New Doorway to Dreams mailing(Woodfield)
- Thread starter Psychodisney
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ScottNBecky
DIS Veteran
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- Jul 21, 2004
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Mickey and Minnie are supposed to be there.
BriarRosie
<font color=blue>Creator of Tag Fairy Haiku:<br>Cl
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I would say most definitely. There are three days' worth of Member previews,
and we had Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale and Donald. My guess is that they
will appear throughout the events today, tomorrow and Saturday.
Even though they appeared as a group when I saw them, I have a feeling
they might cycle out a few characters at a time so they get a lot of breaks
on Saturday.
Rat-a-too-ee
DCL Gold Castaway Club
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2007
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- 303
Yes, Minnie and Mickey at the very minimum will be there on Saturday.
When we went at 3pm on 8/01, we had Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald (no Chip & Dale during our time, I wish they were there -- some of our favs!!!)
Dyan
When we went at 3pm on 8/01, we had Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald (no Chip & Dale during our time, I wish they were there -- some of our favs!!!)
DyanSteve's Wife
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 11, 2004
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- 271
We just went for the fun (and to see if we could feed Steve's pin addiction) but somehow we left with a 160 point add on at Animal Kingdom.
Lori
Lori
tinkerbelle77
DIS Veteran
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- Jan 24, 2006
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- 1,899
We just went for the fun (and to see if we could feed Steve's pin addiction) but somehow we left with a 160 point add on at Animal Kingdom.
Lori
Jointhe club...we went and said no way are we going to do an add on...we added on 200 more points at AKV! Incentives were too good!!!
That's my story too. The whole drive over my husband and I chanted...we will NOT buy more points....we will not buy more points!! 200 AKV points later....We just went for the fun (and to see if we could feed Steve's pin addiction) but somehow we left with a 160 point add on at Animal Kingdom.
Lori
i wonder if we could still attend today, does anyone have the phone # to call?
MarkRG
DIS Veteran
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- Mar 19, 2002
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- 6,166
Good for you guys, no addons here.
Not going to recap the whole thing as that's been done well already, just some tidbits.
The sales presentation is more or less the same one they used on the last Member Cruise, they did use the exact same guest endorsement video. My wife and I have come to call it the Ginsu knife presentation as we were waiting for them to be offered next. It's a good bit more hard sell than in the past, but they have to, the other timeshares are catching up, and by the numbers, DVC's new owner sales are slowing.
And on that, on the last member cruise I was the winner of the big drawing prize, a week thru Interval International. We used it for an already planned trip to Hawaii and stayed at Ko'Olina, a Mariott timeshare which I have to say equals DVC's. Now they have their own presentation you sign up for and they give you a gift back, in our case we got a snorkeling excursion on the resort's catamaran for free. The reason I bring this up? That exact same map with the pinpoints of light showing the timeshare resorts is in Mariott's sales center. Someone's been snooping!
By the way, that Cheerful Cast Member pictured is Sybil, and if she's here, I'd half expect James, DVC president will put in an appearance Saturday.
On the units... The decor is of the usual high standard of Disney quality and gives a definite Africa impression. Lots of detail. Now I will say my wife and I prefer lighter decor. And maybe that is what gives the impression that these units seem smaller, and I'm comparing to BCV/SSR, both of which we've toured. There were a number of sales points made that are actually applicable to all DVC 1br units but were presented as being something new to AKV. And yes, there's a foldout bed from a chair, but more like a cot than a twin, and the other is really a loveseat, the sofas in the other dvc units are bigger.
The additional bathroom is a nice feature. And yes the jacuzzi tub is longer, but I really like the placement in the other dvc units much better where you can look out at the tv or at least have some daylight while having a good hot soak, than just looking at a tiled wall.
All in all a great setup. It's going to be interesting to see what kind of staying power it has. This isn't Disney's first foray into having more of a presence than just a TDS in Woodfield, they had a restaurant comparable to the standalone one out in Cali that lasted a very short time. Hopefully this sales center will be here longer.
Not going to recap the whole thing as that's been done well already, just some tidbits.
The sales presentation is more or less the same one they used on the last Member Cruise, they did use the exact same guest endorsement video. My wife and I have come to call it the Ginsu knife presentation as we were waiting for them to be offered next. It's a good bit more hard sell than in the past, but they have to, the other timeshares are catching up, and by the numbers, DVC's new owner sales are slowing.
And on that, on the last member cruise I was the winner of the big drawing prize, a week thru Interval International. We used it for an already planned trip to Hawaii and stayed at Ko'Olina, a Mariott timeshare which I have to say equals DVC's. Now they have their own presentation you sign up for and they give you a gift back, in our case we got a snorkeling excursion on the resort's catamaran for free. The reason I bring this up? That exact same map with the pinpoints of light showing the timeshare resorts is in Mariott's sales center. Someone's been snooping!
By the way, that Cheerful Cast Member pictured is Sybil, and if she's here, I'd half expect James, DVC president will put in an appearance Saturday.
On the units... The decor is of the usual high standard of Disney quality and gives a definite Africa impression. Lots of detail. Now I will say my wife and I prefer lighter decor. And maybe that is what gives the impression that these units seem smaller, and I'm comparing to BCV/SSR, both of which we've toured. There were a number of sales points made that are actually applicable to all DVC 1br units but were presented as being something new to AKV. And yes, there's a foldout bed from a chair, but more like a cot than a twin, and the other is really a loveseat, the sofas in the other dvc units are bigger.
The additional bathroom is a nice feature. And yes the jacuzzi tub is longer, but I really like the placement in the other dvc units much better where you can look out at the tv or at least have some daylight while having a good hot soak, than just looking at a tiled wall.
All in all a great setup. It's going to be interesting to see what kind of staying power it has. This isn't Disney's first foray into having more of a presence than just a TDS in Woodfield, they had a restaurant comparable to the standalone one out in Cali that lasted a very short time. Hopefully this sales center will be here longer.
MarkRG
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2002
- Messages
- 6,166
DeeVeeCee came out and gave away a bunch of smaller stuff like carry bags, commuter mugs and such.
They had Mickey, Minnie, Chip, Dale, and Donald for photo ops.
They had a very nice food buffet and open bar.
Incentives, there were levels, at the lower point addon they'd give you a matching number of points for the 1st year, and a cash back per point that was slightly higher at SSR than AKV. As you stepped up on buying points they upped the number of matching points.
I remember that restaurant...and I was thinking the same thing.
I think it was a fairly easy sell with the incentive to existing members...it will be interesting to see how they can convert mall shoppers into buyers in the long haul.
I think it was a fairly easy sell with the incentive to existing members...it will be interesting to see how they can convert mall shoppers into buyers in the long haul.
aclov
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2006
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- 4,911
It's open to anyone on Saturday and Sunday. The days that you needed an appt were Wed-Friday, when they had the food and giveaways. When I called I was told Sat. was the grand opening but it was open to the public.
- Joined
- Feb 5, 2004
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- 1,552
They also said today that if you wanted to buy, you need to do it during this grand opening week. The incentives cannot be given by the guides in Orlando, but only at the store.
I thought the whole presentation was done rather well. The units were beautiful and I loved the "savanna view" mural outside the balcony.
The CM that led us to the store was one of the CMs on the Disney Cruise that I was on this past January (Eastern Caribbean, Jan 6-13). It was neat seeing her there!
She asked if I was adding on. I told her I was waiting for the Contemporary Resort Villas. (Beside, while I like staying at the Animal Kingdom from time to time, I usually prefer a place closer to the parks. That is one of the reasons I enjoy BWV so much. But a resort at the Magic Kingdom wouldn't be bad either . . .
I thought the whole presentation was done rather well. The units were beautiful and I loved the "savanna view" mural outside the balcony.
The CM that led us to the store was one of the CMs on the Disney Cruise that I was on this past January (Eastern Caribbean, Jan 6-13). It was neat seeing her there!
She asked if I was adding on. I told her I was waiting for the Contemporary Resort Villas. (Beside, while I like staying at the Animal Kingdom from time to time, I usually prefer a place closer to the parks. That is one of the reasons I enjoy BWV so much. But a resort at the Magic Kingdom wouldn't be bad either . . .
ebenmax
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2006
- Messages
- 1,155
We just arrived back to Ohio from Chicago. The organization of the presentation, food, characters, new store and AKV (although we had see them in FL) were WONDERFUL!! The atmosphere was energized and fun.
Our BIG disappointment came with the incentives. In fact, that was our main reason for going. When we had been in WDW the week before, two different guides who were giving tours at the AKV (NOT our own guide) told us that although they were not permitted to tell us the incentives in Chicago, they did say they were GREAT, well worth the drive, and much better than FL could offer.
Well, my DH and I planned and schemed almost the whole 6 hr. drive about how many points we wanted/could afford/would BUY if the incentives were really outstanding. OK - so we decided 100 pts. because we assumed there would be at least 100 as a minimum. When they started the incentive pitch,
my heart sank.
110 pts.minimum - OK - we could go 10 more points.
$10 off pp (for SSR which we wanted) - same as FL
110 - matching developer points total 110 - NOT in FL BUT FL was offering DOUBLE developer points (with no $10 off pp)
110 - 2006 points - same as FL
110 - 2006 points were bankable - same as FL (we have Dec. UY)
No closing costs - same as FL
MF pro-rated for 2006 pts. - same as FL
Automatic loan approval (which we did not need)
So we figured and planned before we met with the sales rep. and found the following:
Chicago
110 pts. at $94 pp = $10340.00
110 dev. points + 110 (2006 pts.) = 220 pts.
Florida
100 pts. at $104 pp = $10400.00
200 dev. points + 100 (2006 pts.) = 300 pts
So, we found that we would have been buying more points than we really needed/wanted just to get the incentive and spending almost the exact same amount of $$ while going home with 80 points less. Sure we will have 460 more points over the next 46 years but we will also pay maintenance fees on those, as well.
All in all, we considered the incentives a wash. When I proposed this to the sales rep. he really didn't know what to say. We thanked him for meeting with us, wished them good luck in Chicago and went on our way -
very disappointed. More disappointed because the hype over the incentives
claiming them to be SO outstanding and when you really calculated it, they weren't. Now if you bought 200 pts. then the situation was better. But we did not need/want/ or could afford 200 pts. SO. . . we came home with our Mickey ears and goodie bag, with a full stomach, and a picture with the characters, but . . .NO more DVC points
Oh, one other exciting moment. . .we saw the DVC president walking through the hallway of our hotel talking with some other business men. I wish I would have been to the presentation before I saw him!! Maybe we could have chatted about those incentives. HA! It was cool to see him though!
Our BIG disappointment came with the incentives. In fact, that was our main reason for going. When we had been in WDW the week before, two different guides who were giving tours at the AKV (NOT our own guide) told us that although they were not permitted to tell us the incentives in Chicago, they did say they were GREAT, well worth the drive, and much better than FL could offer.
Well, my DH and I planned and schemed almost the whole 6 hr. drive about how many points we wanted/could afford/would BUY if the incentives were really outstanding. OK - so we decided 100 pts. because we assumed there would be at least 100 as a minimum. When they started the incentive pitch,
my heart sank.
110 pts.minimum - OK - we could go 10 more points.
$10 off pp (for SSR which we wanted) - same as FL
110 - matching developer points total 110 - NOT in FL BUT FL was offering DOUBLE developer points (with no $10 off pp)
110 - 2006 points - same as FL
110 - 2006 points were bankable - same as FL (we have Dec. UY)
No closing costs - same as FL
MF pro-rated for 2006 pts. - same as FL
Automatic loan approval (which we did not need)
So we figured and planned before we met with the sales rep. and found the following:
Chicago
110 pts. at $94 pp = $10340.00
110 dev. points + 110 (2006 pts.) = 220 pts.
Florida
100 pts. at $104 pp = $10400.00
200 dev. points + 100 (2006 pts.) = 300 pts
So, we found that we would have been buying more points than we really needed/wanted just to get the incentive and spending almost the exact same amount of $$ while going home with 80 points less. Sure we will have 460 more points over the next 46 years but we will also pay maintenance fees on those, as well.
All in all, we considered the incentives a wash. When I proposed this to the sales rep. he really didn't know what to say. We thanked him for meeting with us, wished them good luck in Chicago and went on our way -
very disappointed. More disappointed because the hype over the incentives
claiming them to be SO outstanding and when you really calculated it, they weren't. Now if you bought 200 pts. then the situation was better. But we did not need/want/ or could afford 200 pts. SO. . . we came home with our Mickey ears and goodie bag, with a full stomach, and a picture with the characters, but . . .NO more DVC points
Oh, one other exciting moment. . .we saw the DVC president walking through the hallway of our hotel talking with some other business men. I wish I would have been to the presentation before I saw him!! Maybe we could have chatted about those incentives. HA! It was cool to see him though!
WDWLVR
<font color=green>DVC @ The Boardwalk</font><br><f
- Joined
- Feb 17, 2000
- Messages
- 31,459
Sorry you were disappointed. We weren't in the market for more points but from what I saw I thought the incentives were good because you got both the discount AND the points. I thought that the incentives in FL were you got either but not BOTH. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
ebenmax
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2006
- Messages
- 1,155
You are absolutley right in that Chicago gave you developer points + $$ off pp. which was what we were hoping for ($10 pp and double developer points) However, when you calculated the cost of having to buy more points and matching the dev. points instead of double dev points it made the deal virtually the same both places.
Yes, while they are both good deals, our disappointment came in the fact that several Disney people indicated that Chicago would be SO much better than FL and it really wasn't.
We had fun at the presentation though.
Yes, while they are both good deals, our disappointment came in the fact that several Disney people indicated that Chicago would be SO much better than FL and it really wasn't.
We had fun at the presentation though.
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