Beach Club Villas Night Photo
During our May 2012 Walt Disney World trip, we stayed at the Beach Club Villas on Disney Vacation Club points for the first time. This was actually the last resort to check off our “list” of Disney Vacation Club Resorts at Walt Disney World, and it turned out to be my favorite. Unsurprisingly, this was thanks to the excellent Stormalong Bay pool, which we enjoyed for the first time. Rather than going to the parks, we spent an entire morning enjoying the pool, followed by lunch at Beaches & Cream, one of our favorite Walt Disney World restaurants. After that, we walked to Epcot for a few hours in the park, then walked back to the Beach Club Villas to get ready for our first dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse, which, thanks to its Porterhouse, is a new favorite of mine at Walt Disney World. All of this (location, pool, dining) plus a beautiful theme and design aesthetic, easily gives Beach Club Villas the #1 spot on my list of Disney Vacation Club resorts. For those curious, here’s my full list of rankings:
- Beach Club Villas
- Villas at Wilderness Lodge
- BoardWalk Villas
- Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas
- Bay Lake Tower
- Old Key West Resort
- Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
It’s tough to rank them because, really, we’ve enjoyed every single one of these resorts (and Sarah’s list differs substantially from mine–Bay Lake Tower is her #1!). If anyone would be interested in an article elaborating on these rankings, leave a comment! We’ve already done an article on whether Disney Vacation Club is or might be right for you, which you might want to read if you’re considering buying into Disney Vacation Club!
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Technical Details: Nikon D700 and Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 lens.
I’ve stayed at the Beach Club Villas 3 of the last 4 trips to WDW, mainly because the Beach Club is my home resort for DVC. I’ve always had a good time staying there. It ranks above Old Key West for me
I would really like seeing an article on how you compare the DVC resorts. Nice shot also, I’m going to Disneyland next week (missing Carsland by two days…) for the first time with a DSLR. Looking forward to all the photo opportunities.
You should give the Villas at the Grand Californian a try.
We just finalized our purchase (resale) at Bay Lake Tower. We’ve booked our first DVC trip as a split stay at BWV and AKL Kidani side this December. Our plan is to try for Beach Club next November. I absolutely LOVE the BC and BW location and cannot wait for our stays! Would love to hear both your and Sarah’s views on all resorts. We hope to stay in all of them over the next few years.
Sounds like a great trip you had! Thank you for all of the great information you share. Love checking the blog often!
Sounds like you have an AWESOME plan for using DVC right away. Congrats on the purchase!
We love the Beach Club too! Storm-A-Long Bay is fantastic! My girls and I love the feel the sand between our toes on their sand bottom pools, the resort itsself is so charming , we have the best memories of going there! Glad you enjoyed it too!
We’ll be staying at the Beach Club Villas for 7 nights in October. I cannot wait. It’s our first time renting points, and I’m sure it’ll plant the seed to buy into their “best kept secret”.(I don’t think they know what the word secret means)
I would LOVE to see a compare/contrast between Beach Club and the Boardwalk!
I would love to hear your comments, and possibly Sarah’s opinion on each of them.(Since you said her list is different.)
My wife and I, like you guys have no children yet, but are avid fans and frequent guests of the parks. We recently purchased 170 points in DVC at SSR.(Using your advice with the location and value in part of the process.)
We are spending our first DVC trip at the Boardwalk in Sept for 6 nights, with a Boardwalk view, followed up with two nights in Bay Lake Towers in a 1 bedroom villa for a total of 8 nights. We spent 11 nights at the Wilderness Lodge on our DisneyMoon and absolutely loved it there.
We plan on trying to stay at all of them over the next couple of years, as we have enough points to stay 12-16 nights per year in the villas with our points.
It would be nice to hear your “Pro’s and Con’s” on each to help plan our resort choice, and in which order. We will be visiting again in May and Dec. next year. The first for my wife’s birthday, and the 2nd trip for another Christmas decoration visit. I am hoping to stay in VWL for the Christmas trip for the obvious decor during the holidays. What would you suggest for May? I though about the Beach Club for walking distance to Epcot during the F&G festival, but she also cant wait to stay at the AKL.
I do think that it would be helpful to read what you two have to say about each, and would also look forward to the photos that would accompany the post.
We love our ‘home’ at Old Key West because of the sheer size of the room and patio/balcony, as well as Olivia’s and our favorite hang out – The Gurgling Suitcase. Beach Club Villas is definitely a VERY close 2nd though for Stormalong and the International Gateway entrance!
I love the little star bursts coming off of the tiny rope lights. Your page is the main reason I just bought a DSLR. Between this and ISO 5571 podcast I feel like my learning curve as been greatly accelerated. Thanks!
I’ve only stayed at Bay Lake Tower, Boardwalk and Animal Kingdom Lodge in a DVC studio and of those 3 I have to agree with Sarah. BLT is by far my favorite. I liked the other 2 but I LOVED everything about Bay Lake Tower.
I just stayed there for one night earlier this month when we added a day on to our vacation. I absolutely loved the location — you really can’t beat it — but the rooms were a bit of a let down. Granted, we we stayed in a studio and came from a one bedroom at Kidani… but still, I had high hopes!
I’d love to see an article comparing all the DVC resorts!
The rooms are the one (slightly) disappointing area of the Beach Club Villas. They aren’t nearly as good as some of the newer rooms, but I see this as a small complaint (for us at least).
Isn’t it odd that you can absolutely love a hotel but can say in the same sentence that the ROOMS were kind of a let down? BCV is our home resort. We feel exactly the same way but staying anywhere else just isn’t the same.
Ha, yeah, it is a bit funny. The rooms aren’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, I think it’s just time for a refresh. This is especially true after the DVC resorts built in recent years have amazing rooms.
We’ve recently began considering buying in to Disney’s best kept secret and I know that I would love an article really comparing the different Villas together. Great article by the way!
Good to hear–I’ll work on something!
Beautiful shot of my home resort! Nothing says “home” like pulling through the guard gate and into the rarely full parking lot over by the villas. I can’t wait to be back there this October for F&W!