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I know that many people are waiting with baited breath for the official announcment and sale of DVC units at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Villas. Personally I’m not looking to buy points there myself - but am looking forward to being able to use my AKV points to experience at least one night so close to Disney’s Magic Kingdom!
On September 8, 2008 the Walt Disney World Company filed a series of documents with Orange Country - all regarding the new DVC accommodations for Bay Lake Tower - and they included drawings of the pool area and the room layouts. The good news is that the 2-bed villas have three separate bathrooms so will easily sleep six adults - great for large families or those who like to travel with friends but still appreciate some privacy.
To view the drawings you need to head on over to DVCNews.com - and if you are a DVC owner or interested in buying points be sure to sign up for their RSS feed so you don’t miss out on future updates.
Despite applying for, and receiving, approval to sell time shares at the new Contemporary tower - under the resort name Bay Lake Tower - Disney has yet to make an official announcement about this new property.
During the Walt Disney Co.’s third-quarter earnings call yesterday afternoon, analyst Richard Greenfield of Pali Capital asked executives about the “new Disney Vacation Club supposedly being opened up shortly next to the Contemporary.”
Disney’s CEO Bob Iger didn’t take the bait and commented only that Disney is focused on selling the currently available shares in the Animal Kingdom Lodge.
Here’s Iger’s full response:
“The focus right now on the Vacation Clubs is in selling the Animal Kingdom property — both the conversion of the Vacation Clubs in the Animal Kingdom hotel, as well as the additional Vacation Club units that we’re creating in a new building structure adjacent to that hotel. And therefore the focus is on selling that. And that’s why we’ve made no other announcements, nor have we put any other new Vacation properties online, meaning for sale.”
According to the Orlando Sentinel Disney have been awarded a food-service license for a take-out eatery at Bay Lake Tower - the new Disney Vacation Club building next to the Contemporary Resort.
The restaurant has a working title of Bay Lake Tower Finish Kitchen and has a project completion date of September 1, 2009.
I can’t wait for this DVC Resort to open - we’re not planning on buying any points there but would like to use our existing points to stay so close to the Magic Kingdom!
As promised here is the second part of the *where should we stay when we go to Disney* update. On Wednesday I looked at the pros and cons of staying in a Disney World resort - and today we’ll look at the case for staying off property instead.
Pros of staying off site
Well the obvious one is cost - there are plenty of hotels, motels and private villa rentals available for less than the cost of staying in a Disney Resort
Easier to visit other attractions - there is life outside Disney World and you can choose your location depending upon the other attractions you want to visit on your trip - such as Sea World, Universal Studios, or the malls!
Access to cheaper restaurants - there are lots of “chain” eateries available to help you keep the costs down
More space - if you are travelling as a family then you may want to consider a villa - why cram yourselves into a hotel room when for a similar price you can have a whole house??
Breakfast facilities - you need to be at the parks before opening to avoid the lines - so you don’t want to waste valuable time eating breakfast in a restaurant - so choose a villa or a suite with kitchen facilities and you can fix yourself toast and cereal instead
Private pool - most villas come with private pools - so there’s no fighting over the sun loungers ;0)
Cons of staying off site
You’ll need a car (I don’t really see this as a con but some people can’t/don’t like to drive on holiday) - although you can get a coach or town car transfer from the airport, and many hotels do shuttle buses to Disney and the other parks you’ll be pretty stranded without your own transport
Takes longer to get to the parks - so you’ll have to forfeit a little of that lie-in!
No Disney perks - you’ll miss out on things like Extra Magic Hours
You’ll need to stick with your party - when relying on a car it’s less easy to split up
No Disney Magic - the extra magic you’ll experience by staying in a Disney resort just can’t be found anywhere else!
So there you have it - personally I am a BIG fan of staying off property; we usually hire a private villa and I love the convenience of the kitchen, the pool, and the extra space! We stay in Kissimmee and from most of the villa locations you can still be at the park gates within 20-25 minutes.
That being said we travel as a couple - and as we holiday there so often we have just invested in the Disney Vacation Club programme (timeshare) which gives us the luxury of a villa on Disney Property - the best of both worlds!
If you are planning a trip and you are looking for a private villa with a pool then you really can’t go wrong with this 4-bed in Cumbrian Lakes, Kissimmee. We stayed there for three weeks in May 2007 and loved it; I’ve stayed in a lot of villas over the years and this one put all of the others to shame - if we weren’t in the DVC system now I’d want to stay there every trip :0)
Any questions?
If you have any specific questions about staying off-site, or you just want to share your thoughts on which you think is best then post them down there in the comments section.
Hey Pal! Looks like you're new here. Don't forget to subscribe here to have future articles delivered directly to your inbox or subscribe here to have them delivered to your feed reader - it's free and easy! Every subscriber will receive my personalised Disney Autograph Book pages as a thank you - perfect for your next Disney trip, or as a Christmas gift.
Image via Wikipedia 
