I intended for this to be a post where like-minded RIV owners and prospective owners could talk about the resort without having to hear the relentless banter about how expensive RIV is or the resale restrictions which are really the only two consistent criticisms of the resort that i’ve read. These two topics have been widely discussed on this board and is the reason for my new thread to begin with. However I never really addressed the resale restriction and how I got comfortable with it, and I guess I started this thread so I may as well explain the thinking of someone you might not understand. Afterall, I have found that most of our disagreements with each other in this world are based on the lack of understanding each other, so here it goes:
I start with this premise: if I want a high end living space, close to a desirable location/attraction, its going to cost me. This is a universal truth I’ve been unable to avoid thus far in my life. Disney is a for-profit entity and I live in a similar corporate world myself. Maybe that allows me to accept this truth easier? Perhaps. But this is the world we live in. In any case, my family is looking for a resort close to EP/HS. As previously mentioned, BWV and BCV were not a fit. With that said, we do love the parks and want to have quick / easy access to them. With those two “wants,” RIV fit the bill. This is the starting point for the fair value assessment, not with what we paid in the past or what we think it should be. The fair value assessment is based on what Disney corporate believes its customers (and they know their customers) will pay for each level of accommodation and its relative access to the park(s). Next, Disney knows they are going to build this premium accommodation (with a new transportation system to boot!) and using the current rules of the system, anyone who buys points from a 3rd party other than themselves will get access to it, without paying Disney a cent. That’s a problem for profits. At the same time, they know that if a prospective RIV buyer cant sell those points it to a 3rd party, it will impair their ability to market and sell the resort direct. Therefore a compromise: starting at a fixed date, any new secondary market legacy resort contract sale will not have access to the RIV resort. This change doesn’t “upset” the rule that the previous transactions took place under, therefore avoiding a loss in “trust” between Disney and those customers / transactions. Next, anyone selling the RIV resort points will result in the new buyer only having access to RIV. This will clearly put a cap on the price those points will sell at in the secondary market, giving Disney an opportunity to buy those points at a lower cost and selling them direct to a new customer, or not if the resort is no longer selling direct easily. Yes…it’s a change in business model, and yes … its for their profit. But at the same time they are delivering a product to me that I want, and in the end, its true that it will cost me more if and when I sell these points than it would under the old system we all know and loved. I suppose they could have also just charged a much higher price to achieve the same goal, but obviously for marketing purposes, its best to build it up on the back-end as some customers will never sell, so why penalize them?
Still, with this new setup, along with an expensive
point chart, I know this resort is premium priced. But there is no where else where we can get the “fix” we get when we are in the parks, along with the accommodation level we desire. My suggestion to those angry about this is not to take it out on the resort or buyers of the resort, but to simply move on and not buy it. If Disney isn’t able to sell, you will be right. But constantly posting negativity everywhere is akin to yelling at the dark. I’m not mad at you, quite the opposite. I completely understand what it is your feeling. Believe me, I wish it wasn't so expensive, but in the end, our health and our time is what we have on this earth. I don't plan to spend it fighting for cheaper Disney vacations. With that said, I just want to celebrate this exciting time with other like-minded disers.
Best of luck to everyone, I hope you all get what you want. In the meantime, enjoy your DVC, and like a previous poster said, we’re all neighbors after all! Hope to see you guys on a gondola at some point, and if so, the first round of drinks are on me!
Warm Regards.