Disney Vacation Club
 | |
| Disney Vacation Club | |
| Subsidiary corporation | |
| Industry | Hospitality, Tourism |
| Founded | December 1, 1991 (in Bay Lake, Florida) |
| Headquarters | Celebration, Florida |
Key people |
|
| Products | Timeshare |
| Parent |
|
| Website | Official website |
The Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is a vacation timeshare program owned and operated by Disney Vacation Development, Inc., a subsidiary of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a unit of The Walt Disney Company. It allows buying real estate interest in a DVC resort. Disney Vacation Club's Senior Vice President is Ken Potrock.
To be a DVC member, one must purchase a one-time real estate interest in one of the Disney Vacation Club Resorts, and thereafter pay annual dues. All ownerships are sold as either a ground lease or a term-for-years. Their timeshare may not be sold in Nebraska.[1]
History
The first Disney Vacation Club property, known as the Disney Vacation Club Resort (later renamed Disney's Old Key West Resort in January, 1996), opened on December 20, 1991 at Walt Disney World. [2] In 1991, Disney had registered its time share plan with the state of Hawaii but did not establish an escrow agreement with Hawaii at the time of its creation. This allowed Disney to advertise its time share company in the state but did not allow for sales.[1] On January 17, 1992, Disney Vacation Club was incorporated as Disney Vacation Development, Inc.[3]
On March 30, 1993 Disney Vacation Development Inc announced plans for a 440-unit time-share resort 95 miles south-east of Walt Disney World in Florida[4] with ground breaking on July 28, 1994. This resort hotel, today known as Disney's Vero Beach Resort, opened on October 1, 1995 as the Vacation Club Resort at Vero Beach, Florida.[5] Disney would then open Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort just five months later on March 1, 1996 in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.[6]
Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas opened its first phase in 2007 at $17,000 for a membership. By September 17, 2008, Disney Vacation Development had two new time share properties being built, Bay Lake Tower and Treehouse Villas in Orlando at existing Disney park hotels and both were to open in 2009. Bay Tower was expect for its timeshares to open at $18,000.[7]
On October 3, 2007, Disney announced it would open its latest Disney Vacation Club resort on 21 acres it had purchased in Ko Olina Resort, Oahu, with building slated to begin in 2008 with completion in 2011. The resort would offer both DVC units as well as standard hotel rooms for guests of the resort. With the announcement, DVC filed its remaining paperwork to allow its timeshare units to be sold in Hawaii. Three top executives were fired for selling 460 Ko Olina timeshare units for what were deemed unprofitable prices. The Hawaii resort opened as Aulani on August 28, 2011.[8]
In early 2011 it was reported that Disney had purchased land near National Harbor, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, D.C., to potentially build a resort similar to the three Disney Vacation Club resorts not located at Walt Disney World. In late November 2011, however, Disney announced that it had canceled plans to build a 500-room resort hotel at National Harbor.[9]
In 2011, the company announced that it would no longer allow secondary market DVC points purchasers to use their points on Disney Cruise Line, Adventures by Disney or the Concierge Collection luxury hotel group. In April 2016, Disney Vacation Development also ended the extension of Membership Extras benefits to those who purchase DVC contracts through secondary markets.[10]
Starting in mid-2015, DVC began using a nonjudicial foreclosure process forcing auction bidders to be present instead of allowing online bid submissions with the Orange County Clerk of Court's office.[11] In May 2016 DVC approved Vacatia for DVC resales. This would be in addition to such sales through Fidelity Resales. In May 2016, DVC announced that its new property at Disney's Wilderness Lodge would be called Copper Creek Villas & Cabins.[12]
Locations
| Property | Co-located | Location | Units | Opened | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Disney's Old Key West Resort (originally Disney Vacation Club Resort) | stand alone | Walt Disney World Resort | December 20, 1991 | [2] | |
| Bay Lake Tower | Contemporary Resort | 300 | August 4, 2009 | [7] | |
| Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas | Animal Kingdom Lodge | July 2, 2007 | [7] | ||
| Beach Club Villas | Beach Club Resort | July 1, 2002 | |||
| Disney's BoardWalk Villas | Disney's Boardwalk Resort | July 1996 | |||
| Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows | Disney's Polynesian Resort | April 1, 2015 | |||
| Treehouse Villas | Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa | 60 | May 17, 2004 | [7] | |
| The Villas at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort and Spa | Grand Floridian Resort & Spa | October 23, 2013 | |||
| Boulder Ridge Villas | Wilderness Lodge | November 15, 2000 | [12] | ||
| The Villas | Grand Californian Hotel & Spa | Disneyland Resort | September 2009 | [7] | |
| Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort | stand alone | Hilton Head Island, South Carolina | March 1, 1996 | [6] | |
| Disney's Vero Beach Resort | stand alone | Vero Beach, Florida | October 1, 1995 | [5] | |
| Aulani | stand alone | Ko Olina, Hawaii | August 28, 2011 | [8] |
See also
References
- 1 2 Allison Schaefers (October 6, 2007). "Disney's travel club cannot sell in Hawaii: A resort on Oahu is set, but the firm needs an OK to offer time shares". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved December 3, 2010.
- 1 2 Polsson, Ken. "Chronology of Walt Disney World (1990-1994)". Chronology of the Walt Disney Company. Ken Polsson. Retrieved September 24, 2015.
- The Disney Magazine, Spring 1996, Volume 31, Number 2. Page 18.
- Disney A to Z - The Updated Official Encyclopedia, by Dave Smith, 1998. Page 584.
- ↑ "Business Entity Detail: Disney Vacation Development, Inc. (search on name or Entity Number: C1701937)". California Business Search. Califorina Secretary of State. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ↑ Polsson, Ken. "Chronology of Walt Disney Company (Early 1993)". Chronology of the Walt Disney Company. Ken Polsson. Retrieved September 18, 2015.The New York Times, March 31, 1993. Page D4.
- 1 2 Smith, Dave (1998). "Vacation Club Resort, Vero Beach, Florida". Disney A to Z - The Updated Official Encyclopedia. p. 584. Retrieved September 24, 2015 – via Chronology of Walt Disney Company (End of 1994).
- 1 2 Vacation Club Resort, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. Page 584. Disney A to Z - The Updated Official Encyclopedia, by Dave Smith, 1998. Via Chronology of Walt Disney Company (1996 January-June).
- 1 2 3 4 5 Jason Garcia (September 16, 2008). "Disney's time-share kingdom grows". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved September 16, 2008.
- 1 2 Kain, Matthew (October 12, 2011). "Disney's Hawai'i-themed resort awakens local hopes and dreams". Honolulu Weekly. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ↑ Heath, Thomas (November 25, 2011). "In a blow to Prince George's, Disney backs out of National Harbor". Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2015.
- ↑ Pedicini, Sandra (April 4, 2016). "Disney Vacation Club eliminates perks for resale buyers". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- ↑ Pedicini, Sandra (January 18, 2016). "Disney begins bypassing courts with time-share foreclosures". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
- 1 2 Pedicini, Sandra (May 22, 2016). "DVC approves Vacatia, names its newest project". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved June 23, 2016.