DVC Counter Service

[Dean]

How will that change in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?

You may own the DVC points for up to 50 years but those kids won't be young for long. We've been owners for 10+ years now. Over that time our kids went from being ages 2 and 6 mos to ages 13 and 11.

Most owners will tell you they've made reservations at a specific resort to fit their immediate needs (e.g. booking at BoardWalk to spend a lot of time at Epcot, booking at AKV because of the savanna or restaurants, etc.)

Personally, I think making ANY purchase decisions based upon wants or needs related to young children is a mistake. Expand your vision and look at the big picture.

We're at 20 yrs now and our 2 have gone from 7 & 10 to grown now with 2 grandkids. IMO one should anticipate likely and possible changes as part of the evaluation process. That may mean one underbuys or overbuys compared to early needs though generally you don't want to be too far off current needs. I do not believe it's a good reason alone to pay more for multiple contracts if there's a significant price difference or to let RTU expiration outweigh other factors. We've had other changes I could not have anticipated and most will as well. The main change for us has been the interest in other places, other timeshares and the ability to trade back in to DVC over the last 12-14 yrs or so. The other area it's difficult to anticipate are changes within the system. One must try by considering possible changes like increasing fees, minimum stays, reallocations, more strict enforcement of POS occupancy levels and the like. Then once one distills it down, a decision has to be made. IMO far better to have many who get cold feet where DVC would have been perfect than to have one person make a truly bad decision.

 

[JaySwash]

Duplicate

 

[JaySwash]

How will that change in 5 years? 10 years? 15 years?

You may own the DVC points for up to 50 years but those kids won't be young for long. We've been owners for 10+ years now. Over that time our kids went from being ages 2 and 6 mos to ages 13 and 11.

Most owners will tell you they've made reservations at a specific resort to fit their immediate needs (e.g. booking at BoardWalk to spend a lot of time at Epcot, booking at AKV because of the savanna or restaurants, etc.)

Personally, I think making ANY purchase decisions based upon wants or needs related to young children is a mistake. Expand your vision and look at the big picture.

Yeah I totally get your point. Once the older two boys move out we will likely use the kitchen for the majority of our meals.

Won't change over time however , is that wife would rather spend money on souvenirs than fancy restaurants, so counter service level food will always be in the equation.

 

[crisi]

Yeah I totally get your point. Once the older two boys move out we will likely use the kitchen for the majority of our meals.

Won't change over time however , is that wife would rather spend money on souvenirs than fancy restaurants, so counter service level food will always be in the equation.

That may actually change. There are only so many souvenirs you can pick up and then you've had your fill of Christmas ornaments and Mickey hand pot holders. You are in this for the long haul. And counter service meals start to get old - especially Deluxe hotel counter service where there is little variety at most places - plus you start looking to fill time in different ways. Suddenly its "I've heard great things about Jiko" or "We really should try Flying Fish sometime."

 

[fromscratchmom]

Great thread. I'm among those especially interested in food choice but I'm an oddity because I follow an incredibly strict diet and I eat almost no modern industrial food. I hope that at some point I can relax some of my restrictions occasionally and at the same time some of the wide variety at Disney is whole food based. Of course that might not ever apply to QS but as a foodie I love reading this type of stuff!

 

[JaySwash]

Everyone's responses have brought up another question that has been in the back of my mind...

How much of a difference is there in the grocery selections at the various DVC resorts? With our youngest having food allergies the ability to get groceries easily (and yes I know about the delivery services like green grocer, which is nice to have available) is also big. Do some resort market spots stock better than others?

 

[hakepb]

Everyone's responses have brought up another question that has been in the back of my mind...

How much of a difference is there in the grocery selections at the various DVC resorts? With our youngest having food allergies the ability to get groceries easily (and yes I know about the delivery services like green grocer, which is nice to have available) is also big. Do some resort market spots stock better than others?

There are some slight differences when I was comparing the online grocery lists between a few resorts (BLT, OKW, and BWV). Some resorts have larger-feeling food areas, but I'm not sure it really results in hugely better selection... But without knowing specific items to search for, its hard to tell you what might be best for you.

As another factor, BWV is closest to a Hess gas station with a decent-sized food/snack section.

 

[jade1]

As another factor, BWV is closest to a Hess gas station with a decent-sized food/snack section.

Yea and EPCOT is right there as well.

The BW has some good food/pricing stands IMO.

Dolphin is very close and has a good food court as well. I think 24 hours.

 

[crisi]

Everyone's responses have brought up another question that has been in the back of my mind...

How much of a difference is there in the grocery selections at the various DVC resorts? With our youngest having food allergies the ability to get groceries easily (and yes I know about the delivery services like green grocer, which is nice to have available) is also big. Do some resort market spots stock better than others?

The markets aren't going to be a good choice if you have food allergies. Its a lot of processed foods, the selection is subject to change, so you can't really depend on a certain brand you know is clean. Your best bet - in addition to grocery services - is to have a car and do your own grocery shopping.

 

[delilah]

Really, Kidani is not that bad in terms of counter service. I have stayed in rooms at Kidani that were actually a shorter walk to the lobby at Jambo than that of Kidani. That said, we have settled into a pattern of using counter service mainly at lunch time, and going elsewhere in the evening. I have stayed for 5 day trips, just my son and myself, on the QS meal plan. We had plenty to eat, but, the counter service offerings become repetitive and boring very quickly. I think the counter service offerings used to be better about 8-10 years ago. Now,they are pretty much the same everywhere. I remember once staying at AKL, before there was DVC there, and they had a different menu every night at Mara, and had a variety of appetizing options. Now, it seems the choice is a burger, pizza and one quasi-African type option, like a curry stew. Well, I don't do pizza ever, anywhere. Burgers are boring. So, I opt for the curry stew. But, years ago, they offered a toasted Cuban sandwich, which was very nice, and other nice offerings.