How Radio Disney May Have Influenced My Decision Not to Buy DVC

[stlrod]

You're probably going to think this is ridiculous but here goes. Today, my family and I attend the Most Animated Kid Contest in Saint Louis. While the event had many problems (drinks unavailable, waited hours, kids turned away after half an hour), by far, the worst experience was when the Radio Disney Prize Truck rolled-in. Quite frankly, I've never seen such an unfair and thoughtless manner of handing out prizes. My 8 year old daughter stood with other kids and answered Disney trivia questions. She made it to the "finals" but missed her question in the finals and was "knocked-out" while other kids won prizes. The organizer then turned to the next group of kids and gave out a prize for each one who answered a question correctly (no "finals required.") As my daughter watched other kids get CDs, inflatable furniture and other items for doing the exact same thing she had done, I told her she could probably try again since she did not get a prize. She politely raised her hand, was called on and answered the question correctly. Her prize: a bumper sticker (every other kid who got a bumper sticker also got a CD.) Of course, she cried, I calmed her and when the other kids left,I asked the organizer if she could trade her sticker for a CD or one of the other prizes they had left. She said, "No, we can't do that, packed the remaining prizes (with the exception of a inflatable furniture set she handed off to a friend and left.) Radio Disney's timing couldn't have been worse. This morning, I had spent 2 hours going over paper work from a recent trip to HH trying to decide whether to buy at Marriott's Barony Beach or DVC. In fact, I had called the sales rep at DVC and left a message telling him I thought we would be buying in November and wanted to find out if we could give a Power of Attorney to a friend in Hilton Head to sign for us to take advantage of Magical Beginnings. Then, this afternoon's experience just reminded me of the fact that Disney doesn't give a mouse's rear about Customer Service anymore. While I won't say I'm not going to buy, DVC just lost its edge it had going for it.

 

[Janet2k]

Stlrod, I see that you have been around the Dis for awhile. Please don't let the actions of a few sour you on the rest. If your overall experience at WDW has been good, then remember that and use those memories when you make your final decision. However, if your overall experience at WDW has not been so good, then maybe Radio Disney was the push that you needed to make your decision. If it would help any, I would love to send a CD to your daughter to prove to her that there are still a lot of folks around here who truly believe in the magic. PM me if you need to blow off steam or want to give me your address so that I may send a non-Radio Disney CD to your house.

Janet2k

 

[baileybrad]

Whether you choose to buy a DVC or Marriott or any timeshare is obviously a personal decision that your family will decide after reviewing the pros and cons of such a purchase.

But, in all honestly, I do not see what an obviously disorganized trivia contest that the DVC had nothing to do with or responsibility for should be the deciding point in a timeshare purchase. I wasted money on a lousy Disney movie a few weeks ago. Should I sell my DVC membership because of it?

 

[stlrod]

Janet2K, That was a very nice offer but now that I've blown off steam, I feel better (and my daughter's was okay hours ago . Perhaps, I should explain though that the edge DVC had was an emotional one. I think few who have bought DVC can honestly say that there was not an emotional component to the decsion. Marriott had a slight edge on money involved and a much larger edge on proximity to the beach. Perhaps I should be thanking Radio Disney for allowing me to make this decion (whichever it will be) with a full realization that there is an emotional component which needs to be recognized and then put aside when making the final analysis.

 

[Janet2k]

Oh, no, Stlrod, don't leave the emotion out of it. If you do, then there will be no passion and magic waiting for your family at whichever timeshare you decide to purchase. If there is no passion and magic, life is, well, just plain boring and you might as well just spend all your time working (eh gads!). To paraphrase that old Disney jingle, "Remember the magic!" You need the emotion, be it good or be it bad, when making a large decision as whether or not to buy into the DVC.

I looked into the DVC a year or two after it first began. I did not buy into it then because it was not as flexible as it is today. I spent the next four or five years wondering if I had made the correct decision to not buy into it. When it came time to finally get off my butt and buy into it (yes, I needed the emotion to get me going again), I had no regrets whatsoever. The only regret I had was trying to figure out why I sat around for those four or five years. Once I bought into the DVC, I never looked back. I have had, in the past, present (and I am sure, future) less than stellar experiences with a few things during a few of my WDW vacations. But I have had way more magical experiences. I choose to remember the magic.

The offer for the CD still stands, but I am glad that voicing your displeasure here on the Dis at least helped a little.

 

[Dancind]

Another thought - in our city, Radio Disney is a franchise. It's owned by someone local who leases a little office/studio space, and plays the tapes from RD. The franchisee does their own promotions, etc. I don't think Disney has much to do with that part, though they probably have some rules about how things should be handled. Wouldn't hurt to send a complaint to Radio Disney "corporate". They should know how their franchises are being run.

 

[Lisa P.]

There's probably some emotion that goes into any non-necessity purchase. But with a large purchase ($10K plus), it's wise to stay aware of your motives. The same could be said for choosing between a sleek sports car and a top-of-the-line SUV. Either might provide what you'd like. Which is the better choice is highly individual. Emotion will naturally enter the decision. But it's good to be aware of that and still choose, ultimately, according to what would be best and most enjoyable for your purposes and your family.

(OTOH, some of us choose an upgraded van or RV!)

 

[JonHM]

A few comments. We just spent a week at WDW in June, and I have to say, it was still the most fantastic customer service we have received *anywhere* in the past few years. Disney STILL cares about customer service more than ANY other company that I know of. In fact, if you contact Disney's corporate offices and tell them the exact story as it transpired, I am SURE that they will not only send your daughter some prizes, but will make sure that the person who treated you so shoddily NEVER does that to anyone else as a representative of Disney again.

As for DVC, if you're more concerned with going to the beach a lot (or ANY locations outside of WDW), then DVC might not be for you. If you read the DVC board a lot, you will see that quite a few people purchase BOTH Marriot and DVC (just fewer points at each, so they can alternate vacations). I believe that there was an interesting thread called Marriot vs. DVC last week. Yep, here is the link:

http://www.disboards.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=83046

It really is a very personal decision, whether DVC is right for you. But while one should never make a big financial decision *strictly* based on emotion, emotion needs to play a part. It is my belief that one reason that so many DVC owners are SO happy (if happy is another word for "obsessed with" ) 'their' DVC is exactly because of the emotion. I agree with Janet2K, the emotion is a large part of what makes the magic magical.

Again, though, I would DEFINITELY contact Disney corporate about your negative experience with Radio Disney. Sorry that you and your daughter had to experience that. It sounds like that person has no business representing Disney at all.

 

[Dancind]

Wouldn't Vero Beach or Hilton Head be a good choice for a beach lover? And you could still use your points at WDW from time to time. Just a thought.