DVC Open House Tour - 3 master fp+

[wilkeliza]

Hi guys,

We did an open house tour on June 22nd. Currently if you go through one of the tours they give each person with a ticket (can't be CM maingate or comp tickets fyi) 3 master fast passes. They load these onto your My Disney Experience account after you complete your tour and you will see them on the app or online. They can be used across parks and are good for up to 10 days. However there is a big disclaimer they aren't clear about up front. Unlike the old master fastpass booklets they use to give you these have rules. You can not use them at Toy Story Midway Mania, Soarin, or Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Also they are calling them VIP fastpasses not master just in case you hear that being floated around if you talk to a DVC rep.

We loved our tour but will admit we would have just called and bought when we got home since we did a tour 3 years ago. We only did the tour because we has assumed they were like the old booklet fastpasses that can be used on anything but it seems that these 3 rides are so popular they don't want people coming just for the fastpasses.

 

[Tom]

Seems like a wise move on their part. It's a shame for them to have to constantly give tours to people who have no intention of buying.

 

[wilkeliza]

Seems like a wise move on their part. It's a shame for them to have to constantly give tours to people who have no intention of buying.

We did intend on buying but didn't need to tour to convince us. As I mentioned we did one three years ago and pretty much understood it just needed to get home to crunch the numbers one more time. A DVC rep is who convinced us to go again since Grand Floridian wasn't even on the books yet and I believe Alauni was in the finishing stage. After a week of crunching numbers we did decide to wait for Poly since GF would still have several years if we ended up going back to it but Poly would give us another new option next year.

 

[slappy magoo]

Seems like a wise move on their part. It's a shame for them to have to constantly give tours to people who have no intention of buying.

I'd be willing to bet if I had a nickel for every dvc tour endured by someone who had no intention of buying but wound up buying anyway after that tour, I could buy 100 more Saratoga points (at resale anyway )

 

[disney4life2008]

LOL I see lots of people signing up for the freebie but they know good and well they not buying into it.

 

[cw1982]

Sigh... I'll admit I just had a twinge of "hmm... free extra fast passes, you say? And all I have to do is sign up for a tour?!?"

In all fairness, I am a tad curious about how DVC works anyway, so it's not like a DVC rep would be giving their sales pitch to completely deaf ears. Just ears that probably can't afford DVC anytime in the near future

 

[BigTxEars]

We were at SSR (DVC Main Office at WDW) last month to speak to them about adding points, they have a no pressure at all method when giving a tour. We did take the tour, it was really cool to see all the room types and sizes. But no pressure to buy or add at all.

 

[slappy magoo]

LOL I see lots of people signing up for the freebie but they know good and well they not buying into it.

DVC is not the first time share - not the first company - to offer some kind of freebie to get people in the door. I worked for a mom and pop electronic store where on summer days the owner would fire up a grill and give free burgers and dogs to passersby. Didn't matter if they were coming in to buy, or price, or window shop or were just walking past the store on the way to a bus stop and no way they were buying a big screen tv any time soon. Just figured it was good will and people were in a position to buy, they'd remember who gave them a burger. I've no idea how well it worked overall, I was only there for about 8 months, but I did see customers talk about the burger they had the prior summer, how crazy they thought it was and yet...there they were.

Also, figure it this way - other timeshare companies in the area have offered free Disney admission for sitting in on THEIR presentations, which tend to be much more high-pressure. Sure they could write those passes off as a business expense, but it's still an expense. DVC is offering faspasses which cost next to nothing and keep people onsite versus going to some other timeshare. And while it stinks for you when you see someone using a fastpass you can't, ultimately the effect those guests have on crowds and queues overall is negligible.

 

[disney4life2008]

DVC is not the first time share - not the first company - to offer some kind of freebie to get people in the door. I worked for a mom and pop electronic store where on summer days the owner would fire up a grill and give free burgers and dogs to passersby. Didn't matter if they were coming in to buy, or price, or window shop or were just walking past the store on the way to a bus stop and no way they were buying a big screen tv any time soon. Just figured it was good will and people were in a position to buy, they'd remember who gave them a burger. I've no idea how well it worked overall, I was only there for about 8 months, but I did see customers talk about the burger they had the prior summer, how crazy they thought it was and yet...there they were.

Also, figure it this way - other timeshare companies in the area have offered free Disney admission for sitting in on THEIR presentations, which tend to be much more high-pressure. Sure they could write those passes off as a business expense, but it's still an expense. DVC is offering faspasses which cost next to nothing and keep people onsite versus going to some other timeshare. And while it stinks for you when you see someone using a fastpass you can't, ultimately the effect those guests have on crowds and queues overall is negligible.

I am not sure how prevalent they are now in the Orlando area but in the 90s I remember Orlando was timeshare city and lots of pressures into purchasing. I actually own a timeshare myself not with disney though.

 

[wilkeliza]

I am not sure how prevalent they are now in the Orlando area but in the 90s I remember Orlando was timeshare city and lots of pressures into purchasing. I actually own a timeshare myself not with disney though.

They are still around. You don't even have to live in Orlando to get sucked in by them either. I had a friend just a few months ago "win" an a trip to Orlando with Disney and Universal tickets. She couldn't use the trip because of medical conditions so called and asked if she could transfer it to us. Well all she "won" was a few nights hotel stay and the tickets no flights etc. We were smart and researched the company and read the fine print on the deal. Of course part of the prize was having to sit through several hours of a timeshare presentation.

 

[GoofGoof]

So you waste a few hours of your vacation going on a tour for a DVC you have no intention of buying just to get 3 fast passes? Wouldn't it be easier to just spend the time in line for the rides instead? To each their own, but that doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me.

 

[Phonedave]

So you waste a few hours of your vacation going on a tour for a DVC you have no intention of buying just to get 3 fast passes? Wouldn't it be easier to just spend the time in line for the rides instead? To each their own, but that doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me.

It depends - I did the tour (I was thinking of buying, and I ended up buying) but it was an enjoyable tour, and they scheduled it VERY accurately. The DVC van picked me up at my resort at the time I scheduled, drove me right to the offices at SSR and then when the tour was over, dropped me off wherever I wanted (in my case, at the entrance to MK).

Given the time busses would have taken, I guess the whole tour took about 30 - 45 minutes longer than taking a bus to MK would have been. DVC seems to know that most people are on vacation and don't want to burn all the time at a long presentation. They are pretty quick and efficent and presenting the product, showing the demo rooms, answering any questions and then moving you on to the rest of your day.


-dave

 

[FutureCEO]

To someone that has done the math: what's the cost benefit of the DVC? How many years going to Disney would it take for someone to pay off the thousands of dollars?

Personally, I would never buy one directly from Disney. $170 a point is crazy. My parents bought theirs resale. Less than half the price if you buy it from Disney

 

[EOD K9]

To someone that has done the math: what's the cost benefit of the DVC? How many years going to Disney would it take for someone to pay off the thousands of dollars?

Personally, I would never buy one directly from Disney. $170 a point is crazy. My parents bought theirs resale. Less than half the price if you buy it from Disney

I had a ten year "mortgage" on my DVC. I was able to pay it off at 8 and half years. With all the room variances and the amount of times I used it, I broke even at about 5 years.

 

[GoofGoof]

It depends - I did the tour (I was thinking of buying, and I ended up buying) but it was an enjoyable tour, and they scheduled it VERY accurately. The DVC van picked me up at my resort at the time I scheduled, drove me right to the offices at SSR and then when the tour was over, dropped me off wherever I wanted (in my case, at the entrance to MK).

Given the time busses would have taken, I guess the whole tour took about 30 - 45 minutes longer than taking a bus to MK would have been. DVC seems to know that most people are on vacation and don't want to burn all the time at a long presentation. They are pretty quick and efficent and presenting the product, showing the demo rooms, answering any questions and then moving you on to the rest of your day.


-dave

That's a valid point on the time it takes for busses.

 

[slappy magoo]

So you waste a few hours of your vacation going on a tour for a DVC you have no intention of buying just to get 3 fast passes? Wouldn't it be easier to just spend the time in line for the rides instead? To each their own, but that doesn't sound like a lot of fun to me.

It depends - I did the tour (I was thinking of buying, and I ended up buying) but it was an enjoyable tour, and they scheduled it VERY accurately. The DVC van picked me up at my resort at the time I scheduled, drove me right to the offices at SSR and then when the tour was over, dropped me off wherever I wanted (in my case, at the entrance to MK).

Given the time busses would have taken, I guess the whole tour took about 30 - 45 minutes longer than taking a bus to MK would have been. DVC seems to know that most people are on vacation and don't want to burn all the time at a long presentation. They are pretty quick and efficent and presenting the product, showing the demo rooms, answering any questions and then moving you on to the rest of your day.


-dave

Yeah I can back that up, too. We took the tour in 2005, during Spring Break, so lines in the parks were crazy anyway. We actually had a nice time exploring SSR (though we had our own car and could come and go as we pleased without using their car), they also gave us some free ice cream. Then when we got out fastpasses, we went to AK and hit the Safari, Rapids and Countdown To Extinction all in a row. Each one had standby times over an hour, and available FPs were for much later, close to closing, then took our time going through the walk through exhibits. It was actually a much more low-key day than most of the others that trip.

 

[GoofGoof]

Yeah I can back that up, too. We took the tour in 2005, during Spring Break, so lines in the parks were crazy anyway. We actually had a nice time exploring SSR (though we had our own car and could come and go as we pleased without using their car), they also gave us some free ice cream. Then when we got out fastpasses, we went to AK and hit the Safari, Rapids and Countdown To Extinction all in a row. Each one had standby times over an hour, and available FPs were for much later, close to closing, then took our time going through the walk through exhibits. It was actually a much more low-key day than most of the others that trip.

But do you go back each trip to do the tour again just to get fast passes?

 

[slappy magoo]

But do you go back each trip to do the tour again just to get fast passes?

No, but to be fair, I also haven't gone during Spring Break since that trip. Were I to do so, I might be tempted to feign interest in add-ons

 

[GoofGoof]

No, but to be fair, I also haven't gone during Spring Break since that trip. Were I to do so, I might be tempted to feign interest in add-ons

I wouldn't do it for just fast passes, but you got my interest with ice cream The only problem is I'd be afraid I would end up buying more points.

 

[Phonedave]

But do you go back each trip to do the tour again just to get fast passes?

I might (not really) only because when I did my tour, I didn't get fast passes, just ice cream (which I passed on anyway), so in reality I got nothing except a free ride to the MK (and a $16,000 purchase a few days later)

-dave