New Dvc preview center

[mousehouse23]

They had to do something with the space. It's been sitting empty for an awful long time. If it's the space I am thinking of, waaaaaaay back when it used to be shops—Anne of Green Gables and other stuff. That's been forever ago now. If we're all honest, the Canada Pavilion (and others) have declined slowly for many years.

Did they really used to have Anne of Green Gables stuff? I would've loved that.

 

[BeachClub2014]

Did they really used to have Anne of Green Gables stuff? I would've loved that.

Yes, they did. The shops on the upper mezzanine used to be open, and one had the Anne of Green Gables stuff. I was trying to remember how long ago that was. It has been well over 20 years now, which is pretty disappointing when you think about it.

 

[TinkAgainU]

Iger recently stated categorically they are not looking at any non-Park DVC expansions in the near future unfortunately. But maybe that still leaves room open for a Paris, Japan etc expansion which we would love.

...

Isn't there a major expansion in Palm Springs area coming (Cotino), guess I just assumed they'd add some DVC there eventually so the Disney Hotel and Grand Calif DVC'ers buying Direct have somewhere else on the west coast to use points.

 

[tjkraz]

Isn't there a major expansion in Palm Springs area coming (Cotino), guess I just assumed they'd add some DVC there eventually so the Disney Hotel and Grand Calif DVC'ers buying Direct have somewhere else on the west coast to use points.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but my impression has always been that Disney is simply licensing their name & characters, and doing design work on these residential communities. I never got the impression that they were the primary developer / investor.

That wouldn't preclude them from building some DVC units. But I'm not sure I see the value. Are there are lot of people who would willingly buy into a Palm Springs DVC? Are there a lot of people on the fence about buying into VDH for whom a Palm Springs addition is the tipping point?

 

[petrola]

I believe Epcot and Disney Parks leadership deserve a poke in the eye for not coming up with a way to install a viable shop/bar/restaurant/experience/etc. in the pavilion for over twenty years. That's the real missed opportunity, decades in the making.

yup!

 

[TinkAgainU]

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but my impression has always been that Disney is simply licensing their name & characters, and doing design work on these residential communities. I never got the impression that they were the primary developer / investor.

That wouldn't preclude them from building some DVC units. But I'm not sure I see the value. Are there are lot of people who would willingly buy into a Palm Springs DVC? Are there a lot of people on the fence about buying into VDH for whom a Palm Springs addition is the tipping point?

Snowbirds? Or west coast people who do not want to fly to Hawaii or Florida to use their timeshare? Otherwise, DVC only has the two resorts in Anaheim to offer as a timeshare benefit, while a lot of timeshare competition has many locations within driving distance. But you could well be correct since DVC might have decided at this point to only add timeshares at their Parks where they have multiple ongoing income sources from those guests. I'll also mention the Palm Springs area is far cheaper for land and employee costs - so a DVC there should be substantially cheaper than the Anaheim locations.

 

[tjkraz]

Snowbirds? Or west coast people who do not want to fly to Hawaii or Florida to use their timeshare? Otherwise, DVC only has the two resorts in Anaheim to offer as a timeshare benefit, while a lot of timeshare competition has many locations within driving distance. But you could well be correct since DVC might have decided at this point to only add timeshares at their Parks where they have multiple ongoing income sources from those guests. I'll also mention the Palm Springs area is far cheaper for land and employee costs - so a DVC there should be substantially cheaper than the Anaheim locations.

In recent years, DVC has taken to promoting trades through Interval International as a means of using points elsewhere. If a prospect has concerns about most of the resorts being at DL or WDW, they can unfold a flyer with literally hundreds of locations supported by II. (Quality, accessibility and fiscal responsibility of using points for II are topics for another discussion, but it's easy enough to gloss over in a sales pitch.)

The question always comes down to who would actually buy there. And that's where the non-park resorts always come up short. Right now if presented with choices of Island Tower, Disneyland Hotel, Aulani, Riviera, FTW Cabins and Palm Springs, there just aren't enough people who would choose Palm Springs for that 11 month advantage. Even if it were a little cheaper to develop and operate, DVC would be undercutting its own prices at resorts where they already have a surplus of points to market.

 

[jennypenny]

The only offsite location that IMO has a chance of working is one tied to a permanent cruise port like Port Canaveral, and only if it's really really nice. The questions on the recent survey I received were mostly about DVC but then asked about my preferred cruise ports when I sail with DVC.

 

[cruisehopeful]

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but my impression has always been that Disney is simply licensing their name & characters, and doing design work on these residential communities. I never got the impression that they were the primary developer / investor.

That wouldn't preclude them from building some DVC units. But I'm not sure I see the value. Are there are lot of people who would willingly buy into a Palm Springs DVC? Are there a lot of people on the fence about buying into VDH for whom a Palm Springs addition is the tipping point?

I think it's actually a nice idea since Disney is already building a full community near there in Rancho Mirage. It seems like it would be easy to add a DVC right there, but then again, the people who are living there full time probably wouldn't appreciate it.

 

[Chuck S]

I can see an in-park preview center boosting sales. Back in 1992, when Mom and I purchased, there was less sense of "time is so precious in the parks" by potential buyers. We stopped at the EPCOT DVC info desk, which was located in the exit area for Spaceship Earth at the time. They really wanted to drive us over to OKW right then, but instead we had them pick us up at the Contemporary where we were staying, first thing the next morning. Bear in mind that we were staying 2 full weeks that trip, AND had plenty of time to see things besides the parks. Back then, a full week trip was pretty normal.

Travelers today may stay 4 to 5 nights at most, especially to cut costs, so park time is far more important to them. They'll be far more likely to do walk-thru type thing in the park than to have to be transported, do the tour, be transported back, and re-enter the park. And since it was a large unused spot, they put it to use. Another space large enough would be to reuse the Millennium Village building, but they do still use that for convention groups and special events. Or the Wonders of Life building, but I think they'll want to use that for an attraction of some kind eventually. I hope they can come up with a better use than a PLAY pavilion, though. They could use another omni-mover based ride, but they'd like need to expand that building a little bit. The omni-movers seem a bit more reliable than the current generation of trackless ride systems. Since there is no actual "sensory lab" in the imagination ride, maybe they could do something based on that.

 

[Steelers0854]

Isn't there a major expansion in Palm Springs area coming (Cotino), guess I just assumed they'd add some DVC there eventually so the Disney Hotel and Grand Calif DVC'ers buying Direct have somewhere else on the west coast to use points.

Who knows what will happen eventually, but when the Disney CEO says at a shareholder meeting there are no plans for standalone DVC properties and they are focused on DCL I would imagine its not going to be anytime soon. Which is a shame because I can think of so many places I would love to see them.

https://dvcfan.com/general-dvc/iger-suggest-no-plans-for-future-stand-alone-resorts-like-aulani/

 

[RichVIII]

I can see an in-park preview center boosting sales. Back in 1992, when Mom and I purchased, there was less sense of "time is so precious in the parks" by potential buyers. We stopped at the EPCOT DVC info desk, which was located in the exit area for Spaceship Earth at the time. They really wanted to drive us over to OKW right then, but instead we had them pick us up at the Contemporary where we were staying, first thing the next morning. Bear in mind that we were staying 2 full weeks that trip, AND had plenty of time to see things besides the parks. Back then, a full week trip was pretty normal.

Travelers today may stay 4 to 5 nights at most, especially to cut costs, so park time is far more important to them. They'll be far more likely to do walk-thru type thing in the park than to have to be transported, do the tour, be transported back, and re-enter the park. And since it was a large unused spot, they put it to use. Another space large enough would be to reuse the Millennium Village building, but they do still use that for convention groups and special events. Or the Wonders of Life building, but I think they'll want to use that for an attraction of some kind eventually. I hope they can come up with a better use than a PLAY pavilion, though. They could us another omni-mover based ride, but they'd like need to expand that building a little bit. The omni-movers seem a bit more reliable than the current generation of trackless ride systems. Since there is no actual "sensory lab" in the imagination ride, maybe they could do something based on that.

Agree with this. Even as a 10+ year member, we have never stayed a week. The thought of the “extra” work to go a preview center and potentially feel “trapped” in a sales pitch seems very timeshareish. I know it is not the case but perception can be reality. And honestly, carting people over to the already busy PIT adds strain. So yeah, hey, come by and see this room and cool off. I am sure if you want more after that they will still oblige.

 

[Lady Hiss]

Ugh, I really find the whole idea of this off-putting and extremely disappointing. I’d rather see an empty space than this. Can’t believe this is the best they can do.

IMHO, the World Showcase is there to offer guests a little exposure to foreign cultures, foreign cuisine, foreign entertainment, and show the uniqueness of each country. A sales center stuck into an unused space doesn’t fit the ambiance or purpose of WS.

agree with others - it screams desperation and shows a total lack of concern for what the WS is supposed to be. And yes, I’m a DVC owner. I bought after getting the DVC spiel from a rep in a hotel lobby almost 30 years ago.

 

[Cfabar1]

A few thoughts that I have:
- The space wasn't being used for like 20 years.... Glad it is being used for something...
- There is so much vacant space in the WS it is really sad to me - it is also hard for me to know was the shopping better in the old days? To me much of it really isn't that unique anymore in the foreign countries in a world with amazon.com...
- In that context, what is Disney's plan for the WS... it seems more and more underwhelming recently....
- Disney needs to be careful.... EPIC universe comes in... what has Disney done recently - redid the Country Bears (in phases) and added a sales center in EPCOT doesn't have the right ring...
-DVC has felt "pushier" to us over the past year or so - a lot more calls from guides, a lot more follow up then there used to be. The old way was very much make the customer beg to be a part of DVC... now it is have DVC beg the customer to add on points, etc...

 

[tjkraz]

- In that context, what is Disney's plan for the WS... it seems more and more underwhelming recently....

I'm not really clear how the WS has been downgraded. They expanded a pavilion and added an attraction 3 years ago. And just finished refurbishing a WS ride. They just wrapped up 5 years of modifications throughout the park. With major expansions under way at the 3 other parks, I wouldn't expect anything for Epcot in the near term.

-DVC has felt "pushier" to us over the past year or so - a lot more calls from guides, a lot more follow up then there used to be. The old way was very much make the customer beg to be a part of DVC... now it is have DVC beg the customer to add on points, etc...

Haven't heard from my guide in 2+ years. They all have their own unique approach.

 

[TinkAgainU]

I'm not really clear how the WS has been downgraded. They expanded a pavilion and added an attraction 3 years ago. And just finished refurbishing a WS ride. …

Epcot, especially World Showcase (and now Animal Kingdom) just seem to miss the mark for their themes anymore. Walking thru WS when it finally opens at 11 (sigh) feels more like an overpriced open air mall than on-theme. Might as well add a DVC shop and a Target. Love Pandora but that is Not Animals theming either. I feel Disney is getting disjointed. Disney is only a Bubble for us if it keeps up a given ambiance. Looking forward to seeing how Epic Universe does with it’s lands themes.

 

[BeachClub2014]

I'm not really clear how the WS has been downgraded. They expanded a pavilion and added an attraction 3 years ago. And just finished refurbishing a WS ride. They just wrapped up 5 years of modifications throughout the park. With major expansions under way at the 3 other parks, I wouldn't expect anything for Epcot in the near term.

I agree that there has been exciting investment in some areas of WS that you mentioned in your post. That investment is great but needs to be overlaid against half the Canada pavilion, which has been sitting empty for decades, and the Morocco pavilion, which follows suit with the stores' closure and the premium restaurant inside the pavilion. If Disney really wanted to create WS excitement, they'd make a totally new pavilion, but that ain't happening anytime soon. The live entertainment opportunities across the WS have also been reduced over the years, hit rock bottom during COVID, and haven't fully returned.

The real "sin," IMHO, was the pivot to emphasize nearly year-round "festivals" to sell expensive snacks, drinks, and festival-branded swag. But that's probably a whole different thread.

 

[Chuck S]

Isn't there a major expansion in Palm Springs area coming (Cotino), guess I just assumed they'd add some DVC there eventually so the Disney Hotel and Grand Calif DVC'ers buying Direct have somewhere else on the west coast to use points.

But the Cotino project, and all the Storybook Living projects, aren't actually true Disney. They are built and sold by third party developers under a Disney name branding license, so while a DVC is possible, it isn't a priority for Disney in those locations.

That said, I have friends in Palm Springs area that I went to High School with 50 years ago, that I'd love to visit with my DVC points. But also consider that vacation spot come and go. Look at all the timeshares that were built in Branson, Missouri. No one goes there anymore but it was THE place to be 25 years ago.

 

[Chuck S]

The Morocco Pavilion was sponsored by the Kingdom of Morocco itself. When the sponsorship ended, I think Disney had no direct real experience with Moroccan culture, foods, when a WS pavilion l;oses sponsorships, that are is often remodeled, like Norway, to focus more on Disney IP related to the country, even if it is very loosely related. I can see it being remodeled into something like an Aladdin attraction eventually...but those saying that WS is loosing it's purpose, are Three Caballeros, a Beauty and the Beast sing-a-long, a rat that cooks, and Frozen really reflections of their respective countries? It is a theme park.. not a world's fair, even though it initially gave that vibe.

 

[Best Aunt]

-DVC has felt "pushier" to us over the past year or so - a lot more calls from guides, a lot more follow up then there used to be. The old way was very much make the customer beg to be a part of DVC... now it is have DVC beg the customer to add on points, etc...

I told my Guide not to call me. He has respected that. (But I haven't contacted him regarding a potential purchase, so there hasn't been a need for him to follow up with me.)