Just fork over $25k to Disney for some DVC points and you can enjoy this space (subject to availability)!!!
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MK New Disney Vacation Club Member Lounge coming to Walt Disney World
- Thread starter DCBaker
- Start date
MagicEye99
Well-Known Member
Honestly pretty disgraceful that we lost the shooting gallery for this. It looks terrible.
John park hopper
Well-Known Member
So glad Disney has shown who they value more now-- DVC time share and regular guests be damned
Not just DVC... just anyone with deep pockets.
The MK resorts, for example, have a nightly price tag that "regular guests" (like myself) can't afford. Where's Disney's care for "regular guests"? And yet, these resorts have been priced for the exclusive few for half a century.
So, perks for big spenders should come at no surprise. Have you not been railing against hotel rooms at $1,000/night pricing out "regular guests" for the past 50 years?
Drdcm
Well-Known Member
To be fair, they have actually removed perks from “regular guests” and put them behind the paywall of deluxe resorts. It’s different than adding perks for big spenders, they took the perks away from those without deep pockets.
Up until recently I didn’t really care much about the cost increases. We could afford it and do well enough where it hasn’t impacted us too harshly.
We recently had a nice vacation at Disney, but the cost increase was honestly quite astonishing. I hadn’t done a longer trip in about 5 years, so the total cost increase was super obvious to us. They’re sneaky about it too because they’re all separate charges that come at different times. We were the deep pockets this time. After it was all done, I’m not sure if it was worth it honestly. I’m usually super excited and planning a return but this time I feel like I was scammed a bit.
solidyne
Well-Known Member
True. One could also make the case that very expensive in-park restaurants are similarly exclusionary. The difference here is that this was a swift, direct conversion from beloved experience (an actual listed attraction!) to gaudy sales gimmick. No one would care if this were added, perhaps in some unused corner somewhere.
(Of course, for most of its life the shootin' arcade was a paid experience. I guess we could say it was an exclusive experience available only to those who could afford the $1, further separating the haves from the have-nots!)
Beloved experience??? Every time we would walk by it, it was totally empty with no one there at all.
So saying that, do I agree with what they did? Even though I am a DVC member, I don't agree with it. If they wanted to do something with it, change it to another attraction or quick service. Will I visit there at some point? Sure, why not.
Drdcm
Well-Known Member
This is an honest question. Do DVC members actually like the lounges? As a non-DVC customer, they seem like a trivial perk.
DVC members have invested so much into the system under the impression that they would be offered a consistent and superior product. I feel like Disney takes advantage of them because they’ve already made the investment, and as such are the ones forced to actually carry the burden of cost increases when other guest can opt out and not forfeit a massive investment. Disney already has the money paid years in advance by DVC owners.
They should be offered VERY steep discounts, free park days, etc… not a crowded lounges with free fountain sodas in my opinion - especially when the lounge takes something away that they would have otherwise been able to enjoy with the park ticket they have to pay for.
DVC members have invested so much into the system under the impression that they would be offered a consistent and superior product. I feel like Disney takes advantage of them because they’ve already made the investment, and as such are the ones forced to actually carry the burden of cost increases when other guest can opt out and not forfeit a massive investment. Disney already has the money paid years in advance by DVC owners.
They should be offered VERY steep discounts, free park days, etc… not a crowded lounges with free fountain sodas in my opinion - especially when the lounge takes something away that they would have otherwise been able to enjoy with the park ticket they have to pay for.
We have used the lounge at EPCOT quite a few times, and it is a relaxing respite from the park. We don't really care about the free snacks, though we do avail ourselves of the free soft drinks.
We have been DVC members for over 18 years now. The one and only thing that we were promised when we joined was to save money on our resort stays. Absolutely nothing else was promised at the time we joined, nor have we ever expected anything else. We do have APs (Sorcerer Pass) as we live only a few hours away and make day trips as well as resort trips.
So what cost increases are we carrying the burden on? Yes, our dues go up to cover the cost of running the resort, but the rack rate prices for rooms go up even more than our dues every year.
The lounges at EPCOT and MK were not paid out of our dues, so no cost for us there. What other costs are you thinking that we are burdened with?
Discounts would be nice, and we do get them for shopping, food, and experiences. Would we enjoy a nice discount on our APs as has happened in the past? Sure, but it isn't anything that we are expecting as it isn't something we were promised.
As far as the MK lounge goes - please see my above response as we rarely saw anyone there using it, and we never cared to use it, so no loss at all for us. Could they have added on somewhere else and kept it? Yes, but they decided that it simply wasn't used enough to justify the cost of keeping it open and updated.
Drdcm
Well-Known Member
what I meant was more of a hypothetical I suppose. For example, Disney could decide they wanted to charge $500 a day for their tickets. A non DVC owner would just not go. A DVC owner would see their savings erode thereby making your DVC investment worth less unless you’re willing to pay the $500 in order to enjoy the parks tickets or just be content to stay at the resort and not do park activities.
The DVC members are the ones that are guaranteed to come because you’ve paid in advance. If they do massive price increases or remove valuable stuff from the parks, the DVC owners are the ones that lose the most because they have to decide if they’re going to play ball or forfeit their investment.
I realize I’m making an assumption, but if I were to get DVC it would be because I enjoy the theme parks and I would be gambling that the theme parks would continue to exist even if it wasn’t contractually promised. Some folks just like the resorts and that’s fine too.
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Phonedave
Well-Known Member
Agreed. I while I am not a fan of taking a "public attraction" away and turning it into a "for certain (paying) people only" place, I don't know if the Shooting Gallery counted as a "beloved experience". I rarely saw anybody there, and in reality it was in pretty poor repair.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
As a member, do I LIKE the lounges. Sure, I like them. Are they a game changer for me? Not at all. I don't go out of my way to visit them. They are nice when it's hot, and I am near one, and I feel like taking a load off in the AC and not having to "hobo nap" somewhere. But I don't go out of my way to go into them. The appeal of free soda means next to nothing to me (I really don't drink soda).
I don't know how DVC sells their product today, but when I bought into it (15-20 years ago or so) my sales agent made it abundantly clear that I should be making my decision solely on the basis of I was buying the rights to a room at a family of resorts and that was it. Ignore perks, the parks, or any other thing. Those are all nice, but they are not guaranteed in any way. All that is guaranteed is the room.
That product has been consistent (at least for me).
Well, to be honest - we do resort only stays as well. Since we visit so often, we don't feel the need to go to the parks all the time - not because we don't like them - but because when we vacation there, it is a vacation - not a forced march through the parks. You have to also understand that DVC isn't just at WDW. We love going to HHI and VB as well. No parks at all - just a relaxing vacation.
Exactly how our guide explained it to us. It has also been very consistent for us as well.
Phonedave
Well-Known Member
I would love to have a hourly pass of some sort.
I don't want to do a forced march either, we like to hang out at the resort, but we do like to pop into parks to eat, or maybe to just do a ride or two and leave. I would really like to have a pass good for the length of our stay (usually around a week) but maybe have afternoon only or something like (of course at less than a full day rate). My family rarely has the desire to go rope drop to close anymore.
Captain Culpepper Cline
Active Member
Where are the rootin’ tootin’ Cars of FRONTIERLAND references?
raymusiccity
Well-Known Member
Ask any vendor.....the most expensive element of any Coke product, is the cup!
reptar77
Well-Known Member
We occasionally use the lounge in Epcot but I can see us using the MK lounge more often. I agree with you that DVC member are under valued, since the early 2000 perks have decreased.