Wouldn't another Member Homecoming be nice?

[burnsoc]

I was just thinking back to what a great time we had at the Member Homecoming that was held when SSR opened. We've done the member cruise before and enjoyed it, but I would really love to see another Member Homecoming type of event at WDW again. Anybody else?

 

[supersuperwendy]

I think so...I've never been to any member event and it would be nice to meet other members!

 

[dianeschlicht]

I wish they would announce the weekly holiday gathering dates for December! Last year we missed it because the dates were different than usual.

 

[castleri]

I wish they would announce the weekly holiday gathering dates for December! Last year we missed it because the dates were different than usual.

Me too

 

[MErnst]

New to DVC....what is a member homecoming? What is weekly holiday gathering?

 

[tjkraz]

If memory serves, the member homecoming was a 2.5 - 3 day event which included a number of unique experiences for members. I know there was a night when participants essentially got an e-ticket night at the MK after it had closed for the day. Park stayed open for 4-5 hours exclusively for member homecoming participants.

There was also a lunch get-together where Jodi Benson (Ariel) performed.

To be blunt, that original event was a mis-managed nightmare. It wasn't announced until well after the 11 month window--might have been less than 7 months. The number of DVC accommodations available at the time was a fraction of what it is today. AKV and BLT had not been built and only a couple of the 18 SSR buildings were open.

Some people who already booked reservations during that period had no interest in attending and those who wanted to attend couldn't get a room. I remember some people forced to book Moderate resorts on points (before the $95 fee) just to attend.

And the pricing was way out of whack. Again this is from memory but I think it was around $400 per person in 2004. Park admission was included but that was worthless to folks who already had APs.

Eventually they decided to offer AP pricing but it only knocked about $100 off the rate. $300 was still a lot to pay for what amounted to a couple exclusive meals and an E-ticket night (for which Disney used to charge about $20 per person.)

If they tried a similar event today, turnout would certainly be better given the larger volume of DVC rooms. As for the pricing, I can only wonder how high they would try to go....

 

[lah3hh]

I attended the Member Homecoming and in conjunction they had the Grand Member opening of SSR. We actually stayed at OKW for the event which was nice and close by the SSR and many of the events that took place.

It was a total of about 3 days and a variety of events took place. There was a special event held at Downtown Disney West Side where Jodi Benson performed along with Circ entertainers. They had food booths set up from all the various food eaterys in the Downtown Disney/West Side venues. The entertainment and food was outstanding!

There was an evening at MK after the park closed. Several attractions/rides were open and you could just walk into a few establishments and order your food with no $$ necessary. There was dancing on Main Street along with the magical 'snow', special parade and so much more...it was truly fabulous!!!!

There was an evening at Epcot again with many attractions available and special events taking place all over the main Epcot area. The World Showcase was not open completely for us to enjoy but it was wonderful as well.

Then of course there was the day of festivities at the Grand Member opening at SSR. That was my first time ever there and that is when I fell in love with the new DVC resort.

All of us who were attending the event received daily gifts delivered to our room...similar to getting the gifts on your bed from a Members Cruise but they had delivery folks all over the place for us....too fun!!!!

I LOVED the member event they offered but according to DVC leadership it was a logistical challenge at best!!! I hope they can pull this kind of magic out of their hat again...if they do, jump at the opportunity...I know I will.

I am sure I forgot many of the magical things that took place but hope that gives you some idea of what this member event was like...back in the day as they say!!!!

 

[burnsoc]

And the pricing was way out of whack. Again this is from memory but I think it was around $400 per person in 2004. Park admission was included but that was worthless to folks who already had APs.

Eventually they decided to offer AP pricing but it only knocked about $100 off the rate. $300 was still a lot to pay for what amounted to a couple exclusive meals and an E-ticket night (for which Disney used to charge about $20 per person.)

If they tried a similar event today, turnout would certainly be better given the larger volume of DVC rooms. As for the pricing, I can only wonder how high they would try to go....

The pricing for the Member Homecoming was $299 with park admission or $250 if you had an AP. It was announced only a few months before the event, which was a mistake on DVC's part. They did however execute the event very well and we felt it was worth the money. That night in MK was the best time I've ever had there. It felt like we had the whole park to ourselves and including the food was great.

I would like to see them do something similar. Maybe a couple of events like the one at MK. If they cut out trying to put gifts in the room and hand them out at the event it would be much more manageable. I'm sure the event would sell out just as quickly as the cruise.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm sure the event would sell out just as quickly as the cruise.

Maybe.

The cruises are very popular but the difference I see is that the member cruises only include a modest upcharge over the price of a normal cruise, and that's pretty easy to justify given the included gratuities, stateroom gifts, special guests, etc.

The member homecoming wouldn't just be a $50 add-on to the normal cost of an annual pass.

Given the direction Disney has gone with prices, a $250 passholder price for the 2004 homecoming equates to $400+ in 2012 and beyond. Yes there is value but is it enough to convince folks to spend that sort of money? Your typical family of 4 already has park tickets and can spend dozens of hours in the parks over the course of a week. EMH nights are offered at no additional charge.

How many of those families are going to splurge another $1600+ for a couple late nights in the parks, some exclusive meals and free gifts?

It's great for attendees that the parks were so sparsely populated. But not so good in relation to actually covering the cost of putting on the event.

Again, I do think there is value...I just don't know that it's enough value (above and beyond what parks tickets provide) to reach the critical mass necessary for such an event to be a financial success. Of course, there are about 2.5 times as many villas at WDW today as there were in 2004 so that certainly works in their favor.

How's that for waffling?

For DVC the main hurdle with such an event is that they have to commit to it regardless of member response. Assume they set prices and need 10,000 attendees just to break even. If they only get 5,000, DVC would be forced to absorb a substantial loss. Some of the costs are variable and would change with the number of participants but most of the costs are fixed. The expense of paying for the late park nights, reserving dining venues, booking celebrities and more won't vary much with the number of attendees.