"Rapid seismic slowdown in spending!"

[tvwalsh]

Best Buys said that a "rapid seismic slowdown in spending" caused a 12% decrease in their stock price. I sure am glad that DVC is immune to all this economic nonsense and is willing and able to raise their prices!

 

[CraftyMouse]

Stirring the pot again, are we?

 

[Josh125]

Best Buys said that a "rapid seismic slowdown in spending" caused a 12% decrease in their stock price. I sure am glad that DVC is immune to all this economic nonsense and is willing and able to raise their prices!

Companies have to decide on either margin or volume, BB chose volume by lowering their price and DVC chose margin. As a shareholder in Disney, I agree with their decision.

 

[PiperMickey]

I haven't seen such a slowdown as it relates to Disney. I tried to book a trip in the first week in December (3rd-8th) and have been told that there is nothing available anywhere on property (DVC or cash).

It floored me.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I haven't seen such a slowdown as it relates to Disney. I tried to book a trip in the first week in December (3rd-8th) and have been told that there is nothing available anywhere on property (DVC or cash).

It floored me.

Yes, I was very surprised at that. I booked 2 of those nights, the 7th and 8th about 2 weeks ago, and at first I was told there was nothing. But did get Pop Century,I was not calling DVC then, but did try that too. Am on waitlist for OKW studio, but it's really very late in the game for that to come through.
Bobbi

 

[PiperMickey]

Yes, I was very surprised at that. I booked 2 of those nights, the 7th and 8th about 2 weeks ago, and at first I was told there was nothing. But did get Pop Century,I was not calling DVC then, but did try that too. Am on waitlist for OKW studio, but it's really very late in the game for that to come through.
Bobbi

I agree. I waitlisted a month and a half ago and have given up that it will come through.

I guess the economy isn't as bad as I read it is.

 

[thesupersmartguy]

I was able to get the first week in DEC, but I assure you, it was just luck! They are booked solid.

 

[eliza61]

I agree. I waitlisted a month and a half ago and have given up that it will come through.

I guess the economy isn't as bad as I read it is.

I am/was one of the few who don't think a bad economy is going to hurt disney as much as other places. I think unless a person has lost their jobs (and in this economy every day some one else is laying off. ) folks are going to come.

-Many folks (I'm in this catergory) will cut discretionary spending down to the bones before I give up a vacation. I will eat cup o noodles for months straight, skip movies and shopping.

-Vices tend to do very well in economic down turns. Alcohol consumption and gambling tend to go up ( what can I say, Americans like to drown their sorrows) when bad times roll around. Ever notice that people who are losing their homes may still take a vacation and you think "they must be crazy"
After months of bad news we tend to like an outlet

-last, I still think Disney is a good overall value as far as vacations go. a family of 4 can stay at a value resort and get park tickets plus dining for a decent price and KNOW they will have a good time. A week in the Caribbean in the winter? or a cruise can cost big bucks and you're at the mercy of the weather.

 

[Brian Noble]

It's also worth considering how DVC fits into the bigger picture of discretionary spending. It's a lifestyle purchase as much as anything. DVC is a luxury item---much more so than that new TV, or even a single Disney vacation. There are a wide set of price points for a single Disney vacation. I'm guessing DVC sells into a narrower demographic.

So, one could imagine that the demographic DVC is targeted to is not feeling the pinch quite so much as folks at large.

 

[Yen Sid]

We will always do what we have to so we can continue to enjoy Disney, also all of these trips going on now were planned and paid for in advance, we are not going to notice at Disney an issue until well into next year if we see one at all.

 

[LIFERBABE]

It's also worth considering how DVC fits into the bigger picture of discretionary spending. It's a lifestyle purchase as much as anything. DVC is a luxury item---much more so than that new TV, or even a single Disney vacation. There are a wide set of price points for a single Disney vacation. I'm guessing DVC sells into a narrower demographic.

So, one could imagine that the demographic DVC is targeted to is not feeling the pinch quite so much as folks at large.

I think Best Buy's policies have caught up with them as well as Circuit City. They lost me long time ago. I was looking at a TV but it will be from Costco if we buy it. Right now we are not buying it because we expect prices to drop. So you are right, DVC's demographic and Best Buys demographic are different my case. The businesses that have cut their services the deepest will suffer the most. Those that have expendable funds will go for the service, goods will be plentiful.

Im also willing to cut alot of things before I cut vacations. When bad things are being thrown at you left and right, it's either vacation or something else. Your choices really narrow when you are stressed out. Sometimes feeling normal for a few days is worth it.

 

[minnierealtor]

I was checking the stock info page for Disney on Yahoo and Disney is anticipating at least a 1% decrease in Theme Park attendance worldwide. 1% doesn't seem that much but it will make an impact on their business. They also mentioned they are opening up more discounted packages ie pay for 4 nights get 7 nights deal. I don't think this will change DVC much in the short term but we may see it after people take trips they planned and payed for in advance. We took a last minute trip in October but I think that was our last WDW trip for awhile so we will stick with HH instead.

 

[DisFlan]

I don't think we've seen anywhere near the full effect the pull-back in consumer spending will have on Disney. A year from now will be a better gauge. We'll likely see a few changes. If people are cutting back "seismically" on new stuff at Best Buy (and almost everywhere else), they'll probably be decreasing the number or length of trips to WDW, too - including DVC folks.

I'll hazard a guess that 2009 may be a big year for banking points - or trying to rent them out. Not all DVC members are as dedicated to a yearly trip (or more) as some of us here on the Disboards.


DisFlan

 

[TheDISneyFamily]

-Many folks (I'm in this catergory) will cut discretionary spending down to the bones before I give up a vacation. I will eat cup o noodles for months straight, skip movies and shopping.

LOL! That's us! We'll have hot dogs, spaghetti, etc. for dinner at home if it's gets bad enough, so we can still have our California Grill, Jiko, etc. dinners in WDW during the holidays! Save & Splurge!

Oh, and while I'm very upset about the economic downturn... I'm one of those people waiting to snatch up all the good deals!

 

[sparkyboy]

LOL! That's us! We'll have hot dogs, spaghetti, etc. for dinner at home if it's gets bad enough, so we can still have our California Grill, Jiko, etc. dinners in WDW during the holidays! Save & Splurge!

Oh, and while I'm very upset about the economic downturn... I'm one of those people waiting to snatch up all the good deals!

My grandpa always said if you're careful with savings the pennies and other small change, you soon will have dollars to spend. That's us, folks. We've given up spending on some of those "wants" like my morning fix of hot chocolate from Quick Trip and added lots of mac and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches and soups, etc. so that we will have dollars to spend at the World.

 

[colonialtinker]

I don't think disney will feel the effects until next summer. Most people have already booked their vacations for the next upcoming months. Now saying that I do feel that Disney must be expecting some financial problems, I base this by the new promotion for 4/3.

 

[BigTigger]

Best Buy is the market leader in a fickle market - Consumer Electronics. Despite a push into hard goods, they don't have the hard goods sales level that a Sears has to insulate sales. That being said, other than 18 month, no interest financing on a recent laptop purchase, Best Buy has not been sending out the discount coupons like they used to. I'm Premier Silver in their rewards club and they used to spam me with coupons every two-three weeks, but have not received any since late summer.

Disney is a market leader in another fickle market - destination vacations. Disney has greatly ramped up their Florida resident promotions from what I can see on billboards around Florida. I think the airline flight cutbacks will really start to hurt Disney this quarter as capacity to Orlando is projected to drop up to 6% in Q4 based on landing slot projections (my data is unscientific as the size of the plane is not noted in the slot projections). I for one chose to use my DVC points by going to Disneyland and staying at the GC one last time before the GC Villas remove the hotel as a point choice. Airfares to CA in February were cheaper than to FL. I don't think the Disney cutbacks will be as drastic as in October 2001, but I do bet they will not have as many extended park hours this winter season and will choose to renovate some properties that may be experiencing lower reservation levels.

 

[Starr W.]

I listened to Bob Iger on Fast Money after the earnings report last week. They may not be worried about his year, but the 4/3 offer wasn't made out of the goodness of their hearts. Bookings are probably below some sort of company threshold.

And the cut in capacity of flights to MCO is going to hurt. I think it's mostly the legacy carriers. I have Airtran booked for MLK and Easter and they used to fly their smaller jet(2-3 seating) on the directs out of Detroit. While checking my bookings about a month ago, I see that AT now has scheduled their bigger jets(3-3 seating) for my next 2 trips. They still have their 2 direct flights plus more connecting through ATL. Haven't checked NWA, but it wouldn't surprise me if they have knocked off a few of their flights.

I will be able to do on site research starting next Friday!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I listened to Bob Iger on Fast Money after the earnings report last week. They may not be worried about his year, but the 4/3 offer wasn't made out of the goodness of their hearts. Bookings are probably below some sort of company threshold.

And the cut in capacity of flights to MCO is going to hurt. I think it's mostly the legacy carriers. I have Airtran booked for MLK and Easter and they used to fly their smaller jet(2-3 seating) on the directs out of Detroit. While checking my bookings about a month ago, I see that AT now has scheduled their bigger jets(3-3 seating) for my next 2 trips. They still have their 2 direct flights plus more connecting through ATL. Haven't checked NWA, but it wouldn't surprise me if they have knocked off a few of their flights.

I will be able to do on site research starting next Friday!

Please report back, looking forward to it!

 

[KELLY]

We get a huge tax return ever year and that is our disney money no mater what. We love our trips and will continue to go.