Less than four months before the calendar flips, guests are unable to make cash reservations for 2025 dates at either of Disney Vacation Club's beach resorts.
It is not uncommon for cash-paying guests to be able to book Disney Vacation Club villas. This is especially true of Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort and Disney's Vero Beach Resort. Their distance from any Disney theme park limits demand from members, especially during periods when tourism is naturally low. A Deluxe Studio room at Hilton Head costs as little as 6 DVC Points during weekdays in January, when cold temperatures and school schedules limit the number of members willing to visit.
In an attempt to maintain high occupancy, rooms are made available to cash guests with a portion of the proceeds offsetting DVC owners' dues. 2025 room rates for Walt Disney World resorts were published as far back as February 2024 with reservations accepted shortly thereafter.
As of September 2024, cash availability has not been released for either Hilton Head or Vero for any nights in calendar year 2025. A search of room availability on the Disney booking site reveals scattered villa availability right up through the night of December 31, 2024. However, dates entered throughout 2025 consistently yield a response of "this room type is unavailable for the dates, party size or offer selected" for all room types at both destinations.
Sources we spoke with hold the opinion that this may be a case of oversight or neglect on Disney's part. They noted recent inconsistencies--perhaps work backlog--in the release of similar Disney vacation details, and suggested that Hilton Head and Vero are simply not a high priority. Or that it has simply "fallen through the cracks." DVC Member Services could offer no additional insight beyond confirming that they do not show any cash availability in 2025.
Both Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort and Disney's Vero Beach Resort are Disney Vacation Club timeshare properties with ownership contractually set to run through January 31, 2042. DVC resorts adjacent to theme parks have proven much more popular with owners, leading to speculation about the future of these two properties beyond 2042. In the near term, it seems unlikely that Disney would have plans to divest itself of the resorts or choose not to make rooms available to cash guests. However we will continue to monitor the situation.
