Disney has announced that the DVC Members Lounge “Star View Station” will debut in 2023. In this post, we will share the official announcement and concept art for this in-park location at Disneyland; more, why it’s likely being added, what it means for a Tomorrowland revamp, and more. Let’s start with the official details from Disney.
Membership areas have long been part of what Disney Vacation Club proudly calls “Membership Magic.” From the Top of the World Lounge, which recently reopened with naughty new offerings atop the Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, to the colorful Members’ Lounge perfectly perched in Imagination’s iconic glass pyramid! pavilion at EPCOT, these exclusive enclaves are among Disney Vacation Club members’ favorite spots at Walt Disney World Resort.
Disney Vacation Club is currently developing its first Member Lounge at Disneyland Resort in California. Called “Disney Vacation Club Star View Station” and slated to open in the first half of 2023, the new lounge will be located in the heart of Tomorrowland at Disneyland Park, in the second-floor space of the Star Wars: Launch Bay building. This sleekly designed “space” will house a dedicated Disney Vacation Club Member Services team, as well as plenty of casual seating, free Wi-Fi, device charging stations and more.
The new lounge will be open daily during scheduled hours for eligible* Disney Vacation Club Members with valid park tickets and Disneyland Park reservations. (*Property rights must be purchased directly from Disney Vacation Development, Inc. and valid theme park admission and park reservation are also required, and park reservations are limited, subject to availability and not guaranteed .)
There are a total of 15 Disney Vacation Club properties in four states, including Disney’s Riviera Resort, the newest Disney Vacation Club property at Walt Disney World Resort, the newly expanded villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa and Aulani, A Disney Resorts & Spas. in Ko Olina, Hawaii.
As for the why of that, it’s smart marketing for the Disney Vacation Club’s next big addition, which is a tower at the Disneyland Hotel.
The new tower will feature over 300 units with a combination of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and three-bedroom villas. It will also have smaller studios similar to those that debuted at Disney’s Riviera Resort offering “budget” accommodations.
The Disneyland Hotel Villas will exponentially increase the number of DVC rooms at Disneyland compared to what currently exists at the Grand Californian. Currently, the tower is scheduled to open in 2023. We’ve been watching construction over the past few months, and it’s moving quick. (When there are timeshares for sale, Disney can always build quickly!)
What interests me the most is that Disney Vacation Club believes this show is necessary to drive new contract sales for the Disneyland Hotel Villas. Obviously, Disneyland Resort is significantly smaller than Walt Disney World and does not have the same tourist market.
However, it is not even close to saturation point. After this addition, Disneyland Resort will still only have one-third the number of DVC rooms as Saratoga Springs Resort, on its own. Not to mention the other Walt Disney World resorts, many of which also exceed DLR’s total DVC inventory alone.
Another DVC property at Disneyland Resort is a simple, slam-dunk concept. There are a ton of unfulfilled requests for another DVC property in California; Grand Californian Villas are the most difficult resorts to book, and also the most expensive via the resale market.
Owning at Disneyland Resort makes sense due to supply and demand constraints, as well as the price of hotel rooms (all of which are expensive). There isn’t much room for resort expansion in California, while we can expect DVC to build consistent developments in Florida for decades to come.
Overall, building a new Disney Vacation Club resort as a Disneyland Hotel tower is a smart move. It is the same purchase a.
Personally, we’re not in the market to add points directly anywhere, but if we were, Disneyland Resort would be the obvious choice. I would hazard a guess that there are enough West Coast or even West Coast-centric Disney fans who feel the same way. This is not a sales pitch for Disneyland Hotel Villas – I still think it makes more sense to buy via resale elsewhere and forgo Membership Magic – just a comment trying to cut motivation from Disney to announce the DVC member “Star View Station” lounge.
While the company is confident in the Disneyland Hotel Villas sales forecast, there are likely internal concerns about another Aulani mess. While building a standalone resort in Hawaii is obviously very different from an adjacent addition to an increasingly popular theme park vacation destination in the contiguous United States, the fears are understandable.
The Grand Californian Villas are much smaller, connected to the best Disney resort in the United States and have a private entrance to Disney California Adventure. Even then, they initially failed to find an audience – instead, their popularity grew over time.
All things considered, it’s understandable that DVC would want to hedge their bets and increase the benefits of joining DVC in California.
It’s better than sales falling short of expectations and scrambling to find ways to incentivize ownership. (I don’t think that will happen, but I also didn’t think Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge would debut to small crowds. Sometimes reality differs from expectations.
Another aspect of this is where the “Star View Station” DVC members lounge goes – in the Star Wars Launch Bay/Innoventions/Carousel of Progress building. It’s worth discussing as there were rumors this summer that gained traction that a Tomorrowland revamp is on the horizon, and this building is one of them.
Well, we now know that – if anything happens with a Tomorrowland revamp – this building will likely still exist.
I am mostly indifferent to that. The Disneyland Tomorrowland redesign is high on my wish list, and I think the carousel building is among the most underutilized plots of Disneyland. This building has been languishing for years, and it makes sense to tear it down and start fresh.
However, I believe a significant redesign of Tomorrowland can be accomplished without touching the carousel building, and I’m not convinced the space would have been used efficiently anyway. I would almost prefer to see Imagineering forced to work within the confines of the existing building, trying to create something big that uses that space.
In the end, I’m thrilled with the announcement of the Disney Vacation Club members’ lounge “Star View Station.” Our analysis above has focused on the “why” of this addition and whether it is really necessary to sell contracts for the Villas at Disneyland Hotel, but putting that aside, it will be a nice benefit and we will enjoy all the time.
It’s nice to feel valued as a customer, and it’s the kind of thing that accomplishes that, even if the real goal is to sell more memberships. Sometimes it is possible to kill two birds with one stone, and the DVC Membership Extras offers are a great example of this.
Every time we attend a DVC event, get a sneak peek, or take advantage of existing lounges, we feel a little more valued and satisfied with our membership. We can’t be the only ones like this, and it’s mutually beneficial – happy members are more likely to recommend the product or buy more of it themselves. (There should be a bigger lesson from this sentiment for the whole company.)
Planning a Southern California vacation? For full advice see our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. If you’re considering joining DVC, be sure to read our Ultimate Guide to Disney Vacation Club first. If you still can’t decide if membership is right for you, “try before you buy” and rent points from DVC Rental Shop. If you’re convinced a subscription is for you, check out the discounted options at DVC resale market.
YOUR THOUGHTS
Excited about the Disney Vacation Club Members’ Lounge “Star View Station” at Disneyland? Do you agree or disagree with our take on why this is probably added? Glad there’s a members’ lounge at Disneyland Resort, or disappointed that means the carousel building sticks around? Thinking of buying the Disneyland Hotel Villas? Questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback on your experiences is both interesting for us and helpful for other readers, so share your thoughts below in the comments!
