DVC Amenities: Consider This When Choosing Your Home Resort

I’ve previously discussed several factors to consider when selecting your DVC Home Resort. Today, I’ll discuss the final and arguably most important part of this evaluation. Here are the hotel amenities to consider when choosing a DVC resort.

The amenities at your DVC Home Resort can have a bigger impact on your vacations than you might expect. Dining, shopping, pools and even how much you enjoy spending time around the resort can all help determine which DVC resort is the best fit for you.

Consider the Resort’s Dining Options

I’ve previously discussed key factors such as location, availability, logistics, and Expiration Years. All those aspects should weigh heavily in your decision. Ultimately, you should understand one crucial fact about DVC membership, though.

As you vacation more frequently at Disney, you’ll inevitably spend more time around your hotel. You’ll become a homebody of sorts, which makes it more important to enjoy where you stay. Your DVC resort legitimately becomes your home away from home.

For this reason, you should honestly evaluate the various amenities available onsite. In addition, you must decide which ones matter the most to you. The corollary is that you can ignore any of these four kinds of amenities if they don’t matter to you.

With DVC restaurants, you really can’t go wrong, at least not at the theme park resorts. All of them feature Quick Service and Table Service dining options, many of which are superlative.

So, you’ll relish your options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and even the occasional midnight snack. DVC resorts feature memorable dining options like ‘Ohana (Polynesian), Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge), Olivia’s Café (Old Key West), and Victoria & Albert’s (Grand Floridian Resort). You don’t need to eat so fancy, though.

Many of the Quick Service restaurants, like Beach Club Marketplace, Contempo Café (Contemporary Resort), and Capt. Cook’s (Polynesian) ably serve their purpose. And I mention Beach Club Marketplace for a different reason.

The reality is that when you spend several days at a DVC resort, you inevitably will grab a bite at the restaurant closest to the hotel lobby and/or general store. Therefore, while dining may not be your biggest priority, it’s definitely something you should factor into your decision.

Think About Shopping and Convenience

Then, we have the corollary. I don’t know about you, but I make packing mistakes each and every visit. For this reason, I’ve spent plenty of time at DVC shops.

Typically, I’m buying sundries and stuff I can stick in the mini-fridge. That’s the bare minimum of my shopping. When I’m staying at a resort with stores I love, I often sidestep the parks entirely. I can do the overwhelming majority of my suitcase stuffing at places like Bayview Gifts (Contemporary Resort), BouTiki (Polynesian), and M. Mouse Mercantile (Grand Floridian Resort).

These stores rival the ones at the parks in terms of high-quality merchandise. They’re also much less crowded, which is why I prefer them. So, if you’re like me, a good shop should weigh heavily in your decision.

Thankfully, all three I just mentioned are available at Monorail Resorts. They’re easy to visit even when you’re not staying at the resort. The catch is that you must carry your new merch to your hotel, which isn’t ideal.

How Important Is the Resort Pool?

Here’s a surprisingly divisive one. Many DVC members don’t even pack a bathing suit on their vacations. Historically, I’ve felt this was ridiculous, but then I just remembered that I haven’t done any swimming on my last three trips.

As such, I would rank this as the least important amenity as a rule. However, if you’re someone who loves to swim and/or sunbathe, it becomes a crucial factor.

Obviously, many DVC pools surpass anything you’ll find in your town. The Lava Pool (Polynesian), the Sandcastle Pool (Old Key West Resort), and the Uzima Springs Pool (Animal Kingdom Lodge) are all perfect for families of all ages. Then, we have the higher-end stuff such as Stormalong Bay and Aulani’s various slices of paradise.

You should consider these pools when you plan to swim on vacation, and many people do. After all, contracts at Disney’s Beach Club Villas are difficult to get for a reason. The exclusive access to Stormalong Bay matters greatly.

My other piece of advice here is that you should think about the future. Even if you don’t swim much now, you may do so later.

Consider the DVC Resort’s “Hangout Factor”

Finally, here’s the question that matters greatly to your overall enjoyment as a DVC member. When you choose your Home Resort, you should carefully consider what I call the Hangout Factor.

Can you just spend a few hours at the resort and be happy? Some of the other amenities I just discussed factor heavily into this debate. However, there’s even more to it.

Do you like walking around the hotel campus? Can you just sit in the hotel lobby for an hour and relish the ambiance? Do you like the room itself? Across the three articles, I haven’t gone into detail about the rooms since they vary widely.

Still, you should perform a cursory check of each one to decide how much you like them.

DVC Fan’s room tours feature videos of virtually every distinct DVC room. So, you shouldn’t ever go in blind on the rooms themselves.

As for the other aspects of hanging out there, it’s something you can determine for yourself by visiting the various resorts. You’ll quickly identify which one has the best vibes for you and yours. By that point, you should know which DVC resort to choose.

Ready to Choose Your DVC Home Resort?

Compare the factors that matter most to you in our guide to choosing a DVC Home Resort, then browse current DVC resale listings to see available contracts at your favorite resorts.