What to Consider with the Three Kinds of DVC Vacations

One of the best parts of the Disney Vacation Club program is the way it provides members with flexibility. DVC ownership entitles travelers to select between three different trip options. 

Members can book a trip at a Walt Disney World resort, a Disneyland resort, or a beachy location that isn’t near a theme park. So, you must decide which one you prefer for a given trip. Here’s what to consider with the three kinds of DVC vacations.

Why You Would Want to Book a Non-Disney Resort 

Most of today’s discussion will center on theme parks because we should be realistic. When you purchase into the Disney Vacation Club, you’re a theme park fan who loves a sprinkle of Pixie Dust during your trip. 

Then again, you may sometimes prefer an option that doesn’t involve theme park visits. Disney anticipated this desire from the beginning, and it explains why the Interval International exchange program exists. 

However, you don’t ever need to book outside the Disney program. DVC owns and operates three resorts that aren’t located at theme parks. Those hotels are Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas, Disney’s Hilton Head Island Resort, and Disney’s Vero Beach Resort.  

Your considerations when booking at these locations are straightforward. You’re choosing a more tranquil experience in an exotic locale like a Hawaiian island or a southern beach.

You want to relax, enjoy umbrella drinks, and luxuriate in the sun. The opportunity cost here is that you won’t walk down Main Street, U.S.A., but that’s okay! You’ve done that many times, and you know you’ll do it again soon.

For the time being, you want to act like a tourist. You’ll shop for kitschy merchandise and dine at the finest restaurants. At the hotel, you’ll swim and sunbathe and relish in the beauty of life. 

I heartily recommend a non-theme park stay as a part of your DVC booking rotation. Sometimes, we all need to feel the sand beneath our toes, y’know?

Why You Would Want to Book a Disneyland Resort 

As of 2023, DVC members now have two choices for booking at The Happiest Place on Earth, The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa and The Villas at Disneyland Hotel. That’s a game-changer in that we all know that snagging a reservation at The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Resort & Spa wasn’t always easy. Now, we have a much easier time in booking. So, the question becomes whether we should.

When considering a stay at Disneyland Resort, you’re visiting a place many Disney fans consider holy ground. This place is where Walt Disney stood among orange groves and envisioned a family gathering place. 

When you visit Disneyland, you can experience many of those opening day attractions from 1955. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Storybook Land Canal Boats have all stood the test of time for nearly 70 years.

Sometimes, Disney updates these attractions, as it did with Snow White’s Scary Adventures, which modern audiences know as Snow White’s Enchanted Wish. Of course, that’s only a small part of this resort’s evolution.

New themed lands like Avengers Campus and San Fransokyo Square delight guests. And cutting-edge attractions like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway provide 2020s entertainment with a verve Walt Disney himself would have loved. 

Remarkably, a DVC vacation at Disneyland Resort provides even more tourism opportunities. Guests can explore the greater Southern California area or combine the trip with a visit to Las Vegas. 

Many DVC members also double down on the first two vacations. East Coast travelers can stop at Disneyland on the way to or back from Aulani. That’s an ideal combination of a serene Hawaiian vacation and spending time at the most historical theme park of all.  

Why You Would Want to Book a Walt Disney World Resort 

This one’s self-explanatory and something of a math exercise. More than half of all DVC resorts are located at Walt Disney World. As such, when you buy into the program, you know what you’re getting.

You’re planning decades of visits to The Most Magical Place on Earth. Not coincidentally, Walt Disney World is also the most popular paid tourist attraction of its kind in the world. 

Magic Kingdom has claimed the largest attendance numbers of any theme park for many consecutive years. In short, people just want to visit this tourist attraction in Central Florida. In fact, many of the other tourist attractions in the region wouldn’t exist if not for Disney.

When you book a reservation here, you select a vacation unlike any other. You’ll enjoy your choice of four theme parks, two water parks, a sports campus, and an entertainment complex. 

In short, you can spend two weeks at Walt Disney World and never run out of things to do. And I’m speaking from experience when I say that. I don’t think I’m going out on a limb to say that most DVC members spend the majority of their DVC vacations at Walt Disney World. 

So, this option is the known in the equation. You’re considering Walt Disney World because it’s the default choice for DVC members. When you book a vacation here, you know you’ll get your money’s worth and have the time of your life. 

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