How I Decide Which Disney Vacation Club Property To Stay at Near Disney World

When it comes to Disney Vacation Club properties at Walt Disney World Resort, there’s a place for everyone! Whether you’re looking for luxury, something with a fantastic location, or a villa near Disney’s transportation system, there’s a Disney Vacation Club property for you.

Searching for a property can be difficult, but a little knowledge about why to stay at a particular resort may help your search!

What Is Disney Vacation Club?

Disney Vacation Club, or DVC, is Disney’s version of a timeshare. You purchase an allotment of points that you can use each year, however you like, depending on how you travel. You can take more vacations if you stay in smaller or less popular accommodations or splurge and stay at a nicer resort or larger room for fewer days. With Disney’s system, you’re not locked into staying a specific week, like with many other timeshare programs, and there’s flexibility to roll over or “borrow” points from the next year from your own account, depending on your circumstances.

You can purchase either direct contracts through Disney itself or a resale contract through a private owner that comes with restrictions.

Sometimes It’s All About Availability

Despite your best intentions and desires, sometimes it all comes down to availability. Disney allows owners at a specific resort to book 11 months out from their desired dates. At 7 months out, this booking opens up to all DVC owners. Depending on the number of days you want to spend somewhere or if it’s a popular resort, you may need to be flexible if you want to stay with DVC.

Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and Disney’s Old Key West Resort are the easiest resorts to book. Though rooms sell out at various points of the year, these 2 resorts usually have the most availability, even at the last minute.

Many longtime DVC members will know that if you plan a longer stay, you may need to piece together your trip at different properties. You might spend a few nights at Disney’s Old Key West Resort, a few nights at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, and then the last few nights at Disney’s Riviera Resort. It’s all about what happens to be available and when, and sometimes you just need to take what happens to be open. If you’re looking for a longer set of dates, it may be harder to book a single resort, especially if you’re trying to book at the last minute.

Room Size

If you’re staying for a while at Disney, having a larger room can be really important. You may want room to spread out, or you may be coming to Disney with many guests or family members. Some Disney resorts are better than others for this.

Here are notable resorts and their typical room types:

• Animal Kingdom Lodge has 1-bedroom villas with 2 full bathrooms. If you’re traveling with a large family, you’ll know how important it is to have 2 bathrooms.
• Some 1-bedroom villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa also have 2 full bathrooms, one with a shower and one with a tub.
• Old Key West has the largest 1-bedroom villas on Disney property. If you’re looking for the absolute largest rooms, this is hands down the best place to stay.
• All Deluxe Studio rooms at Old Key West and Grand Floridian have 2 queen beds, so these entry-level rooms can accommodate more people in comfortable conditions.
• Some resorts have pull-down beds for younger guests, and others have Murphy beds.

Cost

Cost is an important factor when I stay at Disney since I’ll be spending a lot of time at the theme parks and eating out. Disney Vacation Club points, while not cash, should be treated just like cash. Save your points when you can and use them on dates where you can maximize their value.

Traditionally, September and January are the cheapest months to visit Walt Disney World. The cheapest studio room at Old Key West in September is 9 points, while a similar room at the Grand Floridian would cost you 16 points. That’s almost twice as many points as Old Key West, so you’d need to figure out if staying at that other resort would be almost twice as nice.

In mid-April, one of the busiest times of year, you can expect to pay as few as 22 points a night at Old Key West, which is more than double the cheapest time of year. As you can see, your timing greatly impacts your usage of DVC points.

I like to make my points stretch further. I would rather make multiple trips to Disney and stay in smaller accommodations or visit at less busy times of the year, rather than at the height of peak season when I would spend more points.

Accessibility to Transportation

Having access to transportation from a Disney resort is extremely important, since you’ll likely want to visit at least 1 of Disney’s 4 theme parks. While all Disney resorts have buses that run routinely to the parks and Disney Springs, there are other modes of transport that are convenient to several of the resorts. Disney buses, while convenient, can be slow and only run every 20 minutes or so, so they aren’t as fun as other transport.

For example:

• Grand Floridian, Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, and Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows are directly on the monorail line that takes you to Magic Kingdom, with a transfer to EPCOT.
• Riviera Resort and Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort are on the Disney Skyliner route.
• Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort, and Disney’s BoardWalk Villas are on the Friendship boats line that takes you to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios.

It’s not only about the theme parks. Old Key West and Saratoga Springs are on a boat line that takes you to Disney Springs, Disney’s main shopping and entertainment district. From certain rooms at Saratoga Springs, you can even walk into Disney Springs.

When you choose a Disney resort, see what transportation makes the most sense for you!

Walkability

While accessibility to transportation is indeed important, for me, one of the most valuable perks is the ability to walk to Disney’s theme parks, and this can only really be done at a few DVC resorts:

• Bay Lake Tower and Grand Floridian (walkable to Magic Kingdom)
• Beach Club and BoardWalk (walkable to EPCOT and Hollywood Studios)

There is no better feeling than walking out of your resort and being in a theme park in a matter of minutes or, better yet, spending a full day at a theme park and then walking back to your resort for a break. You don’t have to deal with Disney buses and can simply stroll to and from the park at your leisure, an unbeatable perk.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t come cheap, as these Disney resorts can be quite pricey during peak season.

Food

As I’m a foodie, having a resort with great places to eat is important. It’s one reason I love staying at the Grand Floridian, which has great food both in the hotel and at the resorts on the monorail loop.

Some resorts have very limited food options. Old Key West, for example, only has Olivia’s Restaurant, which isn’t usually a fan favorite. On the other hand, there are other resorts, like Animal Kingdom Lodge (and the associated DVC villas there), that have great restaurants, such as Sanaa and Boma Flavors of Africa.

If you plan on eating more in the theme parks, having a meal at the resort’s restaurant may not be as important to you. If you plan on spending more of your days at the resort than in the theme parks, having great restaurants at your fingertips could be critically important — even a big reason to choose one resort over another.

Keep in mind that Disney transportation is pretty good, and it’s pretty easy to maneuver around the different properties using the transportation system. If you’re lucky enough to be staying near EPCOT or Hollywood Studios, you’ve also got plenty of restaurants in both of those theme parks!

Final Thoughts

There’s a science to choosing a Disney Vacation Club resort for your trip to visit the Mouse! Some resorts have better restaurants, while others are more walkable and provide easier access to the parks. No matter which Disney Vacation Club resort you choose, you always receive the Disney standard of service and a great themed property!