DVC Snobs

[Chuck S]

I will agree that those of us that purchased in the early years were made to feel quite special and somewhat privileged. When there were fewer members, they were marketing/putting on smiling faces more aggressively. There was almost always a special DVC gift when you visited your home resort...like a DVC photo album or other pretty nice Welcome Home gift. But common sense would say the sheer number of members today make such things impractical and almost impossible. Remember, back then DVC was new, and fighting the horrible reputation of other "timeshares." No one at Disney knew if the Disney timeshare would go over, or if OKW and VB would be the only two...in fact Vero hadn't even broken ground, when we purchased, and we were made aware that OKW (then called the Disney Vacation Club Resort) may be the only one ever built. They gave us free park passes (1/2 the capacity of the room) when we stayed there until 2000. Both Disney AND members were taking a risk back then.

 

[cruisin5]

Whenever I hear (or read) people bragging about how many DVC points they own or how many cruises they've taken the family on, I always wonder how much they have saved in their 401K or 403B plans for retirement and how much they have put into their children's 529 education plans. Or, are they those people who gettot that point in life and expect the government to pay for everything?

How do you know someone is bragging or simply stating facts?

 

[chainkid]

I find it somewhat insulting to assume that because someone has a lot of points that they are somehow not funding their retirement or planning to help pay for their children's education. Everyone is different and assumptions really are not valid. Many people are older and have already put their kids thru school and have fully funded their retirement . They may also like me prefer to work than ever retire as I like to be productive and have the challenge of keeping up to date with my profession. Probably one of the best decisions I ever made was buying into BWV when it was under $69 per point and adding many contracts thru resale all under $73. I don't even rent my points out but choose to bring my family and friends as often as possible . The memories are priceless and many I have brought would never have had the chance to experience Disney without this small bit of help. Even with room taken care of it is an exorbitant amount to spend on vacation for families with children. It may seem like bragging to some but it actually exuberance at how much enjoyment DVC has brought them.

 

[bwvBound]

There was almost always a special DVC gift when you visited your home resort...like a DVC photo album or other pretty nice Welcome Home gift.

That might be an interesting promotion to resurrect with the qualification as you stated, "... when you visited your home resort." Perhaps a reusable shopping bag, hat/visor, or water bottle with the DVC advertising materials clearly visible so that it spreads "awareness" across the parks while in use.

Would limiting the gift to your home resort visits with additional restrictions on frequency (one gift per household or one gift per member per year) be so unattainable these days? Hmmmm ... I wonder. After all, in the original context there weren't many resorts so most members leaned heavily on their "home resort" compared to more recent guest behaviors. ????

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I try to live my life such that others think of me as "that riffraff..."

It's actually quite liberating. On Twitter, there's a guy that always complains about people that take their shoes off on airplanes. I'm thinking of trying it on my next trip down...

Yuck

 

[Bing Showei]

Would limiting the gift to your home resort visits with additional restrictions on frequency (one gift per household or one gift per member per year) be so unattainable these days?

You have to ask yourself, what's in it for the mouse? We're a captive audience now.

Bing

 

[bwvBound]

You have to ask yourself, what's in it for the mouse? We're a captive audience now.

Bing

I thought I had already answered that in my post, of which you quoted only a small portion. The upside for the mouse is flooding the parks with moving advertising; creating an appearance that "everyone is IN on this special membership" and, thus, creating demand through jealousy, curiosity or the desire to "not be left out."

 

[bwvBound]

I try to live my life such that others think of me as "that riffraff..."

It's actually quite liberating. On Twitter, there's a guy that always complains about people that take their shoes off on airplanes. I'm thinking of trying it on my next trip down...

Heh, heh ... just don't try it in the Member's Lounge at Epcot. (Not that I mind ... but the behavior is now strictly warned about before admitting you upstairs.)

 

[beccasmom]

The early years of ownership were a lot of fun. The free park passes were awesome. I remember that at Epcot the bus stop for “Disney Vacation Club” was a short walk from the exit. On our first stay at OKW in May 1992 the resort was still under construction. Housekeeping staff on golf carts often stopped to give lifts to people walking the resort if they seemed burdened with packages (or kids! ). I still see that once in a while.

We still love and enjoy our ownerships at both of our resorts. We’ve shared it with extended family and now get to experience it with our grandchildren. There are few feelings as wonderful and satisfying as that. I’m just glad we opted in when we did.

 

[bwvBound]

The early years of ownership were a lot of fun. The free park passes were awesome. I remember that at Epcot the bus stop for “Disney Vacation Club” was a short walk from the exit. On our first stay at OKW in May 1992 the resort was still under construction. Housekeeping staff on golf carts often stopped to give lifts to people walking the resort if they seemed burdened with packages (or kids! ). I still see that once in a while.

We still love and enjoy our ownerships at both of our resorts. We’ve shared it with extended family and now get to experience it with our grandchildren. There are few feelings as wonderful and satisfying as that. I’m just glad we opted in when we did.

I clicked [Like] while wishing there were a [LOVE] button. Thanks for that glimpse back in time and sharing your experiences. [LOVE]

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Old thread I understand.... but..

DVC is truly for the middle to upper middle class folks that want to vacation at Disney. The *truly* rich would likely laugh their butt off at this timeshare.
[ETA: I meant to say that the truly wealthy would buy at Golden Oaks, and not imply there is anything low class about DVC. Sorry that may have been expressed incorrectly on my part].

DVC is not a rich mans club (thank goodness, as I’m not a rich man), but rather it’s a way to make the average folks, who vaca at Disney often a reasonable deal.

 

[Spartan86]

Old thread I understand.... but..

DVC is truly for the middle to upper middle class folks that want to vacation at Disney. The *truly* rich would likely laugh their butt off at this timeshare.

DVC is not a rich mans club (thank goodness, as I’m not a rich man), but rather it’s a way to make the average folks, who vaca at Disney often a reasonable deal.

I generally concur. But how do we classify the folks buying the 1000 point contracts direct at GFV, CCV etc for $150000?

 

[Brett Wyman]

Whenever I hear (or read) people bragging about how many DVC points they own or how many cruises they've taken the family on, I always wonder how much they have saved in their 401K or 403B plans for retirement and how much they have put into their children's 529 education plans. Or, are they those people who gettot that point in life and expect the government to pay for everything?

I just immediately start calculating all the dues they owe in my head! I would never want to own more points than I needed to use in a single year.

 

[CarolMN]

I generally concur. But how do we classify the folks buying the 1000 point contracts direct at GFV, CCV etc for $150000?

As anomalies.

(Seriously, I've been told that they are ultra-rich middle eastern royalty, but have no way to verify).

 

[Chuck S]

I generally concur. But how do we classify the folks buying the 1000 point contracts direct at GFV, CCV etc for $150000?

Well, they could have large families, and need a GV for every trip. twice per year. Some could be corporations using the points for management rewards and so forth. Some could be using the points for rentals, since we are allowed up to 12 per year. Some are retirees/snow birds that spend two or three months per year at Disney. I suppose some are indeed Middle Easterners with oil money. And some are just Disney fans who are lucky enough to have more money and time than I do.

 

[Dean]

I generally concur. But how do we classify the folks buying the 1000 point contracts direct at GFV, CCV etc for $150000?

For many of them, BROKE, LOL. Seriously it depends on how you quantify rich vs middle class. I think most members don't meet a true definition of rich but some likely do but they'll be on the lower end as a rule.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I generally concur. But how do we classify the folks buying the 1000 point contracts direct at GFV, CCV etc for $150000?

Still upper middle class. They would probably finance it in some low interest way like they would a second home purchase or some other large purchase like a boat and pay it off over a couple of years. Or maybe they would pull money out of the stock market to pay. We just paid around 55k for points and we are not wealthy by any means. It was a big purchase for us, and we saved up for it, but we see it as a lot cheaper and easier than a second home or condo somewhere. I would imagine for someone who makes around 300k a year a GF purchase of 150k would be easily doable over a few years if it was a priority. But I agree that the truly wealthy would not do dvc. We know and work with some and those type of people roll their eyes at vacationing at disney at all. They seem to go to Europe or other places they see as exotic and ski out west in the US.

 

[crvetter]

Still upper middle class. They would probably finance it in some low interest way like they would a second home purchase or some other large purchase like a boat and pay it off over a couple of years. Or maybe they would pull money out of the stock market to pay. We just paid around 55k for points and we are not wealthy by any means. It was a big purchase for us, and we saved up for it, but we see it as a lot cheaper and easier than a second home or condo somewhere. I would imagine for someone who makes around 300k a year a GF purchase of 150k would be easily doable over a few years if it was a priority. But I agree that the truly wealthy would not do dvc. We know and work with some and those type of people roll their eyes at vacationing at disney at all. They seem to go to Europe or other places they see as exotic and ski out west in the US.

I would consider 300k a year to be outside upper middle class considering that would put them in the top 2% of earners in the US. Usually upper middle class refers to the upper quantile of earners within in the middle class.

Though I do know a few wealthy, not ultra wealthy, people that own DVC but each of them are more self made and Disney was a more sentimental purchase and buying DVC they said was more economical then staying in cash rooms, which was something they had been doing for a long time. They own the VGF though which I suppose that is even more true on the economics and bought guaranteed weeks for when they generally go. Generally the more truly wealthy a person the more they refrain from discussing what they own and spend their money at least in my experience.

But I have no reason to think a wealthy person that wants a grand villa and has sentimental connections to Disney (or children that love it) wouldn’t buy into DVC for that reason. The Grand Villas at most resorts are as nice as any cash room. Wealthy people look for savings just as any income tier, perhaps they are are even more frugal when compared to their income/wealth.

 

[Memorymakerfor4]

Just read the entire thread, interesting. We visited the EPCOT lounge for the first time in January and had a strange experience. It was almost completely silent. Everyone just stared at each other. I told my husband it felt like a viewing at a funeral home. One woman gave us a disgusted look as we sat down and refused to move her stretched out legs, forcing us to find another way around. I had gone in with expectations of friendly conversation with others and was disappointed. We finished our drinks quickly and left.

On our cruise there was a man standing outside one of the shops who had on a platinum lanier covered in pins. He told everyone who walked in what his status was and how much of a discount he got at the shop, then asked what their status was. He was given a wide berth.

It's easy to see these people and think everyone is like that, but I think it is just that bad behavior stands out. I've also met members who were really friendly. They didn't flaunt their status, it just came out in conversation while on the bus or standing in line together.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I would consider 300k a year to be outside upper middle class considering that would put them in the top 2% of earners in the US. Usually upper middle class refers to the upper quantile of earners within in the middle class.

Though I do know a few wealthy, not ultra wealthy, people that own DVC but each of them are more self made and Disney was a more sentimental purchase and buying DVC they said was more economical then staying in cash rooms, which was something they had been doing for a long time. They own the VGF though which I suppose that is even more true on the economics and bought guaranteed weeks for when they generally go. Generally the more truly wealthy a person the more they refrain from discussing what they own and spend their money at least in my experience.

But I have no reason to think a wealthy person that wants a grand villa and has sentimental connections to Disney (or children that love it) wouldn’t buy into DVC for that reason. The Grand Villas at most resorts are as nice as any cash room. Wealthy people look for savings just as any income tier, perhaps they are are even more frugal when compared to their income/wealth.

I agree that 300k is pushing the limits of upper middle class. I am not sure I would put them in the top 1%. I just found a calculator that put households making 300k in the top 5%, but all of those statistics are skewed by the large under class that comes into the US annually. If you remove those recent immigrants, 300k is a much higher percentage of the population. But that's another discussion! I think even people making 200k could afford 150k in points.