How Do You Make the Most of Your DVC Membership Outside of Park Visits?

[kimkon247]

Hi everyone,
Curious how other members use their DVC points or enjoy the benefits beyond just theme park days.

• Do you plan relaxing resort-only trips?
• Have you tried using points for non-Disney locations (like RCI or cruises)?
• Any underrated DVC resorts you’d recommend for a quieter experience?

I’m looking to get more out of my membership, especially for trips that aren’t focused just on park hopping. Would love to hear how you all maximize the value of your points in creative ways!
Thanks in advance!

 

[kanerf]

I find BRV and AKL Kidani to be the most relaxing and laid back of the resorts (I own at both). Part of this is because they are adjacent to the larger resort that has most of the facilities, so far less traffic locally. Kidani is particularly nice if you are driving since the garage is under the resort and out of the hot Florida sun.

 

[AnnaS]

Have used our points for stays at Disney Vero Beach and Disney Hilton Head. Vero Beach was always a back to back stay with WDW.

One (possibly two) stays were resort only.

Have taken multiple DCL cruises (see signature). Half of them booked two cabins, once three cabins and rest one cabin. 8 cruises - but early on used a combination of points and cash, points only, cash only.

Have only traded once with II - many many years ago (before RCI/now II again). Royal Sands, Cancun (before they turned into AI).

Always thought we would try a trade again since we had an excellent stay experience (their sales pitch though was high pressure/did not want to attend/long story). We just mixed in other non-DVC/Disney vacations over the years and did not look into it again.

Like many, have invited (points on us) friends and family over the years here and there which were special for different reasons.

You can make any resort as a resort only stay - but if you like DS, OKW & SSR are more convenient and AKL is great for the animals right there. I love all the resorts we have stayed in.

(owner 25 years).

 

[Sandisw]

We have only used our points at WDW but we definitely do trips which are resort only.

Most of our time in the parks is limited even when we do.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We've used points a number of times for DL (Grand Cali is one of our favorites, but we don't go often enough to buy at the current price point!). At WDW, we find the most relaxing resorts to be AKL and OKW. I know OKW doesn't come up often, but the very large rooms, very large decks/balconies, and the peaceful feel do it for us. At AKL, sitting on the balcony overlooking the savannah (with or even without animals) is the best way to start and end a day!

 

[mort1331]

We have loved our times at non park resorts like HH and would never have thought about Hawaii if not for AUL. What a great trip that was and looking forward to going back. We have also just laid back at OKW, golfed a couple of days and chilled on the balcony, no parks.

 

[Brian Noble]

Curious how other members use their DVC points or enjoy the benefits beyond just theme park days.

Coming out of the pandemic, I had a backlog of timeshare assets to burn down. As part of that, I booked myself two weeks into SSR. This was during the Annual Pass Pause, so I could only get a ten-day ticket. I ended up hanging out in the villa quite a bit--I was very near the Paddock pool, and it was a lovely break away from it all. I also caught a concert at House of Blues.

As for RCI/II: I've never exchanged DVC points in them, but I do use them quite a bit. I've really enjoyed the Hiltons in Hawaii, but those are RCI, and not currently accessible to DVC owners. The Marriotts are another possibility on the islands. I've stayed at Kauai Beach Club, which is a "lesser" Marriott but still was an enjoyable stay.

 

[davidhr]

Hi everyone,
Curious how other members use their DVC points or enjoy the benefits beyond just theme park days.

• Do you plan relaxing resort-only trips?
• Have you tried using points for non-Disney locations (like RCI or cruises)?
• Any underrated DVC resorts you’d recommend for a quieter experience?

I’m looking to get more out of my membership, especially for trips that aren’t focused just on park hopping. Would love to hear how you all maximize the value of your points in creative ways!
Thanks in advance!

We do resort weekends without parks every now and then. Or just go to the parks to grab a bite.

We actually love the bubble and we are ok not going to the parks, so for us just being there and having a nice weekend with pools and good dining options is a nice break from the regular day to day stress.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Disney's Hilton Head Island resort is definitely our favorite resort. We can just sit in the wooden swing and watch the marsh for hours, or if the weather's bad, do a jigsaw puzzle. DH golfs 4-5 times while we're there. We go out to eat a lot (there are so many choices. Haven't done a "resort only" trip, but I could.

 

[achinforsomebacon]

We've started doing a lot of resort only trips over the past couple of years. It's nice to take it slower sometimes and not just be go go go at the parks. We've taken the time to rent boats, do non-park character meals, do DVC tours at different resorts to plan for future visits, spend time at Disney Springs, just ride the skyliner or monorail to knowhere for fun. We're trying to stay at all of the DVC resorts and some work better as non-park trips.

We've also done Aulani, Grand Cal, and Vero. It's good to have some other options outside of WDW.

 

[Girlstar30]

Utilize the pools, we're getting massages at Vero Beach and planning to participate in their activities, try all the hotel restaurants, go to the gift shops and do a monorail and skyliner shopping crawl, go to Universal studios, explore other theme parks like sea world (orlando has a lot) day passes to discovery cove and margaritaville, cheesy stuff like Gator land and going to the worlds largest mcdonalds are all on our upcoming itineraries or future trip lists. Oh how i wish that bible theme park was still open for me to marvel at lol

Disney world Enchanted extras like the akv sunset safari or fireworks cruise, horseback riding and bow and arrow and canoeing at ft wilderness, rent a private pontoon and go fishing with your family, golf courses around poly and okw, spoil yourself with dinner at Victoria and alberts or a custom cake at the vgf, there is so many other things to do!

 

[abdgeek]

Hi everyone,
Curious how other members use their DVC points or enjoy the benefits beyond just theme park days.

• Do you plan relaxing resort-only trips?
• Have you tried using points for non-Disney locations (like RCI or cruises)?
• Any underrated DVC resorts you’d recommend for a quieter experience?

I’m looking to get more out of my membership, especially for trips that aren’t focused just on park hopping. Would love to hear how you all maximize the value of your points in creative ways!
Thanks in advance!

When I bought DVC, I told the rep that I didn’t plan on going to WDW every year, but wanted to use my points to go everywhere Disney goes. To that end, I use my points yearly for ABD (12 trips) and DCL(8 so far with 2 more booked) and only occasionally go to WDW/DL. I also regularly use my points to do weekly exchanges (RCI/II) and hotel exchanges (II). Some of the RCI/II places I’ve exchanged points for are: Hawaii, Vegas, and Aruba. I own at Aulani, but always island hop when I go; thus needing different accommodations on each island I visit. I also recently did II Hotel Exchanges at Atlantis and two hotels in Bali.

I have A LOT of points, so this travel schedule will not be realistic for a lot of people. However, whenever I decide to take a trip, I first check to see if I can use my points to book the trip. It does take a fair amount of planning and stalking the DVC II site to see what’s available, but most weekly stays in a 1 bedroom are usually 150 points or less…very doable. Unfortunately, the hotel exchange point requirements can change (up or down) once you’ve booked since DVC isn’t negotiating the room cost like they did with the Concierge Collection. I found this out with my Atlantis hotel exchange, and while I wasn’t pleased the number of points decreased after I booked, I was happy that I was able to stay on property for a reasonable number of points. If I had paid OOP for a hotel room, I was planning to stay at the Comfort Inn to save money and not on property.

 

[kboo]

I feel like we are relatively new to non-park DVC use ...
Going on our first member cruise in a week!
We went to Aulani over spring break and almost bought Aulani points.
We went to Grand Cal/DL over Xmas and almost bought VGC points.

We always *say* we will take a resort day at WDW but then we buy annual passes and muck around and end up closing a park every day - just as DH and I are ready for a more relaxed stay, the kids are teens/tweens who want to do ALL the rides, and I get fomo.

 

[LRdismom]

Our family loves resort only trips. Saratoga is one of our favorites for many reasons, and since we love Disney Springs, it's a win win. We sometimes take morning walks for Starbucks, get our pool time in, then return to the Springs for dinner. AKL is another favorite because there is so much to do and so much food to eat. A resort only stay really allows for exploring the resorts, appreciating all of the details, and participate in resort activites.

 

[Girlstar30]

Our family loves resort only trips. Saratoga is one of our favorites for many reasons, and since we love Disney Springs, it's a win win. We sometimes take morning walks for Starbucks, get our pool time in, then return to the Springs for dinner. AKL is another favorite because there is so much to do and so much food to eat. A resort only stay really allows for exploring the resorts, appreciating all of the details, and participate in resort activites.

If you dont mind sharing, what are the reasons Saratoga is one of your favorites? We are debating staying in April

 

[LRdismom]

If you dont mind sharing, what are the reasons Saratoga is one of your favorites? We are debating staying in April

The rooms: We’ve only ever stayed in a studio, and it’s one of our favorite rooms. The decor, bathroom, flooring, we love it all. The views of the golf course from some rooms are
so serene. We usually request the Grandstand section.
Pools: There are so many to choose from and we tend to bounce around during our stay.
Activities: My kids love the community hall,
pool activities and surrey bikes. Even just taking a stroll around the resort is calming, it just has that vibe.

 

[Girlstar30]

The rooms: We’ve only ever stayed in a studio, and it’s one of our favorite rooms. The decor, bathroom, flooring, we love it all. The views of the golf course from some rooms are
so serene. We usually request the Grandstand section.
Pools: There are so many to choose from and we tend to bounce around during our stay.
Activities: My kids love the community hall,
pool activities and surrey bikes. Even just taking a stroll around the resort is calming, it just has that vibe.

That's good to know because I can only afford a studio in April

I was thinking about staying in Congress park for the dtd views, but haven't looked at touring plans to see how they look compared to the others, I think I'll do that now

It seems like the favorites are grandstand, paddock and congress. Which pool is your favorite for pool activites? Im actually really excited for it now!

 

[LRdismom]

That's good to know because I can only afford a studio in April

I was thinking about staying in Congress park for the dtd views, but haven't looked at touring plans to see how they look compared to the others, I think I'll do that now

It seems like the favorites are grandstand, paddock and congress. Which pool is your favorite for pool activites? Im actually really excited for it now!

I like Grandstand section because of the proximity to the main pool and the DS boat, without being a “preferred” room.
The main pool has the games and activities. The Paddock Grille has better lunch options and a better slide, but is smaller and less chairs available.
For relaxing, I love the pool in the Grandstand section. I’ve never stayed in the preferred section so I can’t speak to that.
The french toast strata at the Artist’s Palette is a must have.

 

[CarolynFH]

I was thinking about staying in Congress park

NB: At SSR, Preferred and Standard refer to location (neighborhood), not view. They are separate booking categories.

Preferred neighborhoods are Congress Park and The Springs.

Standard neighborhoods are Grandstand, Carousel, and Paddock.

So check your reservation before making a location request - it will say you're booked in a Preferred Deluxe Studio or a Standard Deluxe Studio. As far as the activities go, it doesn't matter where you are - you can use any of the four pools and any other amenities at SSR. And you can use the bus to get around from one pool to another, if you don't want to walk.

 

[Girlstar30]

NB: At SSR, Preferred and Standard refer to location (neighborhood), not view. They are separate booking categories.

Preferred neighborhoods are Congress Park and The Springs.

Standard neighborhoods are Grandstand, Carousel, and Paddock.

So check your reservation before making a location request - it will say you're booked in a Preferred Deluxe Studio or a Standard Deluxe Studio. As far as the activities go, it doesn't matter where you are - you can use any of the four pools and any other amenities at SSR. And you can use the bus to get around from one pool to another, if you don't want to walk.

Is the springs better for a shot at disney springs view? I've never heard of that one, I just thought congress park would guarantee that for some reason