Sept 2022 DVC Direct Sales

[ML_LovesDisney]

With the new VGF2 (BPK), are you able to use those points just as easily at the original VGF if you want to book a 1BR, 2BR, or GV? (similar to AKV-Jambo and Kidani?)

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Maybe I just don't use the couch as much as most, but they've never bothered me. For a couple or group of 3 I'd MUCH rather have the space. In the daytime I'd much rather sit on a couch than on the edge of a bed, even an uncomfortable one. And I don't even find them all that uncomfortable tbh. Yeah they're stiff and not very "cushy" but I'm not looking to camp out on the thing for hours. YMMV

I also agree with you that it's much preferable to sitting on a couch, even a crappy one, over the edge of a bed.

You guys are describing 1) couples 2) who spend a ton of time in their room and 3) watch a bunch of TV on vacation.

I think that's a tiny fraction of the typical WDW use case. DIS DVC boards skew older and retired so I think that's why the sentiment here leans in that direction.

You guys are talking about the virtues of sitting on a couch versus sitting on the edge of the bed (disregarding the fact that the Resort Studios also have a couch, but that's beside the point), but I can't think of a time in 20+ trips when I've done either one of those things. I just don't think there are many people at Walt Disney World hanging out in their rooms all day.

 

[eticketplease]

What do you mean "can offer an extra set of points" with RIV?

They can sell you a December use year and you would get points from 2021 and 2022 since December's 2022 has not started yet.

 

[eticketplease]

With the new VGF2 (BPK), are you able to use those points just as easily at the original VGF if you want to book a 1BR, 2BR, or GV? (similar to AKV-Jambo and Kidani?)

Yes and no.

Yes you can book with them the larger accommodations.
No it is not easier because it is even more people fighting over the same number of 1 bedroom/2 bedrooms and GV

 

[BeachClub2014]

You guys are describing 1) couples 2) who spend a ton of time in their room and 3) watch a bunch of TV on vacation.

I think that's a tiny fraction of the typical WDW use case. DIS DVC boards skew older and retired so I think that's why the sentiment here leans in that direction.

You guys are talking about the virtues of sitting on a couch versus sitting on the edge of the bed (disregarding the fact that the Resort Studios also have a couch, but that's beside the point), but I can't think of a time in 20+ trips when I've done either one of those things. I just don't think there are many people at Walt Disney World hanging out in their rooms all day.

Nope. Not describing that at all from our perspective. When it was just the two of us traveling we would often stay in a studio. With the kiddos in tow, it was mainly 1-bedrooms or bigger.

Agree. And we don't either. In fact, we spend little time in the room, but when having a cup of coffee in the morning, or a glass of wine in the evening, it's nice to sit on the couch, right?

 

[eticketplease]

You guys are talking about the virtues of sitting on a couch versus sitting on the edge of the bed (disregarding the fact that the Resort Studios also have a couch, but that's beside the point), but I can't think of a time in 20+ trips when I've done either one of those things. I just don't think there are many people at Walt Disney World hanging out in their rooms all day.

That couch does not face the TV

 

[JoeD07]

When buying RIV, they can sell you double points. In other words, if you are buying December 2022 use year, you'll get the December 2021 points + a full set of points starting December 1, 2022.
They can't meaningfully backdate points in VGF -- Can't backdate beyond the point where the points first came into existence.

Thank you for the explanation

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Yes and no.

Yes you can book with them the larger accommodations.
No it is not easier because it is even more people fighting over the same number of 1 bedroom/2 bedrooms and GV

Thanks for clarifying. It seems like it could be a bit of a booking mess.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

when having a cup of coffee in the morning, or a glass of wine in the evening, it's nice to sit on the couch, right?

No I'm in friggin Florida! I'm going on the balcony, or poolside, or one of these gorgeous lobbies in the event of bad weather.

That couch does not face the TV

 

[Sandisw]

That's a pretty disingenuous way to look at it, as you're not looking at it relative to the whole price.
At launch: VGF was $37,200, RIV was $36,400 -- VGF was 2.2% more expensive than RIV.
September: $40,200 for VGF, $37,600 for RIV -- VGF was 6.9% more expensive.

That's it -- VGF in September was only 6.9% more expensive than RIV. That's not a huge gap.




I was pretty clear that I have no idea how the majority of people feel. I said "this *may* be what people are thinking." Where did I say *must*?????
Do you know the difference between someone say "maybe" and "must"? Pretty different.





If that was true then I expect more people would be willing to pay the extra 6.9% for the resort studios.

If people do prefer the resort studios, the majority clearly don't see it as being important enough to pay 6.9% more.

It is very possible that the majority of buyers see the resorts and rooms as about equal, and price is the deciding factor. It's pretty clear that the majority of buyers do not see VGF as being superior enough to be worth a mere extra 6.9%.
I speculated that buyers aren't in love with the VGF resort studios. If they were in love with them, I would think they would be willing to pay an extra 6.9%.

In other words, a 6.9% discount was enough to get almost double the number points sold at a restricted resort.

Isnt that really the big piece when looking at RIV sales over the past 3 1/2 years???

At least it is for me.

 

[hglenn]

Lot of "fools" out there buying RIV over VGF I see

If I weren't waiting for Poly 2, I'd be a fool myself

Same!

 

[eticketplease]

Thanks for clarifying. It seems like it could be a bit of a booking mess.

Yup as our family likes larger accommodations we would choose RIV or VGF if adding on even with the restrictions.

RIV has 4 fewer dedicated 2 Bedrooms than VGF has of total 2 Bedrooms (Dedicated + Lockoff).

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-disney-vacation-club-resorts.3655410/#post-58627481 shows VGF has 47 Dedicated and 47 Lockoff 2BRs

Where https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-disney-vacation-club-resorts.3655410/#post-58627485 shows RIV has 90 dedicated and 148 lock off 2 bedrooms

 

[BamaGuy44]

You guys are describing 1) couples 2) who spend a ton of time in their room and 3) watch a bunch of TV on vacation.

I think that's a tiny fraction of the typical WDW use case. DIS DVC boards skew older and retired so I think that's why the sentiment here leans in that direction.

You guys are talking about the virtues of sitting on a couch versus sitting on the edge of the bed (disregarding the fact that the Resort Studios also have a couch, but that's beside the point), but I can't think of a time in 20+ trips when I've done either one of those things. I just don't think there are many people at Walt Disney World hanging out in their rooms all day.

Not sure how you took that away from what I said. I literally said I don't care about the comfort of the couch because I don't use it very much. "I'm not looking to camp on the thing for hours" to be exact.

But If I do want to sit down to use my computer a bit or change my shoes or just chill for a few minutes waiting for certain people to get ready, I'd rather do that on a couch than a bed. And I'd rather have the space in the room in the daytime. I don't think either of those are radical views that are at odds with how most people use a studio villa. YMMV

 

[Doberge]

No it is not easier because it is even more people fighting over the same number of 1 bedroom/2 bedrooms and GV

I think this is most of the difference. Most existing DVC owners that wanted to add-on at VGF pushed the initial sales pretty high in the early months. But also many prospective and existing members may be scared off from competing for few larger accommodations. I think the Riviera pitch is simply more room variety, longer contract, cheaper price, and skyliner to 2 parks. VGF has plenty of positives too but one has to really want it to pay more for fewer years.

I think VGF could sell faster if they had knocked out some walls to make one and two bedroom units but that would have been a much bigger investment. And importantly, I don't think Disney cares if VGF takes some more time to sell because they can longer offer a MK resort to complement Riviera. Eventually Poly 2 is the MK resort on offer and... Disney probably likes that it will still have Riviera to offer as Poly's complement.

 

[BeachClub2014]

No I'm in friggin Florida! I'm going on the balcony, or poolside, or one of these gorgeous lobbies in the event of bad weather.

Lol, well we do that too. Who says that we are limited to just one cup of coffee or one glass of wine?

 

[havoc315]

You guys are describing 1) couples 2) who spend a ton of time in their room and 3) watch a bunch of TV on vacation.

I think that's a tiny fraction of the typical WDW use case. DIS DVC boards skew older and retired so I think that's why the sentiment here leans in that direction.

DVC skews older than the average guest, not just the disboard DVC...

You guys are talking about the virtues of sitting on a couch versus sitting on the edge of the bed (disregarding the fact that the Resort Studios also have a couch, but that's beside the point), but I can't think of a time in 20+ trips when I've done either one of those things. I just don't think there are many people at Walt Disney World hanging out in their rooms all day.

All day in their room? Probably not often.

But more time in the room than just sleeping and showering? Absolutely.

Let's remember, DVC owners are people who visit WDW often. They don't need to rope drop every park and stay in every park till close every day.
Many DVCers sometimes take "resort only" trips.
Many DVCs specifically purchased DVC so that they could eat meals in the room. (and rather be taking my meal on a couch and coffee table than on the edge of a bed).

Whether it be a casual morning sipping coffee in the room, taking a break for a couple hours in the middle of the day, or retiring to your room in the early evening after a busy day.... I do suspect that many DVCers make ample use of the "living room" space in DVC.
Speaking only for my family, we typically spend 2-3 "awake" hours (not including sleeping and getting dressed) in the room on average per day.

 

[Nursemanit]

DVC skews older than the average guest, not just the disboard DVC...



All day in their room? Probably not often.

But more time in the room than just sleeping and showering? Absolutely.

Let's remember, DVC owners are people who visit WDW often. They don't need to rope drop every park and stay in every park till close every day.
Many DVCers sometimes take "resort only" trips.
Many DVCs specifically purchased DVC so that they could eat meals in the room. (and rather be taking my meal on a couch and coffee table than on the edge of a bed).

Whether it be a casual morning sipping coffee in the room, taking a break for a couple hours in the middle of the day, or retiring to your room in the early evening after a busy day.... I do suspect that many DVCers make ample use of the "living room" space in DVC.
Speaking only for my family, we typically spend 2-3 "awake" hours (not including sleeping and getting dressed) in the room on average per day.

I guess it never rains in Florida when he goes

 

[Doberge]

I'm having second thoughts on the price argument because VGF still has pretty significantly less maintenance fees than Riviera, enough that VGF per point may be pure better cost buy in 2022, when thining of cost as purchase price per year + MF. The MF gap may be narrowed more in 2023 and beyond but difficult to predict.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

Yup as our family likes larger accommodations we would choose RIV or VGF if adding on even with the restrictions.

RIV has 4 fewer dedicated 2 Bedrooms than VGF has of total 2 Bedrooms (Dedicated + Lockoff).

https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-disney-vacation-club-resorts.3655410/#post-58627481 shows VGF has 47 Dedicated and 47 Lockoff 2BRs

Where https://www.disboards.com/threads/the-disney-vacation-club-resorts.3655410/#post-58627485 shows RIV has 90 dedicated and 148 lock off 2 bedrooms

Yes, 2 BR for life

 

[DVCsloth]

It's interesting that after years of praising buyers who spend $20...$30...$40 more per point for their preferred destination (BCV, BLT, Poly, etc.), now a $9-13 price difference is framed as a deal breaker. Especially since Riviera has dues almost $1.40 higher per point, which will immediately begin to narrow the gap.

That said, DVC can offer an extra set of points with Riviera, which is a noteworthy bonus. Plus the longer ownership period. But, I dunno, maybe there are actually people who like Riviera better than Grand Floridian...

I used to like the original VGF better than Riviera, but now I think I may like /Riviera better.

ETA, still love VGF. Was not happy with Disney deciding on Studio only resort. I think the new rooms look very nice, but I don't like the layout. I also like to book 1BR and have a feeling this will make them more difficult to book. We also miss the GF Orchestra. We did try the path to MK and thought it was awesome, especially going back to the resort when it is liked up for the boat and monorail.