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Disney Vacation Club, the innovative vacation-ownership
program that helps families enjoy flexibility and savings on
decades of future vacations to Disney destinations and more
than 500 other popular sites around the world, marks two
magical milestones this year: the recent "welcoming
home" of its 100,000th Member family and the celebration
of the program's 15th anniversary this fall.
"These milestones mark the latest chapters in this
great Disney success story," said Jim Lewis, Senior Vice
President and General Manager for Disney Vacation Development,
Inc., which manages and operates the Disney Vacation Club
program. "More families than ever are discovering the
magic of membership."
Disney Vacation Club revolutionized the vacation-ownership
concept when it came onto the scene in 1991 (opening the Walt
Disney World destination resort known today as Disney's Old
Key West Resort), blending unprecedented flexibility with
Disney's unrivaled brand of innovation and imagination. Since
then, families from more than 100 countries and every U.S.
state have joined Disney Vacation Club, and just recently the
program welcomed its 100,000th Member family, effectively
doubling membership since 2000.
Preparations also are underway to celebrate the program's
15th anniversary beginning in October 2006.
"The growth we have achieved in our first 15 years
illustrates the unique appeal of our product," Lewis
said. "Our Members aren't just booking future
accommodations. They're securing decades of inspiring and
memorable family experiences that only Disney can
provide."
The Disney Vacation Club community isn't just a growing
population; it's also a satisfied group. In the program's 2005
Member Survey, about 95 percent of surveyed Members rated
Disney Vacation Club as "excellent" or "very
good," an all-time high for the always highly rated
program.
"This is what it's all about," Lewis said.
"Attracting families is great, but making them proud of
that decision is the ultimate goal. Word-of-mouth referrals
continue to bring new families to our community, which says a
great deal about our product and the world-class service
Members receive from our Cast. That's the Disney
difference."
That steady stream of new Member families is keeping sales
ahead of schedule at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort &
Spa at the Walt Disney World Resort, the latest Disney
Vacation Club property to open where construction is underway
on the resort's third phase. Upon completion in summer 2007,
the resort will include 864 units, making it the largest
Disney Vacation Club Resort.
- Disney Vacation Club (DVC has doubled its membership
since 2000 to include more than 100,000 member families
from each U.S. state and over 100 different countries.
- Unlike traditional timeshare offerings, Disney Vacation
Club members are not locked into a single week or fixed
time period for their vacation. The club provides
unprecedented flexibility and exclusive privileges and
services to its members, including the opportunity to
annually customize their vacation plans by selecting the time
of the year, length of stay, size of accommodation and
location of their choice.
- Deeded in real estate, members access their DVC
ownership through a vacation point system. Members
receive an annual allotment of vacation points that can be
used in a variety of ways for different types of
accommodations at a wide variety of resorts and for other
vacation experiences, subject to availability. They can
bank or borrow vacation points, use their vacation points
in combination with renting accommodations on a cash
basis, or can purchase an additional real estate interest
at any time (FACT: The average DVC member visits
the Walt Disney World Resort twice a year).
- Disney Vacation Club has "sold out" of
memberships at all but its newest ownership resort,
Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, which opened
in May 2004. Sold out DVC properties include: Disney's Old
Key West Resort, Disney's BoardWalk Villas, The Villas at
Disney's Wilderness Lodge and Disney's Beach Club Villas
-- all located at the Walt Disney World Resort-- as well
as Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort and Disney's Vero
Beach Resort locations outside of Orlando.
- New members can join Disney Vacation Club for a one-time
purchase price that starts at just over $15,000. (FACT:
DVC's "Magical Beginnings" program allows guests
to apply a portion of their current Disney resort stay
towards the purchase of their membership in exchange for a
portion of their first allotment of vacation points so
families can start enjoying the benefits of being a member
right away).
- Beyond the Disney Vacation Club Resorts, members can
also elect to use their vacation points for stays
at most Walt Disney World Resort properties, the
Disneyland Resort hotels in Anaheim, California,
Disneyland Paris hotels in France, Hong Kong Disneyland
and Tokyo Disney Resort properties (FACT: The
most popular member exchange request is for The Disney
Collection, which includes Disney Cruise Line sailings and
Walt Disney World hotel stays at such properties as
Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa).
- Members have a world of vacation choices, literally,
through the Member Getaways program. From African
safaris to white water rafting in Oregon to biking in
Tuscany, Italy, and skiing the French Alps, the
possibilities of Disney Vacation Club membership are
endless.
- For seafarers, Disney Vacation Club members can choose
to use their membership for exciting Caribbean cruises
aboard Disney Cruise Line and exotic Alaskan sailings with
Holland America Line.
- Disney Vacation Club can assist qualified members with
flexible financing towards the purchase of their ownership
interest.
- Disney's Vero Beach Resort near Vero Beach, Florida,
opened on October 1, 1995 (FACT: The resort was
the first Disney hotel to be built outside the boundaries
of the theme parks).
- Members are kept informed about club news through the
quarterly Vacation Magic magazine and the monthly Vacation
Magic Email Update newsletter, both of which offer
helpful program information, member stories, DVC resort
vacation tips, exclusive member merchandise and
discounts/privileges, as well as special previews of
upcoming Disney events and attractions.
- DVC members are offered a variety of special discount
offers on Disney theme park tickets, dining, recreation,
special events and merchandise.
- Disney Vacation Club features a trained staff of
vacation planning professionals Vacation Advisors who help
members plan every aspect of their vacations and answer
their questions about the program (FACT: In
2005, DVC Member Services representatives processed more
than 600,000 member phone calls and over 100,000 member
faxes/Internet email queries).
- Disney Vacation Club's second resort to open at Walt
Disney World Resort was Disney's BoardWalk Villas, a
mixed-use property located within the festive 45-acre
Disney's BoardWalk Resort waterfront hotel and
entertainment district (FACT: In a year's time,
each of the rolling chairs which transport guests daily
along the lakefront boardwalk will have logged more miles
than the distance between Coney Island, NY, and Atlantic
City, NJ).
- Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort on Hilton Head
Island, South Carolina, opened March 1, 1996 (FACT:
It is the first Disney hotel to open outside the Company's
theme park properties in Florida and California).
- The Villas at Disney's Wilderness Lodge opened on
November 15, 2000. Here guests are transported back in
time to the great American frontier as they experience
this cozy 136-room getaway inspired by the late 19th
century railroad hotels that welcomed visitors to the Old
West. (FACT: A special part of the resort houses
a collection of train memorabilia and artwork, including
an exhibit featuring two of Walt Disney's personal
scale-model railroad cars.)
- Opened in 2002, Disney's Beach Club Villas is inspired
by the casual elegance of the "Grand Seashore
Resorts" that dotted the Northeast coast of the U.S.
at the turn of the 20th century, this property is a
perfect compliment to its sister resorts at Disney's Yacht
and Beach Club Resorts. A place of comfort and charm,
Disney's Beach Club Villas offers guests and Disney
Vacation Club members spacious, villa-style accommodations
in a relaxing "home-away-from-home" atmosphere. (FACT:
A bronze statute of Ariel, beloved Princess from the
Disney animated classic "The Little Mermaid,"
graces the entrance of the resort to welcome home all
visitors.)
- The newest DVC resort opened in May 2004 at Disney's
Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, Walt Disney World
Resort. Here, guests take a nostalgic journey to an era of
healing springs and horseracing fervor. The seventh and
largest of the growing collection of popular Disney
Vacation Club ownership properties, the property carries
the "health-history-horses" theme throughout
with amenities and features inspired by its namesake town
in upstate New York. (FACT: Every hour on the
hour, a horseracing fanfare can be heard across the resort
and signals the top of the hour to amused Guests and
visitors.)
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