Ideas for the Next DVC Resort

[Kingkonig]

Nothing is perfect but I feel like skyliner issues are more common than monorail or bus issues. But as you said it is probably the best intersection of capacity and cost. I'm just not sure how much it actually saves, because they have to have a fleet of buses and bus drivers at a moment's notice in case it does go down. The more destinations the Skyliner serves, the more backup buses and drivers they need. But I'm sure Disney knows down to the cent. Perhaps the fact that they do know is why the Skyliner hasn't been extended.

I think (and I may be wrong) that the busses they use while the skyliner is down are repurposed/reallocated busses already in service. Say if busses are normally on a 20 minute rotation, if the skyliner goes down they can reroute however many they need, and push that 20 minute to a 22-25 minute rotation for everyone else until the storms die down.

They may have some ready on standby, but I doubt it’s the full amount needed - that defeats the entire purpose of the skyliner. But as you said, with more destinations, they require more backups (or in my scenario, they’d reallocate more, making the experience significantly worse for other resort guests)

 

[Joroc0801]

The skyliner is a much more fragile infrastructure. A similar gondola system is used in British Columbia at the Sea to Sky Gondola. They have had their lines cut by activists twice which shut the system down for the year. Disney would probably be much quicker to remediate that type of issue should it arise(especially since its not scaling a mountain). But the impact to the overall transportation network would be great.

 

[D-Trick]

The JFK airtrain to Jamaica is the longest automated above ground people mover I can think of. Pair that with the frequency of Hartsfield Jackson and that could be pretty efficient.

But then I think of the size of control centers for even the shortest of airtrains and I think that makes it implausible and expensive.

 

[maui22]

Some background, Tikiman was sued after sharing some information. He can no longer post about anything upcoming.

This was from 2016.

Yes. In the plans for additional DVC what I saw about a year ago was WL adding rooms and cabins and I reported over a year ago, Addition of the River Country DVC resort, Converting sections of CBR over to DVC with a waterway connecting into Epcot, Conversion of some of the Yacht Club rooms and further expansion of the Polynesian.

• CCV check
• LSL (River Country) check
• Riviera (CBR sections) check. No waterway but skyliner instead.
• He also mentioned around that time another expansion to PVB (Island Tower) check.

There is only one DVC project he mentioned that has not happened. It is possible they will never build it. However, Disney has a long history of something rising from past plans. YC may not be next, but I do believe it eventually will be built (maybe closer to 2042 for a BC+YC replacement).

Note: I think Tikiman had an earlier post than this. I thought he also mentioned CFW.

 

[Girlstar30]

Some background, Tikiman was sued after sharing some information. He can no longer post about anything upcoming.

This was from 2016.

• CCV check
• LSL (River Country) check
• Riviera (CBR sections) check. No waterway but skyliner instead.
• He also mentioned around that time another expansion to PVB (Island Tower) check.

There is only one DVC project he mentioned that has not happened. It is possible they will never build it. However, Disney has a long history of something rising from past plans. YC may not be next, but I do believe it eventually will be built (maybe closer to 2042 for a BC+YC replacement).

Note: I think Tikiman had an earlier post than this. I thought he also mentioned CFW.

Is yacht club a popular resort? I never hear about people staying there.

 

[muppets3d]

Is yacht club a popular resort? I never hear about people staying there.

It has a popular convention center and allows dogs

 

[maui22]

Is yacht club a popular resort? I never hear about people staying there.

To be honest, we have never stayed at YC. My understanding is it is very popular with those who want a quieter elegant Epcot area resort. We have stayed at BCV, BW, and BWV. The area is a very popular for many reasons. BC/YC, Swan/Dolphin, BW, plus Epcot and DHS.

All other Crescent Lake DVC expires in 2042. YC has access to what many consider the best WDW pool (Stormalong Bay), Crescent Lake restaurants, walk/boat to Epcot, easy boat (or longer walk) to DHs. It would be a winner for us if they sold BWV, BCV, YCV today with a 50+ year contract. Wouldn’t even care about resale restrictions.

 

[Girlstar30]

To be honest, we have never stayed at YC. My understanding is it is very popular with those who want a quieter elegant Epcot area resort. We have stayed at BCV, BW, and BWV. The area is a very popular for many reasons. BC/YC, Swan/Dolphin, BW, plus Epcot and DHS.

All other Crescent Lake DVC expires in 2042. YC has access to what many consider the best WDW pool (Stormalong Bay), Crescent Lake restaurants, walk/boat to Epcot, easy boat (or longer walk) to DHs. It would be a winner for us if they sold BWV, BCV, YCV today with a 50+ year contract. Wouldn’t even care about resale restrictions.

Have you eaten at the restaurants? I have them on my list for when we stay at bcv, wondering if there any good

 

[matt and beth]

I want a DVC at one of the other parks besides USA. That would be pretty cool

 

[D-Trick]

I want a DVC at one of the other parks besides USA. That would be pretty cool

We would all love the ability to use our points at the international resorts, but if the primary audience is North America, making an annual trip to JP/HK/CN/FR is very hard to do (for those that purchase the resort abroad).

Also, international real estate/timeshare sales is probably not worth the hassle for DVD.

 

[Kingkonig]

Also, international real estate/timeshare sales is probably not worth the hassle for DVD.

Does France have timeshares? I can’t imagine that Disney would own the land around their partially owned (or licensed) parks, so that would rule out China and Japan.

 

[matt and beth]

Does France have timeshares? I can’t imagine that Disney would own the land around their partially owned (or licensed) parks, so that would rule out China and Japan.

Abu Dhabi it is!

 

[D-Trick]

Does France have timeshares? I can’t imagine that Disney would own the land around their partially owned (or licensed) parks, so that would rule out China and Japan.

France definitely has timeshares, but I think if Brits are buying DVC at WDW anyway, there's really no point in building one at DLP.

Abu Dhabi it is!

Considering that whole project is 0% owned or funded by Disney, DVC there has a negative 50% chance lol

 

[foodiddiedoo]

There's nothing in any of the Disney Resort collection with Asian theming. Originally they were going to build an unfortunately named "Oriental" Resort. I wouldn't want that but imagine something themed with grounds like a cool Cambodian temple or a luxe ocean side resort, or light Jungle Book theming.

 

[maui22]

Have you eaten at the restaurants? I have them on my list for when we stay at bcv, wondering if there any good

I love Yachtsmen Steakhouse, but it’s been several years now.

 

[samsp99]

Coronado Springs could easily be considered deluxe with minimal effort paid to a conversion. I don't know if skyliner expansion is in the cards down the road but a route expanding west from Hollywood Studios or Pop Century could connect to Coronado, Blizzard Beach, even potentially All Stars, and ending at Animal Kingdom. The ground to cover would probably be 2x the current skyliner system but could unlock potential for expansion that way. I'm no civil engineer but the biggest swath of land available to them for a fifth gate park would be around the Coronado area as well. It took 20+ year for them to build a new non-expansion/addition hotel in Lakeshore Lodge. I don't foresee another new build until there is a new park to surround.

Adding a Western leg to the skyliner could have a lot of benefits for existing properties. I would go AKL -> AK -> Blizzard Beach -> Coronado Springs -> Speedway -> Hollywood Studios.

This is not simple, and there would be many details to sort out:

AKL - Probably near Jambo - so then how do you provide easy access for Kidani quests. However if AKL had a skyliner, it would jump in value proposition to being a top tier resort.
AK - To the right side of security, there is a set of trees, which would be the perfect location for a station / turning place.
Blizzard Beach - You need to turn, so you might as well make it a station - you'll also need storage/maintenance yards for the gondolas, and there is the most available land here.
Coronado Springs - If it had skyliner access, destino would be changable to Deluxe status.
Speedway - My dream would be to convert the existing turning station, into a real station, and add a second L turn to it, so it becomes the interchange between the East and West skyliner routes. The line from Coronado would turn south to a second station at...
Hollywood Studios - add a second station facing north, replacing the smallest of the bus ranks and the bathroom building. You would need the extra capacity of a second station to handle the guests from CS and AKL.

 

[samsp99]

I am not sure its DVC worthy, but I would love to see a Star Wars hotel. Hear me out, the Starcruiser got it wrong - it was going for a 24x7 LARP experience, not a heavily themed hotel. You couldn't really take non-starwars family members, it was stupidly expensive and only for 48 hours. A real hotel is stayable from 1-14 nights, and has amenities like a pool.

Take the starcruiser as a starting point, and add a second "tower building" to the site, with a large courtyard between them. The starcruiser had ~100 rooms, no where near enough to be viable as a hotel.
I would build a 3-sided X as the hotel shape, and make each face a different theme:
- Coruscant - faces the courtyard and existing starcruiser
- Rebel base - something like Yavin IV - a tropical base - would be a fake rock face with the balconies carved into it. The outdoors could be where the pool is located
- Imperial base - Lava, polished black floors, storm troopers standing guard. Its outdoors could be a cadet training ground (playground).

Andor gave a good idea for what 1/2 Bed rooms could be themed like.

Grand Villas could be done for each theme, The senator suite for Coruscant, Emperor's suite complete with throne chair and round window for imperial, and a Princess Leia suite for

By theming on a building face basis, each face would not have visibility of the others. Using the same building enables each to share all the resources.
The courtyard between the new building and the starcruiser would be a new star wars entertainment district. Themed like star wars cities / blade runner. It would have dining, shops and other "stores" that could be outsourced. A costume place, karaoke, maybe a Tattoo parlor. It would not have "experiences" that compete with Galaxies Edge, but provides another type of environment - City - that fits within the starwars universe, primarily for retail and dining.

Dining:
- Existing Starcruiser dining facility would be converted into a themed dinner show. Add acrobatic lightsaber battle etc.
- A character dining place - the usual buffet concept with starwars touches, but have visits from your favorite characters - Mando, Luke, Vader, Storm Troopers, Ray, Chewie, R2D2, C3PO etc.
- Quick service with Dining room
- Bar/Lounge - Pirates has already been done enough, but a Bounty Hunter themed bar could be fun

Keep the existing entrance to galaxies edge for hotel guests with a passage / tunnel. Use the existing parking at HS for cars, maybe valet only.

Having the different themes makes it more repeatible - each visit you could stay in a different environment. The existing starcrusier could be the "value" options.

 

[samsp99]

Have you eaten at the restaurants? I have them on my list for when we stay at bcv, wondering if there any good

I was really pleasantly surprised by Ale & Compass at YC. The food punches above its price point in terms of quality and value. Its on a similar price level to say Skipper Canteen at MK, but IMHO is much better quality. To me Skipper Canteen is an expensive version of Applebees without the burgers.

The muscle starter is in the top 3 muscle dishes I have eaten.

 

[D-Trick]

There's nothing in any of the Disney Resort collection with Asian theming. Originally they were going to build an unfortunately named "Oriental" Resort. I wouldn't want that but imagine something themed with grounds like a cool Cambodian temple or a luxe ocean side resort, or light Jungle Book theming.

I've only ever seen it referred to as the "Asian Resort" and not the name that you mentioned. The revival of that idea is plausible for a Disney hotel, but it wouldn't be a DVC.

Lakeshore Lodge is 900 rooms. Riviera is only 1/3 of that. With Disney's approval to add 14-16k more rooms by 2032, I'll bet that any new builds are going to be of similar size to LL. With resorts that large, the theming has to be pretty safe to appeal to a wider range of buyers.

Adding a Western leg to the skyliner could have a lot of benefits for existing properties.

Disney will not be building another Skyliner. At least I don't think so. It's just not worth it. What would you do when AK closes early and someone wants to get from HS to AKL/V? Keep the Skyliner running through AK station?

Additionally, I think running a gondola through an extended area of native land is not smart in the context of WDW. At a ski resort it's par, but imagine being stuck on a broken Skyliner at night somewhere between AK and Coronado or Blizzard Beach. Kids (and even some adults) would be scared. All of the current Skyliner is within eyesight of roads, buildings, parking.

I am not sure its DVC worthy, but I would love to see a Star Wars hotel.

Great idea! Definitely not DVC though. No one would buy it as it'd be hard to sell on the resale market. Full blown IP theming and timeshares don't mix.

 

[juliebee]

Dining:
- Existing Starcruiser dining facility would be converted into a themed dinner show. Add acrobatic lightsaber battle etc.
- A character dining place - the usual buffet concept with starwars touches, but have visits from your favorite characters - Mando, Luke, Vader, Storm Troopers, Ray, Chewie, R2D2, C3PO etc.

I think Disney should consider a Star Wars dining experience, but not another resort. From the videos I saw of the StarCruiser, the character dining experience (Gaia singing and other interaction) and the food looked like it could really be great. I'd be very interested in that.