This is definitely short-sighted. I know that the first times we came to WDW I was not super well-prepared. I had read the “unofficial guide” and “Birnbaum’s” 
but I was totally not prepared. My family with me were exhausted, staying off site, and the interest to stay in the parks was not there for them. The lines everywhere overwhelmed, and the prices for food were just way out there so that we left rather than stay to eat. That was my first trip- I was 22, traveling with my parents, brothers, sister and my (then) very young daughter. It was a trip for her, and it really made my parents not want to come back to WDW for ages, until I got really really deep into it, had several trips on my own with just my immediate family (hubs, kids), and I could talk them into staying on property. Point is, I think going after first-timers, casual visitors, could backfire for sure. Like Len frequently says, it’s the word of mouth that is the best advertiser.
He did. And as CEO has been far more involved in Parks matters than Iger was.
I’ve talked to multiple cast members who rave about him, convinced he’s the real deal and say he’s somewhat handcuffed by Chapek.
I call bull on that. He is choosing his job and either he believes what he says or is just talking b**sh*t (company line). He could say, “the official company vision is…” or something similar. Could that get him fired? Maybe- but being a threat to Chapek might get him fired too.
He is publicly quoted and people say “he is cute and seems nice”.
Another point in the article - each park has a “heat map” that tracks where users are via GPS and Disney uses that data to load-balance in real-time via food/merch promos and notifying users of short waits at underutilized rides (presumably this is the free genie service).
Liners are effectively doing something like the latter already by knowing the best times to ride a given ride standby.
I think D’Amaro is more of a people person than Chapek is. But ultimately they see eye-to-eye on park strategy.
This was a point I didn’t make yesterday but has been ony mind (I am rephrasing from my chat comment). I completely agree with you. And this quote just made me angry:
Each park has an operation center with a “heat map” that tracks where Genie+ users are in the parks using GPS technology. Park operators can direct traffic using the app by notifying visitors where the shortest lines are and offering food and merchandise promotions to cajole them to other areas.
“If I’m seeing too much activity on the west side, I’m able to spread where I direct people to the east side,” Mr. D’Amaro said. “Our attractions will be load-balanced better, and lines will be shorter, and what that means is the experience will be better.”
It doesn’t make me angry because it makes me feel like cattle. It makes me angry because it just not the truth. Any respect I had for Josh D went out the window, because these are alternative facts.
We all know Genie is so dysfunctional, there is no way it actual directs people to different parts of the park. This quote is publicity BS for shareholders to think the system is working when Genie (basic) is a complete joke.
I belive they send people to a different part of the park by dropping more LL. But a merch or food promotion? Give me a fucking break. It.Has.Never.Happened.
And if Disney did miraculously offer people a “promotion” they would probably not even notice it because of the horrible interface.
I think what annoys me so me much is that if they even tried to consider what the guest told them about their priorities, it could actually work.
It’s called Disney Vacation Club. 
But with ticket prices as they are and not AP program (to speak of) the frequent fliers can’t afford to fly frequently
Truth! DH and I continued to renew the AP, so we’re still using it. Not sure what we would do if we had to buy individual tickets each trip.
I am just saying that the Emperor is naked.
Well… we’re falling behind on using our DVC points. There was a time when we never banked points, and were pretty much always on at least a few borrowed points, but since 2020 we’ve only used banked points, and we’ve even used some for Universal-only trips to keep them from expiring. That was because we had Universal APs to use in December, so we figured we might as well get one more trip in.
We might try to rent out the 90 points we have left for 2022, rather than bank them. I don’t even know what that involves, though.
You can always post them on the DVC section here to rent to a liner. I’ve done that a couple of times. What’s your use year?
February
Yeah you’re getting super close to your banking deadline. That’s my use year too.
All I’m saying is what I’ve heard CMs think.
Hey that’s my use year too! 
/joke
Ok, what am I thinking now?
Can’t tell? Must be bc I’m not a CM.
This proves Mike right 
/endjoke
We bank for occasional big extended family trips (multiple rooms) and so we can do a 3 bdrm for our standard family annually. We’re trying to alternate the contracts so that one year AKL is full and the other year Riv is full.
I think the only difficulty in renting out your points is availability. List them as early as possible so that the renter has options for dates.
I was able to rent 2 nights in July through a liner on the forums. She used a standard contract I can share if you end up needing it. She was kind enough to waitlist one of nights and then merge the two days when it came through.
But renting your points through the DVC store is also pretty easy. You just sign up as a potential renter and then they send you notices of rental requests, which you then go in and reserve. Availability being the biggest barrier.