Category: DVC News

Disney Vacation Club News

Disney has released the new ticket prices

Here are the prices for theme park tickets at Walt Disney World, as of this morning.

Disney Ticket Prices
One Day – Adults
Disney Ticket Prices
One Day – Children
Disney Ticket Prices
Multi-Day Adults
Disney Ticket Prices
Multi-Day Children

Value tickets may not be used on the following blackout dates: March 19, 2016 to April 1, 2016; June 6, 2016 to August 11, 2016; December 15, 2016 to December 31; 2016; January 1, 2017 to January 2, 2017; April 8, 2017 to April 21, 2017; June 5, 2017 to August 10, 2017.

Regular tickets are not valid on the following blackout dates: March 11-31; April 1-2; May 27-31; June 1-30; July 1-23; November 20-27; December 22-31, 2016.

Peak tickets can be used any time.

Does seasonal tiered ticket pricing make sense?

Tiered Pricing

Disney will be rolling out demand-based tiered pricing, where tickets would cost less on slower days and cost extra on dates when there tend to be too many people. Adjusting prices due to demand is common at hotels and airlines.

OneDayTicket

This strategy could help the Disney parks attract more visitors during slow days and prevent overcrowding during busier ones.

The Walt Disney Parks and Resorts chairman said last year that the company must “look at ways to spread out our attendance throughout the year” to “accommodate demand and avoid bursting at the seams.”

The tiered pricing system should help flatten out visitor attendance, and help distribute crowds more evenly throughout the year. Disney’s goal with tiered pricing is to keep the parks full but not jam-packed.

Such a strategy also opens up the market to more price-sensitive consumers on the lower end. On the other hand, some people will see this move as favoring those with more disposable income, as they can afford the flexibility of visiting Disney whenever they want, whereas lower-income consumers could be restricted to less convenient times.

Universal Studios Hollywood became the first major U.S. theme park to embrace demand-based pricing earlier this month, and Disney has tiered pricing at it’s non-US parks, such as Shanghai Disneyland and Disneyland Paris.

What of you think of tiered-pricing for Disney theme park tickets?

Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial Photos

These photos taken in early February show how the construction of the new DVC at the Wilderness Lodge is now well-underway.

Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View
Wilderness Lodge DVC Construction Aerial View

See the complete timeline of the Wilderness Lodge DVC construction here.

Aerial images © 2016 Nearmap. All Rights Reserved.

DVC Price Increases – Feb 2016

On February 16, 2016, Nick Cotton of DVC Resale Market published a blog post that Disney was raising prices on most of its DVC resorts, with the increases expected February 19.

The price increases are summarized below.

Resort Old Price New Price Increase
Animal Kingdom Villas $155 $160 $5
Aulani $168 $168 No change
Bay Lake Tower $170 $180 $10
Beach Club Villas $155 $160 $5
Boardwalk Villas $155 $160 $5
Old Key West $135 $140 $5
Polynesian $168 $168 No change
Saratoga Springs $135 $140 $5
Villas at the Grand Californian $170 $180 $10
Villas at the Grand Floridian $170 $180 $10
Villas at the Wilderness Lodge $155 $160 $5
Vero Beach $110 $110 No Change
Hilton Head Island $110 $110 No Change

What’s missing from the latest Disney Files Magazine?

The Spring 2016 edition of Disney Files Magazine celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Disney Vacation Club. Yes, later this year, DVC turns 25.

However, perhaps intentionally, there is no look back at the history of DVC. There is no recap of the memorable events of the past 25 years.

25thAnnLogo

Instead, Ken Potrock focuses on two words on the 25th anniversary logo… “And beyond”. Ken says this is because of the forward-looking focus of DVC, it’s mission of creating more Member value each year by raising the bar.

The issue highlights the new member events and other offerings and enhancements that are part of the 25th anniversary celebration.

However, I still think a few pages looking back at the last 25 unforgettable years of DVC history would have been enjoyable. My hope is that one of the following 2016 editions of Disney Files Magazinewill do just that.

Ryan March and Ken Potrock, are you listening?

Is DVC high-tech?

Do you think DVC is behind the technology curve?

In recent years, Disney has introduced new technology into their parks. Disney spent over $1 Billion on Magic Bands, FastPass+ and My Disney Experience. Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI) has developed its own VR technology to help build everything from new theme park attractions to new hotel suites.

Yet DVC is not viewed by many members as being a technology innovator. It wasn’t until 2012 that DVC introduced the ability to book a reservation online. And you still have to call member services to change a reservation.

The DVC member web site has experienced problems and outages.

And there were issues with the roll out of My Disney Experience. Members of discussion forums seem to regularly express their frustration with Disney technology.

What is your opinion? Do you consider DVC to be high-tech? Has your experience with Disney technology largely been successful?

Here is a photo of Member Services at the DVC headquarters in Celebration, Florida. As you can see, DVC only uses the latest technology to serve it’s members.

DVC Member Services in action
DVC Member Services in action

Post your comment below or in our DVC discussion forum.

Consumer Reports on whether a Timeshare is a good value

The March 2016 edition of Consumer Reports magazine has an article called “Is a TimeShare Vacation a Good Value?”

The article uses a Disney Vacation Club purchase as the example. Their example compares just staying as a hotel guest versus buying DVC direct from Disney base price (no incentives). The example also assumes the buyer finances the DVC purchase using a 7-year loan at 8% interest. Some information is missing, such as the assumptions around the room rate and such.

In this example, staying as a hotel guest would be less expensive the first 7 years. In year 8, the site urns in favor of DVC, but its not until year 13 that you break even and start saving money.

The article also covers buying resale (but ails to show the same financial comparison as buying retail). It also mentions renting from an owner.

This is part of their The Timeshare Comes of Age article.

What do you think of the article? Either add a comment here on the blog or join the discussion in our DVC discussion form.

Thanks to DVC Paul for the heads up!

How One Small Experiment Made Disney Billions of Dollars 25 Years Later

ThemeParkTourist.com has published an article that discusses the beginnings of the Disney Vacation Club.

This, of course, caught my interest, since I have spent some time of my own investigating this subject matter, as evidenced by my own history of the Disney Vacation Club article here on DVCInfo.com

Generally, the ThemeParkTourist piece is a very good article and deserves a read if, like me, you find the topic interesting.

The only issue I had (which is very minor) is that the article seems to imply that it was Disney who invented the points-based system.

This is not strictly true.

The points-based timeshare system Disney used was not invented by them, but actually dates back to “the Father of Timeshare”, Dr. Guido Renggli. In 1963, Dr. Renggli and German developer Alexander Nette co-founded Hapimag, which started selling timeshares in Europe. Hapimag was the first timeshare operator in the world and is by far the largest in Europe. It was Dr. Renggli who first pioneered the points system.

Vacation Internationale introduced the points system in the US in the mid-1970’s, beginning in Hawaii. Trendiest Resorts, based in the state of Washington, was the first timeshare company to only sell a points-based timeshare.

Disney patterned its system on these models. So, Disney’s version was more of an evolution of an existing model than a revolutionary new model.

Thanks to DVCInfo discussion forum member Spavins for pointing out the article in our forums.

Could an Atlantis resort be coming next door to Aulani?

According to Pacific Business News:

Atlantis Resorts eyeing expansion to Hawaii at Ko Olina Resort

Atlantis Resorts, a global luxury resort brand that specializes in “entertainment destination resorts,” is likely finalizing a deal to open its first resort in the United States in Hawaii at the Ko Olina Resort in West Oahu, multiple sources confirmed to Pacific Business News.
Sources close to the situation tell PBN that Atlantis Resorts, a subsidiary of Kerzner International Resorts, is working out the details for a contract that involves a vacant parcel next to Disney’s Aulani Resort, half of which is owned by Shirokiya owner Takeshi Sekiguchi, one of the original developers of Ko Olina Resort.

http://www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2016/01/21/atlantis-resorts-eyeing-expansion-to-hawaii-at-ko.html