considering joining...need opinions :)

[Melrosgirl]

We just started vacationing at WDW in 2001. We didn't go this year, but have a stay at the Poly booked for 2003 and a Cruise for 2004.

I'm hoping some of you can help answer some questions for me. thanks!

1. Do you feel like you are missing out on the regular resorts? (I really want to stay at the Poly and realize I can stay there still if I'm a DVC member, but it would cost more points than a stay at a DVC resort. That would probably drive me crazy, lol.)

2. Anyone familiar with the Beach Club Villas? I would probably choose that as my home resort. Is it close enough walking distance to Epcot and then the monorail?

3. Do you miss housekeeping services? Part of the "fun" to me on vacation is not having to clean up a lot, lol. (making bed, etc.)


I pretty much understand the points, etc...I just had questions on the silly things above! thank you!

 

[EROS]

You're right. The wisest use of DVC points is in the DVC constellation of hotels. We're BWV members and don't miss the other resorts AT ALL. Prior to joining DVC we had 5 cash stays at the GF; we've had no desire to go back there. We seldom "cook in" @DVC but love the flexibility of reserving varied accomodations, from studio to 2-bedroom. Both BWV and BCV offer great access to Epcot. As for housekeeping.........no big deal. We simply make the bed up in the morning as we do everyday at home.......and take off.

 

[CaptainMidnight]

2. Anyone familiar with the Beach Club Villas? I would probably choose that as my home resort. Is it close enough walking distance to Epcot and then the monorail?

It's very close to the Epcot International Gate Entrance, but the monorail at the Front Epcot Entrance is a reasonable walk, it's not close to the monorail.

You can always pay for extra housekeeping as often as you'd like, I think it is $25 ??. We kind of like not having someone in our room all the time, since our littlee kids take afternoon naps. It's not the wisest use of points, but you can use them for other resorts, lots of members on this board report doing so. We'll probably use ours for a poly stay sometime. If your not sure, rent some points from the rent board and check out the resorts. They all have thier unique advantages.

 

[crisi]

You might consider a smaller sized contract - then do every other year at a DVC resort and the opposite year at a traditional resort. Or weekends (when the points are expensive) at a traditional resort.

(Course, chances are, once you are in a multi-roomed unit, a standard hotel room isn't going to do it for you, and you'll be adding on).

You can pay for regular housekeeping - though I don't think many do. Hotel beds are easy enough to tidy for a day.

 

[jcodespoti]

3. Do you miss housekeeping services? Part of the "fun" to me on vacation is not having to clean up a lot, lol. (making bed, etc.)

Not only do we not miss daily maid service, but when we travel elsewhere we nix the maid service (except for longer stays). I at first thought that I would miss daily maid service, however I really like knowing that my room is not being entered into everyday (although I have never had a problem wdw maids stealing). They have a vacuum in the 1br and there is dishsoap as well as papertowels so things never get out of hand. Every 4 days is good for us.


Joe in CT

 

[Maistre Gracey]

Originally posted by Melrosgirl

1. Do you feel like you are missing out on the regular resorts? (I really want to stay at the Poly and realize I can stay there still if I'm a DVC member, but it would cost more points than a stay at a DVC resort. That would probably drive me crazy, lol.)

Well, at first I was worried about this exact thing. We have stayed at The Poly many times prior to DVC. Our last trip we stayed at our home resort, VWL, and we visited The Poly as we had dinner at 'Ohana. Our fears of missing the regular resorts were dismissed. Don't get me wrong...we LOVE The Poly, and are staying three concierge nights (on points) this coming January. What I am trying to say is, that while we enjoy The Poly, we enjoy the feel of DVC/VWL more. That being said, we will never abandon The Poly, and will periodically quench our thirst for The Poly using points!

Good luck...

 

[icydog]

Originally posted by Melrosgirl
[
1. Do you feel like you are missing out on the regular resorts? (I really want to stay at the Poly and realize I can stay there still if I'm a DVC member, but it would cost more points than a stay at a DVC resort. That would probably drive me crazy, lol.)

I would suggest that you rent some pts and use these pts instead of the Poly. Once you stay in a villa you will never want to go back to a room!!!


2. Anyone familiar with the Beach Club Villas? I would probably choose that as my home resort. Is it close enugh walking distance to Epcot and then the monorail?

IT IS A LONG WALK THROUGH ePCOT TO THE FRONT GATES WHERE YOU WILL ENCOUNTER THE MONORAIL. I MYSELF DRIVE TO MK AND TAKE THE BOAT TO MGM AND OF COURS WALK TO EPCOT.

3. Do you miss housekeeping services? Part of the "fun" to me on vacation is not having to clean up a lot, lol. (making bed, etc.)

I HATE HAVING SOMEONE(MAID ETC) IN MY ROOM. I ALWAYS HAVE TO TIDY UP BEFORE I KNOW THEY ARE COMING. IN ANY DISNEY RESORT THEY ARE USUALLY TRUSTWORTHY BUT I FIND I STILL PUT AWAY MY LAPTOP WHEN I KNOW THEY WILL BE CLEANING.
I]

 

[Dean]

I'm not sure DVC is for you, at least not yet. I would suggest you rent points and give it a try. Many have posted they were concerned about missing their favorite WDW resorts only to not miss them at all and much prefer the DVC resorts. Still, many of us like to give a try to some of the other resorts and frequently do so for weekends or similar. You haven't had enough of a history to know you'll like DVC most every year but if you start with a rental then if that goes ok, buy a smallish resale and then see how things go.

Most of us prefer not having maid service daily including many who thought they would miss it. You can always pay for it extra if you must have it.

 

[Granny]

Melrosgirl...before we joined DVC, our favorite resort was the Wilderness Lodge. So buying at the VWL was a no brainer for us...just as a Polynesian DVC home would be a no brainer for you.

Think of DVC as an upgrade in vacation lifestyle. If your room is just some place to crash at the end of a day...well, then the regular resorts are fine. But if you'd like some extra room, the ability to sleep in a different room than the kids (with your own TV as well), a full kitchen at the 1BR level on up to use or not as you see fit....well then DVC may be good for you.

I think Dean has a good idea to rent points or stay at a DVC location first. Warning...if you stay at a 1BR unit or more, you will never want to stay in anything smaller again!

And of course, DVC doesn't mean you can't still go to the Poly to eat, drink and swim. It just means that it's not economical to sleep there.


Good luck.

 

[Melrosgirl]

thank you for the info

 

[WDWguruDH]

1. Our favorite resort was AK(still hoping for an AK DVC). We feared we would miss it, and we do. But we like the DVC option and rooms better. The best thing, if we decide to "blow" some points and stay at AK, we can. No regrets.

2. We have stayed at BCV - 2 br, good stay and a beautiful resort. We own at BWV and love the location, a perk mostly enjoyed by BCV. The best thing, you are not locked into one resort. We have stayed at BWV, BCV and OKW, all are great in their own way.

3. Definitely do not miss housekeeping. I travel a lot for work, and generally request no housekeeping. I don't like other people in my stuff. So we actually prefer the minimal housekeeping.

I would, as has been suggested, rent some points or rooms at BCV(availability still pretty good as it is not sold out yet) and try the experience. I would do it soon - maybe change your Poly reservation, as our only regret has been that all the cash reservations that we did could have been applied to DVC.

 

[Disney Doll]

1. A lot of time what DH and I will do is stay at a "regular" resort for the weekend, then move to the DVC property for the weekdays. The weekday points are cheaper than the weekend points, so you save points and get to enjoy the regular resorts.

2.We just stayed at the BCV in October. They are very nice and a very short walk to the International Gateway(in the World Showcase between France and the UK)at Epcot. You can also take a boat from the lighthouse dock at the YC/BC, but walking is quicker.

3.I personally don't miss housekeeping. On day 4 they do trash and towel and on day 7 they do a full cleaning. You can pay an extra charge for daily housekeeping if you so desire. I do not know what the charge is.

 

[Cruelladeville]

We have been visiting WDW since 1974, and have been to every resort on the property. I was sure that I would miss the other resorts when we joined DVC, but, guess what? I still visit them! Since those weekend points are more expensive, I save them by paying cash at a non-DVC resort. Last summer annual passport holders could stay at AKL for $125 per night, last Christmas I got a 1 bedroom at BWV for $220 per night, and last spring I got Coronado Springs for $89 per night. I have 700 points, but I'll be darned if I will pay double points for a weekend--I'm cheap that way. And as for maid service, I thought it was important, but after joining DVC, I found maid service in non-DVC resorts tedious. I have been "walked in upon" in two instances, once in a shower, and once in a romantic situation, so it's much, much more laid back when I don't have to worry about that happening. There truly is life after children!!

 

[icydog]

I am so glad to hear from a veteran DVC'r. We have been members since September 1992 and bought sight unseen on the phone from Randy Kruger. We have 800 points bought mostly at OKW and then some at BW. We love traveling "on Disney". As with you, our kids are grown, so we don't only go to the Florida resorts. In September we did try out the BCV for a week in a one bdrm and loved the convience of it's location. (We like the one bdrm option even when there are just two of us, so that I can get up and watch TV while my husband sleeps). Next week we are going to Disneyland Paris for 8 days, and a week ago I was at the Arizona Biltmore( if you ever want to be treated like a true princess go there) for a week with my sister. We have plans for a weekat VB in May for a two bedroom, we travel sometimes with my sister, and I am bringing my best friend and our respective granddaughters to WDW to stay in a 2 bdrm at BCV in February.
We love the options Disney offers for us. You don't often hear about people using points for the Concierge, Disney Collection,or cruises, but we do and love it.
Since reading these boards I have become aware of ways to save my points switching from resort to resort during our stay but we have never done this. Maybe if I can convince DH that it is worthwhile he might try this, but I doubt it.
Anyway anyone can tell we love DVC and only hope that our children will want to keep up the payments for the yearly dues to keep up the investment in " paid vacations".
Marylyn

 

[crisi]

There are other ways to visit the non-DVC Disney resorts as well. Pool Hopping (when and where available), dinner at the restaurants, using their marina or strolling along the grounds. What you won't have is the decor of the room and the view out your window. I really think that the hotels are pretty much all the same once you get into the hallways and rooms (except for decor and view) and what makes the hotel is the lobby, grounds and restaurants - both easily accessible no matter where you stay.

 

[DeeP]

I do miss the other non DVC resorts, so we have solved this problem as others have said, by staying in non DVC resorts on the weekends which gives me my non DVC resort fix and saves pts also. WDW has so many nice resorts each with their own theming and atmosphere that I really like staying in a non DVC resort for a couple days each trip. We usally stay at a non DVC resort for the first 2 nights and then move to a DVC resort for the rest of the trip and this suits us just fine.
I do not miss housekeeping while staying at a DVC resort but I would miss housekeeping at a non DVC resort. I like coming back to a freshly cleaned resort room but at a DVC resort we have just gotten used to doing without and now we don't even think about it. Also the DVC units are much larger than a regular hotel room so the rooms do not look as messy as a regular room would look due to the size difference.

 

[Desperado]

I MYSELF DRIVE TO MK

Isn't it easier to take the bus directly there? No parking-tram hassles, pleasant drivers, quick trip?

 

[BobH]

My wife and I having been taking the kids to Disneyworld since 1981. We also like to take other vacations to different locations -
rafting in the Grand Canyon, Hiking in Sedona, Arizona etc.
We also have enjoyed the Polynesian, the Contemporary and the Wilderness Lodge over the years. We enjoy the DVC the best because after about 2 more trips (we joined in Oct of 2000) we feel we will have recovered what we spent to purchase our 240 points had we had to pay cash for our accommodations. From there on out we can take multiple (at least 2) vacations a year for about $800 in annual dues. If you rent a Grand Villa as another member of this board Richyams has done, you recover your purchase price even sooner. The DVC has also allowed us to try several other resorts - Vero Beach and Hilton Head, Woodstock Inn in Vermont - without breaking our budget. This February we are going to stay at Old Key West but we are going to explore the Clearwater, Fla area about 2 hrs away and we are going to let our daughter (graduating from college) spend a week with her best friends at OKW. We love the possibilites of a DVC membership. Sorry - I am starting to sound like a commercial for DVC. It is hard not to. There are things that could be improved but in general it has been fantastic.
Good luck on your decision.

 

[icydog]

I will be staying at AKL and then BCV in early Feb and I will rent a car. I like to leave the parks when I want and not wait on lines for 20 minutes for crowded buses.

On another topic, I have never stayed at AKL before and am wondering what the Savannah view rooms are like. Do you actually see animals? Are there special things for girls(11 and 5)to do? I am a vetern dvc member and this is the first time in 10 years I have opted to change resorts. The reason why, money! The Florida Resident rate for the Savannah room is $172, inclusive of taxes. The 2 bdrm BCV we are renting would have been 72 pts for Sat or a value of between $360-$720, depending on who's counting. We will move to the villa on Sunday when it costs 34 pts. I really hope the inconvience of this resort change is worth it. I am bringing a friend with me and our respective Granddaughters and I want this time to be special for them.

Please respond with your advice or suggestions.
Thanks,
Marylyn

 

[vbfamily]

Was curious if you had made a decision.

We had/have some of the same concerns that you do.

Yes, we would miss housekeeping a little. I don't want to go on vacation to cook and clean.

We bought enought pts for studio stays twice a year but I know we would be happier in a one bedroom. I even saw someone refer to using a studio as "slumming it"-I know that person was joking but you kind of wonder if buying to stay in studios is worth it.

We want to try AKL, GF, Poly, etc. it does cost more pts for the non DVC hotels so it would probably be cheaper to stay for cash using some type of discount.

We are going back and forth-it seems a lot of people play around with saving pts on weekends when they cost more and we really don't want to do that.

This is all just MHO-

If you read this, let us know what you decide and your reasons for your decision-if you don't mind.