What are your Top 3 DVC Resorts? NOW WITH OVERALL RANKS - SEE OP

[MJ6987]

One for the experienced DVC'ers out there to help us novices. What are your top 3 (ranked) favourite DVC resorts - and why?

It would be useful if you could also list which others you have stayed at but not in your top 3, just for context.

Thanks

EDIT: I have decided to add up which is the favourite overall!

Gave each 1st place 3 points, 2nd place 2 points and 3rd place 1 point. Where people put more than one in a position, each one got the points.

Results as at 15th June at 10:30pm GMT:

1. BWV 39 pts
2. AKL 36 pts
3. BCV 34 pts
4. OKW 29 pts
5. BLT 25 pts
6. VGC 19 pts
7. VWL 16 pts
8= VGF and Aulani 14 pts
10. SSR 5 pts
11. HHI 4 pts
12. VB 1 pt

Obviously this will be influenced by age and size of the resort, as well as location as more people will generally have stayed at the older / bigger resorts and those at WDW.

 

[lovin'fl]

Stayed at all the East coast DVC resorts EXCEPT VGF.

I have things I like and dislike about all of them. And we do enjoy staying at different ones each trip. We have done BWV and OKW twice and all the others just once. This Aug will be stay #2 at SSR and HHI and stay #3 at BWV. Then November will be stay #2 at VWL. For next Aug, I will use my home resort booking advantage to book at BWV and AKV (split stay, which we like to do) and I think we'll keep them. I don't think we'll go back to VB...not anytime soon. Too far for beach trip and we prefer HHI.

Our top 3, therefor, are:
1- BCV (location and small quaint resort)
2- BWV (location and point conserving with standard view)
3- AKV for me (beautiful resort with tons to do and great dining...also point conserving)***and*** VWL for DH (feel/theme of resort)

I have 3 teens and their faves are:
DS-17 says AKV and VWL but also likes SSR for walking to DtD. One DD-15 says SSR for walking to DtD and other DD-15 (twins) says BWV.

 

[com_op_2000]

I have stayed at all the East Coast resorts except for VGF, that is on the planning list for 2015.
Top 3
AKL-Jambo - Like the food choices being right in the resort and the view of the animals from the balcony.
BCV - SAB and walking/boating to two parks.
OKW - Still home to us. One of the best options for self-parking. The staff is very friendly to us cause we know them from years of visits.

 

[MJ6987]

Stayed at all the East coast DVC resorts EXCEPT VGF.

I have things I like and dislike about all of them. And we do enjoy staying at different ones each trip. We have done BWV and OKW twice and all the others just once. This Aug will be stay #2 at SSR and HHI and stay #3 at BWV. Then November will be stay #2 at VWL. Next Aug I will use my home resort booking advantage to book at BWV and AKV (split stay, which we like to do sometimes) and I think we'll keep them. I don't think we'll go back to VB...not anytime soon. Too far for beach trip and we prefer HHI.

Our top 3, therefor, are:
1- BCV (location and small quaint resort)
2- BWV (location and point conserving with standard view)
3- AKV for me (beautiful resort with tons to do and great dining...also point conserving)***and*** VWL for DH (feel/theme of resort)

Thanks for that, nice post. And a top 3 with 4 resorts in it - it's like one of Lou Mongello's top 10 lists!

 

[MJ6987]

I have stayed at all the East Coast resorts except for VGF, that is on the planning list for 2015.
Top 3
AKL-Jambo - Like the food choices being right in the resort and the view of the animals from the balcony.
BCV - SAB and walking/boating to two parks.
OKW - Still home to us. One of the best options for self-parking. The staff is very friendly to us cause we know them from years of visits.

Nice to see some love for OKW!

 

[NoleFan]

1) bwv - location, low points for std, great view with bw view, lots of dining options, community hall, nice pool 2) bcv- SAB is the coolest pool ever, parking close to villas 3) VGF- great location near Mk, nicest DVC rooms Have stayed at all at WDW except BLT & OKW.

 

[nalajms]

Stayed: 2b - AKV-K, BWV, BCV, BLT, VFG, VWL. 1b - AKV-k, BWV, BCV, VWL. Studio - BWV, BCV.

#1 VGF - decor, room view (even the parking lot view is great with the monorail), room layout, furnishings, resort dining options
#2 BWV - room view (very few bad views), location to parks, boardwalk area, resort dining options
#3 AKV - room view (savannah only), room size, overall resort activities.


I think it also makes a difference if we are in a studio or 2bedroom. If we're in a studio, I'd replace BWV with BCV for the convenience to laundry.

 

[drusba]

Have not stayed other than WDW and not VGF there. Own at BWV and AKV. We like impressive views. The three top are BWV boardwalk view, AKV savanna, and BLT lake view (in our opinion it is better than theme park view), SSR Congress Park lake view makes it to fourth.

 

[crazybones27]

1. AKV - Just LOVE walking in to Jambo for the first time each trip. We love the feel of the resort, the animals, and the pool at Kidani is great for the kids.

2. BLT - The proximity to MK cannot be beat. A lot of people do not like the décor of the rooms, but it doesn't bother us. We like being close to the monorail, the Contemporary arcade for the kids is wonderful, and we love being able to see the MK fireworks from the hotel.

3. BWV - its just a very relaxing resort. My husband and I stay here once a year without the children. It's just downright relaxing. We love the distance to Epcot and Studios. The bakery on the boardwalk is one of my favorite places to get food. It's so wonderful to sit outside the bakery with a cup of coffee early in the morning and just watch the world wake up. SO RELAXING!

4. Just cause BCV - for the pool alone it makes it great.

 

[dizfan]

We have yet to stay at HHI, VB, VWL, VGF, VGC, and Aulani. Looking forward to staying at 3 more by the end of the year.

1) BLT (love being able to see 2 lakes and the lake activity, Wave restaurant, monorail to MK/Poly/GF/Epcot, boat to WL/FW, walk to/from MK).

2) BCV (beach theme, SAB, shortest walk to Epcot for dinner).

3) AKV (animals, great theme, and unique cultural experience).

 

[bwvBound]

For owning or for staying?

My experience: 10 years owning DVC at SSR; own and use other, non-DVC, timeshare; had several DVC stays prior to ownership via Exchange or cash reservations.

We've stayed at: Animal Kingdom Villas (Lodge, Concierge & Kidani), Aulani, Boardwalk Villas, Grand Cal, Old Key West, Saratoga Springs, SSR Treehouse Villas, Vero Beach, Wilderness Lodge. We typically book 1BR but have used all unit types Studio through 3BR. We've also stayed in Yacht Club (hotel; several years), Beach Club (hotel; just once - hated it), and Dolphin (hotel; twice).

My "top 3" DVC locations to visit for vacation purposes:
1. Aulani. Restful, beautiful and playful. My husband and I enjoy snorkeling, morning yoga on the beach, floating the lazy river and racing down the pool slides.
2. Grand California. Short drive from home; love the theming and interior colors; love walking directly into the two parks (Disneyland and California Adventure).
3. ??? Third spot seems to be a multi-way tie! We love Vero Beach for playing in the warm water (our local beaches are cool to cold); Animal Kingdom for the Savannah Views (could sit on the patio of much of every day!) and BWV for access to Epcot/DHS. We don't do Magic Kingdom and thus have less interest in BLT, Grand Floridian and Wilderness Lodge. (We like the Wilderness Lodge Lobby and theming -- but find it far from the parks we want to visit.)

The DVC we visit the most frequently is BWV. We spend 7-10 nights each year for an IBM Business Conference held in Dolphin/Swan Hotels. The conference does not permit on-site parking so we must either pay out-of-pocket for Dolphin/Swan hotel rates or use our timeshare(s) to book BWV. We often exchange into BWV using the other timeshares and use our points as "backup" in case the exchange didn't come through.

As for owning, we've been really happy owning SSR. We like the Treehouse units (although we've only stayed once) and the relatively modest dues. We know we might have to work harder to get the reservations we want inside the 7-month window but we've never had significant difficulties.

DVC's 'home resort' model used to really bother me. I have a competitive personality and thought I'd need to own at several properties to maintain my booking advantages. It took me a long while to be "content" with SSR and to discover that I've never been blocked from a desired reservation. With so many properties -- there is no possible way for me to own at all the ones I like. I'm glad for the one I own and the great places we've been able to visit using these points!

 

[Minniesgal]

Vgf, vgc, akv

 

[Judique]

BWV, BLT and DHHIR

 

[janischa]

Stayed at OKW, BWV, BLT, AK and SSR.

Our number one is our home resort: BWV Besides the fabulous location, i'm just in love with its community hall. For me, the community hall is really important. I just love the crafts I can do there with my kid(s) and it just has this relaxed atmosphere (for example, the one in OKW is nice, but next to the main pool, so much more noise; while in BWV, it's next to the quiet pool). It's the perfect cooling place after a day in the parcs. Overall, BWV just is the one place I feel most relaxed of all (hmmmmm, for that evening stroll over the boardwalk, chilling out....)

Second place goes to BLT for the location and the views. I never thought I'd enjoy BLT that much since i really dislike the Contemp, but the BLT has a very different feel to it. Much more light. I do like the top of the world lounge and the restaurants.

Third place goes to SSR. Loved the CS restaurant (fresh strawberries as a snack!!! don't know if they still have them) and the best children's wet area. Also, two great pools (not countint the quiet pools) with each their slides.

 

[MouseMomx2]

One for the experienced DVC'ers out there to help us novices. What are your top 3 (ranked) favourite DVC resorts - and why?

It would be useful if you could also list which others you have stayed at but not in your top 3, just for context.

Thanks

You will get answers with every DVC resort. It really is personal preference.

We have stayed at them all, and would stay at each of them again, but our favorites are...

1. Old Key West
2. Boardwalk
3. Villas at the Grand Californian

And our least favorites are...
1. Beach Club Villas
2. Grand Floridian Villas
3. Bay Lake Tower

 

[SugarLoaf]

Hmm, having only stayed at two DVC locations (VGF & BLT), I do not have a top three. I actually don't think I ever will, as I will only ever consider staying at VGF when visiting Disney. Having grown up only staying at GF for the past 20+ years, that is what Disney is to me and my family. And having ventured out to try BLT only makes us that much more certain we won't stay anywhere else. I actually don't even have a top two, because I wouldn't put BLT in a top three list, and would never consider staying there again because we all hated it. We all didn't expect where we were staying to effect our trip so much until we actually tried moving away from what we loved.

So I guess my list (or lack there of lol) is as follows:

1) VGF ~ Beautiful grounds, rooms and lobby, excellent dining options, great atmosphere, and feels totally magical and like home.
2) ----
3) ----

 

[bigtony777]

You can see where we have stayed in my signature.

1 - BCV - best pool hands down. Love the proximity to Epcot and HS
2 - BWV - Proximity to Epcot and HS and has many restaurants on the boardwalk
3 - VWL - short boat ride to MK, great views around the resort and many activities for our girls

 

[Kidanifan08]

We have stayed at AKV (Kidani and Jambo), BLT, BWV, SSR, and OKW. We have an upcoming first stay at BCV. We have not stayed at any of the non-WDW resort locations.

Our list:

1. AKV - Kidani, in particular. We love the quiet, serene, low-key feel of the resort. We thoroughly enjoy our savanna view rooms and the pool area. The transportation system is excellent, and we love that Kidani is the first stop. Of course, I have to mention our favorite restaurant on WDW property -- Sanaa.

2. BWV - We have only had boardwalk view rooms, and we love those views! It's fun to see the fireworks going off at Epcot. The proximity to Epcot and HS is great. The dining options are numerous.

3. BLT - Love the proximity to MK and watching the monorails come and go. The pool area is just so-so, but acceptable. The studios are too small for us, but the 2BR's are huge.

 

[tidefan]

We've stayed in all except BWV, BCV, HHI, and GCV. Our favorites (though they are all great) are:

1) Aulani

And not even close . This is by far the best DVC resort. It is one of those few places that you go into with high expectations, and it turns out to be better...

2) BLT.

This surprised me as I thought I'd hate it, but we had a really great stay there and it is SO convenient. Also, the rooms, though smaller are very well laid out.

3) SSR Treehouses

We like SSR in general, but having stayed in a Treehouse was special. I would have your own car there, but the space, the units, the ambiance make it a great place to stay

 

[DebbieB]

These 3 are actually very close in my book:

1. BWV - love the views and the proximity to Epcot & DHS
2. VGC - only DVC at DL, great decor and quick walk to both parks.
3. VGF - great decor, views of Seven Seas Lagoon & quick monorail to MK.