Decorating Villa for the Holidays

[Beth]

Just curious... is this the first year that they have banned decorating the exterior of your villa, or has this been going on for a while?

We used to travel during the holidays every year - but we've missed the last few years.

I always looked forward to stringing some lights on the balcony....

 

[SusieBea]

Can I ask where you heard this information? I look forward to stringing lights on the balcony, too.!

 

[erionm]

Can I ask where you heard this information? I look forward to stringing lights on the balcony, too.!

It's posted on the main page of dvcmember.com:

Resort leaders offer holiday-decorating reminder

As Disney Parks and Resorts reflect the spirit of the season with a winter wonderland of holiday decorations, many Disney Vacation Club® Members are decorating their villas in similarly festive fashion.

While Disney Vacation Club welcomes the use of safe decorations that don't damage the finishes of the villa, resort leaders are reminding Members that all decorations should be contained within the villa interiors and therefore shouldn't extend to the balcony or other exterior areas.

This policy, included in Members' condominium documents, is designed to help preserve the carefully crafted architectural stories and visual themes for which Disney Parks and Resorts are famous.

http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/member...ewsArticleHolidayDecoratingReminderDetailPage

 

[BEASLYBOO]

Well I for one think that if you want to bring decorations for the inside of your villa, and can hang them without making holes, fine but externally I think it cheapens the look of the resort to have intermitent , miss matched, lights etc. hanging here and there!

and no I'm not a Grinch by any means, I happen to love Christmas and what it stands for!

 

[SusieBea]

Thanks! I missed that information.

 

[quandrea]

This is the first year I had planned to decorate. We are bringing a small tree and I have a few window clings for the children to put up. Will that be allowed or shall I place them on the fridge, mirrors, etc? Just don't want to get in troubel.

 

[Sammie]

Well I for one think that if you want to bring decorations for the inside of your villa, and can hang them without making holes, fine but externally I think it cheapens the look of the resort to have intermitent , miss matched, lights etc. hanging here and there!

and no I'm not a Grinch by any means, I happen to love Christmas and what it stands for!

Agreed.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I have never felt that balcony decorations cheapen the look of a resort and DH and I always enjoyed looking at them. Disney does no decorating of the hotel wings themselves so the decorations brought made it festive IMO.

 

[Granny]

Just curious... is this the first year that they have banned decorating the exterior of your villa, or has this been going on for a while?

We used to travel during the holidays every year - but we've missed the last few years.

I always looked forward to stringing some lights on the balcony....

We stayed at VWL during Christmas week in 2006. There was a notice in our packet that indicated that decorated balcony areas were not allowed. We asked a CM about that, and he indicated that if nobody complained then we could go ahead and put up the decorations. He said that only guest complaints would make us have to take them down.

We saw so many balconies decorated that it was clearly not something that was enforced. So we decorated with garland and lights, and I guess nobody complained.

So in answer to your question, it seems that the "policy" has been in effect at least 5 years. My guess is that it is due to guest complaints rather than any safety or theming issues.

This is the first year I had planned to decorate. We are bringing a small tree and I have a few window clings for the children to put up. Will that be allowed or shall I place them on the fridge, mirrors, etc? Just don't want to get in troubel.

I don't think there will be any problems with window clings.

 

[Deb & Bill]

This is the first year I had planned to decorate. We are bringing a small tree and I have a few window clings for the children to put up. Will that be allowed or shall I place them on the fridge, mirrors, etc? Just don't want to get in troubel.

Since the member notice says this:

While Disney Vacation Club welcomes the use of safe decorations that don't damage the finishes of the villa, resort leaders are reminding Members that all decorations should be contained within the villa interiors and therefore shouldn't extend to the balcony or other exterior areas.

That makes me think that windows would be included since window decorations can be seen from the exterior. Even if you put them on the inside of the villa window.

 

[dopey2]

Bah! Humbug!

 

[mecllap]

I wonder if the Fort Wilderness people get this same message (or if it just applies to DVC -- and then just the DVC part of shared resorts/hotels).

 

[Pirate Granny]

I am so very bad, bad BAD...my lights are currently wrapped around my balcony...OKW....BAD! BAD BAD...but I will hope that since I'm in a studio, that only two units on either side can see and complain...they are much easier on the eyes than the overhead light, and are sea shells and make me smile...Gecko likes it better too, he's here sleeping on the ceiling of the balcony every night, gone each morning..

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I wonder if the Fort Wilderness people get this same message (or if it just applies to DVC -- and then just the DVC part of shared resorts/hotels).

For your reading enjoyment here are the rules that FW received this year from Disney. From Allears (which has a link to the official Disney doc):

"Starting on October 1, 2011, Disney's Fort Wilderness put the following decorating rules in place:

•Displays in public areas: To ensure the safety of our Guests, please do not place holiday decorations in public areas. Holiday decorations are limited to the Guest's campsite only.
•All holiday decorations need to be at least five feet away from all sidewalks: If your site is adjacent to a sidewalk, please do not place decorations within five feet of the walkway. This will maintain safe and clear access for all of our Guests who utilize sidewalks.
•All holiday decorations need to be at least 30 feet away from all main roadways: To minimize traffic congestion and distraction to nearby motorists, all decorations need to be at least 30 feet away from the main roadways.
•All holiday decorations need to be placed on the Guest's site: The site boundaries are defined as the space that is halfway between one site pad and the next. All holiday decorations need to be inside of this boundary. Any decorations that disrupt or interfere with a neighboring site will need to be removed or relocated.
•Any holiday decorations suspended from trees must be illuminated: Please remember to maintain clear visibility for all decorations that are suspended from trees or other items. Any suspended decorations which pose a potention hazard to the safety of our Guests will need to be removed or relocated.
•All holiday decorations must be in good taste: We ask that all holiday decorations be family friendly, please.
•All electric power access must come from the Guest's own site: All decorations that require electrical power must only be powered from from the Guest's own site. Plugging into a neighbor's power supply or into a public area location is prohibited.
•All electrical cords must be secured and clear from all walkways: To maintain a safe environment, we ask that all electrical cords be secured.
•All outdoor lighting must be outdoor rated: Please do not use lighting or electrical cords that are intended for indoor use only. All lighting must be clearly marked as UL approved. Please consider fire safety at all times.
•Use of LED lighting is strongly encouraged: To conserve energy, and to ensure an adequare power supply, please use LED lighting for all light displays."

 

[lsutiggeratwk]

I'm with dopey2 - bah humbug.

We will be at VWL next week - leaving on Saturday and have some lights to put on our balcony. i even got some velcro strips to hold them on so i would not damage the paint on the railing. Guess i'll have to develop a Plan B.

i think the lights on balcony add a bit of festivity to the villas

And our lights are not exactly Christmas - they represent out favorite college football team (hint - it is the #1 in the nation team!! ).

last year at HH we put up one string of lights on the balcony (they were pretty skimmpy - hahaha). others had large blow up characters etc and as far as i know, no one was asked to take them down. it was fun to walk around the resort and look at all the decorations.

thanks for posting this -I did not know this. wonder if we will be given any information when we check in

 

[cj9200]

Sorry but if people want to decorate their balconies for the holidays, what is the harm? I disagree that it cheapens the looks of the resort. Quite the opposite, it adds to the festivities.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Sorry but if people want to decorate their balconies for the holidays, what is the harm? I disagree that it cheapens the looks of the resort. Quite the opposite, it adds to the festivities.

Evidently DVC thinks there is harm otherwise they would not have posted the message on the member website.

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

we brought lights and put five strings up on our balcony and we did not have one person say anything about it other than those traveling by on the canal that were ooohhing and aaahhing when they saw them. We were at OKW and they do not decorate anything but the hospitalty house and bridge. At least three dozen other people had their patios balconies decorated.

We turned our lights on when we got back to the room and off at bedtime!

 

[horselover]

It's posted on the main page of dvcmember.com:


http://dvc.disney.go.com/dvc/member...ewsArticleHolidayDecoratingReminderDetailPage

Do you mean the home page? I'm not seeing this information when I log into my account.

 

[sarahk0204]

Well, there were lights in the box of our DVC Christmas tree exchange last year, so I used them on the balcony. We were at SSR on the back side (Grandstand section facing the golf course and Treehouse villas), and no one complained. We also had a decoration for the door. We were just sharing last year. This year we are donating a tree. So when I sent the tree this year, I included extra lights for the balcony, an outdoor extension cord, and a wreath hanger and door decoration. I guess I have to tell everyone using tree #1 to use that stuff at their own risk. Geesh!