Poly Tower decision and RIV restrictions

[New Mouse]

I wonder if they'd ever restrict amenities to guests only for certain overcrowded resorts. Or at least give preferential treatment to keep visitors at a minimum.

They uses to limit busses to resort guests only but then realized how much $ they were losing out on, so no they would never limit stuff like that again

 

[DVCsloth]

Pretty sure Disney will need to make the Polynesian busses dedicated and not be shared with GF anymore. They will most likely need to leave some monorail cars open, mostly for GF.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

They uses to limit busses to resort guests only but then realized how much $ they were losing out on, so no they would never limit stuff like that again

They should be able to restrict use of the resort line during the peak times without too much detriment, much like DCA does for certain gates at opening in the morning and/or during the day. Resort guests and those with dining reservations.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I wonder if they'd ever restrict amenities to guests only for certain overcrowded resorts. Or at least give preferential treatment to keep visitors at a minimum.

I would be shocked if they do this. They use dvc to subsidize the lobby and monorail but they make a lot of money off of the restaurants and gift shops from outside guests.

 

[BamaGuy44]

The SV rooms are already booking up around 11 months for much of the year..

So, that’s not going to change with resale points.

Where it might make a difference is as you get closer to the 7 month window when not as many people want to change into the resort.

But it will take another 15 to 20 years, before you even have maybe 20% of the points restricted?

Plus, I believe that by them, DVD will have an exchange program for resale restricted points.

Regardless, many resorts have 11 month problems now for certain room types. My guess is RIV will prove to be similar.

How bad is it at 11 months for SV rooms? We normally travel in May and September/October. At exactly 11 months 8 am would we be at risk for not being able to book a SV studio?

As a potential RIV direct owner in the next few months, this concerns me. If I felt like I couldn't always get what I wanted at exactly 11 months it would give me pause for sure...

 

[MerlinandtheMouse]

How bad is it at 11 months for SV rooms? We normally travel in May and September/October. At exactly 11 months 8 am would we be at risk for not being able to book a SV studio?

As a potential RIV direct owner in the next few months, this concerns me. If I felt like I couldn't always get what I wanted at exactly 11 months it would give me pause for sure...

I feel like I’ve never had an issue finding SV rooms when looking at even 9-10 months out. Looking at Sept right now there’s some scattered availability and October has a lot more. But maybe that depends on the length of your stay though.

 

[Sandisw]

How bad is it at 11 months for SV rooms? We normally travel in May and September/October. At exactly 11 months 8 am would we be at risk for not being able to book a SV studio?

As a potential RIV direct owner in the next few months, this concerns me. If I felt like I couldn't always get what I wanted at exactly 11 months it would give me pause for sure...

Certain times, like for November to December it can be but other times, I haven’t had a problem getting them…but they tend to be gone shortly after the window.

Tower rooms go really quick it seems…but I toured one and wouldn’t even stay there as a single! Lol

I definitely would still buy but be prepared that during the lower point times, I also book at 11 months to be sure!!

 

[maui22]

lol you can take “easy monorail” out of your statement. People will elect to walk from poly to the magic kingdom because the monorail will be so jammed. And you know Disney isn’t going to address that infrastructure issue any more than they will build another theme park. Eventual that monorail loop will be like the subways in nyc— everyone will avoid it. It’s only universal that cares enough about their customers to expand infrastructure.

After we stayed at GCV several years back, I wondered why Disney doesn’t eliminate the ferry boat. Instead fill that in or use a pier structure. Put restaurants and shops between TTC and MK just like DL has DtD.

It would save on transportation cost and generate a lot of revenue from people shopping and dining.

 

[Genie+]

I feel like I’ve never had an issue finding SV rooms when looking at even 9-10 months out. Looking at Sept right now there’s some scattered availability and October has a lot more. But maybe that depends on the length of your stay though.

Seems that way to me too. The more competitive rooms are hardest in low point seasons like Sept, Dec, Jan and May.

The Oct/Nov season is generally easier. As a general DVC rule availability gets easier as relatively more points needed compared to other options. The majority of buyers are motivated by potential savings and that shows in the bookings.

People often think dates like Easter and Christmas are hard but they stay open well past dates surrounding them and often past the 7 month window. They can be double the points with flights/tickets extra expensive too, so I think much of the DVC crowd tries to avoid if they can help it.

If a room/resort/season looks very appealing, chances are many others think the same.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

After we stayed at GCV several years back, I wondered why Disney doesn’t eliminate the ferry boat. Instead fill that in or use a pier structure. Put restaurants and shops between TTC and MK just like DL has DtD.

It would save on transportation cost and generate a lot of revenue from people shopping and dining.

The monorails definitely couldn't handle the traffic to/from MK without the Ferry boats during any slightly busy time. ie - both morning and evening.

 

[maui22]

The monorails definitely couldn't handle the traffic to/from MK without the Ferry boats during any slightly busy time. ie - both morning and evening.

My thought is it would be filled in or a pier structure so people could walk, take monorail, or
maybe a shuttle directly between TTC and MK. There would be a direct access. For those with scooters they would no longer have to deal with the ferries or monorails. Those who can walk may prefer a 5-10 minute walk versus waiting for the ferry or monorail, loading, riding, and then unloading.

Maybe we are in the minority, but we would rather have dining/shopping and walking the exact same route used by ferry boats today.

 

[Brian Noble]

My thought is it would be filled in or a pier structure so people could walk, take monorail, or
maybe a shuttle directly between TTC and MK

I will bet a year's worth of mickeybars that this is not happening.

It's almost exactly one mile from the Poly boat landing to the MK ferryboat pier, across a lake that was made on purpose to set up the "big reveal" entering the Magic Kingdom. Building the lagoon meant moving seven million cubic yards of earth.

If they need to be able to move more people than the Resort Beam can support, I suspect they will do it by beefing up the Gold Flag resort launches to something more like the boats that serve VWL/WL.

 

[Disney_escape]

This is true but the main difference is now all those resort owners, and I imagine there would be a lot, that never book at the 11 month window are forced to start booking at the 11 month window because when they go to book at the 7 6 5 month window when airfare is all taken care of then bam no availability. And they can’t then at that time go somewhere else so they will slowly be forced to become an 11 month planner or sell to someone else that will be an 11 month planner. This is the big difference, they don’t get the luxury of booking at the last resort option like legacy does

7 month might not be much different, while there will be points 'stuck' in booking RIV making for more competition, there will also be a lot of points that can't book into the RIV at 7 months (resale OG points) making for less competition.

 

[maui22]

I will bet a year's worth of mickeybars that this is not happening.

It's almost exactly one mile from the Poly boat landing to the MK ferryboat pier, across a lake that was made on purpose to set up the "big reveal" entering the Magic Kingdom. Building the lagoon meant moving seven million cubic yards of earth.

If they need to be able to move more people than the Resort Beam can support, I suspect they will do it by beefing up the Gold Flag resort launches to something more like the boats that serve VWL/WL.

If they move the TTC slightly to the area towards CR, there is a large grassy area which has a very short portion across the man made lagoon.

That makes it dramatically shorter area for a pier or filling in the lagoon.

Sadly, you are likely right Disney won’t do this.

If the had build the area from scratch, I highly doubt they would spend the money making the lagoon when they could easily put in shops and restaurants just like DtD in California. Having the shops and restaurants outside DL and CA parks improved and would help the TTC traffic after the parks close.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Sadly, you are likely right Disney won’t do this.

Sadly? The idea of filling in ANY part of the lagoon, especially for the purpose of clogging it up with shops and restaurants, is just about the worst possible thing they could do. Besides, they could easily run busses (shuttles) from the TTC to the MK bus drop off using the existing bus route along Topiary Lane to World Drive (the charter/tour bus and Disney bus stand-by parking lot is right next to the TTC already and would only require construction of some sort of terminal or simple canopies like every other bus drop off area on property), and it would cost them almost nothing. Filling in any part of that lagoon would absolutely ruin it.

 

[tom1944]

How often is this travel issue to the park an issue? We went in August, and it was not an issue at all.

 

[CarolynFH]

If they move the TTC slightly to the area towards CR, there is a large grassy area which has a very short portion across the man made lagoon.

That makes it dramatically shorter area for a pier or filling in the lagoon.

Sadly, you are likely right Disney won’t do this.

If the had build the area from scratch, I highly doubt they would spend the money making the lagoon when they could easily put in shops and restaurants just like DtD in California. Having the shops and restaurants outside DL and CA parks improved and would help the TTC traffic after the parks close.

It seems that you may not realize the lagoon was built specifically to prevent having any such commercial area abutting MK. Walt hated the development that came after DL opened, hemming it in on all sides, and he wanted to prevent that happening at WDW. He actively planned that approach to MK over open water, and if there’s anything we can say with confidence “Walt would not like,” it would be commercial development over or in the lagoon, getting in the way of the view of the castle.

DtD and DCA in California were built on the original DL parking lot (which I remember from my visits in the early 1960s). I think DtD is kind of “if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” reaction to that area of Anaheim.

 

[Brian Noble]

If the had build the area from scratch

They did. They did exactly this. They built it from scratch. It was empty (and cheap) swamp land when they started.

 

[maui22]

Sadly? The idea of filling in ANY part of the lagoon, especially for the purpose of clogging it up with shops and restaurants, is just about the worst possible thing they could do. Besides, they could easily run busses (shuttles) from the TTC to the MK bus drop off using the existing bus route along Topiary Lane to World Drive (the charter/tour bus and Disney bus stand-by parking lot is right next to the TTC already and would only require construction of some sort of terminal or simple canopies like every other bus drop off area on property), and it would cost them almost nothing. Filling in any part of that lagoon would absolutely ruin it.

From a view/nostalgia perspective, you are right the lagoon looks nice.

I wrote sadly from the for profit company perspective. After 2042 when BCV and BWV are sold as brand new resorts people will see the value of a small pond/waterway over a huge man made lagoon. Personally, I see the BCV/BWV area as a great example of using land for value while also creating a beautiful area next to theme parks.

As for the bus area by TTC, I would rather that area to expand MK. As you probably know, Disney does on occasion have to run buses between TTC and this area.

If buses and drivers have a minimal cost, then why did Disney spend so much money on the skyliner? They had buses to all the resorts it goes to. (Yes technically Riviera is a new resort, but it was built on part of CBR land).

Might be interesting to have a poll on DVC owners transportation preferences. Walking access seems to be popular reasons to stay at BCV, BWV, BLT, and now VGF.

 

[maui22]

They did. They did exactly this. They built it from scratch. It was empty (and cheap) swamp land when they started.

1960s were a much different time. Would they still put a wave machine in the lagoon?