The Disney Vacation Club is a Disney fan’s dream come true. Not all properties are created equal, though. Here are the ones we like the least.
The Disney Vacation Club has become much more than curiosity since its inception in 1991. Ostensibly a timeshare, the differences between this particular vacation residence purchase and the more standard mortgaged properties is simple. A person does not own a piece of property from now until the deed is sold.
Instead, these are housing purchases that expire after a few decades. Currently, contracts run through at least 2047 and as far as 2064. Unless you eat well, drive safely and are under the age of 30, odds are strong that by the time your DVC membership expires, you will be long past your amusement park days.
The premise of the Disney Vacation Club is effectively a lifetime contract for visitation at Disney theme parks in exchange for a negligible vacation fee each year. In exchange, customers purchase points that are leveraged into extended hotel stays at the finest Disney properties. To be clear, I am not talking about the All Star Resorts. No, I mean the company’s highest end properties including the Grand Californian Hotel & Spa at Disneyland and The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World. These are properties that have rack rates north of $500 a night.
A DVC member can buy enough points that they can stay for a week (or more) without any additional financial outlay beyond the initial expense and the annual maintenance fees. Unlike every other timeshare in existence, DVC ownership has increased in value over the years. Even better, members receive additional incentives such as discounts on annual passes, restaurant and store purchases and even rounds of bowling (!). For years, my older brother begged me to join and I finally succumbed to peer pressure. Suffice to say that I am not only a DVC member but also a zealot.
I would be exaggerating if I were to say that picking one’s favorite Disney Vacation Club resort is akin to picking your child. After all, when is the last time your child brought you a room service meal? To a larger point, no company as revered as Disney would risk their corporate brand on an inferior property. Similarly, they would not charge $350+ a night for a room unless they felt that the accommodations justified the expenditure. Ergo, all of the locations I list in the “Bottom Six” are still the envy of the hotel industry. Anybody staying at a Holiday Inn tonight would betray their closest ally in order to stay at any of these locations. It says a lot about the Disney Vacation Club that these are “worst” of the bunch.
Note: We picked out our favorite DVC resorts in this recent article.
6. Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
A resplendent view from the Grand CalifornianDisney resort pools are breathtaking. Image © Disney
In counting down the “worst” properties, I begin with a location that I just praised above. In doing so, I reinforce the notion that the worst DVC option is still exemplary. The Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is a signature Disneyland location that has been owned and operated by Disney since its inception. It was also the first park to include direct park access from the facility, an idea that has since been implemented with multiple properties at Walt Disney World. The hotel has earned continued recognition over the years for its design, features, spa treatments and (especially) restaurants.
Given the above, its placement in the bottom half of the list must be confusing. The explanation is simple. I am a fan of Walt Disney World much more than Disneyland. So while the Grand Floridian is the flagship property of Disneyland, it falls short due to its location on the wrong American coast (for me at least…of course, your opinion may differ!).
5. The Villas at Wilderness Lodge
This location claims the best lobby of any DVC property. I would add that it probably has one of the best 25 lobbies in the entire world. The entire foundation is built with wood, and the logs create a picturesque, homey setting. The entire experience is majestic while simultaneously humbling. I am 6’4” yet I feel like an ant when I gaze up at the rustic architectural achievement that is Wilderness Lodge. The property also claims one of the best pools of any Disney hotel. And it has the foot traffic to prove its popularity. In my experience, only Beach Club Villas has a more crowded pool.
The Wilderness Villas resort was a big fish in a small pond for an extended period of time. Prior to 2009, it was the only DVC property located close to Magic Kingdom. Now that Bay Lake Tower and Grand Floridian are available with Disney’s Polynesian Resort adding DVC villas next year, Wilderness Lodge has lost its primary competitive advantage. Its demand has waned a bit in recent years for this reason.
The property’s negative, the reason it is on this list, is simple. Travel from Wilderness Lodge to other primary locations at Walt Disney World is problematic. There are boats and buses to various theme parks. The travel time is longer because Wilderness Lodge is off the beaten path, and the arrival of buses is inconsistent at best. We once sat on a dock for a full hour, anxiously awaiting transportation to Magic Kingdom – and it’s ostensibly the closest park. Anyone who wants the ambience and isolation but doesn’t mind travel concerns will love this property. Personally, we think it’s a wonderful location, especially after the recent room refresh, but it doesn’t suit our tastes. Your mileage may vary as we live in the mountains near a tourist area swarming with similarly styled rustic resorts.
4. Animal Kingdom Villas
Animal Kingdom Kidani VillasThe inimitable outside view from a Kidani hotel room at Animal Kingdom. Image © Disney
This ranking hurts me because I admire the Animal Kingdom Villas for their audacity. Someone at Disney once stood up during a business meeting and said, “Let’s build a hotel where we let animals roam freely on the property.” And they argued their belief so passionately that any would-be opponents eventually succumbed to their philosophy. The result is a singularly unique vacation experience.
Anyone who stays at Kidani Village or Jambo House is rewarded with an unforgettable view. Giraffes and zebras are standing outside in plain sight. A person can (and should) sit on the deck of their hotel room and enjoy the view while drinking his/her morning coffee. It is thematically perfect with the overall concept for Animal Kingdom itself. Pus, Disney stacked the deck a bit by recreating a variation of the Wilderness Lodge lobby in their new hotels, a thematically correct decision. People who stay at this hotel will have memories that will last a lifetime, and I am not being hyperbolic when I say that.
The chief negative for Animal Kingdom Villas, the reason for its placement in the bottom six, is its location. Anyone who has visited Walt Disney World since the inception of Animal Kingdom knows its fatal flaw. It is in the worst location of the existing four Disney theme parks. Anyone who stays at these two hotels will feel isolated from the big two theme parks, EPCOT and Magic Kingdom. And if a person is going to be staying close to a particular theme park at Walt Disney World, Animal Kingdom is the worst of the bunch.
3. Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
Saratoga Springs VillasAnd this is the WORST on-site theme park property for DVC! Image © Disney
In my opinion, there is a Walt Disney World resort with an even worse location than Animal Kingdom Villas. That property is Saratoga Springs, my least favorite DVC property located near a theme park. This property is skewed toward an older crowd and is not as family friendly. That would be totally fine with me since I am not a parent. The problem is that it plays into all of the Florida retirement stereotypes, focusing upon golf and shopping. It is easily the closest property to Downtown Disney, which is a huge plus to some people. I am not one of them.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Downtown Disney. It is just that when I go to Walt Disney World, shopping is maybe 5% of my itinerary. Golf is 0%. I want to ride the roller coasters, enjoy the delicious meals and appreciate the artistic triumphs at the various theme parks. Saratoga Springs feels like it is in the middle of nowhere, even more than Animal Kingdom Villas. And finding transportation from this location is worse than pulling teeth. People exiting the ferry often randomly wander straight onto the golf course due to the lack of directions at the entrance. Saratoga Springs is the fallback choice for DVC reservations because there is seemingly always availability for it. There is a reason for that. People generally stay there only if the better choices are already taken.
2. Hilton Head Island Resort
The DVC property at Hilton Head IslandNotice the lack of beaches in the somewhat misleading picture. Image © Disney
The bottom two choices for DVC hotel stays are the ones not located at Disney theme parks. If anyone has a particular love of Hilton Head, you may expect me to say that you will feel differently. That is not the case. Hilton Head Island happens to be, in the Jimmy Buffett vernacular, my one particular harbor. I love everything about the place. The DVC property is not worth the DVC points expenditure, though.
First of all, the property is not beachfront, an odd decision in and of itself. People go to Hilton Head to have fun in the sun. Even Disney employees frequently express surprise when they reach the resort, only to realize there is a walk required to reach the beach. Simply stated, this is not the usual Disney sort of decision making.
With regards to the hotel itself, the room options are – I am not joking – marsh view and island view. Nothing says exotic hotel stay like…marsh view. The rest of the hotel’s features are perfectly in keeping with Disney style. If a person does not mind an ordinary room at a property away from the beach, Hilton Head Island Resort is a viable option. I expect more from Disney than marsh view, though.
1. Vero Beach Resort
Disney’s Vero Beach PropertyIf this is the worst DVC property, you know they must be great. Image © Disney
Picking the “worst” DVC property is tricky. To my mind, the bottom two options are obvious. A Disney property away from a Disney theme park is pointless. If I want to vacation elsewhere, I do not need the Disney name brand on my hotel. So, the choice comes down to features versus destination for the bottom slot.
To its credit, Vero Beach is aptly named. People staying at this DVC property are beachfront. That puts it ahead of Hilton Head in a key category. This notion is counterbalanced by the fact that Hilton Head is a much better vacation destination than Vero Beach. Your opinion could be completely different on the subject but as I said, Hilton Head has a soft spot in my heart. Even so, with everything else being equal, being beachfront would matter more.
The problem with Vero Beach Resort, the reason why it is the worst DVC property in my estimation, is something the people running the property cannot control. If you ever Google Vero Beach, auto fill will suggest No See Ums for the rest of your search. That tells you everything you need to know about the level of infestation. If you are unfamiliar with No See Ums, these creatures known as ceratopogonidae are nicknamed “biting midges”. Guess what they bite. For all of the positives of a beachfront property run by Disney, does ANYONE want to spend their holiday combating creatures called biting midges?
Disney has ten absolutely wonderful DVC properties. They also have two that are not located near a Disney theme park. One of those is not positioned beachfront, a maddening choice. The other suffers from a bug infestation that is problematic for most Floridian beaches. And even though both of these selections are imperfect, they are still four star properties where a person can (cheaply) vacation like a king for a week. Imagine what the top six DVC properties must be like. That will be our topic in the companion column.
