BTW I thought of a certain black and white cat when they were discussing how entitled to Disney DVC owners feel 
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I listened to the episode and can confirm what others said - Len said it was all pure speculation! Of course it got picked up by bloggers without all the caveats.
More detail:
Len got an email / call from a friend who was out in public in a city with strong ties to the finance industry (he wouldn’t name which city - probably NYC, Chicago, or LA) and the friend overheard some bankers talking about Disney potentially selling the DVC segment. The bankers could have been advising buyers, consulting with Disney, or just speculating themselves. So there is no proof that Disney is entertaining the idea, just that some bankers were talking about the concept.
Assuming Disney did sell DVC, Jim speculated that it would be like the Disney Stores - sell to a third party to operate for a few years and put it on a solid footing, then buy it back later. Len asked a hedge fund manager in a coffee shop what a media company would do with money obtained from selling a timeshare segment, and the hedge fund manager speculated that they could use the cash to build a sports betting division, or put it into streaming content.
In general, I think it’s a horrible idea. Disney needs to keep DVC members happy, and it’s inevitable that we’d be neglected if a third party were operating the business. It just wouldn’t be possible to coordinate the same benefits. Quality of the resorts could become a concern as well. So I’m hoping this speculation really was far removed from reality.
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Maybe we can be super optimistic and just figure that maybe those bankers were just pondering a resale Poly contract??
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Keeping in mind that he stresses at the end that this is just speculation, there are some really gross things that are mentioned in this segment that, if they ever came to be I would be so broken-hearted and disappointed over im not sure I could remain a fan.
Also I didn’t realize how muddy the waters are with DVC sales counting in theme parks revenue and now that makes it very important to Chapek and his bottom line. That’s concerning.
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This is where my curse words came into play. A big part of my job is to take rumors and speculation and try to predict what is never going to happen, what might happen and what will most likely happen.
While nothing DVC related sparked “most likely to happen” for me, the podcast itself forced me to look at Disney as a giant corporation that has many arms and is focused on making money. Somehow it never occurred to me that the parks could be not at the heart of the company. That the parks could become the Disney Corp equivalent of ESPN. 
This is where I think the new trend of aggressively buying back resale contracts and pushing all resorts for sale, not just the new builds, is a genius way to keep the revenue stream coming in, without having to build as aggressively as in the past. Them flipping a GF building shows DVC can be a great asset.
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Yes this.
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What?? This is a game changer! I feel like it wasn’t available there in the past? THANK YOU!
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Ok, I listened this AM. On Spotify! Woohoo! But boohoo that now I get ads so maybe I’ll be back to dumb bandcamp.
So the crux seems to be that if they sold to another timeshare company, that their available market would expand beyond people that want to vacation at Disney every 1-3 years. So these DVC-Bonvoy points, or whatever, would be good all over the world/US. This could be good if the points were more meaningful than RCI. What I wouldn’t like is obviously the “other” Bonvoy owners competing for DVC properties. But if people are trading out would it even out? Like which properties would be more valuable?
My last thought is maybe this is research for the 2042 problem? Like perhaps in 2042 they absorb all those properties back into hotel inventory and then sell the remaining properties?
So this part I don’t quite have a vision for. I obviously know nothing about hotel operations, but would could another company do operationally that Disney can’t or won’t? Like cost cutting is all that comes to my mind and Dis is pretty good at that! Maybe change the allocation of points in a more agreeable manner?
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I agree with this. If I wanted access to those other places, I would have bought a different timeshare.
My very first trip to Disney as an adult was part of a Hilton timeshare pitch. I chose not to buy. But 6 years later I bought DVC because that was the product I wanted. And lord knows I don’t need a timeshare in Vegas. I got that pitch (which included someone in my group being told he didn’t love his family enough) right before the Great Recession. The value of DVC is that it has held its value. I know that isn’t a garuntee, but over the years it has been a relatively low risk proposition.
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It is worth noting that while much of the timeshare industry collapsed completely over the years, DVC has held strong. So, I’m not really sure how selling DVC to a third-party timeshare company is in its best interest.
Anyhow, as said, this is speculation. Even so, a lot of times things that start out as speculation end up turning out to be real. (And, well, a lot of times not.) So, now I can’t help but think that either I made a wise (?), timely purchase of my SSR resale contract…or it will end up being a big mistake. Time will tell.
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Do you wonder if ideas are leaked on purpose to stir discussion and listen to fallout ?
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I’m pretty sure that happens. It sounds very conspiratorial to say so, though. The trick is…how do you know which ideas are pure speculation of outsiders, and which are those being “fed” to people? I think we can perhaps know in hindsight…but not before.
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Good thought!
Yes this. I would want to see that option restricted to, say, 6 months or perhaps even 3. So that true DVC owners get 11mos and 7mos advantage
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Me too. I love it when Christina is on.
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My family makes fun of me, saying I take forever to decide what to eat based in how the food will make me feel. She makes think this is an okay way to be 
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It is absolutely an okay way to be! I am on your side.
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The most concerning thing said on the podcast is that the lemon dessert at Space 220 is not good. I beg to differ! It is amazing! Light and tart and delicious. I’m not a chocolate on chocolate with chocolate on the side kind of person, and I was pretty full so this was the perfect dessert for me. And so pretty too! 
Oh and that other upsetting stuff about DVC was on there too. I’m trying to not think about that. 
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I haven’t gotten to the Space 220 food review yet, but I personally was dying at Christina talking about her “tapstile anxiety” when rope dropping it. I could very much relate.
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Oh, we were there too! Never tried to rope drop a restaurant line before!
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