There’s a reason many DVC room categories are separated by views. For example, you’ll spend more points on a lake view at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows than you would for a standard view. For those of us who love to spend time watching the world go by from our DVC balconies, the view you book as well as the points they cost can be an important consideration when planning your trip. Here are five of my absolute favorite DVC balcony views that are a good value for your points.
Ocean View Inn Rooms -Vero Beach Resort
Starting at just 14 DVC points a night for a water view, Vero Beach’s Ocean View Inn Rooms are some of my favorite DVC rooms ever. They are spacious, well appointed, and they offer fantastic views of the ocean. If you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Vero Beach Resort yet, you should. It’s about 90 minutes from Disney World and a great value for your points. If you enjoy relaxing on your balcony with an amazing view, Vero Beach might be the place for you.
Standard View & Preferred View – Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort
I feel that Saratoga Springs is an underappreciated location to spend your points. Some of the best views I’ve encountered are from this resort. As with any standard booking category, there’s always a risk of looking out over the parking lot. Despite this, I’ve found that many views here are of tranquil waterways, lakes, walking paths, and lush greenery. If you want to disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the parks, this is the place to stay. However, If you’re looking to be more immersed in Disney, book a preferred room and request to stay in the Congress Park area, where you could be looking out over Lake Buena Vista towards Disney Springs. Points at Saratoga Springs start at just 9 DVC points per night for standard rooms and 11 DVC points per night for preferred (which gets you closer to the lobby or the Disney Springs walking path), making this a great deal for the view.
Standard View-Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridan Resort & Spa
It’s no secret to people who know me that the Grand Floridan is one of my favorite places to be on property. It is also our second home resort. The lake view villas here certainly offer a picturesque landscape. Yet, for less points you can enjoy watching the monorail go by right outside your room. To me, there is just something magical and immersive about having the monorail as part of your balcony setting. Standard view rooms start at 16 points a night compared to 19 points a night for lake view. In my opinion, standard view rooms are a better value for the points and still give a great view.
BoardWalk View-Disney’s Boardwalk Villas
The Boardwalk Resort is another one of my favorite places to stay. There are so many great sights from the pool/garden view rooms. However, it is hard to beat the boardwalk views here. If you enjoy people watching, water views, or a potential peek of Epcot, these are the rooms for you. I love watching the boats go by on Crescent Lake and people strolling down the boardwalk. The garden/pool view and boardwalk view rooms both start at 14 DVC points a night, but there are less boardwalk views to go around. If you can snag one of these rooms, it is a great deal and view for your points.
Savanna View-Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas
Animal Kingdom Villas is another special place for us. It is our first home resort and a great place to own for a variety of reasons. Most importantly, I believe the views here are a great value for your points. Savanna view rooms start at only 13 DVC points per night. That’s a pretty good price to basically have a zoo outside your window. There is nothing quite like sitting on your balcony in your pj’s and watching animals grazing on the savanna as the sun rises.
Theme Park View-Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
While this is one of the more costly accommodations in terms of points, I’ve found the theme park rooms at Bay Lake Tower to be completely worth it. It’s also a great value when you consider what you’d pay in cash for a view of this caliber. If you want to be completely immersed, this is the room for you. We could see Space Mountain and Cinderella’s Castle from our bed! We loved this view so much, we skipped out on the parks two nights in a row to watch Happily Ever After and HalloWishes from our balcony. Starting at 18 DVC points per night, the theme park view rooms offer one of the most stress-free ways to watch Magic Kingdom fireworks and you can’t beat that you can pipe the music in from your TV!
I’m interested to know your thoughts on the best views for your DVC points. Join us on DVCFan.com for news and information on all things Disney Vacation Club, and join in the conversation in the DVC Fan Facebook Group.
We almost exclusively stay at Bay Lake Tower and have been very fortunate with Lake View. If you end up on the outer north ring, you get a different view of the fireworks, and early risers can watch the monorail and boats come from where they’re stored for the day. During the day, it gives some of the best natural views as well. Park view is spectacular and justifiably the most points, but Lake view is a nice option that allows us to take an extra day or two when we go.
Paul’s balcony shots should be an Instagram account on their own.