Is this supposed to be a DVC 'benefit'?

[_auroraborealis_]

It is all branding past the discounts. Some special events (some free) an the point trades for poor value trade.

 

[DVCPAT]

based on what I've read, the only real negative to being a 'lesser being' is the loss of the discount on the AP pass and the dining discount, am I missing something? Do you guys get a special handshake or tote bag that the low class like myself miss?

If you like Disney, resale is the best option. I don't mean to sound negative, sometimes the rooms will make you feel like a lesser being.
I'm at the WLV watching my wife heat water for the bath tub using the microwave. My grandson needs a bath and the resort has no hot water.
The first two days we didn't have AC. The third night the resort card reader went down, no one could unlock room doors.
You have to maintain a sense of humor.. it's really unbelievable knowing Disney is trying to sell copper creek.

 

[Matty B13]

If you like Disney, resale is the best option. I don't mean to sound negative, sometimes the rooms will make you feel like a lesser being.
I'm at the WLV watching my wife heat water for the bath tub using the microwave. My grandson needs a bath and the resort has no hot water.
The first two days we didn't have AC. The third night the resort card reader went down, no one could unlock room doors.
You have to maintain a sense of humor.. it's really unbelievable knowing Disney is trying to sell copper creek.

Wow!!!! Not a good image, I'm sure there are no WVL DVC owners grumbling in the Main Lodge......

 

[DVCPAT]

Wow!!!! Not a good image, I'm sure there are no WVL DVC owners grumbling in the Main Lodge......

Its very sad...Disney needs to fire entire hotel mangement team and replace them with holiday inn personnel. Listening to the technicians trying to get parts from management was shocking. Problems could have been resolved quicker if they had good support from supervision

 

[Pluto777]

Its very sad...Disney needs to fire entire hotel mangement team and replace them with holiday inn personnel. Listening to the technicians trying to get parts from management was shocking. Problems could have been resolved quicker if they had good support from supervision

Wow, that IS hard to believe for Disney; is there ongoing construction there?

 

[DVCPAT]

Wow, that IS hard to believe for Disney; is there ongoing construction there?

No, construction is finished. Disney seems to be aggressively cutting costs and DVC members have little recourse. DVC is sort of like Disney's dining plan. Disney can dumb down the service and options and still maximize a profit.
If you watch the grand opening at copper creek on YouTube, it gives you a picture of how Disney views members.

 

[Pluto777]

-an

No, construction is finished. Disney seems to be aggressively cutting costs and DVC members have little recourse. DVC is sort of like Disney's dining plan. Disney can dumb down the service and options and still maximize a profit.
If you watch the grand opening at copper creek on YouTube, it gives you a picture of how Disney views members.

Didn't see it, have a link? I am not even a 'member', and in contract as a 'resale member'... I guess I am lower than whale poop

 

[disneynutz]

Disney seems to create beautiful themed new DVC resorts and after selling out, the resort changes it's status. Less housekeeping, less maintenance, less theming as they due refurbs and higher dues.

At BLT during the selling phase they had a housekeeper who we met that had the job of keeping the first floor clean. She made the rounds all day long cleaning the common areas, cleaning the glass, polishing the metal. After selling out, she was reassigned.

Bill

 

[bwvBound]

If you watch the grand opening at copper creek on YouTube, it gives you a picture of how Disney views members.

I watched two recorded segments on Youtube today at this recommendation. Perhaps the segments I saw did not include the references to its members -- or the references went completely over my head. Would you provide a bit more insight? Thank you!

 

[kboo]

based on what I've read, the only real negative to being a 'lesser being' is the loss of the discount on the AP pass and the dining discount, am I missing something? Do you guys get a special handshake or tote bag that the low class like myself miss?

There is a tote bag. I will wave it in everyone's face since I am now a superior being!

Going back to OP's original question, I have seen groups from this board get together and rent a boat for a fireworks cruise and share the cost - I think if you fill the boat, the cost goes down quite a bit per person.

 

[wdw4rfam]

based on what I've read, the only real negative to being a 'lesser being' is the loss of the discount on the AP pass and the dining discount, am I missing something? Do you guys get a special handshake or tote bag that the low class like myself miss?

We get to charge our phones and get a free coke in the member lounge at Epcot. in all actuality we just added direct recently because we figured out that the gold pass really did save us enough to justify a small add on. It will pay for itself alone and I have the extra points too.

 

[wdw4rfam]

There is a tote bag. I will wave it in everyone's face since I am now a superior being!

Going back to OP's original question, I have seen groups from this board get together and rent a boat for a fireworks cruise and share the cost - I think if you fill the boat, the cost goes down quite a bit per person.

Oh I forgot about my tote bag. I call it my $3500 bag.

 

[CarolMN]

If you like Disney, resale is the best option. I don't mean to sound negative, sometimes the rooms will make you feel like a lesser being.
I'm at the WLV watching my wife heat water for the bath tub using the microwave. My grandson needs a bath and the resort has no hot water.
The first two days we didn't have AC. The third night the resort card reader went down, no one could unlock room doors.
You have to maintain a sense of humor.. it's really unbelievable knowing Disney is trying to sell copper creek.

Its very sad...Disney needs to fire entire hotel mangement team and replace them with holiday inn personnel. Listening to the technicians trying to get parts from management was shocking. Problems could have been resolved quicker if they had good support from supervision

Wow, indeed! I hope you and anyone else affected has gone to the front desk and asked to speak to speak to the manager. I'd be camping out in the lobby until the manager appeared - especially if permission to get replacement parts was a problem!

Hope things are all 100% very soon!

 

[DVCPAT]

Wow, indeed! I hope you and anyone else affected has gone to the front desk and asked to speak to speak to the manager. I'd be camping out in the lobby until the manager appeared - especially if permission to get replacement parts was a problem!

Hope things are all 100% very soon!

I listened to the technicians (3 total over 2 days) talk to supervision about where spare parts were stored and getting approval to call in the next level technician. No one knew where replacement parts were located in the resort. That surprised me for an older resort. The technicians were knowledgable, listening to one side of the conversation, it seemed like they weren't getting support behind the scene.

I spoke to the manager and he made things right. Some of the issues were outside his control and we happen to be caught in a perfect storm .. what could go wrong did go wrong.

 

[DVCPAT]

I watched two recorded segments on Youtube today at this recommendation. Perhaps the segments I saw did not include the references to its members -- or the references went completely over my head. Would you provide a bit more insight? Thank you!

Sure..I'll post the links tomorrow. I'm not sure if you watched any of the Devee Cee segments of a DVC owner, but the grand opening of copper creek reminded me of her.

 

[disneynutz]

I listened to the technicians (3 total over 2 days) talk to supervision about where spare parts were stored and getting approval to call in the next level technician. No one knew where replacement parts were located in the resort. That surprised me for an older resort. The technicians were knowledgable, listening to one side of the conversation, it seemed like they weren't getting support behind the scene.

I spoke to the manager and he made things right. Some of the issues were outside his control and we happen to be caught in a perfect storm .. what could go wrong did go wrong.

Made it right for you, what about the other guests? While maintenance issues can happen and will get worse as resorts get older, they should have procedures in place to deal with them.

Bill

 

[cw62803]

I like getting the best value for my money. Buying resale was an easy call for me. Although it was more time consuming and a little more complicated than buying directly from Disney, it was approximately 40 percent less expensive. For me, it was well worth the waiting and somewhat inconvenient process.

After purchasing our first resale contract, we added 25 points directly from Disney. I'm glad we did. Those points were easy to buy - I simply put them on a credit card over the phone. They were available instantly, and provided us access to a number of perks that, for me, were worth the cost. We were able to purchase Gold Annual Passes - which we upgraded to Platinum Plus passes for free. The annual passes gave us free parking on days we were off property, Photopass, and lots of dining and merchandise discounts. We also had access to the Top of the World Lounge, which was a great place to see the new fireworks. We attended two Moonlight Magic events at Typhoon Lagoon, which were great. We also enjoyed a couple of short breaks at the Epcot member lounge and a somewhat overpriced Dessert/Fireworks package at the Contemporary on July 3rd. Near the end of our stay, DVC offered a 30 percent discounts at certain resort restaurants - including Olivia's at OKW - which was very nice. I may have had access to some of those perks without buying any points directly, but it was nice not to have to think about it.

In all, I'm glad we purchased the direct points. People may throw shade on the perks, and I know they are not guaranteed forever, but I'm glad I have them and would recommend buying a small number of direct points to my friends and family.

 

[FireflyTrance]

I bought resale and then bought a direct add on. I have used some of the membership extra benefits. Most notable has been the AP Gold Pass discounts. Other membership extras we used were early access to Pandora World of Avatar, dining discounts, shopping discounts, EPCOT lounge. We also got a tote bag when we bought direct. Though when I bought resale they sent us DVC Member magnets so that was cool.

 

[sndral]

We get to charge our phones and get a free coke in the member lounge at Epcot. in all actuality we just added direct recently because we figured out that the gold pass really did save us enough to justify a small add on. It will pay for itself alone and I have the extra points too.

Well, post 4/4 people can still get free coke products at Club Cool, so it's all good.

 

[HomerHog]

As has been said before, many of them are just things that are available to the public that have been repackaged as a DVC "benefit". Sometimes there is value to be found in them, sometimes not.

The "benefit" in some of the events such as the fireworks cruise, fishing tournament, and a few similar ones are that the DVC booking is individual not the whole boat. For example, a few years ago, my son and I did the Thursday fishing excursion at $70ish each rather than twice that for our own boat. The following year with 4 of us, it was about the same price to have our own boat and we could do it any day of the week.