Interesting Facts about Hilton Head

In 1993, the Disney Vacation Club plotted a non-theme park location in Hilton Head, South Carolina, a beloved tourist destination on the East Coast. Alas, when this resort opened three years later, it wasn’t in the location Disney had planned. Today’s interesting facts are about Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort, the only Disney property the locals didn’t want. 

Disney’s Plans Fell Apart Quickly 

When the Disney Vacation Club first came into existence, its early years proved surprisingly turbulent. Disney met resistance during several of its initial attempts, most notably on the Newport Coast of California. You’ll notice we don’t have a DVC property there today despite Disney announcing one more than 30 years ago.

That sort of thing happened multiple times in the 1990s, but in the case of Vero Beach, everything worked out fine in the end. Still, for a time, DVC officials contemplated abandoning the project, just as at Newport Coast…and who could blame them?

The whole thing began innocently enough in 1993. Disney scoured Hilton Head for the best place to buy land for a beachfront property. Ultimately, the company purchased six acres of oceanfront land at Palmetto Dunes. Owners and frequent guests of the resort already know where this is going: the hotel is in the Shelter Cove area, which, while still technically in Palmetto Dunes, is two miles from the original location. 

Disney took a chance with its land acquisition, and it lost a roll of the dice. When the company purchased this acreage, it knew that the area had a “no time shares” policy. Management incorrectly assumed that residents of the private community of Leamington would waive that rule for Disney. They…did not.

In fact, the whole thing turned quickly. Even as Disney announced its intentions, the locals organized the “Common Sense for Leamington!” initiative. As one of the residents said at the time, “Nobody wants time shares because of the crowding of beaches, the golf courses, and roads. We have very strict rules about this.”

Honestly, as much as I love Disney, I get it. Hilton Head is a proudly sleepy little town with restrictions on billboard advertising and neon lighting. A sudden infusion of Disney understandably threatened the homeowners, even if it would have ultimately boosted their property values. Many of them were rich anyway, as an affluent area. So, the money didn’t matter as much as the loss of solitude. 

Once Disney recognized the intensity of the resistance, it folded quickly. By November of 1993, the company had already canceled the Palmetto Dunes construction plans. 

Two Very Important Miles 

Disney’s pivot should go down in the record books as one of the greatest ever. In just 13 months, DVC officials had identified a new parcel of land on Hilton Head and begun construction. It’s the location we all know and love, two miles away from the place where Disney had intended.

Management chose a 15-acre parcel of land, one not on the beach but absolutely breathtaking to behold. This time, Disney took a smarter approach, though. It acquired the blessing of the local Chamber of Commerce. In fact, the Chairman of the Board for Hilton Head’s Chamber of Commerce participated at the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The Hilton Head tourism industry loved the idea of a Disney resort in the area. It was the neighbors who opposed it. So, Disney wined and dined some local officials and came up with a new plan. 

The DVC resort would move two miles away from the private residential area but remain near the beach. Then, the hotel staff could shuttle guests to and from a private beach house. It was an elegant solution to a seemingly impossible problem, one that has stood the test of time. If not for that quick-witted pivot, Hilton Head easily could have fallen victim to the same fate as the failed Newport Coast project. 

Instead, we have this gorgeous resort as an integral part of the DVC lineup. To wit, the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards once again named Hilton Head the top island in the United States. Folks, this is the ninth (!!!) straight year that Hilton Head has won the award. Can you imagine DVC without this resort? It almost happened, and that’s an interesting series of facts that you probably never knew.

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