What Next At Walt Disney World?

[kbmum]

I recall reading somewhere (probably just a rumor, though) that they were looking into converting an existing Poly or GF building for DVC.

 

[chwilson88]

I can understand the sentiment, but I'd like to add this final 2 cents...

I think perhaps it's time for a Value DVC. Take what was supposed to be the second half of Pop Century, and repurpose it as all family suites. Maybe set them up comparable to the Fort Wilderness layout - each bedroom has a queen sized bed and bunk beds, plus a sleeper sofa and sleeper chair. A kitchenette and 2 bathrooms. No studios, no 2 bedrooms, no "grand villas." Solely 1BR/2BA units, in a no-frills (or fewer-frills) location, no sitdown restaurant, no in-room laundry, nothing really beyond the typical Value resort amenities - food court, pools, a bar, an arcade - but still on property and access to WDW transportation.

Now, price those units, point-wise or ever-so-slightly higher, to a studio at Old Key West, or the Value studios at the AKV. And let new members buy-in (but only at these particular suites) with a minimum of 100 points.

For people who say "we'd love to join but it's a little out of our price range," you can now join at about 1/3 off the price of buying into any of the newer villas. And for people who are already DVC members, it affords us an option of stretching our vacations out a bit - perhaps, if you book a vacation one year and you have some extra points, maybe, instead of banking those points, you'll have enough to spend a few extra nights on-property, but at the Value Suite. I have 175 points a year, but we'll probably be banking or borrowing every other year, maybe doing 2 trips every 3 years - 2 years on, 1 year off - to take advantage of annual passes. OR we could do a 2 week blowout every 2 years, with one week in a Value Suite and 1 week in a 1 BR villa elsewhere on property. OR if in the future we wanted to bring some of our daughter's friends or cousins with us, and planned to just hit parks from dawn to dusk and needed fewer amenities, this would be a superb option. Think about people who joined when they were newlyweds, thinking they'd have 1 or 2 kids, and now they have 3 or 4, making most studios or 1 BRs unfeasible, but at the same time, the point values for 2BR makes their trips shorter than they'd like. Here are suites that could conceivably sleep 7. It wouldn't be my first choice most trips, but for those occasions where we need to stretch our use of points, it'd be a great option.

That's my suggestion du jour. Feel free to rip it a new one.

I consider an investment in DVC a privilege for those who earn enough to afford it and making a "less expensive" option at DVC would simply "cheapen" the value in my opinion.

 

[tjkraz]

I have just returned from a visit to the new Bay Lake Towers and they where great. I was told that the BLT is the fastest selling of any DVC property so far.

Meh...not so sure about that.

BCV originally sold out in about 13 months.

BLT is going on 17 months now. Granted BLT has more points due to the larger number of rooms and higher point charts. So if it sells-out anytime before the end of this year, you could make an argument for BLT on that level.

I'll say this--if BLT is selling at the fastest pace ever, DVC is foolish for not raising the price again. They really should NOT want it to be the fastest selling ever--they should want it to be the most profitable ever.

Anyway, I still have my money being on a second Contemporary tower as the next new construction. That site makes the most sense. Whenever I look at the CR now--with the original A-frame tower and BLT--I can't believe that is the final design they had in mind. It seems like a second DVC tower is needed to complete the image.

I'm sure DVC execs have many different plans tucked away in their filing cabinets. There are concepts for the Grand Floridian and Poly. There are concepts for other stand-alone resorts. There may even be concepts for Moderate or Value-class accommodations. It's mostly a question of which one gets green-lit next.

With points still available at SSR and AKV, I don't think they will rush into any new construction for a few years. They have Hawaii coming on-line next year and are going to need to push that one pretty hard to sell 480 rooms worth of points. I suspect we'll hear a lot of stories of salespeople using the line "oh, you can certainly buy in Hawaii and use those points to stay at WDW or DL!"

I don't think that DVC will move into the Moderate/Value level accommodation anytime soon. Most of their current customer base is people who previously stayed at Mod or Value accommodations and viewed DVC as a way to upgrade to something better for a reasonable price. If they were to offer a cheaper accommodation, they would be undercutting sales of the Deluxe-class resorts.

In recent years DVC has leaned more toward improving the quality of its new villas rather than reducing the quality. They've been adding square footage to rooms, adding bathrooms, higher quality fixtures, better overall destinations (VGC overlooking the theme park, BLT, Hawaii.)

Having a lower quality of accommodation also creates problems with the trading companies like RCI. If an owner at the Bay Lake Tower wants to trade into a Two Bedroom at another RCI resort, a 2B at BLT gets deposited into the RCI system. The foundation of timeshare trading is that 1-to-1 relationship--owners can withdraw a timeshare villa which is roughly identical to what they deposit.

You wouldn't have that 1-to-1 relationship with a Value class DVC.

 

[slappy magoo]

chwilson88, interesting rationale. Part of the standard sales pitch for DVC is that it's designed to make continual on-site vacations to WDW more affordable, and sure enough, along comes someone who doesn't want it TOO affordable. Can't let the riffraff in. "Look , I'm not trying to exclude anyone based on religion or race...just money."

Besides, if there were value accommodations, at a lesser point exchange, how does that "cheapen" the experience of staying at nicer accommodations for more points? May as well say there should be no mods or value resorts either, they "cheapen" the WDW experience by making vacations more affordable too, don't they?

 

[slappy magoo]

Having a lower quality of accommodation also creates problems with the trading companies like RCI. If an owner at the Bay Lake Tower wants to trade into a Two Bedroom at another RCI resort, a 2B at BLT gets deposited into the RCI system. The foundation of timeshare trading is that 1-to-1 relationship--owners can withdraw a timeshare villa which is roughly identical to what they deposit.

You wouldn't have that 1-to-1 relationship with a Value class DVC.

Not that I know anything, but I would guess that, IF DVC were to ever build Value accommodations, they could exclude people who buy into the Value accommodations from being able to exchange out into RCI. I mean, if they wanted to, they could create a whole nother timeshare program expressly for wings of moderate resorts and "value suites." Call it Disney Value Vacation Club or something. They could sell the points for less than the points for Deluxe Villas, AND make it possible for there to be exchanges between the new and old DVC, but put a premium on the DVC points over the DVVC points. 78 points gets a DVC member a week in an Old Key West Studio during Value Season, but if you're a DVVC member, it'll cost you 117m which would be 78 x 1.5. Likewise, if a week in a Value Suite costs a DVVC member 102 points, it'd only cost a DVC member who wanted to exchange 68 points which is 102 divided by 1.5. And DVVC members can't use their points to exchange anywhere but as part of the Disney Collection. This also could, in theory, be opened up to the proposed expansion of shops and hotel rooms on the Western Way (forget what they were calling it), assuming those are still in the pipeline. This way, people who are into class distinction can still claim they have the real, the better, DVC membership. They can slum it up in the Values if they have a few extra points to burn, but THOSE people can't mix it up in the Deluxe Villas unless they're willing to pony up more points for the privilege. I'd suggest that most people who would buy into a Value Vacation Club plan are more into being able to go to Disney as often as possible, and would accept more restrictions if it meant being able to afford to go WDW more often.

I mean, it's not like I'm King of Disney or anything, so I can just pull ideas out of my butt all day and it's not hurting anyone. I just know that there are people who are attracted to the idea of DVC but it's cost-prohibitive. Likewise I know there are DVC members always looking for ways to squeeze an extra day or two out of their points without having to bank or borrow. And I'm secure enough to not worry about whether or not my investment in my future vacations is "Devalued" by more people getting in on the action. DVC's probably only going to keep getting bigger, so why not suggest ways it could get bigger that would benefit me?

 

[DVCOwner]

I think that you could have a "value" DVC and not have to change the point stucture. The points could be the same, but you could buy in at a lower total points. Maybe something like 50 points. This way the person buying into the "value" DVC would not have enough points to really effect the other DVCs. This along with the 11 month/7 month reservation dates would make sure the existing DVCs hold there value. It would also give the other DVC members one more option at the 7 month reservation window. When people say they can not afford DVC it is due to the 160 points buy in. This may get more people into DVC and more money flowing into the parks.

 

[puntagordabob]

A value DVC would have to have point costs roughly 1/2 to 1/3 of the costs for Old Key West rooms... otherwise you devalue the Deluxe resorts extremely quick!

 

[Lynne M]

I can't imagine value resorts ever being added to the DVC system; if it were ever done, it would have to be a separate timeshare entity with its own point structure.

I can see the 'value' members wanting to use points at the current DVC resorts, but how often would the reverse be true? I think most current members would have no interest in a value resort, even a family suite at a value. DVC has, to date, been pitched as an upscale, luxury purchase. It's attracted people who want large, comfortable accommodations at resorts with lots of amenities.

 

[Cubs Brian]

Maybe not for the Value Resorts, but if someone could buy in for somewhere between 80-100 pts and have DVC equivalent to the Moderates, I'd consider staying there at times like peak seasons to save on pts.

 

[slappy magoo]

I can see the 'value' members wanting to use points at the current DVC resorts, but how often would the reverse be true? I think most current members would have no interest in a value resort, even a family suite at a value. DVC has, to date, been pitched as an upscale, luxury purchase. It's attracted people who want large, comfortable accommodations at resorts with lots of amenities.

I'd be tempted to occasionally use a Value DVC if I had points to spare and it meant an extra trip to WDW. Either that or extending a single trip a few extra days.

 

[DVCOwner]

I normaly use my DVC points for trips when I bring lots of family and friends. I would use a Value DVC if it was just the wife and me and we wanted to stay a few extra days. I would think that a Value DVC would be a lot like a resort of only studio rooms. So someone could buy in for 50 - 60 points.

All said I do not think this will be the next DVC construction on WDW. I think it will be an additional tower on Bay Lake.

 

[kbmum]

I hope they don't build another Bay Lake tower. The South Garden Wing has the least expensive rooms on the monorail.

 

[TinkerBell#1]

Being a new DVC member. My first thought was the coast to buy in. I am not a big fan of paying intrest. Example if you take the 10 years pay of BLT your intrest would be about same amount of the buy in around 16k. Thats why I will have my BLT payed off no later then October about 10 month of payments. But I belive the amount it cost to buy-in stop families that would love to be a DVC.

If thier was a new/refurb (doubt a refurb) DVC with a low buy-in, more families would become DVC. For me, I would love to see a room for 5 or 6 people at or near the studio pionts.

I am sure everyone that is a DVC member notice that you can get 2 studios for less then 1BR. I for one would love a studio style that could hold 5 or 6 people. Put the points between studio and 1BR and make the rooms like a studio. Inshort for my family when we have 1 more child we will be forced into a 1BR/2BR. That will cut our time at WDW in 1/2 and that will drop the amount we would spend at WDW in tickets food and money maker soveniers.

Now you might call the Vaule DVC, but I would not. Why drop the quility for DVC when you can make a room style change.

Back to families that would become DVC member at a lower buy-in. Do not make the rooms the quility of vaule hotels but quility of Mod Hotels like CBR (btw are Greats rooms) and make it 100 point buy-in that would cut the buy-in about 25% to 40%.

Staying at the current point system the would need to use 2 years of point to say at the current DVC. Keep the buy-in per point close to the current point buy-in around $100. Have the same yearly dues system.

I do not know how many would buy-in DVC if they do not plan goto WDW on a regular bases for the next 20 years. And why stop a Disney LOVER/FAN for being part of DVC. I would hope other DVC member would not stop them because they make less money per year then they do.

You might be different from me, but my first vist as a DVC member still cost me around $1,500 for 5 days and my park tickets was discounted because I am in the military. My point is these: Disney would have more people (DVC at lower point buy-in) showing up to WDW spending $1500 a trip for everything else outside room cost.

I would believe few years the next DVC would be near BLT to comeplete the image and influx of people comming to see the expanded Magic Kindom. As for my I will be camping at Pixi Hollow in 2013. :sohappy:

 

[slappy magoo]

If thier was a new/refurb (doubt a refurb) DVC with a low buy-in, more families would become DVC.

In a sense, there is. If a DVC member buys in at the minimum, and then adds on points, those points are technically on a separate contract, even if the resort for all points is the same. For example, I started with 150 points at SSR, then about year later added another 25. If there's ever a time when I decide to sell my interest in DVC, I could sell each contract separately, so if someone wanted to just buy my 25 points, they could. Look at the link to The Timeshare Store at the top of this page, and click on it. Sure you'll see people 150-160 point contracts for sale. You'll also see larger amounts (once in a while you'll see something ridiculous like a 1000 point contract - even if I wanted 1000 points, I probably would've opted to break it up into smaller pieces in case I ever wanted to sell some of my points). AND you'll see add-on points being sold - 25, 40, 50, up to 100 (and I believe, once upon a time, 100 points was the minimum buy-in). And those contracts are always cheaper than buying direct from DVC, though Disney has the "Right of first refusal," so if they think someone's selling their membership for less than they consider it to be worth, even if that seller finds a buyer, DVC can swoop in and buy it at that price instead.

 

[toolsnspools]

One the reasons I went with DVC instead of another timeshare is the ROFR that DVC offers. Call it price protection if you will. Even with that, adding value DVC resorts, IMO, would bring down the value of all DVC packages. Maybe not in substance, but in opinion, and that counts for a lot when you're talking about selling a vacation timeshare.

The best move they have made is recognizing the need to create 5 person occupancy in the 1bd villas. There are a lot of families with 3 kids (mine included) that were not interested in DVC because it took a room big enough for 8 to accomodate them. There is a significant point difference between the 2 room sizes, and I couldn't justify the difference.

I also think that the south wing of CR is not far away from the bulldozer. Two towers will complete the look, and with the way BLT is selling, they can't be worried about being able to sell the additional rooms.

 

[dizzney]

The best move they have made is recognizing the need to create 5 person occupancy in the 1bd villas. There are a lot of families with 3 kids (mine included) that were not interested in DVC because it took a room big enough for 8 to accomodate them. There is a significant point difference between the 2 room sizes, and I couldn't justify the difference.

I agree, the sleeper chair MUST be added throughout DVC, we were so disappointed that with the recent renovation at BWV, there was no sleeper chair added to the 1BR. It has been a problem for us over the years as we have 3 kids. They have added the chairs to AK Villas and they are in BLT but they need to be all over.

When we were there NYE, we could only get a one bedroom that night and the studio next door became avaialble on the 1st - my daughter (11) slept with my DH and I while her twin brother and our older son slept on the pullout. Thankfully the next day the 2nd bedroom was there (I didnt book it just for us, my older sons girlfriend joined us as well as my aunt and cousin). It was a real pleaseure though when we moved to BLT on the 5th as they had a sleeper chair there and she loved it. She was so happy to get her own bed.

I cannot justify using points for a two bedroom for five people, its ridiculous. The one bedrooms all need to get the sleeper chair to give it sleeping for 5 easily.

 

[TinkerBell#1]

I know there are 1BR for 5 people, but I like to see a studio that can hold 5/6 people. I can not justify point increast for full kitchen in eather the 1BR to 2BR. The mian differance between studio's and BR's. Yes, I know thier are section off rooms and few have an extra bathroom. As for right now my family does not plan to stay in the room except to sleep. We come to see the "Magic" and not walls. HaHaHa. Do not get me wrong. The homestyle room (1/2 BR) are great. It is not just me, but thier are other DVC are more concern vistiting the parks and do not need a full kitchen (dinning plan solves need for a kitchen) or want to spend points on them, but need a room that holds 5/6 people.

I am new. CR means Carribean Resorts?

Back to buy-in. Outside going to DVC-resealer. You can only buy-in at 160 points. Then you can buy-in from 25 to 100 points. Thier are people out thier that can not buy-in at 160 but could at 100 and would not trust a DVC-resealer.

 

[dizzney]

I know there are 1BR for 5 people, but I like to see a studio that can hold 5/6 people. I can not justify point increast for full kitchen in eather the 1BR to 2BR. The mian differance between studio's and BR's. Yes, I know thier are section off rooms and few have an extra bathroom. As for right now my family does not plan to stay in the room except to sleep. We come to see the "Magic" and not walls. HaHaHa. Do not get me wrong. The homestyle room (1/2 BR) are great. It is not just me, but thier are other DVC are more concern vistiting the parks and do not need a full kitchen (dinning plan solves need for a kitchen) or want to spend points on them, but need a room that holds 5/6 people.

I am new. CR means Carribean Resorts?

Back to buy-in. Outside going to DVC-resealer. You can only buy-in at 160 points. Then you can buy-in from 25 to 100 points. Thier are people out thier that can not buy-in at 160 but could at 100 and would not trust a DVC-resealer.

There isnt enough room in a studio for 6 much less 5, I understand your point, but if the cost is the issue, try the all star suites,

As for not trusting a DVC resale, there are very reputable companies here, I have bought and sold thru one, not a problem,

Let's not lower the value of our DVC ownership here.

 

[DVCOwner]

Sells of DVC points are a purchase of a real estate interest and is highly regulated by the State of Florida. If you use one of the popular brokers, I do not see and risk in purchasing on the resale market. I just recently purchased 100 Boardwalk points and had no problems.

 

[slappy magoo]

Sells of DVC points are a purchase of a real estate interest and is highly regulated by the State of Florida. If you use one of the popular brokers, I do not see and risk in purchasing on the resale market. I just recently purchased 100 Boardwalk points and had no problems.

Though, to be fair, I suspect a lot of people don't understand that reselling a time share isn't exactly the same as bidding on ebay on someone else's booked vacation.