Wow! Very low prices for DVC rooms!

[tvwalsh]

I priced a two bedroom villa at OKW for seven nights Jan 11-18, including two eight day park tickets, tax, and trip insurance included for about $3200. WOW! Can that be right? Who could afford to buy DVC if rates are that low?

I heard Iger explaining the 7 for 4 deal, but had no idea it would be that good!

 

[PamOKW]

Early January and early September are two of the slowest times. I know they are concerned the Europeans may not come to Florida this year as they've done in the past.......looks like we may be going back to post-9/11 "deals".

 

[cn123]

did you go online and get that price? or did you call?

 

[JimC]

Those deals are often quite good. But when the economy turns around they go away. We got tired of chasing AP codes and other special deals.

 

[jwfla422]

We nabbed a studio at the VWL for a great deal (room only) for January. It wasn't there yesterday and it wasn't there after I booked it so maybe someone cancelled? Great timing!! Always wanted to stay at the VWL but couldn't afford to. It was only available under the AP rate. It was a better rate than SSR where we usually stay!

 

[Brian Noble]

I priced a few quotes for my late February stay. A one-week stay in a 1BR at OKW, under the promotion, prices out a bit less than $11/point. That same week in a 1BR at BCV, under the promotion, prices out at *less than* $10/point. And, that's with WDTC's more generous cancellation policies *and* daily mousekeeping.

Could be very bad news for the point rental landlords for the next few months.

 

[CraftyMouse]

That's still more than $450 per night...in one of the slowest seasons of the year.

 

[DisDaydreamer]

I priced a two bedroom villa at OKW for seven nights Jan 11-18, including two eight day park tickets, tax, and trip insurance included for about $3200. WOW! Can that be right? Who could afford to buy DVC if rates are that low?

I heard Iger explaining the 7 for 4 deal, but had no idea it would be that good!

I have on a couple of occasions defended your posts/threads, but I have to say... I am starting to wonder if you are really just trying to stir the pot. I am starting to see a pattern.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I have on a couple of occasions defended your posts/threads, but I have to say... I am starting to wonder if you are really just trying to stir the pot.

Yes, agree here Rob. Just not going to comment on these types of threads...

 

[Rileygirl]

I priced a few quotes for my late February stay. A one-week stay in a 1BR at OKW, under the promotion, prices out a bit less than $11/point. That same week in a 1BR at BCV, under the promotion, prices out at *less than* $10/point. And, that's with WDTC's more generous cancellation policies *and* daily mousekeeping.

Could be very bad news for the point rental landlords for the next few months.

I have friends going in May of next year. I was going to look into renting points for them, but this deal has a big 'holy cow' factor to it. Its a no brainer for them to take this deal instead. I forgot about daily mousekeeping too -- I was just thinking how it was risk free, and the cancellation policy.

Great deal for those wanting to try DVC villas out, risk free.

 

[PamOKW]

Iger made the following statement yesterday:

Reservations have ``fallen off considerably'' in the past month, Chief Executive Officer Robert Iger said on a conference call yesterday, after reporting a 13 percent decline in fiscal fourth-quarter net income. Disney is offering discounts and merchandise credits to spur attendance at the parks, where profit dropped 4.2 percent.

I imagine we will see resort offers as we did in the lean times following 9/11. I still feel in the long run DVC retains it's value to the individual purchaser. (I never did regard it as an "investment"). The "deals" of today are still considerably more than rooms prices were when I purchased in '93. New purchasers will most likely be able to say the same when we hit another "bump" 15 years from now.

 

[CraftyMouse]

I heard Iger explaining the 7 for 4 deal, but had no idea it would be that good!

Is it really that good? It's, basically, a 40% discount on the room and that's it. AP discounts are often in this ballpark so I don't see it as any huge savings...just a decent deal. As for the park passes, they are only a couple dollars more per day once you reach 4 days, so those are worth less than $10 for days 5-7.

Personally, this deal seems a lot like the Free Dining package to me. An okay deal, wrapped up to look like a fantastic one. If you do the math you'll see that the savings are not nearly as great as they first appear.

 

[sorul82?]

Is it really that good?

I think it is only a good deal for those who had already booked or were planning to go during the offer dates. To me, it wasn't good enough to make me want to part with my $$. Disney may gain some "new" reservations, but will it be enough to negate the discounts now given to those who had booked and were willing to pay full price?

 

[Brian Noble]

A friend of mine is a Disney specialist TA. She tells me that most of her clients with existing 2009 bookings are actually spending more out of pocket on this promotion, by upgrading their resort category.

That's good news for Disney in two ways. One: more direct revenue from this guest. Two: it's easier to sell a less expensive room than a more expensive one to someone else.

 

[CarolA]

I just ran this deal for my January trip.

Uh... no it's not that good.

1. The price difference on a NORMAL package between a 7 day and 4 day ticket $9.58 cents on a base ticket. So that "Free 3 days" saved you a whopping 10 on ticket prices! LOL!

2. Rooms are at RACK rate. I did the math on a value resort. Came out to $81 bucks a night with the "Free nights" Means they want $140 a night for a room for you to get three free! For OKW the "rack rate" is $285 for a studio. So it's $1140 for 7 nights or $163 a night. I like OKW, it's one of my favorite resorts. That room is NOT worth $163 a night.

Disney's prices have reached "the land of make believe" for the quaility they offer!

(And by the way, Disney isn't alone. I just found this gem on the Marriott website..
Fourth Night Free in Orlando


Enjoy a long weekend of Orlando attractions and your last night is free at one of four participating Orlando hotels.


From October 16 - December 31, 2008, when you stay three nights, your fourth night is free at any of the hotels listed below.

A limited number of rooms are available for this promotion. Please see below for more terms and conditions.

Personally this would be a better deal for me since I don't generally go for 7 days and have an AP!)

 

[Rileygirl]

If its a reservation for a value or a moderate, the deal is barely ok- depending on the number of people in the room, it can work out to be better then 'free dining' or worse then 'free dining'. However, free dining has never been offered during these months before, so if you go in Jan-June, then, yup, its a good deal for you.

If you are staying at a deluxe like BC, it can save you up to $1500 off rack rate. I know, who pays rack rates on these boards, huh? Many of us are savvy disers, and know about discount codes and ap discount codes. Many of us have annual passes and dont need tickets anyways, so cant factor in any of the ticket savings either, so this 'sale' really would not net savvy dis users a $1500 savings, it may net them a $500 savings instead (just guessing and ball parking figures for arguements sake). This promotion also wont be tempting for DVCers, because already we stay at our deluxe resorts for savings of 43% off already, and have prepaid for the priviledge.

What I am interested in is how this affects the seldom disney goer who does not have DVC or annual passes, who does not own at dvc, and who would like to try out deluxe resorts on site. They wont have an annual pass. They want to try out a 2 bedroom villa at BCV, and with this promotion, they can get 40% off rack rate. I am not sure, but has the CRO ever offered 40% off DVC villas with any kind of general discount or annual pass discount? I dont think so, but I could be wrong. What is the best DVC Villa discount you have ever seen?

The route I was going to take them would be to 'rent points' to get that 40% discount on the DVC villas. As the professor pointed out - this promotion basically equals or betters renting points at the going rate, with the added bonus of
1)mousekeeping
2)great cancellation policy
3)low deposit requirement
4)NO RISK

The ticket savings are close to negligble, because of the way Disney front loads the ticket prices, so they dont really factor in at all.

Now, I also want to point out that many posters on these boards can figure out to a nickle what the best deal is, they know every discount out there. That is why many of us are so/so or even suprised about the hype on the new deal.

But think for a minute of the GENERAL POPULATION of Disney resort guests. Probably less then 80% know what a discount code is, renting dvc points are or what mousesavers/disboards are. They walk into a travel agency and say "we want to go to Disney and stay at (fill in the blank). The agent says --- guess what! I can save you 40% -- thats the hype. Now just imagine the person who pays rack rate for deluxe (oh yes, there are many of them out there) guess how they would react when they can save $1500 bucks at a deluxe resort? They will be happy.

I think that this is a very good deal if you dont own dvc, and you want to stay at a deluxe resort. I think its a very good deal if you want to stay in a one or two bedroom villa at DVC. So, although it wont be a HUGE deal to many disers and DVCers, to the general population, and infreqent disney goers, it can be a great deal.

 

[CarolA]

However, I have a lot of "general population" friends who travel a lot.

When they stay at a Disney Deluxe they are generally very disappointed. For the price they expected something more like at JW Marriott, they got a Courtyard.... Since they aren't Disney "Fans" they don't think the "location" is worth it LOL!

 

[jerseygal]

How often do you get 42-43% off on a PIN Code?

Most pins are 20 or 30% off..very few get 40% off.This is even better,
about 42 or 43% off..

Disney is trying to induce guests to travel..I think its a great idea!

 

[beautifultomorrow]

We are non-DVC owners who are renting points for a stay in january. When this deal came out yesterday I was like, 'ugh we could have gone for a lot cheaper but it's too late to cancel now!'

I did the math and later realized that yes, we could have stayed at a value resort for less money, but figuring the deal based on our accomodations (2 bedroom at OKW) we are still saving more money off rack rates by renting than we would with this discount. Based on my calculations, the total cost per night (including park tickets for each person) is about $50 cheaper when renting, even when you factor in the $200 gift card. Not to mention the fact that we were only going to go for five nights and this deal requires seven.

 

[jerseygal]

Remember these 3 night free offers are only a temporary fix for our ailing economy..

How often do you see 42-43% off Deluxe Rack Rates? Not very often..

A temporary incentive, but renting points from a DVC reliable owner can be a great savings! There are some renters of points that do so annually and have a successful history of renting points!

Good Luck and enjoy your stay!