Renting DVC points vs. on property resorts

[DarthVader]

I've started my research and all that I'm finding is possible out of date with regards to advantages/disadvantages with regard to renting DVC. Most of what I googled is pre-pandemic, so it may be out of date.

If go to Dave's and rent secure a reservation will I be able to book dinner reservations or would the owner of the DVC timeshare have too? What about park tickets and fast passes (or what ever they're called now?)

I'm seeing DVC rentals for various studios in the 2,000 to 4,000 dollar range, add in park tickets, it puts my stay at 4,500 to 6,500 with the DVC rental. A port Orleans stay will run me 6,000 dollars and the AOE Resort will run me 5,400 dollars.

What advantages are there for the DVC, as I'm failing to see any savings for a family of four staying a week?
.

 

[DarthVader]

Thanks for the input and perspective

 

[heapster411]

I've dealt with Dave's last year, and DVC Rentals this year. Pricewise, it's better than Disney. Your reservation is in your name thru the point owner. When you link your reservation to MDE, you can make ADR's like usual. Renting points is making our Bucket List hotels easier to obtain. Last year was BLT, this year Treehouse @ SS. About cancellation policy, Dave's is no, But DVC Rentals you have an option, depending how close to your check in date is., but you get a credit to use within 2 years. >120 Days 100%, 120-61, 75%, 60-16 50%, 15-4 25% and <4 0%. Hope that helps.

 

[Plowboy]

Renting points is the way to go. We're going six nights (studio) in December. 3 nights OKW, 3 nights AKL Kidani. Total cost through Dave's was less than six nights at Pop. Yeahhhh!

 

[Tinkerfan4ever]

You will be able to book your own LL and dinner reservations. The only thing the owner would have to do for you is book a dining plan, but that isn't even offered right now, so kind a mute point.

 

[Weather_Lady]

If you're looking for a studio or a 2-bedroom villa (1-bedrooms are notoriously less of a savings), renting points is a great way to save, and enjoy deluxe amenities like close proximity and ready transportation to one or more parks, better restaurants and lounges, and access to extra evening hours. In our case, we've saved anywhere from 20%-50% off of the "rack rate" for the same room(s) or comparable standard rooms in the same deluxe hotel. For example, as part of a split stay in August, we'll be paying just over $400/night for a resort studio at the Grand Floridian, when resort studios and even standard rooms at that resort start at $800 for our dates.

There's no reduction in trip planning and flexibility, in the sense that you can link the room reservation number to your MDE account, and then purchase/add tickets, make dining reservations, etc. just as you ordinarily would.

What you lose is the ability to easily cancel or change the dates of your reservation. Other than on one occason when we rented directly from a DVC owner who had a contract with a one-time rescheduling option, our rentals have been through David's, and the contract is clear that we cannot cancel for a refund. That means we only rent DVC points when we are very sure of our travel plans, or are willing to invest in travel insurance that will cover it (and not all policies will). Also, if a room discount (or someday, dining offer) comes out for your dates, you cannot apply it to your DVC rental reservation, because you've figuratively stepped into the shoes of the DVC owner, and they can't apply those kinds of offers to their reservations either.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I'm seeing DVC rentals for various studios in the 2,000 to 4,000 dollar range, add in park tickets, it puts my stay at 4,500 to 6,500 with the DVC rental. A port Orleans stay will run me 6,000 dollars and the AOE Resort will run me 5,400 dollars.

What advantages are there for the DVC, as I'm failing to see any savings for a family of four staying a week?

You're comparing Animal Kingdom Lodge to Port Orleans.

 

[buckeyegator]

i am at the point with no kids, no mortgage, no car payment ,etc that we are going to book deluxe and/or dvc's from now on.our end of month 2 day stay, through david's was 630.00 for saratoga springs studio, plenty of space for me and wife.rack rate would have been 1174.00, disney visa rate, 35% off, would be 762.00.if you cannot get all the days you want, book as many as you can, then book the closest resort to the one you want. keep trying to get all your dates, if you do, just cancel your other resort, that is what i did.

 

[buckeyegator]

how many people coming? when are you coming?how many days?

 

[Hcalvert]

I rent DVC all the time, but never at the rental site's prices. It is the only way we stay on Disney property now.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I've started my research and all that I'm finding is possible out of date with regards to advantages/disadvantages with regard to renting DVC. Most of what I googled is pre-pandemic, so it may be out of date.

If go to Dave's and rent secure a reservation will I be able to book dinner reservations or would the owner of the DVC timeshare have too? What about park tickets and fast passes (or what ever they're called now?)

I'm seeing DVC rentals for various studios in the 2,000 to 4,000 dollar range, add in park tickets, it puts my stay at 4,500 to 6,500 with the DVC rental. A port Orleans stay will run me 6,000 dollars and the AOE Resort will run me 5,400 dollars.

What advantages are there for the DVC, as I'm failing to see any savings for a family of four staying a week?
.

Just wanted to add, in case you aren't aware: regardless of whether you opt to rent DVC points, you can save on park tickets by purchasing them through an authorized reseller (a la carte) instead of directly from Disney or as part of a package. Touringplans has a tool that you can use to find the best deal for your dates. Tickets purchased this way can be linked to your MDE account, and assigned and managed as usual. https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/ticket-calculator-disney-world-ticket-discounts

 

[NelleBelle]

Just wanted to add, in case you aren't aware: regardless of whether you opt to rent DVC points, you can save on park tickets by purchasing them through an authorized reseller (a la carte) instead of directly from Disney or as part of a package. Touringplans has a tool that you can use to find the best deal for your dates. Tickets purchased this way can be linked to your MDE account, and assigned and managed as usual. https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/ticket-calculator-disney-world-ticket-discounts

This is an awesome tool! Used it a few weeks ago after I ended up buying an AP and my mom didn't. I needed to buy her a ticket and this tool found me tickets that were $100 cheaper than Disneys, including tax!

 

[SteveAZee]

Just wanted to add, in case you aren't aware: regardless of whether you opt to rent DVC points, you can save on park tickets by purchasing them through an authorized reseller (a la carte) instead of directly from Disney or as part of a package. Touringplans has a tool that you can use to find the best deal for your dates. Tickets purchased this way can be linked to your MDE account, and assigned and managed as usual. https://touringplans.com/walt-disney-world/ticket-calculator-disney-world-ticket-discounts

It seems like one site for tickets that Touringplans doesn't search is the UK site Attractiontickets.com, where buying a 14 day everything included can end up being cheaper than the other guys.

 

[Weather_Lady]

It seems like one site for tickets that Touringplans doesn't search is the UK site Attractiontickets.com, where buying a 14 day everything included can end up being cheaper than the other guys.

I think it's probably because what Attractionticket.com offers is bundled with other things (e.g., MemoryMaker), and can't be easily made part of an apples-to-apples comparison. The authorized resellers that touringplans compares are all offering exactly the same kind of ticket that WDW does.

It's good to know about attractionticket.com, though. I see that someone on TripAdvisor claimed that they don't sell to the U.S. (only to UK/EU residents), but I don't see any indication of that on their website, which lists the United States as an option when entering your address in connection with a purchase. Have you purchased from them before?

 

[Vacationeer]

It seems like one site for tickets that Touringplans doesn't search is the UK site Attractiontickets.com, where buying a 14 day everything included can end up being cheaper than the other guys.

We’ve made this jump for next trip. Used to use BoardwalkTicketing as they always saved the most on hoppers. With ticket prices going so crazy I bought thru that UK site for our December trip. For $650 each we get 7 day hopper (plus, which maybe we’ll use one entry) and free MemoryMaker which we always buy. I managed to catch a 7% off sale which saved around $50, times 4ppl helped too. Tickets load right into my MDE.

The next cheapest would’ve been BoardwalkTicketing. 7 Day regular Hopper is $785, x4 people is $3,140 and another $180 for Photos is $3,320! $3,650 thru WDW. I got the same for just under $2600.

No regrets or remorse. I paid $330 for a 2 day ticket in March. So almost $1000 in 2023 for 9 park days. WDW getting their $.

 

[SteveAZee]

Probably because what Attractionticket.com offers is bundled with other things (e.g., MemoryMaker), and can't be easily made part of an apples-to-apples comparison. The authorized resellers that touringplans compares are all offering exactly the same kind of ticket that WDW does.

It's good to know about attractionticket.com, though. I see that someone on TripAdvisor claimed that they don't sell to the U.S., but I don't see any indication of that on their website, which lists the United States as an option when entering your address in connection with a purchase.

I have their tickets for our upcoming trip. I did confirm ahead of time that the can indeed sell to US citizens to be used in US parks using US credit cards (we have all three of these). I've loaded the tickets into MDE for my group and Disney accepted them, even allowing me to make park reservations. Others from the US have also been successful.

It's definitely more than anything Disney offers directly, but for our 9 days in the parks it's the equivalent of Hopper+ as well as a couple of other things and it was cheaper (including adding a 100% refund charge for canceling) than a 8 day base ticket.

I'm not affiliated with the company at all, BTW. It just seems like a great deal. LOL, boy will I be embarrassed when they turn me away at the gate.

 

[Weather_Lady]

I have their tickets for our upcoming trip. I did confirm ahead of time that the can indeed sell to US citizens to be used in US parks using US credit cards (we have all three of these). I've loaded the tickets into MDE for my group and Disney accepted them, even allowing me to make park reservations. Others from the US have also been successful.

It's definitely more than anything Disney offers directly, but for our 9 days in the parks it's the equivalent of Hopper+ as well as a couple of other things and it was cheaper (including adding a 100% refund charge for canceling) than a 8 day base ticket.

I'm not affiliated with the company at all, BTW. It just seems like a great deal. LOL, boy will I be embarrassed when they turn me away at the gate.

I am envious of anyone who can have a long enough vacation in the parks to use a ticket of that many days! Maybe someday when DH and I are empty-nesters...

 

[SteveAZee]

I envious of anyone who can have a long enough vacation in the parks to use a ticket of that many days! Maybe someday when DH and I are empty-nesters...

We only go every three or four years so we make the most of it. The kids are grown but we still do the WDW trips together. I suppose grandkids too at some point.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We only go every three or four years so we make the most of it. The kids are grown but we still do the WDW trips together. I suppose grandkids too at some point.

This is the way.