, not Hollywood Studios)
Prior to that have had annual passes on both coasts at different, more years at Disneyland - with plans to start going again

Our first trip as owners is in 27 days , next one will be June 2023 .... I'm going back and forth between
I wanna ride them all or just relax and enjoy and eventually we will see it all

If you hadn't been in a while would you pay for the Genie+?

If this was my first time in 10+ years, then yes I would. With that said, the amount or LLs you will get in HS or AK will be significantly smaller than what you will be able to get out of it at MK.

 

[DianaMB333]

I’m not visiting WDW as frequently as I would like to - or adding one more contract to “my portfolio” LOL- just because of airfares costs… and driving 16 hrs each way is not an option

I love the ambiance in the parks.. Disney has had better moments in the past, maybe, but going frequently removes a lot of the stress of planning that new visitors are having (which I am truly sorry for and hopefully Disney is doing something with all the surveys)…

My only true disappointing moment was Oct 1st -50th anniversary- but I had to let it go…

I watched again the opening ceremony of It’s Small World in California, and wish they had done something that meaningful and emotional… but again I’m moving on hahaha

 

[DianaMB333]

Question because I've been struggling with should we get it or not .... we haven't been to WDW in forever (was MGM, not Hollywood Studios)
Prior to that have had annual passes on both coasts at different, more years at Disneyland - with plans to start going again

Our first trip as owners is in 27 days , next one will be June 2023 .... I'm going back and forth between
I wanna ride them all or just relax and enjoy and eventually we will see it all

If you hadn't been in a while would you pay for the Genie+?

Yes.. especially on a crowded day, and if your priority is riding attractions (MK and HS)… if you have park hopper you can also start Genie in MK and then hop to AK and skip some lines there too..

 

[rubybutt]

I like how a lot of the "problems" with WDW that people point out is how crowded it is, and then go to explain how this means it is the end of Disney. SMFH

 

[KimMcGowan]

I'm wondering if the week I was there in March was just atypically busy…

I was also at Disneyworld Florida in March of this year. Crowds were large.

I wonder if y’all were there the first week of March? My family was and I thought it was extremely busy. We have been going for more than 30 years and I would rank this last visit as one of the most crowded. Still…I am ready to go back as soon as possible.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

I wonder if y’all were there the first week of March? My family was and I thought it was extremely busy. We have been going for more than 30 years and I would rank this last visit as one of the most crowded. Still…I am ready to go back as soon as possible.

I was there March 14-24. It was definitely busy.

(My previous visit was December 2021, which encompassed Christmas week, and it was also quite busy!)

 

[kilik64]

We went Mar 6-11 and it was definitely crowded. Way more crowded feeling then sept 18 and aug 19, our two prior trips. Even still, had an amazing time, which a lot of that was due to effectively using g+. We waited maybe 30ish mins at the most for any given ride we did, and that was the ones we rope dropped mainly.

You need to study up on how to use g+, but worth it to us.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I was there March 14-24. It was definitely busy.

(My previous visit was December 2021, which encompassed Christmas week, and it was also quite busy!)

We were also there early December and early March - and it seemed extremely busy both time periods. But we still had a great time - just needed some patience at times.

 

[aboveH20]

I wonder if y’all were there the first week of March? My family was and I thought it was extremely busy. We have been going for more than 30 years and I would rank this last visit as one of the most crowded. Still…I am ready to go back as soon as possible.

Yup, March 2-9.

 

[Slakk]

Honestly I am planning resort only stays with maybe a trip to Epcot to drink LOL. The parks are too full and thisGenie Plus LL pay scheme is a hard no for me. There is plenty to do out of the parks for us so we let our AP expire.

When I am on vacation I do not want to plan every day down to the second - I want to wake up and decide and WDW has made that impossible so we will not worry about it. We can do the water parks, pools Disney Springs etc. It makes it easier then waking up early and doing rope drop anymore.

 

[Sweet T n Me]

As a newer direct owner (January 2022), visiting the parks in the first week of January 2022 (staying offsite) and buying two more DVC resale contracts afterwards; we plan on returning in May (our official Welcome Home Visit), September and again next January 2023. The value I derive personally from DVC far outweighs my perspective of the last 6 months as the parks struggle with accommodating pent-up demand, recovering from supply chain issues, and worker shortages.

Agreeing with an earlier comment, for us, what we need to do and prioritize at the parks will surely change over the upcoming visits. While its disappointing at times to see things at less than perfection over our recent short visit, I was also mindful of the amazing ingenuity, adaptability and resiliency in what it takes to return things to a consistent standard and signature magical experience - especially from Cast Members.

Far from apologizing on behalf of Disney, the concept of value for me is in a constant process of evaluation. As time moves forward, if that value starts to degrade, we will move on, spend our dollars elsewhere and sample Disney far less than we would like to do. For this year (2022), I can only look at it as a recovery year. For those veterans of Disney and DVC that have already reached that threshold of negative value, I empathize with your frustration.

What is an official ”Welcome Home” visit? We booked online our 1st DVC stay at our home resort. What did we miss? This stay was the week before they “closed for 2 weeks” for Covid.

 

[john7994]

What is an official ”Welcome Home” visit? We booked online our 1st DVC stay at our home resort. What did we miss? This stay was the week before they “closed for 2 weeks” for Covid.

Others may have more insight or experiences as mine has not taken place, but it is essentially your first visit after becoming a member. When making a reservation for the first time and there is a location you want to stay, they may be able to dip into reservations that you may not normally be able to get online (excluding Grand Floridian I was told). For us it was Boardwalk and "magically" they booked a reservation when there was no online availability. I believe they also "flag" you in the system as a celebration/event as well. So, we'll see if there are any surprises along the way.

 

[kanerf]

Looking forward to retirement in a year or two (I am 62). At that point I will use the Auto Train so that I have my car with me. While it is expensive, they have frequent sales for the passenger portion (not for the car) and with the way that air fares are going it is becoming much more affordable.

 

[aboveH20]

Basically after reading everyone’s reply I’m encouraged that a lot of DVCers are of the mind that “this too shall pass”. Although not an owner, I’m a Disney diehard fan and I left so discouraged after my March trip.

As far as I can tell nothing seems to be getting the attention of the bigwigs — as many have pointed out the parks are packed and that’s the problem! I thought if DVC sales declined someone might notice. I guess my theory (hope?) was wrong.

Again, thanks to everyone who has posted. I’ve found reading the replies to be very insightful.

 

[Annabell]

Parks seem very crowded so I am sure that even with the dissatisfaction there are still many people out there that wants to visit Disney Parks and stay in Disney hotels. So I don´t see how it will affect DVC sales. DVC still has good value if you want to stay onsite.

 

[longboard55]

Been loading up on Disney stock with the current dip. Parks are packed, cruise ships running, hotels full, last year they were all shut down. Plus Disney has gotten a lot more efficient with their reservation system. I would guess a blow out quarter.

As far as DVC one of the best investments I ever made.