reedycreek
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2004
- Messages
- 671
We've been members for about 5 years now, and I absolutely loved my DVC membership up until the last few months. Now I'm ready to sell for the following reasons. Am I crazy?
1) Our most recent visit to BWV this week was awful. We were in a studio on the first floor and the condition of the room was not good. Dust everywhere, carpet stained throughout, cracked tiles, mold, funky smell. A/C barely kept up with the high heat that week. Handles on sink leaked green fluid. We complained twice in 24 hours about all of this, and BWV said they would not move us and could not move us because the room was booked with points. We've stayed at DVC resorts and many moderate and deluxe resorts and never ever had a problem with room cleanliness or condition. BWV told us this wing was being renovated soon, but that didn't do anything for our visit last week. We were very close to just checking out and paying for a cash ressie at POR, as the rooms at the moderates were much nicer and in much better shape. The fact that BWV was so indifferent to the situation was troublesome, and clearly showed me how the level of service is declining at DVC. It is important to note that we have NEVER complained about anything regarding our rooms when staying DVC in the past. We are not complainers, we just make the best out of everything.
2) Like I said, since we were DVC, BWV said there was little we could do. Seems that their focus is now on cash reservations, as they are very unwilling to help out members. The non villa portion of the hotel is very nice, as we got moved there in February because of some hotel wide maintenance issues in the villa side.
3) $700 a year in annual dues is a lot. I could take that $700 an apply it toward a vacation every year at a cash resort. We love the POLY and that would be about 2 nties a year there. I also worry about the increase in these dues over the next few years. DVC rooms are being sold to the general public which will increase wear and tear, which in turn, will increase our dues each year.
4) I am not happy with the fact that Disney continuously markets and sells DVC rooms on a cash basis for tad over the cost of moderate resorts at peak season. You can stay at POR for $150 a night or SSR at $190 a night. Hmmm. My membership was sold me on the basis that DVC had Deluxe Villa Accomodations. DVC would allow me to stay at these fine resorts at a substantially lower cost than if paid for in cash. That appears not to be the case anymore. I know this is not the case with the newer resorts such as AKL and BLT, but I am talking about a majority of the other resorts.
5) It is becoming increasingly difficult to get a reservation that we want. Every time I call, either none of our dates are available (and we are quite flexible) and/or the only options are OKW or SSR. Fortunately, a few of those times, our waitlist request has gone through which was nice, but I don't care to count on that. 5 years ago, we would get the dates and location we wanted first try. Now, its nearly impossible.
6) The buses seem to be getting worse too. With the exception of BLT, most DVC resorts rely on the buses for transportation. I'm at the point where I wound rather spend the extra money to stay at a monorail resort just to avoid the frustration and wasted time with the bus system. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to go from BWV to GF for dinner. This seems to be a common occurrence now.
We visit WDW 1-2 times a year, and it just seems to make more sense to me to purchase reservations each time than deal with all the hassle of DVC. Like I said, I had a great time with the 5 years of my DVC membership, I just see the quality of the product rapidly declining. Disney seems to be expanding DVC faster than they can ensure that quality Disney service is provided to each member. I'll take about a $5000 loss if I sell now, but I figure that is $1000 for each year that we used the club + dues, which I can stomach.
Overall, I like the flexibility of paying cash for reservations each year. I like the ability to stay on the monorail on the dates that I want. I like the quality of non DVC resorts. DVC just doesn't seem to have a place for me anymore. Am I crazy????
1) Our most recent visit to BWV this week was awful. We were in a studio on the first floor and the condition of the room was not good. Dust everywhere, carpet stained throughout, cracked tiles, mold, funky smell. A/C barely kept up with the high heat that week. Handles on sink leaked green fluid. We complained twice in 24 hours about all of this, and BWV said they would not move us and could not move us because the room was booked with points. We've stayed at DVC resorts and many moderate and deluxe resorts and never ever had a problem with room cleanliness or condition. BWV told us this wing was being renovated soon, but that didn't do anything for our visit last week. We were very close to just checking out and paying for a cash ressie at POR, as the rooms at the moderates were much nicer and in much better shape. The fact that BWV was so indifferent to the situation was troublesome, and clearly showed me how the level of service is declining at DVC. It is important to note that we have NEVER complained about anything regarding our rooms when staying DVC in the past. We are not complainers, we just make the best out of everything.
2) Like I said, since we were DVC, BWV said there was little we could do. Seems that their focus is now on cash reservations, as they are very unwilling to help out members. The non villa portion of the hotel is very nice, as we got moved there in February because of some hotel wide maintenance issues in the villa side.
3) $700 a year in annual dues is a lot. I could take that $700 an apply it toward a vacation every year at a cash resort. We love the POLY and that would be about 2 nties a year there. I also worry about the increase in these dues over the next few years. DVC rooms are being sold to the general public which will increase wear and tear, which in turn, will increase our dues each year.
4) I am not happy with the fact that Disney continuously markets and sells DVC rooms on a cash basis for tad over the cost of moderate resorts at peak season. You can stay at POR for $150 a night or SSR at $190 a night. Hmmm. My membership was sold me on the basis that DVC had Deluxe Villa Accomodations. DVC would allow me to stay at these fine resorts at a substantially lower cost than if paid for in cash. That appears not to be the case anymore. I know this is not the case with the newer resorts such as AKL and BLT, but I am talking about a majority of the other resorts.
5) It is becoming increasingly difficult to get a reservation that we want. Every time I call, either none of our dates are available (and we are quite flexible) and/or the only options are OKW or SSR. Fortunately, a few of those times, our waitlist request has gone through which was nice, but I don't care to count on that. 5 years ago, we would get the dates and location we wanted first try. Now, its nearly impossible.
6) The buses seem to be getting worse too. With the exception of BLT, most DVC resorts rely on the buses for transportation. I'm at the point where I wound rather spend the extra money to stay at a monorail resort just to avoid the frustration and wasted time with the bus system. It took us 1 hour and 45 minutes to go from BWV to GF for dinner. This seems to be a common occurrence now.
We visit WDW 1-2 times a year, and it just seems to make more sense to me to purchase reservations each time than deal with all the hassle of DVC. Like I said, I had a great time with the 5 years of my DVC membership, I just see the quality of the product rapidly declining. Disney seems to be expanding DVC faster than they can ensure that quality Disney service is provided to each member. I'll take about a $5000 loss if I sell now, but I figure that is $1000 for each year that we used the club + dues, which I can stomach.
Overall, I like the flexibility of paying cash for reservations each year. I like the ability to stay on the monorail on the dates that I want. I like the quality of non DVC resorts. DVC just doesn't seem to have a place for me anymore. Am I crazy????
I have seen things like this at DVC but it has been picked up in timely manner. I honestly don't think we have seen an issue with the DVC resorts but agree with OP that BWV does need a rehab plus BWV has one of the highest MF. Which is interesting because I'm not sure what would drive the prices up 
Then the next day I'm thinking about adding on at BLT. What's up with that? 
