'Scuse me whilest I stand on a (small) Disney Soapbox for jest a minute...

[Judique]

@WilsonFlyer - at the very least you seem satisfied with the bath soap and shampoo.

I dislike it and always bring my own toiletries. I collect all the supplied soaps and shampoos and bring them back for a family member who does like them,

The amenity I find the most ridiculous is the paper towels. Takes a roll to clean up one spill. Bounty would do it with one sheet. Exaggerating a bit here. I imagine if they supplied bounty people would bring an extra suitcase.

I've always found it unfair that laundry detergent was not supplied to studios. But when they changed from the original tide, I didn't care anymore. I just bring a few pods with me.

I don't think there is anything in the villas that someone would not complain about. But, when they change or lower quality, then I'm not as happy because I bought with the level of quality in mind, knowing that it could cost more as time progressed. No more place mats, peach towels, fiesta dinnerware, Disney logo on paper (plate) products. In fact, probably couldn't find a cheaper one, but they do come wrapped. No more clock radios. Hit or miss vacuums or brooms or dustpans. No more privacy. I've got 22 21 more years to go. Will I reach my breaking point? I don't know. It's still a lot warmer there in January than it is here.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We were in KV just over a week ago. Would you believe that toilet paper is double ply? It really is. But each ply is so damned thin you can read your cell phone through it. And pray you don't need to go to the bathroom often because your butt will be raw. But that single roll of double ply will last the entire week or longer because it is so thin. Must be 2000 ft long. But it's not going to stop up the plumbing. It's the most biodegradable product on the market.

Wilson, did they not have shower gel in the shower/tub? It's been in all of the locked down toiletries we've had with DVC. It was in KV one bedroom last week. You only need hand soap to wash your hands, frequently for 20 seconds. But then it sits in that soap dish that collects all the water and it just turns into shampoo.

 

[NoTime42]

I'd be willing to bet a stupid amount of money that there's a "middle man" division here somewhere that buys all these consumables at less than wholesale and retails it back to the hotels/DVC. Anybody wanna take my bet?

But think of the poor tape “middle man” guy. Disney used to go through miles of tape per day prepping for parade crowd control.

 

[DVCKing]

So we shall simply agree to disagree. It is always the case on these boards that DVC is just a hotel room and that's all you get until it's not convenient to the dialog at the time, and then it's magically not anymore.

I am most certainly not supplied only a day's worth of paper products and expected to bring my own. If I run out off coffee and I choose to call, they most certainly will bring me more. Same goes for paper towels and TP. This is not a normal timeshare is not just a catch-phrase we use on these boards when it's convenient. It's a fully furnished hotel amenity which we pay for.

I agree, DVC is not a normal timeshare and we certainly don’t pay normal timeshares dues. I don’t know about everyone else but I purchased by contract not only because it works well for my family but because I have come to expect a certain level of service that comes with the Disney brand. Well I don’t expect Disney to wipe my butt for me, I do expect quality comparable to other 4 and 5 star competitors offer!

 

[lorimt]

The toilet paper is the worst. We were there in March, a few days before closing and at the beginning of the Great TP shortage of 2020. Knowing I would probably go home to no toilet paper on the store shelves, I considered taking the unused rolls from our Kidani room home with me but decided my rear end deserved better.

 

[MICKIMINI]

The liquid laundry soap is terrible. Laundry pods and dryer sheets are always in my checked bag!

 

[rocketriter]

Can somebody please explain to me

One factor that doesn't make everything OK but might explain one piece of what you're experiencing: some years ago a local supplier told me that Disney ruthlessly bids down prices for supplies. "You want to sell toilet paper to a Disney park?" he said. "Be prepared to bid a price so low you'll lose money on every roll, hoping it's worth it to say to corporate customers that Disney buys your products." If true, this might help to explain the low quality of some Disney supplies. (I'm not the right person to address--or jump to conclusions--about the cost of DVC dues.)

 

[Chuck S]

With the COVID TP shortages, they may need to go to the seats with the built in bidet.

 

[crisi]

Every person has to decide if DVC is worth it. At some point, it isn't anymore. You don't get the value you used to get or thought you would get. Fortunately, there has always been someone else who thinks DVC is completely worth it, even if the TP and toiletries aren't good to step in when you decide that you'd rather stay in a regular hotel and not a timeshare, or stay offsite in a better quality hotel than is onsite. Or skip Disney all together to spend time in Europe or Africa or Tahiti. DVC isn't for everyone, and it isn't for everyone for the long term. Disney isn't for everyone and it isn't a long term thing for everyone. No shame in saying "for what I pay every year in dues, packing my own toilet paper is not acceptable" and selling.

 

[bakerworld]

Personally, I don't have a problem with any of their bath products. I do have a problem when the pump doesn't work on the shower products or when the large bottle drops out of the holder to smash down. My husband says I'm like a gorilla. I do wish they provided bar soap for the shower and bottle soap for the sink - in my opinion they have it backwards. Now the TP ... well I really dislike thick TP.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Every person has to decide if DVC is worth it. At some point, it isn't anymore. You don't get the value you used to get or thought you would get. Fortunately, there has always been someone else who thinks DVC is completely worth it, even if the TP and toiletries aren't good to step in when you decide that you'd rather stay in a regular hotel and not a timeshare, or stay offsite in a better quality hotel than is onsite. Or skip Disney all together to spend time in Europe or Africa or Tahiti. DVC isn't for everyone, and it isn't for everyone for the long term. Disney isn't for everyone and it isn't a long term thing for everyone. No shame in saying "for what I pay every year in dues, packing my own toilet paper is not acceptable" and selling.

I've got a better idea. How about we bring it at least up the level we already pay/paid for?

 

[crisi]

I've got a better idea. How about we bring it at least up the level we already pay/paid for?

How are you going to do that? DVC hasn't been interested in doing that in the 20 years I've owned. You either live with the system as is, or you sell, you don't have the power to change the TP.

 

[MICKIMINI]

With the COVID TP shortages, they may need to go to the seats with the built in bidet.

A real money saver in "the end" LOL!

 

[Pooh12863]

I've got a better idea. How about we bring it at least up the level we already pay/paid for?

Deb and Bill hit on the main reason for thin toilet paper, maintenance. Some folks can’t be trusted with a roll of Charmin. Tear off a little extra, fold it in half, Bam! 2-ply.

 

[zavandor]

Funny post, thank you, you made me smile.
I agree with most of it, except with the toiletries. The small single bottles are a scourge for the environment, better to get rid of them. And I like the H2O products, so no complaint there from me.

With the COVID TP shortages, they may need to go to the seats with the built in bidet.

Maybe you were joking, but I think that would be great, I'd really like that (I have one at home).
However a bidet complements TP, doesn't replace it

 

[Chuck S]

Maybe you were joking, but I think that would be great, I'd really like that (I have one at home).
However a bidet complements TP, doesn't replace it

I was half-joking. I've never used one, but I wouldn't be opposed.

 

[loves to dive]

Not a DVC owner but have stayed in a number of the units and I've questioned every time how the owners put up with it. As far as the TP, I don't know how many times I've asked my family why restaurants and hotels use that cheap stuff. You have to use twice as much so your finger doesn't go through it so cost wise, it can't be that much cheaper. I've stayed at some high end hotels and still they stock the cheap TP. We were at 4 Seasons in Atlanta about 15 years ago, arguably one of, if not the best, hotels in the Atlanta area at the time and they had that cheap TP.

 

[Chuck S]

Not a DVC owner but have stayed in a number of the units and I've questioned every time how the owners put up with it. As far as the TP, I don't know how many times I've asked my family why restaurants and hotels use that cheap stuff. You have to use twice as much so your finger doesn't go through it so cost wise, it can't be that much cheaper. I've stayed at some high end hotels and still they stock the cheap TP. We were at 4 Seasons in Atlanta about 15 years ago, arguably one of, if not the best, hotels in the Atlanta area at the time and they had that cheap TP.

Maybe because people have been known to steal the better quality paper. Maybe not at Disney, but I've seen it done other places. I know a lot of the little touches for the original OKW decor sprouted legs and walked away, like the salt and pepper shakers, the cloth napkins, the placemats, and so forth.

 

[CarolynFH]

Maybe because people have been known to steal the better quality paper. Maybe not at Disney, but I've seen it done other places. I know a lot of the little touches for the original OKW decor sprouted legs and walked away, like the salt and pepper shakers, the cloth napkins, the placemats, and so forth.

Exactly.

 

[lovin'fl]

So we shall simply agree to disagree. It is always the case on these boards that DVC is just a hotel room and that's all you get until it's not convenient to the dialog at the time, and then it's magically not anymore.

I am most certainly not supplied only a day's worth of paper products and expected to bring my own. If I run out off coffee and I choose to call, they most certainly will bring me more. Same goes for paper towels and TP. This is not a normal timeshare is not just a catch-phrase we use on these boards when it's convenient. It's a fully furnished hotel amenity which we pay for.

You run out of stuff and call for replenishment they are supposed to charge you...like for more coffee and the such. There are fees for more. As there are fees for extra cleaning (like if someone wanted every day like in a hotel room).

But, don't get me wrong, I do agree they are stingy all the while raising our dues 5-10%. Crazy. We aren't getting what we are paying for anymore. It is partly why we just sold off 375 of our 650 points. I type this as we sit here at Martha's Vineyard waiting for our BCV to be ready. After checking out of VGF this morning so we have been homeless for 4 hours and counting. And VGF did have the individual products including 4 bar soaps in a 1BR. BUT the bubble tub didn't work. Had 1 night there and really wanted to relax in the bubble tub with glass of wine while watching the mirror TV. Not to be.