Why are we treated so poorly????

[DeeP]

Just because I purchased a DVC timeshare, does that mean that I must enter their parks and spend money there?

But why would you want to stay at a DVC resort and then have to drive 1/2 hour each way, each day to get to Universal/IOA? If you feel this way, would it not make more sense to sell your DVC membership, make a profit and buy a timeshare that is much cheaper and much closer to Universal/IOA?? I know, I personally drive enough at home during my normal life, when I am on vacation the last thing I want to do is drive an hour each day in traffic to go to Universal/IOA or anywhere else! But then, I bought DVC because I want to be at WDW and I personally find our APs give us a great value for our money compared to other theme parks. We do like IOA but it just can't even begin to compare to Disney, in our opinion. IOA to us, is like our local Six Flags Great Adventure park, great coasters, ok shows, adequate rides, less than adequate employees working there, overall a nice place to go for one or two days a year, but to spend a whole vacation there---I don't think so, and to invest our money into buying a timeshare there as we did with DVC---never in a million years!!!!!! But like the saying goes..."that's why they make chocolate and vanilla", whatever works for you is what you should do.

 

[Muushka]

We didn't even go into WDW parks every day last week while we were there and we had APs! No, we would visit 1 or 2 times a visit to USF/IOA. While at Disney, we enjoy walking around, visiting the resorts, riding the boats etc. We really enjoy relaxing on our vacations, not running around in the parks. That is why it is so aggravating with the rise in AP prices and renewal policy. The way we use them, it is simply not worth it.

 

[raidermatt]

Disney has never been a big discounter. Sure, there's the occasional deal, such as the military deal right now, and the early DVC discounts. But they have NEVER used discounts on any kind of large scale to built loyalty. Yet they have the most loyal following of any large entertainment company in the world.

Do we really think that 20 years ago, frequent visitors didn't wish they could get more discounts? Of course they did. And there were always some who decided to go to a less expensive product. Yet Disney continued to gain the loyalty of far more people than it lost.

Now, DVC continues to sell like hotcakes, even in tough economic times. Until the recession hit, record crowds were attending Disney parks. Apparently, for every customer angry over the price, several more decided to start paying it.

Given all of this, how in the world can we say Disney "should" increase their discounting to increase loyalty? Lowering prices, even for frequent customers, does not create loyalty. If it did, Disney would never have been able to build the loyal following it has.

Disney does not build loyaty through discounts. They build it by offering a product that keeps people coming back, even if it costs more. That has always been their strategy, and it has worked. Why in the world would they want to change it? If the strategy begins to fail, rest assured they will start making changes. But again, loyalty built through price discounts lasts as long as the discounts do.

 

[DeeP]

But if you are only using the Universal/IOA pass to visit 1-2 time per trip that equals out to more than what you would pay to go into a WDW park (of which you would have a choice of 4) with an AP! If you are there for 7 days per visit with an AP and just wanted to walk around Epcot or go for dinner, not run around the parks, you could do it. If you are paying $99.00 per year for a IOA pass (which is a special right now, let's remember) and go to IOA 2 times that comes out to $49.50 (per day for 2??--I am not sure of how many parks this includes 1 or 2) but if you had an AP and only used it once a day for 7 days at your choice of 4 parks; to walk around, eat a meal, go for a show, take a boat ride, etc., it only comes out to $52.71 per day but you have a choice of at least 2 more parks for an additional amount of only $3.21 per day and all these parks are within your fingertips! We do not do park commando either, we have been there and will be there too often to do this, but when you want to go to a park to see a parade, eat a snack, or just go to enjoy the atmosphere for an hour or so, I still say for a difference of $3.21 per day for a 7 day daily visit vs a 2 day visit at IOA with no driving, gas prices. parking fees. tolls, etc., is a pretty good deal. We go to WDW for trips of 8-10 days per trip approx 4 times per year, so many times we will only go to a park for an hour or so to have lunch, see a show or whatever and to us it is well worth having the ability to go wherever we want to go. We enjoy seeing the resorts etc but it so nice to just hop over to a park to see Illuminations, eat a meal whatever you want to do! This was figured out using the IOA AP for 2 days(the # of days you stated you do to IOA) and the WDW AP for 7 days(the # of days you stay at WDW), if you took more trips to FL per year and continued to stay at WDW for 7 days and used the AP for 7 days and continued to visit IOA for 2 days per trip; the value of the WDW AP would be even more.
I am by no means trying to tell you what to do, it is your vacation, and it's your DVC membership that is already pre-paid., and I respect your choices. But the figures do come out pretty good for WDW when you really break it down for what you can get on site, where you are at in a DVC resort, for a weeks worth of park use vs driving to IOA for 2 days of park use per trip.

 

[DebbieB]

Disney has never been a big discounter.

So true. CRO doesn't even have an 800# to make reservations, you have to pay for a toll call to make a reservation. You can pay to join Disney Club to get an 800# to use. Alot of parks offer senior citizen rates, Disney doesn't. I think they figure most people will come anyway.

 

[Muushka]

Hi DeeP.

Thanks for the thought you put into your post. Not sure if I said this, but we typically visit 3 times per 365 days. With an USF/IOA AP (even at the $169 regular price) we will visit probably 6 times in that time frame (2 per visit). We have gone there 3 times in the past year even when we had a WDW AP (and no USF AP). With the USF AP, we will save the $7 parking and receive (from what I understand) 20% discount on food and souviners. That comes out to $28 and change per visit (at the higher $169 rate) and the additional savings on parking and food etc. We go there anyway (love them coasters), so for us it is a no brainer.

As far as going into WDW parks, we do not have children. It is just the 2 of us. The parks are great, but there is plenty of other things to do. Like I said, we will still go in, but we will purchase the 7 day hopper plus and take it easy. It will come out to about $48 per day (if I remember correctly) and we will have the added bonus of the water parks for a few days.

Honestly, I never complained about Disney before they became so greedy. When they changed their AP policy (on renewals) and upped the price to $369, well straw + camel's back.