Disney had no idea what they we onto

jerseyduke

Home is just where you stay when not at WDW
Joined
Jan 19, 2013
When OKW went on sale it was in the neighborhood of 45$ pp. Adjusted for inflation that is about 83$ today,.

If OKW went on sale today (inflation adjusted) it would cost less than 13,000$ to buy the 157 points needed for a 1 bedroom for a week in early December.

Instead we have the Riviera, which, with incentives, same week, standard view - 40,600(ish)$

Guess they kinda gave OKW away!
 
Yep, the combined impact of point inflation (rooms that require More points) + point price increases have a huge impact.
Using Mickey math (point cost/50 years) +current dues and that OKW 1BR is about the same nightly price as a rack rate POP preferred room $190) and I think that’s kinda what they sold, comparing larger rooms vs Values.

Now DVC has to sell Riviera comparing studios to Deluxe rooms.

DVD still made $ at those prices... I guess it should be mentioned some of OKW can’t be repeated (ie old buildings aren’t ADA compliant)
 
When OKW went on sale it was in the neighborhood of 45$ pp. Adjusted for inflation that is about 83$ today,.

If OKW went on sale today (inflation adjusted) it would cost less than 13,000$ to buy the 157 points needed for a 1 bedroom for a week in early December.

Instead we have the Riviera, which, with incentives, same week, standard view - 40,600(ish)$

Guess they kinda gave OKW away!

WDW itself has changed so much since then. Become more popular, greater numbers of international guests and even added a park since OKW was built.
 
WDW itself has changed so much since then. Become more popular, greater numbers of international guests and even added a park since OKW was built.
Seems to me like you just justified a 5th gate! :rotfl2:
 


When OKW went on sale it was in the neighborhood of 45$ pp. Adjusted for inflation that is about 83$ today,.

If OKW went on sale today (inflation adjusted) it would cost less than 13,000$ to buy the 157 points needed for a 1 bedroom for a week in early December.

Instead we have the Riviera, which, with incentives, same week, standard view - 40,600(ish)$

Guess they kinda gave OKW away!

Perks of being an early adopter.

OKW, originally called Disney Vacation Club Resort, may have been the only destination. There was no guarantee of additional properties, continued member perks, future maintenance costs, ability to trade out of the one resort, point rental prospects, resale values, etc. Those who had the foresight to predict success back in 1992 benefitted from their investment.

Today buyers have 28 years of DVC history on which to base their decisions, along with 14 other destinations.
 
Perks of being an early adopter.

OKW, originally called Disney Vacation Club Resort, may have been the only destination. There was no guarantee of additional properties, continued member perks, future maintenance costs, ability to trade out of the one resort, point rental prospects, resale values, etc. Those who had the foresight to predict success back in 1992 benefitted from their investment.

Today buyers have 28 years of DVC history on which to base their decisions, along with 14 other destinations.
All very valid points.
I guess what I am trying to say is Disney sold it too cheaply (people who bought it got a great deal).

Extra resorts for switching and other benefits aside if Disney offered me a 1 bedroom at OWK and OKW only for one week a year for 50 years for 13K with no perks,....That is the price of a studio at OWK for a week for like 5 years.

Of course hindsight is 20/20, but just a numbers point of view is staggering
 


I disagree, it wasn't sold too cheaply. Disney was taking a big risk, timeshares were an "avoid at ant cost" in those days. They built the best resort, at a fair price and the idea took off. They stumble with VERO and HHI, but have been doing well since.
 
All very valid points.
I guess what I am trying to say is Disney sold it too cheaply (people who bought it got a great deal).

Extra resorts for switching and other benefits aside if Disney offered me a 1 bedroom at OWK and OKW only for one week a year for 50 years for 13K with no perks,....That is the price of a studio at OWK for a week for like 5 years.

Of course hindsight is 20/20, but just a numbers point of view is staggering

Consider though that it might have flopped had it been priced differently at that time. I've never heard that the sales were unbelieveable, just that it sold. Did you compare to increases in lodging rates? I'm of a belief they have increased more than standard inflation too. If so then OKW couldn't have been sold for rates that are comparable to the rates today. Early adopter benefits and early adopter risks.
 
Extra resorts for switching and other benefits aside if Disney offered me a 1 bedroom at OWK...

Splitting hairs but Disney DID make this offer to you. It wasn't private pricing. Anyone could have bought in at those rates.

If you chose not to, it was likely due to a combination of factors like inability of DVC's modest marketing efforts to reach you, distrust in timeshares, uncertainty about the future of the program, uncertainty about personal finances, etc.

You can't just cherry pick a couple factors like the possible existence of one resort and project how it would perform in today's marketplace. It took a decade for Disney to build up brand awareness and consumer confidence in the DVC product. Those factors are what allowed them to increase the price.
 
Splitting hairs but Disney DID make this offer to you. It wasn't private pricing. Anyone could have bought in at those rates.

If you chose not to, it was likely due to a combination of factors like inability of DVC's modest marketing efforts to reach you, distrust in timeshares, uncertainty about the future of the program, uncertainty about personal finances, etc.

You can't just cherry pick a couple factors like the possible existence of one resort and project how it would perform in today's marketplace. It took a decade for Disney to build up brand awareness and consumer confidence in the DVC product. Those factors are what allowed them to increase the price.
Or I was in school at the time. Although I was technically old enough to legally enter a contract.
I'm commending disney on their efforts using numbers.

That's why I said Disney had no idea what they were getting into, I don't think they dreamed it would be this successful.
 
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From what I had read, back in the day Michael Eisner was very skeptical of starting a time share on Disney property. He told DVC he did not want to hear it has turned into a 192 type time share pitch to guest. Back then DVC was technically not part of Walt Disney World and from what I heard most executives were not keen on the idea of time share on Disney World Property. They had to price accordingly based not only on local competition but also it was Disney. They started with minimum point packages if I am not mistaken at 210 points. It sold but not as good as they were hoping even with the free park tickets included if you bought before a certain date. When they reduced the minimum to 150 sales took off. We looked in 1995 when the minimum was still 210 points and at the time for my wife and I it was a little to expensive. Two years later in January 1997 after they had lowered the point minimum to 150 points, we bought 150 points. Over time we added an additional 70 points to make a total of 250 points. We paid off the loan in less than two years so our total cost was to us was well worth it. If it weren't for DVC there would have been some years we would have not been able to go on a vacation, espicialy after the colapase of the economy in 2008/2009.
Over the years we jokingly told people "Disney pays us to vacation with them". The savings on our first 6 Disney Cruises more than paid us back our initial investment in DVC. We no longer use points for cruises, we are FL residents and either use FL resident rates or on board booking deals for cruises. Now when we vacation with Disney we far surpass the cost of our yearly dues based on our room cost if we were cash paying for it. In essence we vacation almost for free.
So in the end I do not think they gave Old Key West away however I am glad they priced it the way they did back in the beginning.
 
It took nearly seven years for OKW to sell out. Then they tore down the Commodore's House and built three more buildings. The successful resorts have sold out much more quickly than that.
 

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