Does Disney have too many resorts?

[bethymouse]

No more DVC! There are plenty of on site hotels, but Universal is catching up with its newest resort! I am sure Disney is in the process of building a new resort.

 

[jrlbc06]

It seems like the rooms are pretty consistently booked up with not a ton of options available when I look for something with 3-4 months notice...so I would say no.

Also the people saying no more DVC ... it has no impact on the parks or your experience in the parks and makes money. I don't get the hate.

 

[slappy magoo]

It has a small feel, I don't know why, maybe its my own opinion but it definitely has a more intimate feeling then the CBR

I don't know if you've ever stayed there, or if you've stayed there more than once or in which location(s). I suppose if you've stayed there once, got a room close to the main building and never really explored the grounds it could be easy to think it's not as big as it looks. But I've jogged around, taken surrey bikes and rented watercraft there, and yeah it's a huge chunk of real estate.

 

[slappy magoo]

Also the people saying no more DVC ... it has no impact on the parks or your experience in the parks and makes money. I don't get the hate.

I think there's a perception that money Disney invests in DVC is money they could/would/should invest in improving the parks, building a new e-ticket-worthy attraction or just building a resort that isn't DVC. Never mind that Disney makes short-term money hand over fist from DVC, so it pays for itself and then some, no, it's the reason why you can't have that cutting edge Big Hero 6 roller coaster or a Deluxe style resort at Value prices themed to look like you're in every single Disney movie you've ever loved all at once.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

Correct, so they increase one part of that, but not the other, that is more resorts but the park size is the same size more people staying on property get spread out on the higher number of resorts but then they flow into the parks which hasn't increased.

This reasoning would only work if there was nowhere else to stay other than at Disney resorts. There are such huge numbers of hotels in the area that they typically go very cheap off-property, even at the last minute, and you are still very close to the gate.

If they didn't increase the Disney resorts, that doesn't mean fewer people would come. It just means fewer people would stay on-property. More would have to stay at other nearby hotels. Attendance would be about the same, I would guess.

The only differences would be side issues like EMH being more or less crowded, etc. which is directly tied to staying at a Disney resort as a benefit.

 

[DVCOwner]

DVC has been a no brainer for them as the guests pay for the cost of the building. Instead of WDW having to spread out the construction costs over the life of the hotel (or whatever accounting voodoo they use to pay for it) they only need to cover it in the short term until guests buy all the points. And I'm pretty sure that DVD has a healthy profit margin in the cost of points as well. So not only does it cost them nothing (or very little) to open the property, they make some profit on it. And then down the road it ensures them a mostly captive set of guests.

Also let's us not forget that Disney also can pass of some of the cost of running the transportation system, cost of check-in/check-out staff (at combined resorts), all the operating cost, and all maintenance cost of the Disney Vacation Club Resort to the members annual dues. So they do not only get the cost of the buildings paid and the profit for the sales in a matter of a few years , they also do not have to pay long term cost of running the resorts. They get the profit from sales and people that come back year after year to Walt Disney World.

 

[surfsupdon]

Traditional hotel rooms are shrinking in number, as DVC increases. Poly, Wilderness Lodge, and AKLodge have all decreased their hotel room count while increasing their DVC count.

I prefer the hotel/resort model, in lieu of the DVC route.

 

[MMlvr]

Umh. NO !!!!

 

[SteamboatJoe]

If anything they need more. The resorts are one of the key things that makes WDW what it is and not just a mere clone of DL.

Expanding and improving the existing non-MK parks and Disney Springs along with good resort maintenance and service is the best way to handle the crowds issue. The parks probably have not really been balanced in terms of popularity, offerings, and attractions since the 1990s.