2011 Rack Rates have been released for all Disney-owned resort hotels at Walt Disney World including the Disney Vacation Club properties. Some interesting changes in those rates suggest that DVC may not be through reallocating the Points Charts.
Website MouseSavers.com has posted the room rates for 2011 and several changes are immediately evident when looking at prices for Disney Vacation Club resorts.
First the calendar is divided into many more segments with different seasonal prices than in years past. For instance, In 2010 the calendar for Disney's Beach Club Villas was divided into just 8 different segments. These segments were a close--although not identical--match to the seasons on the DVC point charts. However in 2011, the calendar is now divided into 17 segments with higher rates often applied for short holiday periods and events. Increased prices are now charged for Thanksgiving, Independence Day and even during the Walt Disney World Marathon than for surrounding dates.
The second noteworthy change is that the period of late November to mid December no longer offers the cheapest cash rates available. In 2010, the period of November 26 to December 16 is priced identically to other Value Season dates including most of January and mid-July through September. These dates closely mirror DVC Adventure Season which is currently the lowest-cost period of the year.
In 2011, a Beach Club Villas Deluxe Studio is priced at $345 per night for most of January, August and September. But, from November 26 to December 22 the price rises to $370 per nigh--an increase of just over 7%.
These variations could simply reflect a change in the pricing philosophy for Disney Vacation Club villas. Disney has been using similar seasonal price variations at its other resorts for several years now. Or these changes could suggest that more changes to the DVC point charts are on the horizon.
With the publication of the Disney Vacation Club points charts for the 2010 calendar year, DVC began a process of reallocating the points. In general, weekend point costs declined across the board while weekdays were increased by a proportional rate. This process continued into the 2011 calendar year. This gradual change was necessitated by language in the Public Offering Statement--a series of legal documents which outlines program operations. The Public Offering Statement dictates a maximum change of 20% per year in the cost to secure a reservation for any single Use Day. Many changes ultimately exceeded this 20% cap making the reallocation a multi-year project rather than a one-time fix.
While changes thus far have largely been limited to this weekday / weekend rebalancing, it is well withing DVC's rights to alter the established seasons as well. Since the program's inception, early-December has been grouped into the lowest-cost season along with other slow periods like the months of January and September. Yet a dramatic increase in the popularity of visiting Walt Disney World in the weeks leading up to the Christmas holiday have effectively made these two weeks the most difficult time of the year to obtain a DVC points reservation.
Could these changes in Disney cash pricing suggest that early-December and some holiday periods will soon see an increase in nightly point cost?
Point charts are currently available only through the end of 2011. Given the 11-month booking rights afforded to Disney Vacation Club members, point charts for the 2012 calendar year should be available no later than the last week of January 2011.
Full Rack Rates for 2010 and 2011 can be found on MouseSavers.com.
