Possible DVC near Washington, DC ???

[ssawka]

This article doesn't mention DVC, but Disney has bought 15 acres in Maryland to build a hotel. I am just speculating that DVC could be a possibility.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/18/AR2009051803201.html

Not that exciting for us though since we live in the DC area, but still it might be nice for short getaways as a couple.

 

[malonefamily]

This article doesn't mention DVC, but Disney has bought 15 acres in Maryland to build a hotel. I am just speculating that DVC could be a possibility.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/18/AR2009051803201.html

Not that exciting for us though since we live in the DC area, but still it might be nice for short getaways as a couple.

Wow... this is fantastic news for me. "...it will be a project of significant scale and put a recognizable Disney footprint in the Washington area," said Jay Rasulo, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. It sounds like a DVC component is a relatively high possibility, or if nothing else, a resort that will offer rooms for a tolerable numbers of points since it is part of the Disney family.

I work in politics and travel to D.C. from time to time... I'd love to have the option to use points for some trips. Also, a major family vacation to D.C. at a safe, comfy, Disney resort would be an ideal change of pace for us some year. About half of my D.C. trips are paid out of pocket because I'm there to lobby (or testify before) Congress of my own accord... when you're paying your own bill, DVC points sound pretty appealing.

 

[agnes!]

I don't understand why Disney is buying/building in other places & yet they give Four Seasons a long-term lease on a nice parcel of land that is almost in the center of Disney World. Building another hotel/resort at National Harbor to compete with the Gaylord National Harbor....I dunno.

agnes!

 

[nytimez]

I don't understand why Disney is buying/building in other places & yet they give Four Seasons a long-term lease on a nice parcel of land that is almost in the center of Disney World.

Amen.

 

[malonefamily]

I don't understand why Disney is buying/building in other places & yet they give Four Seasons a long-term lease on a nice parcel of land that is almost in the center of Disney World. Building another hotel/resort at National Harbor to compete with the Gaylord National Harbor....I dunno.

I don't understand the Four Seasons lease either... I guess they're just paying such unspeakable piles of cash to the Mouse that he couldn't say no? On the other hand, with the Treehouse Villas, the Bay Lake Towers, expansions at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Grand Californian Villas all opening at Disney parks just in the last year or so, I think they've been expanding DVC capacity at head spinning speeds.

I like the idea of low-point options in big cities all over the place... At this point we have a ton of great resorts to choose from at WDW, let's get a few more non-park options like Hilton Head and Vero Beach. (which it sounds like they are in fact doing)

 

[Nikisha421]

i love the near DC idea...with so much to do in that area all I would need is a studio to sleep in...well lets see how this pans out.

 

[ckg]

I don't understand the Four Seasons lease either... I guess they're just paying such unspeakable piles of cash to the Mouse that he couldn't say no? On the other hand, with the Treehouse Villas, the Bay Lake Towers, expansions at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Grand Californian Villas all opening at Disney parks just in the last year or so, I think they've been expanding DVC capacity at head spinning speeds.

I like the idea of low-point options in big cities all over the place... At this point we have a ton of great resorts to choose from at WDW, let's get a few more non-park options like Hilton Head and Vero Beach. (which it sounds like they are in fact doing)

Amen to that! A little variety would be great. Hawaii will be nice for that reason. DC sounds kind of odd for a destination though. I would have thought when they took their "survey" a little while ago that they would have chosen a more traditional leisure destination.

 

[Crystal_27]

I don't really know how I feel about this rumor. I guess we should be happy that DVC is obviously so profitable that it is expanding, but DC is not at all a vacation destination that I'm interested in (maybe I lack the necessary culture, but give me my Pixie Dust any day). It just seems absurd - "here's the newest Disney Vacation Club...smack in the middle of one of the most polarized places in America."

 

[fers31]

It's also a little odd because normally people do DC for a long weekend. Most people don't spend a whole week in DC. I can picture the hotel being completely full from Fri-Sun but then abandoned the rest of the week.

 

[ssawka]

As I mentioned in my original post, there actually has been no mention of DVC. The DC project is geared towards conventions. Now, since they are building the resort anyway, I was speculating that some of it could be used for DVC. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure that DVC is likely since it would require people to pick it as their home resort, and I'm not sure if there would be too many takers. However, being able to stay on points does seem likely. There has been mention in the local news that they are likely to tie the hotel in with Adventures By Disney.

Just to throw a few more theories out there, I wonder if this could foreshadow the coming of a larger presence in the Mid-Atlantic area. Maybe they are looking at reviving the Disney America idea, as many have speculated. Now the news outlets have said there will not be a theme park, but maybe just not now or not at the same location as the hotel. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[revrob]

I wondered if it may have something to do with the Adventures by Disney concept since there is an Adventure offered in the DC area, correct?

I would LOVE to have the option of staying in that area in a Disney resort on points! My family has wanted to visit the DC area for quite some time. If something comes of this that will allow us to use points to stay, we're SO THERE! Don't think we would buy points there, but we would certainly be willing to use points to visit.

 

[tjkraz]

I don't understand why Disney is buying/building in other places & yet they give Four Seasons a long-term lease on a nice parcel of land that is almost in the center of Disney World.

Different client base...different appeal.

Disney doesn't offer four star accommodations or service. Four Seasons will undoubtedly appeal to a client for whom something like the Grand Floridian is still woefully inadequate.

And even if there are other nice alternatives in the National Harbor area, Disney still has an opportunity to provide their own unique combination of accommodations and amenities that appeal to theme park fans.

At its most basic level, why WOULDN'T Disney be successful expanding their hotel chain? If major chains like Lowes, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Hilton, etc. can all carve out their niche, why can't Disney do the same?

Regional theme parks are a bit different because they are so expensive to develop and run the risk of cannibalizing business from DL and WDW. But if other hotel chains are able to fill a couple hundred rooms in the National Harbor area, why not Disney?

 

[mrudman]

First thing that came to my mind when I read this was, "that might be kind of a nice way to have a 1-night layover on our drive down to Florida". My dh hates flying, and I promised him if we buy into DVC, I'd look into other transportation (car, train).

This could be good for us.. living in NE Ohio, it'd take us 6-7 hrs to get to DC, spend a night (or 2) there, then continue on down to WDW/HHI/VB. Would take us a little out of the way of a direct route, but with 2 young kids, could work out not to have a straight drive through.

 

[disfan100]

The local tv news coverage has mentioned that Disney has a similar project under construction in Hawaii and use of the hotel by Adventures by Disney.

 

[whitfamily]

Its a nice place with some good restaurants. I work just on the other side of the Potomac from the area and have done several events/meetings there. If/When it starts going up I can snap a few pictures.

And let me tell you, as a DC-er myself, people come here and stay for a week all of the time. I think the bigger issue for DVC would be the recurring guests. In my opinion if you've been here once you can check the box. Things do not change enough to come continiously unless you want to do the different seasonal events (4th July, Cherry Blossoms, Christmas, etc.) Of course most people could say same about Disney and call us all crazy!

Milt Peterson (the builder) is a great guy and does some excellent work. He'll build a nice product for all of us Disney fanatics to enjoy.

 

[Jynohn]

First thing that came to my mind when I read this was, "that might be kind of a nice way to have a 1-night layover on our drive down to Florida". My dh hates flying, and I promised him if we buy into DVC, I'd look into other transportation (car, train).

This was my thought, too. We live in MA, and occasionally like to drive down and make several stops along the way. We're actually planning a trip for this January, and staying for a couple of nights in DC before making our way down to Orlando.

I'm all for DVC expanding outside of the parks. We love WDW, but some times need a change of pace. Exchanging through RCI seems like such a hassle. I'd much rather be able to use my points directly with DVC.

 

[whitfamily]

This was my thought, too. We live in MA, and occasionally like to drive down and make several stops along the way. We're actually planning a trip for this January, and staying for a couple of nights in DC before making our way down to Orlando.

I'd say make sure you pack warm clothes, but since you're from Mass it will probably be balmy in DC for you during January.

 

[ssawka]

Its a nice place with some good restaurants.

Just don't leave the harbor area, right?

 

[tomandrobin]

I don't understand why Disney is buying/building in other places & yet they give Four Seasons a long-term lease on a nice parcel of land that is almost in the center of Disney World. Building another hotel/resort at National Harbor to compete with the Gaylord National Harbor....I dunno.

agnes!

Because Disney can not offer the level of service that Four Season does, and Disney needed a answer to the Waldorf Astoria that is being built at their doorsteps. Also, Disney does not want to build any more hotels in WDW. Pop Century is still sitting there incomplete and may never get finished.

 

[tomandrobin]

DC makes a lot of business sense. Its the number 2 tourist destination in the US, Times Square is number 1, Magic Kingdom is number 3. Even tough its a temperate climate, tourism is year round. Unlike HHI and Vero Beach resorts which are seasonal.

This ties into the Blue Sky Disney announcement a while back, that outlined Disney adding more multi-use offsite Hotels/Resorts.