RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DVC ARCHITECTS AND DESIGNERS

[Marionnette]

Keep the King in the master. No extra door.

How on earth would you fit four twins in the second bedroom, or did I misunderstand that??

You wouldn't be able to fit 4 twins in the current bedrooms but a new resort could be different. It would take a lot of imagination to devise a functional arrangement of the beds though. Perhaps a combination of regular, trundle and Murphy beds.

 

[Marionnette]

Another problem with doing anything like that would also be exchanges. Do you really think RCI or II would be on board with non-standard accommodations in their exchange system? Probably not.

Are bungalows and cabins considered standard? I know nothing about RCI and II, so I'm asking our of curiosity.

 

[CarolynFH]

Are bungalows and cabins considered standard? I know nothing about RCI and II, so I'm asking our of curiosity.

Well, the bungalows and cabins are basically 2 bedrooms that sleep 8, so I guess they’d work for RCI and II (although I think Disney would be unlikely to deposit them for exchange). And not all timeshare units are alike - I don’t think there’s a set standard. That said, it’s obvious from the last few years, when Disney has deposited almost exclusively 1 BR at SSR or OKW, with a few other resorts rarely, that Disney must have a fair amount of control over their RCI deposits, so a “family suite” would not have to be made available for exchange.

 

[Chuck S]

Are bungalows and cabins considered standard? I know nothing about RCI and II, so I'm asking our of curiosity.

The sleeping configurations, yes. No twin beds, except the pull outs. Twin beds are not an industry standard in a bedroom.

 

[CraigInPA]

Keep the King in the 1 bedroom, and nix the door. Your suggestion makes the bedroom side of the 1 bedroom into a hotel room.

The point pricey bungalows and cabins are a problem. As we see with Poly, the bungalows are mostly given over as breakage for cash stays. Because of the cap on how much Disney has to pay for booking breakage rooms, the situation plays directly to Disney's bottom line and does not help DVC members in the slightest (and in fact, since we're paying the maintenance on these bungalows and cabins, it hurts us).

 

[AdamsMum]

I think the idea of a "Home away from home" resort wasn't to pack as many bodies as possible into the space available, but to make it a more relaxing way to enjoy your vacation. As a mum who's spent what seemed like endless hours sharing a hotel room with my husband and two kids, and trying to tiptoe around so as not to wake the kids, I appreciate the space and privacy the 1 bedroom offers. Now I mostly book studios as I travel solo but I don't think the OP ideas would work for that. Might as well just book a couple of rooms at a value. I am glad they've changed the bathroom configuration though, those bathrooms in my 2042 resorts are just weird, and if I'm taking a bubble bath I'm not watching TV, I don't want the wall to have shutters that open up.

 

[AliceIn]

I think all DVC members know that the first thing to go when trying to book at DVC are the studios. That is because the 1 bedrooms are almost twice as many points and sleep the same number of people as the studio. I think that would change if you do two things. 1. Put a queen bed and sofa bed in the bedroom instead of a king bed ( which they have done in the newer resort studios) and 2. Put a separate door in the bedroom to the hallway. This would do two things One allow you to sleep four in the bedroom and secondly not wake up those sleeping on the sofa or Murphy bed in the living room if the people who are staying in the bedroom need to go out. Make it like a one bedroom lock-out unit. This would make the one bedrooms more popular and avoid seeing all the studios scooped up at the 11 month mark. It’s too late for the current resorts but would be a good idea for any new ones.
Any other ideas?

The point of the one bedroom is to keep the kids and adults separate (at least in my family). I would absolutely hate it if they took out those king beds and replaced it with a queen and a sofa bed.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

Here's what I think would be awesome in the 2nd bedroom. Make it into a media room with two couches. Then those two couches can pull down (like the Riviera tower studios) and make two sleeping surfaces. Of course, it would also be cool for them to design something so that each of those two "beds" could separate into twin beds for those who have kids that don't like to share a bed. Of course, this would work best for a dedicated 2-bedroom.

 

[Travel60]

Hooks, hooks, and more hooks to hang towels, swimsuits, etc. Those big soaker tubs are neat but hard to bathe a toddler in.

 

[mort1331]

So since we are just designing,,,,,,please what is with the window from the bedroom into the bath in front of the tub. Maybe im just not from parts that have thay. I just dont get it. Plus I know people love them but get rid of the jetted tubs,,,always see them as sitting in the left over water from the last guest, water left in the pipes. Put in full body sprays in the showers.
Just dreaming here

 

[NoTime42]

I’ve wondered about a reverse lockoff. Have a King suite (king bed, and large tub) with occupancy that only sleeps 2. The other section could be a “family suite” that sleeps 6/7 with the kitchen, living room and 2nd bedroom with 2 queens.

 

[NoTime42]

So since we are just designing,,,,,,please what is with the window from the bedroom into the bath in front of the tub. Maybe im just not from parts that have thay. I just dont get it. Plus I know people love them but get rid of the jetted tubs,,,always see them as sitting in the left over water from the last guest, water left in the pipes. Put in full body sprays in the showers.
Just dreaming here

I think the window was mostly the cheap way to watch the TV from the tub. The Trinitron tube TV’s and their cabinets were quite expensive back in the day. Now a 32” flat screen would be cheaper than building the window and it’s shutters.

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

All I know is those pull-down murphy beds need to be in every renovation from now on. They are SO much more comfortable than any pull-out sofa bed.

 

[Sharene0724]

Agree on leaving the king bed in the 1 bedroom, we love the space of a 1 bedroom and are not interested in changing that layout. I think connecting two studios would give you a better option than trying to change the 1 bedroom layout.

I do agree with the suggestion of bigger balcony space, it's one of the downsides to the Riviera I think.

I absolutely agree with the suggestion of replacing pull out sofa beds with the pull down murphy's!

 

[Deb & Bill]

I think all DVC members know that the first thing to go when trying to book at DVC are the studios. That is because the 1 bedrooms are almost twice as many points and sleep the same number of people as the studio. I think that would change if you do two things. 1. Put a queen bed and sofa bed in the bedroom instead of a king bed ( which they have done in the newer resort studios) and 2. Put a separate door in the bedroom to the hallway. This would do two things One allow you to sleep four in the bedroom and secondly not wake up those sleeping on the sofa or Murphy bed in the living room if the people who are staying in the bedroom need to go out. Make it like a one bedroom lock-out unit. This would make the one bedrooms more popular and avoid seeing all the studios scooped up at the 11 month mark. It’s too late for the current resorts but would be a good idea for any new ones.
Any other ideas?

Those have got to be the worst ideas ever. It's called a master bedroom because it is meant for the owners of the points, privacy and space. Putting beds for four in the master would just turn it into a studio without a kitchenette. If you want the sleeping people in the living room to have more privacy, book a two bedroom. Or book a hostel room somewhere. Or even a family suite at a value resort. DVC resorts are supposed to be a luxury stay. At first I thought you were a newer owner, but I see you have owned since 1992 and have adult children.

I'd rather see studios go to two people plus a child under 3, one bedrooms four people plus a child under 3, two bedrooms six people plus a child under 3 and grand villas eight people plus a child under 3. Wear and tear on the villas would be a lot less without the overcrowding.

 

[Marionnette]

Wear and tear on the villas would be a lot less without the overcrowding.

 

[taaren]

A large part of the value for my family in the 1 bedrooms has always been the 2nd bathroom. 2 baths in all 1 bedrooms going forward, and 3 in 2 bedrooms would be wonderful, just like BLT/AKV-K/VGC have.

For the second bedroom, a queen plus a trundle under the tv instead of a dresser plus a sleeper chair would allow for more sleeping options than the 2 queen setup (when we do 2 bedrooms, its because we have 2 families, usually with the second family in the 2nd bedroom, I suspect this is true for a lot of people).

But mostly I agree with previous posters who said that readjusting the points so that studios are a little more and 1 bedrooms a little less would help with studio availability the most, then significantly reducing the bungalow/cabin factor would be the most effective.

While I liked the studio setup at the Poly, I wish that they weren't doing mostly studios at the DLH-Villas since we really do love the 1 and 2 bedrooms more.

 

[AdamsMum]

,please what is with the window from the bedroom into the bath in front of the tub.

I know, right? Just weird.

 

[mistysue]

I disagree studios should be 4 people- but this thing where studios are 5 and 1 bdrm is 4 is just plain stupid. I wish they had a trundle under the TV and a murphy bed rather than the pull out couch in all the studios. I expected not to like Riviera but that murphy bed was wonderful when it pushed up to leave a couch!

Those trundles to go up to give you a table/chairs are nice. If they combined the table/chairs trundle and a murphy I would buy a new home resort in a heartbeat.

ETA- I was referring to those beds under the TV that pulls down when I said trundle - I've been corrected, it's a murphy bed but pulls down sideways, not like the full sized (is it full or queen) in the Riviera rooms.

 

[chaoskids]

But the advantages of a one bedroom over a studio are the full kitchen, living area and in room laundry. I often book a one bedroom even for solo trips. I want that king bed. thank you. If you want what would basically be 2 studios, then you should book 2 studios or a two bedroom.

YES! We book a one bedroom for just the two of us. The laundry area, kitchen and large balcony are great!