Do You Fear For Your DVC Membership?

[BWV Dreamin]

With all of the lawsuits, inflation, and flat sales at WDW, do you fear for your membership? Disney is having cash issues, they just canceled Galaxy Star Cruiser ( or what ever the name is) and now is canceling relocation of Disney employees to the Lake Nona area.

One has to wonder how these current and possible future changes/ cutbacks may affect our DVC ownership. It all surely has me pausing from making any further purchases for DVC. Thoughts?

 

[john7994]

Absolute Panic says I!

No, not really, I really haven't given it a second thought ... Perks will ebb and flow as will the value as it always does ...
There is always and has always been an inherent possibility of something catastrophic happening to DVC which is the risk with any timeshare I suppose - it is what it is.

But you do you and whatever you are comfortable with in your individual circumstances!

 

[McMonsters]

Nah, we have already gotten our money’s worth at this point so if everything crashes and burns, DVC will be the least of my worries.

 

[chrispgross]

Not worried. I'm ready to add the Cabins at Ft Wilderness when they come up for sale.

 

[PalmettoPath]

I don't fear for it. What I do wonder about is, if Disney were to move from Florida (unlikely, but you know there are teams at Disney looking at alternate sites...just in case), what would happen to these properties long-term. In fact, the DVC properties and ownerships would be one of the main sticking points for Disney to concider for any Disney move out of Florida (shuttering WDW). You could move or rebuild everything else, but how to manage people who have purchased real estate interests in specific properties...? Still, if it ever got to the point of a significant move like that it would likely be towards the end of these contracts anyway.

 

[BamaGuy44]

Nah, with DVC we're playing the long game. Executive teams and governors come and go. That silly fight/lawsuit will resolve itself one way or another. Both Disney and Florida need each other too much for any fight to get too bloody, IMO. Sales and crowds go in cycles, along with the economy and other factors.

The last week or so has seemed like one bit of bad news after another, but short of another worldwide disaster that shuts the parks down for extended periods, or the economy collapses to the point WDW isn't a viable entity any more, I won't regret owning DVC. Both of those are very unlikely, and if they did happen DVC would be the least of our worries.

 

[BeachClub2014]

Nope, not really. Disney has navigated through various economies, legislative issues, lawsuits, etc. since opening WDW, and will continue to do so. We may not agree with or appreciate some of the moves, but overall, I think DVC will be just fine.

 

[Nursemanit]

No worries- Disney is in fine financial shape - if it cuts off streaming and stops doing bad remakes it will turn financials around. I see closing GSC as a positive, trimming dead wood. And the cooperate move was poorly planned as creatives won’t like the new Florida so another good call to kill it.

 

[Suzabella]

Nah, we have already gotten our money’s worth at this point so if everything crashes and burns, DVC will be the least of my worries.

Exactly where we are and not even considering adding more points.

 

[RoseGold]

If Disney leaves Florida, we are all hosed. But I just don't see that happening. The rest of this stuff is just political fighting for the dollars at the margin.

I'm actually more worried technology will evolve past theme parks, making WDW as a concept obsolete. That seems like a real threat.

 

[GoingSince1990]

Inflation is one of the main reasons to be a DVC owner. Cash room rates can rise stratospherically, and we only have to worry about a modest increase in our MFs.

 

[Anthony1971]

DVC was part created for this exact reason so Disney will have a steady flow of guests during an economic slowdown as happened in the past.
Disney is not going anywhere and if by some ridiculous move they did you would have what a 15-20 year warning in which case your DVC buy in would have paid for itself ours did years ago..... Disney takes 3 years to open a new ride... build a new park and hotels............. But WDW is a cash cow and always has been.
Side note DVC is a timeshare that has turned out to be far more stable then most. Al Timeshares have risk and many have suffered a loss due to buying in a place that is no longer popular and less because of upkeep but you hear more about this. On the amazing side DVC is not a forever ownership like many take some time to research some of dumps people are stuck with. I am more concerned about the far more common sink holes swallowing a resort then any Disney park closing.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

The fact that Disney has canceled the headquarters move to Lake Nona is huge. From a business perspective , they are severely cash strapped right now. Just what further cuts will need to take place to generate that cash? The longer this legal feud goes on, the more Disney bleeds. There has to be some trickle down effect.

 

[MsChristy12]

We just bought a resale contract, haven't even closed yet and I'm already lurking around for an add-on!! So I guess that answer your question...nah DVC membership is the least of my worries right now. I don't view DVC as an investment anyway, so there's no need for worries. In my eyes, it's a luxury product that's pre-paid and allow us to stay at deluxe resorts for a fraction of the price. If anything, I'm glad we are buying in now. Hotel rates are increasing every corner of the world and they will not come down. If we want to continue with our travel/touring style when we go to WDW, DVC is the way for us.

 

[Hubalorian]

The fact that Disney has canceled the headquarters move to Lake Nona is huge. From a business perspective , they are severely cash strapped right now. Just what further cuts will need to take place to generate that cash? The longer this legal feud goes on, the more Disney bleeds. There has to be some trickle down effect.

Or it would as a power play directed at Desantis and Florida legislators?

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

The fact that Disney has canceled the headquarters move to Lake Nona is huge. From a business perspective , they are severely cash strapped right now. Just what further cuts will need to take place to generate that cash? The longer this legal feud goes on, the more Disney bleeds. There has to be some trickle down effect.

They also got huge pushback from employees who did not want to leave California. Most were refusing to move.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

No, no worries as a DVC owner. We've been through other valleys over the years - and have enjoyed the peaks when they came back. Economic downturn in 2008 time frame and a pandemic come to mind, and seemed like much bigger issues - and Disney/DVC got through them. And since Disney is not actually going to leave Florida, and the Florida government is not actually going to take over control of a large company, that doesn't really concern me either. That will pass, too.

 

[Suzabella]

Disney is blaming the 'business environment in Florida' but I think the real reason is cost. After that last earnings call, a move like that would be a mistake.

I don't think they'll leave Florida either. WDW is keeping the company afloat right now.

Now....that said....if they happen to sell to another company as rumors suggest, we just might be out of DVC.

 

[DonMacGregor]

No worries- Disney is in fine financial shape - if it cuts off streaming and stops doing bad remakes it will turn financials around. I see closing GSC as a positive, trimming dead wood. And the cooperate move was poorly planned as creatives won’t like the new Florida so another good call to kill it.

100% on both of these. Both were just mistakes, pure and simple.

 

[DonMacGregor]

The fact that Disney has canceled the headquarters move to Lake Nona is huge. From a business perspective , they are severely cash strapped right now. Just what further cuts will need to take place to generate that cash? The longer this legal feud goes on, the more Disney bleeds. There has to be some trickle down effect.

Moving WDI to Florida was a stupid move from Day 1. Imagineering has always used the synergy between the studios and theme parks to develop new rides and attractions. Yes, there are plenty of faults here (pun intended), but Southern California remains the center of film and television production worldwide. Yes, you've seen significant diversification to places like Vancouver and Georgia, and London has had Elstree and Pinewood for decades, and you even see a good bit of filming done in Eastern Europe now, but the huge majority of pre and post-production shops, SFX houses, and sound/recording studios are still here in So Cal. Plus, you have the remaining active large film lots at Warner's, Disney, Sony, Universal, Fox, and Paramount, and smaller facilities like Amazon. If you're going to Imagineer, this is still ground zero. Moving a single division 2,500 miles away from everything synergistic made no sense whatsoever. This is borne out by the fact that the actual people who do the Imagineering were strongly against it and many quit. The Company was going to pay them to move, and continue to pay them California wages against a Florida cost of living and they still revolted.

Yes, there are technically more Disney-owned theme parks in Florida, but Disney operates theme parks globally now, and there doesn't seem to even be any blue sky plans for major expansion of theme parks specifically any time soon there. Yes, you have the "$17B investment" mentioned by Iger and D'Amaro, but Disneyland Forward seems a bit closer to reality. I think Chapek saw a chance to pay cheaper wages as existing Imagineers aged out and new creatives came in, coupled with some nice tax incentives, and that those were the actual drivers of the move.

Speaking of Disneyland Forward, for a cash-strapped company they sure are going all-in, all of a sudden, on getting new approvals for utilization of land they've owned for decades now. Ken Potrock and crew will practically show up at your bar mitzvah or grad party to pitch the plan to you personally. What is the rush if they have no plans and even less money to do anything with said land/plans?