Is the Condo Assoc Meeting worth attending?

[J-Dog]

This is more a question out of curiosity than anything.

We are relatively new DVC owners, but I just noticed that the Condo meeting is at BLT this December and happens to be at the time we will be there.

So I'm wondering - is this worth it? Will I get anything out of it other than a bunch of bureaucratic comments about potential changes? Or alternatively, is it entertaining enough to attend even if I don't get anything out of it?

Thanks

 

[Narcoossee11]

It is very boring. Prepackaged information sections.
DVC wants it handled how THEY how told.

Years ago there was fun elements: Food, characters.
Even a question and answer time. NO MORE.

 

[CarolynFH]

I agree. The first one we went to was when Ken Potrock was VP. He showed plans for CCV, which was then under construction, and announced that it would have all sizes of villas from studios to GV as well as the cabins. I think that was also the meeting where he announced the new refurbishment schedule (soft goods every 7 years, full refurb every 14 vs. 12 and 25 years as originally planned). It was a very informative and interesting meeting. The ones since then have been more and more scripted - yes, there's a Q&A session, but questions have to be submitted in advance and approved, so you can imagine how that goes - and more boring. I rely on DISboards and DVC News to find out what was announced at the meetings now.

 

[DebbieB]

I’ve been to 3 or 4, I think if you have expectations that questions members would love to have answered will be asked, you will be disappointed. The questions asked are typically softballs with vague answers.

 

[karrit2000]

Definitely a waste of time in my opinion. They only one I ever went to was one when the shyster who sold Aulani with the cheap member fees that skyrocketed was in charge, sorry I can't remember his name. Back then it was remotely worth it for the after party where you got a few goodies but even then one of the gifts was an old soon to be outdated calendar.

 

[Shellyred8]

Last year's was a joke. It was very limited in time and substance all due to "safety concerns" (covid), but yet at the parks they had started eliminating covid restrictions. No snacks or beverages. No small trinkets/gifts.

 

[J-Dog]

Thanks for all the info. Sounds like it will be a pass for us...

 

[RoseGold]

There was a video of it, sad.

You gave management power to do whatever they want, and that is what they are going to do.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I stopped going.

 

[DisneyOutsider]

They don't do it because they care about you, they do it because they are legally obligated to hold an annual meeting. If they were allowed to do it behind closed doors, they would. They clearly seem annoyed that they have to be there in the first place.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Definitely a waste of time in my opinion. They only one I ever went to was one when the shyster who sold Aulani with the cheap member fees that skyrocketed was in charge, sorry I can't remember his name. Back then it was remotely worth it for the after party where you got a few goodies but even then one of the gifts was an old soon to be outdated calendar.

Lest we forget the name - Jim Lewis.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Lest we forget the name - Jim Lewis.

And as much as many loved to hate him in his day, SO many things were SO much better back then.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

And as much as many loved to hate him in his day, SO many things were SO much better back then.

Very true. The attitude - we were sheeple to him - was tough to take though.

The clean up person that followed him - Claire Bilby was probably my favorite but her directive was likely different than any other DVC person before or after.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Very true. The attitude - we were sheeple to him - was tough to take though.

The clean up person that followed him - Claire Bilby was probably my favorite but her directive was likely different than any other DVC person before or after.

Apparently, Jim was given a very long chain that worked well for us. Right up to the point where he yanked it out of its anchor. We'll never see a chain that long again, unfortunately. His chain was long enough that it gave him access to a pretty big stick. We haven't seen that since him either, but I suspect that stick is why we saw so many other benefits back then also. I didn't particularly care for him, but we had it a lot better benefits-wise. I don't think anybody would deny that. From incentives on buying points, to discounts and spontaneous new things that came and went. Never to be seen again. The long chain is much higher up the pecking order now, far out of the reach of the person "running" DVC. Just my opinion.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Very true. The attitude - we were sheeple to him - was tough to take though.

The clean up person that followed him - Claire Bilby was probably my favorite but her directive was likely different than any other DVC person before or after.

He didn’t even respond to a smile in the lobby of Vero!

Yet he had brought his family on the DVC MC and had a nice presentation with them on stage. That’s why my encounter in Vero was so disappointing.

 

[DL1WDW2]

I think it is important to attend .
Otherwise we are signaling We don’t care .
I do care enough to show up .

 

[tjkraz]

I didn't particularly care for him, but we had it a lot better benefits-wise. I don't think anybody would deny that. From incentives on buying points, to discounts and spontaneous new things that came and went. Never to be seen again. The long chain is much higher up the pecking order now, far out of the reach of the person "running" DVC. Just my opinion.

The incentives were more creative, for sure. Things like "free" cruises and annual passes. Unfortunately DVC got burned by people taking the incentives, using 2-3 years of points and then defaulting on the loan. They tried to structure it so that a larger down payment or year's worth of monthly payments was required before the incentives were delivered, but that didn't resonate the same.

Other than that, I'm struggling to think of what perks were better. I know some people liked the holiday mixers but they were (IMO) unfairly lumped at the end of the year when many owners couldn't take advantage. Free valet parking was lost during Lewis' tenure.

I think the quality of accommodations suffered under Lewis. The original design of SSR was bland. That probably pre-dated Lewis, but he was in charge when the resort nearly doubled its original footprint. BLT used poor quality materials and had the weird studio setup with no bathroom sink. Kidani is charming but I've always felt the rooms had a cheapness to them. More recent resorts like VGF and Riviera are much nicer, as well as refurbs at the likes of SSR, Poly, etc.

And then there's the ill-conceived OKW contract extension...

What other long-forgotten benefits did Lewis bring to DVC?

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The incentives were more creative, for sure. Things like "free" cruises and annual passes. Unfortunately DVC got burned by people taking the incentives, using 2-3 years of points and then defaulting on the loan. They tried to structure it so that a larger down payment or year's worth of monthly payments was required before the incentives were delivered, but that didn't resonate the same.

Other than that, I'm struggling to think of what perks were better. I know some people liked the holiday mixers but they were (IMO) unfairly lumped at the end of the year when many owners couldn't take advantage. Free valet parking was lost during Lewis' tenure.

I think the quality of accommodations suffered under Lewis. The original design of SSR was bland. BLT used poor quality materials and had the weird studio setup with no bathroom sink. Kidani is charming but I've always felt the rooms had a cheapness to them. More recent resorts like VGF and Riviera are much nicer, as well as refurbs at the likes of SSR, Poly, etc.

And then there's the ill-conceived OKW contract extension...

What other long-forgotten benefits did Lewis bring to DVC?

The discounted AP's came about under him which had been the most valuable perk we ever received.

We had the Welcome Home Wednesdays every week (probably started before him though) as well as the holiday parties although I think those also came before him however they did keep going under him. I agree it was too heavily weighted towards the end of the year visitors. He kept discussing tiered benefits for large point holders so leaned towards the carrot idea vs restrictions we get now. Talk though and not implemented.

I was thinking the OKW extension started pre-Lewis?

 

[tjkraz]

The discounted AP's came about under him which had been the most valuable perk we ever received.

Agree that was a huge bonus at the time. Though the later introduction of the Gold / Sorcerer AP was pretty good too. Aside from WDW stopping sales of new APs, these are perks that still continue today. So I guess I never viewed them as something that was superior under Lewis.

We had the Welcome Home Wednesdays every week (probably started before him though) as well as the holiday parties although I think those also came before him however they did keep going under him. I agree it was too heavily weighted towards the end of the year visitors. He kept discussing tiered benefits for large point holders so leaned towards the carrot idea vs restrictions we get now. Talk though and not implemented.

I was thinking the OKW extension started pre-Lewis?

Strictly my opinon but I never saw WHW as anything worth bragging about. It was an obvious (light) sales presentation with a baseball cap and a cookie. Personally I've gotten a lot more mileage out of the private lounges and Moonlight Magic in recent years.

OKW was definitely Lewis. According to Wikipedia, he was named DVC GM in 2003 and President in 2006. Left in 2011.

The old DVC referral program was Lewis too. That was quite beneficial to members who were able to find new buyers. However it was also an administrative cluster that cost DVC a lot of money. They were handing out $1000 gift cards to members for doing nothing more than hooking up with someone on the 'net asking "can I get help with a referral?"

I'm pretty sure members gained access to Tables in Wonderland under him.

He deserves blame for slow development of the website. Members didn't get self-service reservations until January 2012 (!!!), even after Lewis had departed. (I was stunned to see that date when I looked it up.)

He changed policies on waitlists (max 2), banking guidelines, moved reservations to 7/11 months from arrival instead of departure. The first major reallocation of point charts in 2010-2011 which radically changed weekdays / weekends. One time use points were introduced in 2010.

The first ever resale restrictions were actually introduced in January 2011 under Lewis' watch. That's when resale points were blocked from use toward Disney Collection (DCL) and other getaways.

Lewis moved us from Interval International to RCI, which seemed pretty unpopular at the time.

That was a fun trip down memory lane.

A lot of good things happened in the short time Claire Bilby was around including a REALLY good AP discount. Potrock had his ups and downs but personally, left me with a more favorable impression than Lewis. Grand Floridian and Poly seemed to take villa quality to a higher level. Moonlight Magic and the Epcot lounge was him. He seemed genuinely interested in doing unique and different things, though sometimes they came at a cost like member cruises and special holiday meals / dessert parties. Not really sure about Terri Schultz due to the pandemic. DVC was extremely generous with point extensions and short notice cancellations. Lewis, Potrock and Schultz all had a hand in promoting resale restrictions.

 

[hayesdvc]

How long does the entire meeting portions normally last before the “fellowship” starts?