Really dumb DVC question

[tahoeJoe]

I have attended sales presentation and tours from Hilton, Marriott, Hyatt, and Starwood timeshares. Each time I toured the sales pitch was very low key and I received a nice gift for attending - whether I purchased anything or not. (free dinners, hotel credit, hotel points, show tickets, etc). My question does Disney Vacation Club offer anything for touring their TS? Also, how long are their tours? Just curious - 90-minutes on vacation is a long time.

-TJ

 

[Colorado Belle]

Disney has always been low pressure, almost to the point of your having to ask them to buy in. Traditionally ,Disney has only offered fast passes and ice cream to attend, tho I was one of the few, already an owner, who ended up getting a $50 gift certificate. If you show up at the model room sales center (located at SSR) you could probably tour and talk in about a half hour.They just tell you the prices, which you can find out in advance (there's no bait and switch or different pricing for different folks here) so no time is wasted.
Currently for AKV there is an $8 off the $104 per point price with a $500 Visa gift card. Minimum buy in for newbie is 160 points and with a referral you might be able to get 160 developer points for use at SSR within a year...but you might have to be an owner to get those.

 

[icydog]

They might give you a few fast passes and an ice cream cone!!

Disney doesn't care if you don't buy. They just scream out "NEXT" and the next family buys. They don't need to give prizes because their philosophy is family vacations for affordable prices. By not give incentives they keep the buy in costs lower than other timeshares. Not that DVC is cheap to buy, it's not. But I think that DVC points don't depreciate by 50% like other timeshares the minute you sign on the dotted line. They do not. In fact, my original property, now OKW, has doubled in value, my Beach Club has gone up 33% and I love my properties so much I doubt I will never sell them.

I had to fight for a fast pass last time I toured with someone. Some guides act like they own DVC and that each FP is coming out of their pocket. I'm surprised they don't measure the ice cream servings. Last time they refused us fast passes even though we attended the whole presentation with our friends. They do not give anything away for free. That is NOT the Disney Way of doing things. If there is a way to charge a penny they will but they do offer the best timeshare product on the market in my opinion.!!!!

 

[tahoeJoe]

So true, so true....

They do not give anything away for free. That is NOT the Disney Way of doing things. If there is a way to charge a penny they will but they do offer the best timeshare product on the market in my opinion.!!!!

Truer words have NEVER been spoken. Which is one reason why I don’t think I would purchase with them? Disney is all about Disney and making money for Disney. Buying any TS is about trust, trust that the operator (Disney, Hyatt, Marriott) will deliver in the years, and decades to come. Personally I don't trust Disney to deliver if their divine profit margin is in jeopardy.

The replies to my original post seem pretty clear; Disney really doesn't care about you. I purchased a resale Hyatt property for a FRACTION of the price of a DVC (or a new Hyatt) and I have no trouble trading in to all the Disney properties. I don't really see the value of buying Disney proper. That is why I was interested in touring, to find out what the appeal is, but my time is worth something and free ice cream doesn't cut.

With regards to "Fast Passes" I thought they were free with admission? They are at Disneyland in California and California Adventure.

-TJ

 

[Twinkstarr]

Truer words have NEVER been spoken. Which is one reason why I don’t think I would purchase with them? Disney is all about Disney and making money for Disney. Buying any TS is about trust, trust that the operator (Disney, Hyatt, Marriott) will deliver in the years, and decades to come. Personally I don't trust Disney to deliver if their divine profit margin is in jeopardy.

The replies to my original post seem pretty clear; Disney really doesn't care about you. I purchased a resale Hyatt property for a FRACTION of the price of a DVC (or a new Hyatt) and I have no trouble trading in to all the Disney properties. I don't really see the value of buying Disney proper. That is why I was interested in touring, to find out what the appeal is, but my time is worth something and free ice cream doesn't cut.

With regards to "Fast Passes" I thought they were free with admission? They are at Disneyland in California and California Adventure.

-TJ

These are "special" fastpasses you get for taking the tour. The ones I had you could only use for 4 rides. You put the card in and it spit out a FP that allowed you to get in line and ride right now. If you went to Space Mountain at 9am and put the card in, the FP would come out 9:10-10:10.

We did the tour on Thanksgiving day and got the VIP FP's. Went over to AK and rode EE, the Safari and the Dinosaur ride with no waits.

 

[tahoeJoe]

These are "special" fastpasses you get for taking the tour. The ones I had you could only use for 4 rides. You put the card in and it spit out a FP that allowed you to get in line and ride right now. If you went to Space Mountain at 9am and put the card in, the FP would come out 9:10-10:10.

We did the tour on Thanksgiving day and got the VIP FP's. Went over to AK and rode EE, the Safari and the Dinosaur ride with no waits.

Are the "special" fast passes good for one day, or your entire trip?

-TJ

 

[Twinkstarr]

Are the "special" fast passes good for one day, or your entire trip?

-TJ

They were just good for one day and only 4 rides.

 

[laxmom]

Truer words have NEVER been spoken. Which is one reason why I don’t think I would purchase with them? Disney is all about Disney and making money for Disney. Buying any TS is about trust, trust that the operator (Disney, Hyatt, Marriott) will deliver in the years, and decades to come. Personally I don't trust Disney to deliver if their divine profit margin is in jeopardy.

The replies to my original post seem pretty clear; Disney really doesn't care about you. I purchased a resale Hyatt property for a FRACTION of the price of a DVC (or a new Hyatt) and I have no trouble trading in to all the Disney properties. I don't really see the value of buying Disney proper. That is why I was interested in touring, to find out what the appeal is, but my time is worth something and free ice cream doesn't cut.

With regards to "Fast Passes" I thought they were free with admission? They are at Disneyland in California and California Adventure.

-TJ

Wow. I don't really trust any ts developer when their profit margin is in jeopardy. And you think Marriott, Hyatt or Hilton cares? Timeshares are businesses not friendships. Evidently you haven't read the posts about conflicts between HOA's and developers. Disney is also a business and their goal is profit. So what? It isn't for everyone. They don't have to offer any enticements to get people to tour because there are just that many people who do see the value. We like the flexibility of their system. It complements our other ownership nicely. To each his own.

 

[capjak]

I have looked at a lot of TSs and DVC is the most flexible for staying at WDW. You can arrive/leave any day of the week and easily get your home resort (and I own at one of the smaller one) never been an issue. It however does not work great for non disney stays.

 

[ownsherown]

Interesting, am I the only person that ever got a nice gift for touring Disney? I was staying at Boardwalk during a financial convention with a friend in Jan 2007 when I got an invitation to tour with a 100 Disney gift certificate as a gift for attending.
I went, got a quick 30 min. tour, a hardback book showing all the disney options, ice cream and 2 50$ certificates good at any of the stores at Disney. Also change from the certifcates was given back in real money.

 

[wmmmmm]

Interesting, am I the only person that ever got a nice gift for touring Disney? I was staying at Boardwalk during a financial convention with a friend in Jan 2007 when I got an invitation to tour with a 100 Disney gift certificate as a gift for attending.
I went, got a quick 30 min. tour, a hardback book showing all the disney options, ice cream and 2 50$ certificates good at any of the stores at Disney. Also change from the certifcates was given back in real money.

I purchased 160 pts at SSR and all I was got were sixteen fast passes that I can use on any rides for three weeks. They were the same passes that the machines spit out excepts they had DVC printed on them. I think I would have preferred the $100 Disney gift certificate. Oh, I also received four hats but no pins.