New policy for reservations based on check IN date

[bobbiwoz]

Honestly, I don't think DVC will do this. Disney has taken great pains for WDW to be a "different" and "special" destination. When you walk through those gates....EVERYONE is the same. No special fast pass for the rich....no extra money to do "special" things....etc. I think if they changed the "special" way that DVC works....ie, FLEXIBILITY....It would be a major mistake....and a very wrong direction to go in.....JMO.


Exactly.
Kerri

The perception is that everyone is the same, but that's not the case. I do not know the particulars, but there must be special fast passes, or guides that take the buyers right to the front of lines. We were observing a family at MK when we were there 2 weeks ago. They went to the front of Buzz and the Speedway..don't know their story, but it was obvious that they had "connections." There are no fast passes for the Speedway, these people just talked their way to a special gate and were let in, no problem.

Bobbi

 

[maminnie]

jdg345:

I do not have enough points to book two full weeks and would assume that many members are in a similar situation.

 

[toyboy]

I have no direct information that this was by intent but I do believe it encourages 7 day stays including weekends regardless of the intent. I feel this is a good think for the membership as a whole but do see the concerns and as I've said, it works against me personally. I would again say that this level likely does not have much info as to intent.

Jim Lewis Bio

Dean, thanks for the bio link. It would appear that Jim's background is heavily weighted toward business development and finance. This may have worked to help grow DVC, but I would think a turn at customer relations would serve him well. I'd be curious to see how customer satisfaction ranking has changed since he took over. The allure of DVC may be strong in the next couple of years because of new expansion locations (BLT, Hawaii), but after that poor word of mouth from existing owners will eventually cause long term damage to the product.

What is the e-mail address folks have been using on this thread to communicate with DVC on this new policy? I know there have been many call backs from DVC reps based on member feedback.

 

[jdg345]

jdg345:

I do not have enough points to book two full weeks and would assume that many members are in a similar situation.

Understood; I guess this is another case where the new system favors larger point banks.

 

[jdg345]

I have no direct information that this was by intent but I do believe it encourages 7 day stays including weekends regardless of the intent. I feel this is a good think for the membership as a whole but do see the concerns and as I've said, it works against me personally. I would again say that this level likely does not have much info as to intent.

Jim Lewis Bio

Interestingly, the Bio focuses on Disney's desire to have a 'different' kind of timeshare that revolves around flexibility.

On a serious note, they mention 350,000 members in the Bio. That's a much larger figure than you an I discussed earlier in the thread. Marketing numbers?

 

[alldiz]

Actually ... there is such a thing.

The perception is that everyone is the same, but that's not the case. I do not know the particulars, but there must be special fast passes, or guides that take the buyers right to the front of lines. We were observing a family at MK when we were there 2 weeks ago. They went to the front of Buzz and the Speedway..don't know their story, but it was obvious that they had "connections." There are no fast passes for the Speedway, these people just talked their way to a special gate and were let in, no problem.

Bobbi

Doh Maybe they were "famous" people that you didn't recognize
Ok....well lets just keep that hush/hush....I'll forget I ever read that....and I'll go back to my Disney bubble that treats everyone the same
Kerri

 

[jdg345]

Dean, thanks for the bio link. It would appear that Jim's background is heavily weighted toward business development and finance. This may have worked to help grow DVC, but I would think a turn at customer relations would serve him well. I'd be curious to see how customer satisfaction ranking has changed since he took over. The allure of DVC may be strong in the next couple of years because of new expansion locations (BLT, Hawaii), but after that poor word of mouth from existing owners will eventually cause long term damage to the product.

From the Bio:

Jim has led Disney Vacation Club to more than double its business since 2003, while attaining the industry’s number one position in Member satisfaction.
​

What is the e-mail address folks have been using on this thread to communicate with DVC on this new policy? I know there have been many call backs from DVC reps based on member feedback.

DVCMemberSatisfactionTeam@disneyvacationclub.com

 

[jdg345]

Doh Maybe they were "famous" people that you didn't recognize
Ok....well lets just keep that hush/hush....I'll forget I ever read that....and I'll go back to my Disney bubble that treats everyone the same
Kerri

Aren't we all famous in our own minds? I know I am!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Doh Maybe they were "famous" people that you didn't recognize
Ok....well lets just keep that hush/hush....I'll forget I ever read that....and I'll go back to my Disney bubble that treats everyone the same
Kerri

OK. I don't know their story. We do it our way, and like it just fine, and look ahead to each and every memory we can make together! I'll laugh along with you, too!

Bobbi

 

[maminnie]

jdg345:

I have a weeks worth of points for my travel time; my unfortunate problem with the new system is that I own at two resorts. Our Disney travel wants and needs changed so we had to buy more hence the second contract. I purchased the second contract without hesitation because the system was so easy and flexible and after researching ownership of two resorts, I felt that I could manage it. I have had many years of success in using the wait list system to avoid having to move mid week and getting the reservations we needed.

The new system will be difficult for us. We are already talking about selling our contracts which saddens me as we love Disney and our Disney timeshare but if we can't get a reservation for the time we can travel, what good is it. It is too expensive to not use and I do not want to have to start renting.

 

[Robo-Daddy 3000]

I would anticipate restrictions coming that prevent walking a reservation based on this announcement. Walking reservations will require many phone calls to MS, and I think they will use the member feedback they just received about this potential abuse to justify that restriction. My guess is they will put in some type of cancellation policy to prevent dropping days on the front-end as well - at least for a period of time.

This is just one of the things that really irks me about this new system...if there really is a system to begin with!

Can anyone tell me if you are allowed to walk reservations? I've checked the DVC member site and there is no mention of it being prohibitied. So, I guess it is allowed. At least, it's allowed until I can see where it states somewhere that it is not allowed. Others have written that MS will monitor the situation
(whatever that means) and like you wrote you expect that we can anticipate restrictions but when?!?

For how long are members going to be allowed to walk reservations before being told that guess what, now you can't? I'm not sure why MS can't announce what the rules are for booking reservations and then enforce the rules. This whole episode of changing the way we utilize our memberships and then looking at adding or subtracting new rules later on is a farce.

Dealing with DVC now feels like I'm dealing with a fast talking used car salesmen who is telling me to ignore that puddle of oil under the car because all cars are supposed to leak a little oil. But, just for you, you know what we are gonna do for you, we will monitor the oil leak and let you know if we feel like it needs fixing later on. Doesn't that make you feel better now?

Isn't it ironic that a day after I write to Jim Lewis (the head used car salesmen) telling them that I wouldn't recommend purchasing DVC to my friends, family, or enemies, I get in the mail this wonderful package of referral cards so everyone can share the magic. I wish they would stop wasting money sending me this junk. I'm not referring anyone to DVC until I can figure how to make a reservation and that won't happen until they put a full complete description of the new reservation rules in writing instead of the self-promoting garbage that've got printed on the website now. Why can't they do that?

 

[toyboy]

From the Bio:

Jim has led Disney Vacation Club to more than double its business since 2003, while attaining the industry’s number one position in Member satisfaction.
​

Yea, I'm sure there is no spin going on there.....

 

[dvcdisney]

I would't be an owner if DVC did something like that. I had no intention of EVER being a time share owner anywhere. I only bought DVC BECAUSE it was so different from the others.

We have the same feeling. We did not and still do not want a "traditional" timeshare and this is why we had purchased into DVC membership. As the guides have numerously stressed, they are not like other timeshares. They provide flexibility throught point-base system in which we decide when, where and for how long we want to vacation. This is flexibility in its finest. We too have asked the question of whether they will be going towards the "traditional" timeshare system where weeks are booked. The answers has always been, absolutely NOT. This is the whole basis for the DVC membership. And I do believe that this is one of the main reasons that the membership costs more than most timeshares.

When I discuss my membership with others, I have always made sure that I call it a membership. I do not like "traditional" timeshares. And in this sense, I don't consider DVC a timeshare (JMO).

 

[maminnie]

I have one question, if this reservation policy is in preparation for on-line booking, why couldn't day by day reservations be part of an on-line booking system just like it was with the old telephone system? Computer programs can be written to do all kinds of things, can't they? People could once again choose to wait until their check-out day to book their entire reservation on-line or be on the computer day by day to do one day at a time.

Believe me I do not like to have to do things day by day, but it was the only way that each member was on the same playing field for each day of a reservation period. Members were not rewarded for simply arriving earlier in the week then other members.

Robo-Daddy 3000:

I had a family member on the fence about buying DVC and I have alerted him to this change. He was going to possibly buy a 160 point contract so he could travel with us in the Sunday-Thursday timeframe. Once I told him about what was going on and the possible net effect to when he and I travel, he said NO WAY. I too would have a problem at this time recommending DVC to anyone and up until now I have always told people how much we love it and how different and flexible it was versus other traditional timeshares. I too got that wonderful share the magic with friends mailing and would not even think of it until this whole thing gets resolved and I am confident that I will be able to get reservations similar to what I have gotten over the past years.

maminnie

 

[dvcdisney]

I have one question, if this reservation policy is in preparation for on-line booking, why couldn't day by day reservations be part of an on-line booking system just like it was with the old telephone system? Computer programs can be written to do all kinds of things, can't they? People could once again choose to wait until their check-out day to book their entire reservation on-line or be on the computer day by day to do one day at a time.

Exactly.

 

[unixadm]

I understand some people's concern, but I am one of the people that complained on the phone when I made my last few reservations for peak times. I personally think it was crazy that I had to call for 6 days in a row. That is 6 days of me calling and talking to a CM.....but that means there are thousands of people also making 6 calls instead of 1.

By changing the policy, they cut their phone calls by a 84%, which in the long run means less CM's needed to man the phones, which is a savings.

Think about it....if 50 people were calling to make reservations DBD, that equals 300 phone calls over 6 days. With the new policy, it cuts it down to 50 phone calls which is only 16% of the number of calls.

That is huge....it also prevents the situation where one night in the middle of a stay is unavailable. That wastes even more calls since the member then has to waitlist, and more phone calls are created.

This cuts down big time on the phone calls, which equals $$$$....especially since they have the 800 number where they pay for each call.

This is much more convenient for the members too. I am very busy at work, and it is sometimes difficult to make a call at exactly 9am every day during a week. It wasn't only an inconvenience, but took away from my productivity at work for the week, and there were days where I could not make a phone call first thing because of work commitments. Now, I only have to make sure I am available at 9am on the 1st day of my 11 month window and all is done.

The old way was a waste of resources and money, IMO.

 

[maminnie]

unixadn:

By the list of vacations/dates you have listed are you by chance one of the fortunate members who do not primarily travel during busy/peak travel times?

For those that do, this new system is not going to be fun.

 

[LisaS]

This is just one of the things that really irks me about this new system...if there really is a system to begin with!

Can anyone tell me if you are allowed to walk reservations? I've checked the DVC member site and there is no mention of it being prohibitied. So, I guess it is allowed. At least, it's allowed until I can see where it states somewhere that it is not allowed. Others have written that MS will monitor the situation
(whatever that means) and like you wrote you expect that we can anticipate restrictions but when?!?

At present you can walk a reservation. I'm not surprised the member website doesn't mention it because they probably don't want to call attention to it. I imagine this will be like the situation with point transfers. For a few years they allowed members to transfer points in or out (not both) several times a year. It got way out of hand with some people making dozens and dozens of transfers every year so now we're all restricted to one transfer per UY. I expect the same will happen with "walking" a reservation. If a few people do it, they will ignore it. If lots of people do it and especially if they are calling every day for a week, they'll put in some sort of restriction such as requiring you to cancel and rebook for any date changes.

 

[CDNTech]

Isn't the year of a million dreams still running?

We went last year and got nabbed by a cast member for a giveaway. We were given priority seating for the parade and two "jump the line" on any ride of our choice. The cast member took us right then and there to two separate rides where we skipped *everyone* and just hopped on. It was our first time to Disneyland as a family and made it extra magical for us.

As for the new booking rules, I'm not sure how I feel. We are one of those families that stays long (minimum of a week since we travel from Canada to get there) and we only go during less crowded time (don't like crowds or the lines they bring ). We are currently booked for a week stay in a SV 2 bdrm and then an extra week in a SV studio. I am supposed to be calling today to see if we can switch the SV Studio at AKV (home resort) to BCV... but alas, it's a holiday and they are closed. We'll see how it goes when I call in at 6am tomorrow.

I didn't mind doing dbd booking, but all at once would be much nicer/easier... however the walking sucks and I will not be doing that... so hopefully these new rules don't wreck me because I refuse to guess on when I need to start walking a reservation in order to get what I want.

 

[unixadm]

unixadn:

By the list of vacations/dates you have listed are you by chance one of the fortunate members who do not primarily travel during busy/peak travel times?

For those that do, this new system is not going to be fun.

Actually, I just updated my sig....I booked for New Years last year, this upcoming New Years, and Easter Week next year.....all VERY peak times. I called DBD for each of these ressies.