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

am1 said:

Enjoy tower 6 and your welcome.

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Haha...usually get a 2 bedroom presidential in Tower 6 with the exception of last year when IMO something strange was going on with reservations...I ranted about that last year...lol...BTW...if you threw that unit back in...Thanks!

I was perplexed by an exchanger who was trading into an OKW one bedroom with 4 adults and two little kids.

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One shower, too! That sounds nuts! That would be a cozy trip, too cozy for me.

Our kids always have their own units. We don't get along THAT well. As a matter of fact, we are going to Disneyland next Saturday for a week, and we all have our very own units at Dolphin's Cove: two 2 bedrooms, one 3 bedroom and one 1 bedroom. There are only 11 of us. We need our space.

As someone who spent seven nights in a 180-square-foot cruise cabin earlier this summer, I don't see any issue with putting 4 adults and two small children into OKW. The OKW units are like 900 square feet, so 6 people can spend time there in comfort. Sure, it wasn't ideal to have four people in a cruise cabin, but I wasn't spending $3000 for a second cabin, so we made it work. The kids ended up loving their bunk beds. The bathroom at OKW is probably about the same size as our whole cabin was.

What makes perfect sense for one family won't make any sense for another. Sure, we could have spent $3000 for the second cabin. But then we wouldn't have been able to do our WDW trip for 4th of July or Labor Day. For us, we'd rather take more trips. Another family might choose two cabins instead. There is nothing wrong with that.

There is no obligation to enjoy any particular feature of a DVC resort. Many here recommend renting a car. I'd rather slice off my arm than rent a car at WDW. The number one thing I love about staying at WDW is using their transportation. I don't have to lug my car seat around with me, and I don't have to worry about navigating through traffic at 1:00 am when I am super-tired. But I don't judge anyone who'd rather have a car. Some people prefer to have control and to go at their own schedule. I don't accuse them of not properly utilizing DVC features because they don't appreciate the same ones. EMH are the same way. Some swear by them and others wouldn't go near them if you paid them to.

We used to be very much park open to close, but now that we have APs and are going more frequently, we take a much more relaxed pace. I see advantages and disadvantages of both methods. I can relax as much as I choose at home, but I can only ride Tower of Terror when I'm at Disney. If people want to pack their days with park activities, then I think they should. If they never set foot in a park for the whole week, that's fine too. The beauty of DVC is that you can do either, and I don't think I can call one of those strategies "right." They're different but equally valid.

famy27 said:

...<snip> But I don't judge anyone who'd rather have a car. Some people prefer to have control and to go at their own schedule....<snip>.

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My sister's first DVC stay with me (she was a recent widow) .. she insisted SHE HAD TO HAVE A CAR.

6 months later, for her second DVC stay with me ... she did NOT rent a car.

Might have been the 45 minute HUNT for the rental car when leaving Magic Kingdom park the first day .... we could NOT find it. And in late May, it was HOT and SUNNY and we were tired.

also prefer WDw buses. I commute to work. Not using a car is a luxury for me.

vacationhopeful said:

Might have been the 45 minute HUNT for the rental car when leaving Magic Kingdom park the first day .... we could NOT find it. And in late May, it was HOT and SUNNY and we were tired.

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:rofl:

We usually use WDW transportation but sometimes drive to the parks when we're on site. It helps that we're driving our own, familiar vehicle, but another thing I do is use my phone to snap a picture at the end of our row. For future reference.

DeniseM said:

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...

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There is a very nice DVC in Vero Beach, you might enjoy it there Denise.
Silentg

I understand what you are saying but the majority of people who go to Orlando/Disney/Universal are going for the purpose of spending time in the parks/rides/shows, etc. If that was not their intention, they would go to an island, beach destination, etc.

Wether or not they are DVC owners, it's takes many, many trips before one is not park commando and takes the time to relax.

There are many people I know who do not stop to relax by the pool, resort hop, etc. We always threw in a day after three days of park to do a non-park day. Now we spend very little time in the parks. We know we will be back.

Non-Disney trips - I know people/hear stories who like to share accommodations with other families and sometimes squeeze people in (sometimes sneaking them in) - to me, that is not a vacation I love family/friends but don't need to spend 24/7 with them....to each their own.

i have only been to disney once 7 yrs ago. we stayed at port orleans in a regular room. we pretty much divided our day into equal parts park/resort. i loved the resort but also wanted to see each park. I loved that vacation and havalways wanted to go back but have limited time for vacations!

davidvel said:

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

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because you can buy a cheap RCI unit on the resale market and use it to trade into DVC.

DeniseM said:

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.

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This is so true! We used to stay in the parks until closing and then drive back to the gulf beaches. Whew, what a long day that was. I have a five month old granddaughter and I have a feeling I am going to need to take some vitamins for long park days in the future.

25th Anniversary of Disney Vacation Club


2016

You become a Member by purchasing a real estate interest in a Disney Vacation Club Resort, which is represented by an annual allotment of Vacation Points. The number of Vacation Points you need depends on the Resort, type of accommodations, time of year and length of stay.

DVC is a vacation ownership program that offers its MEMBERS
magical Disney vacation memories that last a liftetime.

As a former Disney Vacation Club member/owner
I don`t feel DVC should be apart of RCI or II.
It should be exclusively for its members only!

Miss Marty said:

2016

You become a Member by purchasing a real estate interest in a Disney Vacation Club Resort, which is represented by an annual allotment of Vacation Points. The number of Vacation Points you need depends on the Resort, type of accommodations, time of year and length of stay.

DVC is a vacation ownership program that offers its MEMBERS
magical Disney vacation memories that last a liftetime.

As a former Disney Vacation Club member/owner
I don`t feel DVC should be apart of RCI or II.
It should be exclusively for its members only!

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DVC members are doing with their membership what they choose to do...many of them choose to use their memberships at resorts other than DVC which give the opportunity for others to use DVC resorts.

So, yes, DVC members have an exclusive choice to only stay at DVC properties...some just choose another option.

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icydog said:

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.

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I am actually surprised that a decision to put 4 adults and two small children in an OKW one bedroom has you so unnerved to post. I do think that several responders were accurate in that you do not know the situation of any family and their travel plans or even needs. I'm not going to use this forum to explain all the potential variables that could make this the best choice because ultimately it is noone's business but the family who chooses to travel this way, but I do think that what you interpret from a few sentences in a public forum post may not encompass the entire picture and you never know what other factors or circumstances are at play. I believe that individuals are too quick to judge, ridicule or even just make assumptions and to what end?

icydog said:

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

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Staying at a Disney resort gives you other benefits:
- book fast passes 30 days earlier than everyone else
- early admission to the parks (Extra Magic Hours)
- free MagicBands
- closer to theme parks
- don't have to pay extra for theme park parking

Also, let me remind you that it's NOT a motel room. It has a kitchen, doesn't it? So there's that too. They're saving money and time by preparing and eating in their room a lot.

Another thing to consider:
Perhaps the family plans to spend every day at the theme parks and "use the resort as a motel" BUT...
- they're factoring in the possibility that there might be a change in plans and they want the ability to use a nice resort rather than be stuck in a dinky motel
- they demand 5 star quality and know they'll get that from Disney
- maybe one or two family members are going to make use of the fitness or other amenities but they chose not to talk about that

---

FWIW My family is going to WDW for the first time soon. When I was making plans I strongly considered staying at a Disney resort for the reasons I mention above. WDW is huge and I'm not looking forward to driving. If my husband weren't coming we would stay on site for that reason alone.

But since he's coming we are going to save a bit of money and stay at Bluegreen Fountains in Orlando instead. We will drive to the parks for our park days. And we will drive other places for our other days. We don't plan to do a whole lot at our resort even though it has many great amenities because we've never been to Orlando and we want to experience more than just a resort style vacation.

For example, we've never seen manatees. So we've planned part of a day for that. We're also hoping to get to some museums and maybe a basketball game. We chose a resort rather than a hotel for the kitchen, larger room to spread out in (there's only the three of us but we got a 2 bedroom unit), and because if there's an issue with traffic or weather or one of us gets sick etc then we have some back-up plans to use the resort amenities.

Complaining that people who choose to stay in a resort but don't use the amenities is like me complaining about all the people who visit Vegas but never leave The Strip. Sure, they're going to miss out on a lot. But it's their vacation and if they want to do it like that then that's their choice. They probably didn't come to Las Vegas to experience the magic of our natural landscape so missing out on Red Rock or Springs Preserve or Wetlands Park or Lake Mead or Valley of Fire or Mt Charleston is no real loss to them. And honestly, I don't really want those spaces filled up with tourists anyway... which is probably also how you should feel about the resort pools.

icydog said:

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.

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I was part of this thread and I think you are taking this the wrong way. First of all an OKW one bedroom is huge and definitely large enough for 4 adults and 2 small children. I think the only challenge was the bathroom situation.
When they say it is only to sleep and shower, I don't think this specific to Dvc. Some people are all day park goers. I used to be one of them. It's not like they were using it as a throw away room. That is just their style of vacationing.

IMO

Disney though about it ..hummm "Why don't we allow 5 people in a STUDIO? After all they only come to sleep and shower since they spend time in the parks $110 one day entrance $$$$$ per person.


5 people in a Studio? I did book a studio last spring break (2 toddlers an 2 adults) and I was going crazy.(never ever) and I go to Disney every 3 months! We go to the parks for 5 -6 hours then resort time then Disney spring at night for dinning

RCI by wyndham : 105000k for 1 bed @ SSR + RCI fee + DVC $99 fee ( no cheap)

We are so spoiled for space and amenities with timesharing. "Deluxe" Disney hotel rooms commonly offer bedding for 5. For Disney to decide to offer this in DVC studio units is wonderful for many families.

Everyone is different. When our children were pre-adolescent, our family of 5 mostly vacationed in a pop-up camper or hotel rooms. Either way, we enjoyed these travel adventures together. Having a single, private bathroom was no problem - not having to go outside to get to it at night was actually a real plus! Once the kids became 'tweens and we had more fun together when we included their friends in our travels, we valued the space of a 2BR or larger unit with at least 2 baths. That's just our experience.

We once spent a week in a Boardwalk Villas studio since it had a kids' daybed. We enjoyed the resort plenty but did little inside the room other than sleep/nap and shower. We enjoyed ourselves. Our kids were very well-behaved and did not put undue wear-and-tear on rooms. There's really no reason to diss people's decision to vacation this way.

For us, despite many DVC and central Florida vacations, the Disney transportation and proximity to the parks were and are the main draws for us to stay at a DVC resort. We do enjoy the Disney resort themes and amenities. But the WDW DVC resort activities are not as extensive, the rooms are not as luxurious, and the closest restaurants are not as good value for our restaurant dollars as what we have found when staying at the nicer offsite resorts.

Both at DVC resorts and at the better offsite resorts, I can enjoy my morning coffee on a balcony with lovely views of Florida landscaping, a water feature, a golf course, beautiful buildings, or a fireworks view at night. As at other resorts, a few DVC rooms can even overlook utility areas or parking lots, or hear road noise (including bus traffic!) from beyond a few trees.

While the handy transportation keeps us coming back when we are able to get the exchanges (our family now consists of 4 adult couples), we actually enjoy our resort time more when we stay offsite. I totally get the idea that people who have enjoyed offsite vacations are excited about a DVC exchange for the sake of the convenient transportation and they want to focus on that when trading into DVC. I don't think that they are "missing out", especially if they get all the theming they care for at the parks. My DH tires of the Disney marketing machine when staying onsite. Just my opinion. To each their own.

elaine said:

also prefer WDw buses. I commute to work. Not using a car is a luxury for me.

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Ditto for me too.

buckor said:

DVC members are doing with their membership what they choose to do...many of them choose to use their memberships at resorts other than DVC which give the opportunity for others to use DVC resorts.

So, yes, DVC members have an exclusive choice to only stay at DVC properties...some just choose another option.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-J320AZ using Tapatalk

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Only a tiny fraction of Disney Vacation Club owners Trade out. It makes little monetary sense to do so except for a few very high value RCI Resorts. If I wanted to go on a cruise for instance I would rent out my Disney Vacation Club points and pay cash for the cruise.

I think Disney fans are notorious for cramming as many people into a room and as much time at the parks as possible to maximize the value of an otherwise horrendously expensive trip. I think DVC Members are the exception to this, since they can more easily afford longer stays, bigger accommodations, and discounted APs -- all of which lead to learning to relax while on a Disney vacation. I think exchangers are probably more likely to fall into the former category, but so do the majority of people booking direct or renting DVC. Also, I don't think exchangers are getting that great a deal. Lately, the only thing available are 1 bdrm SSR, and with the new resort fee, the total exchange costs $400 + MFs on their home resort. I own DVC and exchange in, and at the price for exchanging into SSR, I will probably pass. As far as it cheapening DVC, RCI only let's people exchange in proportion to DVC members exchanging out, so it's not RCI cheapening it. People are voluntarily exchanging their value in DVC for less value in RCI (in most cases). Blame the people who would be better off renting their DVC points and paying cash, although you would have the same problems with renters per my comments above.

icydog said:

Only a tiny fraction of Disney Vacation Club owners Trade out. It makes little monetary sense to do so except for a few very high value RCI Resorts. If I wanted to go on a cruise for instance I would rent out my Disney Vacation Club points and pay cash for the cruise.

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I think we'd all be surprised if our timeshare companies, including DVC, released the numbers of how many owners exchange out. Even more surprising would be the number of owners who simply don't use their timeshares in any way. It sounds ridiculous to us because TUGgers are all looking for the most value they can get, but industry-wide all of the companies are making money for themselves off of unused intervals. Check your governing docs - they all have something in them about the company being allowed to take floating intervals that aren't reserved within so many days of check-in.

SueDonJ said:

I think we'd all be surprised if our timeshare companies, including DVC, released the numbers of how many owners exchange out. Even more surprising would be the number of owners who simply don't use their timeshares in any way. It sounds ridiculous to us because TUGgers are all looking for the most value they can get, but industry-wide all of the companies are making money for themselves off of unused intervals. Check your governing docs - they all have something in them about the company being allowed to take floating intervals that aren't reserved within so many days of check-in.

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So true. I was talking to one of my cousins a few weeks ago, and she mentioned something about a timeshare. I said that I had no idea she had a timeshare. Apparently, they bought it in the 80s and used it for 10 years or so but haven't used it since, as they decided they don't really want to go back to the same area. I asked if it exchanged in RCI or II, and she just gave me a blank look. She has been paying MFs on a TS for 20+ years and doing absolutely nothing with it. Not using it, renting it, or exchanging it. It's the TS equivalent of taking a big pile of cash and flushing it down the toilet. I told her to call me, and I can walk her through exchanging it for something she can use.

I have a number of friends who "Can't find anything good" who typically start looking via RCI at 4 months out and then just don't use their TS. They think I'm crazy to lock in a vacation 1+ years out. It's a different mindset, for sure.

How does Disney Vacation Club do it?

I have friends who were guides in DVC and they were the ones to tell me that most members do not exchange out. What they do, however, is use their points for various Disney Cruises (including the Member Cruise) the Explorer Collection, Adventures by Disney, or Disney's Concierge Collection.
What I don't understand is how all the points can be associated with Saratoga Springs.. Does Disney do a "point laundering" and turn all the non-SSR member's points into Saratoga Springs points?