Pop Century Review

Disney’s Pop Century Resort is a value hotel in Walt Disney World with a reputation among frequent Disney guests as being the est value hotel. Since the opening of Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, this reputation no longer holds true, but Pop Century is still an excellent option for guests looking to save money on lodging but still desiring the perks of a Disney hotel, such as Extra Magic Hours, Disney’s Magical Express, and free transportation around Walt Disney World.

As we stated in our All Star Movies Review and All Star Sports Review, the Value Resorts are quite divisive. Some love them for their convenience and price-points, others hate their design and feel they’re over the top and tacky. Although they’re far from being our favorite hotels, we don’t mind the Value Resorts for what they are.

Whether the Value Resorts are right for you comes down to the nature of your visit. If you’re taking a “the room is only for sleeping” type trip during which you want to be in the parks as much as possible, the Value Resorts are great because they’re often $100 or less per night, and allow budget-conscious guests to stay on Walt Disney World property. (more…)

Tips for Renting Disney Vacation Club Points

Renting Disney Vacation Club points is a great way to save money and get Deluxe-level hotel rooms at Walt Disney World for Moderate-level prices. Since purchasing Disney Vacation Club (or DVC, as it’s known) can be a significant financial investment, renting Disney Vacation Club points is also a great way to “test the waters” of Disney Vacation Club, so to speak, and determine whether buying into the club is right for you. Plus, since the only thing as expensive as a hotel at Walt Disney World is airfare for the trip, renting points will save you a lot of money over booking a hotel. (Sorry, can’t help on airfare…although look for airfare savings in a future article! ).

Renting DVC points is the one-time use of a set number of a Disney Vacation Club member’s points to book a Deluxe Villa room at a Disney Vacation Club Resort. The owner of the points agrees to “rent” the points out to a rentee, and in exchange for payment to the owner of the points, the owner makes a room reservation for the rentee in the rentee’s name. The amount of the payment is determined by the number of points needed for the booking, with a per-point cost being agreed upon by the parties. For example, if the agreed upon price is $13, and the rentee wants to stay 4 nights at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, which will require 40 points during a given time of year, the total payment under the agreement will be $520, or $130 per night. The owner calls or goes online to check Disney Vacation Club availability at the resort where the reservation is desired, and the agreement is finalized if there is availability. There are a few other details that will be discussed below, but that’s the general jist of renting Disney Vacation Club points.

In recent years, renting points has gone from relatively uncommon to a bit more mainstream practice. There are individual owners who rent points because they either aren’t going to be able to use their points or need a way to offset some of the considerable cost of membership, and there are companies that exist solely for the purpose of renting Disney Vacation Club points to savvy Walt Disney World and Disneyland guests. (more…)

Disney’s Beach Club Resort Review

Disney’s Beach Club Resort is a Deluxe Resort hotel at Walt Disney World themed to the seaside resort cottages found in New England in the early 20th century. The hotel is regularly lumped together with its sister resort, the adjacent Yacht Club Resort (sometimes even referred to as “Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resort”), but is distinguishable in that it has a light blue color scheme as opposed to the gray of Yacht Club, and is generally more laid back in theme. If you want to get technical, this review actually is more specific to the Beach Club Villas units in Disney Vacation Club, as that’s where we stayed in Disney’s Beach Club Resort (although we’ve visited regular hotel rooms at Beach Club, too). With the exception of similar, but different rooms, the rest of this review applies equally to both the villas and the regular hotel. If you’ve read our Disney Vacation Club rankings, you know that Beach Club ranks highly for us.

We feel that Disney’s Beach Club Resort is the most well-rounded resort-hotel at Walt Disney World, with a great location, wonderful dining, great theming, and top-notch amenities. The rooms are average for a Deluxe Resort, so this might be its one stumbling block, especially for those who spend a lot of time in the rooms, but otherwise, Beach Club fires on all cylinders to rank as one of our top Walt Disney World resort-hotels (it’s my #1). (more…)

Value Resorts v. Moderate Resorts at Disney World

A common question for guests planning Walt Disney World trips is whether they should save money by staying in a Value Resort or pay a bit more for the amenities and theming at a Moderate Resort if they are going to stay at an on-site Walt Disney World hotel.

Like almost every hypothetical question posed by this blog, the answer is, “it depends.” If you’re beginning to wonder why I write so many articles about topics that don’t have clear answers…I have no answer for you. (I could say my reasoning “depends” on the article.) Just the same, let’s try to analyze the five most important features of Walt Disney World hotels to see where each tier has advantages. (more…)

Bay Lake Tower Review

Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort ranks highly on our list of top Disney Vacation Club resort-hotels at Walt Disney World. Given that, this positive review should come as no surprise. Bay Lake Tower is the newest Disney Vacation Club property at Walt Disney World…at least until the Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa (talk about a mouthful!) open in late 2013.

Bay Lake Tower was controversial from the moment its construction began as many viewed it as an eyesore that distract from the Contemporary, and it remains rather divisive among Disney Vacation Club members to this day. Some believe the theme is too “sterile” or “un-Disney” and some believe the amenities (namely the pool and community hall) aren’t as impressive at Bay Lake Tower as they are at other Disney Vacation Club resorts. With the exception of the “un-Disney” complaint (the word Disney isn’t an adjective), I can understand where these folks are coming from. The theme is not for everyone, and if a Disney Vacation Club stay is about enjoying the resort, Bay Lake Tower will probably be low on your list. If, like us, you enjoy what the resort has to offer but don’t spend a ton of time at it beyond dining, we think you’ll love Bay Lake Tower. Plenty of people love it, too! (more…)

Disney Vacation Club Buying Guide

If you travel to Walt Disney World or Disneyland and are able to see or hear, you probably are familiar with Disney’s “Best” Kept Secret: Disney Vacation Club (or “DVC” as the cool kids call it). Disney Vacation Club 2013 prices are higher than ever, making many wonder whether buying into Disney Vacation Club is actually a good idea for their families.

Like a lot of frequent Disney vacationers, at one time or another, you’ve probably wondered whether Disney Vacation Club is right for you. Maybe you’ve taken a tour, maybe you’ve done some research online on one of the great resources such as MouseOwners.com or DVCNews.com. Heck, maybe you’ve even crunched the numbers yourself!

If you’ve considered purchasing Disney Vacation Club, one of the biggest considerations, no doubt, is whether it makes good economic sense. Unfortunately, as with almost everything in life there is no definitive answer to this question that fits everyone. From a purely economic perspective, Disney Vacation Club will not make sense for a lot of people. However, it’s worth reading on to see if it makes financial sense for you, or if there are other compelling reasons for you to make the purchase.

As mentioned above, if your main reason for purchasing an interest in Disney Vacation Club is to save money, whether it’s a good deal for you depends of your party size and resort tier preference. Contrary to Disney’s claim that Disney Vacation Club will save you “70% off” of future resort stays, this is not actually the case. If this were true, do you really think Disney would actually be offering the program–and that it would be wildly profitable for the company? Sure, Disney might take a bit of a hit to guarantee that you will be a loyal customer for years to come, but 70% off?! As we all learned in grade school, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Disney’s 70% savings number assumes things that aren’t realistic to reality, such as paying rack rate in the most expensive Disney hotels and no return on investment for the (unfinanced) money invested in Disney Vacation Club. Even assuming these things, I’m still not quite sure how Disney arrives at its 70% off number, especially in 2013 when DVC direct prices are substantially more than they were just a few years ago. I think it might be equal parts magic and advertising puffery, but I’m not entirely sure.

It’s also worth noting that Disney Vacation Club is a pre-paid vacation plan, which differs slightly from the traditional definition of a timeshare. In the strictest sense, Disney Vacation Club can be viewed as an asset, but not a tangible one. This is an important distinction to some people, but it doesn’t matter to a lot of people.

Is Disney Vacation Club A Good Fit?

Accommodations Preferences – This is the threshold question, because if you’re (voluntarily) a Values and Moderates type person, Disney Vacation Club may never make financial sense for you. However, it can be a difficult question to answer, because it’s tough to anticipate your vacationing habits in the future. If you only roll Deluxe, and anticipate demanding posh accommodations in the future, Disney Vacation Club might be right for you. If you presently have kids or anticipate soon having kids, and are tired of sleeping in the same small quarters with them at a Moderate Resort Disney Vacation Club, and its wonderful one-bedroom units, may be right for you as it gives you the option to separate yourself from the kids at night! Similarly, if you have to book two or more rooms at a Value or Moderate, it might be for you… (more…)