Well, well, well! I threw this out for you guys because I thought it was a little interesting and I hadnt posted anything new in a while. And I do confess that I really dont know much about Celebration. So for me it was a kind of throw-away piece. And I posted it for one reason, and one reason only: to show the power of the brand, or Disney®!! AV is always on about this subject, and to a lesser extent, so am I.
So if I may, Id like to take this back to my original point for just a moment (at the risk of killing a potential 10 pager). Which is simply that the people who bought into Celebration with faith and trust in the Disney name are absolute certifiable knuckleheads!!! And before you think Im flaming without thought and regard to those knuckleheads, I consider myself chief amongst their ranks. Remember I bought my DVC without benefit of seeing it first and I glanced at the closing papers as I signed them. OH! I listened intently to the sales agent. And I did work the numbers. (Im not totally stupid, just a knucklehead!) But I trusted Disney to look after my interest. I
LOVED Disney. I was loyal to Disney. They were almost family. So I signed and signed and signed some more. Trusting to the BRAND. It really wasnt until I started to lurk on the DVC board that I understood that some of the things the sales people said, were not what the people on the board understood things to be. And you know what? The people on the Dis were right and my sales rep was wrong!! And it wasnt just one bad rep, the message DVC was putting out throughout the entire company was that Vacation club member owned a piece of the magic.
As an example of the special Disney sale throughout the company I cite the following. We were at the Boardwalk (I think, it may have been the Swan) and a member of our party asked if we could take the boat to EPCOT. At the time it was strictly for resort guests. The CM told us as much and my mother said that we were DVC members. OH!!! The CM said. Well, you guys can do pretty much anything you want! And he meant it. Try that today. We were promised pool hopping. NO, NOT IN WRITING (part of being a knucklehead). Good forever - for everything - built or unbuilt. HA!! Not true!!! Not true at all!!!! AKL opened with big, DVC MEMBERS NOT ALLOWED signs posted in the lobby!! (well, I guess it wasnt posted that way, but it may as well have been. We werent allowed, thats for sure!!) And now the Beach Club pool is OFF-LIMITS!!!! Its only a matter of time before
Anyway, you get the picture. And the people, like my friend Dave, who defend or at least explain the facts of Disney life, are exactly right.
We were the knuckleheads!!
They are the knuckleheads!!
(I am the Walrus!)
Im very sure there were others that bought their DVC the same way (I personally know of at least five other couples just off the top of my head!). And Im equally sure that there are some that trusted the Disney BRAND when they signed the papers for their Leave it to Beaver house in Celebration. So, I empathize with them. Not in judgment but in a been there, done that kind of way.
I retrospect I couldnt have been more naive and just plain dumb. Lets face it. I wouldnt put that kind of faith and trust in half (oh hell, three quarters) of my family members! And most of them havent shown the stupidity that Disney has lately!!!
Sir Raider!! You sized it up nicely!
Disney built the trust in its name through high quality products that for the most part, it had control of. Walt had great instincts for what people wanted for entertainment, and he delivered. But real estate is a completely different game.
Imagine that power (of the brand) with something less than a real estate interest!!!
My only point!
Thanks
PS: Ok, I'm done! Go back at it!!!!!