Saratoga Springs Question

[gppnj]

I know that Saratoga Springs was built on the site of the old Disney Institute, which in turn was built on the site of the old Disney Village Resort. I was just wondering if any of the old buildings were salvaged when Disney made Saratoga Springs, or was Saratoga Springs different enough that Disney basically just had to bulldoze everything and start from scratch?

 

[spiceycat]

the building from the DI were not up to DVC standards. So they were bulldozed and are still being.

DVC has pretty strick standards - they want the DVC building to last for the 50 years. Regular maintence are okay. But having to take the building apart to get to mold - like the Polyn - is not on the schedule. So their building construction is a bit better than the WDW resorts are (at this time).

 

[tjkraz]

The common area buildings--front desk, restaurant, theater, spa, golf clubhouse--were all refurbished from the DI. I'd never been to the DI, but I find the quality indistinguishable compared to the new construction, so it seems like they did a pretty good job.

Everything else at the resort represents brand new construction. Included are the main pool, quiet pools, all guest buildings, parking lots, landscaping, etc.

 

[gppnj]

I just saw a bunch of photos. It looks beautiful, and it appears that it will be even more beautiful once some of the newly planted trees and shrubs begin to fill out.

 

[tjkraz]

Barry Bedford has some great photos on his site:

http://www.barrybedford.com/dvc/ssrpics.html

 

[gppnj]

DVC has pretty strick standards - they want the DVC building to last for the 50 years. Regular maintence are okay. But having to take the building apart to get to mold - like the Polyn - is not on the schedule.

I never thought of that, but that's a good point. If Disney wants to shut down a section of the Polynesian for a few months, that's their prerogative. They'll lose out on bookings during that time, but they can do it. With DVC, that's not an option because those rooms have essentially already been sold and therefore need to be available.

 

[tjkraz]

I never thought of that, but that's a good point. If Disney wants to shut down a section of the Polynesian for a few months, that's their prerogative. They'll lose out on bookings during that time, but they can do it. With DVC, that's not an option because those rooms have essentially already been sold and therefore need to be available.

They still maintain flexibility to do this. DVC owns about 4% of each resort specifically for maintenance / renovation. That gives them the ability to take each room out of service, on average, for about one week per year. I've read here that resorts are on a roughly 5-year renovation schedule. Every 5 years or so, rooms are completely refurbished with fresh paint, carpeting, furniture (where needed), etc.

Our dollars pay for the room refurbishments via reserve funds in the dues.

I think your basic point is correct--DVC resorts are built to not require the types of refurbishment required at 30-year old properties like the Contemporary and Poly. But do rest assured that accommodation has been made for normal upkeep of the facilities through the life of the contract.