New DVC/RCI

[badchooch]

.

 

[Dean]

Disney has recently decided to switch from II (Interval International) to RCI. Why they did this without polling it's memebers is beyond me, but if you compare the quality,locations and number of resorts that are considered the gold and silver crown resorts that RCI offers compared to II you will see that II is far more superior. RCI's resorts for the most part are out dated and have very bad reviews. At least with II you could always stay at a Marriot which we all know has a reputation of quality. Some of the nicer resorts with RCI are their mandatory all-inclusive resorts which charges additional fee's upward of $400 per person. Anyone thinking of buying into DVC is highly advised to do your research first. We bought ours in the summer of 08 and if we knew about the change over prior to purchasing we would have not purchased. Disney is a quality company who has paired up with a 2 star vacation club.

We've discussed it extensively based on the info available so far. In general buying DVC to exchange was always a poor choice so I don't think this change really makes much material difference so I doubt this will or should have any affect on the majority of buyers. It's always good to be informed though. One correction is that those AI offerings are often twice what you quote or more, sometimes far more. DVC doesn't poll it's members in this regard as it's their membership and option as corporate members.

 

[Tara]

Disney has recently decided to switch from II (Interval International) to RCI. Why they did this without polling it's memebers is beyond me, but if you compare the quality,locations and number of resorts that are considered the gold and silver crown resorts that RCI offers compared to II you will see that II is far more superior. RCI's resorts for the most part are out dated and have very bad reviews. At least with II you could always stay at a Marriot which we all know has a reputation of quality. Some of the nicer resorts with RCI are their mandatory all-inclusive resorts which charges additional fee's upward of $400 per person. Anyone thinking of buying into DVC is highly advised to do your research first. We bought ours in the summer of 08 and if we knew about the change over prior to purchasing we would have not purchased. Disney is a quality company who has paired up with a 2 star vacation club.

I would guess that for most members, this change doesn't make a difference and doesn't impact the value of their "investment." Most don't trade out anyway. I agree with Dean that purchasing for trade-outs is a very poor value - it was with II and remains so with RCI.

 

[anonymousegirl]

Anyone thinking of buying into DVC is highly advised to do your research first.We bought ours in the summer of 08 and if we knew about the change over prior to purchasing we would have not purchased. Disney is a quality company who has paired up with a 2 star vacation club.[/

I just bought and I did do my research and I quickly discovered (on these boards) that buying DVC for trade outs was not advisable due to the expense of the DVC points and the difficulty/uncertainty of getting comparable resorts.

If you are so unhappy with the change from II to RCI, there is a vibrant resale market that you can use to sell your DVC.

I bought DVC because I want to stay at WDW 2-3 times a year. Someday I would like to be able to trade out to nice resorts, but I will buy another timeshare that allows individual membership into II or RCI so I can get the full range of resorts.

 

[wdw1972]

If you are so unhappy with the change from II to RCI, there is a vibrant resale market that you can use to sell your DVC.

I bought DVC because I want to stay at WDW 2-3 times a year. Someday I would like to be able to trade out to nice resorts, but I will buy another timeshare that allows individual membership into II or RCI so I can get the full range of resorts.

Totally agree!! DVC didn't poll us because they shouldn't. THEY make the decisions, not us. Anyone who bought dvc for the trading to II is not very bright, I'm afraid. Using our points at dvc resorts is the best value, and most logical use. Everything other than the dvc resorts are simply perks that can come & go at Disney's whim.

As for some of the RCI properties being dogs - well, as with anything else, if you don't check it out before you book, you have nobody to blame but yourself! However, I'll be sticking with dvc resorts for my points

 

[Lynne M]

Doesn't bother me any, either. I did do my research before I bought, and I didn't see myself trading often, if at all. I bought DVC to stay at the DVC resorts. I bought enough points to cover my Disney stays. Maybe, at some point, I'll try a concierge collection hotel or two, but I prefer to pay cash for my other vacations.

 

[RobDoc]

... RCI's resorts for the most part are out dated and have very bad reviews. At least with II you could always stay at a Marriot which we all know has a reputation of quality.

Which RCI resorts in the DVC collection "are out dated and have very bad reviews"?

Which Marriott resorts in the DVC collection could you "always stay at"?

 

[disneynutz]

Totally agree!! DVC didn't poll us because they shouldn't. THEY make the decisions, not us.

That may be true, but it would be nice if they made decisions that truly benefited the members and not Disney.

 

[La2kw]

Your guide should have explained to you that exchanges are just perks and any perk can come and go. They should have also made it clear that buying for the perks is not a very good idea. Buying to use your points at a DVC resort has always been the best use of points. When we bought DVC years ago, RCI was the exchange partner. I have no problems with them returning to RCI.

 

[hakepb]

I do think if Disney polled it's members for major decisions, the "losers" would be forming factions and DVC would become a huge disgruntled mess that got nothing done, like congress.

It's a more manageable (but perhaps not equitable) DVC community when Jim makes major decisions and we can all blame him.

 

[Dean]

I do think if Disney polled it's members for major decisions, the "losers" would be forming factions and DVC would become a huge disgruntled mess that got nothing done, like congress.

It's a more manageable (but perhaps not equitable) DVC community when Jim makes major decisions and we can all blame him.

I think DVC can gather info without creating chaos and I do believe on issues such as this that a formal poll would create a lot less issues than would the current method. I'd agree they don't have the obligation to do so for exchange options.

 

[jimmytammy]

I purchased DVC based on the quality of their resorts. I havent even considered using those pts for II. Now that RCI is in the picture, I probably still wont consider using those pts for them either.

 

[DisneyWalker44]

Totally agree!! DVC didn't poll us because they shouldn't. THEY make the decisions, not us. Anyone who bought dvc for the trading to II is not very bright, I'm afraid. Using our points at dvc resorts is the best value, and most logical use. Everything other than the dvc resorts are simply perks that can come & go at Disney's whim.

There are many arms of Disney we deal with. One is the management company that works for us. We have chosen them to manage our property for us, and pay them $millions a year to do that job. We should expect anything the management arm does will be in our behalf.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.. but I believe trading options are one of those things the management company negotiates and arranges on our behalf. They aren't a "perk" that Disney gives us.

As for the OP - we don't really know how RCI is going to work out for us. II wasn't that great, so I can't imagine any DVC member being that upset about losing II for RCI - at least not yet. About the only folks who should be that upset are II owners losing the ability to trade into DVC.

 

[bangzoom6877]

We did not purchase DVC to exchange out to other places. We purchased because it made sense for our future family vacation plans. We want to be able to take our kids to WDW every other year, stay a nice long 10-night stay in a deluxe resort (for location so that we could be close to the parks, Epcot in particular) and do so until they are much older. They are only 1 and 3 right now so we know we have years of family vacation memories to make. We bought 150 points through resale at BWV because that is where we want to stay and that amount of points is perfect for our plans, allowing us to stay in a 1-bedroom, or if we ever decide to change our minds and go every year we could stay in a studio for 10 nights. Simple as that. We bought exactly what we wanted and what works for us.

The only things I could possibly see us doing in the future with our DVC points instead of staying at BWV is going to Disneyland to stay in GCV when they are done, but that would be many years in the future like when the boys are teenagers, or staying at the DVC in Hawaii they are supposed to eventually have, but that would be even farther in the future when the boys are adults and DH and I go alone. That is also IF we could get either of those 7 months out at the points we would want them. Other than that I can't see any other use of our points working for our vacation plans. So I don't even care if there comes a time when we can't exchange out with any other timeshare company. I know many others would disagree but something like that would not change the value of OUR purchase.

 

[disneynutz]

DVD's current marketing focuses on exchanges and ABD. The DVC Travel Channel Show a month ago was 20% DVC Resorts and 80% exchanges and ABD. Tends to make me think that DVD is trying to attract the exchange buyer or that exchanges are where the money is.

 

[ohtarabell]

Nice first post, flamer. Most members don't care. Some do, but it's the wrong place to try and start a firestorm. Thanks to the senior members of this board, anyone on it is well aware of the pro's and con's of DVC. This may be the most educated group of owners anywhere. I for one, am indebted to the members of the board who answer all questions honestly. "Buyer beware" does not apply to this board..............we are already "aware". My guess is that you are not an owner.

Disney has recently decided to switch from II (Interval International) to RCI. Why they did this without polling it's memebers is beyond me, but if you compare the quality,locations and number of resorts that are considered the gold and silver crown resorts that RCI offers compared to II you will see that II is far more superior. RCI's resorts for the most part are out dated and have very bad reviews. At least with II you could always stay at a Marriot which we all know has a reputation of quality. Some of the nicer resorts with RCI are their mandatory all-inclusive resorts which charges additional fee's upward of $400 per person. Anyone thinking of buying into DVC is highly advised to do your research first. We bought ours in the summer of 08 and if we knew about the change over prior to purchasing we would have not purchased. Disney is a quality company who has paired up with a 2 star vacation club.

 

[Brian Noble]

Tends to make me think that DVD is trying to attract the exchange buyer or that exchanges are where the money is.

I think this is a demographics issue. At some point, DVD will have exhausted pent-up demand in the "Disney fanatic" market. Once you reach that point, you have only replacement growth (as new families enter the market)---a much flatter sales curve.

For better or worse, Parks & Resorts has become quite enamored of DVD's current sales growth, and would like to see that continue. Hence the focus on broadening the market for DVC Membership.

 

[DVC Mike]

...you will see that II is far more superior. RCI's resorts for the most part are out dated and have very bad reviews. At least with II you could always stay at a Marriot which we all know has a reputation of quality. Some of the nicer resorts with RCI are their mandatory all-inclusive resorts which charges additional fee's upward of $400 per person. Anyone thinking of buying into DVC is highly advised to do your research first... Disney is a quality company who has paired up with a 2 star vacation club.

Do you work for II?

 

[littlestar]

Don't be too aggravated over this. You don't have to exchange through RCI. You can always rent your points out or do a direct exchange with another owner of a timeshare where you want to go or possibly use one of the independent exchange companies. You can check out Redweek for some nice rentals from owners.

Also, go to timeshare users group (tugbbs.com) and do some reading and educate yourself on maybe possibly buying something to do trades with where you can have an individual membership with II. I don't think it's smart to trade DVC points on a regular basis anyway - whether it be II or RCI. The value is just not there for the most part. Plus, DVC members don't have access to the good cash deals on Getaways. RCI even has something called "Last Call" where within 45 days of checkin you can book a one bedroom for $219 for a week or a 2 bedroom for $249 a week. I've seen these Last Calls offered for the Sheraton in Myrtle Beach and Orlando. I definitely value my memberships to RCI and II both.

We bought a dual affilated silver crown resort that gives us access to both exchange companies - II and RCI. This purchase cost us less than $1,000. I'll probably never use my DVC points to trade. I bought them to use at Disney.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We used points for the DCL several years ago. And I said I would never use DVC points to trade out. But RCI has three of my favorite resorts listed for week long stays and we just might skip a trip to WDW for a week at one of these instead.