If you look carefully, youll see the groundwork being laid for the first of several Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resorts in southern California. But before we go into details, perhaps a little history is in order. As you mentioned in your question, there are plenty of DVC options in Florida. In fact, the Disney Vacation Club was for a long time one of the few bright spots on the Walt Disney Companys balance sheet. Disney loves DVC and the capital it brings in to the company, and theyve pushed forward full speed ahead building new DVC resorts in Florida where land is not a problem.
From early on the suits at Disney wanted desperately to bring the Disney Vacation Club to California. In fact, Disney at one time actually purchased property in southern California with the intent of turning it into the areas first DVC resort. The site where the Marriott Newport Coast Villas now stands was once destined to bring the DVC to the west coast. As with a lot of Disneys plans, however, the property was never developed and was subsequently sold to Marriott, who went on to build the resort almost unchanged from Disneys original plans.
So what happened (or, to be more cohesive with the title of this column, Why For)? Two things, actually. First, keep in mind that this property is located about 20 miles from
Disneyland. The original intent was to make this a Disneyland optional destination - one where members could enjoy everything southern California has to offer without necessarily visiting Disneyland. However, market research quickly proved that most vacationers would indeed be using the property for a Disneyland visit. The research further showed that the thought of being shuttled back and forth to Disneyland in traffic was as unappealing to potential DVC members as it was to Disney, who did not want the expense and liability of running a fleet of shuttle buses back and forth.
The real killer of this deal, however, was located clear across the country on the east coast. Disneys first experiment in DVC locations not adjacent to the theme parks opened in South Carolina, and quickly became a colossal disappointment. Disneys Hilton Head Resort was the DVCs first sales disaster. Up to that point, all of the DVC resorts had quickly sold out at a premium price. Hilton Head sold much more slowly, taking Disney by surprise and making them very wary of any further resorts not associated with the theme parks The Newport Beach property was quickly and quietly put up for sale. (Not only that, but properties in Colorado and Virginia intended for DVC resort were sold as well.)
All is not lost, however. Rumblings and rumors have been greatly increasing in frequency regarding DVC activity around the Disneyland Resort. Sales kiosks, similar to the ones found in Florida, will soon be constructed inside Disneyland and Disneys California Adventure. These sales positions will initially focus on the Florida resorts, but it doesnt take a huge leap of logic to see where the whole process is heading.
Disneys ultimate preference would be to include a DVC option for the flagship Disneyland resort, the Grand Californian. Several different plans have been proposed to add a DVC wing or convert existing rooms to accommodate the DVC. However, the high occupancy rate at the Grand Californian and the very limited real estate available for expansion have thus far put the kibosh on those plans. Options are still being considered, however, and this plan is by no means dead.
Most sources now indicate, however, that the most likely location for any Disneyland Resort DVC expansion would be adjacent to the new 3rd park to be built in the recently acquired strawberry fields. While no concrete annoucements have been made for that 3rd Disneyland Resort gate, plans are well underway for the DVC property to be featured as a part of that property. In fact (and remember, you heard it here first), dont be surprised to see some kind of announcement made during the Disneyland 50th celebration concerning Disneys plans for bringing the Disney Vacation Club to California.
