If you’re considering Disney Vacation Club membership, you need to know which resorts are included for use with your DVC points.
It’s an important factor: if your favorite resort isn’t included the entire membership may be a waste. If you aren’t sure if you like some of the resorts that have more availability, then you DVC won’t be worth it for you.
I’m a DVC member with the Polynesian as my home resort, but I’ve stayed at multiple DVC resorts and in this post I’ll walk through what resorts are included, and how the resorts that are (and aren’t) included can impact your decision to become a member or your experience if you already are one.
What are the DVC Resorts?
Far and away the biggest thing you’re purchasing is access to with a DVC membership is Disney resorts and experiences. Which resorts and experiences? Currently, there are several Disney resorts included:
Disney World Resorts:
- Contemporary Resort
- Wilderness Lodge
- Animal Kingdom Villas
- Beach Club Villas
- Boardwalk Villas
- Old Key West Resort
- Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Riviera Resort
- Saratoga Springs Resort (check out our review of the Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs)
- Grand Floridian Resort
Non-Disney World Disney Resorts:
- Aulani Hawaiian Resort
- Hilton Head Island Resort
- Grand Californian Hotel
- Disneyland Paris
- Hong Kong Disneyland Resort
- Tokyo Disneyland Resort
You can leverage your points in a few additional ways as well:
- RCI – This is an exchange you can bank points to and use on various resorts.
- Cruises – You can apply DVC points to Disney Cruises.
- Adventures – You can use DVC points on Disney Adventures
While you can apply your points here, keep in mind that points may “spend” differently (have a different value versus the standard dollar cost) for these options (you can learn more about that by taking a look at our DVC points charts).
A final note is that these points aren’t necessarily a Disney “gift card” – things you can’t apply DVC points to include:
- Park tickets
- Flights / transportation
- Food and drink
- Apparel & merchandise
And even just from a lodging perspective you’ll note that not all Disney properties (not even all Disney properties at Disney World specifically) are places you can use your DVC points.
There are some member bonuses and discounts as well (we’ll cover these later on) but they’re relatively marginal in value versus the cost of DVC in general.
Disney Vacation Club FAQs
There’s a lot more to learn about DVC. Here are some questions people frequently ask:
Which DVC resorts have 3 bedroom villas?
These DVC resorts have 3 bedroom villas:
- Animal Kingdom Villas
- Bay Lake Tower
- BoardWalk Villas
- Copper Creek
- Grand Floridian
- Old Key West
- Riviera Resort
- Saratoga Springs Resort
Which DVC resorts have club level?
While all of the deluxe DVC resorts (Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge, Disney’s Beach Club Resort, Disney’s Boardwalk Inn, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa, Disney’s Polynesian Resort, Disney’s Wilderness Lodge and Disney’s Yacht Club Resort) have club level as an option you cannot book club level accommodations with DVC points.
Are any DVC resorts pet friendly?
No DVC resorts currently allow pets. Some Disney resorts do allow dogs, and you can use your points on hotels near Disney that are pet friendly (though typically you won’t get the same value using your points outside of DVC resorts).
What resorts is DVC selling right now?
At the time of printing DVC is actively pushing availability at the Grand Floridian and the Riviera. Typically there will be availability in many resorts if you ask, and Disney will be pushing (and possibly discounting) the newest resorts or the resorts with the most availability (due to added inventory or member contracts expiring).
Can non DVC members stay at DVC resorts?
Yes – they can travel with DVC members and stay, can have points transferred, or can rent or buy DVC points.
