Is DVC Getting too Big?

[bobbiwoz]

Well, this is interesting. DH said "That wouldn't be a bad thing!" So, how did they announce the change? Was it like "let's do some simplifying ...you can book anywhere" or did members complain and they said "we heard you and we listened!"

Thank you for this little history nugget.

Bobbi

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I wasn't expecting such a heated response to my post! Let me clarify it.

OKW -- draw, golfcourse & large rooms (keeps some home). BWV -- draw EPCOT (keeps 'em home), boardwalk area & hotels. VWL -- draw MK (keeps em home), wilderness area, MK area hotels. BCV -- draw EPCOT (keeps em home), SAB (keeps em home), boardwalk area & hotels. SSR -- draw golf, spa & DTD. AKL -- draw animals (keeps em home), unique hotel space, unknown other features.

People are so defensive! I LIKE SSR but DTD & the spa are not why people get on a plane and fly to Orlando. I'll admit some will hop on a plane to golf. All I'm saying is that DVD needs to make sure future resorts are developed with features that will make the buyers prefer to stay in their own resort more often than not. If Contemporary is DVC then its a resort with a feature that will keep em home.

 

[Sammie]

I LIKE SSR but DTD & the spa are not why people get on a plane and fly to Orlando.

I was not aware that you can't get to the parks from SSR, did they discontinue the transportation.

And truly I don't think anyone is defensive about it, they just don't like the misrepresentation of SSR ownership. Everything except SAB, which is highly over rated to me, is available to SSR owners from SSR. Therefore there truly is no reason to feel one resort has a great advantage over another, it is simply perception.

If you wish it to be your personal opinion, then that is great and I will agree, to each his own, but please to not speak for others or assume you know what the majority feels. That is what makes others defensive.

 

[BroganMc]

I was not aware that you can't get to the parks from SSR, did they discontinue the transportation.

Now that's funny, Sammie!

And truly I don't think anyone is defensive about it, they just don't like the misrepresentation of SSR ownership. Everything except SAB, which is highly over rated to me, is available to SSR owners from SSR. Therefore there truly is no reason to feel one resort has a great advantage over another, it is simply perception.

I think we've just seen a bit of the "SSR hot or not" debate insert itself yet again. Truth is being the largest DVC SSR did grow the membership greatly in one fell swoop. But if you consider GCV and AKV will be adding just about the same number of new rooms to the service (CRV would top it.), then you realize the bigger issue here is that DVC is only growing. It'll get tougher to book rooms in prime seasons outside home.

To some staying home will be a hardship. For me, well I find myself loving SSR most of all. The walking paths are the best of all the onsite DVCs (and yes I've walked them all). They are well-landscaped, paved, remote from car traffic and give you a sense of peace because you aren't trying to constantly avoid other walkers. With all those lakes and open fields, it feels more like living in the center of a park.

I don't play golf and I don't do spa treatments (it's kinda silly for me to laud those as benefits), but I am an avid DTD visitor. Long before DVC when I just had Marriott, I'd make DTD one of my first stops. The shopping is far more varied and reasonable than anything I've seen elsewhere. (I get the 10% discount at WoD so usually hold off buying something in the park to get it at WoD.) Ghiradelli's has the best ice cream anywhere. More pins are in Marketplace. Earl of Sandwich has the best hot sandwiches anywhere. Raglan Road's food is better than Rose & Crown Pub. The music streamed in Marketplace gets me in the spirit. The nightlife of PI and West Side is just livelier than anything I've seen at the Boardwalk. And some rainy days I just want to catch a movie at the AMC or wander about Virgin Atlantic trying archaic ethnic music.

That's not to say I don't recoginize the value of sleeping next door to a park or hate the other resorts. I'm saving for a CRV add on because I want the experience of rolling out of bed and into MK (at my speed and not waiting on a bus or boat). I intend to eventually sleep at all the resorts I currently visit for a day. But I know SSR will always draw me back.

 

[Debbie H]

Well, this is interesting. DH said "That wouldn't be a bad thing!" So, how did they announce the change? Was it like "let's do some simplifying ...you can book anywhere" or did members complain and they said "we heard you and we listened!"

Thank you for this little history nugget.

Bobbi

Tell you the truth, nobody officially notified us of those changes. It just "happened". DH was talking to member services one day and they told him. Our past vacation had been OKW to VB and we wanted to do VB to OKW but we knew we couldn't do that so he was booking OKW for 1 night, VB back to OKW. She asked why we were doing that and he said "because we have to stay at our home resort every other time" and she said, oh no, that's changed. We were totally unaware until then.

As your dh said, I think it is a good idea as well. I'm sure peoples complained, but that was when they had 3 resorts. Like I said before, it was a completely different place back then. The first time I stayed at OKW, nothing beyond the bridge was completed. I watched palm trees going by our GV to be planted.

 

[disney54us]

I have been feeling that maybe it is getting to big. I have notice changes that are based on member growth. Even member Services reply to some changes is that DVC has grown and has many more members. Being a member since 97 with orignal points in OKW, I have notice the change in trips from years ago to recent. Maybe I'm just missing that warm and special feeling with attention to detail. I noticed a comment how it is getting harder to book even during times when WDW is not as busy. I am going through this right now. We usually go during the begining of Dec. to enjoy the special Holiday shows/decorations. This was always a slow time before the X-mas rush. Now I am wait listed for 4 out of the 7 days, it just may not be happening this year.
Missing that old Christmas feeling in Disney!