System still a mess

[jdkdorn]

I went in to check some dates and got the dwarves...not only that, but all of my waitlist requests are now cloned, for a total of 4.

Remind me why they took the system down for 4 days...seriously.

 

[zavandor]

Me too: I've had 2 waitlist for the Poly this December since 7 months opened (need two studios, I know it's almost impossible), this morning I logged in and now I have 4 waitlists! This didn't happen just after the system shutdown, but today they're here.

 

[n2mm]

The system is still down.

 

[cellomom]

Have only "1" wait list but system still down

 

[CarlyMur09]

Yeah, made a waitlist yesterday, and now I have 2.

 

[CvilleDiane]

I only have one waitlist but dwarves when I try to search. Good times.

 

[Lexxiefern]

Dwarves for me too. Couldn’t check availability last night at 10pm est or this morning at 7 est. This is so annoying. More website issues this year than ever before

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

Disney has become so disappointing. All around. From their inability to run a website like every other company to their destruction of Jungle Cruise with didacticism. It’s like the company has become one big blob of mediocrity. No wonder they implement policies similar to Walmart’s. It will all spiral now. What functional person will want to work for them? I really feel like and I are at a crossroads.

 

[CvilleDiane]

Disney has become so disappointing. All around. From their inability to run a website like every other company to their destruction of Jungle Cruise with didacticism. It’s like the company has become one big blob of mediocrity. No wonder they implement policies similar to Walmart’s. It will all spiral now. What functional person will want to work for them? I really feel like and I are at a crossroads.

They’ve become disappointing? I don’t think this is much of a change. Hasn’t this site been disappointing us since the beginning of time? Feels like it.

 

[The Jackal]

They’ve become disappointing? I don’t think this is much of a change. Hasn’t this site been disappointing us since the beginning of time? Feels like it.

I hear you, when has it ever worked properly? I’ve been a member since 2017 and there have always been issues.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

They’ve become disappointing? I don’t think this is much of a change. Hasn’t this site been disappointing us since the beginning of time? Feels like it.

Yes, the site functions much worse today than it did two years ago. Not saying it was perfect two years ago, but their entire customer service apparatus is VERY disappointing at this point.

 

[Suzabella]

They can do some amazing things within the parks/rides but can't seem to design an efficient website. I gotta believe that they could if they wanted to.

 

[Marionnette]

They can do some amazing things within the parks/rides but can't seem to design an efficient website. I gotta believe that they could if they wanted to.

I think they're limited by the Windows 95 platform they use. I'm only half kidding. It's not their IT people that is failing Disney. It's Disney's refusal to spend money and move into the 21st Century with their systems.

 

[CvilleDiane]

They can do some amazing things within the parks/rides but can't seem to design an efficient website. I gotta believe that they could if they wanted to.

I don’t think that’s the priority. Complicating things like adding resale restrictions seem to take precedence. Wouldn’t this website be a whole lot easier to manage if they didn’t have different rules based on when and where you bought your contract? This is not new though.

 

[M:SpilotISTC12]

I don’t think that’s the priority. Complicating things like adding resale restrictions seem to take precedence. Wouldn’t this website be a whole lot easier to manage if they didn’t have different rules based on when and where you bought your contract? This is not new though.

This. At this point I’m 100% convinced that they’ll do everything they can to make life as difficult as possible for resale owners. Anything they can to make resale owners into second class citizens without getting into legal trouble.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

I don’t think that’s the priority. Complicating things like adding resale restrictions seem to take precedence. Wouldn’t this website be a whole lot easier to manage if they didn’t have different rules based on when and where you bought your contract? This is not new though.

Actually, this is new, or at least within the last two years. The dvc website didn’t used to have contract differentiation in this way. But I agree that it is a negative change. It’s the kind of change that petty, small minded people would implement. That’s dvc/Disney current management in a nutshell.

 

[crisi]

We weren't told, but I suspect it was a major change to the back end systems - and a major change to backend systems is often disruptive to service. Honestly, we didn't do ourselves any favors when we speculated on bug fixes and feature additions (those don't involve days of downtime).

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Seems to be back up and running. Not that it's good news for me. Sigh...

 

[drusba]

I don’t think that’s the priority. Complicating things like adding resale restrictions seem to take precedence. Wouldn’t this website be a whole lot easier to manage if they didn’t have different rules based on when and where you bought your contract? This is not new though.

Yes, it is kind of amazing that when resale restrictions are added, or DVC otherwise makes changes that take away rights or benefits that members have previously had, those changes always seem to work perfectly on the website as soon as they are made.

The key to mediocre service is a money issue. What some may not be aware of is the sources of money to pay for MS and the reservation systems and how built into them is the incentive for Disney to spend as little as reasonably possible on such services so it can instead make more profits.

These are the sources of funds that apply to MS and reservation systems:

1. A $1 per member annual charge in the dues for the DVC Reservation Component. That component is the portion of the reservation system that is technically operated by Buena Vista Trading Co. (BVTC), the Disney entity in charge of trade-outs, both at 7-months out from a member of one DVC Resort reserving another, and trade-outs to non-DVC Disney resorts and cruises, and to non-Disney resorts. I say technically because the reality is that the employees for the reservation systems are the same for both BVTC and DVCM (Disney Vacation Club Management company, the managing agency of each resort that is in charge of home resort reservations), and thus the division of costs between BVTC and DVCM is more just an accounting item than a real division.

2. Money earned by BVTC in charges made for trade-outs.

3. Breakage income, i.e., income from DVCM's renting rooms still available at 60-days out (which, via statute, can actually include rentals made before 60-days out based on reasonable estimates of what will likely be available at less than 60 days out). Breakage income goes first to cover 2.5% of the annual budget excluding, when calculated, taxes, the management fee, and some other items. Amounts in breakage income above that then go to pay all costs of BVTC's operations plus 5% of those costs (a built-in profit). The rest of any breakage income goes to DVCM to do with as it pleases.

4. DVCM gets a management fee that equals 12% of the annual budget, excluding, when making the calculation, taxes, the management fee, and some other items. One of the things designated as payable out of the fee are DVCM's providing MS and home resort reservation services.

Those are the possible money sources available to DVC for paying for MS and reservation systems. Annually, breakage income has well-exceeded the 2.5% dues set-off and amounts to pay for BVTC operations (although possibly that has not been the case during the pandemic).

Note how total annual dues do not change based on total amounts paid for MS and reservation systems. I have seen in the past many express concern that if DVC spent a lot more money on MS and reservation services our dues would greatly increase. To the contrary, your dues would not increase at all. The $1 annual DVC Reservation Component fee is fixed and cannot be raised. The 12% management fee raises annually as total other dues raise annually but the percentage remains the same. Money charged for trade outs is mainly profit. Breakage income, except for the 2.5% dues set-off, is separate from regular dues items. In other words, if DVC were to allocate $100,000 in a year to pay for MS and reservation systems, or $10 million a year, your dues would still be the same annually. It was possibly set-up that way originally so members would have no valid basis for claiming too much was being spent, and too much in dues was being charged, for MS or reservation systems.

However, the amount actually allocated annually to the costs of MS and reservation systems can have an impact on Disney profits. The more it pays out of breakage income or the management fee for the services, the less DVCM gets to keep as profits. In essence, Disney thus has a profit incentive to keep the costs of MS and reservation systems as low as reasonably possible. Thus, we get mediocre service, not outstanding service.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I think they're limited by the Windows 95 platform they use. I'm only half kidding. It's not their IT people that is failing Disney. It's Disney's refusal to spend money and move into the 21st Century with their systems.

Thank you!! Exactly! IT is expensive in general as is “ upgrading” that involves both new software and hardware. Businesses are notoriously famous for not spending that money until the absolute last moment…..like when Microsoft says “ no more patches or updates.”