What about us (4 nights buys 7)?

[PEANUT1]

This "package" that gets the last 3 nights free.....Does this include the DDP?
Thanks
Kerri

no

 

[sparkyboy]

Our thinking exactly!

I totally agree with this logic.

 

[WDWorld2003]

We certainly would have taken advantage of this promotion but we are two days off.... arriving January 2nd staying until the 9th. Flights are booked already and it's too late to bank our points.

 

[Yen Sid]

Would be nice to get thrown a bone every so often, especially after the whole AKV fiasco we just went through last month. I am not looking for the world either, like this new offer, if you are DVC and going between those dates you should get the gift card and in the fall when they do free dining we should get at least a little something. I know we have already paid for the rooms but we are the ones who come down a few times a year and spend like crazy on dining and shopping, that is where they make their money.

 

[Anal Annie]

Ah, but yes, they do.

The psychology for most DVC Members is totally different: "Well the room is free, so we can still go down even though things are tight." If you don't use the points, what's the alternative?

You could rent them, but then someone is still in the room, spending money---and, they are probably not a frequent visitor, so they may be spending more money than you would be.

That's my mentality in a nutshell. I have been laid off for almost 9 months now...the unemployement is running out SOON. But so at this point we are still planning to go down in August next year. DH is still working and he still deserves a break / vacation. My parents can't believe we're still planning to go but I'm like the BIGGEST expense is already paid for (we pay our annual dues by EFT every month). (Plus I have to hope that I am back to work and things are back to normal by then, right?! A lot can change by then.) We will book in January at 7 months out and once we have secured our ressie I will start watching for cheap flights. I will probably squirrel away some of our tax refund. So we will spread the expense out between Jan - Aug by paying for the flights early. Then I will order AP's later - I could always order those 1 at a time since the clock isn't ticking on them until you use them. I will figure out our spending money later - but if things don't turn around soon I may have to cook on vacation !! We usually only eat breakfast in our villa and eat out for lunch & dinner...so Disney MIGHT NOT get as much of our money next time. I could pack sandwiches and put them in a small cooler - rent a locker at the park entrance and we COULD save probably $75 / day by doing that if you figure 14 CS meals for the week. (We won't waste transportation time going back to the villa just to eat.)

 

[cn123]

I really wish they would offer some sort of discount on the DDP. this is my biggest dilemma about joining the DVC. I still have to pay for the DDP and the way there making these packages do affordable its really tough. I know this particular pkg deos not include dining but you get the jist

 

[starwood]

I'm in the position right now that the room is paid for and the expense of being there was factored in when we decided to buy. what is making me think I might have to skip a trip is the air fare that has more than doubled as of right now. I just have a hard time justifying $2000 - $2500 for 4 people to fly down for a week.

The airfare is our dilemma also. If it weren't for the airfare I would love to go down more often AND probably buy more points.

 

[edk35]

I agree.. I think DVC should at least offer something else, maybe discounted dining plan or even more discounted ap's. If they go the ap route then most often guarantees 2 vacations with 12 months, which translated to more money being spent on food, souveneirs etc..

Yes give us some more incentives too.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Yea. I'm sort of leaning towards more heavily discounted AP's too, at least as one option.

Briefly, here's why with an analogy.

DW and I used to cruise before we discovered Disney. We cruised a LOT. Early on, we learned an old trick in the cruise industry. We used to fly to Miami with our bags packed on sail days with NO reservations. Our theory was simple (assuming you're willing to take the risk). We walk up to the dock. Ask for a deep discount. Get it and get on the boat. In all our years, it never failed. We usually cruised for 60-70% OFF retail.

Why did this work? It worked because the boat was leaving. empty cabins yield 0 income. The food's already on the boat and the fuel was the same cost whether we sailed on that departure or not. The attitude of the cruise lines (and we did this on a lot of different lines) was simple. It costs us nothing more to put them onboard and everything they spend is money we left on the table with empty cabins. You'd be surprised how many people do this! We always justified what we are doing by telling ourselves that the worst we'd do was have a nice weekend in Miami at a nice hotel but again, let me stess, that NEVER happened.

In simple terms, it costs exactly the same thing to open the MK (for example) every day regardless whether there are 25k visitors or 35k visitors. What DOES matter is what people spend once they get in. Discounting tickets without giving away the farm just makes sense especially if you can define a high-spending group and define it stringently like you can DVC.

Just a thought. I could apply it to dining too.

 

[Brian Noble]

While fixed costs do dominate, there are some marginal costs per guest in the parks. For example, as attendance wanes, you see more attractions opening late and closing early, you need fewer ride vehicles on attractions, can close fastpass for some attractions, reduce the frequency of shows and parades, etc. All of these little things save costs.

I would not expect discounts on admission past what's there. The "gate" is sacrosanct---and discounting begets discounting. What I would expect are other promotions that are really upsells in disguise. For example, a break on the Deluxe Dining Plan, or a deeper discount on the Tables In Woderland card, or an extension of merchandise discounts. These all end up getting you spending *more* than you otherwise would, even though the *more* is a nice value.

What *might* fit in with this idea is a slightly better discount if you buy two years of APs at once, or a slightly better discount on the PAP.

 

[nunzia]

<<So, no matter what, DVC either provides a captive audience, or a source of cheap room inventory that will be easy to fill. This is not by accident. Since 9/11, Disney has not started construction on a single cash-rental hotel room>>
Most of the GC expansion is cash rooms..so, WDW hasn't but DLR certainly has.

 

[Brian Noble]

DLR is a completely different beast though. Their market is mostly locals and drive-to weekend trippers, so 9/11 didn't hurt Anahem nearly as badly as it did Orlando---Iger was recently quoted as saying around half of WDW's guests fly there.

As a result, the WDW guest profile is vastly different. They tend to come less often, but tend to stay longer, to amortize the cost of the flight.

 

[sorul82?]

Here's a different perspective. Instead of 2-3 trips per year, we will bank points and go once every other year. That is 3+ weeks of dining and ticket $$ that Disney will lose. Not to mention the $ lost because we would split stay in reg Disney resorts to make our points go further.

 

[nunzia]

DLR is a completely different beast though. Their market is mostly locals and drive-to weekend trippers, so 9/11 didn't hurt Anahem nearly as badly as it did Orlando---Iger was recently quoted as saying around half of WDW's guests fly there.

As a result, the WDW guest profile is vastly different. They tend to come less often, but tend to stay longer, to amortize the cost of the flight.

I agree..but my point was Disney has built cash rooms, just not at WDW.
Good point about WDW..we plan on hitting WDW every three years if that, but DLR every year. How about a pass to the world AP so you could do either coast..I'd probably do that, but the AP discount at WDW wouldn't help...still looking at non expiration tickets though.

 

[grizbuzz]

With our Disneyland APs now expired, we have no plans to go back to the California parks anytime soon. If there was a good deal on AP's, it might entice us to schedule a trip or two for 2009. I think that discounts on APs for both DL and WDW would help to bring DVCers who may be banking up points now, wanting to save on vacation expenditures.

 

[CraftyMouse]

The airfare is our dilemma also. If it weren't for the airfare I would love to go down more often AND probably buy more points.

We drive. It saves us a ton of money and it isn't a hardship at all...plus we then have our car with us. We are in NE CT and the drive takes us 20 hours, door-to-door. From Northern NJ it would be 16-17. We leave at 2am and arrive at WDW at 10pm. It's perfect!

I figure that it will cost us approximately $350 to drive, round trip, to FL in December. Compare that to the $1000 for airfare and you can see that we get nearly 3 driving trips for the same cost as flying once.

I know that many people refuse to even try the drive, but I'd definitely recommend trying it. We've been doing it since our DD was 2 years old (our kids are now 16 and 13) and never had a problem.

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC members already get a discount on the DDP. Everyone else (excluding AP holder) must buy a ticket and pay the rack rate (or the special rate that they include) with the package. DVC members can use any ticket they have, including the discounted AP or PAP or a discounted ticket from an authorized reseller. So, ultimately, you get a discounted plan.

 

[goofyboyzmom]

DVC members already get a discount on the DDP. Everyone else (excluding AP holder) must buy a ticket and pay the rack rate (or the special rate that they include) with the package. DVC members can use any ticket they have, including the discounted AP or PAP or a discounted ticket from an authorized reseller. So, ultimately, you get a discounted plan.

What discount do we receive on the DDP? I have never received a discount! And I do feel they should offer us some really good discount especially around the time when you are watching everyone else get FREE dining while we are paying full price for it at the exact same time.

 

[Brian Noble]

Instead of 2-3 trips per year, we will bank points and go once every other year. That is 3+ weeks of dining and ticket $$ that Disney will lose. Not to mention the $ lost because we would split stay in reg Disney resorts to make our points go further.

Fine, but you eventually have to use those banked points for something, or let them expire. And, this gets us back to "someone is occupying the room." Disney doesn't care who the someone is.

As for split stays with cash rooms---you could still do that, and you'd be eligible for the promotional rate. That's entirely independent of DVC. For example, someone wanting to take a long trip might do a 7-for-4 back to back with a 5-night weekday points stay, getting the whole shebang at a pretty good out-of-pocket cost, without spending many points.

my point was Disney has built cash rooms, just not at WDW.

You are of course correct. In my original post, when I said "Disney" you can read that as "WDW", as that's the entity I had in mind writing it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

What discount do we receive on the DDP? I have never received a discount! And I do feel they should offer us some really good discount especially around the time when you are watching everyone else get FREE dining while we are paying full price for it at the exact same time.

You don't have to pay as much for your ticket. So you save money. Thus your discount. If you save $10 a ticket by buying through a reseller (or use those older tickets with no expiration or got the $100 off AP), you divide your savings by the number of nights you are getting the DDP. Subtract that from the cost of the DDP and you got a discounted DDP.