The Spirited 8th Wonder (WDW's Future & You!)

[flynnibus]

I am sitting here wearing 'jorts' (and until this month had never heard that term before) and I certainly wasn't aware they weren't in

@TP2000 just nominated you to be on "What not to wear..." (his posts remind me of that guy on the show)

 

[SpaceMountain77]

Everyone says that until they get the bill.

The owners don't have any representation in the running of the properties right?

No, we do not. For those that actually read through all their DVC documents before signing, they will see that by signing, they agree to waive all voting rights for the condominium association; by signing, members relinquish their power to DVC.

If maintenance fees ensured resort improvement, then I would be willing to pay more for a better villa.

 

[flynnibus]

I like reading the site ... hell, I even like Andy 'Fidel's Little Bro' Castro and his updates and his passion on subjects like the deplorable job that was done on Club 33, but the site lost its voice when it lost Al.

Much like the company they cover.. the site lost it's way when it decided to be a media aggregator to drive volume instead of concentrating on their core product.

 

[Finallyinflorida]

Here is the thing though... we live in Texas. Years ago in my trips in the 80's and for that matter my band trip in 1992 we drove. WDW offered a different product than Disneyland then. DCA has really closed the gap offerings between the two parks. Epcot is not what it was when last I was there. As I said, we live in Texas. From a distance perspective there really is not much difference between Florida and California. Don't get me wrong, I WANT to spend a week at WDW but the reasons to pick Florida over California are getting far and few between. Our one chance at a theme park vacation went out the window when it was announced that DCL was returning for a limited time to Galveston. 6 hours to drive and get on a ship is better than spending a day at airports and airplanes any day for me. So in December 2015 we are returning to a ship. Disney in this case made it really easy for us not to go to one of the parks.

I totally see your point. I was just telling my husband tonight that I'm about talked into trying to visit Disneyland, after reading all these posts!! Still love my WDW though.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

While not 'themed' - when paying for a room to sleep in, people should look at updated concepts like Hyatt Place to see just how far behind Disney really is.

This is where I like staying in the valley now.. http://siliconvalleyfremont.place.hyatt.com/en/hotel/rooms/standard.html I can't embed the photos, but if people just click on the photo and look.. you'd see things like 40+" TVs... an actual cozy corner in a non-suite, kitchette counter, etc. The in room concept is fantastic for a traveler and so relaxing.

Yeah, but you stay at a fancy place like that and you're just gonna be paying out the... wait, $100 a night?!?!? $90 with AAA?

Yeah, All-Star Sports don't look too good compared to that.

 

[asianway]

No, we do not. For those that actually read through all their DVC documents before signing, they will see that by signing, they agree to waive all voting rights for the condominium association; by signing, members relinquish their power to DVC.

If maintenance fees ensured resort improvement, then I would be willing to pay more for a better villa.

I would love to see that challenged in court...

But there are remedies where owners could fire DVC, it would just be very hard

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

I have read through the 34 pages of this new thread (posting once to express general dismay). I have since taken time to digest the comments of @WDW1974 and others.

Last year, I sold one of my wholly owned condominiums in a Caribbean country. I still have one there. So, I had some available vacation money. I sent for information on DVC and was contacted by a sales person. (what do they call them?) I figured I could buy DVC points and still have enough left for a cabin “up north”.

I read all the literature, read every message board thread on DVC. Posted questions on the DIS DVC boards etc. Then I did what I always do…a spreadsheet. I’m a big fan of spreadsheets and analysis for making decisions. I didn’t like the idea of simply “renting” a property under someone else’s control for a minimum of the rest of my life. My spreadsheet analysis of when I would break even took me to somewhere in my 70’s age-wise.

That, and the fact that all I would own were “points” whose value is based on someone’s perception at any given time as to what they are worth ….well…my CPA brain said…No. I wanted to use points for assorted Disney vacations such as cruise, adventures by Disney, WDW, DLR and the number of points required? Well…more than I would really want to buy at the rates offered. So, I decided to buy…..a lake home instead of a cabin and DVC.

I read frequent posts that … yes…you could get your “home resort” at 11 months out without an issue but using your points at 7 months out somewhere else was a crap-shoot. I also love to travel. I thought, maybe DVC would give me some flexibility with my points but based on many posters on many message boards my availability would be limited if not at my “home” resort. Well, I was not going there.

I do agree, DVC is a “no brainer” decision for TDO. If I made my decision not to buy because posters were telling me you can’t get into other venues for your points…they need to have more DVC options so they will “make them up”. They will give more options.

I decided I will go to Orlando this “one last time” in October with my boyfriend to celebrate being together five years and having one of our first vacations together in Orlando with a split trip with WDW and Universal. We have now joined our finances and after this trip, we must choose our vacations as “bucket list” items. We will be going back to the Caribbean after this year annually for a spring vacation (well until I sell the other condo) and our autumn vacations will vary. We love World Showcase at Epcot but are going to the “real countries” now.

Having already travelled to Italy in autumn, we are now hooked on the real thing.

I am a theme park junkie and love themed entertainment. We will be spacing out our Orlando trips to about every 4-5 years…you know…when it is new enough.

 

[flynnibus]

No, we do not. For those that actually read through all their DVC documents before signing, they will see that by signing, they agree to waive all voting rights for the condominium association; by signing, members relinquish their power to DVC.

If maintenance fees ensured resort improvement, then I would be willing to pay more for a better villa.

I'm thinking more about 'bang for your buck'. Shopping services or contractors... or is it all an incestuous loop of paying too much for too little in return. If you have no say or transparency from the management, then you're just hog tied and forced to take the ride.

More reason I would never buy into 'pre-paid vacations'...

 

[Magenta Panther]

I have read through the 34 pages of this new thread (posting once to express general dismay). I have since taken time to digest the comments of @WDW1974 and others.

Last year, I sold one of my wholly owned condominiums in a Caribbean country. I still have one there. So, I had some available vacation money. I sent for information on DVC and was contacted by a sales person. (what do they call them?) I figured I could buy DVC points and still have enough left for a cabin “up north”.

I read all the literature, read every message board thread on DVC. Posted questions on the DIS DVC boards etc. Then I did what I always do…a spreadsheet. I’m a big fan of spreadsheets and analysis for making decisions. I didn’t like the idea of simply “renting” a property under someone else’s control for a minimum of the rest of my life. My spreadsheet analysis of when I would break even took me to somewhere in my 70’s age-wise.

That, and the fact that all I would own were “points” whose value is based on someone’s perception at any given time as to what they are worth ….well…my CPA brain said…No. I wanted to use points for assorted Disney vacations such as cruise, adventures by Disney, WDW, DLR and the number of points required? Well…more than I would really want to buy at the rates offered. So, I decided to buy…..a lake home instead of a cabin and DVC.

I read frequent posts that … yes…you could get your “home resort” at 11 months out without an issue but using your points at 7 months out somewhere else was a crap-shoot. I also love to travel. I thought, maybe DVC would give me some flexibility with my points but based on many posters on many message boards my availability would be limited if not at my “home” resort. Well, I was not going there.

I do agree, DVC is a “no brainer” decision for TDO. If I made my decision not to buy because posters were telling me you can’t get into other venues for your points…they need to have more DVC options so they will “make them up”. They will give more options.

I decided I will go to Orlando this “one last time” in October with my boyfriend to celebrate being together five years and having one of our first vacations together in Orlando with a split trip with WDW and Universal. We have now joined our finances and after this trip, we must choose our vacations as “bucket list” items. We will be going back to the Caribbean after this year annually for a spring vacation (well until I sell the other condo) and our autumn vacations will vary. We love World Showcase at Epcot but are going to the “real countries” now.

Having already travelled to Italy in autumn, we are now hooked on the real thing.

I am a theme park junkie and love themed entertainment. We will be spacing out our Orlando trips to about every 4-5 years…you know…when it is new enough.

As long as you're traveling to "real" countries...try Paris. Oh my god. You will not believe such a beautiful city could exist outside of, well, Disney. And the FOOD!!!!! Lumiere and Remy are right. I never ate so well in my life.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

@ThemeParkJunkee , are you looking to adopt a 29YO son? I have really cute kids.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

I would love to see that challenged in court...

But there are remedies where owners could fire DVC, it would just be very hard

Interestingly, owners, at a given condominium, do have the power to overtake management and assert their control over the condominium. However, DVC, in turn, could remove the property from the system. This would leave members holding the bag, with no other resort alternatives and a complete lack of infrastructure.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

I think that cemented his place. But I think he earned it around the 1999-2001 period when he kept sounding the bells on DCA and the thinking behind it and first started getting noticed by mainstream media. When DCA 1.0 opened with a thud, it was like he had scripted the entire thing.

And, after that, his sources got noticeably better and more accurate. He went from being right half the time to nailing things, often major things, months or more before it hit the real media or Disney acknowledged it.

It's a shame that he is so ill and can't continue his fine work.

I like reading the site ... hell, I even like Andy 'Fidel's Little Bro' Castro and his updates and his passion on subjects like the deplorable job that was done on Club 33, but the site lost its voice when it lost Al.

I would *LOVE* to hear your thoughts on what was done with '33.

 

[ThemeParkJunkee]

@ThemeParkJunkee , are you looking to adopt a 29YO son? I have really cute kids.

I already have a 24 year old son who is sometimes the "bain of my existance" so, no.

 

[sweetpee_1993]

Last year we were at the Magic Kingdom for one day as a port thing on a DCL cruise. It was the first time I had been there since 1992. We arrived early enough to stand here...

By 3:00 or so we had hit Its a Small World (walk on), Peter Pan (walk on) Little Mermaid (walk on), Pork Shanks, Dumbo (twice for my then 2 1/2 year old) and Barnstormer. We managed Winnie the Pooh, Stich, and the Peoplemover. Lunch at the big burger place in Tomorrowland. Headed across the way to Adventureland and my boy 2 1/2 year old was fighting a battle with sleep. (we got up on the ship at 6:00 am). I stopped in Adventureland for the restroom and when I was finished he was sleeping in the stroller. I held him the whole 45 minutes for Jungle Cruise because it was something I thought my then 4 year old would really like. He woke up for the ride. We then walked around through Frontierland and then to the Christmas store by the big tree in Liberty Square because my wife wanted to. It was about that time we decided to call it a day. No sense in making the kids and us miserable. On the way out we walked through to buy a couple of toys for the kids and then got on the bus back to PC.

Personally I was VERY disappointed we had to go. There was so much I wanted to do, but with two little kids and just one day it wasn't going to happen. If we make it back to WDW I firmly believe as a family with limited visits (my last visit was 1992, my wife last made a vacation in 1983 and there was not much at EPCOT). I believe we could spend two full days at the Magic Kingdom, day and a half at Epcot and spend a good deal of time at the Studios park and Animal Kingdom.


"If we make it back to WDW".

I do read a great deal here and it has really put a damper on my enthusiasm to return. I have NEVER spend a WDW vacation where Fastpass of any type existed. My entire experience is that of picking what to do and stand in line until you get on it. With only that to go on, I am not excited about having to plan my rides. I understand that it how it is now, but I don't like it and don't think it would make my trip more enjoyable.

This thread in particular makes me think the hotel situation at WDW sucks and I see no reason why I would want to experience that. I don't like the idea of renting a car and driving in a major metropolitan area that I am not familiar with that also is home to Walt Disney World. Kinda puts me in a pickle I guess.

Disneyland. Go west. Better experience overall. Far more laid back. Easily managed without a week long class in micro-planning. You go. You enjoy. Done. If I have to stress to do something....no. And I damned sure don't want to pay to do it.

 

[asianway]

Interestingly, owners, at a given condominium, do have the power to overtake management and assert their control over the condominium. However, DVC, in turn, could remove the property from the system. This would leave members holding the bag, with no other resort alternatives and a complete lack of infrastructure.

Take BLT, they have their own front desk and pool. Give DVC the boot, hire independent mgmt, I think they can get along just fine without the rest of the infrastructure

 

[sweetpee_1993]

While not 'themed' - when paying for a room to sleep in, people should look at updated concepts like Hyatt Place to see just how far behind Disney really is.

This is where I like staying in the valley now.. http://siliconvalleyfremont.place.hyatt.com/en/hotel/rooms/standard.html I can't embed the photos, but if people just click on the photo and look.. you'd see things like 40+" TVs... an actual cozy corner in a non-suite, kitchette counter, etc. The in room concept is fantastic for a traveler and so relaxing.

I want to hug this post. Hug it!

 

[SpaceMountain77]

Take BLT, they have their own front desk and pool. Give DVC the boot, hire independent mgmt, I think they can get along just fine without the rest of the infrastructure

This is a truly ridiculous thought, but shortly after responding to your previous post, I began to wonder which DVC resort was most likely to secede from the DVC system.

Based on reading countless discussion threads and knowledge of home owner booking loyalty, I think that VWL has the most organizing potential.

It certainly will never happen, but it currently has one of the smallest number of home owners and what seems to be a connected discussion board member base.

 

[crispy]

Well, I don't think the WDW hotels are all that bad. I've stayed in 2 values, one moderate and at the Swan and Dolphin (very nice). You might look into staying at the Pop Century. It's the best of the value motels, it's colorful and fun for the kids but not too garish for grownups, and I think your family would have a blast. Bus service to the parks is decent. Food court's not bad either, at least for breakfast. But do plan to spend a week. That's the only way your family will be able to enjoy enough of the parks without getting stressed or exhausted. I'd also plan to go in the early spring or in fall, particularly after September and before December. Crowds and weather are much more manageable then. Look into the Dining Plan too.

And SCREW the magic band crap. You'll have to use them, you can't avoid them, but just use them as room keys and to pay for your meals on the Dining Plan. Using them for Fastpass sucks, and I didn't do it but I still managed to get on most of the rides I wanted to except for Peter Pan's Flight, which is ALWAYS packed. Don't let the Bands get you down. If you haven't visited WDW for a while, you're in for a treat - it's still a very fun place to be. It's just not what it COULD be if more thoughtful, ambitious and creative people ran the place. But it's still worth a visit. Anyway, that's my two cents.

I don't think the resorts are bad either, but I do think the pricing is way out of whack. We can usually get a good discount so the prices don't seem bad especially for a value or moderate. Even with fairly large discounts, the deluxes still seem overpriced especially when the amenities just aren't there.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

I don't think the resorts are bad either, but I do think the pricing is way out of whack. We can usually get a good discount so the prices don't seem bad especially for a value or moderate. Even with fairly large discounts, the deluxes still seem overpriced especially when the amenities just aren't there.

We enjoyed the Pirates of the Caribbean inspired room at Disney's Caribbean Beach Resort, particularly all of the little details (e.g., lantern above the compass table, cargo dresser, wood plank carpet). However, even at the discounted rate of $259.88 a night, which includes tax, it was extremely overpriced. Although we used our DVC points for the room, that was the going rate.

Accounting for transportation and amenities, I would not want to pay more than $150 a night for this room.

 

[GrammieBee]

Don't know if this is on topic or not, but, not being a financial expert, I have a question. If someone succumbed to a Disney DVD sales pitch and did not have enough to pay up front for the whole shebang and had to finance enough points for a week's stay each year in a one bedroom villa at either the Boardwalk Villas or the Beach Club Villas (their room rates are roughly comperable), plus they have a yearly maintainance fee of over 1K, how much are they actually saving? Anything? How about if they didn't have to finance? The Disney time share plan is quite expensive compared with other time share plans.

No, it's not us. We're much too old and, in any case, since we also vacation in other ways, it didn't seem to make a lot of financial sense to us.