Aren't we all just spoilt by DVC?

[john storey]

Whilst reading everyones Likes/dislikes, do's & don'ts on the boards one thought keeps coming back to me, 'aren't we all just spoilt by DVC'. When I 1st visited Orlando back in 1990 I never ever dreamt that 15 years later I would be able to chose randomly of staying in Beach Club, Boardwalk, Wilderness Lodge etc,etc. What a luxury, spoilt for choice, just can't decide they are all so nice. When I read things like Animal Kingdom Lodge (it's to remote) yes it takes at least 5/10 mins to reach DTD,Boardwalk etc but it's a LUXURY resort in its own right.Beach Club/Boardwalk Villas (rooms are shabby) yes maybe some are but they are the same rooms that you would pay a FORTUNE to stay in if paying on a normal holiday, plus WHAT A LOCATION. Saratoga/Key West (again not close enough to action & to quiet) what super accomodations to stay in, let me know what hotels have rooms even close to the size & quality that these have.Wilderness Lodge (same as previous, a bit remote & quiet) SUPERB hotel you would pay a fortune again to stay in similar surroundings elsewere. Well just a thought, & now I've got the AWFUL task of trying to work out where to stay next trip as those money grabbing Disney folk have just added 2 more LUXURY resorts to choose from, keep on moaning.

 

[UKDEB]

I've got mixed feelings about your comments. Whilst I can buy in to the spirit of what you're trying to articulate, the pedant in me feels compelled to pick apart your argument.

During our most recent stay at Saratoga Springs, we took a walk over to Old Key West and this is an excerpt from my trip report expressing my thoughts (which seem to mirror your own):

We’ve yet to visit Key West proper, but the area around the Hospitality House definitely has an island vibe and it’s easy to imagine that you could be in the Key West of a bygone era. There aren’t many corners of WDW that we haven’t visited and, seeing something for the first time does remind you of just how inventive and imaginative the theming is. It’s so easy to get blasé about it all, but I imagine that when this resort opened back in 1991, it must have been mind-blowing. I do remember seeing publicity material for it during my first visit in 1992 (in fact, I think I still have the brochure). Back then, even the notion of staying onsite seemed like an unrealisable dream, let alone owning timeshare in it.

During the same trip, we also spent time at the BoardWalk and these were my observations:

This is the first time we’ve stayed here and not had a BoardWalk view. It's seen better days, too and is well overdue for refurbishment, but, as I’ve already mentioned, we’re just happy to be within walking distance of Epcot for the Food and Wine Festival.

WDW hotels are categorically not of the standard of genuinely deluxe resorts. They pale in comparison to several within very close proximity. It's all about location at WDW and that's why they can charge inflated rates. Kidani Village is a very likely candidate for part of our next trip, but mainly because we love staying at new resorts. Its location is definitely a major factor when weighing up the pros and cons of each resort. Taking that into consideration when making a choice doesn't constitute moaning.

We had shabby rooms during our most recent stays at both BCV and BWV and that's just unacceptable. It's bad enough for us as DVC Members given that's why we pay dues, but for regular paying guests (you know, those ones who pay a FORTUNE), it's nothing short of an outrage. It's absolutely our responsibility to complain about rooms which aren't up to standard.

Heading further into hair-splitting territory, DVC ownership doesn't allow you to choose from all the DVC properties at will. It's becoming increasingly more difficult to secure certain locations at the 7 month window. Even when you do get what you want, it's invariably after a long and stressful wait. The waitlist system creates unnecessary blockages. A simple move from the current "domino" system to a "matching" system would remove that problem.

So, I agree with your sentiment, but not with some of the minutiae.

 

[arielrocks]

Well said Debs!!!

I agree too - some of the rooms we have stayed in have been well overdue a refurb (boardwalk mainly) and as an owner I wonder what exactly the annual fees are being used for!

If I was paying to rent a room I would be outraged!

We stayed at Vistata Villages last year - it was half the pricee of Disney and the resort and rooms were immaculate - in my opinion far better maintained then some disney resorts.

With Disney its all about Location location location!

 

[LORNA ANN]

Got to say i love my DVC but have on occasions arrived & been disappointed by the room standards, in all the resorts we have visited there has always been little things wrong lights not working, kitchen cupboards shabby, drawers that won't open ! broken coffee tables obviously not all at the same resort on the same dates but for what is classed as luxury end of market it does fall short !
But saying all that without DVC i don't think we would be able to afford to stay in these resorts certianly not every year, so i love my DVC..
And no i don't think we are spoilt by DVC i think we pay a lot of money for it & deserve to be spoilt !!!

 

[waltfan1957]

Well said Debs!!!

I agree too - some of the rooms we have stayed in have been well overdue a refurb (boardwalk mainly) and as an owner I wonder what exactly the annual fees are being used for!

If I was paying to rent a room I would be outraged!

We stayed at Vistata Villages last year - it was half the pricee of Disney and the resort and rooms were immaculate - in my opinion far better maintained then some disney resorts.

With Disney its all about Location location location!

If you were paying for a room you would'nt get a dvc room, are the paid for rooms in any better condition?

 

[UKDEB]

The rooms at the BoardWalk Inn have been refurbished fairly recently, but all the more reason why those at the Villas should have received the same treatment. There's a certain amount of inventory at all DVC resorts which is available for rental to the general public, BWV included.

 

[JohnnySharp2]

We are not DVC owner's but occasionally browse this forum as we are fascinated by the on-site experience.
Have only ever stayed on WDW property once, in 2006 in a 1 bedroomed villa at the Boardwalk, as many of you will know from the Trip Planning Forum mainly for our son's needs most of our holiday stays have been in off-site villas.

With Joshua often not wanting to out later in the day I crave for some evening activity without having to drive - hence our few days at BWV in 2006 and perhaps a few days at Grand Floridian next time, hopefully 2010. We were due to stay at the Polynesian on our holiday last April but the Easter prices were so high we couldn't justify the outlay.
I agree that staying on-site the big plus is location, partly the reason why we are hoping for a few nights at the GF next year -
close to Magic Kingdom and the Poly adding to the appeal.
We really enjoyed the proximity of BWV to EPCOT, Beach Club and more - location is excellent, however we were hugely dissapointed with the quality of the furnishings in our room, it was quite poor to be honest and given the high price a big let down, a lot of the furniture was in dire need of replacing and carpet/curtains weren't much better.

Having had a tour around Saratoga Springs Resort we decided against DVC ownership for a few reasons, one of which is the pure fact we feel having been so many times now we probably should have bought into years ago if that's what we decided to do. In addition it's virtually impossible for us to
hand over ownership to Joshua in the future, as his Autism will prevent him from ever being able to go without us.

Our BWV room did and to a degree still does perplex us slightly as we understood the maintainence dues go towards the upkeep of the resort, so it was hardly a selling point for us to find it not up to scratch.
You could argue that the room is a base for the holiday, and after all a lot of the time you are 'out and about'..to a degree that is true, but personally I would say that if we were staying in a budget motel, not what was to us a Deluxe resort costing several hundred $ per night.
For the cost of staying at these resorts they need to ensure the customer is getting value for money.

 

[leise]

I know where you are coming from Johnny, I love my DVC and every time I go I am so glad we bought in. I'm not spoilt though, I haven't got any complaints (so far!) We have just stayed at Old Key West each time, the boys just love it and the extra space makes such a difference.
We are in the process of adding on, so that we can have enough points for a one bed, as the boys get older. We really do need the kitchen too. DS (10) has autism, and doesn't eat anything much away from home. This year when we went he basically survived on bananas, milk and brocolli (which I steamed in the microwave) for three weeks. And that was the best holiday yet - when he was younger he did two weeks on milk and vitamin drops! We are hoping with the kitchen I can find and cook some burgers that will pass his stringent standards.
Thinking of when he is an adult, and we can't take him, we hope that he may well be able to go with a personal assistant or his brother, or certainly he has more chance of coping with a holiday in WDW, where everything is structured and safe, than anywhere else. He loves WDW so much, I really hope he can always go.

Next time we are considering trying BLT for a few days, but I suspect we won't get in at 7 months. I do love the idea of trying different resorts, we just need to persuade DS8 (who has flexibility issues ) that it will be ok to stay somewhere else!

 

[JohnnySharp2]

Hi leise,

Yes I understand what you mean, autism is such a complex subject isn't it.
Joshua is a pretty good eater to be honest so from that perspective he is fine, it is just eating out in strange environments he struggles with, familiarity is a big thing, that's why we sometimes struggle to vary our holiday from staying in a villa.
We rarely go out at home, I honestly can't remember the last time I had a drink in a pub, but on holiday I like to go out sometimes and find it so hard to do that in a villa, having to drive everywhere - hence a few nights on-site.

The DVC resorts do appeal with having a kitchen, we rarely stay in hotels, but having had a bad experience at the Boardwalk it makes it hard to justify the cost if you are not sure the room will be nice.
Touch wood the Grand Floridian will be as we had a good look around in April.

I can understand the appeal of BLT especially as that location is just perfect and with GF/Poly closeby too.
Although I do think the rooms look a bit 'cold' cannot think of another way to explain, and it is for non DVC owners extremely expensive.

*apologies John if I have moved away from your topic slightly here*

 

[Shooby doo]

Johnny I was like you after our one & only stay on-site,tbh I had put the whole "being in the magic" experience on such a high pedestal that the only way was down! CBR was a major disappointment,the resort itself was lovely but the room was nothing special (in fact no better than the Comfort Inn) & the food court was a nightmare BUT what was good: no parking charges,sending gifts back to the resort,KTTW card,EMH (although we only used it once!) & as a previous poster said....location,location. That being said what was the first thing we done on our return...... bought DVC! Now I have DVC on that high pedestal & I'm expecting the standard to be as good as if not better than our usual places off-site.As good as would do though (well apart from the Sunnspree).
Aerial the Villages are the newer of the 2 Vistana sites & always appear to get a good write up not the case with the other one where the main complaint is that the older units are in dire need of a refurb.
We sholud have bought in years ago but decided against it then & only time will tell if buying now was the right decision.
SD