What Did Each DVC Property Bring to the Program — Part 2

In part one of this article, I explained how The Walt Disney Company integrated seven different Disney Vacation Club (DVC) resorts into their new entity. DVC started from humble origins as one site, which was then named Disney’s Vacation Club Resort, into a massive entity. By the end of the 20th century, Disney had bragged that DVC was “40,000 member families strong.” In part two, we’ll discuss the DVC properties added during the new millennium. Here is what each of these properties has brought to the DVC program.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas
The last property that we discussed in part one was Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. It became part of the DVC lineup in 2004. Disney wouldn’t introduce its next property for more three years. In fact, they wouldn’t even announce it until October of 2006.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge was already a part of the official Disney resort list, though. It debuted in April of 2001, almost three years to the day after the grand opening of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The appeal of this property was unmistakable from day one. This hotel mirrored the park located so close to it. Animals didn’t merely frolic at the theme park. Some of them lived at the lodge itself!
DVC members understandably coveted a piece of the lodge to call their very own. Disney obliged their most loyal customers in 2007, adding the Jambo House portion of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas. Kidani Village would arrive a couple of years later as an expansion.
With these twin properties available, DVC members had the ability to stay at a hotel room that looked out over a natural animal habitat. It’s among the best and most unique hotel views on the planet. The Savannah View is also one of the reasons why this property is among the most popular for families with young children. The squeals of delight that children make when they see zebras playing in the fields…well, it’s an unforgettable sound of joy.

Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
2009 is the year I consider the most important one for Walt Disney World fanatics. It’s when things got interesting. Since the inception of DVC in 1991, fans had clamored for the inclusion of monorail resorts. The three properties located on this system have arguably the best logistics at Walt Disney World. They are all only a few minutes away from Magic Kingdom and a monorail exchange away from Epcot, also.
Disney’s Contemporary Resort is also one of the most storied theme park resorts in the world. It opened on the same day as Walt Disney World on October 1, 1971. So, it has history AND convenience. After so many requests over the years, Disney finally gave in and tore down a part of the Contemporary to construct the horseshoe-shaped building known as Bay Lake Tower.
This property has several oddities. Functionally, it’s an extension of the Contemporary. It doesn’t even have a true hotel lobby, with a handful of desk clerks providing information as needed. Thanks to a connecting bridge, the fifth floor of Bay Lake Tower provides easy access to the fourth floor of the Contemporary, the most important floor. DVC members are always a straight shot away from its shops, restaurants, and monorail station.
Also, the exit of this property is THE closest hotel to Magic Kingdom, as the walk takes only five minutes or so, fewer if you get the crosswalk light. The people who love Bay Lake Tower are the ones who love Magic Kingdom and want to be as close to it as possible. Its inclusion in the DVC lineup was long overdue, and we’re all grateful for its presence.

Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa
While the lack of a monorail DVC resort was an inconvenience for members, the issue at Disneyland Resort was severe. Disney lacked a participating hotel at the Happiest Place on Earth. It was an unconscionable oversight, but there was also a good explanation.
For the longest time, Disney didn’t own any resorts at Disneyland. They didn’t acquire the Disneyland Hotel until 1988, only three years prior to the existence of DVC, and its space limitations are well-known. The property that we now know as Disney’s Paradise Pier Hotel was a third party-owned hotel until 1995. Disney bought it due to the booking issues at Disneyland Hotel.
To please DVC members, Disney had to come up with something new. That something was Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, which opened as part of the Disney California Adventure (DCA) expansion in 2001. It wouldn’t become a DVC participant until September 2009, however, one month after Bay Lake Tower. So, you can see why I view this year as so critical to the modern DVC program.
Grand Californian was a huge addition to the DVC lineup due to its park access. A person who walks out one of the doors on the first floor of this hotel is only a few steps away from the private entrance to DCA.
I would estimate that Bay Lake Tower has a five-minute walk to Magic Kingdom, while Disney’s Beach Club Villas is only three minutes away from the International Gateway to Epcot. Grand Californian has them both beat, as it’s barely 90 seconds from said door to being inside DCA, presuming that there is no line at security check. It’s THE best Disney park access of any DVC resort.

Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa
Why did Disney add a property here? It’s freakin’ Hawaii! Of course they wanted to build a resort here.
The introduction of Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa mirrors the earliest days of DVC. As previously mentioned, Disney initially thought in conventional terms as they added properties. Two of the first three participants weren’t at a Disney theme park. They were at or near popular beaches, places where tourists wanted to vacation.
For more than a decade, Disney moved away from this premise, prioritizing theme park access instead. In August of 2011, they circled back to the idea of a vacation for vacation’s sake. Imagineers constructed a beachfront facility at Kapolei. It’s arguably the most beautiful of all Disney properties, and it comes with the happy bonus of the Hawaiian lifestyle.
Aulani is for DVC members who want to take a break from the parks for a while. These guests want to visit one of the greatest tourist destinations in the world, the Hawaiian Islands. Using DVC points, they can stay onsite for an economical rate. Plus, parents can sell their children on what sounds like an adult vacation by pointing out all of the Disney amenities onsite. Aulani is the perfect marriage of relaxing island getaway and Disney theming. It proved so popular so quickly that Disney announced an expansion less than one year later, and it’s remained a hot commodity ever since then. Who doesn’t love a Hawaiian vacation?

Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
Once Bay Lake Tower opened, DVC members had their eyes on the other monorail resorts. One of them in particular attracted attention. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa has the perception of being the crown jewel in the Walt Disney World resort empire. Since its grand opening in 1988, it’s stood apart from the rest of Disney properties as the place where the elite stay. Even Princess Diana once booked a room at the Grand Floridian.
DVC owners wanted a taste of the good life. They repeatedly asked when Disney would add villas to Grand Floridian. The answer turned out to be 2013, the 25th anniversary of the resort. At that time, long-time program participants could finally live out their dream of saying that Grand Floridian was their second home. To some, it was the high water mark of DVC membership. For my family, there was one better…

Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort
Two resorts opened on the same day as Walt Disney World. One of them received most of the attention, as Bob Hope provided an introductory speech for the new theme park at the Contemporary. Guests were more likely to notice it anyway due to the spectacle of a monorail traveling directly through the hotel several times each hour.
The more subtle hotel was Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort. Here, guests bathed in a different type of atmosphere. It was a relaxed island setting intended to feel like an exotic getaway. The fact that it was located on the monorail only a couple of stations away from Magic Kingdom was a happy bonus.
Over the years, the Polynesian developed a reputation as the place where Disney’s elite went when they didn’t want to cause a fuss. One of the buildings even had special access since Disney reserved it for higher paying guests, most of whom were rich, famous, or both.
Again, DVC members looked on with envy and desired a chance at a better resort experience. In April of 2015, we got our wish, and I am proud to say that I was one of the first members ever to use points there. It’s since become my happy place, my favorite of the DVC properties.
At the Poly, you have your choice of several great restaurants and shops, a counter stand with Dole Whips, and a couple of buildings in the back that are a short walk away from the Transportation and Ticket Center (TTL). Guests who don’t want to walk can exit the second floor of the hotel lobby aka the Great Ceremonial House. There, they’ll find a monorail station that will take them to Magic Kingdom or the TTL, where they can transfer to the Epcot monorail. The combination of soothing island lifestyle vibe and logistics make it the resort of many DVCers’ dreams, myself included.

Copper Creek Villas & Cabins
The reason why Disney added this expansion is the same as why they introduced their first property to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge as discussed in part one. Like Animal Kingdom Villas with the Kidani Village expansion, this property proved so popular with members that Disney needed more room. So, they tore down some stuff and added more space for an expansion plus the Geyser Point and Reunion Station sections. In other words, Disney took something that was already good and made it amazing.
Now you know how and why Disney built its current lineup of 14 DVC resorts. Each of them celebrated some aspect of DVC membership that guests wanted and/or needed. In a future piece, we’ll discuss what Disney has in mind for its next property, Disney’s Riviera Resort.