Cash guests have it pretty good at Walt Disney World. During slower times of they year, they are offered special package deals, 20-30% savings off of normal hotel rates, free dining plan credits, complimentary room upgrades and more! (Of course, cash guests are also paying far more for their lodging than the DVC member's price for a single year of their contract, but let's ignore that for the moment.)
Disney Vacation Club has released the annual dues amounts for 2018. As usual, costs are up with some resorts rising more than 7% over 2017. Property taxes continue to drive many of the increases, and those figures are largely out of Disney's control. However, Disney can (and does) seemingly help to soften the blow by reducing operational costs. It isn't uncommon for resorts to experience slight declines in expenses like housekeeping, front desk, utilities or transportation.
Most Disney Vacation Club members are undoubtedly familiar with Florida's FastPass+ which allows guests can pre-book up to 3 attractions per day. Disneyland recently debuted a competing system called MaxPass. MaxPass is similar to the legacy paper FP system, allowing guests to secure same-day electronic Passes one-at-a-time via smartphone. MaxPass is an optional product for which Disneland charges $10 per guest, per day.
Last week, Disney revealed new details regarding its planned fourth hotel on Disneyland grounds. The 700-room, Four Diamond hotel will be situated on the western side of Disney’s property, near the monorail station. Planned amenities include two pools and a rooftop restaurant with fireworks viewing platform. One detail not addressed is whether or not the hotel will include Disney Vacation Club villas. The sole DVC presence in California is 48 villas at the Grand Californian Hotel which sold-out way back in 2010. While there would seem to be a market for more villas, the premium land value at Disneyland raises some doubts as to whether Disney wishes to commit additional space to DVC.
Disney's Old Key West Resort is the only Disney Vacation Club property to feature two queen size beds in every Deluxe Studio room. Every subsequent resort has been equipped with one queen-size bed plus a full-size sleeper sofa in Studio villas. Which configuration do you prefer?
