Possible DVC near Washington, DC ???

[DebbieB]

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.

Lots of people may want to USE their points there, the question is how many would BUY? I can't imagine this being an easy sell for DVC.

 

[pycees312]

i skimmed through it did i miss something I didn't see anything specifically about DVC just that land was purchased. may be just hotels...

 

[DeeCee735]

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.

You don't by any chance have the link to the Blue Sky Disney announcement you are referring to here, do you? I'd like to read it if so.

Thanks,

BTW - this seems like its just going to be a hotel, and I hope we get the opportunity to use our points there. I'd love to do a DC long weekend with my family.

 

[ssawka]

i skimmed through it did i miss something I didn't see anything specifically about DVC just that land was purchased. may be just hotels...

No, you didn't miss anything. The enitre thread has said that the whole DVC thing is just speculation. The only thing that is definite is that Disney purchased land and is planning on building a hotel. That being said, unless the hotel is extremely popular, I can't imagine Disney not offering a reasonable point chart for DVC members, especially on the weekends. Anyone that lives or works in DC knows that hotels around here are pretty empty on weekends.

The other selling point of the location is that it is right along I-95, the most travelled highway in the country.

 

[malonefamily]

No, you didn't miss anything. The enitre thread has said that the whole DVC thing is just speculation. The only thing that is definite is that Disney purchased land and is planning on building a hotel. That being said, unless the hotel is extremely popular, I can't imagine Disney not offering a reasonable point chart for DVC members, especially on the weekends. Anyone that lives or works in DC knows that hotels around here are pretty empty on weekends.

Just a thought- if DVC would be a hard sell here (i.e. the attitude of "yeah, we'd like to visit ONCE, but not have it as our home resort") couldn't Disney make a potential DVC component smaller and thus easier to sell? Maybe there is sufficient demand to sell 50 or 60 units, even if hundreds is too ambitious at such an untraditional location for Disney. They certainly imply that have more in mind than a straight-forward hotel by their quote in the Post.

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

They covered this as a top story at 5pm on Fox 5 DC, they said it would be a 500 room resort and had a picture that looked like Kindani but then again the reporter said that the Hawaii project was disney's first resort NOT associated with a theme park....

Oh well, we will see, I hope they figure out a way to add some "Disney Magic" to the smell from the sewage plant 800 yards up river!

If it goes up, please get your directions right, National Harbor is in a pretty rough neighborhood

 

[dcfromva]

I am curious as to see what will unfold. I have not visited the National Harbor area, yet. It looks pretty exciting. They had Cirque Du Soleil there a little while back and there seems to be lots more good things in store there.

But, if I were coming from out of town to visit DC museums, National Harbor seems a bit of a commute to me....

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

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).

Good point. The site of the new hotel isn't terribly far from Lorton, where the Amtrak Auto Train leaves from. Those who take the train could certainly use it as a convenient way point. It'll be especially nice if it's a mixed use resort and you can use your points to stay there.

We're about 3 hours from DC, and spend many weekends there. I'm also there on business frequently. I'd love to have a Disney destination to call "home" while I'm there.

To a previous poster who speculated that it will be empty Mon-Thr... you'd be amazed how difficult it is to get into one of the nicer DC-area hotels during the week -- especially for a short-noticed trip. With as many hotel rooms as exist in the DC area, I still wind up calling several locations on many trips before I find available rooms.

Now, if they'd only built it at a location that has Metro access, it'd be perfect. Hopefully, they'll offer a shuttle to the nearest station. When we're in DC, we never use the car.

The next question is what Imagineering will come up with for a theme.

 

[BirdsOfPreyDave]

If it goes up, please get your directions right, National Harbor is in a pretty rough neighborhood

So... no bicycling tours of Anacostia?

 

[Malaguti Ball Clan]

So... no bicycling tours of Anacostia?

Do the make up armored bicycles??

 

[Doug7856]

Check out the National Harbor web site "Welcomes Disney": http://nationalharbor.com/consumer/consumer.htm.

We are excited. We live just a few miles away in Davidsonville, Maryland. We will buy points!!!!!

There is a Wyndham timeshare there now and several hotels.

More thoughts Later. We are just too excited!

 

[Doug7856]

A bit more about the National Harbor project:

About National Harbor:
Rising from the banks of the Potomac River in Prince George’s County, MD., National Harbor is a new 300-acre destination waterfront resort. With six hotels and 3,000 rooms, National Harbor features the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center. Many attributes include the tree-lined avenue American Way, public art including “The Awakening” sculpture by Seward Johnson, shops and offices, numerous high rise residences and the largest marina on the Potomac River. It is also the future home for the new Cesar Pelli-designed National Children’s Museum. The master developer for National Harbor is The Peterson Companies, one of the largest privately owned development companies in the greater Washington area specializing in large mixed use developments.

http://www.nationalharbor.com/consumer/disney_press_release.htm

 

[whitfamily]

One issue from my experience there is the place is absolutely dead at night when a big conference isn't in town, except for McCormick & Schmicks being busy.

People are right, bad part of town, no easily accessible Metro station and its a decent haul from an airport if you arrive during rush hour. I am sure Disney will find ways to address those issues and make it a special place though.

 

[ssawka]

Since there is no Metro at National Harbor, maybe Disney could run "friendship" boats up the Potomac to the Washington waterfront.

I agree that if Disney was really interested in the DC area they could have found a better location.

 

[La2kw]

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.

Coming from the west coast, we spend the week in DC. I'm sure we're not the only ones.

 

[Doug7856]

Since there is no Metro at National Harbor, maybe Disney could run "friendship" boats up the Potomac to the Washington waterfront.

I agree that if Disney was really interested in the DC area they could have found a better location.

There are water taxis that run from the resort to all of the major tourist areas. There are also dinner cruises and tours to Mount Vernon. I'm sure the over 3,000 rooms at National Harbor will provide a good pool up consumers for such transportation.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

One issue from my experience there is the place is absolutely dead at night when a big conference isn't in town, except for McCormick & Schmicks being busy.

People are right, bad part of town, no easily accessible Metro station and its a decent haul from an airport if you arrive during rush hour. I am sure Disney will find ways to address those issues and make it a special place though.

A friend of mine told me that Ko Olina is in the bad part of Oahu. Maybe after HHI and VB, Disney has decided that the best way to be frugal moneywise is to be part of a big re-development / revitalization project.

 

[phyllisnnj]

Here's more detail about the Disney project with several links - http://corporate.disney.go.com/news...ksandResorts/2008/051909_national_harbor.html

Location of the Disney site - http://a.media.global.go.com/parksnews/natlharbor/natlharborplan.jpg
Photo of the Disney site - http://a.media.global.go.com/parksnews/natlharbor/natlharbor.jpg
Interactive Map - http://map.mapnetwork.com/flash/?pid=806869

From the National Harbor Fact Sheet link - http://a.media.global.go.com/parksnews/natlharbor/natlharborfactsheet.pdf

At completion the total project will include:
�� 7,300,000 s/f of master plan mixed-use community in Prince George’s County, MD
�� 4,000 hotel rooms
�� 470,000 s/f Gaylord National convention center
�� 1 Million s/f of retail, dining, and entertainment space
�� 2,500 residential units
�� 500,000 s/f of class "A" office space
�� 3 piers, including a marina
�� 10,000 on-site parking spaces


PROJECT DETAILS PHASE ONE

NATIONAL HARBOR® HOTELS & TIMESHARE:
In its first phase, National Harbor features 5 hotels and the Wyndham Vacation Resorts providing approximately
1,000 guestrooms in addition to Gaylord National.
�� Hilton’s Hampton Inn and Suites – 151 Rooms
�� Residence Inn by Marriott – 162 Rooms
�� Westin – 195 Rooms
�� Aloft – 195 Rooms
�� Wyndham Vacation Resorts Timeshare – 250 Units OPENING FALL 2009

GAYLORD NATIONAL® RESORT AND CONVENTION CENTER:
�� 2,000 guestrooms including 108 lavish suites and 300 VIP Tower rooms
�� A spectacular 18-story, 1.65-acre multi-level atrium with views of the Potomac River and Old Town Alexandria

NATIONAL HARBOR™ RESIDENTIAL:
�� National Harbor offers 450 condominiums in its first three buildings
�� One National Harbor, 242 unit
�� Fleet Street condominiums, 163 units
�� Waterfront Street condominiums, 18 units
�� Condominiums feature 1st class amenities such as rooftop swimming pool, underground parking and concierge services

PROJECT ACCESS:
�� Direct access to National Harbor via I-95/495 Exit 2A makes it the only private community with direct access to the Capital Beltway
�� Direct access from I-295 Exit 1A, Route 210 and Oxon Hill Road
�� Easy access to Reagan National, Dulles International and Baltimore Washington International airports
�� Public bus transportation provided by The Maryland Department of Public Works and Transportation (MDOT) and Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
�� The $3 Billion new Woodrow Wilson Bridge is complete and includes 12 lanes and can now accommodate up to 400,000 vehicles

 

[nunzia]

I wonder if this was the area we went to when we took our dinner cruise?
btw...can't they find somewhere out west to build something??? (that doesn't have you needing to cross an ocean to get to?)

 

[phyllisnnj]

Water Map from http://www.potomacriverboatco.com/index.php