“A Room with a View”

To readers of E. M. Forster, it’s a 1908 novel. To arthouse moviegoers, it’s the 1985 Merchant-Ivory film based on that novel. To Disney Vacation Club (DVC) members, it’s what they want—and expect—when staying at a DVC resort.

I first published a smaller version of this photo essay 17 months ago. My update today adds seven additional views at three additional resorts, including one resort that’s nowhere near Walt Disney World.

Most of these photos are from villas that I’ve occupied. While no two villas at any resort have exactly the same view, these photos are examples of what you might get if you stay at a DVC resort.

By the way, in the context of this article, a villa is not a luxurious country residence high on hill somewhere; it’s a term that timeshare developers use because it sounds better than small apartment.

, Curator of Yesterland, July 2, 2010

Disney’s Old Key West Resort is woven between the fairways of Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course. That means that most villas have open views of fairways, ponds, and trees. The photo above is typical, except that it’s unusual not to see any other buildings in the background.

Some buildings are along the Trumbo Canal, a waterway connecting the resort’s small marina to the Sassagoula River which leads to Downtown Disney. The villas in these buildings have views of the canal, boat traffic on the canal, and the natural woods beyond the canal.

Disney’s Old Key West Resort was originally called Disney Vacation Club when it opened in 1991. It got its current name when Disney decided to expand Disney Vacation Club from a single location to Disney’s timeshare brand. The trees have had a long time to grow. In some cases, they’ve grown so large that the views of the golf course are partially obstructed, but that’s not bad either.

In my opinion, Disney’s Old Key West Resort has the best—and most consistently good—views of any DVC resort in this photo essay. When you consider that Old Key West also has larger balconies than any other DVC resort and that the balconies have actual tables, it’s the ideal resort for guests who enjoy relaxed meals on their balcony.

Disney’s BoardWalk Villas Resort has three distinct view categories. Standard View villas require fewer points than Boardwalk View and Preferred View villas (DVC is a timeshare system based on points, not weeks). My preference is Standard View. Not only can you get more nights for the same number of points, the views can be quite nice.

The photo above is typical for Standard View villas that are far from the elevator. Although the view includes the driveway and parking lot, the main impression is one of grass, trees, and water. The parking lot is mostly hidden by trees.

When Epcot presents Illuminations: Reflections of Earth each night, the higher fireworks are visible above BoardWalk Inn Convention Center (left side of photo). Frankly, I wouldn’t get too excited about seeing fireworks from the balcony. If you want to see Illuminations, just walk over to Epcot.

The Standard View villa above is a corner room with an unusual floorplan. It’s quite far from the elevator, but I would gladly stay there again. I don’t and the longer walk down the hallway. The views are better. And the there’s less noise from hallway.

In comparison, the Standard View villas that are close to the elevator are also close to the Porte Cochere. There are DVC members who like the convenience of being near the elevator and don’t mind the view of cars, taxis, and Magical Express coaches.

The Preferred View villas are those that don’t look onto the actual wooden boardwalk along Crescent Lake and that aren’t categorized as Standard View.

The photo above is what my wife and I called our “butt view” room—based on what we saw as guests headed up to the top of Keister Coaster water slide in their swim suits.

The photo also shows that landscapers planted trees close to the building. The resort opened in 1996, and the trees are quite large by now. When a large tree is directly in front of a small balcony, there can no view at all—and that can be the case for both Standard View and Preferred View villas.

As the photo above shows, there are Preferred View villas at the BoardWalk Resort with better views than the “butt view.” This villa faced the smaller pool, the Community Hall, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Another common view in the Preferred View category is the Walt Disney World Swan hotel.

I wish I could show you the view from a Boardwalk View villa, but I’ve never stayed in one. The view of the wooden boardwalk, Crescent Lake, and the Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resorts across the lake should be great. The downside is that it can loud down on the boardwalk, so a Boardwalk View would not be a good option for someone who likes quiet. Although it requires the same number of points as Preferred View, the Boardwalk View category is preferred over Preferred (if that make sense), so such reservations are booked up quickly. If I were booking early enough to get a Boardwalk View, I would also be booking early enough to get a Standard View (and that’s what I like to book).

I wish I could tell you the exact room number where I took the photo above, but I no longer have it. It was near the end of the hall on a high floor on the side that’s away from Bay Lake.

Except for the villas above the pool, most villas at the Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge have a view of natural evergreen trees. Even the villas on the lake side of the building look onto a cluster of trees between the building and Bay Lake.

Unlike the BoardWalk Villas Resort on the other side of Crescent Lake, Disney’s Beach Club Villas Resort does not have bookable view categories.

Views include the resort’s pool (with the parking lot beyond it), Disney’s Beach Club Resort, and Epcot Resorts Boulevard with natural trees and backstage parts of Epcot on the other side of it. There are no views of Crescent Lake because the DVC resort is separated from the lake by the original Beach Club Resort.

Disney’s Beach Club Villas Resort derives its popularity from it close proximity to Epcot and its access to the wonderful Strormalong Bay swimming pool—which is more of a mini-water park than a typical hotel pool.

The final three photos are all from Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa. Saratoga Springs is huge complex with 18 large residential buildings, several lakes, a shoreline facing Downtown Disney, some of the fairways of Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course, and a large “downtown” inherited from the old Disney Institute. Despite a multitude of different views, there are no bookable view categories.

The photo above shows a view toward Downtown Disney. A relatively small percentage of villas have such a view, and there’s no way to guarantee it.

Each residential building at Saratoga Springs has villas facing three directions. For a building next to a lake, more than half the villas face the lake, while the rest, at either end of the building, are along hallways that a perpendicular to the shoreline. In some cases, such villas face roads and parking lots.

Looking at the photo above, you’d never guess that we were in a building adjacent to a lake. Our balcony faced the old Disney Institute Performance Hall, the road through the resort, and parked cars. I loved our villa! I’m serious. We were right next to a bus stop. The Carriage House and restaurants were a short walk away. It was too cold to go to the High Rock Spring Pool (although that didn’t stop some people), but it would have been very close.

I stayed in a studio at a Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas soon after the hotel-to-timeshare conversion opened. I was too busy enjoying the antics of the critters to remember to take any photos.

I didn’t make the same mistake when we returned in October 2009.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas Resort consists of two distinct sections. The first section was Jambo House, a conversion of part of Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge from a deluxe resort hotel to a timeshare resort. Then Disney built a dedicated timeshare section, Kidani Village, with its own lobby and restaurant. Both sections have villas that have views of animals (Savannah View) and those that do not (Standard View). Jambo house has a third category (Value) for smaller rooms; with these, you might get a view of animals—or you might not.

Bay Lake Tower is the first DVC resort at a Monorail Resort and the first DVC resort with views of the Magic Kingdom. I’ve never stayed there, but I visited the model. Surprisingly, the model is on the ground floor.

Overall, I’m very impressed with the villas at Bay Lake Tower. The interiors are sleek and contemporary, yet comfortable.

However, the designers made one very puzzling layout decision. The second bedroom of the 2-bedroom villa (the studio portion) has an odd little alcove with the bathroom vanity directly facing the kitchenette across a narrow space. I realize that vanities are sometimes outside the toilet/shower room. But to have guests entering the kitchenette with unwashed hands after using the toilet, or applying deodorant there, or blow-drying their hair there, or taking care of other personal hygiene right in the food preparation area is downright disgusting. I have no idea how this design was ever approved, considering how careful Disney is to build mock-ups of everything before proceeding.

Enough of this rant! This is supposed to be an article about views. So let’s look at the kind of view that makes DVC owners want to pay premium points.

I wanted to see what a Magic Kingdom view might be like, so I took an elevator ride. With a view like this, there’s no doubt that you’re vacationing at Walt Disney World. And I can imagine how spectacular the fireworks are at night.

However, a Magic Kingdom view is also a parking lot view. At BoardWalk Villas, being able to see cars parked on an asphalt lot means a villa is in the lowly Standard View category, requiring fewer points. Apparently, at Bay Lake Tower, the view of Magic Kingdom is so desirable that people glady exhaust their DVC point balances and look right past the parking lot.

I saved the best for last. In my opinion, the Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa is the best DVC resort. It starts with the quality of the room. The California Craftsman style is clean and simple, yet warm and inviting. Being a short walk from Downtown Disney and both theme parks is great. And being part of Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel means having the renowned Napa Rose restaurant, the ever-so-pleasant Hearthstone Lounge, the big fireplace in the lobby, and delightful art throughout.

There are no view categories on the DVC point chart for the Villas at the Grand Californian, but there are two distinct views—theme park and pool.

The photo above was our view into the Paradise Pier section of Disney’s California Adventure (as the park was still named in April 2010). We were on the third floor and enjoyed the view. In addition to seeing into the park, the view includes a tall wall and the backsides of the defunct Souvenir 66 and the defunct Corn Dog Castle. The view would have been slightly better from the 4th floor, not quite as good from the 2nd floor, and probably pretty sad from the ground floor.

Our stay was before World of Color premiered. We were treated to testing almost every night. Yes, I enjoyed watching some of the tests. Now that the show is running every night, I’m sure some guests sit on their balconies during the show. However, as I watched the tests, it was clear that the resort balconies provide a limited view at best.

The final view is from a Grand Villa—a magnificent two-story villa with three bedrooms and even its own pool table. No, we didn’t stay there. I was able to see the Grand Villa as part of a tour.

I was surprised how nice the view of swimming pool courtyard is. In some ways, it’s better than a Paradise Pier view.

That brings us to the end this tour of DVC villa views.

I’ll have to update this article again after the opening of the Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina, Hawai‘i. If I get an ocean view room there, I might never want to leave.

Click here to discuss this page on the Yesterland Discussion Forum at MiceChat!

Disney at National Harbor Disney Goes Hawaiian, 11 Home

© 2009-2010 Werner Weiss — Disclaimers, Copyright, and Trademarks

Updated August 13, 2010.

Photographs of views from Disney Vacation Club villas: 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008, 2009, and 2010 by Werner Weiss.