Rumors Abound Regarding Disney Timeshare April 11, 2011
Posted by John Stephens in : Disney, News & Events , add a commentRumors about a possible new Disney timeshare development, changes to closing cost payments and progress at the new Aulani resort in Hawaii have had Disney Vacation Club in the news over the last few weeks.
According to multiple news sources in Orlando, Disney officials have submitted plans with the South Florida Water Management District for construction and other improvements on land adjacent to Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. The plans include the construction of a multi-story building that would be located on the shores of the Seven Seas Lagoon between the Grand Floridian feature pool and the Wedding Pavilion.
The plans do not state the exact purpose of the building, but such applications filed with the SFWMD have been among the first tangible evidence of previous Disney timeshare developments including the Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort and the Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa.
Additional reports from the website MousePlanet.com state that Disney Vacation Club will also take ownership of a portion of the 900 current hotel rooms and suites at the Grand Floridian. This is similar to what DVC did at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas. The fifth and sixth floors of Jambo House were converted into Vacation Club villas during construction of the new Kidani Village facility.
Such a move makes sense on several levels. Conversion is much cheaper than building new units, the villas would be ready for sale quicker and it would leave fewer hotel rooms for Disney to market. Remember that the average occupancy rates for timeshare hover around 80% as opposed to the 60-65% average for hotel rooms.
The closing costs issue is a different matter, as existing DVC owners are now looking at having to pay closing costs for buying additional points. Traditionally, Disney Vacation Club has not charged existing members the closing costs or other fees associated with the purchase of additional points.
According to DVCNews.com, that has now changed and the exact costs vary depending upon the resort purchased, the number of points added and whether or not the add-on is financed through Disney.
New members have been subject to closing costs on their initial point purchase for several years. With this change in place, fees will now be added to all contracts regardless of member status or the size of the purchase.
A Disney spokesperson was quoted in the report as saying “in the real estate industry it is an accepted practice for buyers to pay closing costs. These closing costs can be included in the Member financing if they so choose.”
Don’t you just love it when timeshare developers refer to their product in terms of real estate when it’s convenient, but market it as a “lifestyle product” when it suits them?
All indications are that the construction on the Aulani resort in Hawaii is going well. So well, in fact, that Disney is offering tours of the facilities while they are still under construction.
The project looks to be a success waiting to happen for Disney, but the whispers around the Aloha State revolve around how much the disaster in Japan will affect Hawaii tourism. Resorts are reporting steep drops in inbound visitation from Japan, understandably so considering what the Japanese are still dealing with regarding the aftereffects of the earthquake, tsunami and radiation leaks.
Disney has the Japanese in mind as they build Aulani since they have made no secret of their desire to further inroads into Asian markets. Last week’s announcement of the new resort and theme park development in Shanghai speaks to that strategy and they have a ready-made marketing arm for Aulani through the Tokyo Disney theme park. The consequences of the natural and man-made disasters in Japan could have an impact on Aulani sales, but only time will tell just how much sales will be affected.
Even with all this attention to new development, Disney timeshare resales are still the best bargain and you can see the deals on the BuyaTimeshare.com website by clicking here.