DVC Highlights of the 2020s

We’re more than halfway through the decade or basically halfway for those of you who argue the decade starts in 2021. So, now seems like an ideal time to evaluate the DVC highlights of the half-decade.

DVC Survives and Thrives

Opinions are divided on the subject, but the Farmer’s Almanac argues that the decade begins in year one, not year zero. Thankfully, we can sidestep that issue entirely, as everything Disney-related that occurred in 2020 would never count as a highlight. Everyone who remembers that year knows the truth. It was a disaster for everybody, especially Disney. 

In 2020, DVC ever recorded some of its lowest sales months ever despite Walt Disney reopening safely that July. Thankfully, the calendar turned to 2021, with Disneyland Resort reopening that April. Avengers Campus debuted soon afterward, and Disney was back on an upward trajectory again. 

For DVC members, the pandemic arrived only three months after the opening of Disney’s Riviera Resort and the Disney Skyliner. So, fans continued to discover the excellence of that hotel during the early 2020s. By now, we all know it’s great, but the global tourism weirdness of 2020 and 2021 slowed the Riviera’s recognition a bit. 

The other highlight of 2021 involved a reopening. With Disneyland Resort back in business, The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa returned as well. In September of that year, the Tenaya Stone Spa debuted and even had a bit of controversy. There was some debate about whether Disney had the right to own the signature stone at the spa. 

DVC Grows and Expands 

With the pandemic thankfully in the rearview mirror, DVC entered its current growth phase in 2022. That’s the year when Disney transformed the former Big Pine Key building at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. 

DVC took all those hotel rooms, repurposed them, and turned them into program inventory. This move vastly expanded the booking availability at Walt Disney World’s most luxurious official hotel. 

As part of this move, DVC made a couple of interesting decisions. First, it introduced entirely new Room Types at the same resort, including an entirely different kind of Studio and a Theme Park View offering. 

Second, DVC added the new inventory to the existing condo association, The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa. So, previous owners gained new inventory without paying higher Annual Dues or doing anything else. It was like a lovely gift. 

In 2023, DVC would repeat this strategy, announcing that the Island Tower expansion tower would slot into the existing condo association at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows. While that property wouldn’t open until late in 2024, DVC provided guidance so that current and potential owners knew the rules. It allowed us to buy with confidence at the Polynesian, something everyone should want to do anyway. 

DVC Focuses on Disneyland Resort 

On the other coast, something terrific happened. Disneyland Resort finally added its own DVC lounge for qualifying members. Star View Station opened that April and has delighted DVC owners ever since. Take a look inside this gorgeous space!

Later in the year, something even better happened. After 14 years of owner please, DVC finally added new inventory at Disneyland Resort. The Villas at Disneyland Hotel opened and immediately dazzled. 

The focus on artistry was unmistakable from day one. In the hotel lobby, the bright, attention-grabbing colors feel like they sprang from a Disney animator’s palette. 

This gorgeous facility resides right by the action at Disneyland. Better yet, it vastly increases the amount of DVC inventory at The Happiest Place on Earth. 

In 2023, The Walt Disney Company celebrated its centennial, and all these projects made the year glorious for DVC members. Remarkably, the following year was arguably even better, though.

Celebrating the DVC of Today 

In 2024, Disney added a ton of new hotel inventory, all of it extremely useful to members. We’ll go in reverse order since I already mentioned one project. 

When the Island Tower opened at the Polynesian, DVC fans marveled at the triumphant nature of the project. Disney thought of everything in creating an entirely new Polynesian campus property. Somehow, the Island Tower augments the vast history and heritage of Disney’s oldest hotel, yet it also modernizes the campus and even throws in a subtle Moana theme. 

As tremendous as the Big Pine Key conversion and The Villas at Disneyland Hotel are, the Island Tower currently stands as DVC’s 2020s construction masterpiece. Oh, and the food’s sublime, too. If you haven’t tried Wailulu Bar & Grill, you owe it to yourself to dine there during your next Disney vacation. 

Remarkably, the Island Tower was Disney’s second new property of 2024. The first was The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, a complete reboot of a 50-year-old property. 

DVC demolished the existing Cabins here, which were, putting it politely, long in the tooth. Now, modern Cabins provide delightful escapes from the chaos of theme park visits. People can spend the day at the nearby theme park, Magic Kingdom, and then head to the wilderness for some seclusion. That standalone Cabins are the most isolated properties at Walt Disney World, save for the Treehouse Villas at Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort. 

The addition of the Cabins at Fort Wilderness and the Island Tower at the Polynesian have punctuated DVC’s recent run of excellence. And we know that more is coming, too. 

In 2020, Disney had to stop construction on a promised resort at the former site of Disney’s River Country. Last year, park officials returned to that idea, starting construction anew at the future home of Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge. When it opens in 2027, it will add even more DVC inventory in the Magic Kingdom area. 

So, we can not only celebrate a triumphant few years for DVC in the 2020s but also look forward to a bright future.

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