Here Are the DVC Advantages for Multi-Generational Families

At its core, The Walt Disney Company has built its business around families. A Disney vacation empowers multiple generations of family members to vacation together. Disney theme parks host offerings for everyone from small children to exhausted octogenarians. 

That same philosophy applies at Disney Vacation Club resorts as well. The membership program caters to everyone, but it’s particularly valuable for parents and grandparents. Here are a few of the DVC advantages for multi-generational families. 

DVC Room Options Fit All Sizes

Since the early days, DVC has constructed its hotel rooms to fit traveling parties of all sizes. The original resort, Disney’s Old Key West, hosts substantial Studios that sleep up to four guests comfortably. That’s because these rooms include 390 square feet of space and have multiple bedding options.

Remarkably, they’re the smallest of the resort’s options. From the early days, Disney encouraged family travel among DVC members. That’s why the One-Bedroom Villas offer a massive 1,005 square feet of space and sleep five. 

Options increase from there in terms of square footage and the number of guests who can sleep in the Villa. So, if you’ve ever thought about a Grand Villa in terms of being a plush luxury offering for the one percent, you’re looking at it wrong. 

Instead, Disney adds these Three-Bedroom Villas to host large families. At Old Key West, up to 12 members may stay in the Grand Villa, and they’ll all have plenty of room. That’s because the suite comes with 2,375 square feet of space. It’s roughly the size of the average American home, which has 2,229 square feet. 

These hotel suites allow families to play together, cook and eat together, and just hang out as a large group. It’s a familial offering that embodies the Disney brand. 

So, the next time you study the DVC Points chart, consider it from the perspective of a large family. You’ll notice that the Tower Studios and Duo Studios sleep only two guests who are presumably very much in love. 

However, over time, that family will grow, whether it’s by a couple having/adopting children of their own or bringing along their parents/grandparents. That’s why DVC resorts offer everything from regular hotel rooms and Tower Studios to Grand Villas. Your membership scales up or down depending on how many relatives join you on the trip. 

DVC Expiration Years Cover Several Decades

The first DVC contracts won’t expire until 2042, which is an eternity from now. None of us has any idea where we’ll be in 18 years, much less a distant time afterward.

That’s one of the reasons why I admire the DVC program so much. DVC constructs its contract system by thinking in terms of decades, not years. For example, let’s look back at DVC history.

When Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa opened, it added 12 more years to the standard DVC expiration. Many of the contracts from the 1990s and early 2000s end in 2042. However, Saratoga Springs won’t complete its membership until 2054. 

Similarly, Disney added a contract extension option at Old Key West, which pushes back the expiration year there to 2057. In recent years, DVC has expanded the length of its contracts to comically distant points in the future. 

At this point, five different DVC contracts won’t expire until at least 40 years from now. The longest current one, The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort, will last into 2075. That’s more than 50 years from now! Some of the people reading this will be 100+ years old by that point. 

That statement should provide some perspective on the multi-generational nature of DVC contracts. You’re not simply planning your own future Disney vacations. You’re also setting up a loved one to enjoy their own Disney trips many years from now. That’s because…

DVC Contracts Are Deed-able 

Sometimes, we forget the legal aspects of a DVC contract. You haven’t simply bought free hotel stays for many years to come. You also purchased a real estate interest—a deed. 

You possess a physical document that displays your ownership interest. And DVC allows you to sell, give, or will that contract to anyone you want. So, that Fort Wilderness contract you buy becomes somebody else’s Disney vacation(s) at a later date. 

You never worry about maximizing the value of your contract because you know that someone you love will. Let’s say that you’re a parent about to become a grandparent. You can buy now and then give away or will your contract to that grandchild later.

Similarly, new parents can make a long-term investment in their family’s future vacations by buying into DVC. If you pick one of the contracts that don’t expire until the 2060s, you’ll set up multiple generations of family vacations. 

The process is simple, and it’s a unique way to “pay it forward” with your loved ones. You use the DVC Points now, but they reap the rewards later. 

Something you should know is that when you add or remove someone from your membership, you’ll need a new deed. That requires either an attorney or a title service. DVC lists additional details here if you’re curious. 

So, multi-generational families will discover many advantages within the DVC membership program. Disney wants all its loyal fans to visit the parks for decades to come. Thus, Disney structured DVC in a way to satisfy customer needs for guests of all ages.