No more Studio mini-fridges?

[reddog21]

I bought DVC to stay in first class, luxury accommodations.
Personally, I need to keep food frozen, as I usually stay for at least 10 days. In a 45 degree beverage cooler with a warning that you should not store food there, I will have a big problem.
And I hardly think it's a "conspiracy theory" to think that DVC wants to maximize their profits.

I'm not sure the different between luxury and non luxury is the type of fridge you have in the room.

It is a conspiracy theory because that has nothing to do with DVC or Disney, every hotel wants to maximize there profiits. Your going to find that most hotel with studios are using beverage coolors and not actual fridges. Universal hotels also use beverage coolers so are they in cahoots with DVC. Think about the energy savings(which is cost saving) by just changing out a normal fridge to a beverage cooler. We have kept a lot of food in the beveage coolors without issue. Yes back in the day it was nice to put bottles of water in the freezer to take to the parks but like everything else times change and you adapt.

Years ago my wife had gestational diabetes and had to keep the insulin cool so we bought a fridge thermomenter to take with us to
make sure the beverage cooler with cool enough. Since that trip it's just stays in our luggage and I can say that we have yet to have a beverage cooler that wasn't able to consistantly hold 40-41 degrees which is cold enough for most things even food(no it's not a freezer).

 

[RapunzelRN]

Currently at SSR. Here is what we have:

View attachment 859266

That is amazing!!

 

[CarolynFH]

I bought DVC to stay in first class, luxury accommodations.
Personally, I need to keep food frozen, as I usually stay for at least 10 days. In a 45 degree beverage cooler with a warning that you should not store food there, I will have a big problem.
And I hardly think it's a "conspiracy theory" to think that DVC wants to maximize their profits.

There should be a line item of dues for maintaining and replacing mini-fridges in studios.

It is a conspiracy theory because that has nothing to do with DVC or Disney, every hotel wants to maximize there profiits.

Since the DVC owners pay for the beverage coolers or the mini-fridges via their member fees, it has nothing to do with maximizing profits. Maybe DVC thought the owners wanted to save money on dues instead of paying to repair/replace mini-fridges with freezers. The only way they'll know we do want mini-fridges with freezers and are willing to pay for them is to chat/email/call them and tell them so.

Nope. It is a freezer on the top, a fridge on the bottom.

I hope this is what will appear in all DVC studios very soon, if they aren't already there!

 

[GroguAndStitch]

Wow! That's great. Frankly, every time I enter a room on arrival, and I get a freezer, I give a sigh of relief. The purpose of a vacation is to relax--not to get aggravated over nonsense.

I stayed in BWV deluxe studio in March and I was so taken aback that there was no freezer. I had planned on getting waffles for my kids to use in the PROVIDED toaster. Silly silly. It was fine becuase at least we had a real fridge, but I was surprised there was no tiny freezer section! I would have really liked that.

 

[carlbarry]

Since the DVC owners pay for the beverage coolers or the mini-fridges via their member fees, it has nothing to do with maximizing profits. Maybe DVC thought the owners wanted to save money on dues instead of paying to repair/replace mini-fridges with freezers. The only way they'll know we do want mini-fridges with freezers and are willing to pay for them is to chat/email/call them and tell them so.

I hope this is what will appear in all DVC studios very soon, if they aren't already there!

I was told by a CM that the freezer was eliminated because the guests wanted "more room."

 

[SL6827]

Since the DVC owners pay for the beverage coolers or the mini-fridges via their member fees, it has nothing to do with maximizing profits. Maybe DVC thought the owners wanted to save money on dues instead of paying to repair/replace mini-fridges with freezers. The only way they'll know we do want mini-fridges with freezers and are willing to pay for them is to chat/email/call them and tell them so.

I hope this is what will appear in all DVC studios very soon, if they aren't already there!

Well I guess the beverage coolers in the regular resorts are for profit then?

 

[SL6827]

What gets me is that even the cheapest of the other mainstream hotel chains have microwave in thier rooms. Disney follows the industry standard only when it benefits them.

 

[LilyJC]

We just had this one in a VGF deluxe studio a couple weeks ago:

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Personally I disliked it as it loses so much actual fridge space to the freezer portion.

 

[CastAStone]

Couple things,

I think the phone rep was working off of old information. Disney has been installing mini fridges instead of beverage coolers as old devices fail for the better part of a year now.

VDH opened with genuine freezer compartments in all studios, for example, and you see the posts above of the new 2 compartment fridges from around WDW. This is clearly intentional and is also happening in their standard hotel rooms.

Someone mentioned insulin above. As a diabetic I would MUCH rather store my insulin in a beverage cooler than a mini fridge. Modern insulins (Humalog, Novolog, Lantus, Tresiba, etc) are FDA approved to last for 30 days at room temperature. My personal experience is that if they get warm or hot, that can reduce their efficacy somewhat, but as long as they’re cool, it’s fine.

However, if they freeze, even a little bit, it breaks the suspension and they’re garbage forever, zero efficacy. Beverage coolers just don’t get that cold. Mini fridges, however, in my experience freeze things randomly, and are too volatile to put insulin into; if you have insulin, my recommendation would be to always request the medical fridge, or to keep it out of the fridge the first night while you see if it freezes other things.

 

[CastAStone]

Oh also the tower is getting deluxe studios, the phone rep was also wrong about that. @Amy Krieger made a video about it that I saw somewhere.

 

[lowlight]

I believe PP is right that they’ve switched back to mini fridges. The only place I’ve seen a beverage cooler is VGF resort studios.

 

[carlbarry]

Oh also the tower is getting deluxe studios, the phone rep was also wrong about that. @Amy Krieger made a video about it that I saw somewhere.

The official Disney description is:
Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows will feature a variety of room types that will sleep from two to nine guests, such as duo studios, spacious one- and two-bedroom villas and brand-new two-bedroom penthouse villas. Many rooms will feature spectacular views.
However, Paul Krieger writing in DVCFan mostly duplicates the official Disney release, but writes:
Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows will offer a range of room types to accommodate groups of two to nine guests. This includes duo studios, roomy one- and two-bedroom villas, brand-new two-bedroom penthouse villas, and deluxe studio rooms, complementing the existing resort options. Guests can expect layouts tailored to their needs and breathtaking views.

I don't know where he got that information about "deluxe studio rooms," but I can't find it officially from Disney. I sure hope he's correct.

 

[CastAStone]

The official Disney description is:
Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows will feature a variety of room types that will sleep from two to nine guests, such as duo studios, spacious one- and two-bedroom villas and brand-new two-bedroom penthouse villas. Many rooms will feature spectacular views.
However, Paul Krieger writing in DVCFan mostly duplicates the official Disney release, but writes:
Island Tower at Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows will offer a range of room types to accommodate groups of two to nine guests. This includes duo studios, roomy one- and two-bedroom villas, brand-new two-bedroom penthouse villas, and deluxe studio rooms, complementing the existing resort options. Guests can expect layouts tailored to their needs and breathtaking views.

I don't know where he got that information about "deluxe studio rooms," but I can't find it officially from Disney. I sure hope he's correct.

It was in the press release. It’s not in the DPB post.

 

[carlbarry]

It was in the press release. It’s not in the DPB post.

Yep. DVCFan updated its report. Good news!

 

[StarCruzer]

Excellent point. Why pay more for a 1 bedroom when a Deluxe Studio sleeps the same number of people? Aha--because the accoutrements in a 1 bedroom are better.
For years we DVCers laughed about "What is a "deluxe" studio, when ALL studios are "deluxe"?" Well, maybe the answer is that DVC wants SMALLER studios, rented out for almost the same number of points as extinct "deluxe studios," in order to move more people to rent 1 bedrooms, at almost twice the points of a no longer existing "deluxe studio."
For example, at the Riviera a 2 person tower room can be 11 points per night. A deluxe studio sleeping 5 at same time is 15 points. A 1 br at the same time is 31 points! Therefore, make new construction with 2 person rooms, and all those previously renting deluxe studios, now must spend 20 points more per night for a 1 br! And you know what DVC will say? "We found that families weren't interested in staying in studios, they wanted 1 bedroom units."

What's wild to me is that the value of the 1 bedrooms would go up if they...added a curtain to the room so people sleeping in the "living room" have a bit more privacy.

I don't mind having a different category of studio (like the Resort rooms in GF) but it's iffy to me that you get less for the same amount of points.

 

[Judique]

I believe PP is right that they’ve switched back to mini fridges. The only place I’ve seen a beverage cooler is VGF resort studios.

Plus the tower studios at Riviera. I stayed in one and had a big salad. The beverage cooler was tiny and I had to squish it in. It was definitely cold enough for a few hours in there - lunch to dinner.

 

[StarCruzer]

Plus the tower studios at Riviera. I stayed in one and had a big salad. The beverage cooler was tiny and I had to squish it in. It was definitely cold enough for a few hours in there - lunch to dinner.

This makes sense, since the tower rooms are both smaller AND cost less points. When we did a Resort Room at VGF we felt comfortable putting desserts in the "beverage cooler" as well, since sugar is a very good preservative. Wouldn't risk it on a steak though

 

[Cfabar1]

I thought they were putting the mini fridges back into the Resort Studios?

 

[DVCshbs]

I thought they were putting the mini fridges back into the Resort Studios?

I had heard that they were putting mini-fridges back into VGF Resort Studios as well. I'm also trying to confirm.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Sorry to hijack the thread but do the studios at BLT have a mini fridge or a beverage cooler? Staying at a 1 bedroom at Saratoga beforehand and plan on bringing over the groceries I buy when swapping resorts.