July 4th at Bay Lake Towers

It was however a HUGE part of the sales guides lists of enticements. I wonder how long until DVC does finally garner the usual timeshare reputation that so far hasn't really happened because of the Disney name.
Agreed. Though I wonder how people would feel if they shut down of the DVC Member Lounge at Epcot? This is something they very much use in the sales pitch too without any mention that it was originally only to run for the 25th anniversary. They just lump TOTWL and the Member lounge together and did/do mention both as part of the Membership Extras. Practically speaking they are similar in treatment (even when/if either of them get shut down or access limited); personally I find some really upset in part because there was the misconception that BLT owners paid for TOTWL and covered its costs, likely because it was initially exclusive to BLT guests. Thought I blame DVC for not making it more clear it owned TOTWL (it should have been advertised as an exclusive lounge owned by Disney for DVC Members).

I'm okay if Membership Extras go away but I think in order to avoid the usual timeshare reputation they need to add new "extras" (which here it was a trade just a money grab). Like anything at Disney change isn't usually met with the warmest regards from all parties but demographics change and what is enticing to some isn't to others thus the evolution needed. Though I will add here with TOTWL the part I find troublesome was the lack of consideration (3 week notice) not necessarily there right to remove Membership Extras.
 
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The Epcot Lounge will go away. There is no way it doesn't. Too much dead space around it not to be sucked into the FW redevelopment.

Question is when. Not if.

TOTW will be there space wise. What it gets used for is subject to change.
 
This is not an extra perk. This was a service specific to the purchase of BLT. A membership perk would include all DVC owners across property. This service was promised to explain why the price to buy into BLT was higher than the price to buy into any other DVC resort At that time. Different category of service and sales agreement. Frankly, since I am the one volunteering to look further into this dispute to benefit myself and other BLT owners, I am surprised that some on this discussion board are trying to discourage my efforts. Disney will continue to play these kind of games as long people go along with it and won’t speak up.

It absolutely is an extra perk - it's stated as much by Disney. And furthermore, it is available to all DVC owners across property. You don't have to own at Bay Lake to use Top of the World, or even only people staying at Bay Lake. There are four blockout dates in 2019, July 3rd and December 30th, where it is available to only those staying at Bay Lake, and July 4th and Dec 31st, where it is hosting a private event. The other 361 days of the year, it's open to all DVC members across property.
 
How about valet parking? We used to have it for free and but was taken away over night. Never plan on these things forever.
 


It's Bay Lake Tower, not Towers.

The timeshare sales documents specifically indicated that TOTWL is NOT part of the timeshare plan. Excluding owners from TOTWL on the July 4 holiday in favour of others who bought tickets a few months ago, stinks. Owners at BLT, especially one's like you who are staying at BLT on the 4th, have every right to be upset and complain, but it isn't against the timeshare contact or agreement...
 


OP, you have lots of sympathy on here re the situation. Personally, I think it’s disgraceful. Others please also note, OP is correct, on the day they started saying to guests that they could go up to the deck and stand outside only, not go in, for $49 each! Pete W says the lobby was full of peed off guests, and I have read there were very angry people.
But OP, I am afraid if you were sold it as a sales pitch, the deed itself doesn’t guarantee you access. This is well known and often discussed on here, which is why you have a little push back on that point. The board members are not disagreeing it was a crappy move.
I wish you all the luck in the world with complaints and taking it to regulators, I am sure you would get many plaudits on here if you were successful.
Timeshare marketing is ripe for more regulation. You will read all the time that ‘I am buying direct for the perks, and the blue card’. These benefits are of course pushed as a reason for buying direct. But no one reads the small print.
Ironically, no one seems to read the disclaimer they sign either saying ‘I agree I am not buying for perks’ (paraphrased).
So we have a bizarre situation where people are signing saying they are not buying direct for perks, but buying direct for perks.
As I say, I think it’s time the sector was better regulated in my view.
 
OP, you have lots of sympathy on here re the situation. Personally, I think it’s disgraceful. Others please also note, OP is correct, on the day they started saying to guests that they could go up to the deck and stand outside only, not go in, for $49 each! Pete W says the lobby was full of peed off guests, and I have read there were very angry people.
But OP, I am afraid if you were sold it as a sales pitch, the deed itself doesn’t guarantee you access. This is well known and often discussed on here, which is why you have a little push back on that point. The board members are not disagreeing it was a crappy move.
I wish you all the luck in the world with complaints and taking it to regulators, I am sure you would get many plaudits on here if you were successful.
Timeshare marketing is ripe for more regulation. You will read all the time that ‘I am buying direct for the perks, and the blue card’. These benefits are of course pushed as a reason for buying direct. But no one reads the small print.
Ironically, no one seems to read the disclaimer they sign either saying ‘I agree I am not buying for perks’ (paraphrased).
So we have a bizarre situation where people are signing saying they are not buying direct for perks, but buying direct for perks.
As I say, I think it’s time the sector was better regulated in my view.

If I'm understanding you correctly, today when people showed up expecting to go up to TOTWL for fireworks as had been stated would be allowed up until 3 or so weeks ago, the solution they had come up with was to offer them deck access for $49/person?
 
On the third, for awhile at least, they stopped letting people go up because of weather. They said the lounge was full, and they were not letting folks up to go outside. In the end, I do not know how that played out, we had a view and music right from our room.

DVC deserves a black eye for the way they screwed up people’s plans. I sent an email twice and I talked to Member Satisfaction when they called. DVC needs to do better for its members.
 
IMO DVC already has gained the “just another timeshare” reputation. When on the phone with MS I explicitly stated that the BS charge was duplicitous and slimy. All of the changes in the past year scream we won’t give a damn about members until it starts to affect the bottom line. Until then, tough luck. This would be fine except for the management company’s fiduciary duty...

I had a neighbour ask directly about our timeshare. I told her not to bother. I don’t recommend DVC at all.
 
Disney way of doing business was giving excellent customer service and show care for their clients. With this I don't mean that it was higher priority than gaining revenues, it was their way to get money off people while keeping them smiling. Now DVC management have decided they're ready to do everything, with the only requirement of it being just barely legal, to squeeze money out of their customers. It's a slippery slope to go on, once the brand is tainted, it's gone forever.
 
Pete says its a great night on the DVC Fan site. He wants more events like these. Yes, I'm sure if it's just a single person , or with a partner. But a family with young kids? That's $500 roughly with tax and tip, with 2 young kids who of course are charged adult rates.
Someone raised this with him, and he says not everyone can afford a Ferrari. I can afford a Ferrari, but I wouldn't pay $500 for my family of 4 to watch fireworks. Maybe that's why I can afford a Ferrari. If it were just me and my wife, maybe, but this event shuts out families. It makes 4 July an exclusive, mainly adult space.
This event literally splits the membership, into those who are families and those who are not (or those who don't mind tossing their money around and wasting it on kids who will get little value). The Ferrari is also not a good analogy. If someone buys a Ferrari, he doesn't park it in my garage shutting me out.
I also believe it was a testbed, and will only get worse- always does, more people, higher prices.
These events are generally not aimed at their core market. I'm raising the kids issue solely because it's the kids who strip any value out if this event. They cant drink and the food is too sophisticated for them.
Money was put first here. It was blindingly obvious they'd have a mass of peed off members, I said there would be on here.
They are either stupid, or don't care.
Then they offer deck only for $49 to try and appease some!
I agree with Pete on many (all up to now) things I see him saying and am a big fan of his and his team, but not this as I’m looking at it from the perspective of my family with young kids. If the kids were grown up I may see it differently from my own perspective, but I still wouldn’t like it because of how it treats the core membership and it’s a slippery slope, but I feel with this management we have been sliding at too fast a speed to stop for some time.
 
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Pete says its a great night on the DVC Fan site. He wants more events like these. Yes, I'm sure if it's just a single person , or with a partner. But a family? That's $500 roughly with tax and tip, with 2 kids who of course are charged adult rates.
Someone raised this with him, and he says not everyone can afford a Ferrari. I can afford a Ferrari, but I wouldn't pay $500 for my family of 4 to watch fireworks. Maybe that's why I can afford a Ferrari. If it were just me and my wife, maybe, but this event shuts out families. It makes 4 July an exclusive, mainly adult space.
This event literally splits the membership, into those who are families and those who are not (or those who don't mind tossing their money around). The Ferrari is also not a good analogy. If someone buys a Ferrari, he doesn't park it in my garage shutting me out.
I also believe it was a testbed, and will only get worse- always does, more people, higher prices.
These events are generally not aimed at their core market.
Money was put first here. It was blindingly obvious they'd have a mass of peed off members, I said there would be on here.
They are either stupid, or don't care.
Then they offer deck only for $49 to try and appease some!
I agree with Pete on many things I see him saying, but not this as I’m looking at it from the perspective of my family. If the kids were grown up I may see it differently from my own perspective, but I still wouldn’t like it because of how it treats the core membership and it’s a slippery slope, but I feel with this management we have been sliding at too fast a speed to stop for some time.

I think the other missing part is that this was an event for 75 members. Not even 1% of the membership could book this even I they wanted to. Things like this are just completely unrealistic to have even a handful of times during the year without completely pissing off members who would pay for the option. And, really, the pricing made no sense in Disney terms. To lock down that venue for $10k gross revenue? On a night like the 4th it has to historically be one of the highest grossing nights for TOTWL. To potentially piss off an entire resort of guests to maybe net an additional $1-2k, if that? It might not have netted them any more than if they had gone with what has been done in the past.

It does sound like it was the best Disney deal going. And that isn’t going to be the price if they do it again.
 
This was a test event. This was not how they intend to operate going forward. You can bet NYE is not 75 or costs much more.
So anyone who booked BLT for access to the TOTWL for holiday fireworks, you might be able to change your reservation to a different resort. But you might have to waitlist.
 
Didn't impact me directly re the 4th, but I sent an email yesterday. We are scheduled to be there for NYE.
So anyone who booked BLT for access to the TOTWL for holiday fireworks, you might be able to change your reservation to a different resort. But you might have to waitlist.

I just waitlisted theme park view over lake view for NYE. Wondering if we waitlist somewhere else entirely and save on the points. I was able to make dining reservations at poly at least, which from what I can tell allows us to watch the fireworks there.

But even with 5 or so months to change our plans it’s a pretty big disappointment. It’s all my 8 year old wanted to do but I just can’t justify $500 or more to stand on a balcony.
 
Pete says its a great night on the DVC Fan site. He wants more events like these. Yes, I'm sure if it's just a single person , or with a partner. But a family with young kids? That's $500 roughly with tax and tip, with 2 young kids who of course are charged adult rates.
Someone raised this with him, and he says not everyone can afford a Ferrari. I can afford a Ferrari, but I wouldn't pay $500 for my family of 4 to watch fireworks. Maybe that's why I can afford a Ferrari. If it were just me and my wife, maybe, but this event shuts out families. It makes 4 July an exclusive, mainly adult space.
This event literally splits the membership, into those who are families and those who are not (or those who don't mind tossing their money around and wasting it on kids who will get little value). The Ferrari is also not a good analogy. If someone buys a Ferrari, he doesn't park it in my garage shutting me out.
I also believe it was a testbed, and will only get worse- always does, more people, higher prices.
These events are generally not aimed at their core market. I'm raising the kids issue solely because it's the kids who strip any value out if this event. They cant drink and the food is too sophisticated for them.
Money was put first here. It was blindingly obvious they'd have a mass of peed off members, I said there would be on here.
They are either stupid, or don't care.
Then they offer deck only for $49 to try and appease some!
I agree with Pete on many (all up to now) things I see him saying and am a big fan of his and his team, but not this as I’m looking at it from the perspective of my family with young kids. If the kids were grown up I may see it differently from my own perspective, but I still wouldn’t like it because of how it treats the core membership and it’s a slippery slope, but I feel with this management we have been sliding at too fast a speed to stop for some time.
Heard Pete discuss this this morning on the dvcfan website. He did in fact, buy four tickets to this event.
 

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