Which DVC Resorts Have the Most Booking Flexibility

What’s the one thing all Disney Vacation Club members have in common? We all want a wide range of options when we choose where to stay. That’s where the brilliance of the program shines through for its participants.

Many DVC properties offer numerous room-type options to give vacationers more control over their visits. Which DVC resorts have the most flexible booking? Here are my choices…

Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas 

DVC members gain booking flexibility in two general forms. One is the kind of hotel room you choose. The other involves the room type, which could have a view or a variant from a standard Studio/Villa.

Remarkably, Aulani provides both. When you decide to stay here, you’ll maintain a remarkable amount of purchasing power in how you spend your precious DVC Points. 

Guests can book an inexpensive but still lovely hotel room rather than a Deluxe Studio. That tactic alone could save you up to four points per night or 21 points per week compared to a standard Studio with a regular view.

Those DVC members who want at least a Studio will still maintain an element of control with their bookings. At Aulani, DVC empowers its members to decide how good they want their hotel room view to be. 

You can pay the smallest number of DVC Points for what my brother lovingly describes as “parking lot view.” However, since you don’t know when you’ll visit the island again, you can also splurge for one of the better views. 

DVC offers Island Gardens View, Poolside Gardens View, and Ocean View. So, you can choose your own vacation when you pick the size of your room and its exterior view. 

Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort

Bay Lake Tower’s flexibility stems from what was, until recently, a unique offering. 

When Disney opened Bay Lake Tower in 2009, it offered Studios with standard views. However, it added Lake View and the crown jewel, Theme Park View. Other locations have since mimicked the idea, but this was the first. 

Guests at Bay Lake Tower can sit in their hotel rooms and watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks each night. Alternatively, you can select Lake View and watch the Bay Lake Tower pool and surrounding waters from your hotel room. Personally, I prefer this view, especially on rainy days.

Then again, some guests may not care about the view. If you merely want the location and logistics of Bay Lake Tower, you can save your DVC Points by booking standard. That flexibility is satisfying.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas

Like Aulani, Animal Kingdom’s flexibility goes both ways. You can book a smaller room for fewer DVC Points or select the view for your hotel room. In fact, this pair of twin resorts even offers an additional option.

You can choose Value Accommodations here, which is a smaller hotel room. The sacrifice of space won’t bother you since you’re saving so many of your hard-earned DVC Points. 

However, when you want to splurge, you can scale up in several different ways at Animal Kingdom Villas. First, you can book a Deluxe Studio or multiroom Villa. You have that option at all DVC resorts, though.

The novelty here stems from the room types and…something else. Specifically, you can choose the unforgettable Savannah View, which places you on a balcony above the resort’s true residents, the animals. DVC members (like me!) swear by this room type.

That’s not even the splurge here, though. You can also choose the Kilimanjaro Club Concierge floor. Yes, you can book the concierge floor of a Deluxe Disney resort using your DVC Points! 

You’ll get free snacks and drinks during your hotel stay by booking this room type. Plus, you gain exclusive access to a hotel floor unavailable to other guests! It’s a velvet rope scenario you’ll enjoy. 

Disney’s Riviera Resort

Like the other options here, the Riviera entitles guests to their choice of Standard or Preferred View. If you’ve stayed here, you understand the appeal of Preferred View, which highlights the gorgeous campus landscape. You’ll also notice other landmarks in the other AND part of the Disney Skyliner’s path. 

Realistically, the Riviera belongs on this list for a different reason, though. The inclusion of the Tower Studios won’t matter unless you use it. For some traveling singles and couples, it’s legitimately a game-changer, though.

You can save on DVC Points while maintaining spectacular Disney amenities. Also, you don’t pay for space you won’t use, which makes it the more efficient use of your DVC Points. I love that about it. 

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