Hello again! Today we are going to talk about the Disney Vacation Club. We joined “the club” in 2000, right after our honeymoon back when it really was more of a “secret”. We thought it would be a great way to visit Walt Disney World and be able to stay in many different resorts during future trips—mainly resorts that we would not normally be able to afford. A great perk is to be able to stay at the Polynesian, Grand Floridian, etc. for essentially the same price as (or in some cases less than) the value or moderately priced resorts. Some other perks include discounts on merchandise and dining in the parks and at Disney Springs, discounts on annual passes and special event tickets, Disney Vacation Club member only events, a member’s only cruise, and more! Perks can and do change, so you have to be careful to pay attention to what’s going on.
How it works: essentially, you purchase a Timeshare that is based on a point system in which the points renew every year. We purchased 150 points, and this has worked well for our trips over the years. Of course, we wish we had more, but a consideration of the Disney Vacation Club is your budget, as you pay annual maintenance fees, which can be divided into monthly payments. We know how lucky we were to get into the vacation club when we did because the cost to buy points is over double what we originally paid. Our home resort is Disney’s Boardwalk Villas, which was the second vacation club resort after Disney’s Old Key West Resort. The other Walt Disney World resorts include Bay Lake Towers at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Boulder Ridge Villas and Copper Creek Villas and Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas, Disney’s Beach Club Villas, Disney’s Polynesian Villas and Bungalows, Disney’s Riviera Resort (the newest vacation club resort), Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort, and The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort. Other resorts include Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas–Hawaii, Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort, Disney’s Vero Beach Resort, and the Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel.
You can begin making reservations for your home resort 11 months out, and you can begin booking at other resorts seven months out. You use your yearly allotted points to reserve villas, etc. that range from studios that sleep up to four (except for some rooms at the Riviera resort that only sleep two) all the way up to three-bedroom villas that can sleep up to twelve. The cost of the points used are based on several factors including the time of year, size of the room (studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, etc.), and which resort you’re staying at. If needed, say for larger groups or longer vacations, you have the option of banking points for a future year and/or borrowing points from a future year giving you the ability of using three years’ worth of points.
So far, we have stayed at each of the Walt Disney World Vacation Club except for the newest resort—Riviera. We have also stayed at the Hilton Head Island resort as well as the Vero Beach resort. One goal of ours is stay at every vacation club resort, including Aulani, which would be as part of another goal—to visit Hawaii. As far as the resorts, each family member has their own ideas on which is the best, but I would have to say that each resort has its’ own feel, and each has its’ own pros and cons.
My personal favorite is the Polynesian. I love the feel of the rooms, the beach, the tiki lighting ceremony, and being able to see the Magic Kingdom fireworks show from the property. Best perk? Dole Whips whenever I want! I don’t have to go into the Magic Kingdom to get my favorite treat, and I can sit by the pool while the kids play, sip slowly, and enjoy! I won’t go into too much more detail about the resort, as we will have future posts that go in depth into each resort. So – stay tuned!
