DVC was better in the old days!

[mrsdon]

Someome asked how many members there were 10 years ago.
When we joined in 94 we were told that there were about 21,000 members. When we added on Vb in 95 it had jumped to 25,000. Now its up to 71,000. I wonder if thats actual members or #of contracts. I know I have 6 contracts.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Horace Horsecollar,

WELL SAID!!!!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Don't forget the peach colored towels, the placemats, the napkins or the coasters.....

Or.....the salt and pepper, hand cream, pot holders, mixers (without having to ask for them) etc. You know, all the good things that "grew legs and walked".

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by Horace Horsecollar
But the puchase prices that they charge are based on what the market will pay, not directly on the underlying costs.

For example, when they stopped providing park passes at OKW, the price per point did not go down.

Conversely, the slow sales at Vero Beach caused Disney Vacation Development to incur higher carrying costs for unsold inventory and higher marketing costs, but they couldn't raise the raise the price at Vero higher than at the other DVC resorts to make up for it. (I'm not attacking Vero; it's a wonderful resort.)

If Marketing sends me free DVC Frisbee tomorrow, it won't ever cost me a dime in any way, because I don't plan to buy any more DVC points. And for people who do buy more points, the cost per point won't be adjusted to reflect the cost of buying, packing, and mailing Frisbees.

In contrast, there is a direct correlation between the operating budget (including the set management fee) and annual member dues. If everyone checking in gets at a DVC resort get a Frisbee as a welcome gift, paid for out of the operating budget, then our dues per point will go up based on the cost of those Frisbees at each resort, divided by the total number of points at the resort.

I understand what you are saying, and don't really disagree.
My point is that our initial cost included a percentage that would be ear-marked for marketing & promotions. Exactly what promotions? Who knows, but yes, if DVC never had any sort of marketing, you and I would have paid less for our initial investment.

 

[tvwalsh]

Without the promotion we would not have bought. True enough but are people dumber today? With more perks and better promotion more people would be buying and at higher prices. Disney and the DVC are penny wise and pound foolish.

 

[Regina]

tvwalsh, with all due respect, DVC has not had any problems selling their onsite resorts at ever-increasing prices.

While the perks were nice, they weren't what motivated us to join. We saw an opportunity for our family of 5 to enjoy deluxe accommodations for our Disney visits.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Disney and the DVC are penny wise and pound foolish.

Yep, and Penny Wise and Pound Foolish are laughing all the way to the bank. If you are upset with your purchase, resell it.
70,000 + members would argue with that judgement. I, for one, would definitely do that. I would have purchased regardless of the perqs offered, because it was Disney, and, if you need further proof of my statement, look it up in the USA Today archives. I am there. Hightlighted, interviewed with pictures to prove it.

 

[Sammie]

I bet you gas was cheaper then, too.

Did you walk to school back then too, in the ole days that is,

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Did you walk to school back then too, in the ole days that is,

Sure did, uphill both ways, barefoot, in the snow, all year around, ate my shredded wheat with water on it (and damn glad to have it) and I do miss the good ole days.

 

[Werner Weiss]

Originally posted by tvwalsh
Without the promotion we would not have bought. True enough but are people dumber today? With more perks and better promotion more people would be buying and at higher prices. Disney and the DVC are penny wise and pound foolish.

I'm not sure which promotion you mean. If you mean the free park passes until 12/31/1999, then I agree that the value of those passes was a significant input when I did the math. I doubt I would have bought in 1994 if the park passes hadn't been part of the deal.

But my math also assumed that dues would go up far more than they actually did. By now, people who are considering DVC can see that the resorts have been well run and that dues have been kept under control. (They've always been higher than at most other timeshares, but increases over the years have been modest.)

And yes, that's meant a few cutbacks (such as eliminating coasters and other condo items that "walked away" too often). But that saves us money.

OKW still looks great. It's been maintained properly. I'm sorry that some DIS participants have checked into poorly cleaned rooms, but we've never had that problem.

DVC has turned out to be a better purchase than I expected. I would never have guessed that a decade later, if I wanted to, I could sell my DVC points for more than I paid. I wish I could say the same about the stocks I purchased around the same time.

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
I would have purchased regardless of the perqs offered, because it was Disney, and, if you need further proof of my statement, look it up in the USA Today archives. I am there. Hightlighted, interviewed with pictures to prove it.

Gail, I always knew you were a DIS boards celebrity, but didn't you know were featured in a national newspaper. Pretty cool!

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Gail, I always knew you were a DIS boards celebrity, but didn't you know were featured in a national newspaper. Pretty cool!

Thanks, but, it happen back in the Prodigy days. 1992 in fact.

 

[Regina]

DVC has turned out to be a better purchase than I expected. I would never have guessed that a decade later, if I wanted to, I could sell my DVC points for more than I paid. I wish I could say the same about the stocks I purchased around the same time.

Werner, I share your sentiments.

 

[iluvdisney]

DVC better in the old days - yes, I agree in a way - I do miss the perks we had back then - but I am always looking forward to something new in DVC too. I do have to say that I considered the Member Cruise to be quite a perk - we were treated very well on that cruise and I felt like I was part of such an elite group! I am looking forward to what kind of surprises DVC may have in store for us members in the future. I cherish all of my DVC memories and am looking forward to years of many, many more!

 

[Johnnie Fedora]

Other than enjoying the deluxe accomodations we purchased, I don't feel that Disney offers DVCers anything special in the way of "perks". The member cruise was an example of paying for perks through by accepting a higher point cost than comparable cruises in the same season. Can anyone say that DVCers today get any perks not given to other groups AAA, Disney club, etc.

I can't think of any. although I'd like to see one (park pass).

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
Thanks, but, it happen back in the Prodigy days. 1992 in fact.

Ah yes, the Prodigy days, I remember them well. Hard to beleive that was over 10 years ago isn't it?

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Ah yes, the Prodigy days, I remember them well. Hard to beleive that was over 10 years ago isn't it?

Yes, it sure is. I miss it in some ways.

 

[tvwalsh]

There are several good things about DVC today. One I can think of is the dedicated (OKW only) buses. Does anyone remember the "tours" of the tree houses? Free valet parking was not available and the resorts at which it is available did not exist. Free parking is, of course, available at more parks simply because there are more parks. Any other thoughts?

 

[sgtdisney]

Originally posted by tvwalsh
There are several good things about DVC today. One I can think of is the dedicated (OKW only) buses. Does anyone remember the "tours" of the tree houses? Free valet parking was not available and the resorts at which it is available did not exist. Free parking is, of course, available at more parks simply because there are more parks. Any other thoughts?

That is a good way to look at it.. However those perks don't really do anything for me.. I never take the WDW transportation from OKW.. I do not use Valet Parking if I can help it, and I have yet to stay anywhere other then OKW.. More parks is a plus though

 

[Noelle]

We just recently bought into DVC. We knew the primary draw was the ability to stay at Beach Club for the next 30 years. But I have to say that the 10% discount at the Disney Store was another "perk" that helped push the scales in favor of buying. Now that Disney Club is ending, I really enjoy the 10% discount I've had all these years with either Magic Kingdom Club or Disney Club. I recently used my DVC card for the first time to recieve the discount at my local Disney Store. I'll say it wasn't a smooth transaction to say the least. Now I wonder how long I'll actually be able to use this perk!

Oh well, maybe the thought that in 10 years these will be the good old days is more true than I'd like to think!