Just back with OKW news! 50 years contract upgrade!

[Disney1fan2002]

DH and I went to tour the AKV model, and got to talking to a guide who was giving a tour. When she found out we owned OKW, she asked if we had heard the news. WHAT NEWS???

We should be getting a letter Sept/Oct. but basically, OKW owners will have the opportunity to extend their contracts to 2052! The price will be $25/point, but there will be a $10/point discount for those who reply by February. You will NEED to respond to the offer, either yay or nay, because if you don't, after a certain date, you will get the upgrade automatically.

She said they were "testing" it with OKW, and if it goes well, the other 2042 resorts will get the same offer at a later date.

Watch your mail in September!

 

[CarolMN]

...(snip).... You will NEED to respond to the offer, either yay or nay, because if you don't, after a certain date, you will get the upgrade automatically.......

Is the upgrade going to be free for those who don't respond? Automatic sales? I think the guide had that part wrong!

 

[DebbieB]

I can't believe they would upgrade you automatically and send you a bill for $25 per point.

 

[snappy]

So. . . first OKW, then the others. I guess chronologically, BWV is next. Not sure how much value this will have me as I would be 104 when the "upgraded" contract expires.

I need to make sure my dues aren't going to paid via automatic debit (we bought realse this year and paid MF at closing), this debit would be a surprise to my bank account.

 

[Figment2]

This is what has been posted on another board.


Dear DVC Cast Family,

As we continue to celebrate “15 Years of Making Vacation Dreams Come True,” I’m pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for Members who call our original resort “home” to add 15 more magical years to their Membership.

In an historic move for our company, we’re preparing to provide Members at Disney’s Old Key West Resort the chance to extend their Disney Vacation Club Membership through January 2057. We’ll hold a special meeting of the Disney Vacation Club Condominium Association on September 24 to vote to extend the resort’s ground lease accordingly and, pending the outcome of that vote, we’ll formally present Members with this opportunity to extend their Membership term, or to decline by deeding their extension to Disney Vacation Development.

We anticipate that a significant number of our Members will take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity, as our Annual Condominium Survey clearly revealed their interest in doing so. As you know, Disney’s Old Key West Resort holds a special place in Members’ hearts, and we look forward to sharing this unique opportunity with our original Member family.

By extending the magic of Membership at our flagship resort, we’ll help families create new memories and pass on the legacy of Disney vacations to their loved ones for years to come. Your leadership team will be providing you with more details on this unique opportunity in coming days. Here’s to “15 More Years of Making Vacation Dreams Come True!”

 

[wildernessDad]

Even though I will not personally take advantage of this, if it comes to VWL owners, I am very interested in having this in order to be able to pass the additional years onto my family. I think it's great.

 

[CarolMN]

So what the guide really meant to say was that if there is no response to the offer, DISNEY will get the extra 15 years - the member wouldn't automatically be charged for the extension. That makes much more sense!

 

[castleri]

This is what has been posted on another board.


Dear DVC Cast Family,

As we continue to celebrate “15 Years of Making Vacation Dreams Come True,” I’m pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for Members who call our original resort “home” to add 15 more magical years to their Membership.

In an historic move for our company, we’re preparing to provide Members at Disney’s Old Key West Resort the chance to extend their Disney Vacation Club Membership through January 2057. We’ll hold a special meeting of the Disney Vacation Club Condominium Association on September 24 to vote to extend the resort’s ground lease accordingly and, pending the outcome of that vote, we’ll formally present Members with this opportunity to extend their Membership term, or to decline by deeding their extension to Disney Vacation Development.

We anticipate that a significant number of our Members will take advantage of this unprecedented opportunity, as our Annual Condominium Survey clearly revealed their interest in doing so. As you know, Disney’s Old Key West Resort holds a special place in Members’ hearts, and we look forward to sharing this unique opportunity with our original Member family.

By extending the magic of Membership at our flagship resort, we’ll help families create new memories and pass on the legacy of Disney vacations to their loved ones for years to come. Your leadership team will be providing you with more details on this unique opportunity in coming days. Here’s to “15 More Years of Making Vacation Dreams Come True!”

Who is the Condominium Assocaition? Is it members or some board at Disney? Will be there Sept 24th and would be interested to attend just to see how they do this.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I can't believe they would upgrade you automatically and send you a bill for $25 per point.

So for those of us who don't expect to be around to use our DVC after 2042, and don't care to pay to leave this to our offspring, we'd better respond or else? I thought that kind of thing was against the law, "If you don't respond to this offer, we're going to charge you for it." Is that true?

 

[CarolMN]

So for those of us who don't expect to be around to use our DVC after 2042, and don't care to pay to leave this to our offspring, we'd better respond or else? I thought that kind of thing was against the law, "If you don't respond to this offer, we're going to charge you for it." Is that true?

Take a look at Figment2's post - it appears that if you don't respond, Disney will get the extra 15 years. So no change to your contract(s) if you don't respond.

 

[ebenmax]

How will this work for future owners of the 2042 resorts? We plan to buy VWL next year. Let's say they offer it for this resort before we purchase. I wonder if they would offer us the extension at time of purchase or only sell it with the extended years (but increase the price ppt).

Any thoughts or insights?

TIA

 

[DebbieB]

Who is the Condominium Assocaition? Is it members or some board at Disney? Will be there Sept 24th and would be interested to attend just to see how they do this.

When you attend an annual meeting, there are 5 or 6 members on the board, one of whom is the member representative. They vote to accept the annual budget (which is just a formality because I'm sure they agreed to it privately). I doubt this meeting will be public.

 

[JimMIA]

Take a look at Figment2's post - it appears that if you don't respond, Disney will get the extra 15 years. So no change to your contract(s) if you don't respond.

This might present an interesting situation if not enough DVC owners want to buy the extension.

I know the developer of a timeshare is required to own a small percentage of the property in order to be able to refurbish and repair units. Does anyone know if there is a maximum percentage they can own?

 

[tjkraz]

This might present an interesting situation if not enough DVC owners want to buy the extension.

I try to keep my cynicism in check as much as possible, but this isn't one of those cases.

I have a feeling that the bottom-line results of current management is more important than considering the long-term implications of poor extension sales. In other words, the guy (or gal) in charge in 2043 can figure out what to do with OKW if only a small portion have decided to extend.

In reality, I think there will be a fair amount who choose to extend, particularly in light of the veiled threat of a huge price increase a few months later. And DVC will then re-acquire hundreds-of-thousands of points in coming years via ROFR which will be re-sold with the extensions. I don't think there will be a huge disparity come 2043, but it will still be someone else's problem to ultimately resolve.

 

[cobbler]

Good news for those that own at OKW. The one big reason I have yet to do an add-on at BWV is because of the end date. If this offer was extended to BWV owners, I certainly would add-on there.

 

[disney junky]

Economically, it adds another aspect to resale values. If you don't extend, I would suspect that it would decrease the value of your contracts rather than increase the value by extending. If fair market value of my BWV points right now is 82 per point, I have wondered what will happen to their value as we get close to 2042. Obviously, they would lower in value, but by adding years, I would guess that the value be maintained for a longer period of time.
This will be interesting to watch and see what the effects are across the board. It does level the resale playing field for the older resorts. In reality, DVC could buy back all old contracts, tack on the additional money per point and resell those points at the new price with the additional years.

 

[JimMIA]

I have a feeling that the bottom-line results of current management is more important than considering the long-term implications of poor extension sales. In other words, the guy (or gal) in charge in 2043 can figure out what to do with SSR if only a small portion have decided to extend.

I'm sure you're right about that!

"Not my problem! I got all that revenue increase, and I'm a hero! Someone else gets the problem."

It's the next best thing to being in Congress!

In reality, I think there will be a fair amount who choose to extend, particularly in light of the veiled threat of a huge price increase a few months later.

One of my favorite things about the DIS is the clever signatures some have, and one of my favorites goes something like: "A bargain is something you don't need, at a price you can't resist!"

I think saying that applies perfectly to this offer...at least for us.

We have 310 OKW points, so it would cost us $4,650 (at the "bargain" price of $15) to extend points 35 years from now. If I was going to put another $4,650 into DVC, I'd MUCH rather have 45 points for the next 35 years at some other resort, like maybe VWL.

We don't have the official offer yet, so we're all just guessing -- but at first blush, it doesn't look like something that would have any value to our family. It may be a wonderful thing for others.

 

[disney junky]

I'm sure you're right about that!

"Not my problem! I got all that revenue increase, and I'm a hero! Someone else gets the problem."

It's the next best thing to being in Congress!

One of my favorite things about the DIS is the clever signatures some have, and one of my favorites goes something like: "A bargain is something you don't need, at a price you can't resist!"

I think saying that applies perfectly to this offer...at least for us.

We have 310 OKW points, so it would cost us $4,650 (at the "bargain" price of $15) to extend points 35 years from now. If I was going to put another $4,650 into DVC, I'd MUCH rather have 45 points for the next 35 years at some other resort, like maybe VWL.

We don't have the official offer yet, so we're all just guessing -- but at first blush, it doesn't look like something that would have any value to our family. It may be a wonderful thing for others.

That's a very interesting perspective, and I agree. If I were to spend another $3000 (for my BWV points), I'd certainly rather have the approximately 30 more points this year than 12 more years 35 years from now. I can't speak for anyone else, but the idea of ever selling our points never occurred to me until I discovered the DIS. Now, as our family situation has changed and continues to change, I too have to wonder if the offer is extended to BW, will I consider it. I will be 87, DW will be 83, DS will be 59 and DD will be 57, so do we ask them what they think, now, at 23 and 21. Should we charge them for the extension?

"Hey kids....family meeting. What are you doing in 35 years?"

This is thought provoking...

 

[Starr W.]

It should be interesting in the resale market, with "regular" OKW and "new longer contract" OKW. It will be as confusing for the newbie as Starwood's system of mandatory/voluntary SVN resorts.

 

[lizanne]

In '42 my DH and I will be 95, and my kids will be in their 60's and I currently have no grandchildren. I don't think it will be a tough decision for us.