Is DVC The New Dining Plan?

[lugnut33]

Whoa, I was reading a thread in the news section and there was a poster on there railing on about how DVC was ruining WDW because it now has locked in guests in the same way the Dining Plan locks in guests (and profits). His point was since they already have the DVCers money they don't need to keep them happy and it's effecting how the parks are run. Since many guests (the DVCers) can no longer vote with their wallet, Disney is cutting back on guest experiences and maintenance.

I guess I would contend that the actual makeup of crowds at WDW would include a low percentage of DVC members. Heck, in order to have crowded conditions at the parks it takes a huge number of guests coming in from off-site locations.

Also, if the park experience diminishes we DVCers can elect to not buy park tickets and just enjoy our resorts, which I know some people already do.

What do you think, are we DVCers getting a bad rap? Are we the new Dining Plan?

 

[tjkraz]

DVC Villas only make up about 15% of guest rooms at WDW. Add in the non-DVC hotel guests, those staying off-site, locals, etc. and we aren't the biggest audience.

WDW parks host about 50 million guests per year. There are about 450,000 DVC members.

The criticism may be valid but I doubt Disney is basing its decisions on the habits of DVC members. That would be pretty foolish given the tiny percentage of park guests we represent on any given day.

 

[mama03]

Oh, I would say far from it. Most of us know we will go each or every other year. So more of us purchase some kind of annual pass. Second, we get no real dining discounts so most of us are paying full price for dining or DDP. Third, we are mostly Disney lovers and elevate the experience for all who happen to cross our path at Disney. I could go on and on of my opinion but obviously we have nothing to do with downgraded level of all customer service, maintenance, lower quality of food at restaurants. Its just the economy.

 

[DebbieB]

Whoa, I was reading a thread in the news section and there was a poster on there railing on about how DVC was ruining WDW because it now has locked in guests in the same way the Dining Plan locks in guests (and profits). His point was since they already have the DVCers money they don't need to keep them happy and it's effecting how the parks are run. Since many guests (the DVCers) can no longer vote with their wallet, Disney is cutting back on guest experiences and maintenance.

I guess I would contend that the actual makeup of crowds at WDW would include a low percentage of DVC members. Heck, in order to have crowded conditions at the parks it takes a huge number of guests coming in from off-site locations.

Also, if the park experience diminishes we DVCers can elect to not buy park tickets and just enjoy our resorts, which I know some people already do.

What do you think, are we DVCers getting a bad rap? Are we the new Dining Plan?

I don't agree. Not only does Disney need to draw non-DVC people into their resorts, they also have to draw people from offsite into the parks, plus locals. They have competition from Universal Studios & Sea World. I know when I talk to people in our Orlando office, most of them go to Universal before Disney. Plus they continue to build DVC, they need to have a quality product to get new people to buy. When they stop building is when there should be concerns.