cw1982
Well-Known Member
Actually, if you go back and look at the wording of the post you quoted, it's quite accurate. Guests will be rewarding Disney Springs by spending lots of money there.
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The Spirited 8th Wonder (WDW's Future & You!)
- Thread starter WDW1974
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Actually, if you go back and look at the wording of the post you quoted, it's quite accurate. Guests will be rewarding Disney Springs by spending lots of money there.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
I am someone who has always stayed at a value when I'm footing the bill. I will begrudgingly "splurge" on a mod or switch to staying off-site as my third kid gets older; point is, deluxes are really not even on my radar. I think it's insane what they do to the deluxe guests with bus transportation. Even with the huge difference in size, Disney probably makes as much money from the Contemporary or Grand Flo as Pop or the All-Stars all put together... the markup on deluxe rooms is crazy (I know you all know). There's NO reason for a Swan-Dolphin-Yacht-Beach-Boardwalk or Contemporary-Poly-Grand bus route to even exist unless it's 3 AM and there are five people on the bus. This is a great example of what people mean when they say there are no Disney-owned "deluxe" resorts... if you're gonna charge me $600 a night, I expect a @$^%ing dedicated bus to Animal Kingdom!
Fun fact: When you pay $600 a night per room, you pay almost $70 in taxes on top of that already-insane room rate! And Disney can't even get some of these people decent counter service or bus transportation! Wonder why bookings are down?
SpaceMountain77
Well-Known Member
I realize this idea was somewhat dismissed in an earlier post, however, I do believe that the Disney Springs project was planned, in part, to improve the appeal of SSR.
With 1,320 villas, typically open availability and common reports of value and moderate guests being upgraded to SSR, I believe someone thought it best to put the gorilla in a pretty pink dress, ballet slippers and give him a pink parasol. Now, if only that gorilla can balance on a tightrope above an alligator.
Cosmic Commando
Well-Known Member
The saddest thing is we have so many of the pieces in place...Cupcakes...?
We did'nt have any for the 25th that i recall...but we did enjoy a sack load of Mickey Bars instead at the end of the evening.
As noted in my post, i realize that a Park Anniversary celebration can be considered in some opinions to be in a different tier as far as 'importance' goes...so i agree with what you are saying.
MAJOR changes, from within the Company, can only really happen 'within the Company' to some degree.
However, it still takes people on the outside willing to suggest and support those changes in some positive way to get the ball rolling.
I will agree that the extreme higher ups within the WDC are fairly isolated in some respects. The attitude about the Florida property is not going to change anytime soon, but people 'out there' can still voice concern and most importantly, 'vote with their wallets'.
At some point i hope to see big changes in that attitude towards WDW, but i seriously have doubts that will take place until a major shakeup or economic collapse happens.
Here's hoping .....
- we know WDI still has talent (even if they are insanely expensive) from the DCA redo
- we know Disney has hot franchises, even disregarding all the WDI original ideas: Frozen, Star Wars, Cars, Indy, even Tangled
- we know people are willing to spend money in Orlando; see: Potter, Harry
We just don't have people running TDO/TWDC who believe it.
Nemo14
Well-Known Member
or are willing to pay for it...The saddest thing is we have so many of the pieces in place...
- we know WDI still has talent (even if they are insanely expensive) from the DCA redo
- we know Disney has hot franchises, even disregarding all the WDI original ideas: Frozen, Star Wars, Cars, Indy, even Tangled
- we know people are willing to spend money in Orlando; see: Potter, Harry
We just don't have people running TDO/TWDC who believe it.
SpaceMountain77
Well-Known Member
This is precisely why I find Wilderness Lodge to be so infuriating. Architecturally and thematically, it is positioned as one of the most stunning resorts on property. Nestled in the trees, one can easily lose themselves in the possibility of being somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. However, with regard to transportation, its truly an annoying resort.
I always feel so close to everything, like Magic Kingdom, yet so far. Some buses connect with GF, while others with FW. Boat rides can be enchanting, but are not when you are making stops at FW and CR before reaching your desired destination. It is truly the Charlotte Douglas International Airport of the Magic Kingdom area resorts.
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Brian Noble
Well-Known Member
I don't think there must be a saturation point per se, because there are always new families that come to the resort with their young kids, and some fraction of them will be converted to "Category 4" guests above. Many current DVC owners bought when their kids were younger, and have retained their ownerships as they become empty-nesters. Some will sell when the kids move on, but some won't. Indeed, perhaps many won't. The key question is whether or not the flow of new families outweighs the outflow of sales. As long as that happens, DVC can continue to expand.
I'm going to guess that the number of rooms that go to breakage is higher than most suspect. A surprising number of timeshare owners---even DVC owners---don't use their timeshares ever year, but do continue to pay the annual bills for them.
manutdfan1
Active Member
Disney going all in on DVC does seem to be the writing on the wall in Disney giving up on expanding its Orlando market. Wow... This is seriously depressing.
BrerJon
Well-Known Member
TDO have seen that many visitors, especially from Brazil and the UK, take a day off from Disney to visit and spend money at the Premium Outlets or Florida Mall.
Disney Springs is nothing more than an attempt to keep those dollars on property, in the same way they originally built Pleasure Island (RIP) to stop people going to Church Street for the nightlife (back when WDW was an all ages destination instead of just aimed at people with small children).
Even the concept art looks just like the Outlet mall. The annoying thing is that logic is quite sound, and I can see the plan working wonderfully for the bean-counters.
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Nemo14
Well-Known Member
Actually we do, but it hasn't always been that way...
Many do.
Emporiums expansion pretty much nailed that. That and the cinema closure.
Showcase at least still has a few diversions left known as actual attractions. Even those that have been dumbed down.
71jason
Well-Known Member
That's because DVC caters to the hard core pixie dusters, particularly retirees who can afford it, many of who end up in central Florida.
The conversion reminds me most of the comics industry. Comic books used to be cheap and available pretty much everywhere. Last I checked they run like $5 and you can only buy them at specialty comic shops. But there are still a nationwide fanbase--probably only numbers in the tens of thousands at this point--who will buy every issue of their favorite character every month. If he does a cameo in Superman this month, buying that too.
The current Disney plan trades any hope of appealing to the casual once every 3 years or once a decade visitor in hope of making more money off the the four times a year crowd who don't think rationally when it comes to purchases from the Mouse.
SpaceMountain77
Well-Known Member
World Showcase has several impressive gallery spaces, including the House of the Whispering Willows Gallery and Bijutsu-kan Gallery. Unfortunately, the spaces are not updated and seem to be more permanent than traveling exhibits.
71jason
Well-Known Member
DVC owners have a thing for watching Brazilian tour groups??? Because that is the primary--I might argue sole--reason for Disney Springs.
71jason
Well-Known Member
And many of those who don't just call it a Wal-Mart.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
Florida is a pretty big state. 74 isn't visiting WDW for the day then driving back to Miami. I imagine there are quite a few DVC members from Florida and Georgia and other nearby states who have a reasonable drive to WDW that use DVC for a long weekend or a few nights here and there. When I said locals I was really talking about Orlando locals who visit the parks for a day every now and then but go back to their own house to sleep.
71jason
Well-Known Member
I know a surprising number of people who live close enough to hear the fireworks every night and still own DVC. From what I've seen, buying DVC is rarely a practical, numbers-based decision.
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
The Internet has had a tremendous effect on DVC points, making it much easier to assure that very few DVC points are wasted.
DVC is not like many (most?) timeshares. Nearly all WDW DVC resorts consistently run at an incredibly high occupancy rate year round, typically around 98%.
It's simple economics.
For example, a DVC Studio this summer at the VWL costs a DVC member less than $110/night, even less in the offseason. At those kinds of prices, Disney has no problem filling rooms.
At double that price, DVC members have little problem renting their points to third parties, and there are several agencies that broker rentals for owners who don't want the hassle. These agencies constantly seek more points to broker since, in the current environment, demand for DVC rental points exceeds supply.
Any last-minute points (i.e. those that expire in the current month) are quickly sold at $8/point.
DVC rooms are and will continue to maintain high occupancy rates until Disney saturates the market, which simply hasn't happened yet.
SpaceMountain77
Well-Known Member
For whatever it is worth, which probably is not much, DVC guides and member service providers have referred to SSR as the dark horse and suggest that the completion of Disney Springs will increase booking demand. Perhaps it is a hope, but not one of the main aims of the refurbishment.