Well it has been one of the worst kept secrets over the past few months. With leaked plans and a treasure trove of rumours – some part of it had to be true. However what is odd about this short official announcement is that it happened at all. It is really not a standard Disney approach to DVC – normally the official announcement is much later in the process. So what happened?
It would seem that the demand for The Villas at Grand Floridian is very high and they are selling fast and at a premium price. When I heard of the price point I thought, this is insane, there is no way this is going to fly in this economy. Well I was so wrong. These things are selling and selling fast. It in fact has created a run on the resale market increasing price per point dramatically – I really did not see that coming. Imagine buying a few timeshares a few months ago and flipping them now at a premium price – this is not only unheard of in the timeshare world – but would seem impossible except we are talking about Disney. Only Disney could make such an impossibility, a reality.
It was no doubt Disney was looking at adding a DVC at the Polynesian, however the increase in price justifies an expansion of DVC at The Polynesian quicker than ever which should be in as high a demand if not higher as The Polynesian continues to be one of the most sought after resorts on property. This will of course come with price point increases over the next year or so until Disney starts to presell the DVC at Polynesian. So it would seem the resale market may be over its soft stage for a while to come.
This leads us to the next big question. What is coming next? Could it be the long rumoured Western themed resort at the defunct River Country water park or a second tower at The Contemporary or something else?
Well my answer is something else. While I think the western themed resort would be very cool, let’s be realistic – it is not on a monorail or next to a theme park so unless they create its own water park – I really do not seeing it selling as fast as The Grand Floridian or Polynesian. And it would be hard to justify a price increase for such a resort. So my bet is this is like Disney’s Villas at Eagle Pines, a planned but never built resort because there are much better options.
I also do not believe a second tower would be the next option for DVC for The Contemporary. If you look at the footprint of where a second tower would go (replacing the remaining bungalows) – it would have limited to no Magic Kingdom view. While it would be on a monorail, it would be a more difficult sale as it is more of an expansion versus a new resort which would not be adding more options to DVC guest’s possibilities like a brand new resort.
I would bet the big money on one of two possibilities and both of these would add a brand new resort to Walt Disney World at the deluxe category which has not happened for many many years.
Option One is the construction of a new Deluxe resort to be located on the monorail on the huge vacant land just to the right of the ferry terminal and The Polynesian that was once to be a Venetian Resort. This resort would, of course be on the monorail and be close to the Magic Kingdom. While this seems like a given to happen, The hotel area around Magic Kingdom is very well served at the moment and there is another area that will be much more underserved in the near future.
Option Two is the construction of a new Deluxe resort to be located within the boundaries of Disney’s Hollywood Studios once the park goes through it massive expansion. Let’s be realistic this is no longer a real working studio as it was once planned, but is really just a theme park. Now that Disney seems poised to finally spend some money on this park to significantly expand its offerings, it opens the door to the necessity of a Deluxe hotel close to its doors. Adding a new Star Wars land as is heavily rumoured could be a game changer for this park, if Disney will also expand Pixar place and enhance the other lands within the park, this could easily become a second Magic Kingdom (from an attendance point). This means it would be the only park with no Deluxe hotel at its door step. Yes the Boardwalk and other hotels are close, but not right there. With DVC being the driving force for hotel expansion for the past number of years at Disney, it is very likely that a new Deluxe hotel at the Studios will be a DVC resort with a Deluxe hotel attached.
Now think about this for a moment. A new deluxe hotel within the park boundary of Disney’s Hollywood Studios. I am not talking about on the edge of the park, but with its own entrance just like The Villas at Grand Californian, this would be a very unique and highly sought after resort with amazing views assuming Disney expands Hollywood Studios to make it a must see park. The themeing? Well that is anybody’s guess, depending on where they put it, the themeing could be out of this world!
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