Late spring 2025 incentives (April 29-July 14)

[eticketplease]

I book my trip with my home resort points. Then, at 7 months, I use my SSR points to pick up any dates at the beginning or end of the trip still available. This allows me cancel those duplicate nights I had to use my RIV or VGF points for because it was a home resort booking.

Sometimes, all nights are available and I book as many as I can consecutively with SSR points and cancel my home resort nights, thus freeing them up for future home resort bookings.

Basically I have my home resort booking but use non resort points to replace it when I can for as many nights as I can!

This is the way to make the 11 month work especially if you won't be back and can bank them into the next year.

 

[RichVIII]

People will be able to use non home resort points to book days still available at 7 months to replace home resort nights.

The only caveat is that the home resort contract will be locked so if you still points left there it won’t work unless the days are the first or least days.

Then you book those with non home resort points and cancel the home. Resort nights.

10+ years of ownership and I never thought about picking off first and/or last nights if the entire thing isn’t open to save home resort points, drop those nights and merge the new reservation. Thank you Disboards!

 

[Patmcpsu]

What are the predictions for the next incentives (one week away)? Aggressive? More of the same? Any specific resorts being pushed?

Disney's quarterly report showed that their profitability has been pretty stagnant, with the only bright spot being DVC sales. It feels to me like Disney may try to spur more sales to generate more easy window-dressing on their balance sheet.

 

[Brian Noble]

Where do you see that? The most recent quarterly report showed pretty solid growth YoY, with no mention that I can find of DVC in either the written report, the executive commentary, or the earnings transcript.

For this corner of DISboards, DVC is really important. For the company, it is a small part of a much larger Parks & Experiences enterprise---which in turn is only one of several legs to the stool.

 

[Patmcpsu]

Where do you see that? The most recent quarterly report showed pretty solid growth YoY, with no mention that I can find of DVC in either the written report, the executive commentary, or the earnings transcript.

For this corner of DISboards, DVC is really important. For the company, it is a small part of a much larger Parks & Experiences enterprise---which in turn is only one of several legs to the stool.

I took this headline at face value, but didn't dive into the nitty gritty: Disney Vacation Club Sales Boost Disney’s Q2 Earnings

 

[DanCali]

Disney's quarterly report showed that their profitability has been pretty stagnant, with the only bright spot being DVC sales. It feels to me like Disney may try to spur more sales to generate more easy window-dressing on their balance sheet.

They don't actually break it up that much but, based on the comments in the SEC filing, the bright spot was mostly theme parks (attendance, guest spend) and resorts (occupancy rates) rather than DVC sales.

Timeshare sales are not a high growth business (and may even be on the decline with other developers). We know that if they lower the price temporarily, they can temporarily boost sales, and perhaps they do that when other parts of the business are having hiccups.

https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/app/uploads/2025/05/q2-fy25-earnings.pdf

 

[Brian Noble]

I think it's fair to say that DVC Fan is, well, maybe a little myopic. Here's the full narrative from Domestic P&E. (And I did miss this mention in the earnings report):

Domestic Parks and Experiences

Operating results at our domestic parks and experiences increased compared to the prior-year quarter primarily due to growth at our domestic parks and resorts and, to a lesser extent, Disney Vacation Club and Disney Cruise Line reflecting:

• Higher volumes attributable to increases in passenger cruise days, theme park attendance, occupied room nights and Disney Vacation Club unit sales. Additional passenger cruise days reflected the launch of the Disney Treasure in the first quarter of the current year
• An increase in guest spending due to higher spending at our theme parks
• Increased costs primarily attributable to the fleet expansion at Disney Cruise Line and inflation

This is in the context of a good quarter overall. It is very much a stretch to say that DVC is "the only bright spot" even in Domestic P&E, let alone the rest of the company.

 

[Brian Noble]

I also suspect that rising DVC unit sales are driven at least in part by rising domestic park attendance, since that's presumably the largest source of tour flow.

 

[airjay75]

As to prediction, seems to me like the best bet is what they did at the end of April - incremental adjustments to incentives to make the next round just slightly worse than the current round (and worse enough that you won’t save any money by delaying your purchase to save on prorated dues). Absent some reason they really need to move sales at a particular resort (and I fail to see any compelling reason why that would be the case), that is really what makes the most sense from a sales perspective. You create both a sense of DVC purchasers getting a “good” deal before it’s gone and a fear of missing out for potential purchasers to get off the sidelines and buy.

I will be delighted if I’m wrong .

 

[muppets3d]

Unless DVC decides they want to do a steeper discount to sell out one of their resorts (cough Riviera cough) I wouldn't expect the incentives next week to be any better than what they're offering today.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

Unless DVC decides they want to do a steeper discount to sell out one of their resorts (cough Riviera cough) I wouldn't expect the incentives next week to be any better than what they're offering today.

Are they really in a hurry to move faster on RIV than they already are with LSL still in the distance? I think they don't do RIV clearout until just before LSL launches (if they need it at all at the current pace).

 

[maui22]

I have posted before, VGF was on pace to sell out before PVB IT sales began - without significant promotions.

• November 2022, Trian began accumulating a significant amount of Disney shares.
• January 2023, they began a proxy battle for Peltz to be on the board.
• February 2023, Disney rejected.
• February 2023, Disney began a significant reorganization.
• Goal quickly became profit to stave off this battle.
• March 2, 2023 incentives increased https://dvcnews.com/dvc-program-men...idian-riviera-incentives-rise-for-spring-2023
• May 30, 2023 sale that helped sell out VGF began. https://dvcnews.com/dvc-program-men...in-summer-2023-disney-vacation-club-promotion

 

[disneylandtour]

Where do you see that? The most recent quarterly report showed pretty solid growth YoY, with no mention that I can find of DVC in either the written report, the executive commentary, or the earnings transcript.

For this corner of DISboards, DVC is really important. For the company, it is a small part of a much larger Parks & Experiences enterprise---which in turn is only one of several legs to the stool.

This info, I'm pretty sure, is actually from the Q2 earnings call. And there's a back story here as well. DVC got scolded on the earnings call about a year ago (from memory, I think this was likely related to the cabins--though I haven't gone back to check this) and now Iger is likely making up for that. I don't recall the numbers being extraordinary in Q2, simply a better uptick with Poly Tower than with the Cabins rollout.

 

[disneylandtour]

Unless DVC decides they want to do a steeper discount to sell out one of their resorts (cough Riviera cough) I wouldn't expect the incentives next week to be any better than what they're offering today.

In another group, two people said that their guides suggested that they wait to close until after the new incentives. This may just be standard advice: Hey, you can choose between two sets of incentives. But both of the posters were buying Poly. I do think that Poly sales aren't hitting targets. The new Poly points should've been a slam dunk. My read: sales are certainly OK, but probably not at the pace and depth initially projected. Anyway, my guess is that we see something better...finally...for Poly. Also, if I had to take another guess: DVC would rather have Poly sell out before LSL. Riviera is in the EPCOT grouping, with the Skyliner. Poly and LSL will both be water-facing MK resorts. That is, they'll simply compete with each other.

 

[SugarSweetLee]

In another group, two people said that their guides suggested that they wait to close until after the new incentives. This may just be standard advice: Hey, you can choose between two sets of incentives. But both of the posters were buying Poly. I do think that Poly sales aren't hitting targets. The new Poly points should've been a slam dunk. My read: sales are certainly OK, but probably not at the pace and depth initially projected. Anyway, my guess is that we see something better...finally...for Poly. Also, if I had to take another guess: DVC would rather have Poly sell out before LSL. Riviera is in the EPCOT grouping, with the Skyliner. Poly and LSL will both be water-facing MK resorts. That is, they'll simply compete with each other.

I didn't think the guides know anything ahead of time...

 

[maui22]

I didn't think the guides know anything ahead of time...

100% agree.

Rather have a fish on the hook (even if I am waiting to set the hook) than one swimming around the bait.

Guides want to build relationships with customers. Tell any customer if you start process today, you are guaranteed with today’s incentive or incentives a week from now. You get the best of the two.

Once someone starts the buying process they are more likely going through with the deal than someone who leaves and is given the offer is valid for 7 days spiel.

 

[Mouseforward]

The new Poly points should've been a slam dunk.

The point chart pushed me away, I was going to "wash" my 100 resale Poly by selling them and getting 150 direct so I could 7 month combine with my RIV points. But I am not paying the rates they want for a 2br in the tower.

I will most likely sell the Poly points, and just get more RIV and if the incentives are not great, RIV resale.

 

[DanCali]

I thought the incentives were pretty lackluster.

First round, no MB.

Second round added MB but jacked up the base price by $10. And by having a $1500 fixed discount for passholders ($15/pt for 100 points and $10/pt for 150 points) they also made it so that 100 points were cheaper (per pt) than 150 points because the difference in incentive per point didn't make up for it (see this sheet). To me, that was nonsensical even seemed to throw a couple of guides off balance when I pointed that out.

If they want to go to selling over 100K points per month at Poly, I think they need to go sub-$200 before MB - that's pretty hard when you now start at $235. But maybe they're ok with chugging it along at 50K-80K per month.

Oh, and in our last presentation (when we said "maybe" to 100 PIT points, which doesn't get MB) a guide told me that MB is a bad deal for us anyway because the points have a much greater cash value and Disney benefits the most from the MB. My response to that was that if that's the case, they should offer MB for any purchase, not just 150+ points... But you can't give some buyers a "great deal" in the form of a MB rebate when they make a large purchase, and tell the ones who make a smaller purchase that the deal the other buyers are getting is in fact lousy after all...

 

[muppets3d]

In another group, two people said that their guides suggested that they wait to close until after the new incentives. This may just be standard advice: Hey, you can choose between two sets of incentives. But both of the posters were buying Poly. I do think that Poly sales aren't hitting targets. The new Poly points should've been a slam dunk. My read: sales are certainly OK, but probably not at the pace and depth initially projected. Anyway, my guess is that we see something better...finally...for Poly. Also, if I had to take another guess: DVC would rather have Poly sell out before LSL. Riviera is in the EPCOT grouping, with the Skyliner. Poly and LSL will both be water-facing MK resorts. That is, they'll simply compete with each other.

The guides have no idea what the new incentives will be until they're released. This is just a way to get people to lock in a contract and overcome any objections they may have.

Are they really in a hurry to move faster on RIV than they already are with LSL still in the distance? I think they don't do RIV clearout until just before LSL launches (if they need it at all at the current pace).

No I agree they aren't in any immediate need to sell out Riviera. And they may not even do an additional incentive to sell out the resort faster.

 

[Mouseforward]

No I agree they aren't in any immediate need to sell out Riviera. And they may not even do an additional incentive to sell out the resort faster.

I hope your prediction is incorrect but I also think you are right. They will have nothing to offer in the Epcot area once RIV sells out and nothing announced. Possibly that will push LSL sales as there is no other option.