Ladies and gentlemen, you've reached show 3 of the night for
this crew, which means that we're all really hungry and you
have no idea what we're going to say over the course.
Why you look so? Strict.
I don't sound like fact. I'm literally ordering my
DoorDash. Right, Jeff is doordashing right
now and Derek there is he's. Eating a napkin.
He's been eating a napkin. He's been crying like a little
bit, I think, and his wife is making tacos downstairs.
Oh, I. Know I'm so jealous.
So it's show 3 of the night. You know what you're going to
get from this show. Just hungry people talking about
Disney Vacation Club, maybe a little bit.
That voice makes me feel funny if.
You closed your eyes. It sounded like Derek a little
bit. Yes, welcome to show number
33333. Hey everybody, and welcome to
this week's episode of The DVC Show.
I'm your host, Paul Krieger, joined as always by my lovely
wife, Amy Krieger. Hello, we've got sales executive
and what is it? Brand ambassador?
Yeah, apparently something. Call me whatever you want.
Hey now everybody, happy Monday. All over the world, Happy
Monday. We have, we have quite a
worldwide audience. I'm pretty sure the the
Honorable Jeff Haslam, I told you, I warned you all at the
beginning that we was going to be a little bit crazy, a little
bit kooky. And that's what we do here.
You know, when we get to the end of the night.
But we have a fun show to round out, round out this round of
shows that we're filming tonight, which is the best DVC
resort of 2026. We put a you put a poll up on
the DVC fan Facebook. And I was the first one to
answer it to. We put a poll up on the DVC fan
Facebook group, which you're not a part of.
Please join in the conversation. We have some great conversations
over there. Wonderful community of people
just talking Disney Vacation Club all day every day.
But we asked them, and I think this is what you did great about
this that I think we've not done in years past where it was kind
of like, you only have one vote, you can only vote for one.
It wasn't like, vote for your top three or like, which ones do
you like? Yeah, or vote for all of them.
Like you really had to sit down and think and really your single
vote is what was cast. So I, I thought that was a fun
way to do this. Also, what was surprising to me
is I just told these people here and no one believed me.
And they were, they were on our YouTube page scouring it, trying
to find a show where we did this recently.
But I said, guys, we've not done a best like DVC resort, like
just blanket resort for the year since 2023.
It was December 2023. I think if you go back, it's our
last actual like we asked you this specific question what is
the best DVC resort and and discussed your your answer.
I think the top results were very different than they are
today too. They were we'll we'll get to
that as we kind of go through the answers tonight, but we've
done similar shows. We don't like best resort for
dining and you know, best resort to take Derek on a date or
something. But we've not we've not broached
this subject. And I think it, I think it
surprised a little bit of all of us.
Well, and I, I'm just excited because I finally get to hear
Derek say something different because there's no way with its
current state that he's picking the boardwalk this year.
Hey, don't. Well, it was hard.
Well, we can. We can get into it.
We can get into it later. Before we get into it, this and
all of our content is brought to you by Key Holder Vacations and
the world of DVCDVC Resale Market where you can buy and
sell that Disney Vacation Club contract.
Monera Financial who can assist in financing that resale market.
Purchase the DVC Rental store where you can try before you
buy. Rent some points or rent out
your own points for cash and unlock magic.com/DVC fan
discounted Universal, Walt Disney World and Disneyland Park
tickets. I love how Jeff's eyes went
sideways because I did that part backwards a little bit and it
scared me just as much as it scared him as I was saying it
so. Look at me.
When we look at each other, we screw it.
Up. All right, you cast the first
vote. I have to know what it is.
Yeah, I, I talked about it on the show before this, but so in
the past I'd I'd gone back and forth a lot between Boardwalk
and Grand Floridian. I think those were my two
favorite resorts and. Any sorry, would you mind
prefacing because when you did the poll and you wrote it, you
kind of gave like a good rationale about how you should
come up with what is the best resort.
So maybe those folks that didn't partake in the poll could know
why we're picking the resorts that we pick.
Those are great. Yeah.
Let me find really. Well, so you know.
She's a wordsmith, ladies and gentlemen.
She is great with words she was fantastic with.
Word. She was an English teacher for
11 years, so I'll read you exactly what she wrote.
With the beginning of the new year, we're curious what you
feel is the best DVC resort for 2026.
Here are the rules. Vote for only one, no matter how
hard it is, it's. Not really wordsmith material,
right? There, yes, we combined
Wilderness Lodge resorts because of shared amenities similar to
Animal Kingdom resorts. Think of everything that makes
the resort special. Let us know what influenced your
decision. Like seriously, it's like an
episode of Stranger We'll. Discuss the results in an
upcoming DVC show. Only not as good like a knockoff
Vecna from Stranger Things. Like the one you see in Times
Square asking for I'm in the upside down.
Like what is going on? Kudos to Jeff too, since we're
just on a Stranger Things tangent here.
Amy and I have been pressuring him for how long to to watch
Stranger Things and so has Tatum in your.
Yeah, it was. We watched 45 hours of TV in one
week, trying to mean Stranger Things because we never watched
it. We we season 1, we tried like 3
times. We could never get into it.
We pushed through, finally got to the good stuff.
And yeah, we blitzed through the entire series in one week.
Do you believe I believe? Do you believe?
Yeah, I have to for my SO. I'll be sad.
Derek, do you believe? Do you or do you not know what
we're talking? About.
I have no idea what you're talking.
About I do want to I do want to say one thing because I just
love I love learning about our community and the things that we
have in common outside of Disney because obviously we know
everybody. You know, if you're watching
this, you probably care about DVC or Disney, but I love
knowing like the other connections that we have.
So let us know if you are a Stranger things watcher and if
and how soon you watched the like the new chapters when they
dropped because Paul made me watch chapter 2 of season 5
Christmas night. Now, we didn't rearrange our
plans like some people did, which was crazy.
But you know, I, I, I, I respect it.
But after our family left, which was like 9:00 PM perfect time,
that's when we we. Were only an hour behind.
That's when we started it, yeah. But then then we were only going
to watch 2 and then by the time we ended the second.
That was only because you said? I was like, we have to finish it
now, like we have to watch the last one so.
Amy, Amy likes resolution when it comes to things.
So she could not go. She would have been up half the
night or she would have Googled it.
That's the other problem, which, yeah.
Which I didn't do with any of this season, no, and that is
surprising. But that's because I told you we
had to watch it immediately or else like the next like.
I know I don't want it to be spoiled the.
The finale, which was the finale, All you fake people that
think that's. Supposed to be.
Alternate finale that's going to come out in the next 20 minutes
tonight. Tatum was all in on that, by the
way. Like she was 100% sure.
Well, we got they were, they were dropping shows at 8:00 PM.
So if you, if, if you, if this show wraps up really quickly in
another, you know, 23 minutes, then you'll know that they
dropped, they dropped a fake finale.
They already addressed it and they said it's Boo hockey.
Nuts. Part of me wanted to believe in
that. Yeah, but like we, you know, New
Year's Eve, Jeff, you were at our house.
We invited Derek, but he had better things to do.
And you know. Dogs.
The, the, the, the final episode dropped at 8:00 PM.
We didn't get to watch it till the next day.
You know, Jeff didn't watch it for a couple days later.
But like, in just a couple hours, there were so many things
that came across like my Instagram.
I know and. Everything else that I'm just
like, I can't, I can't watch. I need to and that's why I'm
like Amy, like literally next morning I'm like poking Amy at
like 9:00 in the morning. Like you got to get up so that
we can watch this because I'm not going to not there's
somethings going to happen and I'm going to see something.
That's that's how I feel every single time there's a finale of
The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.
I'm the exact same way and you think I'm kidding but I'm not.
Kidding. I know you're not kidding.
We're probably missing it. He's probably missing the show
right now and he's he's nervous about it.
All right, we gotta get back on track.
I'm sorry for that. Even Paul and our group chats
would blow up and just ask something unrelated to anything.
I'm like, not now. Stranger Things talk later.
All right, all right. Anyway, so you asked me what my
my pick was. Your pick.
So yeah, so, so, well, I we really did get off the rails.
So I had gone back and forth for for a couple years between
Borwalk and Grand Thorry and Borwalk and Grand Thorry.
And I still love both. But for some reason, like, soon
as I put that pull out, like in my heart, it was like, where do
I want to be right now? And the answer to that was I
wanted to be at Animal Kingdom fellas for multiple reasons. 1
you know, I know that the odds of getting refurbished room are
slim to none right now, but they are so good looking.
They look so awesome. So I'm so excited for that
Number two, we ate at Boma what, a few weeks ago.
It was so good. I just I just love Boma.
I love. We haven't done dinner for a
long time. Yeah, I love so, so many things
there. And I know I rag on Jeff all the
time, but I got the I got the chicken nuggies and they were
great. And I didn't that night.
I didn't even get any. I know I had some too because I
that mustard is so good. The coconut rice, just so many
good things there. I love, I love the dining over
there. Sanaa, Chico.
Oh my goodness, we've been to Chico for a while.
I need to go back there Thelma. I even like the Mara.
I just really love the atmosphere over there.
I this is an unpopular opinion, but I would rather go to Jumbo
house and admire the tree over there than Wilderness lodge just
because I just love the the way the tree goes over there.
I don't know, I just love I don't know.
I just really, really, my heart was at Animal Kingdom Lodge,
Animal Kingdom Villas when I, when I chose.
So that's, that's my choice. And and I've I still feel that
way, you know, like 5 days later.
We'll see how that folds up over the course of the next 30
minutes or so as we reveal the results.
I think what's what's going to be fun about this is like, I'm
going to reveal like what was your, was your resort
eliminated? And then I'm going to announce
some and we'll see if I eliminate some before I ask, ask
one of you like what the what, what your choice is.
But Amy, your choice was not eliminated just quite yet.
So it's still, it's still in the running for the best DVC resort
of 2026. But I'm really worried about the
next person that I'm about to ask a question to because I'm
about to reveal the bottom of the barrel in terms of our
polling and our results in 16th place.
And I'm just going to linger here briefly with 0.2% of the
vote, three people. Three people voted for Vero
Beach. Three people.
Out of like almost 1300, yeah. I know it.
Yeah, I'm OK with that. Yeah, Vero Vero Beach came in
16th place. But I don't think that's for a
lack of it not being a good resort.
Like no at the end of the day the beach resorts don't get the
love they deserve. Most people that buy DVC are
buying to stay at Disney World. Even Disneyland doesn't get the
love it deserves most people. Are not 15th place Disneyland
Hotel 0.5% of the vote. That's just circumstances.
This one really shocked me though. 14th place Fort
Wilderness. Now, granted, there's not a lot
of owners out there, but it just kind of shows you kind of what
the Disney Vacation Club thinks about this brand new, what the
what the community thinks about this brand new property is
they're just kind of meh, not really not really sold.
Now, I maybe not enough people have experienced it.
Like I do love the cabins. I love the ability to, you know,
the fact that you can take your dogs there if you have two or
less, but you know, it, it is a good resort and I think, you
know, it's good for that. And the last of the bottom of
the barrel. And there is a theme here, you
know, 13th place with 1% of the vote, Hilton Head Resort.
So a lot of these go to what you said, Amy, which is that some of
these are in those areas that are not as popular.
And so that's what puts them in this bottom of the list.
Before I go any further, Derek, has your has your choice for
best DVC resort of 2026? Has it been eliminated yet?
No, no it's not. No, I.
Buy. So when you say eliminated, you
mean like it's not number one? Yeah, like for the number one.
Yeah, essentially. I've not named it yet.
Got it. I really expected Vero Beach to
be your choice, but Derek, what is your pick for what should be
#1 He's. Gonna say, oh, he's gonna say
Grand Floridian. That's my guess.
So. Bay Lake Tower.
Yeah. Well, yeah.
So if I'm giving out, to use the analogy, my final rose to a
Disney Vacation Club resort, I'm thinking of a resort that I
think if you take someone like a space alien and say transport
them into one resort, that simply to me personifies that is
everything. Not only Disney Vacation Club,
but everything Disney, right? It's got everything that you
think of when you think of Disney.
If you could spend just one day, one night at one resort that
personifies Disney. This resort is the one that I
would pick and my choice for best resort 2026.
I don't know how I didn't guess that I.
Haven't seen it. My hot link here represented by
one of the best. Part.
Shirt we always see, we mostly see his if you guys can see the
real image that I have of how he frames his camera up.
That's. Basically it it's mostly ceiling
90% of the time, but. No, I'm, I'm going with the
Polynesian. It was honestly a a hard choice.
I mean, I thought about Bureau, but to me, again, I looked at
this like, if I get one night at a Disney, what would I do?
That's just 100% Disney. To me.
There's nothing better that a it's the Polynesian, one of the
original, you know, first Disney resorts, period.
That feeling when you walk into the lobby of the Polynesian and
again, you've got the best Disney gift shop, the boutique
right over here on this side. But then again, you look
straight Outback and you've got that little patch of fake grass,
the little turf. But my God, then you've got the
pool and you've got a dead shot of just Cinderella Castle.
Now, I think that resort has everything.
With the new tower, you've got your choice.
So you can't just say, yeah, it's a great resort, but there's
no one bedrooms. There's no, you know, 2
bedrooms, but you got everything.
Now that resort has quick service.
It's got Ohana. It has, of course.
What's that Kona Cafe that you have?
It's got three pools. The new pool over at the tower
is my new favorite pool on Disney property.
Every time I've been there. It's never really that crowded.
It's got the best pool views, bar none.
My God, you're there on that pool deck looking over.
Cinderella Castle is directly right in front of you.
So you've got three pools. Transportation wise, you've got
the awesome underrated, I think, little tiny boats that can take
you to the Magic Kingdom. You can.
If you wanted to walk to the Magic Kingdom, you've got the
monorail. If you want to go to Epcot, you
walk over there to the TTC and hop on the Epcot monorail.
You've got the dining is not only right there at the Poly,
which again has Wailua Grill, by the way.
You've got, you can walk over to the Grand and you've got
everything at access to the Grand Floridian, which I love.
Again, it was hard not to pick it.
But I think at the end of the day for me, when I think of
Disney and I think of Disney magic, and again, I love that
analogy. If you can take anybody on Earth
for one day who's never been to Disney World, what are they
going to think of? And you end your night sitting
on the beach watching the Polynesian fireworks at the Poly
going back to one of the amazing rooms that they have there.
I'm going there in March for a couple nights for a little a
spring break staycation and I absolutely cannot wait.
So, Polynesian, I love you and I'll see you in March.
All righty. Then that's a solid choice.
It was I, I, I mean, you can't go around with Polynesian it.
Wasn't even on my radar for some reason, I don't know why.
I, I, yeah, I mean, it's still in the running, so still got a
chance. So moving on to round out kind
of get us into the top ten. I'll give you, I'll give you 2
more here before we get into the top ten. 12th place with 1.1% of
the vote. Grand Californian, which also
kind of just follows the same theme that we've had here.
I did want to pepper in a couple comments.
We did ask our DVC fan community to give us some, you know,
reasons why they voted what they did.
So Mario Sierras said Great Californian.
It was our first contract. We now have 5, the best lobby
out of all the resorts, direct park entrance, extremely low
inventory and best restaurant, the Napa Rose of course, 2 full
bathrooms in the one bedroom and three full bathrooms in the
three bedroom grand villa. Nothing beats the DCA Pixar pier
view. And that is why Maurio voted for
Grand Californian. And I just love that.
I think it's a it's a testament to what we always say that there
is a resort for everyone. And none of these answers are
are wrong. And there's a special reason why
each person loves each and every one of these resorts.
I will say about Grand Californian because obviously we
love it. You know, it's one of our home
resorts. There is no other DVC resort
where you are that close to the theme park like you, you have
your own entrance. And he's right about, you know,
the view, like you can hear the people screaming on the credit
coaster. So it is, it is a really, really
fantastic resort. Also, I want to give a shout out
to the quick service over there. I think that is one of the best
quick service, busy, you know, restaurants.
So, yeah, yeah. Well, and Carrie Crevel, one of
our contributors posted, you know in our group their
character dining at Christmas with the characters from.
Oh yeah, storytellers. Christmas Carol, I wish we had
those here. I just have to say like, I think
that is such a unique and special experience that I'm
dying to go and try. I I love.
Those, yeah, and that lobby at Christmas, Oh my goodness, with
when they get the the piano player out and they got the.
Fire going, it's as magic, it's as magical as wilderness lob.
Yeah, absolutely. Grand Florida in that time.
Of year and you talked about its own entrance and being closer
nothing closer to a park than grand Californian but out the
other door is downtown Disney with a myriad of dining options
like. Yeah, there's.
No other place that you're that in the middle of it.
Yeah, that is true. It's almost like having a resort
in a theme park like it is it, it gives you that full feel,
which is something that we don't have here at Walt Disney World
on the East Coast. So moving on to #11 Saratoga
Springs with 2.9% of the vote. This is when the the percentages
kind of pick up a little bit as we as we move on here.
Saratoga Springs 2.9% Melissa Nicole said.
I decided to vote Saratoga. Number one is responsiveness of
staff, housekeeping and bell services.
Completing tasks within 20 minutes at such a huge resort.
And that's very true. I hope, I hope that Mary and
Clay are watching and they give it another chance because we
interviewed that. You'll see that.
Kind of future show, but their their experience was was further
back. So yeah, give it another shot.
Melissa also said she just walked to Disney Springs for the
first time from Saratoga and that was great.
And she said this is my vote. And so there you go, Saratoga
Springs in 11th place and it's next door neighbor in 10th
place, Old Key West Resort with 3% of the vote.
Amy Marie mentioned owning here, but she did end up agreeing with
Derek and she voted for Polly instead.
So not a direct comment, but she she went with Polynesian Oaky,
Jeff Oaky W 10th, 10th place. Did we?
Did we mention your pick yet? No, you did not.
And I mean, I'm not surprised. Saratoga and Old Key West, they
suffer from their transportation problem, you know, bus only to
the parks and being very, very large resorts.
I get it. I mean, I still have my love for
Old Key West for obvious reasons, but even dining wise,
you know, good to go is just OK. It's more when I think of Old
Key West, it's about the rooms. It's not about the dining, it's
not about the transportation, it's about the room.
The rooms are what sets it apart for me.
But no, I didn't pick that as my favorite this year.
I did. Not What did you pick as your
favorite this year? Believe it or not, and this is
shocking because, well, it's shocking for two reasons.
Number one, I'm shocked that Derek has changed his tune a
little bit this year. But I'm also shocked that I
changed my tune because if you go back to the last time we
talked about this, my least favorite is now my most excited
for and that's Animal Kingdom. Like like Amy, the last time we
did this, I was pretty hard on Animal Kingdom because I talked
about how far away it is and how dark it is and stuff.
But these refurbishments I am so excited for and I've stayed here
a couple of times over the last year.
There is something that I missed the first time I stayed there
that is very, very special. It's just a very cozy, very home
you. Know.
The dining like we've talked about Boma so much I believe it
or not, I've never eaten at G Co So if you guys want to remedy
that this year I'm available anytime yes please because I'm
dying to try it but boma for breakfast and dinner is
phenomenal. The rooms are I I think what
changed it for me is somebody didn't jump the balcony and try
and get into my cabin and. That was all the difference.
And that's quite a difference. I mean that does that does
change your your tune. But I am just really excited
about this refurbishment. I love just the whole feel of
the lodge, even Kidani which I know gets some hate because of
those never ending hallways. The last time I stayed there, we
were at the very last room at the very end of the hall on
floor 5I almost said deck 5, because on floor 5 I didn't
care. It's almost.
It feels very quiet and peaceful over there too, like when you're
way down at the end of the hall, like nobody can bother you down
there, like. And at least.
It has food over there and it has its own gift shop.
It's not like Bay Lake Tower where you have to trudge over to
contemporary to eat or shop, you know it or even, you know, old
Key West. You have to go far if you want
any of that kind of stuff. So I don't know, I, I, I know
people like the Jambo pool better.
I do like the bar over there better, but I really like
Kidani's pool because Jambo, the water slide's not even really a
water slide. It's like a like a slip and
slide that you could do in your backyard and it's a giant
cesspool full of people. Or Kidani is kind of out of the
way and the hot tubs are kind of secluded at behind the trees.
And I don't know, I just, I've, I've really fallen in love with
that resort. I alluded to this months ago and
I I still think it could be a slam dunk for for Disney and DVC
is if you converted somehow the rest of Jabo house and and made
both properties, Disney Vacation Club, you're going to sell it
like hotcakes. Even though it's a, even though
it's a smaller year property, like it's going to be, it would
be the the least number of years if they wanted to roll it into
the existing associations. But you know, you flip the rest
of Jambo house into DVC like it's just, it's going to sell
like hotcakes. People just can't get enough of
that resort. It just it is, it is.
It gives you being in a theme park without being in a theme
park, without happening to buy a ticket and the relaxation.
And with this refurbishment, people are not going to want to
leave this resort. It is going to be busier than
ever. Well, I haven't even mentioned
the Savannahs. Like, I mean, that's what I
mean. But yeah.
Yeah, I had even went up to go meet some friends at Animal
Kingdom in Jambo in December and we met up for drinks in one of,
I think one of the most underrated bars on property,
which is Victoria Falls, which I think when you go there and you
walk into that, again, I'm just such a sucker for that feeling
of like walking into a really great lobby.
Like to me, it just means everything whether you're there
for just a couple of drinks or whether you're staying for an
entire week. I don't think there's a better
lobby on property and I forget every single time I go that I
don't necessarily use my points to stay there all the time
because there's other places I like to stay.
But my God, every time I walk into that lobby, I forget how
beautiful that resort is, how many little nooks and crannies
and out of the way places there are to just sit and then you go
down. And it's got a great gift shop
too, by the way. It does.
Gift shop there. I love it, but that Victoria
Falls is such a great bar. And again, you've got Bulma,
you've got what's the, what's the quick service called, Jeff?
Mara, Mara. Mara yeah, that place is great.
Yeah, You know, I love that pool.
So yeah, you guys keep talking and now the rooms look
fantastic. I may just have to use a couple
of Jeff's points to be able to stay there this year.
As long as I can come with you, we can go anytime you want.
Let's have a sleep, let's do it. One thing too about Kadani that
I just want to say before we move on real quick is, I mean at
Jumbo House, the lobby for sure, hands down, no question.
But to see the animals, you have to walk down those stairs and
out the doors and hike a little, you know, or Kadani, you can see
them from the lobby, like from that over perch, you know, So,
yeah. I don't know.
The little rocking chairs over there that you can sit there and
watch the giraffes go by, I think it's really cool.
It's just a really cool. Vibe it is.
It is really cool. Phil and I, Phil, Phil Murphy,
who's been on the show a couple times, and I spent time in those
rocking chairs one time overlooking the Savannah.
And he says it's one of his favorite memories of us together
because we both just realized the moment where neither of us
talked to each other. We just sat and rocked for a
better part of like, 15 to 20 minutes.
I think you and Pauline, we're doing like a photo shoot with a
zebra or something. I don't know.
But we just sat in these rocking chairs and it was just so
peaceful. You had like the little bit of
background music and you're just looking out over the Savannah
and we didn't say a word. And he's like that.
There's very few friends that they can do that.
Like they can just realize the moment and just sit and take it
in and like, yeah, that that was the place for it, so.
So funny that you brought him up because literally about 15
minutes ago he sent me a photo of a lion with a funny meme
under it. Like so he must like animal
kingdoms too. Yeah, yeah, he bought one of
their homers. Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, it is. I was in, I was in Universal
Studios and convinced him into a resale contract for for Animal
Kingdom Lodge. I remember that.
So moving on in our list here, I'm going to give you up to #5
in terms of where the votes are coming in at #9 Aulani, 4% of
the vote, April said. Aulani, best reason.
Auntie's beach house in paradise.
My kids adored it. I could go to the spa without
worrying. You can paddle board, snorkel,
see sea turtles, and then head to a luau with Mickey and
Minnie. It's a literal bucket list
resort and I think where Aulani suffers is it it not enough
people have been there, not enough people have been able to
experience the. Parents it did better than I
thought though it it got above a lot of resort yeah and yeah it
beat out all the Disneyland resorts so.
And it beat out a couple of Walt Disney World you've.
Never been there, right? I have not been there.
God, you. Just missed it out.
We need to go back to it is it is definitely a bucket list type
place to go. All the way up at #8 So about
midway through our list here, Derek's favorite Bay Lake tower
with 4.4% of the vote. So Bay Lake Tower doing pretty
good for itself, just coming off of its refurbishment.
And Oh yeah. On a note of Bay Lake Tower, I
don't think we've said this on any kind of show, but did you
know that they did add some of the Joey to Art to the kiosk at
the Contemporary? Yeah.
There's a kiosk in the gift shop.
Yeah, they do gifts inside the contemporary a frame.
And so at some point, my wife is going to buy us.
I know I'm pretty. Sure.
I'm not. I'm I'm I'm budgeting right now.
We don't. Have too many walls that don't
have art. On we don't have very many walls
left. Running out of walls, that's.
A problem. That becomes becomes a premium
7th place with 5.4% of the vote. Beach Club Villas Jennifer voted
for Beach Club. Love the location to Epcot and
Hollywood Studios. The food options are great.
My kids are teenagers now and aren't interested in Magic
Kingdom or even Animal Kingdom at this point.
The pool area is the best on property.
We just love the charm of this resort.
Holly also added Love Beach Club, it's favorite mostly due
to the memories and location. My daughter when she was younger
would want to be in that pool more than be in the parks.
Gorgeous sunsets, then ice cream right there.
It's just our place. Can't go wrong with with that
general area. Crescent Lake is, you know,
special. We can only hope that they
inject some love back into the boardwalk area and kind of just
continue to bring some of that that charmer on that resort
area. But.
I was just, I was just there on on the 26th for my son 21st
birthday and we stayed at the boardwalk for one night.
It was fantastic. But yeah, man, it just sticks
out when you realize so much of that is empty and it's just,
it's so strange to me. But yeah, hopefully when they
get some news soon, I hope, I hope.
When we took, when my mom was here right before Christmas, we
took them to Crescent Lake. We ate at Beach Club and, you
know, walked the whole loop. I know I'm going to get hate for
this, but that Beach Club is now taking my #16 spot.
It's my least favorite of all the resorts without question.
Yeah. Whoa.
I know. I know I can.
It's so weird. Like to walk from one Moby to
the other is like a maze. You got to go this way and then
you got to go this way and then you got to go outside and then
you got to go this way. And we had a great time.
Don't get me wrong, like I'm, if I got to stay there, I would
still stay there. When I say least favorite,
that's a sliding scale. But we did have a lot of fun at,
we did the kitchen sink at beaches and cream for the first
time, which was, which was fun. But to go on the water side, you
got to like walk through Epcot to get to it.
I don't know, I it's just not my favorite place to stay.
I, yeah, I used to love Beach Club so much and it's not as
high on my list as it used to be.
I mean, like, I love all the resorts.
So you know what I mean? There's no, there's no hate, but
I, I don't know, there's like little things to me that as we
continue to be members, like you're the things you value
change and like how you spend your points changes.
And so you know what I mean? Like if I'm going to spend my
points, you know, I, I like, I like being on my balcony.
I like a really good view. And I've never loved a beach
club balcony. I've never loved it.
First of all, I've always felt like they're very dingy and then
you just there's no really good views.
Like some of the ones that were looking the floor okay, but
they're just weird. Remember we had that really
weird one that it was like we were just like we were
overlooking like 12 other balconies.
Yeah, 12 other balconies. There's like no privacy on that
side. The other side where you're
facing the trees. It's, it's definitely like a
little dingier over there. Like those balconies have like
some grime and stuff on them. But but you know, those are like
the things I value more. And, and I'm not gonna lie, then
taking the crab legs away from Cape May just completely
diminished my love and whatever shred I had left.
Welcome. Back to the balconies.
It's like balcony roulette. Is it going to be this big?
Is it going to be this? Big.
Is it going to be triangular, A parallelogram like?
Yeah, you just don't know so. Well, yeah, and, and everything
about that resort shows that it came after that.
It was an afterthought. It was, Oh my God, this Disney
Vacation Club. So.
Way in the back, yeah. So where can we put it?
And again, so if you don't like that, all the people clamoring
for like, we want a Yacht Club, OK, it's going to be just like
that. It's going to be just like the
beach club so. When we were there this last
month, I've I've been to that resort a bunch of times and I
still wandered into places I'd never found, like found myself
in before. There's like a whole library
with a pool table and I was like where is this?
Like a Oh yeah, yeah. It's so true.
They did, they redid that room too.
It looks really nice. Yeah.
And that's it's, it's still a
great resort. It's just not up in my top five,
you know, anymore. Right before we get to the top
five. This one surprised me, but then
I looked into it a little bit in terms of its fall from grace.
So back in 2023, which again was the last show that I think we
did this on, if you can find another one, I would love to
know because I I couldn't fight it.
But anyhow, back in 2023 this was in second place, but that
was also driven by the fact that it was an actively selling
property in 20. 23 and. That was the Grand Floridian.
No, OK. Moving down to 6th place with
5.5%. Still actively.
Selling, yeah, Grand Floridian definitely took a tumble there,
but I think it was also it's, it's just driven by the emotion
of the time. A lot of people were buying
Grand Floridian at the time because he couldn't pass it up
when it was, you know, some of those early direct deals were
pretty great for it. And you know, all those new
studios being added with Big Pine Key.
So Grand Floridian, it's finally finishing its transformation.
I feel like it's been a work in progress for it's.
Probably part of it not getting as many votes.
Like I think people are really disappointed without it having a
gingerbread house this year. We don't know if it's coming
back next year, you know what I mean?
Some people don't like the the new bar edition.
So so it has a kind of some of that stuff going for it still.
I mean, I've always loved the grand but.
What what's funny is unrelated, but related, Jeff and I were
talking, you know, about videos we want to do for DVC fan in the
new year. And I just want to have like a,
a guy's night at, at the, at the tea tea room.
So we're going to just go have like afternoon tea.
We'll dress up all dapper and everything like that.
You should. And Amy, you can go to Bippity
Boppity Boutique, but we do tea I'm.
Probably going to go to why Lulu sit at the bar.
We can buy the new bar and get the one drink that they sell.
I know, yeah. Moving into our top five for the
night right before we do, I will say that both resorts that I
kind of view as some of my favorite right now have been
eliminated. And I, I voted here a little bit
based off of emotion to a degree, which is like, what is
that emotional pool like? Where do I want to go back to
that? I can't wait to go back to #1 on
that list is Aulani. And I'm still very much hoping
out hope that maybe in 2026 I get there.
But we will wait and see kind of what the what the winds bring us
in the in the future of this year.
But I really want to get back to Aulani.
It's been way too long since we've been there.
And that trip was very special for Amy and I.
I think it really kind of catapulted a whole, you know,
evolution of our lives. And so it's kind of that turning
point for me that kind of that then brought us to Florida and,
and everything. And it was just a it was very
emotional trip. It was a very special trip and
so beautiful there. It's just, you can't a very,
very breathtaking experience. So.
Yeah, make it out to Aulani if you can for sure.
And then the. Summerfest.
Summerfest 2027. Well, and most people don't know
this, but my trip to Aulani is when Derek and I, his friendship
kind of began because he sent me an e-mail saying that my
contract got Roeford and it kind of started the e-mail
conversation. And then I flew from there to
Disney World with some friends and we met up for a drink.
So. You met up there after he
roofered your contract. Yeah.
In that moment of receiving the e-mail, was there anger towards
Derek or there was not? No, he knows how it works.
That was our which I always have fond memories of the Grand
Floridian because Jeff, if you remember, that was the very
first time that we met and that was me, you and Amy.
And we had lunch at the Grand Floridian and we.
OK, I was going to ask you where you went.
OK. Grand Floridian Cafe the cafe
and. You immediately threw me under
the bus, as you recall, because you were laughing so hard that I
ordered breakfast with a beer. That's.
Right, that's that's how I knew that I found my spirit animal.
The bromance that's happening on this show right now, it's just
too much for me. Like, yeah, do you want us to
just tap out and let you guys reminisce other magical memories
together? Before people get upset, it was
it was like a brunch it. Wasn't that that was a good
story. I I enjoyed it and I didn't know
that. So there Alani is very special.
Alani's very special. And though Derek has never been
there. Also on my list is Hilton Head.
Wow, OK. I wasn't sure what you would
pick. And you didn't pick anything at
Disney World, so that was surprising.
No, yeah. I think it's just it's kind of
that testament to you and me loving to travel anymore.
Like all of these are great. I love all of the answers to
these And, and you know, Polynesian is a great pick.
You know, Animal Kingdom Lodge is a great pick.
All I, I, I, there's not one of these that I can say is, is a
bad pick. It's just for me, it's like
emotionally, like, where do I really want to go back to right
now? Alani's number one, Hilton
Head's number 2. You really?
Want to go back to? You know, Head is really high on
my list. We we don't, like I said, we've
we've sold a lot of our contracts off.
We don't have very many points. So we're we're kind of getting
nitpicky about where we're going to stay, but it's either going
to be Vero or Hilton Head this year that we use.
Yeah. That's awesome.
If you had to pick one Disney World one, what would it be
right now? I think my answer there is
Polynesian right now, just based off of the resort as a whole,
the feeling that I have there. One of my most best, most recent
memories was when you were covering Destination D 23 and I
went to Wailulu by myself and sat at the bar by myself.
He ain't by himself. It was just such an experience
and I think it ties back to, you know, my my choice of Aulani is
because I said this when we, you know, covered the grand opening
of the island tower, which was over a year ago now.
Pretty crazy to think, but it's been been open a year.
But I go back to remember sitting in that lobby and just
going, they nailed the feel of this compared to the original
Polynesian here because it is a it, it's just a perfect meld of
two different variations of that Polynesian culture.
You have the very kind of what I would call like the commercial
tiki culture of like the 1970s, which is prevalent in the
original Polynesian. And then you have, you know, the
true Polynesian artistic design and aesthetic that is pronounced
throughout the island tower. And just the feel, you can feel
the difference between the two properties, which I didn't
expect when they, when they announced it, even, you know,
they're so close to each other. I just didn't expect to get that
feeling. But that's what made it special,
so. Yeah, I I do love the Polly.
When we were doing our resort tours for for Christmas the
other day and I met Jeff Drivazio for a drink while we
were waiting for you guys to get done with work.
You just sometimes forget what a special place why Lulu is any
time of the day. You know, that view is just, I
think it's the best view that any Disney lounge has.
Taking us into our top five picks in 5th place with 7.1% of
the vote, the Boardwalk Villas, Martin said.
I voted for Boardwalk because we just stayed there in November.
It was my first trip to Disney since being cancer free.
Maybe it was because we were treated like royalty, but it was
both an emotional and amazing trip.
I hope we get Boardwalk next December.
What was his name? Say Martin.
Martin. Martin.
Yeah. Congratulations, Martin.
So I and, and again, I this is
this is what's special about, you know, not only this
community, but also just like all these resorts is that it's
really just, you know, what pulls at your heartstrings.
You know, what is that trip that just either you watch, you know,
a little one fall in love with Disney, or you celebrate just
such an incredible milestone Like Martin is so 4th place and
also dipping on the list, moving down from 3rd place in 2023.
The one that we have talked about pretty frequently tonight,
the Polynesian 14.4% of the vote.
So in fourth place, the Polynesian Villas Amy Marie said
we own at Oakie W Animal Kingdom Lodge and Polly.
But Dang it, my 47 year old Brady Bunch loving heart had to
vote for Polly. I feel like I'm in the Bradys Go
to Hawaii episodes when we stay in the longhouses.
That was a legit reason. Joanna said the Polynesian will
always be my favorite Disney resort in Orlando.
The monorail access walking path boat rides make getting to Magic
Kingdom easy and the views of Cinderella Castle fireworks from
the beach are pure Disney magic. The Polynesian isn't just a
place to stay, it's a part of the experience.
There you go. I couldn't write these things if
I tried like right? No, that's awesome.
Yeah, yeah. So if if my math is mathing,
correct me if I'm wrong, but our top three then are Riviera,
Riveness Lodge, Riviera, and Animal Kingdom.
Mm Hmm. Mm, hmm, yeah, I see.
I wasn't even thinking that hard.
Yep. Interesting.
Yeah, I'm mostly I'm surprised about Riviera.
Me too. Yeah, I thought it would have
been down near Grand Floridian. Any guesses at what what #1
might be based off of the the information, not the?
Wilderness Lodge then that would be my guess #1.
I say animal Kingdom and I say that it's still, it's an amazing
choice, but I think just volume wise, I think there's more
animal Kingdom owners and everybody loves their home
resort. So I think just because it's a
larger resort, there's more points, there's more owners that
they went in there all in. But I got to throw in two, Paul,
like just like you said, listening to this list, every
time you name a resort, I go, God, you know what, I probably
should have picked that one and then someone else named another
one. You're like.
I got it. Forget about that.
That's what makes this club so flipping great is that there is
truly something for everybody. I get goosebumps because I have
memories, honestly, at almost every single one of these
resorts, which makes it hard except panic.
But but I do have memories because I remember selling it
direct. But it's the fact that as
members, we can say, hey, you know what, I bought this one
resort. But you know what's cool?
I remember listening to that show or watching that show and
the way that they talked about the Polynesian or the way they
talked about Hilton Head or the way, you know what?
I think I want to give that a try.
Our membership allows you to do that.
And I think that's the coolest thing in the world is you don't
have to sit there and go, oh, crap, I bought the wrong Jordan.
I could never go to, you know, Vero Beach or I could never go
to the Polynesian. That's what's cool is you can
listen to a show like this and get pumped up and excited for
future trips. So.
Yeah, that's awesome. I will put the asterisk here and
just kind of say that I really like how you put together this
poll this year. And I think in the future, it's
the way that we probably should do it, because I think that
these, the resorts sharing amenities is impactful.
And I imagine that the, the results here would be very
similar if we went back to the 2023 data and actually put it
together like that. Because I think in 2023 we did
separate out specifically, I want to just say Copper Creek
and Boulder Ridge when it, when it came to these numbers.
And so I, I even vividly remember kind of adding those
two back together and going well, this would kind of switch,
you know, the, the order and the placement of these resorts.
So I think it's, it's impactful to know that, you know, two of
the three resorts that were in the, in the top three back in
2023 are still there. They're still some of the, you
know, most, most favorite resorts.
And the resort that was impacted probably by the poll results and
how we change the numbers is the one that neither Jeff or Derek
just mentioned. It is Riviera Resort dropping
from #1 in 2023 to 3rd place here with 14.5% of the vote.
And again, I, I don't want to take, I don't want that to take
away from Riviera because again, I think, you know, how you, how
you would maybe crunch these numbers or do the, do the
polling would change that. But Riviera lovers love Riviera,
and we said this back in 2023. Like, you know, we, we.
Yeah, and I wonder. So it was definitely a lot
shinier, and not that it's not shiny and pretty still, but it
was newer, you know what I mean? Coming up on 7 years old, yeah.
Crazy back then. Seven.
Yeah, I'm pretty sure. Hey I really thought it was like
3 it. It opened pre pandemic so my
goodness it opened in December 29th.
I remember it being in December. OK, Wow.
Yeah. So.
But yeah, I mean, there's a lot to love there, you know, It is
still. Actually it is 7 if I do if I
did that math correctly. Yeah, it is still one of the
most luxurious aesthetics, you know, in a resort, especially
when you look at the rooms and just how well they're kept and
how nicely they were done, you know?
That means it's coming up on a soft good soon.
That's pretty wild to. Think it doesn't even feel like
it. I maybe it does, I don't know.
But but yeah, I get it. It's not on my end.
When we got trapped there. But I've I've been on record
saying this a bunch of times. The one bedroom at Riviera is my
favorite room on property without without question my my
biggest complaint about Riviera is I don't like that the pools
are next to each other. It just seems weird.
Like every other Disney resort, you have a quiet pool over here.
And the. Main feature pool over here.
This one like that should have just made it one big giant pool
at that point because. Yeah.
I want someone to go back to that 2023 video because I
watched parts of it earlier today and I listened to Jeff
talk about the polls, I'm pretty sure at the Riviera back in
2023. So that sounds right pretty, but
it is so cool those those mosaics, you know, in between on
your way to the sky liner, the Rapunzel mosaics and I still
love Topolinos. I It's just a beautiful resort.
What? What I.
Yeah, I, I have this like, love, hate relationship with topolinos
because they took away so many good menu items.
There's like, no, there's like one pasta.
And and you know what? I used to complain.
I used to say they literally have pasta decor like hanging
under behind the glass. They took all that away.
It's all gone. Did you know that?
Yeah. Wow.
Yeah, and they still got the noodle lights.
The other thing that I'll give Riviera credit for is that I
think we have Riviera to thank for a lot of the refurbishment
artwork and the style of refurbishment that we are now
getting in a lot of these newer resorts.
You know, it was one of the first to introduce in the, the,
the Murphy bed. Saratoga was up there as one of
the first also, but it introduced that which, you know,
every DVC resort basically has almost.
And in addition to that, you just have this mindset of being
tasteful to the style of the resort while also injecting
those subtle, you know, Disney touches.
It's why we have two pieces of art in our house, 1 which is
Remy in a bowl of fruit, which you have to look to find Remy
like. Literally right in front of you,
but nobody notices it. You're used to.
That picture of that bowl of fruit?
And he's literally right there. He's right there, top of the
apples. And then the same over our bed,
we have the Wally and Eve that hangs in I believe the the main
bedroom in in one of the villas. And it's, yeah, I mean we've
seen that style injected in a lot of these other resorts now.
And I think we do have Riviera to thank for that.
So that's great. And it was, yeah, the first one
to let you buy art from resorts. So yeah, the whole thing in
motion. Falling into second place in
this year's poll. And again, I think a testament
to maybe how we designed the poll this year a little bit
because these two being bundled together do significantly
elevate its stance. But with 16.8% of the vote,
Wilderness Lodge, Boulder Ridge, Copper Creek put together.
And again, I just want to tell you how close this was, 16.8%
for Wilderness Lodge and for our our crowning of the 2026 best
DVC resort in first place, the Animal Kingdom Villas Kadani and
Jambo House with 18.6% of the vote.
So these were very close. Those top two were were very,
very close. A couple comments from our DVC
community. Thea Parker who actually is is
joining us over at the DVC rental store here pretty soon.
So we may see here, we may see her on a future show.
But Thea said I voted Wilderness Lodge for its unmatched theming,
great location and amazing dining.
Watching the geyser and the electrical water pageant is pure
Disney magic. During the holidays, this resort
is a 10 out of 10. Nothing beats hanging out by the
fire with a wilderness bark latte.
I've never heard of that, what are we missing?
You got some nasty martini when we were there the.
The the one that was the one that they were selling at the
Christmas, it was. I think wilderness bark latte, I
mean that that that seems to scream Christmas too.
So. I don't know or all year round I
don't know. Let me know if you where I need
to go. You guys will have to meet up at
that wilderness lodge for a wilderness bark latte
apparently. And then for Animal Kingdom, Rob
McDonald said Animal Kingdom Lodge, it was our first home
resort, so it cheats having those memories for us, but
there's really nothing like it. The food options are amazing.
Staff have always been great. You truly get the feeling of
being in a different place, not just a hotel.
And I'll let you guys kind of comment here on the top two in a
second. But I, I, I do want to add this
because I've talked a lot about the condo association meetings.
I feel like over the past few episodes, Jeff's like, yeah,
stop talking about them. But I was at the Animal Kingdom
condo association meeting and the, the general manager and I
should remember his name. I want to say it's Cosmo.
I, I believe his name is Cosmo, the general manager of the
Animal Kingdom Villas. The, the GM sit in on these
condo association meetings to hear, you know, comments that
members have about all these different resorts.
But he is the most profound one that I always just vividly
remember. And he is, he has such a passion
for that resort and of the, of, of the GMs that sit in on those
meetings. He comments back and he shares
information or he takes that feedback into account and you
do. You can just see how passionate
he is about what he manages. And I think that's really why
this resort comes out on top. Animal Kingdom was in 3rd place
back in 2023, but it has bumped up to #1 and if this
refurbishment just takes off the way we think it's going to, I'm
not quite sure it'll be as close next year with these numbers.
If you really think about it, like just thinking about the GM
out of all the resorts to be a general manager of like, I think
that's going to be one of the hardest because it's huge.
You got 2 huge buildings and then you got a zoo.
You know, like, kudos to Cosmo because he's, he's, he's doing
good things. Yeah.
Are you trying to look up the name?
Yeah, I may have been way off, but I I believe he used to be.
He either used to be the. That's not your name anymore.
Palm and stuff we're so it's. Someone else now, maybe Google's
lying to me? I have no idea but.
I can only think of Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld.
So that's exactly who the the the the GM is.
Yeah, so. Yeah, that's a those are great.
Derek, you're Derek. You're you're an executive for a
reason. You had this, right.
You, you guessed it, you know. Yep.
Yes, and and just a reminder to everyone that if the first place
winner Animal Kingdom Lodge cannot fulfill their duties,
they will have to step down and Wilderness Lodge become a
different. But no, it's a it's a perfect
choice. And don't forget Animal Kingdom
Lodge too also has the only concierge rooms that DVC members
access to. Is it to get them?
No. Is it easier to get struck by
lightning? While yeah, of course it is.
But we have we have one night in April over Easter.
We're so excited and we're not cancelling it this time.
That's so cool. Yeah, that's.
So cool, Jeff, and I can't wait to join you.
So yeah. Why did you do the reservation?
Yeah, the more the Merritt. Great resort, great choices.
Yeah. And I, I personally, I mean, I
love wilderness lodge. That's again, we go back to we
have feelings about resorts for specific reasons.
I mean, that's where I spent my honeymoon in 1996.
Was it wilderness? We've taken tons of trips there
over the years. We just did one night in early
December. Annie and I got a room at Copper
Creek just for one night. Met so many awesome DVC show
fans. That was so great to just
everywhere we went, there's just fans of the show and so sweet
and it's just such a wonderful time.
And again, I, I love these two choices because it is two
different resorts. And that's kind of how Paul even
mentioned how I feel about Polly now too.
Is that it just kind of, you know, you have options of both,
right? I've got this quiet pool or I've
got this lobby in these restaurants or I've got this one
and this one and, you know, the weather in this lodge to have,
you know, Boulder Ridge, especially during Christmas.
My God, that is a memory I will never forget where we just got a
bottle of wine and said, you know what, the main Copper Creek
lobby was a little insane. It was a little busy.
Let's just walk over to Boulder. We were the only ones in that
beautiful lobby during Christmas.
And the fact that again, as a member, you've got both resorts
there and it's the same thing with Animal Kingdom.
So yeah, it's a fantastic choice, fantastic choice, and
you can't go wrong with either. I agree.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
I could have said it quicker, but not better.
And not and, and Jeff, I, it's close to Cosmo Kramer.
It's Cosmo Kapoor. And I was correct.
He is the general manager of of the Animal Kingdom Watch.
So yeah. I just thought, yeah.
Yeah, awesome guy. If you ever have an opportunity
to chat with him or interact with him, just there's, there's
just people in rooms sometimes that make an impression.
And he's always one that, you know, you just, you know, he
loves what he does and he's very passionate about it.
And I think it shines through the property that that that he's
overseeing. I I would like to just add one
thing to that if I could and then I'm done for the night.
I think we're all done for the night.
But I did notice something at Old Key West's condo association
meeting that I think bears repeating.
I think the GM's at these resorts hear a lot of negative.
I think that's just the nature. They typically filled
complaints. They typically are the ones in
charge of handling those. But, and I can't remember the GM
at Old Key West, but somebody complimented something and I
don't even remember exactly what the context was, but they
complimented how well something was performing at Old Key West.
They need to hear that too. And I think we could all be a
little bit better at sharing those cast compliments that you
can do through the app and sharing that because.
Yeah. It has to be exhausting.
Tired. Yes, 100% is a job.
Disney so much that you could you could feel the beaming
coming from him that oh, you know, they, they noticed the
good things too. So I just wanted to throw that
out. There share, share the wins.
Also, you know, typically when you check in, sometimes you will
get an e-mail that comes directly from the resort.
It has the e-mail of the GM on there.
You know, if they did, if, if, if they did a great job, tell
them about it because it it, it definitely just, I think in any
position, it makes you feel a little bit better about what
you're doing it. You know, it makes you feel
validated. It makes you feel that you know
you're doing something right. You know, even even if you get
these couple things wrong or if you know a couple guest
experiences are negative, at least you know there are those
positive things along the way. But congratulations to Animal
Kingdom Villas for your 2026 best Disney vacation.
They didn't need any sky liner or boat.
Didn't need a thing, just needed needed some giraffes, some zebra
Dome. Zebra Dome good.
Food. Yeah, well, ladies and
gentlemen, let us know in the comments.
But you know, some of you that are not in our Facebook
community maybe didn't get to vote here.
Let us know where did your resort fall?
Why did you love it? We love to hear those comments
and hear that feedback. But that is going to do it for
this week's episode of the DVC Show.
We hope you enjoyed it and we will see you next Monday.
Bye everybody. Now I'm craving a zebra Dome.