Why so many changes at the mixer?

[CarolA]

I have to say, I think the bigger DVC gets the less and less you will see as far as benefits. I mean they used to give all DVC members free annual passes. The discounts are barely anything on property and now these events just get scaled back little by little each year.

We are going on the member cruise for the first time in 2009 and I am afraid how much that is going to be cut back from the great reviews I read about from past member cruises.

They need to slow the growth and make current members happy or they will find a lot of their contracts on the re-sales maket. Of course, what do they care we are all on the hook now until at least 2050.

I hope they get the message and start improving the small perks of being a member.

Um.. that part about free APs is not exactly correct. They never "used to give members free APs" If you bought VERY early on then the you got free admission while STAYING at your DVC. That was part of your purchase agreement, just like the villa I am staying at next week at SSR is part of mine.

And as I said you bought a villa not "marketing freebies" To expect Disney to "bribe" you after you spent money is just kind of illogical?

 

[Tinkerbellcrafter]

We did the pin line last year and, yes, it was over an hour but I wasn't interested this year. We got pictures with both Mickey/Minnie and Donald/Daisie last year and could only get Mickey/Minnie this year. DD8 had fun and I was surprised that there were no trays of cookies and that only one ornament per family was given out. Oh well, minor cut backs to save money in the world.

I was surprised when we went to the DVC tour center and at first were told only between 5-7 until I told them our guide had specifically said that we should just ask if we couldn't make it between 5-7. The woman that greeted us was a little huffy but then someone else took over for her and they found Ryan to take us on the tour of the models. (We bought sight unseen into SSR and never toured AKV before doing our recent point add on. This was our first time seeing any of the models.)

Seems that lately some of the disney caliber of cast member is not quite there, at times.

 

[lck33]

We went to our first mixer on the 5th and thought it was pretty nice. We went to it with the intent of meeting other vacation club members and talking disney. The crafts for my daughter was a huge hit as was the hula-hooping with goofy. We got an excellent picture of our family with Donald and Daisy in their holiday gear, (something I didn't see available in the parks), and a yummy rice krispy treat. I did wait in line for the pin because it was our first mixer and I wanted one. That part could of used a little more planning on their part. No need for that line. And receiving an ornament for our tree when we were leaving was just icing on the cake.

Now I am not sure if this mixer is actually paid for by our dues or not, We did have fun, and we would go again. I hope it will be a continued event.

Elsie

 

[Inkmahm]

We went on the 5th and were very disappointed.

1 ticket per person for a treat was ridiculous and they were the same rice kripy treats that you could buy all over for $2.99. I had been looking forward to the cookies & brownies they had last year.

Apple juice/cider and water as the only beverages to make it worse, all but 1 was empty when we got there Then off to the side they're selling sodas Really??? you need to charge for sodas? How about some cocoa?

Ornaments: last year they handed one to all 4 of us (DH & I and the kids), this year we got seperated as we were trying to leave this zoo and I yelled over to DD to ask if she got her ornament and they informed me that it was only 1 per family

Pins: we heard the line was over an hour. I would have liked to get or even see what they had this year but couldn't get anywhere near.

Quite honsetly, I felt really bad that I had ended our time at the pool to make sure we got over to Epcot before the mixer ended. All that rushing/stress for nothing but a headache from the ridiculous noise level

The 5th is when I'd planned on going but the niece and nephew were having too much fun elsewhere to get to the mixer at all. Now I'm glad I didn't make them go to the party after hearing it really wasn't that much fun.

 

[Inkmahm]

I'm not a fan of rice krispie treats. But my son took a big bite of his and said it was ghastly. I felt it was a little insulting to have to have a ticket to get a treat, too. tsk tsk DVC.

See, I feel the same way! I love homemade rice krispie treats but the ones they sell at WDW are HORRIBLE. They taste like old plastic to me. Frosting on them makes them even worse.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I'm glad someone started this thread. We went to the party on the 5th and we were not impressed at all. I was wondering if it was just us, or if this year's event wasn't as good as previous year's parties I had read about.

At 4:15 we didn't have to wait more than a few minutes to get in. Line for the pin was huge, but we weren't interested in waiting. Got our one treat per person. Nice, but not impressive. Stuffed our entries for the gift basket in the box. I wasn't impressed by the juice and water they had out. I was surprised that was the best they could do......but you could buy soda and beer/wine. So the refreshments and treats were kind of a bust. The line for Donald and Daisy was pretty long. We walked by the tables where they had the craft. Again, nothing impressive, or worth investing time in. So for the most part it was "eh, this is it?"

The highlight of the party was the DJ and dance along with Pluto. The kids really had fun with that, especially when they got some of us moms and dads out there. So that occupied us for he majority of the half hour or so we were there. On the way out we (family of 5) did get two ornaments. I'm glad we didn't make a special trip there or pass up something else for the party, because I would have been disappointed. Given that we were in the area waiting for our YC room to be ready, it was an ok way to kill an hour.....but that is really the best I can say about the party.

We will not make a point of including the mixer in our plans on future trips. If we are in the area we'll stop by, but otherwise, no thanks.

 

[drag n' fly]

Thanks for the heads up OP. Now we know to not to even waste our time going!

 

[vicki_c]

Any opinions on whether it's better to go right when it starts or line up before the 3 PM start, or to show up later?

This will be on 12/26 - we're at BCV, so I don't mind stopping by since it's so close, but I don't want to wait forever to get in!

 

[robinb]

I have been to 3-4 Mixers in the past and always had a good time. I *liked* the sugar cookies in the previous years and my DD liked the kids activities. I was originally disappointed that we couldn't go this year because they changed the day of the week it was on to Friday. Now, I know for sure that I'm not missing a thing!

 

[jamstew]

I also went on the 5th as a first timer. I definitely didn't expect a 20-minute line just to get in, and another 30 minutes to get a couple of pins. Since we had an ADR at LeCellier at 4:00, that was the extent of my experience. The ornament we got on the way out was a nice surprise. I might consider doing it again, but only if I didn't have anywhere else to be.

 

[aurorafan]

When we walked by about 20 min. before it started on the 12th we couldn't believe the line! We bypassed it because it was our last day and we had other things we wanted to do, but it doesn't sound like we missed much. I have to say 1 ornament per family doesn't bother me--I really don't need 4 of the same ornament hanging on my tree lol , but the fact that they asked the OP to give it back is just rude IMO.

 

[Scotch]

We're at BCV now and I've been debating about whether to take time out of our last full day this coming Friday to go to the mixer. It doesn't sound like we'll miss much if we don't go. I agree with PP that one ornament per family doesn't sound unreasonable, but to make OP give back the partially decorated one is ridiculous.

 

[twinklebug]

Wow, it's starting to sound like the money DVC spent on the merry mixer would have more appreciated by many if the ornament were just mailed home to members. I see no holiday spirit in that.

I'm sure lots of kids (and adults who act like kids) had fun there. I like to think that most folk don't judge a good time by how much (or in this case how many ornaments and cookies) they get to take home.

 

[rutgers1]

I have never been to one of these, but to tell you the truth, I am wondering if some people are expecting a wedding-like reception. From what I gather, you get some refreshments (not GREAT refreshments, but something), a pin, an ornament (both of which costs DVC money), a DJ, and characters. That seems like a nice amount of stuff, particularly since 99% of us who are DVC members and paying monthly fees do not attend these events. I would actually be a bit angry if it was a super exciting party, catered with food, that was paid for by 99% for the 1% that attend. If the pin and ornament are free (which I gathered from reading previous posts), and if the kids get to see characters, then I think they reached a nice middle ground between having something nice for members and not spending lavishly with other members' money.

Perhaps I should crawl behind something now so that I don't get hit with rotten fruit

 

[CarolA]

Rutgers, I actually agree.

While the pins aren't free. The ornament is. Now I do think it was TACKY and RUDE of the CM to "take them back" or deny the adult the chance to pick up her kid's craft!

Last year I witnessed families taking 10 or 20 cookies.... Wonder why they limited access this year? Perhaps because it wasn't MEANT to stock your villa with snacks for a full week???? So while you "blame" DVC, perhaps you should "blame your fellow members"? And yes, they checked our DVC cards last year so these folks were MEMBERS! And there were a lot of Disboard members there that day too so some of them could have been on here too.

 

[tjkraz]

The change from cookies to rice krispie treats may be driven by the economy, but I suspect the other moves have more to do with the greed of our fellow members. If a select few didn't try to horde cookies and sell excess ornaments on eBay, then such forced rationing wouldn't be necessary.

I agree it's less than magical to be yanking ornaments out of people's hands. That could have been handled better. But a policy of one per family certainly seems proper. We can't all get a spare for a friend/relative/board member who could not attend. These are gifts for attending the event. If DVC had wanted to send the ornaments to everyone, they would do so.

 

[AZDisneyDan]

Um.. that part about free APs is not exactly correct. They never "used to give members free APs" If you bought VERY early on then the you got free admission while STAYING at your DVC. That was part of your purchase agreement, just like the villa I am staying at next week at SSR is part of mine.

And as I said you bought a villa not "marketing freebies" To expect Disney to "bribe" you after you spent money is just kind of illogical?

Sorry, I understood them to be AP's, but still if most people use their DVC points for their trip to WDW and they get park access during that trip it just about amounts to an AP. Also, a perk like that is one that gets scaled back as the program gets bigger and bigger as then there are too many people able to partake which eats further into their revenue.

I would never expect disney to "bribe" me and I don't see how offering a party to members during the holidays is a "bribe." I do think that it would make sense that a company such as Disney would often look for ways of making those so loyal to the company that they would seperate with large sums of money and commit the next 50 years to vacationing with them feel appreciated and special.

Let me just say that as a former CM at WDW I know that Disney is always looking to "exceed guest expectations" and when you have an organization such as DVC offer certain privledges and experiences to their guests and then scale them back year after year, people will notice these things and it will slowly begin to erode the special feeling they try and create for their members. Look, we are the die hards here and we'll most likely be returning year after year whether they offer a Merry Mixer or not; however we also are the ones that notice those small things that most other guests might not catch onto and I think most are smart to when certain Disney executives have had their hand in something and it doesn't quite measure up to what you would expect out of Disney.

Just my 2 cents as I can go on and on about Disney and expectations, but I leave it at that for now.

 

[tjkraz]

Sorry, I understood them to be AP's, but still if most people use their DVC points for their trip to WDW and they get park access during that trip it just about amounts to an AP. Also, a perk like that is one that gets scaled back as the program gets bigger and bigger as then there are too many people able to partake which eats further into their revenue.

The free park passes were NOT a perk. They were a sales incentive offered for the first 18 months or so that DVC was being marketed. The deal was you would get free admission to the parks thru 1999 for 1/2 the occupancy of the unit booked. If you reserved a Studio (max occupancy of 4), 2 guests would get free access to the parks. For a Two Bedroom (occupancy 8), four guests would get into the parks for free.

As an incentive, this was no different than buyers who now receive Developer's Points or $10 off their purchase.

IIRC this incentive ended sometime in 1993. People who bought in 1994, 1995, etc. did not receive the free park admission. And even those who did get this bonus at the time of purchase were told that it would end 12/31/99.

In terms of ticket perks, IMHO the annual pass discounts members receive now represents the best financial benefit offered throughout the history of DVC. Prior to that all we got was 10% off of a length-of-stay pass.

 

[LisaS]

I have never been to one of these, but to tell you the truth, I am wondering if some people are expecting a wedding-like reception. From what I gather, you get some refreshments (not GREAT refreshments, but something), a pin, an ornament (both of which costs DVC money), a DJ, and characters. That seems like a nice amount of stuff, particularly since 99% of us who are DVC members and paying monthly fees do not attend these events. I would actually be a bit angry if it was a super exciting party, catered with food, that was paid for by 99% for the 1% that attend. If the pin and ornament are free (which I gathered from reading previous posts), and if the kids get to see characters, then I think they reached a nice middle ground between having something nice for members and not spending lavishly with other members' money.

Perhaps I should crawl behind something now so that I don't get hit with rotten fruit

I wasn't expecting anything lavish, just the option to have something to do other than stand around. The rice krispie treat was OK but I would have much rather had one of those cute little candy cane ornaments that only kids were allowed to make and that would have cost them less too. It just seemed too "kid centric". Not all of us have little kids and it was the boredom factor that was an issue for us.

So why not come up with some inexpensive things for the adults to do? Let the adults do one of the craft activities. And how about a trivia contest for the adults where you have to answer some Disney or DVC trivia questions for small prizes like DVC key rings or luggage tags? Have everyone who wants to play line up. Pull a question out of a hat and starting at the head of the line each person in turn gives their first name (or Internet forum name) and home state/province/country and their home resort(s) and then tries to answer the question. The first one with a correct answer gets a prize. Then they pull another question out of the hat and keep working their way through the line. We would get a chance to put some Internet names and faces together and have some fun at the same time.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I wasn't expecting anything lavish, just the option to have something to do other than stand around. The rice krispie treat was OK but I would have much rather had one of those cute little candy cane ornaments that only kids were allowed to make and that would have cost them less too. It just seemed too "kid centric". Not all of us have little kids and it was the boredom factor that was an issue for us.

So why not come up with some inexpensive things for the adults to do? Let the adults do one of the craft activities. And how about a trivia contest for the adults where you have to answer some Disney or DVC trivia questions for small prizes like DVC key rings or luggage tags? Have everyone who wants to play line up. Pull a question out of a hat and starting at the head of the line each person in turn gives their first name (or Internet forum name) and home state/province/country and their home resort(s) and then tries to answer the question. The first one with a correct answer gets a prize. Then they pull another question out of the hat and keep working their way through the line. We would get a chance to put some Internet names and faces together and have some fun at the same time.

Lisa, DVC needs to hire you to be their program director for next year's event! Well, that is if they have it next year. The trend seems to be to eliminate rather than truly "enhance".