Does everyone really "love" their home resort?

[Marionnette]

We own at AKV, BWV and VGF. We love each of them for different reasons. AKV for its wonderful CMs and its relaxing atmosphere. BWV for its proximity to Epcot and choice dining options, not to mention that boardwalk view! And VGF for its easy access to the MK, well-appointed villas and monorail/walk to lots of resort restaurants.

But there are drawbacks to each of them. AKV is remote with no alternative to bus transportation. QS at Kidani has gotten better but it’s still not great. And the rooms are dark. BWV studios are taking a beating now that they allow 5 and I hate the table/bed setup even when not using the bed. There are no dedicated 2BR villas. VGF is a point hog and buying in was expensive. Booking a studio is very competitive. And then there’s the lockoff premium.

But overall, I still think the good outweighs the bad at each of them and I wouldn’t give any of them up in order to own elsewhere.

 

[kboo]

I don't think I've stayed in a Disney deluxe resort that I didn't like. We own BLT, VGF and RIV. My family as a whole loves VGF and RIV and likes BLT.

We love each of them but for different reasons
...
But there are drawbacks to each of them. AKV is remote with no alternative to bus transportation. QS at Kidani has gotten better but it’s still not great. And the rooms are dark. BWV studios are taking a beating now that they allow 5 and I hate the table/bed setup even when not using the bed. There are no dedicated 2BR villas. VGF is a point hog and buying in was expensive. Booking a studio is very competitive. And then there’s the lockoff premium.

But overall, I still think the good outweighs the bad at each of them and I wouldn’t give any of them up in order to own elsewhere.

Exactly how I feel about my home resorts too. BLT theming is meh and the main elevators in the tower are a pain in the ----, but it's got a great location, great views, 2 bathrooms in a 1br, California Grill, and is a sentimental favorite because I always dreamed as a child of being able to stay at the Contemporary. It is also a great value in the MK area.

VGF is a point hog, for sure, but it also has great views from every room except 1, some of our favorite restaurants, and beautiful displays over Easter and Christmas/winter holidays. The separate smaller building is very peaceful.

RIV - love the location, the theming, the layout of the rooms, the amenities, the skyliner, and Topolino's, and the CMs.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

We have two home resorts: AKV and HHI.

We love AKV, but we probably love BRV better. I'm happy we have AKV for the low point costs of the values as well as other things, but I wish we had divided our 100 points into two 50-point contracts. We would sell one of them and buy maybe a 75-point contract at BRV. That would allow us to bank and alternate between the two resorts. We have decided we probably won't add on, so we will just have to attempt to get BRV with our AKV points when we can.

As far as HHI, it is our FAVORITE resort of all! We would choose a HHI vacation over a WDW vacation anyday. We have talked about adding on since we like to go every year, but the annual dues are so high. Plus it expires in 2042. We will probably just use our points for family trips and rent somewhere else on the island for our solo trips.

 

[DVC2000]

We have four home resort, BWV, CCV, BCV, & SSR. For me and my wife it depends on who we are traveling with and if we are going to attend any of the festivals or special ticketed events. Like everyone who has BCV and BWV loves the international gateway entrance to Epcot for the festivals. We typically stay at CCV for the holidays and attend the Christmas party. If we are doing a stay vacation we love SSR, which has easy access to Disney Springs, also the remodeled rooms in Congress Park now sleep 5.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Yes, we love all our home resorts. Initially we thought we'd love the one we bought, but it was a split stay-didn't like our home resort, but LOVED the second, so we did the "sell-buy". Our thinking is that we'd be paying dues every year, and it only made sense to love where you're paying dues to. But we also learned to stay at a resort before buying there. We also own at DHHIR, and like DisneyStarWisher, it's our favorite DVC resort anywhere.

 

[holden]

We own at BLT, but my heart belongs to Poly. I grew up staying at the Poly in the 70s and 80s, so it's very nostalgic for me. We were all set to buy DVC there until we found out there would only be studios and the bungalows.

However, we do have 2 studios booked for our next trip! I'm interested to see if our request for connecting rooms is honored.

 

[Carol_]

When we bought in, I had never set foot in our home resort. All I knew was that I was THRILLED to stay anywhere on property. Now that I’ve stayed there, I’m just as happy about it as ever. We got add-on points at another resort, and I’ll be thrilled to stay there, too. I simply don’t see any downsides. We bought in less than a year ago and have stayed at HHI, CCV, and the treehouses. We’ll stay at Vero Beach in a few weeks. Everything so far has been well worth the purchase.

 

[bakerworld]

In 2008 we agreed to a presentation for anytime FP's and walked out Kidani owners. Our home wasn't built yet so we started out at SSR. No we didn't love our home resort or SSR. My husband wanted Bay Lake but the incentives for Kidani were good and BL wasn't being offered to non-owners until the following month. We stayed one night at Kidani pre-cruise in 2010. We decided if we ever stayed we would prefer Jambo. We just kept using the points for BC. We finally stayed at Jambo in 2012 and had a great experience which caused us to love our AK points. We now look forward to our AK-J vacations.

In 2009 we managed to purchase Bay Lake. We were thrilled, until we stayed there, although it was nice to walk to MK and be on the monorail.

We asked about BC at our original DVC purchase but were persuaded by the years of ownership. Then finally we learned to Buy Where You Want to Stay. By 2012 we were unable to get into the Beach Club for the Fall so we bought BC in 2013. We love the location of BC and find the CM's very nice.

 

[Jennasis]

We own at BLT and it is definitely home and our first and greatest love. We adore it and would always choose to stay here.

 

[ChrisHutch]

We own at Saratoga Springs. We absolutely love it. It's not my favorite that we have stayed at (Poly is my favorite) but I have never complained once about staying at Saratoga.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Some owners are fickle. We own at 9 resorts, all were bought with a reason in mind. We love all of them, for different reasons.

 

[Philsfan77]

Yes

 

[KyleAfterAWhile]

own at animal kingdom and it is truly a great resort. we like grand floridian a lot, but the price tag is not worth it to us for a place to sleep and shower. access to the monorail is a definite perk, but still not worth the price (FOR US)

 

[bwvBound]

Some owners are fickle. We own at 9 resorts, all were bought with a reason in mind. We love all of them, for different reasons.

LOL, true enough!

We've owned up to 5 different timeshare products concurrently ... and like your 9 DVC resorts, each was purchased with a reason in mind. Only one was truly "loved" ... the rest, including DVC, are tools to obtain a certain, predictable outcome.

 

[kirstenb1]

We bought at OKW in 1993. It was the only DVC at the time. WE love it, but our kids really love AKV, so we've stayed there the last 10 yrs. We also have really enjoyed HHI. Saratoga was a little too spread out for us, but I like walking for exercise, so I'd probably really like it if it were just me.

 

[crisi]

It doesn't feel like "home" but it feels comfortable and familiar. We do most of our stays at our home resort and don't stray too often unless there is a reason to stay somewhere else. Is it "love" - we like home, it fits our needs well - but part of it is that we can book a room eleven months out and not worry about it from there on out. I don't really need to try other resorts, it isn't something that I'm driven to do.

 

[lizdis1]

My home is my favorite by far. I do love it, but like other.

 

[Boardwalkin]

BWV and Aulani for us. We love both and bought where we wanted to stay and have no regrets. Although Riviera does not look as appealing as other resorts the Skyliner definitely makes it a great location.

 

[ClemTig]

BWV owner since 1997. It's probably always been home to us despite the faults- room decor not my style and aging, pool not the greatest (but better than some). But the lobby and dining are excellent, the clubs on the boardwalk are great, the impromptu shows by magicians/etc are great. The location is stellar, and EPCOT is our favorite park.

BLT owner as well. Location is great! Rooftop lounge is our favorite single spot to have a drink. We never stay in studios, so the size of the rooms is fine for us. The pool is just OK, but you can always walk over to the Contemporary's pools. The dining options are the best in Disney when you consider all the options on the monorail loop.

Will own Reflections when it comes on board as well. Despite the resale restrictions- I've never sold a point and don't plan on it.

My thoughts on other places we've stayed...

HHI is great, love everything about the place. Very homey place to live, near an outstanding beach.

Vero Beach- boring to me, but the rooms are nice enough. Rather be at HHI if I'm going to a beach location.

AUL is amazing. The rooms are the best in the DVC system to me, the feel of the resort is incredible. I'm a little surprised that there were SO MANY KIDS- perhaps we'll go when school is in session next time (went in June). Wife and I slipped over to the Four Seasons pool a lot- Tip well and they won't run you off- it's beautiful and serene there, nothing like the zoo that is the AUL pools. And forget about the adults only pool and hot tub- There were more kids than adults in these pools.

SSR- really like that resort. I don't mind the location at all, Disney Springs is much better now than the old Downtown Disney. With kids might be better to be nearer the parks.

OKW- it's been years since I stayed there. The rooms were fine back then, they are much older now, so I can't really speak to that. The restraurant and pool were fine. The most isolated, but if I'm staying there or SSR I will have a car.

BRV/CCV/VWL- Let's really lump these together folks. Sure the rooms are different, but that is trivial to me. The resort is the same and it is our favorite at Disney, even though we don't own there. The dining is not the best, but we can get to great dining options with a short scenic boat ride. The lobby is the best at any disney resort. The staff is the best we have seen. The pool- not huge for the feature pool, but that's not the one we are at anyway. The member's pool is huge and has limited people, which is great. My wife and I were in the member's hot tub 1 week ago for over an hour and we were the only ones in it the entire time. The poolside bar is outstanding.

PVR- never stayed, studios are not our thing and the bungalos are too expensive. But we do stop at Kona Cafe frequently. O'Hana's is a zoo. The pool is great and we have pool hopped there many times.

GF- Would never stay there. It is classy, but I'm sorry, but the feeling I get at that resort is that I'm around a bunch of spoiled rich kids. The decor in the rooms is boring. We do eat at the restaurants, and they are amazing.

BCV- Great place. Love the location, dining options, and the pool is the best at any resort at WDW. What's not to love. May be the best place to stay at Disney. Also one of the hardest to book.

AKV- Never stayed. Might have to one day, looks nice.

RIV- We ate at Topolino's and toured the resort this past week. The rooms are high class, no doubt, but lack personality. They are very bland in color, kind of monotonous, but do look high class. After Toploina's the dining is not the greatest. The pool is average at best. The view- am I seriously expected to pay that much to look at Caribbean Beach Resort? And are the maintenance fees this high because I'm paying for a Skyliner that 3 other budget resorts have equal access too? I feel Disney pulled one over on the RIV owners. I'm sorry, but for me- not interested. Give me BWV over this any day.

 

[inkedupmomma]

Both of our contracts are at AKV and we LOVE it there. It feels like home and vacation somehow. If I were to add on though, I would add BWV and POLY which both fall under the love category.