The Official VILLAS at DISNEYLAND HOTEL (Discovery Tower) Owners and Fans Info Thread

[RickNJane]

Owning at both is the best of both worlds. TOT sucks yes. I tell myself at least the tax is much less than the tax I pay when staying on cash at DLH. So there's that. I adore VGC and have always been its biggest fan especially when comparing it to VDH, however the half done "refurb" at VGC just makes VDH that much more attractive to me so I am glad I own at both.

We lucked into our VGC points and are really excited to own both. Agree best of both worlds. May have to do split stays! Great problem to have!

 

[RickNJane]

You're opinion is valid. Your post did seem like a dig to the resort, though, which is what it is. I'm pretty sure this thread, like all resort specific threads, is more about what people love about it. I love the place. I own there. I hate paying the TOT enough to always wait-list VGC. With that said, I think a VDH stay is a good use of points for the way I travel.

Do I have an alter ego? I could have written that myself.

Great Minds and all that .

 

[MartyParty]

No regrets here. If staying at a Disneyland hotel you’ll pay more tax via cash stay than if using points. Studios aren’t to bad but the bedroom ToT can quickly rack up.

If wanting to lessen the room rate and taxes the best option will always be staying off property.

 

[RickNJane]

No regrets here. If staying at a Disneyland hotel you’ll pay more tax via cash stay than if using points. Studios aren’t to bad but the bedroom ToT can quickly rack up.

If wanting to lessen the room rate and taxes the best option will always be staying off property.

Stay off property! Now that's blasphemy!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Stay off property! Not that's blasphemy!

 

[AstroBlasters]

Pretty thin skin if you think that is trashing the resort. I said the resort was great but MY opinion is it’s not a good use of MY DVC points because of the transient tax. You are free to disagree but this is a discussion about VDH and the transient tax is part of the resort.

It was a troll comment.

 

[Budzooka]

Now that it has been brought up. TOT sure can put a damper on a great trip. We love the resort, but have since bought VGC points as well. We are eager to compare. Our first trip to VDH, the monorail was not running, so it was a hike to the parks. Not bad in the morning, but the afternoon walk back was a bit long . We loved it, but sure hated to pay the TOT at the end of our stay. I paid for points I pay my dues and still had a bill. TOTal bummer. I know it is an Anaheim thing and not Disney, but TOT is baked into the dues at VGC. That and the location makes it super attractive. Also until they declare more rooms at VDH, the availability will be hit or miss so there is that. Currently it is easier to get into VGC than VDH!

I wasn’t aware that TOT is an Anaheim mandate and not from DVC. Is it because it is a new property? How does VGC and other hotels not have it?

We don’t own at VDH but used SAP points to book two studio rooms for 4 nights. Would have rather had a 1 bedroom but couldn’t get it at 7 months.

AUL has a TOT but it’s like $15/night and this was $66/night for each room. Damper is a good word….using valuable DVC points to stay there and then get charged a few hundred dollars on top of that. Just not worth it in my opinion.

 

[KPeterso]

I wasn’t aware that TOT is an Anaheim mandate and not from DVC. Is it because it is a new property? How does VGC and other hotels not have it?

We don’t own at VDH but used SAP points to book two studio rooms for 4 nights. Would have rather had a 1 bedroom but couldn’t get it at 7 months.

AUL has a TOT but it’s like $15/night and this was $66/night for each room. Damper is a good word….using valuable DVC points to stay there and then get charged a few hundred dollars on top of that. Just not worth it in my opinion.

Yes, the TOT is a city of anaheim tax. You will pay it at any hotel or timeshare in Anaheim. For VGC, the tax is baked into the dues and is lower. But it also is kind of unfair when you stay at one of the other resorts but still have to pay the tax since it is part of the dues. For anyone who has stayed at VGC with SAP or other points, you are welcome from us VGC owners. So I really had no issues with it being unbundled so the person who actually uses the points is the one paying the tax. The city of Anaheim's government goes through phases where it is pro or anti Disney. So I am not surprised they would not agree to the bundling of the taxes as part of the dues for VGC.

Like others, I happen to own both and find it the best of both worlds.

 

[tx911]

Yes, the TOT is a city of anaheim tax. You will pay it at any hotel or timeshare in Anaheim. For VGC, the tax is baked into the dues and is lower. But it also is kind of unfair when you stay at one of the other resorts but still have to pay the tax since it is part of the dues. For anyone who has stayed at VGC with SAP or other points, you are welcome from us VGC owners. So I really had no issues with it being unbundled so the person who actually uses the points is the one paying the tax. The city of Anaheim's government goes through phases where it is pro or anti Disney. So I am not surprised they would not agree to the bundling of the taxes as part of the dues for VGC.

Like others, I happen to own both and find it the best of both worlds.

Would it be more palatable if they kept track of how many points you used at VDH over the course of the year, and added the ToT to your dues?

 

[Girlstar30]

I wasn’t aware that TOT is an Anaheim mandate and not from DVC. Is it because it is a new property? How does VGC and other hotels not have it?

We don’t own at VDH but used SAP points to book two studio rooms for 4 nights. Would have rather had a 1 bedroom but couldn’t get it at 7 months.

AUL has a TOT but it’s like $15/night and this was $66/night for each room. Damper is a good word….using valuable DVC points to stay there and then get charged a few hundred dollars on top of that. Just not worth it in my opinion.

I was wondering how much the aulani tax is, glad to hear its so low!

 

[Girlstar30]

Would it be more palatable if they kept track of how many points you used at VDH over the course of the year, and added the ToT to your dues?

Or what if you could exchange points to pay for the dues? I wouldnt but people might like that.

 

[tx911]

Or what if you could exchange points to pay for the dues? I wouldnt but people might like that.

Yes, I would think anything to avoid having a cash bill at the end of your stay would be preferable.

 

[Girlstar30]

Yes, I would think anything to avoid having a cash bill at the end of your stay would be preferable.

It would be cool if direct could use MMB OTU points to pay and get 50% off when using the 24 points. I think people would like that!

 

[KPeterso]

Would it be more palatable if they kept track of how many points you used at VDH over the course of the year, and added the ToT to your dues?

While that would not bother me, it would not work. The city of Anaheim is going to get their tax on 100% of the points --- whether from the owners or people staying in the room.

I honestly don't mind the tax. I understand why it is there and I will have to pay it to stay there. Not much I can do about it. I typically have not used all my VDH points at VDH (have some on a fall WDW trip) and would be more annoyed paying taxes for a resort I am not staying at just because I own there. My VGC points have been used almost exclusively at VGC (maybe 1-2% used elsewhere ever) so the taxes in the dues do not bug me as much as they would at VDH where I have used 10-20% elsewhere.

 

[MartyParty]

While that would not bother me, it would not work. The city of Anaheim is going to get their tax on 100% of the points --- whether from the owners or people staying in the room.

I honestly don't mind the tax. I understand why it is there and I will have to pay it to stay there. Not much I can do about it. I typically have not used all my VDH points at VDH (have some on a fall WDW trip) and would be more annoyed paying taxes for a resort I am not staying at just because I own there. My VGC points have been used almost exclusively at VGC (maybe 1-2% used elsewhere ever) so the taxes in the dues do not bug me as much as they would at VDH where I have used 10-20% elsewhere.

Same. Used my VDH points twice at VDH (paid the tax), Aulani (paid Aulani rated taxes), and BLT (paid no taxes).

Doesn’t matter the home resort points used if staying at Aulani or VDH. You will pay the applicable taxes. The only double tax in the system I can thank of is using VGC points at either VDH or Aulani. Probably not an issue for most as they likely use their VGC points at VGC.

 

[cruisehopeful]

The only double tax in the system I can thank of is using VGC points at either VDH or Aulani. Probably not an issue for most as they likely use their VGC points at VGC.

The overall MFs for VGC are not very high. With the taxes factored in, I'd even say the annual dues are low, all things considered. So, the double tax wouldn't bother me more than paying the single tax at VDH. Of course, the single tax at VDH bothers me a lot.

 

[Girlstar30]

Are the higher maintenance fees for vdh due to it being a California resort?

 

[cruisehopeful]

Are the higher maintenance fees for vdh due to it being a California resort?

Yes. Everything costs more in California. Building costs, wages, etc.

 

[AstroBlasters]

The overall MFs for VGC are not very high. With the taxes factored in, I'd even say the annual dues are low, all things considered. So, the double tax wouldn't bother me more than paying the single tax at VDH. Of course, the single tax at VDH bothers me a lot.

They dues were not high enough to have a decent hard refurb…. I think we may see an increase there… as an owner I think we need to…

 

[VGCgroupie]

Are the higher maintenance fees for vdh due to it being a California resort?

Partly due to it CA but also it’s new. New ones tend to be higher dues when starting out. RIV actually a decrease at one point which was nice, they don’t want another Aulani situation so they start new resort dues higher than older resorts.