If you could build a new DVC resort anywhere...

[nd43]

in the world... where would you build one?

I would build an Aulani type resort in the Caribbean because Aulani is such a long haul from the Midwest or east coast and having such an alternative type island vacation would be nice. Of course, I am not sure Aulani has been a slam dunk for Disney so I doubt that will happen!

 

[asunutgirl]

We were at Aulani two weeks ago. Cast members told us that the resort had been running at 99% capacity for the past two months. Maybe the DVC units aren't selling like they want but the place was packed!

Being on the west coast, we'd like something else out here.

 

[com_op_2000]

I will alway choose to have one on CC (Castaway Cay)
Think:
DCL to CC (a few days on the island without the ships)(the basic infastructure is already in place) to DCL

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I will alway choose to have one on CC (Castaway Cay)
Think:
DCL to CC (a few days on the island without the ships)(the basic infastructure is already in place) to DCL

I've said that a bunch of times but nobody seems to buy into it with me. Glad to see I'm not a total loner.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If they had to expand outside of WDW, the Florida Gulf Coast would be nice. Oregon coast would be nice. Another site in California near DL would be nice or the northern CA coast. Locations where most people wouldn't have to spend an arm and a leg to travel to.

But I'd rather they not expand any more. However, it would be the end of them if they didn't.

 

[bobbiwoz]

People on the cruise line board insist the insects on CC are horrible.

I would like to see a Caribbean DVC with a decent beachfront.

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

I would love to see a resort in Colorado for skiing tubing, and summer for nature hiking etc. disney would do it right with campfires, great dining, pool and much more. They could incorporate a movie theater like cruise line does it along with other activities like aulani has. That combined with tour guides and that would be a huge success

 

[Dean]

in the world... where would you build one?

I would build an Aulani type resort in the Caribbean because Aulani is such a long haul from the Midwest or east coast and having such an alternative type island vacation would be nice. Of course, I am not sure Aulani has been a slam dunk for Disney so I doubt that will happen!

When I look at this picture, I look at it for what would best fit the system rather than my personal preferences. With that in mind, I'd try to avoid overly seasonal locations and concentrate on a resort that would stand on it's own whether it was DVC or not. That means a top resort, in a great location and in an area people want to go to the area as well as the resort itself. To me that puts places like South FL (Marco Island, Captiva, Sanibel, etc), Aruba (or similar Caribbean) and Maui as top options. Secondary options would be FL panhandle, other HI islands and less traveled or less desirable Caribbean options like St. Martin or Cancun. I think one of Disney's mistakes historically with DVC was trying to go with second tier non WDW resort locations and hoping the name along would spur sales. Another was likely having a home resort priority, else it wouldn't have mattered.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'd enjoy one close to a national park such as Yellowstone or Yosemite. That or a Maui or Kauai resort might even get me to consider an add on at an off site location.

 

[DeeCee735]

Bermuda and Aruba. London and Paris.

 

[lodge]

I would love to see a resort in Colorado for skiing tubing, and summer for nature hiking etc. disney would do it right with campfires, great dining, pool and much more. They could incorporate a movie theater like cruise line does it along with other activities like aulani has. That combined with tour guides and that would be a huge success

I'm with you on this one 100%! We'd buy that in a heartbeat!

 

[JimMIA]

These threads are always interesting, but I'm really not sure that constructing ONE additional non-themepark related resort makes much economic sense unless there is some compelling local/regional target market.

For example, VGC attracted many West Coast and nearby buyers who probably never would have purchased a WDW resort. They got DVC ownership where they wanted to visit...and they could use their points at WDW and the other DVC venues.

Aulani -- despite it's many problems -- did the same for a large and rapidly-growing target market...Asia. Hawaii was a place Asians want to visit anyway...and they could use their points at WDW and other DVC venues.

Other than themepark related resorts like BLT, VGF, and Poly, the only exception to that I see is a Caribbean resort which might appeal to Latin American buyers. Problem is, those buyers are already coming to Florida and are not really a new market. I personally doubt a Caribbean resort would be a big draw for them.

*****
In several of these threads, Dean has mentioned another route to expansion -- expansion of existing exchange opportunities or alliances with other quality timeshare systems. I don't really have the knowledge of the overall timeshare industry Dean has, so I'll leave it to him to explain his ideas...but I think he has some excellent ideas.

*****
Looking at another approach, Wyndham in recent years has done some interesting things. One, they have bought outright individual properties and converted them to timeshares (e.g. Canterbury, in SFO). Two, they have bought unsold inventory in good locations (the WAAM program) and are now in the process of trying to convert owners of those independent timeshares to Wyndham (e.g. Smuggler's Notch, VT, Reunion, FL and others). And finally, they have bought entire timeshare systems (Shell). They have greatly expanded their system, and with the weak economy of the last 5 years they've done it at minimal cost.

Unless the economy double-dips into another recession, I think DVC has missed the window for acquisitions following the Wyndham model.

But some of Dean's ideas might work for DVC better than building a new resort where there is no unique Disney difference.

 

[Donna M]

in the world... where would you build one?

I would build an Aulani type resort in the Caribbean because Aulani is such a long haul from the Midwest or east coast and having such an alternative type island vacation would be nice. Of course, I am not sure Aulani has been a slam dunk for Disney so I doubt that will happen!

I would vote for the Caribbean too because Aulani is too expensive and time consuming to get to from the east coast. Now, I have never been to Puerto Rico, but considering its connection with the US, and its location, how would that be?

 

[JimMIA]

I'd enjoy one close to a national park such as Yellowstone or Yosemite. That or a Maui or Kauai resort might even get me to consider an add on at an off site location.

I LOVE all those locations, but I'll be the devil's advocate.

At many (but not all) of our most popular National Parks, there is no "close to." Yosemite and Yellowstone are two prime examples. If you are on the park boundary there, or at Grand Canyon, or many others, you are an hour or more from where you want to be. (In the summer at Yellowstone you might be three hours away!) And there is no monorail or Disney transportation.

One exception might be our most visited national park -- Great Smokys National Park in NC/TN. From either Cherokee, NC or Gatlinburg, TN, you are within minutes of being in the heart of a beautiful park. Another possibility might be the national capital area (VA/MD) where Disney once considered a resort. Both are within a day's drive of a huge visitor base (most of the East coast), and both are extremely popular destinations.

*****
With regard to Hawaii, the problem is competition.

DVC has one of its 12 total resorts on Oahu; Wyndham has 11 resorts on three islands, and a total of about 90 resorts nationwide. I don't know how many resorts other systems have, but Hilton, Marriott, and others are quite prominent on multiple islands in Hawaii, PLUS they have much larger internal systems than DVC -- beach resorts, golf resorts, Vegas resorts, ski resorts, etc, etc, etc.

Who you gonna buy...if you want to go somewhere other than Walt Disney World?

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

I'm with you on this one 100%! We'd buy that in a heartbeat!

Thanks I think I would love that and enjoy whatever mountain they choose

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

I would vote for the Caribbean too because Aulani is too expensive and time consuming to get to from the east coast. Now, I have never been to Puerto Rico, but considering its connection with the US, and its location, how would that be?

Caribbean would be good. Preferably in a lesser know location.

 

[chrisaman]

The clear best place to build a new one would be at Disneyland. With only 50 rooms there currently, it is clearly not enough. The land is there, they have a large parking lot right outside of paradise pier where they could build a hotel and a garage. This is a no brainier if they want to pull in the West Coasters which they have so little of now.

 

[bbn1122]

I would like to see one on Florida's Gulf Coast.....there are a lot of RCI resort listed for DVC but none are ever available...Sanibel Island or north of there would be great....

....also the Florida Keys....

 

[Deb & Bill]

I LOVE all those locations, but I'll be the devil's advocate.

At many (but not all) of our most popular National Parks, there is no "close to." Yosemite and Yellowstone are two prime examples. If you are on the park boundary there, or at Grand Canyon, or many others, you are an hour or more from where you want to be. (In the summer at Yellowstone you might be three hours away!) And there is no monorail or Disney transportation....

With Yellowstone, the park is only really open about four or five months of the year. In the winter, you are limited by the number of snow coaches and snow mobiles permitted in the park as well as the amenities open in the park. Old Faithful doesn't open any facilities until right before Christmas (and they close in September) and those facilities close again in February. Nothing else is open except for Mammoth Hot Springs (and again during that same time frame). Roads are closed to all traffic except for limited snow coaches and snow mobiles. There is a lot of the park you cannot access from September through May.

And then there is your transportation to the park. You fly into Billings, Bozeman or West Yellowstone and none have lots of flights in and out. During winter months you can only enter the park through the NW entrance.

 

[nkosiek]

One problem with international DVCs would be all the legal wranglings that would accompany such a venture. That said, with the amount of people we see coming from the UK, perhaps a DVC @ the Paris park would work. Having been the city several times but never the park and having lived in London, it would make for an easy trip for many of those in the UK. It would be another way of getting them to buy points, perhaps even more than they "need" since they would probably switch years, or use it for the bank holiday weekends. That said, I have no idea what the land situation is there in terms of use and space.