# Tube Televisions @ DVC, Really!!!!



## ArthurN (Apr 13, 2011)

Please tell me that this is no longer the case.  Trying to decide on an upcoming stay via an RCI trade.....is it true that most resorts have "tube" televisions and limited channels. What gives?  I've got an 8 yr old boy that will be severely bummed if he can't get SpongeBob for a week.  I understand that the majority of resorts are undergoing a refurb - any flat screen updates included in this makeover?


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## Twinkstarr (Apr 13, 2011)

No Nick at DVC's at WDW. If you want location and Nick better stay at Bonnet Creek.

They do have Nick at Vero Beach(they have regular cable there, even Speed if you're a F1/NASCAR fan.

Saratoga Springs is getting flat screen tv's this year. Boardwalk may have them since the rooms were refurbed. Flat screens were put in at Vero Beach when they redid the rooms in 2008/2009. Old Key West is finishing up a major refurb, so they may have them.

Animal Kingdom and Bay Lake Tower are the newest resorts and have flat screens.


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## Fern Modena (Apr 14, 2011)

Geez, our expectations sure have gotten high.  Don't come to visit me and plan to stay in my guest house if you expect a flat screen.  The guest house is about 300 sq. ft. and has a 31" TV, but it isn't a flat screen.  Heck, I remember watching TV on a 7" Hoffman "easy eye" TV as a child.  Anyone remember those?  The screen had rounded sides and a green tint.

Fern


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## 6scoops (Apr 14, 2011)

Twinkstarr said:


> No Nick at DVC's at WDW. If you want location and Nick better stay at Bonnet Creek.
> 
> They do have Nick at Vero Beach(they have regular cable there, even Speed if you're a F1/NASCAR fan.
> 
> ...



Boardwalk does have flat screens.  You could always bring some nick DVD's.  They do have DVD players as well.


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## Twinkstarr (Apr 14, 2011)

6scoops said:


> Boardwalk does have flat screens.  You could always bring some nick DVD's.  They do have DVD players as well.



We stayed at BWV in Jan 09, and the villa had new furniture, carpet, drapes etc I couldn't remember the tv situation. I do remember the appliances were on their last legs.


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## vacationhopeful (Apr 14, 2011)

Better like Disney TV and Disney World theme park promos as that is the only type of channels fed into your room (along with several ESPN channels). I have stayed twice on exchange to DVC and the first time, I thought I would go NUTS at BWV. Next time, I was at AKV and took up safari viewing  .

As I travel many times with my 10 yo ADHD nephew, communicate your expectations and knowledge of the situation before you go. No one likes surprises.


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## timeos2 (Apr 14, 2011)

The television channels have nothing to do with tube vs flat screen style. Disney chooses to limit the channels to Disney controlled stations and yes it is a pain. One of the more minor reasons we greatly prefer off site, larger and far better featured units than most of the DVC's are (OKW excluded as that was the first and was basically equal to non-Disney units before hey cut way back on size and unit features).  

But I also have a basic issue with tube vs flat screen. If a resort had recently replaced the tube type tv's and they have the capability of displaying the currently available channels why on earth would they create a mass of electronic waste by replacing them before the regular replacement cycle? The shows are just as bad on tube or flat screen and most resorts don't have high definition  feeds the flat screens require for best picture quality so there is little difference in overall quality. 

By 2014 or 2015 when programming and service levels are likely to catch up with the hardware not having flat screens may make a difference. But today it is a total waste for resorts to replace perfectly functional tube tv's just to say they have flat screens.  Bad for the owner fees and the environment.  Disney has this one right.  Replace when needed not just for a look.


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## ArthurN (Apr 14, 2011)

Thanks for the input everyone.  Can anyone confirm if the SSR units have DVD players.  If yes, I will definitely bring along some SpongeBob DVDs.  If not, hopefully they have some really entertaining infomercials!  :hysterical: 

Timeos2 - although I do not disagree with your assessment. I would have thought DVCs refurb/update schedule for their resorts would have cycled out the tube TVs by now (assuming a 5-yr replacement cycle given high wear/tear factor of a Disney resort).  Not a huge deal, I was just surprised given the high mark reviews for DVC - thought it would be on par with Westin, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and other high quality resorts.


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## logan115 (Apr 14, 2011)

Yep - the rooms have DVD players.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resorts/saratoga-springs-resort-and-spa/services-amenities/
Room Amenities

•Alarm Clock with CD Player
•Coffee Maker
•DVD Player
•Hairdryer
•In-room wall safe
•HighSpeed Internet access (for an additional fee)
•Iron and Ironing Board
•Microwave
•Pack 'n Play Playards
•Refrigerator
•Cable TV, includes Disney Programming
•Studios contain kitchenette
•One, 2- and 3-bedroom Villas contain full kitchen
•Voice Mail
•Whirlpool spa in many rooms


Chris


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## 6scoops (Apr 14, 2011)

fullnelson3 said:


> Thanks for the input everyone.  Can anyone confirm if the SSR units have DVD players.  If yes, I will definitely bring along some SpongeBob DVDs.  If not, hopefully they have some really entertaining infomercials!  :hysterical:
> 
> Timeos2 - although I do not disagree with your assessment. I would have thought DVCs refurb/update schedule for their resorts would have cycled out the tube TVs by now (assuming a 5-yr replacement cycle given high wear/tear factor of a Disney resort).  Not a huge deal, I was just surprised given the high mark reviews for DVC - thought it would be on par with Westin, Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, and other high quality resorts.



All DVC resorts have DVD players.  The channels are limited, but for the little bit of  time you are in your room, a couple sponge bob DVD's should help.  We brought our own for the plane, but they should also have DVD rentals (no charge for DVC Members) at community hall or in the convenience store.  We were just at Boardwalk a week ago, that is how I know about the flat screens at that particular resort.   Wish I was still there we had such a good time and good weather.  Also, here is a link with detailed photo's of  accomodations at SSR.  http://allears.net/acc/g_ss.htm


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## ArthurN (Apr 14, 2011)

Thanks for the links logan115 and 6scoops. Great information.


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## logan115 (Apr 14, 2011)

6scoops said:


> All DVC resorts have DVD players.  The channels are limited, but for the little bit of  time you are in your room, a couple sponge bob DVD's should help.  We brought our own for the plane, but they should also have DVD rentals (no charge for DVC Members) at community hall or in the convenience store.  We were just at Boardwalk a week ago, that is how I know about the flat screens at that particular resort.   Wish I was still there we had such a good time and good weather.  Also, here is a link with detailed photo's of  accomodations at SSR.  http://allears.net/acc/g_ss.htm



But don't expect to find Spongebob DVDs at WDW :hysterical: 

I haven't rented any DVDs on our previous trips so I can't speak for the selection, but I would definitely plan on bringing your own - especially some of the kids favorites to avoid them being disappointed with what may be available.

Chris


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## rickandcindy23 (Apr 14, 2011)

We just replaced our 17-year-old, 32" tube TV in our bedroom with a 40" flatscreen our son bought us for Christmas. Talk about overkill, and the old tv was just fine by me, but he wanted to keep us up on technology, I guess. It's okay to go with the new electronics, but it's really a waste to throw away perfectly good televisions. That's my opinion.  

Now Shearwater on Kauai just replaced the televisions with flatscreens in the living and bedrooms this year.  That's good because that little 19" television was getting bad.  

Disney television stations are very limited, so take your DVD's and enjoy them.  Our next trip is to Saratoga Springs for two weeks, and I don't care about tv, because we have tons of family with us this trip, some staying with us, and some staying at other DVC resorts.  I am not the only Disney fanatic in our family.  Lots of visiting going to happen, and much of it will be in the hot tubs and poolside!


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## M&M (Apr 17, 2011)

I'm more concerned over size than whether it's flat screen or tube. Ive seen some tube TVs replaced with some pretty small flat screens that didnt have any better picture. I would rather have a bigger and better picture than a flat screen. Just replacing a TV because it's a tube instead of flat screen makes no sense unless you can improve the picture size and quality.


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## user name here (Apr 25, 2011)

Does he have an ipod touch?  If so, you can buy and download all the Spongebob episodes you want, right from itunes.  $1.99/episode, and entire seasons for $15.  If you have a netflix account, you can use it on the ipod touch to watch tv shows and movies as well. 

It's possible to convert DVDs into compatable formats to play on the Nintendo DS, and it can be done with a PSP as well, but that takes a little technical knowledge and a few tools.

We have 3 small grandbabies and bought each one an ipod touch.  We can strap them in car seats and drive clear across country, without hearing a single peep.  

We've found this strategy works well on seniors too.  Bought a Nintendo DS for both my mom and grandma, and they now battle it out playing scrabble and "pico chatting" for hours on end, in blissful peace and silence.


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## MichaelColey (Apr 25, 2011)

It's amazing how spoiled we get.  One of my bigger disappointments at DVC is that they have ice cube trays instead of automatic icemakers.


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## ondeadlin (Apr 26, 2011)

My guess is your 8-year-old will be so tuckered out by Disney that he'll get along just fine without TV most days.


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## gncntry (Apr 27, 2011)

*SSR now has flat screen TVs*

Stayed at SSR Easter week and went to the pool and came back to our 1 BR and found both TVs had been replaced while we were gone!  What a great surprise!


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## ArthurN (Apr 27, 2011)

gncntry said:


> Stayed at SSR Easter week and went to the pool and came back to our 1 BR and found both TVs had been replaced while we were gone!  What a great surprise!



Nice! Glad to hear that the replacements are underway!  Hopefully they are all done by October.


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## ArthurN (Apr 27, 2011)

ondeadlin said:


> My guess is your 8-year-old will be so tuckered out by Disney that he'll get along just fine without TV most days.



I'm hoping the same thing....just hedging my bets.  My 8yr old little guy is not typical. He's a real trooper that does not get tuckered out very easily.


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## logan115 (Apr 27, 2011)

SSR is also right next to Downtown Disney where they have Disney Quest.  Last year I took my son (6.5 at the time) and he had a blast playing video games for a few hours.  Just something to think about, it is something crazy like $35-40 a person to get in there if you don't have that option included in your park tickets.  Definitely NOT worth paying that much to play video games - you may be better off just hitting the arcade at SSR if you want video games to kill some time, but even if you don't do DQ it's still nice to walk around and check out Downtown Disney for free (well - not free if you're buying stuff !!).  Also, when you check in you'll get a schedule of activities at the resort, I think it was a Wednesday night (but it may change) that they put up a screen and play a movie poolside at the Spring pool (main pool) where people watch from the pool.

Enjoy !

Chris


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