When did the rumors start?

[nuts]

I am wondering when the rumors started for SSR? Or were there any before they announced? If there were, how accurate were the rumors? I am trying to guage the accuracy of the current set of rumors based on the set of rumors that were floating pre-SSR (in other words, how good are you guys at this rumor business ).

 

[DebbieB]

I don't think there were many rumors about SSR. At the time, the next DVC was Eagle Pines. The switch to SSR was a surprise. Eagle Pines was to be built from scratch, I don't know if they even started to excavate. When the Disney Institute was closing, they saw the opportunity to take over existing facilities and build, which would be much quicker, especially since Beach Club Villas was selling out fast.

 

[Granny]

I remember about 3-6 months of rumors about SSR. There was a lot of speculation on what the theming would be (nobody guessed Saratoga, NY) and on whether they'd keep the Treehouse Villas, etc.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I remember about 3-6 months of rumors about SSR. There was a lot of speculation on what the theming would be (nobody guessed Saratoga, NY) and on whether they'd keep the Treehouse Villas, etc.

Yes, but that was AFTER it was announced that DVC was building on the old DI site.

 

[Granny]

Thanks Diane. So much for my memory!

 

[dianeschlicht]

LOL, Granny, I'm usually the one with the bad memory! They did a quick announcement that the DI site would be turned into a new DVC before the completion of the Eagle Pines concept. The theme was announced some time later, and that is what the speculation was about. I actually think the theme has turned out rather well. They could keep the "town" feel of the existing buildings and turn it into a theme... Pretty smart if you ask me.

 

[RumpleMom]

When is SSR expected to sell out?

It sure seems like sales are really moving along. VMagic now says 100,000 members. I must have been sleeping during the last 50,000

 

[spiceycat]

When is SSR expected to sell out?

It sure seems like sales are really moving along. VMagic now says 100,000 members. I must have been sleeping during the last 50,000

spring of next year.

they have just been selling DVC contract that much faster.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

This is a good question...I had been wondering that history, too. We started really thinking about DVC about 6 months prior to SSR opening for sales.

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I am wondering when the rumors started for SSR? Or were there any before they announced? If there were, how accurate were the rumors? I am trying to guage the accuracy of the current set of rumors based on the set of rumors that were floating pre-SSR (in other words, how good are you guys at this rumor business ).

Less than two months before September 11, 2001, Disney Vacation Development (DVD) announced plans for a huge DVC resort at the Eagle Pines golf course, to be opened spring/summer 2004.

After the tragic events of September 11 and the downturn in attendance at WDW, Disney shut down the already floundering Villas at the Disney Institute. The public Disney Institute educational offerings had already ended. Before the end of 2001, rumors began that the Villas at the Disney Institute would somehow become a Disney Vacation Club.

Here's a DIS thread that began on January 24, 2002: Deb Wills sez Disney Institute to be next DVC. The same day, the official announcement was released. The announcement only called for reuse of the existing Disney Institute main campus buildings and four new residential buildings (today's Congress Park section). There would be 192 units in the new DVC resort. The announcement did not include a name for the new resort.

The announcement didn't say that Eagle Pines plan was sidetracked, but that's happened. DVD was still on target to open a huge, new DVC resort spring/summer 2004, but it would now be at the Disney Institute site, and would reuse the relatively new, Thomas Beeby-designed Disney Institute campus as the core of the DVC resort.

Three days later, on January 27, 2002, there was a DIS thread speculating about the new resort's theme: The Theme for the New DVC at Disney Institute.

Disney didn't announce the theme and the name until September 2002.

Beginning on September 18, 2002, there was a DIS thread questioning the appeal of the theme: What will be the appeal of Saratoga Springs DVC?

Beginning on September 13, 2002, there was a long thread on the DIS Rumors and News board with all sorts of speculation and discussion, including questioning the the concept of DVC itself: An honest to God rumor that even Scoop may like!!!.

What's interesting in these links is that news articles in 2002 reported that some of the existing residential buildings of Villas at the Disney Institute would be refurbished rather than demolished. That led to all sorts of discussion and speculation about the fate of these buildings.

 

[jmatias]

Horace...your summary is

Jen

 

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks for proving my memory right, Horace!

 

[CRSNDSNY]

HH - Our Resident Archivist!

Thanks so much!

 

[spiceycat]

When is SSR expected to sell out?

I was wrong - my guide say Sept, 2007 is the expected sell out date.

 

[lisareniff]

Great job Horace!!

 

[Horace Horsecollar]

I'm glad people enjoyed my summary.

In case anyone didn't notice, the underlined thread names in post #10 are links to DIS threads from 2002. They're fun to read.

It's especially interesting how misinformation in the press caused concern about how the old Villas at Disney Institute residential buildings would be reused.

 

[CRSNDSNY]

In case anyone didn't notice, the underlined thread names in post #10 are links to DIS threads from 2002. They're fun to read.

I enjoyed those, too! Seeing Richyams' post was !!! And seeing just how long some of us have been around is really neat to see.