DVC Resort Holiday Decorations Trip Report with Photos.

[3DisneyKids]

WOW! Thanks for all of those photos!

 

[La2kw]

If the offsite location you stayed at is near the other attractions you mentioned, Dixie Stampede etc. I would never use the interstate to get there. It is much quicker to use the local roads.

Great photos.

I agree about that fireplace at the Villas of WL. But then it does not surprise me at all, that is just another reflection of Disney versus DVC and they are not the same. Right now DVC's focus is sales and expansion not the current membership or resorts. That is just down right tacky.

Sammie, thanks for the comments. We did use the local roads, and they were ridiculous. I mentioned the freeway offramps because we went up to the Mall of Millenia and in order to avoid the mess at Vineland we had to go up International Drive all the way up to the Convention Center. The traffic on Vineland was just insane at most times.

I think you're right about DVC's priorities.

 

[Parkhopper13]

Thank you so much for the pictures!!!

You put me in the Christmas spirit all over again!!

 

[disneymom8589]

Fabulous pictures!! That is my dream vacation...to see all the resorts at Christmas! I love the beach theme of the BC tree. It would look great in our family room!

 

[Muushka]

Wow. Great Christmas pictures! Thank you for taking the time to post them all.

You might want to change your comment in post 16 to AKV (not VWL).

Also, just to let you know that we were a little taken aback at the lights out on the VWL lobby tree. We checked in on 12/23 and I think that by 12/24 they were all fixed. It was either the evening of 12/23 or the next day.

Also, this may seem silly, but I must say as a VWL owner, I consider the tree in the lobby of WL our 'living room' tree and the one at the villas is my additional tree in the 'family room'! I was always grateful for the extra tree that we got!

 

[La2kw]

Wow. Great Christmas pictures! Thank you for taking the time to post them all.

You might want to change your comment in post 16 to AKV (not VWL).

Also, just to let you know that we were a little taken aback at the lights out on the VWL lobby tree. We checked in on 12/23 and I think that by 12/24 they were all fixed. It was either the evening of 12/23 or the next day.

Also, this may seem silly, but I must say as a VWL owner, I consider the tree in the lobby of WL our 'living room' tree and the one at the villas is my additional tree in the 'family room'! I was always grateful for the extra tree that we got!

Muushka, thanks for the correction!

I'm glad the lights on the tree were fixed. We were there on the 21st, so it did take them a while to fix it, which is too bad.

 

[BroganMc]

I must really be a purist but when I went touring last year (didn't have enough time to do the resorts this year) I just wasn't that impressed with WL/VWL. I saw AKL first so saw WL as just a replica. Nice, just not the eye-popping extravaganza posts here tend to claim.

BWV and BCV were more impressive to me. All that red, white and blue Americana style.

SSR's decorations were very classy this year. Just enough to be Christmassy without being overwhelming. Wish I'd had time to pop over to OKW. Those Key West colors looked very interesting. Never saw that before.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Great pics, and thanx for sharing!

Now, in defense of VWL...
Comparing VWL to the BWV lobby, or the BC lobby, is not comparing apples to apples.
The VWL lobby looked right on par, if not better than the BCV lobby IMO.
If you are going to compare the fancier decorations in BC or BWV (share lobby with BWI), than they should be compared to the WL main lobby. Same can be said for OKW since they don't have a separate DVC section.

That's kind of a tongue twister...
Now, off my soap box..

Thanx again for the great pics!

MG

 

[wildernessDad]

The VWL tree that I saw this Xmas is below. Personally, I feel that it looks quite nice. It is certainly not the spectacular one within WL, but the atrium at VWL is not nearly as big as the lobby at WL.

 

[Muushka]

La2kw, it still says AKL!

I must really be a purist but when I went touring last year (didn't have enough time to do the resorts this year) I just wasn't that impressed with WL/VWL. I saw AKL first so saw WL as just a replica. Nice, just not the eye-popping extravaganza posts here tend to claim.

BWV and BCV were more impressive to me. All that red, white and blue Americana style.

SSR's decorations were very classy this year. Just enough to be Christmassy without being overwhelming. Wish I'd had time to pop over to OKW. Those Key West colors looked very interesting. Never saw that before.

I guess I am also a purist, but just a purist in the sense that the tree at WL existed many year before the tree at AKL, and therefore is the true, original, eyepopping tree!!!

OK, I don't know why I am even on this thread!!! Buh bye

 

[Cheryl N. WI]

WOW great pictures from the DVC resorts Thanks for taking the time to post them all!

 

[La2kw]

I must really be a purist but when I went touring last year (didn't have enough time to do the resorts this year) I just wasn't that impressed with WL/VWL. I saw AKL first so saw WL as just a replica. Nice, just not the eye-popping extravaganza posts here tend to claim.

BWV and BCV were more impressive to me. All that red, white and blue Americana style.

SSR's decorations were very classy this year. Just enough to be Christmassy without being overwhelming. Wish I'd had time to pop over to OKW. Those Key West colors looked very interesting. Never saw that before.

BroganMC, that's funny, because we felt both the WL and the AKL were just mimicing the Grand Californian. We have stayed at the GC at Christmas a few times, but this was our first trip to WDW at Christmas, so I guess it's just a matter of perspective.

I loved the BWV lobby and agree it was one of the more impressive ones. The OKW decorations look a bit cartoony in my shots, but they look more subdued in person.

 

[La2kw]

The VWL tree that I saw this Xmas is below. Personally, I feel that it looks quite nice. It is certainly not the spectacular one within WL, but the atrium at VWL is not nearly as big as the lobby at WL.

WildernessDad, I think the VWL tree looks much better in your picture. I wish I had seen it as it was intended to look. I agree that the tree is the right size for that particular lobby. Unfortunately, a whole lot of people saw it looking the way I did, which is pretty sloppy, IMO. No offense, I like the VWL, and was just surprised by it.

 

[3DisneyKids]

I must really be a purist but when I went touring last year (didn't have enough time to do the resorts this year) I just wasn't that impressed with WL/VWL. I saw AKL first so saw WL as just a replica. Nice, just not the eye-popping extravaganza posts here tend to claim.

BWV and BCV were more impressive to me. All that red, white and blue Americana style.

SSR's decorations were very classy this year. Just enough to be Christmassy without being overwhelming. Wish I'd had time to pop over to OKW. Those Key West colors looked very interesting. Never saw that before.

Brogan--the 2006 decorations were widely considered to be sub-par throughout WDW. I did not see WL last year, but even the podcast last year commented that WL was not its usual splendor. And the parks were really underdone last year, though they seem to have received the feedback loud and clear as this year they did a MUCH better job!

 

[tksbaskets]

What a great thread! I loved the pictures of the different resorts. Now I'm trying to talk my DH into going to BWV for Christmas next year

 

[Ciciwoowoo]

I love your pictures!

I was there in early December, and sadly, I lost more than half my photos through some technological quirk. Anyway, its nice to see your photos! I may have to print some of them and add them to my photo album.

 

[wildernessDad]

WildernessDad, I think the VWL tree looks much better in your picture. I wish I had seen it as it was intended to look. I agree that the tree is the right size for that particular lobby. Unfortunately, a whole lot of people saw it looking the way I did, which is pretty sloppy, IMO. No offense, I like the VWL, and was just surprised by it.

If people noticed a problem, then they should have notified the staff so that it could be fixed. I took that picture late in our stay. We departed on the 21st, so it may have not been depleted of lights for long.

 

[Disney_Mama]

Beautiful pictures..... Thanks for taking the time to share them.

 

[La2kw]

If people noticed a problem, then they should have notified the staff so that it could be fixed. I took that picture late in our stay. We departed on the 21st, so it may have not been depleted of lights for long.

You seem a bit offended by my observation, which is not what I inteded. I would have pointed out a blunder like that tree at any of the resorts. I love my DVC and I expect DVC to live up to what they told me it would be when I purchased. If people don't complain when DVC gets sloppy, then DVC thinks that nobody cares.

I took my pic on the 21st and someone else on this thread pointed out the lights were still out when they checked in on the 23rd. Evidently it was fixed either the 23rd or 24th. Three to four days is pretty long for something so obviously wrong, IMO. We don't know whether or not anyone did complain about it, but Disney should have noticed before a guest had a chance to complain. We saw at least 4 or 5 different cm's walk past that tree when we were there.

I won't even mention those plastic potted poinsettias on the fireplace and the lack of "vision" that those displayed.

 

[La2kw]

Thanks to everyone for the nice comments. I enjoyed sharing them with you. I also have pics of the other deluxe resorts, but I wasn't sure whether or not to put them on this thread.