2015 DVC Condo Meeting Highlights

In early December of each year, DVC holds their Condominium Association Meeting in which board members are elected, resort budgets for the upcoming year are presented and approved, and we learn about upcoming events and projects for DVC. The year 2016 marks the 25th anniversary of the Disney Vacation Club and we’re told many surprises will be unveiled this year starting in early January. Highlights from the meeting are below, with the main emphasis placed on resort refurbishments and new experiences coming to Walt Disney World over the next few years.

• More member exclusive experiences will be coming in 2016 as part of DVC’s Member Magic and in celebration of their 25th anniversary. Announcements will start in early January.
• The 2016 budgets were officially approved and each owner should have received a copy of their Home Resort budget by mail or email. You can also view the 2016 Maintenance & Tax charges for each resort here: 2016 DVC Annual Dues. The dues increases this year were, on average, a lower percentage than the previous year. Increases were mainly due to changes in employee wage and benefit costs and higher property taxes. Disney has paid the taxes for this year but is actively challenging the tax assessment.
• DVC received three awards this year from ARDA: the ACE Excellence in Customer Service Award, Award for Interior Design (Aulani) and Top Honor in Customer Relations Team category. DVC resorts also continue to be the top-rated resorts for families by Travel + Leisure. 
• New Member Cards will be mailed out in the next few weeks.
• No news on the Wilderness Lodge expansion yet as the plans have not been filed with the county. We should expect more information to come in early 2016. 
• New additions coming in the next years to the Walt Disney World Resort include: Star Wars Land and Toy Story Land at Hollywood Studios, Rivers of Light nighttime show and Pandora, the world of Avatar, at Animal Kingdom.
• The transition from Downtown Disney to the new Disney Springs is almost finished. All new restaurants, shops, and experiences will be in place by the end of 2016.

Resort Refurbishments coming in 2016:

There are two types of refurbishments: soft goods and hard goods. Soft goods include in-room items like curtains, carpets, bedding, and upholstery. A hard goods refurbishment usually includes new furniture design and placement. 

• Hard goods refurbishments will be accelerated from every 24 years to every 14 years. The impact of this on annual dues will be relatively small at less than 1%. 
• At the request of many members, improvements will be coming to the DVC units like the 5th sleeper bed, new lighting (make-up mirrors), new outlets, larger TVs, and new in-room safes that accommodate larger items like laptops. 
• Boardwalk refurbishments are currently underway and include new hardwood floors, sleeper sofas and 55-65 inch TVs.
• Beach Club refurbishments are starting in January 2016 – this will be a hard goods refurb with new hardwood flooring, a new kitchen and soaker tub for the bathrooms.
• Animal Kingdom will be getting a soft goods refurb for both Jambo House units and Kidani units.
• Vero Beach will be getting a soft and hard goods refurbishment with lighter, brighter colors.
• The Treehouse Villas at Saratoga Springs are getting a soft goods refurbishment with lighter, brighter colors.
• Bay Lake Tower will be getting a soft goods refurbishment.
• Grand Californian is also getting a soft goods refurbishment. They are still in the initial stage of designs so no concept art was shown.

Posted By:

Kristen Tutas