According to DVCNews, Saratoga Springs is officially in "sold out" phase. BLT is nearly sold out and AKV is close to 75% sold.
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Saratoga Springs Sold Out
- Thread starter Pioneer Hall
- Start date
alawrence
Well-Known Member
How ironic is it that they sold over 103,000 points last month at SSR, and now that the GFV will be coming up for pre sale soon, the SSR is "Sold Out?"
I personally think that they are just trying to fill up AKV and BLT as much as possible before the Grand Floridian goes up for pre sale. This would leave them with 4 properties currently up for sale including Aluani, plus the GFV when pre sale is available. Is 5 DVC resorts too much to offer at one time?
Does that sound a little odd to anyone else that the SSR has been their number one property for many months in a row? Now, abruptly, it is "Sold Out?"
I personally think that they are just trying to fill up AKV and BLT as much as possible before the Grand Floridian goes up for pre sale. This would leave them with 4 properties currently up for sale including Aluani, plus the GFV when pre sale is available. Is 5 DVC resorts too much to offer at one time?
Does that sound a little odd to anyone else that the SSR has been their number one property for many months in a row? Now, abruptly, it is "Sold Out?"
Their intention is to sell out everything. So I don't see what is so odd that this resort entered that status. I don't think there is any question that BLT will sell out before GFV is on sale, and right now the big push will will be ok AKV and Aulani.
I think that was all part of Disney's push to sell the remaining share of SSR. If they had priced it on BLT levels, it wouldn't have sold.
Yeah, I'm not sure I understand the supposed oddity or irony either.
For over two years, Bay Lake Tower was the focus of their marketing efforts. And with good reason, given the fact that it is priced 20-30% higher than others with the appealing destination.
After that they decided to get Saratoga off the books.
This is Disney's sandbox, and selling DVC points is unlike any other theme-park related product they market. At the parks, they don't alter ticket prices or soda prices or restaurant menu prices on-the-fly. But with DVC they have that flexibility. Incentives come and go. One day they heavily market Saragoa Springs...the next day it's Animal Kingdom.
For all intents and purposes, Bay Lake is sold out. DVC has the price intentionally set high so that only the most persistent buyers will bite. And they make no effort to sell the resort during presentations.
So really it's down to Animal Kingdom Villas and Aulani. Grand Floridian is still some time away. I'd say the earliest they will begin selling is around October 1...the start of the 2013 fiscal year. That's still more than a year away from it's anticipated opening. Vertical construction hasn't even begun yet.
That timeline would leave 6+ months to push Animal Kingdom Villas as the only WDW-based option. Will be interesting to see how successful they are. IIRC about 25-30% of AKV is still left to sell, and prices right now are a bit higher than SSR.
For over two years, Bay Lake Tower was the focus of their marketing efforts. And with good reason, given the fact that it is priced 20-30% higher than others with the appealing destination.
After that they decided to get Saratoga off the books.
This is Disney's sandbox, and selling DVC points is unlike any other theme-park related product they market. At the parks, they don't alter ticket prices or soda prices or restaurant menu prices on-the-fly. But with DVC they have that flexibility. Incentives come and go. One day they heavily market Saragoa Springs...the next day it's Animal Kingdom.
For all intents and purposes, Bay Lake is sold out. DVC has the price intentionally set high so that only the most persistent buyers will bite. And they make no effort to sell the resort during presentations.
So really it's down to Animal Kingdom Villas and Aulani. Grand Floridian is still some time away. I'd say the earliest they will begin selling is around October 1...the start of the 2013 fiscal year. That's still more than a year away from it's anticipated opening. Vertical construction hasn't even begun yet.
That timeline would leave 6+ months to push Animal Kingdom Villas as the only WDW-based option. Will be interesting to see how successful they are. IIRC about 25-30% of AKV is still left to sell, and prices right now are a bit higher than SSR.
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
Almost sold out?
WOW!
Think of all those thousands of people looking to switch resorts at the seven-month window!
:ROFLOL:
Come on, it's funny 'cuz it's true. And this is from a SSR owner that genuinely likes SSR.
WOW!
Think of all those thousands of people looking to switch resorts at the seven-month window!
:ROFLOL:
Come on, it's funny 'cuz it's true. And this is from a SSR owner that genuinely likes SSR.
I visited the resort for the first time a few weeks ago, and found it to be pretty nice. However, I do understand why there are a lot of people who aren't particularly fond of the place. While it is a very nice and elegant resort, it really doesn't have that "transport" effect that the other Disney resorts have. I compare it to the Contemporary, but more people like that due to its proximity to MK and monorail access. I think my main reason for staying there is that during a lot of seasons a studio there will go for 3 or 4 more points than something at OKW. I kind of put these two resorts in the same category due to location, size, etc. I like OKW, so if I can save 8 points over a weekend stay, I will choose that over SSR. I will say that I wouldn't want to stay at either of those resorts without a car though.
slappy magoo
Well-Known Member
I write this a lot, so sorry if I "sound like a broken record." When we stay at Saratoga Springs, we always request (and so far have always been placed in) the Congress Park section. It's only a brief walk to the main house/pool. There's a quiet pool right outside. But best of all, you don't necessarily need a car, because you're also a less-than-10-minute walk to the Marketplace side of Downtown Disney. It gives you that many more dining options, plus there's the bus stop to get to any of the Disney resorts you may want to visit or enjoy a meal.
dixiegirl
Well-Known Member
Count me in too Slappy!!! We're a very small Minority!!! (but thats ok)
dixiegirl
Well-Known Member
Why I need to read all post before I reply....I'll agree with you as well with Congress Park, and we pretty much stayed at all the sections Of SSR ..LOVE This section....Great views especially of DTD waterview, great walk there as well, yeah Congress Park is one of our fav areas....Although last year stayed in the Paddocks area, and watched fireworks quite a few nights from our Balcony.....Which was pretty cool!
It's hard to truly gauge the popularity of a resort like Saratoga Springs because it's just so large.
Compare SSR and BCV. For the sake of argument, let's assume that owners of both book the resort to 75% occupancy before the 7 month window arrives. BCV only has about 200 rooms so only about 50 remain for non-owners.
SSR has nearly 900 rooms, meaning there are over 200 vacancies at 7 months. Even with equal demand, the 50 vacancies at BCV will fill much sooner than the 200+ at SSR. (And we all know demand isn't equal.)
The extra capacity at a resort like SSR gives the perception that it is less popular with its owners when truly that may not be the case.
DVC's biggest mistake over the years (IMHO) has been building its largest properties in the least desirable locations. SSR, OKW and AKV are the three largest, and they are also the furthest (at WDW) from any theme park. Even if demand was equal across the board, the likes of VWL, BCV, BLT and BWV--and soon VGF--will fill before the others most of the time.
One of these days DVC will be forced to build another stand-alone resort. The GF add-on is half the size of Bay Lake Tower. Any addition to the Poly, Yacht Club or Fort Wilderness will be similar in size.
One of my favorite rumors going back a few years was that DVC was considering a resort near the old STOLport which would sit on the Epcot monorail line. It's a pretty easy rumor to dismiss for a number of reasons but I do think it would be an appealing destination for a large 500-800 room project.
Unless TWDC wishes to put DVC in mothballs for a couple decades, they need facilities to support another 28-29 years' of sales before the 2042 resorts start expiring. A 140-room add-on is a stopgap measure at best.
Compare SSR and BCV. For the sake of argument, let's assume that owners of both book the resort to 75% occupancy before the 7 month window arrives. BCV only has about 200 rooms so only about 50 remain for non-owners.
SSR has nearly 900 rooms, meaning there are over 200 vacancies at 7 months. Even with equal demand, the 50 vacancies at BCV will fill much sooner than the 200+ at SSR. (And we all know demand isn't equal.)
The extra capacity at a resort like SSR gives the perception that it is less popular with its owners when truly that may not be the case.
DVC's biggest mistake over the years (IMHO) has been building its largest properties in the least desirable locations. SSR, OKW and AKV are the three largest, and they are also the furthest (at WDW) from any theme park. Even if demand was equal across the board, the likes of VWL, BCV, BLT and BWV--and soon VGF--will fill before the others most of the time.
One of these days DVC will be forced to build another stand-alone resort. The GF add-on is half the size of Bay Lake Tower. Any addition to the Poly, Yacht Club or Fort Wilderness will be similar in size.
One of my favorite rumors going back a few years was that DVC was considering a resort near the old STOLport which would sit on the Epcot monorail line. It's a pretty easy rumor to dismiss for a number of reasons but I do think it would be an appealing destination for a large 500-800 room project.
Unless TWDC wishes to put DVC in mothballs for a couple decades, they need facilities to support another 28-29 years' of sales before the 2042 resorts start expiring. A 140-room add-on is a stopgap measure at best.
Captain Chaos
Well-Known Member
I like SSR... I understand why people may not, but I really do like the resort and have no issues staying there, especially in the tree house villas... If I were to stay at the main property, I'd request Congress Park.. Stayed there before and loved the fact I could walk to DTD in 10 minutes...
PlaneJane
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I think the only part of SSR I would like is the tree house, that being said the only time I stayed at SSR was in a one bedroom. I was used to OKW so the rooms seemed a lot smaller, which I think they actually are. Also the vastness of the campus for SSR turned me off a little. I understand that OKW is pretty big, but it just doesn't feel that way. SSR feels a little colder and leaves me empty while OKW is like a big warm hug.
WDWLOVER1957
Active Member
Very unlikely as its available in most travel brochures in the UK.
flynnibus
Premium Member
Don't underestimate the power of manipulating sales teams. Sales teams have significant impact on what customers buy and sales teams are driven by one thing.. $$. They are easy to steer with incentives.
I really like that concept because it offers a way of cost effectively 'expanding' the monorail without actually extending the lines. Neat idea.
Disney can only sell up to 98% of a DVC resort. What you see as availability from Disney to book as a cash room comes from that inventory or rooms that aren't being used by DVC members. The sold out designation is solely on the DVC points they are selling, not rooms on cash.
As DisneyInsider pointed out, DVC's sales of points has nothing to do with availability of cash reservations. All of the villas at BoardWalk, Beach Club, Old Key West and others are similarly "sold out" yet rooms remain available to cash guests.
"Sold out" simply means that DVC has run out of points to sell to new Vacation Club members. Villas at all DVC resorts will remain available to cash-paying guests via a number of different mechanisms.
dizneydeb22
New Member
I would not be surprised that SSR is sold out. We just bought there in the beginning of February. We were on the wait list for OKW, but our guide called us to let us know that if we bought this month, we would get in addition to 2012 points, the 2011 point. So we started with double the points!:sohappy: