Sad day .. Just Sold our DVC Membership..

[crisi]

We haven't been to WDW in six years. We've used our points at HHI and Aulani. I have no interest in park reservations, no interest in paying for Genie +. I'm sure we will make it again, but don't have any plans for the near future. We've always been Disney people who travel a lot of other places, and we've decided - especially now that our kids are grown, that those other places have more appeal.

 

[DonMacGregor]

We haven't been to WDW in six years. We've used our points at HHI and Aulani. I have no interest in park reservations, no interest in paying for Genie +. I'm sure we will make it again, but don't have any plans for the near future. We've always been Disney people who travel a lot of other places, and we've decided - especially now that our kids are grown, that those other places have more appeal.

We've sort of come full-circle. Being in So Cal, and having most of our family employed by the Mouse at one time or another, our kids got plenty of Disney early on. That opened up a TON of travel elsewhere in their teen and early 20's years: Europe, South America, Alaska, and all over the continental US. A high school geography report my son did on Machu Picchu led to a 2013 trip to Peru. Hawaii has always been our vacation "home" so there were plenty of trips there too.

Now that we're older and holding out hope for some Grands, we've actually started to come back to Disney and are now expanding our ownership. Maybe 50/50 on park versus resort days.

 

[DeeCee735]

I’m sorry. I’m a long time Dis Board lurker and BWV DVC member BUT, what does walker mean?

Thanks

Walking a reservation means you call and reserve a date before you are actually checking in, then call each day to extend it by a day, letting go of your not real check in date - one day at a time. I THINK?? If I ever walked a reservation it was 20:years ago, so I may not be 100% correct on this. We own two home resorts and we have never really had a problem getting the dates we want so I haven’t had a need to do so in a long time. Probably did it years ago more out of fear that we wouldn’t get on property when we wanted, than an availability issue.

Dee

 

[Stargazer65]

Walking a reservation means you call and reserve a date before you are actually checking in, then call each day to extend it by a day, letting go of your not real check in date - one day at a time. I THINK?? If I ever walked a reservation it was 20:years ago, so I may not be 100% correct on this.

That's pretty much correct except I think the majority of walkers just do it on the website, not by calling. You can change your reservation an hour earlier online than calling.

 

[castle1]

We just sold our large BWV contract for the same reasons as the OP. We bought in 2000, and it is a world apart from what it used to be like. There are already people walking BWV standard and BWV view, probably for fall or December 2023. We could always get a reservation for those times at 11 months out. That and all of the not so great changes, it is time to move on.

 

[karrit2000]

Sorry you had to make that decision. I'm seriously considering selling also for the same reasons as you. I've got 3 contracts so I need to decide which goes first. VGC has always been near impossible for me since I've only ever booked studios there even with it being one of my home resorts. Part of what is pushing me to sell is as I get older I'm really wanting to get back to some big National Park adventures like I did when I was younger pre-DVC ownership. Somehow I need to fit it a trip to Aulani before I sell and maybe Hiltonn Headl too.

 

[TheWho]

Walking a reservation means you call and reserve a date before you are actually checking in, then call each day to extend it by a day, letting go of your not real check in date - one day at a time. I THINK?? If I ever walked a reservation it was 20:years ago, so I may not be 100% correct on this. We own two home resorts and we have never really had a problem getting the dates we want so I haven’t had a need to do so in a long time. Probably did it years ago more out of fear that we wouldn’t get on property when we wanted, than an availability issue.

Dee

Thanks Dee for the explanation. I’ve been a member since 1999 and really wasn’t aware of this (maybe I did it once too). Lol

In regard to original post here, I totally get what the original poster is saying. My wife and I are in our mid 50s and our kids are out of college. We brought DVC for the kids 20+ years ago. I agree that perks are going away and prices are rising which is why we are starting to take non WDW trips (ie, recently Sedona and Grand Canyon). But I honestly can’t sell (I originally paid $61 a point). First off, I would need counseling. Lol. Secondly, I’m paying roughly $2,500 a year in dues (that will change) and when we retire, I’m hoping to book 2 weeks in January at a BW studio and stay 2 weeks some where in Florida. That’s a month away from Northeast cold. That’s my plan, BUT, I understand both sides of keeping or selling. I know it’s a personal decision and there’s no right or wrong answer.

 

[crisi]

We've sort of come full-circle. Being in So Cal, and having most of our family employed by the Mouse at one time or another, our kids got plenty of Disney early on. That opened up a TON of travel elsewhere in their teen and early 20's years: Europe, South America, Alaska, and all over the continental US. A high school geography report my son did on Machu Picchu led to a 2013 trip to Peru. Hawaii has always been our vacation "home" so there were plenty of trips there too.

Now that we're older and holding out hope for some Grands, we've actually started to come back to Disney and are now expanding our ownership. Maybe 50/50 on park versus resort days.

We did Peru last October and it was wonderful! Not with the kids though who are now young adults - although I'm NOT hoping for grandkids and think I'm unlikely to get them. We are taking the kids to Africa on safari next year - we went Before Covid and loved it. And I'm hoping to restart the trips to Europe - that was part of my husband's business travel that hasn't returned yet.

 

[Sandisw]

Being new to BWV - I get it - if you look at August so many are walking reservations that you have to wait until the walkers pass ( rooms booked 11 months + 2 days sometimes) to make a reservation. When you call MS they say that that is permitted so DVC basically encourages walking.

Just to give some background on why it is allowed to happen.

The current set up allows for any changes outside of 31 days to happen with no penalty.

In order to curb or prevent walking, DVC would have to change the rules for modifications to trips

That means it could have a much greater impact negatively on the system and owners in general.

Lots of owners change and modify trips when the intention is not waking.

Even with walking, there has never been one resort that can’t be booked at 11 months when the window opens. Certain rooms and views may not be possible but no one has ever been completely shut out.

For example, SV studios at bWV might be gone but garden/pool view is still there. Or, in case Of CCV and VGF studios might be gone but 1 bedrooms are available.

With the additional VGF resort studios, I think that resorts booking trends may change.

It’s one of those slippery slopes that The cure could be worse than the problem.

 

[DeeCee735]

Thanks Dee for the explanation. I’ve been a member since 1999 and really wasn’t aware of this (maybe I did it once too). Lol

In regard to original post here, I totally get what the original poster is saying. My wife and I are in our mid 50s and our kids are out of college. We brought DVC for the kids 20+ years ago. I agree that perks are going away and prices are rising which is why we are starting to take non WDW trips (ie, recently Sedona and Grand Canyon). But I honestly can’t sell (I originally paid $61 a point). First off, I would need counseling. Lol. Secondly, I’m paying roughly $2,500 a year in dues (that will change) and when we retire, I’m hoping to book 2 weeks in January at a BW studio and stay 2 weeks some where in Florida. That’s a month away from Northeast cold. That’s my plan, BUT, I understand both sides of keeping or selling. I know it’s a personal decision and there’s no right or wrong answer.

We have done Sedona/Grabd Canyon too. GREAT trip. We’ve also done Charleston, cape cod, aruba and Hilton Head. Just sent our kids to Aruba for a week through II and it was a full week for only 100 points. Renting is an option to selling, although I don’t really do that unless I find myself with too many points (what?!!!!). Lol. Perhaps in a situation like due to covid.

We’re going in a couple of weeks, non park trip. Resorts/pools/bars/disney springs and restaurants. I look forward to relaxing.

It’s not something we’re interested in selling. I think if we were ever to give it up (we’ll be in our 80’s when BWV expires and probably dead when AKV expires), we would transfer it to our daughter and her husband, they have 3 little ones and are very excited about our 2023 trip so I think they’d want it before they would want to see it sold.

I would regret never being able to buy it again. Yea it’s changed, totally insanely expensive, but so much more flexible than our Marriott legacy week and a great trader through interval. Plus I love the short getaway options we have through II. I recently paid $125 a night for three nights in a two bedroom Marriott in Jersey with my girlfriends. Awesome fun!

Enjoy your DVC!

 

[AnnaS]

We have done Sedona/Grabd Canyon too. GREAT trip. We’ve also done Charleston, cape cod, aruba and Hilton Head. Just sent our kids to Aruba for a week through II and it was a full week for only 100 points. Renting is an option to selling, although I don’t really do that unless I find myself with too many points (what?!!!!). Lol. Perhaps in a situation like due to covid.

We’re going in a couple of weeks, non park trip. Resorts/pools/bars/disney springs and restaurants. I look forward to relaxing.

It’s not something we’re interested in selling. I think if we were ever to give it up (we’ll be in our 80’s when BWV expires and probably dead when AKV expires), we would transfer it to our daughter and her husband, they have 3 little ones and are very excited about our 2023 trip so I think they’d want it before they would want to see it sold.

I would regret never being able to buy it again. Yea it’s changed, totally insanely expensive, but so much more flexible than our Marriott legacy week and a great trader through interval. Plus I love the short getaway options we have through II. I recently paid $125 a night for three nights in a two bedroom Marriott in Jersey with my girlfriends. Awesome fun!

Enjoy your DVC!

Would love to hear a little more about your Marriott stay in NJ. Was it a last minute booking and where in NJ. Thank you.

 

[T8cnel]

I’m sorry. I’m a long time Dis Board lurker and BWV DVC member BUT, what does walker mean?

Thanks

was thinking the same thing .

 

[T8cnel]

I knew walking was bad… but what are they starting to walk towards in the month of August?
Is it time for me to start walking for NYE 2023 at BLT ? Hope that is a Joke .!.

You are lucky you were able to complete a Sale with satisfaction.
APPARENTLY there is a huge amount of resales listed !
Did you receive your asking price ?

 

[T8cnel]

I knew walking was bad… but what are they starting to walk towards in the month of August?
Is it time for me to start walking for NYE 2023 at BLT ? Hope that is a Joke .!.

You are lucky you were able to complete a Sale with satisfaction.
APPARENTLY there is a huge amount of resales listed !
Did you receive your asking price ?

As far as asking price, it wasn't 2 far off, we were very happy with the sale and the process.

 

[crisi]

Just to give some background on why it is allowed to happen.

The current set up allows for any changes outside of 31 days to happen with no penalty.

In order to curb or prevent walking, DVC would have to change the rules for modifications to trips

That means it could have a much greater impact negatively on the system and owners in general.

Lots of owners change and modify trips when the intention is not waking.

Even with walking, there has never been one resort that can’t be booked at 11 months when the window opens. Certain rooms and views may not be possible but no one has ever been completely shut out.

For example, SV studios at bWV might be gone but garden/pool view is still there. Or, in case Of CCV and VGF studios might be gone but 1 bedrooms are available.

With the additional VGF resort studios, I think that resorts booking trends may change.

It’s one of those slippery slopes that The cure could be worse than the problem.

They could make changes where the cure wouldn't be worse than the problem. For instance, any reservation made at the eleven month window cannot have nights dropped for 30 days from the date the reservation is made. You would still be able to add nights to get more than seven nights. If you wanted to start walking at 11 months minus one day, you could do so, but anyone who was reserving a trip at eleven months would take priority over people trying to work the system to get some popular week in a Standard View studio. A few people with a ton of points would still be able to walk, but they wouldn't need to since that would kill the need to do so as most members don't have nearly enough points to walk a month worth of points. You could still call and have a CM member listen to you plead your case if you made some sort of error or some sort of change needed to happen that occurred between ten and eleven months out, like you can now if you need a banking exception or an exception for points going into holding.

But it would require systems changes that Disney is loathe to spend money on.

 

[DeeCee735]

Would love to hear a little more about your Marriott stay in NJ. Was it a last minute booking and where in NJ. Thank you.

Absecon, NJ. Or Galloway depending on what website you’re looking at. 15/20 minute ride to AC casinos. It’s called Marriott fairway villas, it’s on a golf course too . A couple of decent restaurants in the area as well Awesome in the summer if you can get in. Good family place in summer and nice girls getaway (or couples) off season.

 

[gharter]

We had 2 contracts for many years, but not close to yours. After our last trip, we sold one. Still plan to keep our BWV for many years. We enjoyed our trip, but not enough to go twice a year. Never thought I'd say that, but we both agreed. OTOH, we came out really well with the sale of our AKL contract, so no complaints.

 

[zavandor]

They could make changes where the cure wouldn't be worse than the problem. For instance, any reservation made at the eleven month window cannot have nights dropped for 30 days from the date the reservation is made. You would still be able to add nights to get more than seven nights. If you wanted to start walking at 11 months minus one day, you could do so, but anyone who was reserving a trip at eleven months would take priority over people trying to work the system to get some popular week in a Standard View studio. A few people with a ton of points would still be able to walk, but they wouldn't need to since that would kill the need to do so as most members don't have nearly enough points to walk a month worth of points. You could still call and have a CM member listen to you plead your case if you made some sort of error or some sort of change needed to happen that occurred between ten and eleven months out, like you can now if you need a banking exception or an exception for points going into holding.

But it would require systems changes that Disney is loathe to spend money on.

It would solve the issue of walking for months, but it would give an advantage to people with a lot of points. They would be able to start booking a few days (or even weeks) in advance. It's a mitigation, not a solution and I'm against any system that would give an unfair advantage to only some people; at least now, as long as one has enough points to book two nights, he's level with anyone else.
Mind you, I'm often in banking mode, this means I could easily start booking my dates a couple of weeks in advance if I wanted to, so I'd be one of those who would get the unfair advantage and I'm still against it.

Also, the real issue for me is that I don't really trust DVC to mess with reservations. They actually gain money if points are lost (via breakage). So I bet any rule they'd introduce would make our life more difficult and cause a loss of points. I own another point system, there is no concept of banking and borrowing, points are available in the account to be spent for 5 years, points are deducted only at check-in, if I cancel (within the free cancellation period) they go back to their status. This makes my life much easier. There is no real reason to have banking and borrowing, except to hope that all those rules cause people to lose points. I don't want any more rule to complicate an already convoluted system

 

[AnnaS]

Absecon, NJ. Or Galloway depending on what website you’re looking at. 15/20 minute ride to AC casinos. It’s called Marriott fairway villas, it’s on a golf course too . A couple of decent restaurants in the area as well Awesome in the summer if you can get in. Good family place in summer and nice girls getaway (or couples) off season.

Thank you. Close enough to us. Price sounds like a nice deal for 3 nights in a 2BDR. Off season?

 

[mistysue]

They could just stop people modifying reservations that go past 11 months. So for example if I book 4 nights 11 months from today, I could't modify it until I hit check in for the the first night that is not included (the 5th night). Right now people book 4 then modify on day 4 to stay ahead. It would stop people because right now if you cancel the whole thing to rebook a new trip someone might steal your room, and the entire idea of walking would fall apart at its foundation. People would simply be forced to try to book the trip they actually wanted.