Top of the World Lounge at Bay Lake Tower at Contemporary Resort - *2 New Parties Added! “Enchantment at the Top” & New “Bound to Be Bad” Dates Added

Except what you see as greedy, other people may not. Obviously, there were enough members who wanted to attend the party that it sold out all three nights quickly. It must have been worth it to them to indulge.

I certainly respect that some people are fed up with what all divisions of Disney are doing, but I also think it’s okay that other are not.

Just like you think AKV is better than BLT, other owners think the opposite. It is what makes DVC great…someplace for everyonr
I would say the majority are in the “Disney’s Greedy” camp. Their price hikes are far above even the current record high rate of inflation.
 
I see, and understand the commercial unit aspect, but…

It says “available to owners & guests”.
It does not distinguish between direct or resale… both are owners.

It says as a courtesy…which means it doesn’t have to be allowed…and also says from time to time,,

But then it goes on to say it’s use can be changed or modified…even terminated,,, at any time, without needing owner approval for such changes.

And in this case, it’s now being leased by DVD for membership extras. So it’s use has been changed in line with the terms of the POS.
 
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I would say the majority are in the “Disney’s Greedy” camp. Their price hikes are far above even the current record high rate of inflation.

Maybe here on the Dis, but I don’t agree it’s majority of owners.

I just get bothered when people criticize others if they don’t think that way and that if they don’t, they are wrong not to be bothered by what Disney does.
 
I would say the majority are in the “Disney’s Greedy” camp. Their price hikes are far above even the current record high rate of inflation.
I can certainly appreciate why many feel this way. I'm personally not too excited by the increased costs of a WDW vacation. But in all fairness, isn't making money the whole purpose of a publicly traded corporation? Why does that make Disney greedy?
 


RIV has use restrictions on resale but that’s it. If what you mean is that a place like Toppolinos was open to everyone from the start and not something taken away, it doesn’t really matter because the premise is the same.


Buying direct gets you more than perks. It does give you access to staying at RIV and all future resorts and that, IMO, is the important element.

So, for someone on the fence, spending more for direct gives you the option to take advantage of whatever extras DVD puts in place. Resale locks you out 100%.

Now, 270 points for BLT direct would never make sense with sold out pricing. But, it could if it was in active sales and priced like VGF and RIV…then the difference might make it worth it in the end.

In terms of RIV resale? It’s actually not that bad, on average…right now and if VDH and Poly tower come with them as well, then it will more than likely stabilize. I believe for May, it was $145 for contracts sold via DVC Resale Market.

Again I do get the disappointment that this is no longer what it was, but with the way prices are…both direct and resale…DVD is going to find ways to make what they sell seem superior to the average new buyer coming in during those WDW vacations.
I meant that my resale contract allows me to book at the other original DVC properties 7 months out. Is that something they can take away too or is that locked in for the life of the contract?
If I want to stay at a future resort I'll just rent the points for $22-24 and rent my BLT points for $20-22 to compensate. Your can find loaded contracts in resale too. I can get a credit card for most of the discounts. A little resourcefulness and elbow grease gets you 90% of the benefits IMO. Now if you have the money and not the time to bother with it all I get it. My annoyance comes from wanting to participate in some of these perks and having no reasonable path provided given my own circumstances. But my desire for these perks is not even remotely matched by the cost to me. If it's all about the $, why not charge separate access fees to non eligible members?
 
Maybe, maybe not. I just get bothered when people criticize others if they don’t think that way and that if they don’t, they are wrong not to be bothered by what Disney does.
It’s quite obvious that Disney’s been on a pay more and get less campaign. And their targeting a higher income demographic. There’s absolutely no justification to some of the extreme hikes Disneys been making.

It also seems that the GF building must not be selling well that they had to increase incentives that quickly. If it were selling up to their standards, there’d be no reason to make a move like that financially.
 


With the current incentives, people aren't actually paying $207 when buying Riviera points directly from DVC. The incentives vary based on how many points you buy, of course. People buy directly for a lot of different reasons, including the ease of the purchase, often getting more points in the first year than via resale, it's faster than resale, the points are completely unrestricted, and access to members-only benefits.

For many, it's more than just pure dollars.
That is the continued argument and decision point for sure. That is why we opted to buy a new SUV with the savings and wait for 4 months for points. Biggest annoyance I battled with was finding the size contract with use year which is what drive most people to buy direct I believe; lack of patience. Something I don't always have ha. I do think at some resorts I would just buy direct potentially now like GF.
 
I meant that my resale contract allows me to book at the other original DVC properties 7 months out. Is that something they can take away too or is that locked in for the life of the contract?
If I want to stay at a future resort I'll just rent the points for $22-24 and rent my BLT points for $20-22 to compensate. Your can find loaded contracts in resale too. I can get a credit card for most of the discounts. A little resourcefulness and elbow grease gets you 90% of the benefits IMO. Now if you have the money and not the time to bother with it all I get it. My annoyance comes from wanting to participate in some of these perks and having no reasonable path provided given my own circumstances. But my desire for these perks is not even remotely matched by the cost to me. If it's all about the $, why not charge separate access fees to non eligible members?

As long as your home resort is part of BVTC, you can trade. But, they dont have to keep it at 7 months out. They can make it whatever timeframe they want.

They can charge a fee….they can make it 7 months for SSR but only 3 months to trade to VGF….basIcally, the rules for trading into other resorts are not guaranteed…and don’t have to be the same for each resort.

So, You are guaranteed only that you get that ability as long as your home resort stays part of BVTC. This is, however, not something that can be made direct vs resale. It’s all owners of the resort or none…

For example, they can say SSR owners can only trade into other resorts at 4 months, but that would apply to everyone who owns there.
 
I can certainly appreciate why many feel this way. I'm personally not too excited by the increased costs of a WDW vacation. But in all fairness, isn't making money the whole purpose of a publicly traded corporation? Why does that make Disney greedy?
Target is a publicly traded company but they don’t charge me $10/gallon for milk. Or $50 for a T shirt.
 
Target is a publicly traded company but they don’t charge me $10/gallon for milk. Or $50 for a T shirt.
Very true. But you can buy a gallon of milk and T-shirts just about anywhere so it's really not an accurate comparison.

There's only one ToTWL and other aspects to WDW, right? There's a reason people pay a premium to stay onsite versus much cheaper resorts/hotels in the surrounding area and Disney knows that and leverages it to their advantage.
 
It says as a courtesy…which means it doesn’t have to be allowed…and also says from time to time,,

But then it goes on to say it’s use can be changed or modified…even terminated,,, at any time, without needing owner approval for such changes.

And in this case, it’s now being leased by DVD for membership extras. So it’s use has been changed in line with the terms of the POS.
Respectfully, I think that is a stretch to justify what they are doing.
 
Wouldn't surprise me at all if that isn't in the works for the future. :)

And they have the ability to do that..but I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be a hefty fee as the whole purpose is to differentiate between the two,

But, I could see them doing something like $200/yr gets you access to TOWTL…or, offer owners staying at BLT who are not eligible to pay a cover charge to visit
 
Target is a publicly traded company but they don’t charge me $10/gallon for milk. Or $50 for a T shirt.
They would if they had a market that would pay it.

But Target charges more for many things in my area than Walmart does. Why? Because they can.

Lets not get off track with whether Disney is greedy or not.…let’s keep it to TOTWL and it’s impact to owners.
 
And they have the ability to do that..but I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be a hefty fee as the whole purpose is to differentiate between the two,

But, I could see them doing something like $200/yr gets you access to TOWTL…or, offer owners staying at BLT who are not eligible to pay a cover charge to visit
Agreed. I'd be shocked if there wasn't a whole gaggle of folks at DVD/WDW who spend a great deal of their time exploring new revenue streams.
 
Respectfully, I think that is a stretch to justify what they are doing.

Again, it says owners were given use as a courtesy. That means just that.

How is the terms that its use can be changed, modified or terminated at any time a stretch? Those are the exact words.

ETA. For others reading, and to not post another response, the POS says it’s not considered a facility of the vacation plan as defined by FL timeshare law. That definition helps to explain why owners can’t claim a right to use of that space. Here is that statue:

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It'll be interesting to see if the new Poly Tower has a similar lounge planned, with similar restrictions. Given how quickly these special events for ToTWL sold out, I would bet that there is interest for it.
 
It’s not at all. It’s clear that it’s a commercial space and they can do with it what they will.

Again, it says owners were given use as a courtesy. That means just that.
Well, I’ll just say I see it differently, but that’s fine.
 
Free park tickets was a sales incentive. It was offered only to buyers in the very early 90s, and was contractually set to expire in 1999.

APs and TIW are programs that were put on hold by Parks & Resorts. DVC doesn't have the power to bring those items back until they are reinstated. In a similar vein, members no longer get discounts at ESPN Club or Disney Quest, but that's not really a DVC issue.

All perks are a sales incentives.

I understand the reasoning behind annual pass suspensions, and it may be out of DVC's control. However, they were still perks and major ones.

DVC doesn't currently have much to offer. That's why we are seeing a reimagining at Top of the World. It would not surprise me to see something exclusive at Poly tower too as that's going to have one heck of view.

After two years of stagnation, we finally have movement. Moonlight Magic is back. Poly tower was announced. Now, we are getting a Top of the World refresh. The Grand Floridian Villa resort studios just opened and are beautiful and for once on par with the upcoming refurbishment of the hotel side. If you haven't seen the opening video, they even had a little ceremony to open the expansion with characters (gasp). Now, there's rumors of a paid premium membership.

I feel like something has definitely changed as of late at DVC and hope it continues.
 
It'll be interesting to see if the new Poly Tower has a similar lounge planned, with similar restrictions. Given how quickly these special events for ToTWL sold out, I would bet that there is interest for it.

I have a feeling it will. I think we are going to see more and more of those pop up…if they sell food and drink, it will for sure help offset the cost DVD is paying…and having special paid events here and there could make it something that isn’t costing DVD an arm and a leg to offer them as perks.
 

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