This post is a bit different. First a little news that Grandpa is watching followed by an editorial. After this post I will take you on a journey that is our planning for a family trip with the GrandKids. Grandpa’s basic strategy is still valid, with modifications. So Stay Tuned.

WDW In The News.

As you all know we are in the middle of Hurricane Season in Florida. Hurricane season typically goes from the first of June until November . However, warmer oceans mean a longer season with more storms that could be more intense. A favorite season for Grandma and I is Halloween. The parks are all decked out, Special shows and ride overlays are in place. IT is just a great time to visit. We liked going mid September as the crowds are typically down. September is pretty much still in the middle of Hurricane season, but it was worth it.

Storm Tracking

So Grandpa, that is great and all, but what has that got to do with News? Well I’ll tell ya. This week NOAA has been tracking a slow moving system that is headed to Florida. An alert has been posted for central Florida. Storms and Hurricanes are a natural hazard that you should take in account if you are planning a trip during this time. Grandma and I have had great trips in this season, but you need to be prepared for inclement weather.

D23

Two big events are happening this week. The first is Disney’s earnings call. Disney sometimes uses this event to foreshadow changes that are coming to the parks. I think this will happen. The reason being is that also this week is the big D23 convention. Future plans, new attractions, major park additions are announced at the D23 event. This year there is a metriccrapton of announcements that are rumored to happen. So the lessor, non-blockbuster announcements could be held at the earnings call. All this makes for lots of predictions, speculation and rumors. At the end of the day, it is an exciting time.

EDITORIAL

As you all know, Grandma and I are DVC members and have been since 1996. At that time there were only 2 resorts in WDW. BoardWalk Villas and Old Key West. Old Key West was the original DVC resort on property. It was built in 1991. Between 1991 and 2017, a total of 14 resorts were built. Granted not all are at theme parks and 1 was in California.

Wow that’s a lot of resorts! These resorts are referred to as the original 14. Different rules apply to how you can use your points at these resorts. I won’t go into all the differences here, but let me tell you that the rules change makes these resorts much more desirable.

Resort Dilution?

Since 2017, 3 more resorts have been added. The Riviera in 2020, Villas at Disneyland Hotel in 2023 and Fort Wilderness Cabins in 2024. Another tower is opening later this year (2024) at the Polynesian Villas. This is a lot of properties and a lot of rooms at WDW. More rooms means more people in the parks. There is also a rumor of a new DVC property that is in the planning stages. This is at the original Reflections site between Wilderness Lodge and Fort Wilderness camp grounds. I look for this project to be announced at either the earnings call or D23 fan event.

I think we are starting to be over built on DVC. It is getting to where you almost need to be DVC members to stay on property. There are still great non DVC resorts, to be sure, but I think the number of DVC rooms far out number regular resort rooms. That is really not fair to families that can’t afford to buy into a timeshare like DVC.

Disney is still selling points at the Riviera almost 4 years after it has opened. Now to be fair Covid really slowed any kind of timeshare sales. There is a general slowing trend in sales. The interest in DVC is just not as great as it once was. All this points to a glut on the market. There was also an appeal of the ‘exclusive nature’ of a scarce resource. I get that Disney is in the business to make money and DVC was a great way to do so. However as the market gets saturated, it becomes a diminishing return. I would much rather see Disney put money into refurbishing the existing resorts, than in building new ones.

Thanks for visiting