Why do people like the DVC resorts?

[eliza61]

Alot of members like myself buy more points(the dreaded addonitis disease).

I wish they would get an innoculation against that. I'm headed down to the BCV's in November, I'm going to have to wear blinders, like the put on horses just so I won't even look at the AKL.

Views are pretty much, low on my "must haves" for a resort.

 

[byoung]

That is one reason even though we can well afford to buy into DVC we never bought a DVC.
I have been waiting 15 years for Disney to build a DVC with a MK view.
If the new construction at CR is a DVC tower with views of the MK than we will become members.

I am hoping for a DVC at the CR.

If this ever takes place DVC members will get first crack at buying at CRV. I predict that CR will sell out quick if it happens.

 

[mello]

I haven't seen anyone say this, but one reason we love DVC is because of how it has changed our view of vacationing. I love knowing that we "have" to come back again at least every couple of years! And since we know that, we don't feel as compelled to try to do it all at once and wear ourselves out. We went for 5 days last year and only wound up going in a park one day, and it was the most relaxing vacation ever

 

[danielle782001]

We second all that Stinky Pete listed!!! We love the size of the rooms, what is in the rooms and the value of being a DVC member. Just add one thing... We like having seperate rooms for the kids to sleep so we are not forced to go to bed when they do, we can sit out on the balcony and one of us can sneak out if we need something. The rooms are really like small apartments!!!

Example of Value: We are staying in a two-bedroom villa in the Wilderness Lodge in October for 5 nights. I checked out the price on the Disney website just for the heck of it... It was well over $5,000. We could never afford that plus the other expences of going away (flight, dining) once or twice every year. October will be our second trip of the year. We purchased the vacation club using a small home equity loan, paying a small amount per month for the next several years. This works great for us. No big dollars going out in one shot and we get to stay in the best type of rooms for our family.

I would recommend staying at a villa even if you are not members!

 

[danielle782001]

I forgot one other thing.... About the view... We just came back from the Beach Club Villas a few weeks back. We had a view of Epcot. We could see Spaceship Earth and the fireworks from Illuminations every night. It was a very nice view. We also stayed at the villas at the Boardwalk in December. We had a view of the boat way to MGM and a small garden below. We requested a quiet area at the BW because we have been told staying on the actual boardwalk can get noisey at night. We loved the view there. It was really nice watching the boats go by!

 

[clownfish1452]

Do they clean your room everyday and do turn down service?

Sarah

 

[La2kw]

It seems that the DVC resorts don't have the best views. For example, Wilderness Lodge and the Villas. When I go there I get a courtyard view and it overlooks the main pool, the whole lodge and the beautiful bay lake where i can see the boats coming and going, etc. Yet the Villas can't really see the lake and would have to look at the quiet pool. It seems that the DVC people are Disneys best customers, so why give them the worst views?

Who cares about a view when you've got a one bedroom condo unit that's a little over 1,000 square feet (OKW) with a full kitchen and spa tub in the bedroom, located within 10-20 minutes of most of the theme parks? Actually, OKW has some great views of waterways, golf fairways, and wooded areas.

 

[TMB1203]

Who cares about a view when you've got a one bedroom condo unit that's a little over 1,000 square feet (OKW) with a full kitchen and spa tub in the bedroom, located within 10-20 minutes of most of the theme parks? Actually, OKW has some great views of waterways, golf fairways, and wooded areas.

Agreed!! We stayed in a 1 br at OKW several years ago. There was a great view of the golf course (I think we were on the 8th hole, but don't really remember what # it was). It was very serene and very spacious. I loved it. It's the only time we have stayed in a 1 br, the other times, studios suit us just fine.

 

[DisneyFreaks]

We're sort of new DVC members and view has always been important to us. So far we have not been disappointed. We've had a boardwalk view at BWV's and the most breathtaking view ever from Saratoga Springs. Having a full kitchen, washer and dryer, and comfy places to sit down after a brutal day at the parks says it all for us. Buying DVC is one of the best things we've ever done. We don't regret it one bit.

 

[TMB1203]

Do they clean your room everyday and do turn down service? Sarah

Nope. Honestly, when I stay at a regular hotel, I put the do not disturb sign up, so not having these things don't bother me. I do wish we got towels more often without having to purchase an extra pack. I usually just pack extra's from home since we stay in studio's (no in room washer/dryer)

 

[TMB1203]

It seems that the DVC resorts don't have the best views. For example, Wilderness Lodge and the Villas. When I go there I get a courtyard view and it overlooks the main pool, the whole lodge and the beautiful bay lake where i can see the boats coming and going, etc. Yet the Villas can't really see the lake and would have to look at the quiet pool. It seems that the DVC people are Disneys best customers, so why give them the worst views?

We always get the view overlooking the garbage dumpster!!
It doesn't really bother me, I know that my views at VWL won't be the greatest. I have had great views at OKW, SS and BWV. Even with the garbage dumpster view, VWL is still my favorite one.

 

[deide71]

The view @ VWL was very nice IMHO:

Maybe we had one of the nicer views in the place? Granted it is not the main courtyard, but I enjoyed it. And I will take my 2 bedroom over any standard room in the place regardless of view.

 

[DJ Disney Kid]

Maybe its just me, since Im a single male with no family or kids, so not needing all that space, and view is VERY important to me.

 

[sunee]

Do they clean your room everyday and do turn down service?

Sarah

They don't do daily housekeeping for the people who've bought in to the time-share thing, but they do for people who just rent a room for a week or whatever.

I don't know if you can get turn-down or not because I don't use that and never asked. Sorry - maybe someone else will know!

 

[Esmerelda]

Wow...what a great question!

Well....picture this. A one bedroom villa with a full sized kitchen (not for full meals...but smaller things)...fresh coffee in the morning....can cook simple things if you'd like. F full sized fridge for those leftovers from all those great Disney meals! A very nice sized living room with a comfy couch...a couple of nice sized chairs...nice TV...DVD player....nice balcony to look over Disney grounds...or Downtown Disney....(of course the view depends upon your resort but we are TOTAL SSR fans...and that's where we own at!) etc. A washer and dryer which means we bring less clothing! A bathroom that is actually two bathrooms. One side has a great personal area (toilet)...a vanity...and a very nice sized stand up shower plus storage. The other side...a larger vanity...plenty of storage and a bathtub big enough for two that's jetted...great for after a long day at the parks! The bedroom has a king sized bed...a nice oversized chair with an ottoman...tons of storage. Did I mention privacy...?? If we have a one bedroom, we bring two single sized Aero beds for the boys. They love it!

So you see from my rambling....there are SO many advantages to being in a DVC resort. Sometimes the view is not everything....its nice, but its not everything. There are so many amenities as a DVC holder that I can't even begin to list them.

We stayed last year (on points) at the Poly in the concierge for the very first time. While the view was to die for (straight on at the castle!) and the room was large. It was still a hotel room. When you have 4 people...two kids that are not small...teens now...we were in each others space. We loved the Poly and the concierge...but we missed all the great things a villa has to offer. We learned a lesson about using our points for that stay.

So you see....while the view is nice....its not the only deciding factor for us. I am so thankful that we bought into DVC 4 years ago. It was a great investment for our family. We can't wait for CRV to start sales...we plan on adding on

off her DVC soapbox now.....
Esmerelda

 

[dannyh23]

Maybe its just me, since Im a single male with no family or kids, so not needing all that space, and view is VERY important to me.

As others have already poined out, DVC rooms have views just as good as any other resort... but if view is VERY important to you, then stay somewhere where you have to pay extra $$$ to stay in the rooms with your choice of view. Anywhere else in Disney -- make a request for a certain view -- maybe it will get granted, maybe it wont.

Personally, I'm done paying crazy amounts of cash for room nights, then extra $$$ for a "better" view. What I can see outside the window really is the last of my worries when staying at Disney.... Different stokes for different folks...

I don't even care if I get the "dumpster" view at VWL....

 

[danielle782001]

To answer Sarah:

No & Yes... There is no house cleaning service before the 8th day you stay in the room and there is no turn-down. You can pay for a cleaning (price varies based on size of room but it is around $50.00). They come in on the 4th day to take out the garbage and give new towels. Again, you can pay for more clean towels if you want to. We put our towels in the wash before we leave the room in the morning and put them in the dryer when we come back. It is not ideal to wash your own towels or make your own bed BUT again the value of the membership and the types of rooms we get to stay in makes it all worth it!!!! They give you tons of extra garbage bags and a vac to clean the floor. The system works for us!!!!!

 

[eliza61]

When we get to our room, one of the first things I do is order an extra towel/washclothe set ($5.00). This works great for us now we always have a clean set in the morning and usually in the afternoon, if we shower after the pool or before dinner. While we use one set, the other is in the washer. It is such a routine that before we head out to the parks, some one usually goes around gathering up the towels and turning the washer on. Total time 2mins. tops.
It works great. I'm starting to like not having the maids come in every day because I'm one of those crazy women who cleans up before people who clean up come in. My dh thinks it's hilarious.

 

[mommytobug]

I havde not read all of this thread but wanted to say we bought in the first time we went to Disney. For what we paid for one week, if we went 4 more times, we would have DVC paid for. It is good for 50 plus years. Our dd and her kids will enjoy when we are gone. Best investment we ever made. You can bank points and borrow from one year to the next (there are limitations) but you could have a VERY NICE vacation. HTH

 

[MiaSRN62]

Several people have mentioned the many reasons we love our DVC (Stinky Pete and others). We're a family of 5 (and we often used to travel with my mil as well). Tired of having to get two rooms and praying they were connecting or at least adjoining. We were let down several times and had to be seperated. No fun when the kids were little and dh and myself had to sleep in different rooms !
This was finally the catalyst to becoming DVC Members. We love to stretch out in a 2 bedroom villa after a full day at the parks. Though we may not have had the best views by some standards, we have had some very good views over the years. Also, we feel we locked into a price that we paid back in 2000.