Not quite sure what to think....

[scooter14]

I'm not sure if this is the correct forum for this topic, but here goes....

We've been DVC owners for 5 years now. We've been making the pilgrimage to Walt Disney World every year (at least once a year) for almost 40 years now.

One of the main reasons we took the plunge was the idea that we could stay at other resorts and have a different Disney experience. What we are instead experiencing is that the availability of rooms at DVC resorts (other than our home resort) has slipped down to "virtually non-existent". To complicate matters we have noticed that every year it gets harder and harder to find a "slow" time of year. The crowds and lines seem to get worse every year, no matter what time of year we go. Quite frankly, spending eight days in Disney has become anything but "a dream come true".

We understand that Disney is a business and they have to keep their profits and shareholders in mind. We also believe that we have made a serious monetary commitment to Disney that includes having more fun than humanly possible.

Has anyone seen or heard of any threads, articles regarding overcrowded parks and DVC owners who feel like they aren't getting the vacation they bought into? Has anyone else experienced this?

Yours Truly,

Disillusioned Mouseketeer

 

[DebbieB]

I've owned for almost 9 years and have not seen that. I usually go late April, early May, mid-late October, early December. Last year I went the first week of December, it was crowded when I got there on Saturday (the day they taped the parade) but the rest of the week was great. I've usually booked at 10-11 months recently. I was able to get an AKV room less than 7 months (for June 26). I used to stay at OKW in early May before my mom died and never had a problem at 7 months, but the last time was 3 years ago. I was able to get Disneyland last minute this year.

 

[CarolAnnC]

I have been a DVC owner for 11 years and now have 1020 points. I do not agree with the statement by the OP and have no problem at all spending my points each year to vacation. In fact, I usually run in borrowed status, even with this many points, lol.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

But is it getting harder and harder to get reservations at non "home" resorts at the 7 month window? I believe that was the gist of the OP's question.

As a NEW owner, this concerns me too and this is NOT the first thread I've seen referencing this situation. I will say that it usually comes up inside a thread referencing another topic and for that reason, it seems to come up a disturbing number of times IMO.

I certainly don't want to stay at AKV every visit for the next 30 years though I look forward to my first stay in Kidani next year.

 

[isyt]

I agree with you Carol. Sure there may have been a time that I couldn't get what I wanted but I usually get something. You just need to learn how to work the crowds.

By the way I usually book 4-5 months out.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

We've been fortunate so far, but we never book peak or holiday times.

 

[wulfekamp]

Just got back thursday and the crowds were very light. In all my years I have never seen the crowds so small. We didn't use a fast pass at all. Wait time on big thunder 10 min. Splash Mountain 20 min. The only long line I saw was the new ride at the studios. Arived magic kingdom 10:30 am had lunch reservations at 12 noon at tonys. From 10:30 till noon rode splash,thunder, haunted mansion, mickeys philarmagic.

Grumpy

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

This is a constant topic here on the boards. While it may be of concern to some, it certainly is not evident at the panic level that the discussions seem to show.

I think I have posted this same response a number of times already...

We own at SSR since 2004. We plan early and then consider switching at the 7 month window. We have always been successful in switching to BWV or BCV for the last week of Food and Wine which coincides with a number of other events making BWV and BCV prime locations! We have also planned last minute trips (inside 4 weeks) and have also found availability outside of SSR - which we do enjoy.

Given the number of years to enjoy the points, I can't see that one would have to spend the points always at your home resort.

Buy where you want to stay is good advice, but it doesn't mean that you will be 'stuck' there for the duration !!!

 

[eliza61]

I do agree that "slow" times are changing. Disney has done a great job of marketing non-traditional travel times (free dining, room discounts, bounceback etc, etc). Remember though that is their job... to bring folks into the parks and resorts. Also in these tough economic times people are really looking for a good "value" for their dollar. Disney consistently rates pretty good in bang for your buck (anyone check out the price to go to Europe or a beach vacation lately?) So more people are turning back to walt for vacations.

I generally plan 7 months out and have never had a hard time getting my 1st choice. I will add I generally try not to travel during holidays. Even 3 months out I haven't had a problem getting into "some place" even if it was not my 1st choice.

 

[scooter14]

This is a constant topic here on the boards. While it may be of concern to some, it certainly is not evident at the panic level that the discussions seem to show.

Your majesty, you're naked.

Seriously though, thanks for the responses. WilsonFlyer and eliza61 are getting the point of my somewhat desperate OP. Chances are pretty good that if we're constantly seeing this kind of post then there may actually be an emerging problem. If you haven't had trouble yet, awesome. I hope your luck continues. I respectfully submit that many of us are seeing this happen more often... and we're talking about multiple reservation attempts throughout a given use year, and visits once or twice a year.

Devils advocate here. SSR is a huge DVC resort... Once selling began there the overall DVC membership undoubtedly jumped up. That means more people vying for reservations at many of the smaller resorts. The addition of AKV, and the new Contemporary Villas will spike the membership up even more. Not everyone gets the opportunity to buy at the resort they want to stay in the most, so they buy where they can with the intention of making reservations elsewhere when possible. What happens when the DVC membership actually outstrips the capacity for certain high demand resorts? Your odds of getting a reservation there diminish in direct correlation to the number of people in DVC you have to compete with.

My concern here is that Disney is starting to come very close to over-saturating DVC with larger resorts to the point where the smaller resorts are becoming harder to stay at.

As for park overcrowding, maybe it's just timing. Although we seem to have had bad luck pretty much all over the year for three years straight.

Perhaps luck hasn't been a lady to me...

 

[bobbiwoz]

Where do you own?

We own where we want to stay, and that's five resorts, BWV, VWL, VB, AKV and BCV. We're DGP who are bringing our family with us for at least 5 night vacations twice this year, and I'll have been twice at other times for 5 night stays, plus we're heading for our first time at NYE!

Everyone does get the opportunity to buy where they want to stay, but they don't realize they do, so yes, that's a problem. They were selling VB, BCV and BWV direct when we bought into DVC. We wanted VWL....I didn't know that I could have insisted that VWL was ALL that we wanted, but I did know that I could buy the BWV, get the incentive at the time, called Magic Beginnings, and add on 50 points VWL immediately.

We've owned since '03 and we do feel we're getting the vacations we paid for and more. We had bought our airtickets through the NYE vacation before the current gasoline price spikes, that will definitely put a damper on our vacations. However, we had booked our DCL family cruise for next May before the fuel adjustment surcharge

We have 2 DS's, adults in their 30's, and they each have different views of Disney, one is like ours, he feels that it's a great place to stay, enjoy family times together and do what we can to have great vacations. The other is coming on this 40th anniversary trip only because it's our 40th anniversary. We're hoping that VB softens his heart a bit. VB is so great and unlike what WDW is like, but if he doesn't like that either, well I suppose I'll have to find a whole other venue for our 50th Anniversary!

Bobbi

 

[JimMIA]

I think we have seen some of what you mention, but not most of it.

First of all, we haven't had any difficulty at all getting non-home resort ressies in non-peak times. Obviously, we're not trying for BCV during F&W at seven months, but we booked BCV for last May at about 4 1/2 months. And my two adult daughters rarely book more than 3 months out. As long as they're halfway rational about where they stay, they've been successful.

I think most of the non-home resort question depends on when you try to book. I remember one recent thread in which the poster was complaining that they no longer could book 30 days out like they used to! That doesn't surprise me a bit, but neither do I think it's the end of Western Civilization as we know it!

I have noticed a difference in crowds, but it seems pretty variable. We went last year April 29-May 4 (or something like that) and ran into pretty big crowds in the parks. Part of that was on the weekend when the parks were flooded with local residents enjoying the great spring weather.

This year, however, we went May 13-18, and had very light crowds most days. We were walking on Peter Pan and Haunted House at MK and Mission Space at Epcot. I couldn't believe Mission Space, but we walked right on it twice one day.

I do think, though, that Disney is doing a great job of promoting the "slow" times, and the slow times are much busier than they probably were ten years ago. But that's what they're in business for -- to make money.

 

[scooter14]

We own where we want to stay, and that's five resorts, BWV, VWL, VB, AKV and BCV. We're DGP who are bringing our family with us for at least 5 night vacations twice this year, and I'll have been twice at other times for 5 night stays, plus we're heading for our first time at NYE!

Everyone does get the opportunity to buy where they want to stay, but they don't realize they do, so yes, that's a problem. They were selling VB, BCV and BWV direct when we bought into DVC. We wanted VWL....I didn't know that I could have insisted that VWL was ALL that we wanted, but I did know that I could buy the BWV, get the incentive at the time, called Magic Beginnings, and add on 50 points VWL immediately.

I'm gonna have to give my guide a call and get the latest info on available ownership interests. You're absolutely right on the fact that they don't tell you everything you could know when you purchase... and the info you have provided could have been huge for us.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Greg K.]

I sort of understand your point, but as someone else just mentioned, this past week the crowds were remarkably light and wait times virtually non-existent. (I consider anything less than 30 minutes do-able, since they usually end up being more like 15-20 minutes.) Things DID pick up on Fridays and over the weekends, thanks to the Star Wars weekends, but otherwise the parks were very pleasant.

But slow times are fewer and fewer -- and the EMHs are sometimes just as busy as the peak times, and not as much of a perk as they used to be.

We've been lucky the last few years and have always been able to stay where we wanted, at either the Beach Club or Board Walk. This year was an exception. We ended up not booking our vacation until April, just two months in advance, and the only place available was SSR. Which was a nice enough place to try, and an interesting change of pace.

I think the best advice is to PLAN EARLY. That goes for meal reservations, too. The Disney Dining Plan has made some restaurants impossible to book.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

I think the best advice is to PLAN EARLY. That goes for meal reservations, too. The Disney Dining Plan has made some restaurants impossible to book.

This is SO true!!! I called about 3 weeks ago to book dinner reservations for our mid-Aug trip, and was very fortunate to get reservations where I wanted (Whispering Canyon, Cinderella's Royal Table, California Grill). Times were already picked over, and MS said I was really lucky to get the times I did get!!! All I can say is...WOW!!! I thought 3 months out WAS planning early!

As for reservations, we've been really lucky. DH is a teacher, so we generally travel late July, early August. We own at SSR and love it there. But, to your point, we enjoy staying at other DVCs as well. We have stayed at OKW over Christmas and in the summer, BWV in late July, SSR the week of Easter, and we'll be staying at VWL this August. On our upcoming trip, I had asked for a reservation at AKV, but it was booked, so I asked for VWL, and it was available. All vacations were booked around 6-7 months out, with the exception of Christmas. It was booked about 9-10 months out. I can't say I would have been as lucky had I not booked 6-7 months out. I called at the end of October for our Spring Break reservation (3/21 - 3/28 of this year), and almost everything was already book (including SSR). Shortly thereafter, it was close to impossible to get a reservation based on the boards.

Crowds??? Well, it's been hit or miss for us. I thought Spring Break would be crazy busy, and in all honesty, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The longest wait we had was an hour (Peter Pan). Last summer in August, we spent 2 1/2 hours in the late evening waiting to ride Splash Mountain. Other visits, same August timeframe, have been minimal. In general, crowd patterns have been very unpredictable for us.

 

[eliza61]

Your majesty, you're naked.

Seriously though, thanks for the responses. WilsonFlyer and eliza61 are getting the point of my somewhat desperate OP. Chances are pretty good that if we're constantly seeing this kind of post then there may actually be an emerging problem. If you haven't had trouble yet, awesome. I hope your luck continues. I respectfully submit that many of us are seeing this happen more often... and we're talking about multiple reservation attempts throughout a given use year, and visits once or twice a year.

I do think the trend will continue but not sure if I could or would call it a problem. It might require a change in planning and thinking. You're absolutely right in a lot of aspect. Disney is doing a wonderful job of marketing the DVC, hence more and more folks are joining. I was pleasently surprised last May at the number of young couples (mid 20's & 30's) I met at the BCV's who have joined. Of course that's going to put pressure on the smaller,popular resorts (BCV's & WL especially). I haven't been to a presentation in 8 years so I'm not sure what they are saying about the ability to book on short notice.

I think what it may take is a bit of adjustment on all vacationers, even general CRO reservations are running high (Disney posted a 22% increase in visitors to Orlando during the 2nd quarter of this year over last. that's a lot of folks in rooms.) They forcast a 98% occupancy rate during this summer, which means anyone wanting to "pop" down to disney on short number will have to be flexible.

 

[bobbiwoz]

The Guides tell you about the incentives. Our potential guide knew that we wanted VWL, (she did know that we had placed a bid, and lost to ROFR a VWL contract) yet never mentioned that that resort could be our only buy in. It is true, however that when we did add on immediately the 50 points at VWL, the $10 more price per point shocked me! That was because there was only the incentive on the initial contract. Now I realize that, but then I hadn't.

OP, where do you own, and where are you trying to book? You mention multiple times of the year, but not the times. Usually I book the 2 bedroom at 11 months out in the resort we want, and a studio or two for part of the visit. I usually can get the studio for the rest of the time at 7 months. When I have to waitlist with the studio, it's always come through for me.

Bobbi

 

[edk35]

We purchased SSR Jan. 07 and booked our 2br at SSR and BWV in Feb. for an Aug. trip last year and then we also did the week of Thanksgiving at SSR. last year. We had NO PROBLEMS getting our days. This July we are going to OKW and also BCV for 12 nights all together (another split stay) and again we had NO problems getting our days. I booked both resorts for July at less than 6 months out......didn't waitlist either. So I have to say ......no problems for us thus far. So we will have owned for 18 months roughly and been able to stay in 3 of the resorts.

 

[edk35]

oh and let me add that we got 5 weekday nights at BCV with no problems. I know that it is easier it seems to get days there on the weekend or that at least include weekends. We booked Sunday through Thursday in a dedicated with no problems for late July which I think is considered a high peak time. We love SSR and have no problems staying there if we have to for the next 40 something vacations but if we want to try the others and we can get in....then we are going to try them. So far so good.

 

[WDWLVR]

We've been members since early 2000 with points at Boardwalk and until recently Vero. During that time we've had no problems getting the rooms we wanted for the dates we wanted. I did book day by day for last years early December vacation at Boardwalk with a Boardwalk view but I've also been able to get a one bedroom at OKW with less than 60 days notice (needed to use points in a holding account). We have stayed at all DVC properties except SSR and AKV and I'm sure we'll get to them some day as well. We are thrilled to have Boardwalk as our home and if it comes to a point where we can only book there I won't be disappointed.

We've seen the parks pretty empty and we've seen them packed. The beauty to us about DVC is when they are packed we can just go and relax in the villa. Nothing is a must see or must do for us.

To the OP if you think DVC isn't worth it for you any more there is always the option to sell. That's what we did with our Vero points. They just weren't working like we thought they would (through no fault of DVC - it is the family part that isn't working) . So we sold them and have put that money away to go towards Disney Hawaii when they start selling.