Vacation As You Wish Event

[catislander]

Is anyone else going to the Vacation As You Wish Event at the Grand Californian? We're going Saturday night, but I was eager for a preview on what the incentives are if anyone is going any earlier.

 

[kikiq]

We're going Friday night. Very interested to see what the incentives will be and will post when we get home.

 

[the donut]

Looking forward to your post. Wasn't planning on going this weekend, but incentives would probably get me there!

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Looking forward to your post. Wasn't planning on going this weekend, but incentives would probably get me there!

Same here- it's Easter weekend, after all!

 

[KPeterso]

Going Saturday night too. Came on this AM looking to see what incentives and goodies were being offered. I thought there were DISers going last night, so I was hoping for a report!

 

[heathpack]

Yes, we are hoping for a report as well. We're scheduled for 1pm today, but I don't think I can bear the traffic between Anaheim and Valencia after the event- it will be Friday of Easter weekend, after all, I would guess around 4pm by the time we're done. Nightmare.

We are only looking for a 50pt add-on, so unless someone posts a blazing deal, we will probably call and cancel.

H

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Bumping to see if anyone has posted the incentives yet...

 

[catislander]

Just heard from my guide, the incentive is an additional $2 off per point. Or, if you forgo the cash discounts, it's a cruise, with the length depending on how many points you add.
We'll appreciate getting the extra $2 off, but had already started the add-on process.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

Just heard from my guide, the incentive is an additional $2 off per point. Or, if you forgo the cash discounts, it's a cruise, with the length depending on how many points you add.
We'll appreciate getting the extra $2 off, but had already started the add-on process.

$2 off what? Additional off the webcast incentives? Or same as the webcast? Webcast was $15 off 50-90 pt add ons, $17 off 100 pts.

If it's an additional $2 off the webcast price, that would make a 50 pt add on $95 pp and that's doable for me maybe...

 

[catislander]

I don't know what the webcast price would have been. It will make our 100 points $95 each.

 

[ebr@vgc]

We chose not to visit with a guide to get more detailed info but they did brush on the incentives during the presentation. if i recall correctly, the incentives kick in at 120 point add-on. with 120 points you get a 3 day cruise (blackout dates) or a cash incentive. the cash incentive I THINK lowers the p/p price to $93 ($19 off whatever the regular price is). add-ons will match your current use year so those with june use years would get 2009 and 2010 points.

 

[Silly Little Pixie]

I don't know what the webcast price would have been. It will make our 100 points $95 each.

Aaaahh, figures. It's the same as the lame webcast price (which was the same price as quoted on the Magic, in March...). $17 off 100 pts which makes it $95 pp.

I guess they just keep taking the same pricing and calling it different names... I wish a special offer would actually BE a special offer, not the same offer as yesterday.

 

[kikiq]

Here's what I have from my notes from the presentation and from my guide.

Minimum add on is 25 pt at $112
At 50 pt,you can finance - $112/pt
100 pt - $112 and you get a 3 nite cruise on the Disney Dream up to 4 people ocean view cabin.
125 pt - $112/pt and 4 nite cruise for 4 OR cash incentive $93/pt
200 pt - $112/pt, 7 nite cruise Caribbean or Mexican cruise OR cash incentive $93/pt
250 pt - $112/pt, 7 nite cruise upgrade to verandah cabin OR cash incentive $93/pt

You can also get cash incentives for AKV. BLT and SSR. For SSR it's $95/pt.

They will be tearing down the VGC models soon to build the Hawaii models.

It was a nice night out with my DH, decent entertainment, saw the fireworks from the GV and considering adding on VGC 150 points in two 75 point contracts.

 

[kikiq]

Going Saturday night too. Came on this AM looking to see what incentives and goodies were being offered. I thought there were DISers going last night, so I was hoping for a report!

Goodies - Blue recycle type bag with DVC logo, DVC portfolio like last year, luggage tag, binoculars and Mickey rice krispie treats plus the desserts.

Only one drawing prize for our presentation, cooler bag with stuff.

Entertainment - the Wishmeister , interactive device during presentation, the "technicians" who turned into an a capella singing group, Dave and Nikkie host guides. and a lot of promotion of using points outside of DVC properties.

 

[heathpack]

We did not go after all and it sounds like that was maybe a good thing, as they seem to have announced a DISincentive for us. We were considering a 50pt add-on, which had a $15/pt discount, I thought. Now that is gone? Or am I somehow confused?

H

 

[nunzia]

Here's what I have from my notes from the presentation and from my guide.

Minimum add on is 25 pt at $112
At 50 pt,you can finance - $112/pt
100 pt - $112 and you get a 3 nite cruise on the Disney Dream up to 4 people ocean view cabin.
125 pt - $112/pt and 4 nite cruise for 4 OR cash incentive $93/pt
200 pt - $112/pt, 7 nite cruise Caribbean or Mexican cruise OR cash incentive $93/pt
250 pt - $112/pt, 7 nite cruise upgrade to verandah cabin OR cash incentive $93/pt

You can also get cash incentives for AKV. BLT and SSR. For SSR it's $95/pt.

They will be tearing down the VGC models soon to build the Hawaii models.

It was a nice night out with my DH, decent entertainment, saw the fireworks from the GV and considering adding on VGC 150 points in two 75 point contracts.

Really? no discount at 50? I got 50 points from the webcast at 97.00..which of course wasn't new either..same old incentives..different name indeed

 

[kikiq]

Really? no discount at 50? I got 50 points from the webcast at 97.00..which of course wasn't new either..same old incentives..different name indeed

I'm guessing that this incentive was targeting members to add on bigger amounts with the cruise incentive. At 200 points, you had the choice of the 7 night east or WEST coast cruises.

I talked to one member who didn't know about the webinar and honestly I hadn't read about it on DIS, I wouldn't have known about it. So personally, I would take the incentives that works for you. We want more than 100 VGC points so this promo might work for us. It would really work if we had a June use year, then we would also get 2009 points also.

 

[bwvBound]

We attended the Friday, 7PM sessions. Our impressions:

• We arrived early as requested by the confirmation paperwork. We were greeted and offered a number of options for "how to spend our time while waiting for the event": a) leave and return later; b) speak with a guide for incentive info; c) tour the GV. We chose to tour the GV and later a dedicated 2BR also offered for open house visits.
• Things we liked about the GV:
  • The 2nd floor offered a large living room space between the two bedrooms. In that living room were couch, lamps, pool table and bar chairs. What a really cool space for hanging out! Much better than the simple "landing" I recall from pictures/video of the SSR GV. (Right/Wrong?)
  • The Master Bath vanity had a TV built into the mirror. Cool!
  • Kitchen was large and offered lots of storage space for the food stuffs you might bring.
• Thing we didn't like about the GV:
  • Location was a "pool view." We felt that a GV should have had a stellar park view given the high point costs.
  • Tiny balconies. While there were several small balconies -- we felt a GV should offer a grand, wrap-around balcony on the lower level.
  • 4th floor living room seemed too low to see DL fireworks. As we stood there facing towards Downtown Disney and DL beyond -- our view was blocked by a section of the main building housing Story Tellers and shops. (I saw that someone here posted watching the fireworks from the GV. Were you watching from the main floor or 2nd floor of the GV? How was the view??)
• Presentation Highlights:
  • Audience Demographics and Opinions were gathered using a handheld device similar to a remote control. Similar to our polls here on the Disboards, questions were asked on the screens in a "multi-choice" format, we signaled our response and response percentages were displayed on the screen. Questions included:
    • How long have you owned DVC? less than 2 years, 2-5 years, 6-10 years, more than 10 years
    • Have you used your DVC points outside Disney? Yes (14%); No (86%)
    • Favorite vacation types? Cruise, Adventure, Romantic Getaway, "anything Disney"
    • Weekend getaways: How many do you currently take now? None, 1/year, 2-3/year, 4 or more/year
    • Weekend getaways: How many would you LIKE to take each year? (similar options as above)
    • How many DVC points do you have? Too many, Need a few more, (forgot third option), Plan to take guides for drinks after presentation hoping for free points
    • Etc.
  • Nikki's acknowledged the switch from II to RCI which occurred ~18 months ago. She noted that the switch triggered a few unhappy comments -- and targeted a rather vocal owner ... who as her story unfolded ... was identified as her husband. Her story provided background on the switch; acknowledged the issue of not making all members happy; and addressed the tension with an appropriate level of humor.
    • The Background Story offered: RCI offered more destinations on a nightly basis providing a better fit to DVC Owner's vacation travel habits/needs. Just as DVC Owners may use their points for short DVC stays -- they may also use their points for short stays at many RCI properties.
    • The "funny story" re: her husband: Her DH takes an annual "guy's trip" to LV. When using II, his trip was a full week because that is the way exchanges ran. Now, with RCI's Nightly Stays ... she can impose a 3-night limit and he doesn't care for that limit. (She did a better job unfolding the story than I did in my recap. It really was quite nicely done.)
  • Dave introduced new (new to us?) terms: Destination vs Network Owner. If you are interested in returning to the same DVC over and over and you value the home-resort reservation advantage, you are a Destination Owner. If you own DVC points with goal of using at any/all DVC resorts and you either can't or won't plan more than 7-months out ... you are a Network Owner. He aligned himself as a network owner and offered the suggestion that if "points are points" -- seek the lowest maintenance fee. Handily, GCV is currently the lowest ...
  • The presentation pushed, at least gently, the idea of using DVC to take you on a wide variety of vacation types: Cruise, Adventure, Romantic Getaway, Guided (ABD), etc. This also touched on short getaways to exciting city destinations with related activities: gambling, shopping, shows, museums.
  • The sales pitch was very soft. They mentioned that four resorts were currently being sold: AKV, SSR, GCV and BLT. They provided pricing only for GCV and offered incentives in terms of the cruises (already described in earlier post). We did not meet with a guide to review cash/discount alternatives -- but felt sufficiently "invited."

After the event we ate dinner at the Rain Forest Cafe, enjoyed the Downtown Disney area and later walked back "home." It was a fun evening.

 

[kikiq]

We watched the fireworks from the second floor balcony in the bedroom to the right of the pool table. I think that room has the best view, the other second floor bedroom has a tree blocking part of the view, you have to stand to the left to watch an unblocked view.

Personally I like the dedicated 2 bedroom the best as far as layout.

 

[ACDSNY]

Aaaahh, figures. It's the same as the lame webcast price (which was the same price as quoted on the Magic, in March...). $17 off 100 pts which makes it $95 pp.

I guess they just keep taking the same pricing and calling it different names... I wish a special offer would actually BE a special offer, not the same offer as yesterday.

Same price for 100 points as the Dec webcast too.