Why aren’t there more stand alone DVC resorts?

[nickys]

I think they could have worked in more places of they scaled them to the right size. I think one in scottsdale, a ski resort in Utah or Colorado and one in new England would all be awesome

Who do you see as the target market for those locations?

There already seem to be plenty of timeshares and resorts in those areas, so Disney would be competing with all of them. I can understand them considering a ski resort, but as @JaxFLBear said, the land was sold. Presumably because there wasn’t enough interest.

I’m interested in what demographic they would target if existing DVC members, many of whom are families, weren’t interested.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Who do you see as the target market for those locations?

There already seem to be plenty of timeshares and resorts in those areas, so Disney would be competing with all of them. I can understand them considering a ski resort, but as @JaxFLBear said, the land was sold. Presumably because there wasn’t enough interest.

I’m interested in what demographic they would target if existing DVC members, many of whom are families, weren’t interested.

I would think the same interest that does cruises. Have kids clubs in all of them, offer excursions(maybe they are partnered with a ski resort). Honestly I can easily see booking a Disney ski resort. That's just my opinion. I doubt there was huge interest in another theme park built around a zoo, but hey things can work out in the end if you try.

 

[nickys]

I would think the same interest that does cruises. Have kids clubs in all of them, offer excursions(maybe they are partnered with a ski resort). Honestly I can easily see booking a Disney ski resort. That's just my opinion. I doubt there was huge interest in another theme park built around a zoo, but hey things can work out in the end if you try.

A Disney resort or a DVC resort? There’s a huge difference. A DVC resort needs people buying in, paying thousands of dollars to stay there year after year.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

A Disney resort or a DVC resort? There’s a huge difference. A DVC resort needs people buying in, paying thousands of dollars to stay there year after year.

True! Yes would have to be a hybrid, a hotel with a set floor or 2 with DVC option.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

True! Yes would have to be a hybrid, a hotel with a set floor or 2 with DVC option.

And in all honesty they might not want the complications of DVC, so maybe I am really thinking just a hotel, like the cruises, pay as you want it.

 

[MotherofaPrincessLover]

I would think the same interest that does cruises. Have kids clubs in all of them, offer excursions(maybe they are partnered with a ski resort). Honestly I can easily see booking a Disney ski resort. That's just my opinion. I doubt there was huge interest in another theme park built around a zoo, but hey things can work out in the end if you try.

I would love a DVC ski resort. My family would definitely buy in but I don't think we'd visit yearly so we wouldn't need a huge number of points. As much as I'd love another DVC resort somewhere in the country, I doubt it will happen.

 

[FCivish3]

I’m sure there’s a million reasons why they can’t but couldn’t they stick a small and exclusive DVC on Castaway Cay?

SMALL means no economies of scale or volume discounts and savings, which means increased costs per guest. Second, how do you plan to get to Castaway Cay, to stay there? Fly to the Bahamas and then take a boat? There is no significant ferry service, so NOT so easy. Just absolutely would not work.

 

[festus]

As a DVC owner... our interest in DVC was about the parks. The stand alone options were simply a nice bonus. I have visited HH and Vero. I really enjoyed Vero. It was nice but it's a drive from NC. If I'm driving from NC (home) then WDW is closer, so there's not much incentive to visit Vero unless we have extra points we want utilize. I also have plenty of beach options only a few hours from me. HH on the other hand has not impressed me at all. It feels "squeezed in" and isn't beachfront. We have some owner points there but use them on occasion to mainly to break up our trip down to WDW. I have a feeling a lot of people use HH in that manner.

 

[chriskbrown]

Got to the beach all the time - and we have never considered HH or Vero. Not fans of HH in general (been several times) and well have better beaches in less than half the drive

 

[doctornick]

Disney is building a second private island in the Bahamas - Lighthouse Point. (https://lighthousepointbahamas.com/) Not sure if it's on hold or squashed since covid happened, but they have the land. I don't think there were ever plans to put DVC or any kind of overnight lodging there.

Right. When they first announced Lighthouse Point, I had wondered if a resort with DVC would be built there. There’s actually an airport on Eleuthera island so it’s conceivable to be able to travel there separate from a cruise (however I think all flights are from Nassau so it wouldn’t be convenient for most people to go). I wonder how much stuff will be at Lighthouse Point compared to Castaway Cay.

That said, I think a more feasible idea for a Caribbean DVC resort would be on a major tourist island with regular commercial air service but have a water park that you can sell to cruise tourists (like Atlantis) to spread the costs around and then make that location regular destination for DCL and promote it. Maybe that’s not realistic

 

[correcaminos]

To be real, what DVC offers at stand alone resorts is not up to par on what I can get at others without the Disney pricing. I hope they learned from Aulani and don't try it again tbh. DLR needs more DVC so a focus there fighting the legalities is still wise compared to stand-alone.

 

[cmwade77]

To be real, what DVC offers at stand alone resorts is not up to par on what I can get at others without the Disney pricing. I hope they learned from Aulani and don't try it again tbh. DLR needs more DVC so a focus there fighting the legalities is still wise compared to stand-alone.

They are doing some at the Disneyland hotel, but they need a DVC only resort out here to be honest.

 

[correcaminos]

They are doing some at the Disneyland hotel, but they need a DVC only resort out here to be honest.

Where is here?

Sorry though with the Aulani fiasco we won't see anymore likely ever.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

Got to the beach all the time - and we have never considered HH or Vero. Not fans of HH in general (been several times) and well have better beaches in less than half the drive

I recommend Vero if you ever get a chance. The resort itself is best treated as a "home base" to enjoy the nice pool(beach is ok) and the offerings like Turtle Walks(my wife and daughter got to see a sea turtle laying eggs around midnight on one). You then explore the area which is very nice and not built up too much at all.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They originally had an ambition plan to detach DVC from parks...

But the reality is that people “want it for the D”...no parks = hard sell.

As far as why there aren’t more standalones near the parks?? Mooching services, cost accounting...the usual.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Where is here?

Sorry though with the Aulani fiasco we won't see anymore likely ever.

I assume Disneyland? Where a DVC only would sell in 30 seconds flat.

Maybe we can dismantle “riviera” and send it there?

 

[correcaminos]

I assume Disneyland? Where a DVC only would sell in 30 seconds flat.

Maybe we can dismantle “riviera” and send it there?

I already said we needed more at DLR in my previous post they quoted. Which is why I asked.

What's wrong with R?

From your other post: standalone near parks would not be standalone too. It would use the parks for entertainment still. To me it's not just about parks or not. Disney lacks in real upscale services which makes them way too costly for what you get. That's the biggest issue.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I already said we needed more at DLR in my previous post they quoted. Which is why I asked.

What's wrong with R?

From your other post: standalone near parks would not be standalone too. It would use the parks for entertainment still. To me it's not just about parks or not. Disney lacks in real upscale services which makes them way too costly for what you get. That's the biggest issue.

Well...that was never gonna happen. And it is a big problem for “expanding appeal”. DVC detached from parks just didn’t take hold. It didn’t in the 90’s and hasn’t on Oahu today. It is what it is.

What’s wrong with R? Well...how much time do you have?

 

[correcaminos]

Well...that was never gonna happen. And it is a big problem for “expanding appeal”. DVC detached from parks just didn’t take hold. It didn’t in the 90’s and hasn’t on Oahu today. It is what it is.

What’s wrong with R? Well...how much time do you have?

I haven't been able to travel to see RR. I think they made them too many points per night for what you get and WDW did nkt need another resort right now - thank goodness Reflections is shelved. But most issues are personal opinion with it.

Yes, I know Disney will never be the 4 star level of service, which is why I said "To be real, what DVC offers at stand alone resorts is not up to par on what I can get at others without the Disney pricing. " quite a few posts up. They really screwed up with Aulani on many levels. But end result is you can find better for less investment elsewhere on the island. Not to mention other better locations too. Disney really has no business trying to do standalone as it just isn't worth the price.

 

[aliceismad]

Right. When they first announced Lighthouse Point, I had wondered if a resort with DVC would be built there. There’s actually an airport on Eleuthera island so it’s conceivable to be able to travel there separate from a cruise (however I think all flights are from Nassau so it wouldn’t be convenient for most people to go). I wonder how much stuff will be at Lighthouse Point compared to Castaway Cay.

That said, I think a more feasible idea for a Caribbean DVC resort would be on a major tourist island with regular commercial air service but have a water park that you can sell to cruise tourists (like Atlantis) to spread the costs around and then make that location regular destination for DCL and promote it. Maybe that’s not realistic

My understanding is that there is also a Princess Cruises "private island" on Eleuthera and things haven't always been pleasant with the locals. It would be a neat idea, and maybe at one point the idea of a resort was floated, but Joe Rohde I am not.

Atlantis is quite the resort, and it's priced comparably to a Disney cruise or a WDW trip, but they also make a ton of money there on gambling.

Royal Caribbean made a large waterpark on Coco Cay. They wanted to do overnight stays there with their ships, but I believe they have more capital investment projects they have to complete before that's an option, and I think all that is on hold due to covid.

I could certainly see a resort being a long-term possibility for Disney, but after Aulani and seeing the trends in the parks and current resorts, it's hard to imagine them investing in that kind of effort.