More Grand Floridian Rumors-- Is DVC Going to Become too Expensive?

The folks over at the Daily Disney are jumping in on all the Grand Floridian DVC talk that has set many Disney fan websites abuzz this week.  This after DVCNews and WDW Magic both posted stories regarding the leaked permit filings for a new seven story building adjacent to the Grand Floridian.

The fine folks over at Mouse Planet also put up further details to include the speculation that several floors of the existing Grand Floridian would be converted into DVC as well.  DVC has done that once before with the Jambo House portion of the Animal Kingdom Villas that opened in 2007.

So far though I have seen a tepid response to the proposal.  Grand Floridian is the most expensive Disney resort, so I would be shocked if the price per point to buy in were lower than the current BLT pricing.  I also expect the point chart to align with the point intensive cost you see at Bay Lake Tower.

My fear here is that Disney will continue to focus on resorts that are both more expensive to buy into and require more points to stay.  This will of course maximize the bottom line for Disney, but you will also start to see a wider disparity in who can afford to buy in to DVC and who cannot.  I know right now my family could not have afforded BLT, even when it was the same price as AKV, because the cost for the number of points we'd need to stay on a regular basis were just way too high.

I hope at some point DVC takes this under consideration and really looks at developing a location where the economics are similar to AKV.  The best thing about DVC for its members is the ability to make regular trips to Disney affordable for the average family over the long term-- I hope they do not lose sight of that quality.

DVC at Grand Floridian???

So one of our favorite things to do here at Disney Family Man is speculate about future DVC resorts-- a Utah ski resort, a resort by the old River Country, th proposed Disney hotel near Washington, DC, and even some talk of a California themed resort near Coronado Springs.

Today the fine folks over at DVCNews.com ran a story about a Disney permit application for a new building between the Grand Floridian and the wedding pavilion.  Could this be the long anticipated next DVC resort at Disney World?

This site presents something that River County and Coronado Springs sites do not offer-- monorail access.

Bay Lake Tower continues to charge both a premium on cost to buy-in and a premium on point-per-night to stay at the resort.  Despite this it still vastly out sells Animal Kingdom Villas and Saratoga Springs.  Why? Monorail access and the Magic Kingdom views.

From a business perspective it makes perfect sense for Disney to utilize its open real estate on the monorail for a DVC resort that maximizes their profit.  It also makes sense to construct any DVC resort to maximize views that allow for premium point charges.  The Grand Floridian location and the way the building is set on the property takes advantage of both selling points.  This means more $$$$ for Disney!

I for one would look forward to a Grand Floridian or Poly DVC location.  Honestly it is probably the only way I'd stay at either location due to the rack rate for rooms.

What do you all think?