Just got back. Trip was great. Decided to sell.

SFlaDisneyfans

Mouseketeer
Joined
Jun 19, 2013
Just finished our trip. Did arrival night in a lake view Poly studio then moved over to our Boardwalk view 1br at Boardwalk for the week. Four in our party (wife, daughter, her friend and myself). Overall had a great time. First stay at Poly and liked the resort for the one evening we were there. Girls loved the volcano pool. Weather was normal Orlando in Aug (hot, rain in the afternoon, even more humid afterward). Service was top notch. Had a malfunctioning fridge in our 1BR and they had it swapped out in less than an hour (call to finish). We banged out all the E-ticket rides we wanted (FOP, Slinky, 7 Dwarves etc) multiple times and the entire trip was a real success. Really loved sitting on our balcony watching the fireworks at Epcot. And then we got back and I put our DVC up for sale.

The price inflation at the parks/restaurants has gotten out of hand. I knew this (as I am a planning fanatic) heading down. We made mad use of our kitchen (breakfast every morning and either lunch or dinner depending on the rain) and packed snacks for the parks. We only did a couple of meals on property. Trail's End brunch, foot long hotdogs at Casey's and FlameTree BBQ for lunch. There is so much off property within a 10 minute drive we just went out to eat on Vineland. The big driver for us in selling is that I just dont foresee an end to the prices rising. More than $4 for a 20 ounce bottle of soda really got under my skin. I got a 20 ounce soda for $2.25 at the gas station convenience story across from the boardwalk one day when I filled up. When the gas station soda is "steeply discounted" compared to Disney, there is a fundamental problem. And of course there is the issue of rising dues.

Its not that we "can't" afford the inflation. Its that I dont "want" to afford it. I used to jokingly refer to "Mickey Economics" when describing prices at the parks. Now its "Mickey Hyper-Inflation". I am not knocking them as a company. Their job is to maximize shareholder value. I own a business. I totally embrace this concept. I am just choosing to opt out as a consumer. We have 7 years of great DVC memories (and all the years prior to buying our resale contract). We have no regrets. I guess thats what its about. Getting out before the regrets begin.
 
I am hopeful that the Hyperinflation might be restrained a bit for the next few years. I know a lot of people are saying that Disney just shot itself in the foot with Star Wars Disneyland, by making it look like it would be two crowded. Well, I was at Disneyland the day Star Wars opened, and then again in the last week of July, and I don't think that people were 'scared off.' I think people were voting with their feet. Disneyland had just gone through an incredible price hike and I think people got tired of it. Annual passes went WAY up. I bought 8 of them for my family. I won't be doing that again. Once they expire next Spring, I doubt I will buy any more annual passes there for at least a few years. They also raised gate prices, AND they charge more for the tickets, depending on the day. A one day park hopper at Disneyland on the most busy day is priced at $250. !!!!! One Day. I think people took the supposed 'busy crowds' and used that as the final nail in the coffin. But, it would not surprise me if Disneyland attendance doesn't recover very fast.

Now, I haven't seen this happening, yet, at DW, but it wouldn't surprise me to start to see it. If they aren't there yet, they are close.

So, we will see how it goes for the next few years.

By the way, how much longer are we going to need to put up with Bob Iger?
 
Just finished our trip. Did arrival night in a lake view Poly studio then moved over to our Boardwalk view 1br at Boardwalk for the week. Four in our party (wife, daughter, her friend and myself). Overall had a great time. First stay at Poly and liked the resort for the one evening we were there. Girls loved the volcano pool. Weather was normal Orlando in Aug (hot, rain in the afternoon, even more humid afterward). Service was top notch. Had a malfunctioning fridge in our 1BR and they had it swapped out in less than an hour (call to finish). We banged out all the E-ticket rides we wanted (FOP, Slinky, 7 Dwarves etc) multiple times and the entire trip was a real success. Really loved sitting on our balcony watching the fireworks at Epcot. And then we got back and I put our DVC up for sale.

The price inflation at the parks/restaurants has gotten out of hand. I knew this (as I am a planning fanatic) heading down. We made mad use of our kitchen (breakfast every morning and either lunch or dinner depending on the rain) and packed snacks for the parks. We only did a couple of meals on property. Trail's End brunch, foot long hotdogs at Casey's and FlameTree BBQ for lunch. There is so much off property within a 10 minute drive we just went out to eat on Vineland. The big driver for us in selling is that I just dont foresee an end to the prices rising. More than $4 for a 20 ounce bottle of soda really got under my skin. I got a 20 ounce soda for $2.25 at the gas station convenience story across from the boardwalk one day when I filled up. When the gas station soda is "steeply discounted" compared to Disney, there is a fundamental problem. And of course there is the issue of rising dues.

Its not that we "can't" afford the inflation. Its that I dont "want" to afford it. I used to jokingly refer to "Mickey Economics" when describing prices at the parks. Now its "Mickey Hyper-Inflation". I am not knocking them as a company. Their job is to maximize shareholder value. I own a business. I totally embrace this concept. I am just choosing to opt out as a consumer. We have 7 years of great DVC memories (and all the years prior to buying our resale contract). We have no regrets. I guess thats what its about. Getting out before the regrets begin.

Just finished our trip. Did arrival night in a lake view Poly studio then moved over to our Boardwalk view 1br at Boardwalk for the week. Four in our party (wife, daughter, her friend and myself). Overall had a great time. First stay at Poly and liked the resort for the one evening we were there. Girls loved the volcano pool. Weather was normal Orlando in Aug (hot, rain in the afternoon, even more humid afterward). Service was top notch. Had a malfunctioning fridge in our 1BR and they had it swapped out in less than an hour (call to finish). We banged out all the E-ticket rides we wanted (FOP, Slinky, 7 Dwarves etc) multiple times and the entire trip was a real success. Really loved sitting on our balcony watching the fireworks at Epcot. And then we got back and I put our DVC up for sale.

The price inflation at the parks/restaurants has gotten out of hand. I knew this (as I am a planning fanatic) heading down. We made mad use of our kitchen (breakfast every morning and either lunch or dinner depending on the rain) and packed snacks for the parks. We only did a couple of meals on property. Trail's End brunch, foot long hotdogs at Casey's and FlameTree BBQ for lunch. There is so much off property within a 10 minute drive we just went out to eat on Vineland. The big driver for us in selling is that I just dont foresee an end to the prices rising. More than $4 for a 20 ounce bottle of soda really got under my skin. I got a 20 ounce soda for $2.25 at the gas station convenience story across from the boardwalk one day when I filled up. When the gas station soda is "steeply discounted" compared to Disney, there is a fundamental problem. And of course there is the issue of rising dues.

Its not that we "can't" afford the inflation. Its that I dont "want" to afford it. I used to jokingly refer to "Mickey Economics" when describing prices at the parks. Now its "Mickey Hyper-Inflation". I am not knocking them as a company. Their job is to maximize shareholder value. I own a business. I totally embrace this concept. I am just choosing to opt out as a consumer. We have 7 years of great DVC memories (and all the years prior to buying our resale contract). We have no regrets. I guess thats what its about. Getting out before the regrets begin.

The price gouging is terrible! We just returned. Didn’t do the parks this time...tickets are outrageous and it was uncomfortably hot. We usually eat off property too! It’s very hard to justify the food prices. We use to love just going out for drinks and apps...but now we do most of that off property too. It’s not that we can’t afford it as much as we feel taken advantage of. We’ve noticed that the employees are all sweetness and light either. It’s kind of sad what they’ve done to it!
 
If you go to any major sporting events i think you will find the prices for food, snack all very similar to Disney or Universal. Price are high but its convience and making profit off what they sell. We all eating one or two meals in our room on our stays at OKW. Its all about whaat you get out of it and put into it. Its 4 weeks a year we have enjoyed for over 30 years.
 


Can I ask why you decided to just sell vs. renting out the points for a few years?

Great that you had a great trip. I'm really impressed with the fridge swap timing. One always hears of the "called 4 times and no response" stories.
 
If you go to any major sporting events i think you will find the prices for food, snack all very similar to Disney or Universal. Price are high but its convience and making profit off what they sell. We all eating one or two meals in our room on our stays at OKW. Its all about whaat you get out of it and put into it. Its 4 weeks a year we have enjoyed for over 30 years.

For example Amalie Arena has adult beverages for $15 a can whereas you can get them at Walmart for $3. The prices are bad but not that ridiculous.
 
For example Amalie Arena has adult beverages for $15 a can whereas you can get them at Walmart for $3. The prices are bad but not that ridiculous.
Length of stay really makes a difference in one's perspective. If your stay is 3 or 4 days then you will swallow the prices more easily and accept the comparison with sporting venue/concert venue prices where you are hostages to the prices being charged during strictly time-limited visits. If your vacation is much longer (and my family traditionally stayed 8-10 days on our DVC trips) the cost increases in recent years for food and beverages have had a major impact on budgets and led to a much reduced experience because we simply could no longer justify dining out every night or ordering that second cocktail at the pool. Planners, and those who keep track of their receipts from trip to trip, have very clear visibility of the extent to which the constant price hikes have begun to eat into their vacation experience. It is this group of DVC members who are beginning to question whether their membership is working for them.
 


After the sale and big influx of cash, do you have plans on what to do with the $$$? Any other timeshare systems in your future? What location are you thinking of the next family vacation? Probably non Disney huh.
 
If you go to any major sporting events i think you will find the prices for food, snack all very similar to Disney or Universal. Price are high but its convience and making profit off what they sell. We all eating one or two meals in our room on our stays at OKW. Its all about whaat you get out of it and put into it. Its 4 weeks a year we have enjoyed for over 30 years.
Would it surprise you if you learned that the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL have all experienced a decade long overall attendance decline?
 
This was our first trip as DVC members and actually much cheaper, as it reduced our eating in the parks. We were pleasantly surprised that food and drinks (even with groceries) were half of last vacation. We bought one refillable cup cause DS had a stomach thing one day and I wasn’t going to pay $4.50 for an $.89 Powerade and he made good use of it. Also no car needed. We typically stayed at Wyndham Bonnet Creek, rented a car, if we didn’t drive from WI , and then either way had to pay for parking. Overall much less expensive and stressful. Very pleased.
 
We just returned also. This trip I knew about all the price hikes so we did things a little different also. We had bought APs 3 price hikes ago on a good deal and just activated them this trip. I refuse to pay $4 for soda so we did buy 1 resort refillable cup and we also brought our water bottle for the parks. Getting ice water at the counter service restaurants worked out great. We had breakfast in the room, Poly studio and ate mostly counter service with a few table service. DH and I split a lot of things. We did eat whatever we wanted, but looked at things first deciding if they were worth the money to us.
 
On our past trip, just a day ago we did a resort stay only. We stayed club level at AKV, it’s not that we didn’t wanna do the parks but as others have mentioned the prices are high and to cut costs we decided for the no parks trip.

We only did a few days at club level, the breakfast was great, the lunch didn’t provide any healthy choices only candy of the sort. Dinner was a mix.

If we had to go out for a Disney dinner we might have opted for a offsite meal instead. Disney is great but the prices are high, higher than we like.

In the past we have gotten breakfast in the room, skipped lunch and maybe every other day gotten a ts otherwise we would go offsite.
 
I can count on my hands the amount of times we've had more than junk to eat at the parks, we always get at least a one bedroom to have that kitchen. I spend at the store maybe a bit more than I would at home( We find a publix off property), and I bring my crockpot. we eat all three meals in the room. bring our own water or soda, and leave my husband who complains about prices at home. LOL .
We have decided one more trip to DL. ( this Jan) and one more to WDW next xmas and we're done with the parks. ( PS. we stay at disney and drive to universal too a couple times. as much fun and so much cheaper).
Has anyone compared offered packages with tickets included ? We're beginning to think if you plan on going to the parks, that might be a better way to go. We also use the RCI option pretty often as we love to travel our country. So points get used. when the yearly dues becomes more expensive than staying two weeks in a top resort somewhere is when I'll sell. Not there yet.
 
Would it surprise you if you learned that the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL have all experienced a decade long overall attendance decline?
Yet record breaking contracts every year...why?.....television rights. Also ticket prices, fewer fans, more $. I have a friend who had great seats at the old Stadium, season tickets, about 95.00$ a piece per game.
New Stadium, same seats:
$1250.00 per game (at least 1st year of the stadium)
Yes, you read those numbers correctly.
Old stadium season ticket - about 60K for 4 seats
new Stadium season tickets = 405,000$ for four seats.
Obviously going after corporate money.
Attendance can be cut in half and they still make more
 
We've decided going forward to cut down on our trips/vacations to Disney. We plan on renting our out our points this year and not going again (possibly) until 2021. When we do return to WDW, it will be with a different vacation style. Less park time, eating off site and cooking in room. I don't see us getting our "money's worth" especially when it comes to park tickets. So difficult to do more rides (unless you're willing to wait in ridiculously long lines) besides your 3 initial FP. Nothing will change because people continue and are willing to pay the price. Until park attendance goes way down and they start to loose money, it will remain the same.
 
Perhaps you should take the money you get for your contract and buy shares of DIsney?

If you had invested $10,000 ten years ago you would have close to $30,000 today.

But then you wouldn't have all the memories and the undying love of your children and credit card company!!

Besides, paying for Disney trips gives you a sense of purpose when you are toiling away at work.
 

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