Is it just me...?

[lodge]

I think everyone should sell their DVC interests so everyone drives down the prices and I can go on a spending spree

Yes, take the costs of resale, for example- the cost of contracts on the resale market have increased to near direct prices, and in some cases more. What I'd be more concerned about, if I were upper management, would be those who can't afford DVC nor these rising costs of tickets and resort stays. Without the primary exposure, children (nor never-been adults) won't catch the Disney bug. I know because I spent my entire childhood and 20 years of adult life not knowing Disney, nor its commercial items (toys, movies, etc.). The entities need to work together for long-term target markets. I see Monster High up and coming. Mattel could have been also, but didn't diversify beyond movies.

 

[wdwdano@yahoo.com]

Disney greed is the major issue and the new management at DVC seems to only care about selling and not servicing the members. Long phone hold times, a website that is like playing a slot machine, for pay events, and a studio only resort.

Bill

I agree

 

[HookdonWDW]

The main issue as I see it is that many people fell for the marketing, and really believed that they bought into "The Best Kept Secret". Here's a newsflash: By the time you read that something is the "best" anything on a huge bulletin board, the secret is probably already out and gone.

Disney is a business first and foremost, with the added benefit of getting to entertain and make millions (literally) of people happy each year. And they are very good at what they do. But, if you see a magic trick done enough times, you start to dissect it, and look behind the curtain. I think that's a lot of what we see here. People start questioning what they are getting for their money. They want more of this and less of that. They want to see things change, or they want things to remain the same. They remember what they paid last year or 10 or 20 years ago, and question what they see as large "needless" increases. And what's more, they share their views with others. And this becomes a problem.

So lets look with how Disney has been dealing with it:

1. DVC owners bought DVC for a cheaper way to stay at Disney and expect accommodations and nothing else. Everything else is just icing on the cake. They will spend about the same, give or take each trip, and enjoy "owning" a piece of the Magic and have made trips to Disney part of their family tradition.
2. DVC owners use their points and spend relatively less each visit, but Disney has their upfront money and annual dues.
3. DVC owners vacation somewhere else with their points, allowing Disney to fill the rooms with people willing to happily spend more in the rooms and parks for the traded accommodations.
   
4. DVC members rent their points and go elsewhere, again, filling the room with people who will be happy with what they are getting and spend more at the parks and resorts.
   
5. DVC members let their points go to waste, paying for the overhead on a room that goes to waste and perhaps allowing Disney to provide upgrades to entice new people to become members.
6. DVC members gift or donate their points to others, who then spend more in the parks and resorts, and are happy to be there. They also become potential new DVC members.
7. DVC members become disenchanted or decide that their habits have changed. They sell their points and someone new purchases them, and the cycle of DVC begins again.

The beauty of this is that Disney wins with each of these scenarios. There really isn't an incentive to go overboard to appease people who want more perks or want things to go back to the way they used to be, because these people just cause dissent amongst the new guests who are perfectly happy with what they find at the parks now. If they get upset and sell or trade out they will be replaced with people who are fine with the way things are now. And THAT, whether people who are currently members like it or not, is a great marketing and business strategy.

We've noticed changes over the past 16 years. But we roll with them. It helps that we vacation outside of Disney, so this isn't where all of our vacation dollars go. Of course there are times when I get nostalgic (WHY did they get rid of Toad's Wild Ride, and I have always hated that pop up portable carnival in AK). But I also acknowledge that there are people who like the very things I could live without. DVC works for us at the moment. When it doesn't, we will sell.

 

[lovin'fl]

1. DVC owners bought DVC for a cheaper way to stay at Disney and expect accommodations and nothing else. Everything else is just icing on the cake. They will spend about the same, give or take each trip, and enjoy "owning" a piece of the Magic and have made trips to Disney part of their family tradition.
2. DVC owners use their points and spend relatively less each visit, but Disney has their upfront money and annual dues.
3. DVC owners vacation somewhere else with their points, allowing Disney to fill the rooms with people willing to happily spend more in the rooms and parks for the traded accommodations.
   
4. DVC members rent their points and go elsewhere, again, filling the room with people who will be happy with what they are getting and spend more at the parks and resorts.
   
5. DVC members let their points go to waste, paying for the overhead on a room that goes to waste and perhaps allowing Disney to provide upgrades to entice new people to become members.
6. DVC members gift or donate their points to others, who then spend more in the parks and resorts, and are happy to be there. They also become potential new DVC members.
7. DVC members become disenchanted or decide that their habits have changed. They sell their points and someone new purchases them, and the cycle of DVC begins again.

The beauty of this is that Disney wins with each of these scenarios. There really isn't an incentive to go overboard to appease people who want more perks or want things to go back to the way they used to be, because these people just cause dissent amongst the new guests who are perfectly happy with what they find at the parks now. If they get upset and sell or trade out they will be replaced with people who are fine with the way things are now. And THAT, whether people who are currently members like it or not, is a great marketing and business strategy.

Except you are forgetting 1 small detail: new points selling at new resorts directly from DVD for $165pp (or whatever it is now). If they don't keep the happy facade up, then folks will stop buying direct. And they keep building and adding more and more DVC rooms (thus more new points to sell). They can, and will, hit the 'wall' and I, personally, think they just did.

 

[HookdonWDW]

Except you are forgetting 1 small detail: new points selling at new resorts directly from DVD for $165pp (or whatever it is now). If they don't keep the happy facade up, then folks will stop buying direct. And they keep building and adding more and more DVC rooms (thus more new points to sell). They can, and will, hit the 'wall' and I, personally, think they just did.

No. I'm not forgetting that. When they hit a wall, they will add incentives until people happily buy again. That's the way of the world. I am confident that DVC studies the numbers and has multiple plans for different scenarios. You don't need to sell as many $165 points to stay ahead as you do $50 points. The economy is in a relative upturn, and Disney is taking advantage of it. They will adjust fire when they have to but until then, they will try to maximize profits, to the benefit of their stockholders.

 

[disneynutz]

Except you are forgetting 1 small detail: new points selling at new resorts directly from DVD for $165pp (or whatever it is now). If they don't keep the happy facade up, then folks will stop buying direct. And they keep building and adding more and more DVC rooms (thus more new points to sell). They can, and will, hit the 'wall' and I, personally, think they just did.

It's obvious that Disney is focusing their attention on buyers who don't do research and who buy on a whim while the pixie dust is still in their eyes. In the past add-on contracts were an important part of their sales but apparently not anymore so they have less of a reason to keep existing owners happy. Seems like they have taken on the same business model as other timeshares.

Bill

 

[DebbieB]

I'm just happy I bought when I did. The same $16,250 I paid for 250 points (minus $1,500 credit for selling 150 first year points) would now be $41,250 direct! Seriously? I know there is inflation but not that much. Plus the new rooms are more points per night!

 

[WilsonFlyer]

It's interesting how people can draw a conclusion that one wants to sell and suddenly hates Disney and all things Disney from one simply posting a thread expressing concern over perceived stagnation in the system. LOL That truly is amazing. NOTHING could be further from the truth.

Anyway...

We've had the discussions regarding "you purchased accommodations only" ad-nausea on this forum and most others, and before all you people start screaming out of the corners repeating what I just said back at me as if I never said it, I get that. I've been here a while. This is not news to me. There is a grander piece to this discussion though that I think I'm finally starting to see.

Disney/DVC is a unique timeshare. It is in many ways, not the least of which is the fact that it essentially offers one and only one unique and very exclusive destination. The purvey of other timeshares seems to be to be that fact that you can stay at special destinations all over the world. If you scratch through all the BS, Disney doesn't offer that. It offers accommodations at WDW. Let's not go down the DL and beach resorts thing, OK? Really? You think that's why they did DVC to begin with? My point is this. DVC is WDW and that's what it's sold for and as.

If they continue to separate P&R and value add for P&R from DVC, then my contention is that DVC offers nothing over any other Orlando timeshare, and arguably even less. Disney seems to be conveniently neglecting the fact that the only thing DVC brings to the table is WDW. Separate the two and you have nothing. People have said that time and again on this forum but seem to conveniently leave it out during discussions like this.

This seems to be a management issue in that P&R doesn't seem obligated to give anything to DVC now that the short-term model is fulfilled. P&R doesn't care, so DVC is left swinging in the wind until somebody above both business units realizes that DVC becomes nothing without the benefits that P&R brings to the table.

I'd argue that you do need something besides accommodations to continually sell and promote DVC. If you're not giving that value add, you offer nothing beyond Bonnet Creek. I guess that's kinda my point. Maybe it makes sense to somebody.

 

[Mousewerks]

Starting next month, my wife and I will be spending 16 nights at Walt Disney World. It will be out 16th DVC trip since our first DVC trip in March 2010. We were last at WDW in June, when we spent 8 nights at SSR. I mention this to show we are Disney regulars who can say we've "been there, done that" for most things.


6. We are big fans of Star Wars, so I'm interested in seeing what Disney is doing in the Parks in anticipation of Star Wars #7 coming out in December. I definitely will be checking out the Star Wars Launch Bay that should be open at Hollywood Studios during our trip. Hopefully, we'll find some new Star Wars t-shirts to get for our nieces and nephews for Christmas (Truth be told: I hope they have a BB-8 t-shirt in my size, too).

7. Speaking of Hollywood Studios, we are looking forward to one last look at the Osborne Family Lights.

8. Hollywood Studios is already undergoing a major transformation as Disney adds Toy Story Land and Star Wars Land to the Park. We need to take more "before" photos of the Park so we can track how it changes over the years.

9. There are new animals on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, so we need to check them out.

I admit that my life isn't all that exciting. Matt Damon and Robert Downey, Jr. don't stop by my house and tell me the latest Hollywood gossip; Warren Buffett doesn't call and ask me my opinions on stock picks; neither the Colorado Rockies nor Colorado Avalanche have asked that I take over the running of their franchises.

So maybe its understandable why I still find Disney far from boring.

Let me just add a little fuel to your fire. I spent one night at Saratoga Springs this past Wednesday night and I am VERY happy with what they are doing with the magic bands.

Parking passes have gone the way of the dinosaur. I got the text that my room was ready as I was flying to Orlando. I picked up my rental car and drove to the resort. At the gate, the attendant checked for my name and scanned my magic band with a very small hand-held device of which I would become more and more familiar. I was told I could go directly to my room which I did. The magic band opened the door just fine and I settled in. Just to close the loop, I went to the Carriage House to see if I needed to do anything else and was told that no, nothing else needed to be done.

I then went to Hollywood Studios armed with 3 fastpasses. As a single person, I was able to ride the four headliners in about an hour and 15 minutes. Truly a commando style of 'attacking' the park. The magic band worked perfectly and paired with My Disney Experience on my phone, it was a breeze. Entering the park, my magic band was again scanned and I was allowed to park without paying. I did get to see the Osborne Lights, just not lit up. It took me a minute to fully recognize that the Hat is gone. That's a different vista entering the park. Not unattractive at all, just different. Nothing yet promoting the new Star Wars film in Hollywood Studios. Watto's Grotto is open but I didn't see the Launch Bay. I could have just missed it but I would have expected it to be a little more prominent if it was open.

I have to say that Hollywood Studios is a fun park to 'attack' It's small enough and easy to get around in. Crowds were not horrendous though there were people everywhere..

After checking out on Thursday, I went to Animal Kingdom. Again, was allowed to park without paying with the little handheld device. Animal Kingdom is a more leisurely park and I was only going to spend the morning there. Was able to do everything I wanted and did ride the Safari. Only cat we saw was the cheetah. Many elephants.. Crocodiles galore. I want to do whatever tour it was that had them eating lunch on the savannah. I just can't remember the name of it off the top of my head. Everest was fun, and the Lion King show did not disappoint. Crowds at Animal Kingdom seemed larger but I think that was due to the amount of strollers/wheelchairs. I think there were more there that day because I noticed them and I don't usually do so. Oh! And DeVine was out near the park entrance.. very cool. Lots of construction on the Rivers of Light and of course Pandora.

I am a big fan of the Magic Bands and the technology they represent. They seem to have gotten most of the glitches out (though I never suffered from any glitches) and are making full use of the technology. The small handheld devices to scan the magic band are the key. They are about the size of a Star Trek tri-corder if you can remember those maybe a little bit smaller. A little bit larger than a Walkman. They make appropriate sounds to indicate that you have the appropriate entitlement. There are places in the new system to get a little more leverage for those that know what they are doing.

A big thumbs up for magic band technology.

 

[Sammie]

I totally agree Mouswerks I love my magic band. I got the limited edition Halloween party one and when I use it in the MK it howls. Sorry but the kid in me loved that.

We too skipped check in and went straight to the room, so convenient and no waiting. I sat on a bench last night at Beach Club and used my phone to make last minute Fastpasses for Saturday at the MK. Got exactly what I wanted from many choices. I am definitely not tech savvy but find the MDE app very easy to use.

 

[minnie-apple-mouse]

Or has Disney's Best Kept Secret gone BUST lately?

I mean seriously...

1. AP's go WAY up in price
2. Nothing new happening
3. Member communications to near zero
4. Did I mention BORING???
5. Lots of people talking about trading out and renting points and I get the impression these are people that never thought they'd be even considering doing these things
6. Did I mention BORING?

Maybe it's because we've been around too long. Maybe it's because we've gotten out of our cycle of going every 4-5 months and haven't been since April and won't be back until Thanksgiving.

Something doesn't feel... "right." It hasn't for a while now. It can't just be me/us. Maybe it is. Maybe we've just been around long enough that the "old hat" thing is really setting in.

I know it's just a room... blah, blah, blah. This isn't about that. It just seems that there used to always be something going on... good OR bad, but at least something was going on. Lately, it seems, nothing's going on. Nothing. Do other timeshares do things, new things; to entice members to stay around and spend money or do they truly not care once the sale is made?

It just seems there's no interest from DVD in the membership anymore. This surprises me since we seem to be a pretty captive audience and a pretty large on in the scheme of things WDW. I'd contend that we're not quite as captive as DVD may think. I see a LOT of resales and a lot of people actually making money on reselling these days. I guess the net result to DVC is the same, huh?

It just makes me wonder about retention from the perspective of P&R. One would think that Parks and Resorts would care, even if DVD didn't. One of the points of the entire DVC program had to be to draw people into the P&Rs over the long haul, yet it seems that they are doing everything they can to actually discourage this behavior. My guess would be that this group has pretty good disposable income. you would think they'd want us in and often, but that just doesn't seem to be the case ANYMORE. It seems it used to be.

Is it just me? Maybe I need for Nov 28 to hurry up and get here. Even the Christmas Tree threads seem dead this year compared to years past! What gives??

Again, my POLT nights and Grand Floridian nights just dropped from $500 a night to about $100 a night. Both in new sections.

Did anybody else buy years ago and expect that to happen? Quite an amazing addition/opportunity IMO.

 

[lugnut33]

The last of my DVC contracts sold today. Look, I am not upset with DVC at all, but I do NOT like the direction of the parks. My main reason for vacationing at WDW is for the park experience and if I'm not happy with what is happening on that end then what reason is there for me to vacation there? I also do not regret one second purchasing DVC and vacationing there as we had lots of great times. I'm basically getting out at the cost I bought in at some 8 years ago. It's been good. That said, a lot of what I value in the parks was destroyed by FP+, cutbacks, and the lack of park expansions and updates (yeah, I know all about the new stuff coming to DHS, but that's not going to be ready until 2021).

 

[DVC Mike]

11. Perhaps the biggest reason to go to the annual meeting is seeing in person some people who we know from the disboards or DVCNews. Last year we met up with several people and it was fun sharing stories with them. I wonder who we might run into this time?

Maybe me?

.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I will be at the Member meeting, and I agree that is fun to meet up with other Disboarders. On our trip to Hawaii last month met mommy-to-two in Kona!

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

It's definitely not just you. I went from worrying about what we'd do when our DVC contracts expire to selling our DVC. I can't believe the direction Disney has gone in, but since I have no control over it I'm just moving on.

 

[imaginiff]

I think everyone should sell their DVC interests so everyone drives down the prices and I can go on a spending spree

Agree!!!! I could sure use some BoardWalk Points!!! Never have enough. But have you SEEN resale prices for BWV? Obviously people are still very much interested.

We are not there yet but we have found if we go too often we do lose some of the magic so we have decided to go less often but for longer trips.

So true. I see people annoyed because their "quick weekend trip for F&W" was a big bust. Well....F&W has become a big deal and I would NEVER make the trek there for a weekend at F&W (but I am not local...long flight, car rental and all that involved). We just had a wonderful 8 day visit. I would not go near F&W on a Fri/Sat/Sun unless I had reservations for Party for the Senses or for a regional lunch or dinner. It is just too crowded and crazy......but, I did see thousands of people on the weekend having a grand time. If you plan carefully during F&W you can really enjoy! Or plan for a longer visit after F&W and before Thanksgiving. You get to see all of the holiday decorations, but don't have to deal with crowds. Or take a visit to Hilton Head (wonderful place) or Aulani. You can do Aulani on a shoe string. Except for the airfare unless you have lots of frequent flyer miles.

WilsonFlyer...not sure what you meant by "boring". The Disboards are boring or WDW is boring? Have you visited AK lately? All that construction going on behind the Lion King Show......I hear that whatever is going to be housed in that gigantic concrete building is going to be awesome. The seating being built in front of Expedition Everest on the water....whatever the nighttime show is going to be....I'm sure it will be spectacular. Hollywood Studios and their transformation....well, that "cha ching" sound I hear is the value of my BWV points going up! I had quite a few Disney trips this year.....and I was not bored once! And I am excited about Disney Springs....although I have not even tried to get there my last 3 trips, as it is a construction nightmare. You sound like you need a break from WDW....bank your points and have a really grand vacation in a grand villa with lots of family members for a holiday or something in a year. Tell them they are responsible for their park tickets and maybe spend your own money on some passes for universal studios....not cheap either, but something different and really close to WDW.

 

[blondietink]

We have owned DVC for 10 years now. The last time we went to WDW was early December 2014 and we stayed at POFQ on cash reservation because we have banked our points to go to Aulani again in April 2016. That resort is absolutely fabulous! We decided after last year's trip to WDW that we didn't want to go back there in a long time, until after Avatar land is done and Hollywood Studios is done with whatever they are doing there. Just glad we got to see the Osborne lights one last time.

Anyway, we decided to change it up and are going to Disneyland in November! We have never been and at the time the price was right. Staying in a hotel on Harbor Blvd. to save money within walking distance and by all of my research it sounds like Disneyland will be a great magical trip for us.

 

[minniqt7]

Been a member for 10 years. Yes prices rise but what hasn't gone up. I agree with posters who say going to the shore and regular amusement parks with prices that are crazy too. Just returned from a week at OKW with family and it was our 21 month old granddaughter's first trip. The smile on her face when she met Minnie and Sofia and other characters was all I needed to reassure me that this was the best purchase we ever made. The resort was beautiful and spotless and we had 3 rooms. The grounds were immaculate. The parks were busy and it seems like there really is very little off season times anymore. But we took each day and each park in stride. We had purchased AP vouchers right before the change and were given the Platinum pass on redemption. Love love love the photopass perk. we got tons of photos. Don't mind the tiered passes as we don't go in peak times and if we do we will purchase the higher tier then. The food was good and we had some excellent meals and service was great. Best meal this time was Rainforest Café in Disney Springs!!!! Food was fabulous. Loved Ohana dinner, Raglan Road and Hollywood and Vine Breakfast was awesome too. Character interaction was great!!! Food and wine was awesome--crowded at times but well worth the waits. We did a few demos and they were very good also. The only issue we had was with a bus driver and I seriously think after speaking with the manager that met us at the bus when we got off that she possibly no longer works for Disney. Have a trip planned for next week to see Osbourne lights and 3 next year. We do each trip in a different resort and in a different way so it never gets boring. We are going on a cruise before one of the stays and mixing half HHI and Disney on another. Also a lot new is going on. Disney Springs is becoming more awesome(tried Boathouse and Hangar Bar!!!!). To make new they must make a mess with construction and it doesn't happen overnight. They are doing a lot at once so it seems like everything is messed up but in a few years it will be done and super exciting and new. BE Patient. When they built the new parks we probably didn't go all the time to see what a mess that probably was. I think they are making great strides to improve the park experience and it does take time to complete. I have faith that Disney will keep making Magic and keep the Magic alive. We still love it there and will continue to go and enjoy it at our pace. I hope everyone just stays patient and continues to enjoy their purchase but most of all the memories that they make with themselves their family and friends.

 

[imaginiff]

Been a member for 10 years. Yes prices rise but what hasn't gone up. I agree with posters who say going to the shore and regular amusement parks with prices that are crazy too. Just returned from a week at OKW with family and it was our 21 month old granddaughter's first trip. The smile on her face when she met Minnie and Sofia and other characters was all I needed to reassure me that this was the best purchase we ever made. The resort was beautiful and spotless and we had 3 rooms. The grounds were immaculate. The parks were busy and it seems like there really is very little off season times anymore. But we took each day and each park in stride. We had purchased AP vouchers right before the change and were given the Platinum pass on redemption. Love love love the photopass perk. we got tons of photos. Don't mind the tiered passes as we don't go in peak times and if we do we will purchase the higher tier then. The food was good and we had some excellent meals and service was great. Best meal this time was Rainforest Café in Disney Springs!!!! Food was fabulous. Loved Ohana dinner, Raglan Road and Hollywood and Vine Breakfast was awesome too. Character interaction was great!!! Food and wine was awesome--crowded at times but well worth the waits. We did a few demos and they were very good also. The only issue we had was with a bus driver and I seriously think after speaking with the manager that met us at the bus when we got off that she possibly no longer works for Disney. Have a trip planned for next week to see Osbourne lights and 3 next year. We do each trip in a different resort and in a different way so it never gets boring. We are going on a cruise before one of the stays and mixing half HHI and Disney on another. Also a lot new is going on. Disney Springs is becoming more awesome(tried Boathouse and Hangar Bar!!!!). To make new they must make a mess with construction and it doesn't happen overnight. They are doing a lot at once so it seems like everything is messed up but in a few years it will be done and super exciting and new. BE Patient. When they built the new parks we probably didn't go all the time to see what a mess that probably was. I think they are making great strides to improve the park experience and it does take time to complete. I have faith that Disney will keep making Magic and keep the Magic alive. We still love it there and will continue to go and enjoy it at our pace. I hope everyone just stays patient and continues to enjoy their purchase but most of all the memories that they make with themselves their family and friends.

We just had a wonderful visit too! Did not go near Disney Springs yet, will wait until next year. Thanks for your positive post. We had the BEST Party for the Senses .... Food and Wine was just awesome this year.