TOTW closed July 4th for paid event

I think everyone staying at BLT who was planning on viewing the fireworks from TOTW should write a letter to DVC with their concerns/complaints. It's fine to vent here but it might be more affective if DVC received thousands of letters (one from each person occupying a room at BLT) all with the same complaint. JMHO, just sayin...
 
I think everyone staying at BLT who was planning on viewing the fireworks from TOTW should write a letter to DVC with their concerns/complaints. It's fine to vent here but it might be more affective if DVC received thousands of letters (one from each person occupying a room at BLT) all with the same complaint. JMHO, just sayin...

Correct. It's not that many rooms though. I think it's a legitimate concern for any DVC owner even if they are not affected by this change who would like to see the lounge stay as a member location or who is concerned about DVC either making such last minute changes that affect members or DVC removing perks in general. My concern started back with the Wave event. The first writing on the wall of things to come. And there are going to be people who are happy to have something guaranteed with a paid event opportunity.
 
...In light of that, in 2017, we booked our room for BLT at 11 mos to use TOTW. At that time, the "rule" was that one could bring guests. In 2018, we booked our room at 11 mos again, and apparently the "rule" changed, and we were restricted to only those guests staying on our reservation. Despite calling and being told that more guests would be allowed, our guests not staying on our reservation were embarrassingly turned away at the elevator....
The rule has always been "guests staying with you on your reservation". If you were allowed more guests in, that was out of the kindness of the CM at the elevator not the rule.
 


See also: Tonight is sold out. So clearly some members were delighted to pony the cash.

Unsurprising. That's why Disney continues to add the paid events - people are willing to pony up. And no requirements to be staying onsite either and no park ticket required. Other than the outrageously priced Star Wars event DVC members gobble up these things.

It doesn't mean this one should have been done though.
 
Unsurprising. That's why Disney continues to add the paid events - people are willing to pony up. And no requirements to be staying onsite either and no park ticket required. Other than the outrageously priced Star Wars event DVC members gobble up these things.

It doesn't mean this one should have been done though.

Nope. The profitable and the ethical aren't necessarily the same thing.
 


Current DVC leadership have made it very clear that additional marginal dollars outrate satisfaction and delight in their ledgers.

Business is a funny thing and it doesn't always work they way you think. And yes, they are very clear on what their intentions are although I'd have to believe all the DVC leadership has wanted to maximize the profits.
 
Meanwhile, Disney stock is trading at what I believe to be an all time high. Their loyalty isn’t to customer service or DVC folks...share holder value, baby! Paid events? You betcha! This is certainly the “new normal” now.
 
If it’s any conciliation.... I watched fireworks from home tonight (I live 20 min from Disney) and they were at least as good, if not better, than anything I have seen at Disney. Good job MetroWest !!!
 
Well we watched the fireworks form the Contemporary and they were wonderful. Saw long lines on the 3rd for the TOTW (see photo) so I’m sure many registered guests were out of luck. Disney’s attitude about it as been pretty much “oh well”. I still think it’s horrible.
 

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Here's what I don't understand and maybe I'm missing something but for other member events (free ones) emails go out to anyone with a reservation during that time to advertise and inform of the event and effected park hours. So the capability is obviously there and I would guess they can narrow it down further. (read construction updates) So my question is why wasn't this done for this change/event to at least give people with reservations at BLT an opportunity to attend or pass?
 
Well we watched the fireworks form the Contemporary and they were wonderful. Saw long lines on the 3rd for the TOTW (see photo) so I’m sure many registered guests were out of luck. Disney’s attitude about it as been pretty much “oh well”. I still think it’s horrible.

Just out of curiosity, where did you end up at the contemporary? It seems like they're charging extra for all the great spots now.
 
Just out of curiosity, where did you end up at the contemporary? It seems like they're charging extra for all the great spots now.

We had a 6:00 dinner reservation, thank god we made it 6 months ago. They let us out on terrace for them. Another guest told me this am that they called to complain about the 4th and the cast member looked up their itinerary and told them “well you have fastpasses in MK so just watch them there.” They literally DO NOT CARE. Awful.
 
We had a 6:00 dinner reservation, thank god we made it 6 months ago. They let us out on terrace for them. Another guest told me this am that they called to complain about the 4th and the cast member looked up their itinerary and told them “well you have fastpasses in MK so just watch them there.” They literally DO NOT CARE. Awful.

Glad it worked out for you -- probably a better view than TOTW anyhow.

Disney built it's empire on radical hospitality. It gets a tiny bit worse every year but it really does feel like there's been a tipping point with all the recent changes. We live near by and still will continue to treat it like our 'lake house,' but it really is disappointing to see. We'll probably shift to Universal when the kids are a little older I guess.

I've already missed the 6 month mark for NYE. We have lake view at BLT but just waitlisted theme park. We didn't get it originally because we figured we'd be at TOTW.

Think they rope off the beaches at poly on nye, or would we be able to monorail over and watch there? That might be the best possibility for us.
 
Glad it worked out for you -- probably a better view than TOTW anyhow.

Disney built it's empire on radical hospitality. It gets a tiny bit worse every year but it really does feel like there's been a tipping point with all the recent changes. We live near by and still will continue to treat it like our 'lake house,' but it really is disappointing to see. We'll probably shift to Universal when the kids are a little older I guess.

I've already missed the 6 month mark for NYE. We have lake view at BLT but just waitlisted theme park. We didn't get it originally because we figured we'd be at TOTW.

Think they rope off the beaches at poly on nye, or would we be able to monorail over and watch there? That might be the best possibility for us.
They rope off the beaches at Poly and only people staying there (DVC or regular) can watch.
 
Here's what I don't understand and maybe I'm missing something but for other member events (free ones) emails go out to anyone with a reservation during that time to advertise and inform of the event and effected park hours. So the capability is obviously there and I would guess they can narrow it down further. (read construction updates) So my question is why wasn't this done for this change/event to at least give people with reservations at BLT an opportunity to attend or pass?

Simple answer: The people in charge just do not care. At all.

Heck, they actually waited within the 30 days so people couldn't even cancel the room if they wanted to (notwithstanding the nonrefundable flights, time off work, and other arrangements that were made.)

It is indescribably indecent to drop something like this on people 3 weeks prior, not to mention the fact that most guests almost definitely didn't even catch the announcement and found out when they showed up. Any sort of apology or explanation that may come after the fact will be as empty as the souls of the people who conjured up this abomination in the first place.

To be clear: It would be OK to do something like this NEXT YEAR, when people are aware and can plan for it. For heaven's sake, give people a chance and respect the time and money they already invested in their existing plans. What's next, yanking magical express 3 weeks before everyone's trip and providing only $150 minnie vans??
 

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