RANT: Using DVC Resorts as a place to sleep and shower

I love my Disney Vacation Club Resorts. I pay a ton of $$ to own them. I kind of Shake my head at posts saying they're going to stuff one bedrooms with as many people as they can.

And then their idea of a deluxe vacation is to only use the resorts as a place to shower and sleep. These one bedrooms would cost me $3000 in point value. Why are these posters NOT grateful for the chance to stay in a deluxe resort and why don't they use the incredible pools and grounds.

Why go to a Deluxe Disney resort if all you want to do is use it as a motel.

Because RCI makes these trades so inexpensive the inventory at Disney Vacation Club Resorts is being devalued. People don't realize or respect that they're staying in one of the best resorts in the world.

Maybe I should be grateful because the pools will be less crowded but it bewilders me why people, who trade in, are not blown away by their incredible good fortune!

Maybe the people are using the proximity to the parks as a way to spend as much time as possible in the parks. Thats the real advantage of staying at a DVC resort.

I wouldnt worry about what others do during their stay, everyone has different ideas of a vacation.

I hear you! I get it!

gmarine said:

Maybe the people are using the proximity to the parks as a way to spend as much time as possible in the parks. Thats the real advantage of staying at a DVC resort.

I wouldnt worry about what others do during their stay, everyone has different ideas of a vacation.

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I knew I'd get this answer. That's why my OP is titled RANT. I'm giving my opinion, that's all. To me the real advantage of a Disney "Deluxe Home Away From Home Resort" is all the amenities there at the Resort.

I remember when I first purchased in 1992 it was all about the parks, parades, attractions Etc. Now 25 years later it's all about the Deluxe resorts I'm visiting and the theme parks come in a distant second. Many times I never venture into a park. I use my Disney Vacation Club Resorts as a Home Away From Home, as a respite from NJ..

I know young families see the resorts as a stopping off point before heading to the parks. I just think it's a shame. I never got into a Disney's Old Key West Resort pool until, maybe, 3 years into our ownership. What a shame. I also didn't play tennis or take a leisurely boat ride either. That's a shame too. I just wish everyone who is lucky enough to get into a DVC Resort would appreciate where they are and enjoy the resorts as well as the theme parks

My next trip will be the 3rd time that we've traded into DVC. The last two times we were able to trade for a 2 bedroom which was wonderful and I would gladly use the extra points for that luxury again but I don't see that happening anytime soon. This trip, my family of 4, will be in a 1 bedroom...not what we are use to but it will work. I love staying at a DVC because my kids (in their 20s) can choose to go to a park without us. Love hanging out and taking pictures at the resort and of course love the EMH...That's why we choose to trade into a DVC.

Shelbyd95 said:

My next trip will be the 3rd time that we've traded into DVC. The last two times we were able to trade for a 2 bedroom which was wonderful and I would gladly use the extra points for that luxury again but I don't see that happening anytime soon. This trip, my family of 4, will be in a 1 bedroom...not what we are use to but it will work. I love staying at a DVC because my kids (in their 20s) can choose to go to a park without us. Love hanging out and taking pictures at the resort and of course love the EMH...That's why we choose to trade into a DVC.

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Cool response. Dual purpose usage!

You sometimes stay at the Deluxe DVC resort and enjoy it-- and then other days you use all the perks afforded to guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort. PERFECT!

icydog said:

Because RCI makes these trades so inexpensive the inventory at Disney Vacation Club Resorts is being devalued.

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What do you mean by this? How does RCI makes trades inexpensive?

Icydog - I know what you are talking about. this is a common theme in Disney FB books, not just for RCI exchanges. People will spend a small fortune to stay at AKL and share their itinerary which is packed with park activity from open to close every day. When they ask for advice, I always say "don't forget a resort/pool day." People spend a fortune for the room and miss all the amazing activities, pools, resort experiences, etc. I could spend a week at AKL and never leave the resort.I do understand because some people say this is their one and only DW trip. But I've learned my lesson after treating my then 5yo to every magical, expensive, highly sought after experience...and you know what she says her favorite one was- the pool.

icydog said:

I love my Disney Vacation Club Resorts. I pay a ton of $$ to own them. I kind of Shake my head at posts saying they're going to stuff one bedrooms with as many people as they can.

And then their idea of a deluxe vacation is to only use the resorts as a place to shower and sleep. These one bedrooms would cost me $3000 in point value. Why are these posters NOT grateful for the chance to stay in a deluxe resort and why don't they use the incredible pools and grounds.

Why go to a Deluxe Disney resort if all you want to do is use it as a motel.

Because RCI makes these trades so inexpensive the inventory at Disney Vacation Club Resorts is being devalued. People don't realize or respect that they're staying in one of the best resorts in the world.

Maybe I should be grateful because the pools will be less crowded but it bewilders me why people, who trade in, are not blown away by their incredible good fortune!

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Good day!

First let me say that I am not a DVC owner, rather I own Wyndham. I have also not traded into DVC resorts. My first resort visit was Wyndham Bonnet Creek back in May.

This was the first time in 13 years my family had been to Disney. We planned and looked at charts and calendars trying to figure out how to get the most of our time in the Parks. So, every day was planned out, FastPasses were utilized...this was going to be a dream!

Until we got to WBC...as stated we had never stayef in a resort setting so we were surprised by what the resort offered! My 5 children, ranging in age from 8 to 17, did not want to leave the resort to go to the Parks! But what about my plans??!!

So, we learned quickly to flex. We realized we weren't going to see all of each park any way, so why not enjoy some of this beautiful resort and 3 bedroom villa we had. And we're glad we did. We are going back in March for another week, but are only planning on a park 1 day. The rest will be enjoying the resort and other offerings. We realize we had just planned too well and crammed too much into our week.

I wonder if some of these folks you're talking about are in similar situations? First, or first in a long time, Disney vacation, so cram and go. Some maybe...i dunno.

Anyway, we learned our lesson and are looking forward to enjoying more next time.

As an fyi, we are interested in looking at DVC...we plan on going through a tour in March. But if we buy we'll probably buy resale unless the deal is just that good because I realize that the disparity between retail and resale with DVC is not anything like Wyndham...already been doing our homework.

Blessings!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320AZ using Tapatalk

I have stay at a DVC resort several times. My 2 trips with my sister (a recent widow earlier that year) was to do the parks, Downtown Disney and to drink wine on the balconies.
Trip #1: VWL was our first stay ... that little balcony saw us drinking a bottle of red wine each afternoon after first doing a park and then the pool ... then our late afternoon wine. And I was sick with surgery planned.
Trip #2:5 months later, we did AKV. Coffee in the AM on the balcony, wine in the later afternoon on the balcony ... and I am not sure, she wasn't on the balcony late in the evening. But she had learned there was much more to Disney than a bunch of rides.

When I took my 12yo nephew for a week in January to AKV... he enjoyed the attack mode for doing the parks ... but he liked the afternoon pool visits and regularly found him watching the savanna for the animals at ALL HOURS. He did NOT 2 months later want to go to the parks with his mother for the day ... he told his mom, he only goes to WDW with Aunt Linda. (And yes, my sister, was terribly crushed ... she saw the GREAT photos from his time he had in the parks with me ... she just wanted to share in his joy & happiness...most of which was from the resort & activities).

If I just wanted to stay at a nice resort - I wouldn't choose DVC. I'd go somewhere else for a fraction of the cost. And I wouldn't go to Orlando...

I guess it all depends on how you like to vacation and how much other people's vacation styles upsets you and why it would upset you.

My first timeshare purchase was VGC. After I realized it wasn't worth the expense because we only used the room to sleep and shower, I sold my contracts. We still go to California Grand and drink in the lobby bar and get food at white Water Snacks, but normally stay elsewhere. I will sometimes pay to stay on the hotel side, but I've never used the pools.

The only other 2 DVC properties I stayed at were AKL (I did one activity on site there) and Aulani. AKL, we ate on the balcony and watched the animals a few times. Aulani was a one nighter to enjoy the resort. We were actually quite bored at Aulani and didn't use the pools/lazy river because of the massive crowds. I am easily grossed out by lots of bodies in same body of water close together because I know what comes out of all of those bodies. The beach was closed during our stay.

icydog said:

Because RCI makes these trades so inexpensive the inventory at Disney Vacation Club Resorts is being devalued. People don't realize or respect that they're staying in one of the best resorts in the world.

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If I were going rant, then, I would rant at my fellow owners who trade their usage at one of the best resorts in the world to go somewhere else through RCI and make those trades available in the first place. At least, that's what I'd rant about if I were a DVC owner inclined to make judgments on other people's vacation choices.

icydog said:

I knew I'd get this answer. That's why my OP is titled RANT. I'm giving my opinion, that's all. To me the real advantage of a Disney "Deluxe Home Away From Home Resort" is all the amenities there at the Resort.

I remember when I first purchased in 1992 it was all about the parks, parades, attractions Etc. Now 25 years later it's all about the Deluxe resorts I'm visiting and the theme parks come in a distant second. Many times I never venture into a park. I use my Disney Vacation Club Resorts as a Home Away From Home, as a respite from NJ..

I know young families see the resorts as a stopping off point before heading to the parks. I just think it's a shame. I never got into a Disney's Old Key West Resort pool until, maybe, 3 years into our ownership. What a shame. I also didn't play tennis or take a leisurely boat ride either. That's a shame too. I just wish everyone who is lucky enough to get into a DVC Resort would appreciate where they are and enjoy the resorts as well as the theme parks

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As you were giving your opinion in your rant, I posted my opinion to your rant. You were obviously looking for responses so I gave one.

I would never visit a DVC resort other than using it as a base to visit the parks even though I trade in for much less than what it costs an owner.

Have you considered that maybe they use the pools at different times than you do?

Or maybe they're extra picky about pools and there's something about the pools they don't like (temperature, depth, chlorine vs salt vs O2 etc)?

Or maybe they use different amenities than you use?

Staying so close to the parks is a huge bonus and is reason enough to stay at Disney.

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My take: When we go on vacation it's usually to experience something we can't experience at home. I have a membership at a luxury health club that has a fantastic pool with water slides for the kids. I also have a season pass to a water park. We live in a part of the world that has some of the best pools. My family gets plenty of pool time at resort style pools. So if we use the pool at a resort while on vacation it's only because I've cajoled them into it.

I love Disney, think they're among the leaders of hospitality companies when it comes to customer service, and Walt Disney World is definitely a Happy Place for me. If Don were as much a Disney freak as me then we'd buy DVC but instead we pay cash rates or do owner rentals for DVC properties during our infrequent trips.

I like staying on property for all the extras - park transportation, package delivery, immersing myself in the ambience, etc - and I like the DVC resorts because of all the lodging on property they come the closest to the unit size and standards of our owned non-Disney timeshares. But I've never felt that DVC resorts in and of themselves are the cream of the crop among all timeshare systems. Other than OKW (which I love) they're small, crowded in their footprints, not re-furbed often enough, and they don't give you enough tv channels for when you do want to take a much-needed mindless break from the cacophony.

They cost as much as they do because they appeal to a captive audience and can offer extras related to the theme park experience that others can't, not because they measure that much higher standards-wise than other timeshares in the area. I actually much prefer a couple of the Marriott timeshares in the area to any of the DVC resorts, and if the resort experience was the only thing on my list I wouldn't look to DVC for it.

Ranting about how other people choose to use or exchange into DVC properties doesn't make much sense to me. If not for cash guests and RCI exchangers who take up the slack (and pay!) when your fellow DVC owners don't use their ownerships on property, your ownership costs would be much higher. Why not just thank them and continue to go about using your ownership the way you want?

For some, going to WDW is a huge expense and a one time (or one time in 5 years) big trip. With kids who might have never been to WDW, of course they are going to want to spend lots of time in the parks. Plus, the tickets are set up to cost only a bit more after 4 days for extra parks days. So, why not stay at DVC and get ME, free parking, and bus transport to WDW parks vs. staying offsite? If the cost is not hugely different, I think most would pick DVC even if they are only in the room to sleep/shower.
And, if someone is within the legal occupancy of a room, that's their option. We have 3 teens. We prefer to travel with lots of space, and frequently stay at 2BR HGVC and Marriotts. But I would NEVER get a 2BR DVC instead of a 1BR DVC if I had to use my DVC points. We are fine with 5 in OKW or AKV. In fact, our big "splurge" was at Christmas with a 1BR @ AKV with our DVC points for 4 of us vs. getting a studio (which does feel like was cramming us all in).

As long as a party is within legal occupancy of a room, why on God's green earth would I care who sleeps where and how they spend their time?

I'm on record as advising plenty of people that most DVC rooms are too small for their stated occupancy to be comfortable when "full," but I certainly don't care if they take that advice or not. It's their vacation, not mine.

A lot of my guests at Bonnet Creek just use the 4 bedroom presidential units just to sleep in and maybe breakfast and a meal of two here or there. Disney does not offer anything like the 4 bedroom presidential units that Bonnet Creek has. Other guests may visit Disney, Universal or any other park only once or twice during the week or not at all. Most of the time is spent at the resort. Regardless of how a group uses the unit and resort they are happy and do what they want. That makes me happy as well.

am1 said:

A lot of my guests at Bonnet Creek just use the 4 bedroom presidential units just to sleep in and maybe breakfast and a meal of two here or there. Disney does not offer anything like the 4 bedroom presidential units that Bonnet Creek has. Other guests may visit Disney, Universal or any other park only once or twice during the week or not at all. Most of the time is spent at the resort. Regardless of how a group uses the unit and resort they are happy and do what they want. That makes me happy as well.

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I contemplated staying 2 weeks in a 1 bedroom DVC but then I thought how much I would miss not being at BC at all this trip so I booked a 1 bedroom and hoped for an upgrade...happy to say, I will be in a 3 bedroom presidential

My brother has a conference to go to in the Orlando area ... he had to pay for everything himself. Got him a discounted 1bdr points unit upgraded to a 3bdr during the Sun-Wed. His wife stayed in the unit while he went to the conference each day .. loved trying the different pools and totally enjoyed herself.

PS With my brother, having 2 bathrooms is necessary. Wife loved that, too.

So why are you bothered, M? I am trying to figure this out because, of course, I use all of the resorts in Disney and near Disney (love the Marriott resorts more, personally) as a place to sleep and shower. I endorse sleeping and showering, as a matter of fact.

You and I usually agree on most topics, but this leaves me scratching my head.

I cannot go to Disney parks as much anymore because I cannot walk more than a few miles in one day. I don't go to the parks like some do, and my kids will do multiple parks in one day! Rick and I go for a few hours in the morning and then leave, go somewhere to eat (not Disney food), and we go back to our unit to relax and rest for the next day. The kids stay in the parks until the fireworks are over.

We usually stay in Disney when the parks are slow, so around 180 points per week for a one bedroom X $5.40 per point. so I don't pay $3,000 to stay a week in a 1 bedroom as a Disney owner. That's about 1/3 of the cost you are quoting.

But I do agree with you on one thing--exchangers take it all a bit for granted, when owners pay $80 per point resale to stay in their own accommodations.

Enjoy tower 6 and your welcome.

Shelbyd95 said:

I contemplated staying 2 weeks in a 1 bedroom DVC but then I thought how much I would miss not being at BC at all this trip so I booked a 1 bedroom and hoped for an upgrade...happy to say, I will be in a 3 bedroom presidential

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rickandcindy23 said:

So why are you bothered, M? I am trying to figure this out because, of course, I use all of the resorts in Disney and near Disney (love the Marriott resorts more, personally) as a place to sleep and shower. I endorse sleeping and showering, as a matter of fact.

You and I usually agree on most topics, but this leaves me scratching my head.

I cannot go to Disney parks as much anymore because I cannot walk more than a few miles in one day. I don't go to the parks like some do, and my kids will do multiple parks in one day! Rick and I go for a few hours in the morning and then leave, go somewhere to eat (not Disney food), and we go back to our unit to relax and rest for the next day. The kids stay in the parks until the fireworks are over.

We usually stay in Disney when the parks are slow, so around 180 points per week for a one bedroom X $5.40 per point. so I don't pay $3,000 to stay a week in a 1 bedroom as a Disney owner. That's about 1/3 of the cost you are quoting.

But I do agree with you on one thing--exchangers take it all a bit for granted, when owners pay $80 per point resale to stay in their own accommodations.

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My good friend Cindy,

Here's why I wrote my rant:

I was perplexed by an exchanger who was trading into an OKW one bedroom with 4 adults and two little kids. All he wanted was a place to shower and sleep and almost everyone in his party was a first time guest. I just thought it was a waste. I love OKW and I guess I got carried away when I saw that they'd be missing out on all the cool things offered there. Our best vacations were spent on the balcony at OKW watching golfers in the daytime and fireworks at night. I miss those days very much!


The $3,000 was meant at an approximate $12 per point value. That's the going rate for Disney Vacation Club point rentals. I meant it like this--Had they spent $3000 would they stop and smell the roses, take a leisurely boat ride, ride a bike, play tennis or golf, play volleyball, hang out at the Gurgling Suitcase, have a nice homey dinner at Olivia's, or enjoy one of the resorts five pools. There's so much to do at Disney's Old Key West Resort but if people don't know it, or don't care to know it, I'm at a loss.

I think this is a stage of life thing.

When we had children in school, a trip to Disneyland was go-go-go. We wanted to spend every second in the park and stayed until closing every night. We had a pool at home, so the pool was no big deal to us.

But now that the children are grown, we enjoy leisurely vacations, and love the time sitting on the balcony and the beach, walks, and just relaxing.

But I would not expect young families to see it that way.

I hope that if the poster who is legally putting 4 adults and 2 kids in a DVC is reading this that she has a magical time at DVC. I wouldn't want any of our personal views of what one should (not) do infringe on their happiness about their upcoming DVC exchange.
I have no desire to commando the parks every day, but can be happy for fellow tuggers that snag DVC, for however they want to use it.