Ran into my guide today, well ex-guide, and he said...

[Rozzie]

Ran into him at Olivia's. Turns out he is now my ex-guide, as he is with Marriot now, as of 2 weeks ago. I told him now he can tell me all the rumors/gossip as he is no longer with the company.....so this is what he said:

(1) CR is a for sure go. On the area on the landing strip. He said he as "absolutely certain" of it, and I could "take it to the bank".
(2) DVC is "looking into" (and out of fairness to him, he said "looking into" twice) property in Hawaii and St. Thomas.

I know a 1000 things can change in the future, but it was very intresting conversation indeed!! :)

[Muushka]

Very interesting. Hmmm. Thanks for all the reports!

[dvcconvert]

There's certainly alot of rumors about DVC - CR -- aren't there! :)

[CRSNDSNY]

The CR rumor seems to be hotter than ever as of late.

[KNWVIKING]

What do you mean " on the area on the landing strip" ?

[Rozzie]

What do you mean " on the area on the landing strip" ?

oops, typo. I meant to say "near the area of the old landing strip", he said it wouldn't be a rehabed wing, it would be new building. He seemed certain of it. Sure is exciting to see what the future holds for DVC, hopefully these rumors will all come to pass.

[lenshanem]

Where is the landing strip in comparison to the CR? Would it be views of Space Mountain? They'll have to do some clean up work cause I once had to go out the emergency exit on Carousel of Progress and I was on the back side and it didn't look too pretty. Old trailers and such with graffiti on them! :scary:

St. Thomas?!? I hadn't heard that one... FANTASTIC rumor! :kickingco

[carolina_yankee]

I'm still skeptical. Isn't the landing strip south of the canal joining Bay Lake with the Seven Seas Lagoon? That would be pretty far from the Contemporary and a major barrier to connecting the two facilities.

I have heard on WDW Magic that the landing strip is going to be used as a staging area for construction of a CR-V resort, but even that was panned because of the distance between the two.

It would seem to make more sense to convert part or all of one of the wings or build North of the North Wing. Since rehab construction is pretty intense on the South Wing right now, I'd thing the Norht Wing would be a good candidate.

Dirk

[lenshanem]

Has anyone seen a map online anywhere that shows what all we are talking about?

[KNWVIKING]

Sorry, but I think your old guide is very misinformed. The landing strip isn't close to CR at all. It's at least a half mile away. It would make a lousy resort area, unless of course they had plans to plow up acres & acres of MK parking lot.

[Lisa]

The distance between the CR and the airstrip seems really really large. I cant imagine that they could connect the two areas as one resort.

I think there may be two (or more) different rumours going on;

1- a tear down of the North wing and build a DVC on that area and including some of the tennis court area (or perhaps some deviation of that idea)

2 - a new stand alone DVC resort partially on the old airstrip. (this is a somewhat new rumor to me. not sure if it holds water or not)

map showing the airstip and CR (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=disney+world&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF-8&ll=28.406954,-81.57001&spn=0.022573,0.050769&t=k&om=1)

This showed up on the DIS... don't know the source. This relates to a comment made onWDWMagic about a new DVC at the airstrip (http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=74770). :scratchch (I'm not a member of WDWMagic so can't see the images in their forum)
http://home.comcast.net/~deborah.vaughan/disney_DVC.gif

[KNWVIKING]

I think Lisa is right, there are two seperate locations we're dealing with.

Looking at the ariel map, I guess the landing strip area is do-able for a resort. Biggest drawback I see right off though is "The Richard Petty Driving Experience". When those cars are running - and granted that may not be too often - they are EXTREMELY loud. A busy day at the track could make for a lousy day by the pool.

Of course, it is also rumored tha the Petty cars are going to be used as people movers in the hallways at BWV. Right now Disney is dealing with EPA issues because they want to put fueling stations at each end of the hall. They are afraid that a single filling station at one end only will not allow the cars to complete a round trip circuit.

[Muushka]

Snip....
Of course, it is also rumored tha the Petty cars are going to be used as people movers in the hallways at BWV. Right now Disney is dealing with EPA issues because they want to put fueling stations at each end of the hall. They are afraid that a single filling station at one end only will not allow the cars to complete a round trip circuit.

:jumpingbe Too funny. I'll tell you I could have used one of those Petty cars 3 weeks ago!

[dvcconvert]

Of course, it is also rumored tha the Petty cars are going to be used as people movers in the hallways at BWV.

That would certainly redefine the fastpass system!

:hahahaha:

[Colorado Belle]

Now Viking you KNOW that the Petty car's were going to be replaced (in the BWV hallways) with Segway's! They gave up on the petty idea when gas prices went over $3.00 a gallon. Segway's run on batteries.

I guess the resort location hinges on finding stable ground. An airstrip must have had that stability...but it would be a yucky place for a resort view and sound wise.
On the other hand...those tennis courts have such a nice view of the lagoon!

Did you ask why your X-guide left Disney?
Maybe he was canned for spreading false rumors?:D

[idratherbeinwdw]

Looking at the ariel map, I guess the landing strip area is do-able for a resort..

Hey cool, they made a map out of ariel? Are they going to do one of Jasmine as well? (Sign me up if they do one of Aladdin) :D

[carolina_yankee]

Has anyone seen a map online anywhere that shows what all we are talking about?

You can get an arial view here (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=36.094886,66.357422&q=Disney%27s+contemporary+Resort&cid=37062500,-95677068,7904119716320398612&li=lmd&t=k&ll=28.401159,-81.573079&spn=0.019592,0.032401&om=1) from Google. Zoom in to see details or pan and scan. There is room North of the Contemperarry, but not South. The runway is all the way on the other side of the Wilderness Lodge so there is no way that's going to a Contemporary DVC.

dirk

[Lisa]

I guess the resort location hinges on finding stable ground. An airstrip must have had that stability...but it would be a yucky place for a resort view and sound wise.



A response on WDWMagic...

Funnily enough, this area was designated as a resort on the 90`s masterplan - and to include a canal and lake fed from Bay Lake. And it does include the STOLport location (which was intended to have the Vista remodeling driven through it)

That area was marked for resort development in the old master plans, and is categorized as suitable for development by the RCID. The site does not, however, extend to anywhere near River Country.

[lenshanem]

Thanks everyone. I'm still so friggin confused. Is that the airstrip that is directly below WL? Is that what you see right before you drive into WL on the right?

If so, that is not close to CR at all.


Looks like they could build up by the CR tennis courts AND by the airstrip - maybe this would be a whole new resort of it's own?!? It could easily be added onto the monorail line I would think.

[ghost1000]

My guide once told me that the guides aren't given any advance information. So as exciting and the Contemporary and St. Thomas stories are, I still consider them rumors until confirmed.

However, someone at a DVC kiosk in California told me the next property would be in Hawaii, so you know that's GOT to be true (where's that stirring the pot emoticon?).

[Rozzie]

I am only repeating what he said ya'll! :D

Mr. Rozzie and I were studying that area today while we were at MK, and I agree, it would stink as a location. I'm sticking to our original plan, OKW add-on.

I so would flip for Poly, but I never ever hear that rumor. :loveisint

CB--LOL, I have no idea why he left. He said Marriot recruited him pretty hard. We were laughing with him, saying he was going to tell us he left when he found out DVC was a scam. :slyasafox We have a weird sense of humor!!

[Lisa]

Thanks for the rumor Roz! I live for these rumors!

[Colorado Belle]

Gotta love those rumors!

And I really loved looking at the map!!!! I zoomed in and traveled all around the monorail resorts.

And I have two comments/questions:
1. anybody ever go to the nice looking beach between the GF and MK?
2. notice that behind Main Street on the right walking in, is a fairly large parking lot....never knew that was there.

Funny, what you can see in ariel view shots! Actually, I think I saw my car!

[pouncingpluto]

I know it doesn't mean they won't ever change this, but that beach sort of "belongs" to the wedding pavilion. Lots and lots of couples do pictures there, and some even hold ceremonies there instead of inside the pavilion.

[tjkraz]

2. notice that behind Main Street on the right walking in, is a fairly large parking lot....never knew that was there.

That's cast member parking.

Disney does an excellent job of hiding details like that and really tricking your eye into believing what they want you to believe. The Jungle Cruise is tucked in behind the buildings on the other side of Main Street.

It's fun to look at those overhead maps and check out the show buildings hidden behind many of the ride facades. Look at the Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain. Those rides take up a LOT more real estate than the tiny little entrances you see within the park.

[tjkraz]

Ran into him at Olivia's. Turns out he is now my ex-guide, as he is with Marriot now, as of 2 weeks ago.

Who was your guide?

[Rozzie]

Who was your guide?

Hassan Jahanmiry

so who else got punked? I kinda have been feeling it would have been nice to get notification of his departure. I am going to request the guide that did my add on to be my new one. We were really impressed with him.

[lenshanem]

On our KTTK tour they took us thru some double doors inside the Emporium that lead to that little parking lot. It was funny to see cars parked literally right next to that store. Who would have thunk it?!?

Our tour guide lead our group behind the double doors (I believe it was in the newer section of the store where the princess stuff is.) and had us all cram into a very small space before she could close the double doors and open the door that lead to outside. I remarked that it was like the scene in Willy Wonka before they go inside, but nobody seemed to find that amusing... :idontgeti

[doombuggy]

Thanks everyone. I'm still so friggin confused. Is that the airstrip that is directly below WL? Is that what you see right before you drive into WL on the right?

If so, that is not close to CR at all.


Look at it this way: You are driving to the MK and are going thru the toll booth (please pay your "toll" first, however). Instaed of going straight/left towards the parking, go right as if you were going to the GF, Poly, WL or Contemporary. The airstip stradles both sides of Vista. There are a lot of tractor tailers back there, and there have been for several months. I don't go over taht way too much, but I have noticed this since I moved there in July of 2004.

[Colorado Belle]

Certainly the air strip could be the 'staging site' if they decide to build a CR-DVC like they built the Contemporary and the Polynesian. Each 'unit' was pre-fabed and then trucked and stacked onsite. Sort of like little trailers, if you will.

I'm sure that the poster who said that the air strip was in some original plans as a resort knows of what he speaks, but my recollection of the 'monorail resorts' was that they were all located on the lagoons (I really liked the TajMahal one)

At any rate, if Disney believes that DVC brings in more money with less headaches /cash than their hotels, I can't think of a better location re usuable space than the 'tennis court' area of CR. Just for the sake of discussion, assuming this was the location, can any of the engineer geeks among us tell where the parking/driveway would go?

[Colorado Belle]

Hi Shan,
I was on the KTTK tour too, and like you, stood in that little 'double lock', as the guide said...to preserve the magic for guests in the store..it was sure crowded!:bitemylip , but hey anything to preserve the magic.

I thought we were in the store on the left as you walk from entry to castle, but I could have been wrong (got turned around in those utilidors).


I just re-looked the map. And it seems a road would be no problem since there is already one to the big 'facility' just north.

I liked the site cause of the water front location but...unless my eyes deceive me...wouldn't that site (on and north of the tennis courts) also have views of the castle????????

[bmalonef45]

Hassan Jahanmiry

so who else got punked? I kinda have been feeling it would have been nice to get notification of his departure. I am going to request the guide that did my add on to be my new one. We were really impressed with him.

Well count me in as one who was punked... I talked to him a little over a month ago and he didn't mention anything. So what is the process of getting a new guide like. Do they contact you or do you have to contact them. I'm bummed, I really liked him. Seemed trustworthy. Kind of funny that he got his degree in Engineering to please his dad and then ended up in the travel industry. Quite a difference there.

Still bummed!

[carolina_yankee]

Certainly the air strip could be the 'staging site' if they decide to build a CR-DVC like they built the Contemporary and the Polynesian. Each 'unit' was pre-fabed and then trucked and stacked onsite. Sort of like little trailers, if you will.
Thanks for that clarification. I'd forgotten the units were pre-fabbed for CR. I didn't know about Polynesian, though. Anyway - I'm sure with Disney anything is possible as long as geography/geology agree!

Dirk

[tjkraz]

Certainly the air strip could be the 'staging site' if they decide to build a CR-DVC like they built the Contemporary and the Polynesian. Each 'unit' was pre-fabed and then trucked and stacked onsite. Sort of like little trailers, if you will.

I can't see them going that route again.

Initial construction costs were significantly higher than they would have been if the CR had been built in a more conventional manner. The thinking was that every 10 years or so they would "refurbish" the resort simply by replacing entire rooms like drawers in a file cabinet. The high up-front expenditure was projected to be recouped in the long run as these lower-cost refurbishments occurred.

However, the engineers forgot to account for the high humidity levels in Florida. The steel frames rusted to the steel room units and there's no way they can ever be removed in the originally designed manner.

Even if Disney were to consider a variation of this construction method, it doesn't seem to make sense for a timeshare project. Since our dues pay refurbishment costs of the units, I can't see them investing more of their own money on the front-end in hopes of keeping member dues lower in future years.

[dvcconvert]

However, the engineers forgot to account for the high humidity levels in Florida. The steel frames rusted to the steel room units and there's no way they can ever be removed in the originally designed manner.


I think the biggest concern is the settling. The CR concrete and steel structure weighed more than the engineering analysis gave allowance for soil types to support on site. The entire structure has settled enough in the soil so as to make the removal - re installation of rooms in the pocket design unfeasiable. Soils analysis in the late '60's and early '70's aren't/weren't what they are now. I doubt that that construction method will be attempted again anywhere in central or southern Florida.

[Gaston]

I got a very cryptic email from a Disney fan website owner I know. He usually only confirms rumors when he knows that news has already leaked out to other sources. It is his way of shielding his own sources. This is very frustrating to me, as I KNOW he knows things. He told me of the West Coast Cruise,with spot on details, a full year before it was announced.
As for the cryptic email, he replied to my query of a DLR or Hawaii DVC.. His reply was a smiley face,and text that said "yes, details to follow". To which location I have no idea, or is it both?

[Lisa]

Either one is great news. I'm all for another DVC outside orlando. :)

I know I'm just dreaming but I have always thought if they announced both DL and Hawaii at the same time it would really create a synergy for sales on the west coast, giving west coasters 3 reasons to buy DVC.

[Plutofan2]

I got a very cryptic email from a Disney fan website owner I know. He usually only confirms rumors when he knows that news has already leaked out to other sources. It is his way of shielding his own sources. This is very frustrating to me, as I KNOW he knows things. He told me of the West Coast Cruise,with spot on details, a full year before it was announced.
As for the cryptic email, he replied to my query of a DLR or Hawaii DVC.. His reply was a smiley face,and text that said "yes, details to follow". To which location I have no idea, or is it both?

Isn't the wait a killer. I must have lost several years of my life waiting on Disney to announce the next DVC. I can not wait.

[bmalonef45]

HAWAII! HAWAII! HAWAII!

Just curious, earlier in the post it was mentioned that Hassan Jahanmiry (the ex-guide that this post began with) had left DVC. I know that is probably true but I did recieve a "before trip" email yesterday that still had his name on it. Will I be notified officially of his departure?

HAWAII! HAWAII! HAWAII! (the chant continues)

[tjkraz]

Just curious, earlier in the post it was mentioned that Hassan Jahanmiry (the ex-guide that this post began with) had left DVC. I know that is probably true but I did recieve a "before trip" email yesterday that still had his name on it. Will I be notified officially of his departure?


Bryan:

There doesn't seem to be any SOP for these sorts of changes. You should be formally assigned to a new Guide, but it seems to be in his/her hands to decide whether to contact you personally or not.

The way DVC has grown (we've got to be around 80-90,000 strong by now), each Guide is probably responsible for hundreds or thousands of members. It would take months just to try and make a courtesy call to each member. :yuck:

[Gaston]

Our guide left a message on the in room phone to ask how we liked everything last year. We will be at OKW next week, and if she calls, I will casually mention I would love a California, or Hawaii DVC, and listen for a reaction.

[DSNY FN]

Well Hawaii and Cali do nothing for me or for our family I am sure it would be a great addition to the DVC family but it is one we would never venture to.

[mushu]

Maybe a good future.

[Gaston]

Well Hawaii and Cali do nothing for me or for our family I am sure it would be a great addition to the DVC family but it is one we would never venture to.
Lots of us here in CA think that any Hawaii DVC might be part of a greater plan to include the rumored west coast cruise, from a CA DVC. I'd love it if a west coast cruise included Alaska.

[DSNY FN]

Lots of us here in CA think that any Hawaii DVC might be part of a greater plan to include the rumored west coast cruise, from a CA DVC. I'd love it if a west coast cruise included Alaska.


That would be awesome for those ont the coast especially if they offer a cruise to Alaska. I personally would like to see a DVC resort in Canada maybe Banff or out in Quebec (closer to me LOL) so I can go skiing in the winter.

[carolina_yankee]

An Alaska cruise would be great, but Disney would have trouble doing that with the Magic or Wonder. According to the "Making of . . ." presentation on our recent Magic cruise, the ships would have to be reconfigured for Alaska. The biggest problem is how they process their waste. They wouldn't pass the environemntal regs for Alaska. The second problem is the weather. Decks 9 and 10 assume warmer weather than the Alaska cruises usually get.

I'd bet an Alaskan cruise would be more likely a part of Adventures by Disney with a charter of another, more appropriate ship.

Now, how about a D-Land DVC, followed by a cruise to a Hawaii DVC?!! If Disney flags the next ship in the US, they could actually do that one.

Dirk

[Gaston]

I have heard that 2 Disney ships are already designed, and awaiting a start date for construction, once the price of steel comes down.

[carolina_yankee]

On the cruise, they said the ships were designed and would be a bit different from the Magic and Wonder, but they gave no other specifics. They did say they thought they would be coming sooner rather than later, but that even people fairly high up had no clue. Apparently it's a closely held decision!

Dirk

[Blue&Gold]

Just got home today from the World and if anyone is using the old airstrip as anything other than an open-air warehouse they're doing a darn good job of hiding it... Not much activity that I saw.

We got assigned to a new guide, fairly invisible to us since we aren't allowed to talk to them anyway from our home state. Called to inquire about the BWV inventory while we were in town for a small add on. Our new Guide (Kim Moore) said some interesting things... One was that he was responsible for over 3000 members. He also said that they were very close to selling out SSR and that some of the newer sales staff was getting nervous because they were "selling themselves out of a job." Management "assured them" that they would have something to sell once SSR sold out, suggesting the pre-open sales period for a new resort would last up to 2 years.

[tjkraz]

He also said that they were very close to selling out SSR...

That would shock the heck out of me. I don't see how that could possibly be true. Phases 1 and 2 perhaps, but not Phase 3. The Phase 3 buildings won't even be open for at least 6 months.

If they were selling points in Phase 3 buildings now, it would have to be under the condition that the owners couldn't use any points until their building opened. We bought in Sept '03 and couldn't use any of our points until at least May '04 when the first buildings opened.

A similar thing happened in late-'04 when DVC sold-out all of Phase 1 and told Phase 2 buyers they couldn't stay until March '05.

If we're to believe that the P3 buildings are almost sold out, DVC would have had to be selling P3 points for over a year now. Yet we've not heard anything about members being told they couldn't use their points until "X" date.

As for 2 years of pre-sales on a new resort, I wonder what sort of incentive they would come up with to move those points. You won't find me paying thousands for something I can't use until 2 years down the road.

Yet another mystery: if we're to believe they sold 800 rooms at Saratoga Springs in about 3 years (Fall '03 to Summer '06), why are they dragging their feet on building a new resort? :huh:

[Blue&Gold]

TJ-I think your logic is correct. I would be surprised if they were that far along on SSR. Kim was obviously a good salesman and made all the right and proper points about why we should buy SSR instead of the BWV we called about. Thing is that we are very likely to add on at SSR or whatever comes next, just not until we have what we believe is the "correct" number of BWV points for us. I would like to add 25 or 50 additional BWV points to get our total to the level that we could cover a 2BR for one week any time of the year. Then we'll get started on a "second week." He essentially was pointing out that they didn't have any Dec BWV points in inventory (and I can't "waitlist" for them because of state regulations) but that I could have Dec SSR points right then and there.

Is the "we're almost sold out" line a gimmick? Probably to some extent.