Future DVC Resort Location

[kimberwee]

As I sit here, staring out at the icy backyard, I couldn't help but wish that Disney would purchase some land in Colorado for a DVC Ski type resort. SERIOUSLY! Disney would make any snow day better. Take my money Disney!

I also wondered what the rest of you would like to see in terms of an "offpark" DVC Resort

 

[MinnieMouse100]

As I sit here, staring out at the icy backyard, I couldn't help but wish that Disney would purchase some land in Colorado for a DVC Ski type resort. SERIOUSLY! Disney would make any snow day better. Take my money Disney!

I also wondered what the rest of you would like to see in terms of an "offpark" DVC Resort

That would be amazing. A perfect compliment to the portfolio and also another option for west coasters. I would go in I heartbeat

 

[wnielsen1]

Sadly, I am not expecting any more off-site (meaning not near a Disney theme park) DVC locations. Aulani seems to have killed off the possibility.

 

[aoconnor]

I would love to see one in Miami to do WDW/beach combo trips. Vero's beach is nice enough but the town is dreadfully boring. Miami has fantastic food, shopping, and cultural destinations and will be easier to visit with the new Brightline high speed train between Orlando and Miami.

 

[DenLo]

Aulani is the third off Disney theme park property resort that has not sold quickly (think of how long it took to sell HHI and Disney sold half the property for Vero Beach because it was selling poorly. I wonder why Disney would be hesitant to build another one. A resort needs people to buy at the new resort not just be willing to use their points there at the 7 month mark. Those 7 month points do not pay for the annual dues nor helps DVC recover their investment.

For a resort to be successful it needs to be a year round resort, plus have a large local base that will also support the resort purchasing points. That is why VGC at Disneyland was so successful. I would vote for another DVC resort at Disneyland.

 

[MJB62676]

I would literally be in line on day one to buy a Colorado Disney DVC Resort.

 

[disneynutz]

I think that Disney has learned their lesson, DVC belongs close to the parks.

Bill

 

[vakamalua]

When we bought DVC (OKW) back in 1995 the whole sales pitch was about all the future high end resorts you could utilize that they were going to build 'all over the world' similar to many other timeshare resorts that were booming at the time. HHI and VBR were great starts in that direction and remain wonderful resorts to visit. As other posters stated the non-Disney-park adjacent resorts (including Aulani) have not sold well so Disney DVC has retreated to building only at WDW. We understand the dollars and cents of this decision but have been very disappointed that DVC has not turned out the way we envisioned when we bought. Given the WDW-centric properties with the difficulty of availability and the less-than-steller referbs of the resorts, it is so not the product we bought 22 years ago. We have greatly enjoyed our DVC trips but, for us, it is definitely time to think about selling in the near future. I always caution young families who ask me about buying DVC to fully understand the limitations of what they would actually be getting and the planning involved in using it.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I would vote for another DVC resort at Disneyland.

So would Disney the company, but the Anaheim city government has quite a lot to say on the matter, and they vote against. They win, because they make the zoning code.

These days, the guides are pushing RCI as the option. Obviously, RCI is not a guaranteed benefit in the sense that there are not 50 year contracts for the trade. But DVC as a purchase for trade outside DVC isn't a great deal. And for those who want to travel more outside Disney, DVC may not be the timeshare to do it on.

 

[tjkraz]

That would be amazing. A perfect compliment to the portfolio and also another option for west coasters. I would go in I heartbeat

Would you pay $180 per point to buy (and, ideally, convince about 10,000 of your closest friends to join you)?

DVC has taken three forays into non-park development and all 3 have been plagued by the same issues:
1) More expensive to build. The land alone can cost tens-of-millions of dollars, vs the land they already own at WDW.
2) Less demand from buyers.

Combine those two factors and profit margins are much, much lower. It requires more capital up front and it takes more time & thus more expense to sell.

I fear Aulani will be the last off-site. During the sales process, DVC can leverage RCI and other trading programs to help promote the occasional off-site usage. They'd much rather sell you Copper Creek points, while showing an RCI brochure with available destinations in Colorado, Washington DC, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, etc.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Everyone always thinks skiing for Colorado. That's only a few months out of the year. The rest of the time, someone needs to stay there to make it worthwhile.

 

[suebeelin]

We wouldn’t buy a Colorado DVC. We bought to be near Disneyworld.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Colorado also has a rough time with labor at mountain resorts. Unless Disney decided to staff it entirely with CP folks who would be bitter that they weren't being assigned to WDW/DL....

 

[dvc_john]

As I sit here, staring out at the icy backyard, I couldn't help but wish that Disney would purchase some land in Colorado for a DVC Ski type resort. SERIOUSLY!

Actually there were several off-site locations that were in some stage of planning.
One was Beaver Creek Colorado. That site is now Hyatt Mountain Lodge.
Another was Newport Coast in California. That was actually an announced project. It is now Marriott's Newport Coast Villas.
Another was New York Manhattan - a combination hotel/DVC. The site is now a Westin hotel.
And, of course, there was Eagle Pines at WDW.

(I've actually stayed at both the Hyatt Beaver Creek location and the Marriott Newport Coast location.)

http://www.yesterland.com/dvcnever.html
http://www.yesterland.com/ncv.html

 

[LAX]

Would you pay $180 per point to buy (and, ideally, convince about 10,000 of your closest friends to join you)?

DVC has taken three forays into non-park development and all 3 have been plagued by the same issues:
1) More expensive to build. The land alone can cost tens-of-millions of dollars, vs the land they already own at WDW.
2) Less demand from buyers.

Combine those two factors and profit margins are much, much lower. It requires more capital up front and it takes more time & thus more expense to sell.

I fear Aulani will be the last off-site. During the sales process, DVC can leverage RCI and other trading programs to help promote the occasional off-site usage. They'd much rather sell you Copper Creek points, while showing an RCI brochure with available destinations in Colorado, Washington DC, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, etc.

I wonder how well (or poorly) the hotel side does as I have heard it's definitely one of the more popular resorts for families. Perhaps Disney/DVD should have started out with less timeshare units to see the initial response. If the hotel does well, maybe Disney/DVD can give it another try by starting out the next offsite resort with a much smaller timeshare portion. I know this is wishful thinking, though.

LAX

 

[zavandor]

I fear Aulani will be the last off-site.

Probably true.
One could hope, however for resorts near other parks around the world, but:

• Shanghay and Hong Kong are only partially owned by Disney, the resorts are owned mostly by the Chinese government. No idea what the laws are for timehares in China, but I cannot see Disney venturing into such a headhake inducing venture
• Tokyo DL is 100% owned by the Oriental Company (not Disney) and there is zero land currently available for development of new hotels. They could buy and convert one of the good neighbours hotels, but I cannot see this happening
• Paris is the only interesting one. They've just purchased 100% of the resort shares and announced a 2,5 billion expansion that will double the size of the second gate. They own a lot of empty land there and they actually already have two timeshares onsite: Marriot Ile-de-France and Village Nature.

If something internationally is going to happen, it'll be in Paris.

 

[keaster]

I think when DVC decided to do Aulani, they were betting heavily on the Japanese market buying in. However, the March 2011 tsunami occurred just months before Aulani opened, devastating the Japanese economy. Add that to the admin mess ups with the dues, and you can see unfortunately the resort didn't get off to a great start.

 

[crisi]

I agree that their biggest issue is the seasonality of Colorado.

 

[tjkraz]

DVC surveyed owners on some locations quite a while ago. Has to be 8-10 years. One intriguing suggestion was Lake Tahoe. I don't know the area personally but I understand it gets warm enough in the summer to offer for swimming, etc., and cold enough in the winter for skiing.

Vegas was also mentioned in that same survey but the plethora of cheap hotel and timeshare destinations would make that a hard sell for DVC. Not to mention the non-Disney atmosphere.

 

[acpalmer]

I agree that their biggest issue is the seasonality of Colorado.

I'm not sure I would agree with that--we have tourists here all year round and the ski areas are busy in the summer (the activities are different, but they are open and running)--and getting busier in the summer every year. While there are certainly times when I think it would be nice if we only had tourists during the November-April ski season, that just simply isn't the case.

That said, I don't know that a DVC here in Colorado would be a money maker for Disney--land costs in the mountains and labor costs to staff the resort would be sky high. I shudder to think what the membership dues would be.