Originally Posted By oc_dean Just looking at the grand picture for Disney .. and it's rag-tag group of so called 'brilliant' execs at the wheel .... I just recall Kirk Kerkorian around the late 60s .. as MGM took a variety of "different turns". Look where MGM is today!
Originally Posted By CuriousConstance "As they say .... The "bottom line" for me ... if there's not enough new things to see .... Then Disney can become the new Lower Priority in one's life .. and just make it the - Once every 10 Year commodity." Dean, you talk about not enough new things and then turn around and condemn even the mention of changing anything!
Originally Posted By oc_dean So, with that in mind, then every change in WDW since then ... has been for the better? Lets start with one: Timekeeper360 for Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. Do tell me how cartoons are better for Tomorrowland.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Only semi-related. My wife and I have no children. We live within 25 minutes of Disneyland. I'm an attorney for a really big county here, she's an HR muckety muck for a fairly good sized city. We're a little over eight years from retirement. We've been PAPers for as long as we've been married, which is over 13 years. They renew in August, but we're going to let them go, even though with the recent hefty increases we can still afford them. For a long time my wife has had her heart set on getting into DVC, but we wanted to wait until a time where the cost really wouldn't be an issue for us. We're lucky enough to be at that time, now. However, we operate under the theory that just because we can, doesn't mean we should, if financially a decision doesn't make sense. After years of waiting for the right time, it was my wife who decided against DVC. It just doesn't make financial sense to join for us. If we had to sum it up, there's no guarantee that what we think we're paying for at the outset is what we'll be getting down the road. Disney has too much freedom to unilaterally change the terms. Moreover, once you're in, there seems to be no reasonable, doable escape if you want out. Others might think differently, but for us, it just made no sense. I won't go so far as to call anyone a sucker if they buy into DVC at this juncture, because it's a family by family decision. So what are we going to do with this money burning a hole in pockets? Well, even though we live 1800 miles away as the crow flies (as opposed to our close proximity to Disneyland), we recently became Chicago Cub season ticket holders. I grew up in Chicago and am one of those insufferable (I realize I'm insufferable to many on many levels) die hard Cub fans. I've been on a waiting list for years, and my turn finally came. We won't be able to make it out there more than two or three times this summer (if that), but we're looking at it long term, much like you would DVC. We opted for the least expensive seats available to start, still not all that cheap, but if for some reason we come to the conclusion it just isn't working out, we can opt out at the end of a season without having to worry about having someone else buy them. And if it works for us, we have a chance to upgrade before the start of each year. Not only do I now have guaranteed seats at Wrigley, but if they ever do make it to the World Series (104 years of futility and counting), I am there. Plus, just by going there for some games, we're then in a really great city with lots to do than just baseball games. For a multitude of reasons, Disney just doesn't have the allure for us that it once did. $500.00 a night for hotel rooms just because they can get the price, one park daily admission creeping up to $100.00 a day, more crowded than ever, making for a poor experience, no real plusses to the place that appeal to us, we just don't feel like they're looking for our business anymore. Top it off what what frankly we feel is a scam with DVC (for us, not for everyone, maybe), and we're done. We'll be in Mesa, AZ in March as usual for Cub spring training, then hopefully off to Chicago a few times after that. See ya Mickey, it was fun while it lasted, but you can't beat fun at the old ballpark.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <After years of waiting for the right time, it was my wife who decided against DVC. It just doesn't make financial sense to join for us. If we had to sum it up, there's no guarantee that what we think we're paying for at the outset is what we'll be getting down the road. Disney has too much freedom to unilaterally change the terms> Boy howdy. And it's not just Disney. Time shares in general can be iffy, to put it mildly. My sister and brother-in-law bought a timeshare years ago that seemed like a good deal at the time... but the terms and benefits and restrictions have changed so much over the years that it doesn't come close to resembling what it did. Things like buying in at the highest level ("platinum" I think it was) only to have them create a higher level ("diamond") that then costs extra to get what you used to get for "platinum," which is now like the 2nd tier used to be. Changing the point system. Changing where you can go other than your "home" resort. They calculated what they would have spent just doing vacations on their own vs. what they have spent, and for the first couple of years it was a pretty good deal, but after that... they've spent more money with a lot less flexibility than just doing things ad hoc.
Originally Posted By ksargen DVC seems to be evolving, yes. In order to keep the best benefits in any time share system I've looked at, you've had to buy it at or near the top end. Exchanging locations / dates is always dicey, and, in the end, it just doesn't suit most people. Unless you are dedicated to doing the same trip, the same time, every year, time share ownership is probably not for you. My father in law, during a trip years back, got talked into not one but TWO different time shares in Mexico. The one we visited, which is the older of the two, was nice, but noisy. The newer sister at that location, built right next door, would have cost us half again as much as the one we were in, on top of already being members of the system. The other timeshare, located in another city, is facing similar issues. My hubby and I have talked about it more than once, and even the systems (like Disney) that let you buy points, STILL want you committed to a particular location. Exchanging through the system my father in law is in is a fairly simple procedure (Intervals, thus far, is the best system I've seen in place), but limited by the fact that most of the places you'll want to go need to be booked at least a year in advance, or you can't get it for love nor money. In fact, at some resorts, it's easier to not be a member, and book them as a normal hotel, rather than trying to use your system points. *sigh* Thus why our family has said "no" to timeshares in general.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<My hubby and I have talked about it more than once, and even the systems (like Disney) that let you buy points, STILL want you committed to a particular location.>> That is not entirely the case. Yes, your DVC points are associated with a "home resort", and you can book earlier at your home resort than any other. But unless you plan to go at peak times, we've never had a problem booking a non-home resort. In fact we often book at OKW because the villas are substantially larger and cost fewer points than at either of our two "home resorts". We also like that you can park right in front of your unit rather than in a massive parking lot two blocks away. Also, DVC is not allowed to change the points they charge at each resort. They can change how the points are allotted, for instance starting to charge 5 points a night more for the final two weeks in December and then offsetting that by charging 5 points a night less for two weeks in January. But they can't do an across the board increase, which is why the points required to stay at OKW, the oldest DVC property, are considerably less than the points required to stay at Bay Lake Tower.
Originally Posted By mickeymorris1234 I feel like a total newbie. I've been away from Disney for a little bit. What is DVC and why would anyone buy it? It sounds like a timeshare thing that Disney created, but does it give you like free park tickets and stuff? Personally if all it gave you was a spot at a hotel, and then a few discounts, I don't see how that even saves you any money.
Originally Posted By mickeymorris1234 And does it seriously cost 45,000 for it? Hopefully that just a one time charge for the rest of your life!
Originally Posted By ksargen 45,000 is the initial buy in, then there are fees each year. Yes, it's an investment in your vacation future...
Originally Posted By RoadTrip Not true. The current minimum purchase is 160 points at $115 per point which totals $18,400. Bay Lake Tower would be 160 points at $155 per point which would be $24,800.
Originally Posted By TP2000 DlandDug>> "Glad you had such a good experience. My last trip to the World involved massive amounts of time waiting for busses, riding busses, and finding myself on the wrong busses. And the place looked terrible."<< I snickered at this! It's true. The WDW transportation system is a complete and utter disaster, with the lone exception of the monorails on a good day if you get one that has had a recent de-mold treatment applied or the ferry to the Magic Kingdom on a sunny morning. After one trip where I tried to get around on buses and felt like I was cast as an extra on Jersey Shore with the air conditioning cut off and standing-room-only, I swore I would never make another trip to WDW again without a rental car. I now get a rental car and drive myself around property and don't have to deal with the horrible and dilapidated transportation. And yes, overall the place looks terrible. I swear, if it weren't for Epcot Center, the Country Bear Jamboree and the Carousel of Progress, I wouldn't need to ever go back there. But I do, occasionally. And the Carousel of Progress looks like a broken down wax works window display at this point, but when the theater starts to revolve and they play that snappy theme song all is forgiven. For at least a few moments. Ah, WDW. How far you have fallen, and yet how easy it is to forgive you your sloppiness.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub good one TP...maybe they can use that for next year's advertisement The Year We Stopped Caring and yet You Continue to Give Us Your Money.... I just checked out their newly updated website. Is it just me or is it still terrible and really pushy with selling and money??? Every link seems to shout up charge for dining packages and entertainment .
Originally Posted By tonyanton I hear you TP...yes I still go, but much less often than I used to and I spend less.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt TP as someone who first visited WDW in 1975, just 4 years after it opened, your post makes me a little bit sad. Oh well, life goes on.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<After one trip where I tried to get around on buses and felt like I was cast as an extra on Jersey Shore with the air conditioning cut off and standing-room-only, I swore I would never make another trip to WDW again without a rental car.>> I imagine during the summer it is like that. Since I usually go to WDW during October or January, that has not been my experience. The buses in my experience are generally clean,comfortable and prompt. I went to WDW during the summer once and swore never again. The entire WDW experience sucks during peak times, not just the transportation.
Originally Posted By tonyanton I was there in late August/early September (2011) and the busses were fine with two exceptions: this was when they started not running the monorail for EMH and my return trip to the Contemporary from Epcot was hellish (poor signage, crowded, line cutting, rude people) and the return trips from both water parks (we ended up using a taxi, which was worth every penny after a long day). I agree though that an upgraded and expanded monorail system would go a long way towards improving WDW dramatically.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt Boy, Walt's vision for WDW really has gone to pot, hasn't it? When you consider how the entire property was once planned to have efficient peoplemovers and monorails linking parks, hotels, residences and businesses across the property compared to what's there now, all one can do is imagine what could have been.
