Renting someone's DVC week versus booking a room directly?

[CloverBay]

We are looking at staying in the GF with a theme park view in March. The quote booking direct through Disney looks to be upwards of $7K for the week. Each time we go (this will be our third) I debate trying to rent/buy someone's DVC points/week. (not sure on the lingo there). It's overwhelming when I look online. But I wonder if we could get a villa for the same or less? Could someone converse with me about how that would work? What about the tickets and dining? And do the villas have theme park views?

Thanks a lot.

 

[DisneyPrincess5]

DH and I are looking into staying at GF in 2016 for the first time and want to know the same-can't wait to hear responses.

 

[Master Yoda]

Renting DVC points tends to cost considerably less that booking directly through Disney.

Ideally, you would want to rent through someone you personally know. Baring that , I hear good things about David's DVC rentals.

I have never personally used them, but I have yet to hear anything bad about them.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Your best bet is to work with someone like David's DVC Rental who can walk you through the process.

The following points might be of interest to you:

1. DVC members can "rent" their points to others if they don't intend to use them. Disney does not allow DVC members to maintain their own websites for this, so David's acts as an intermediary between renter and rentee.
2. David's will charge $14/point. In the first 3 weeks of March, a Lake View Studio (basically a hotel room) at the Villas at the Grand Floridian (VGF) requires 199 points. This works out to $2786/week or $398/night. (The last week is during Easter and requires 271 points.)
3. VGF has "Standard View" and "Lake View" rooms, although we've stayed in VGF rooms that afforded us views of the fireworks.
4. Many DVC rooms are difficult to rent. This is because Disney is allowed to sell about 98% of a villa's capacity, meaning DVC members fill up most rooms year-round. The difficulty is based on size, popularity, and cost. Less expensive rooms tend to be in-demand and fill up quickly. Similarly, resorts near theme parks tend to be more popular than resorts requiring bus transportation to theme parks.
5. DVC member can book at their "Home Resort" up to 11 months in advance. They can book elsewhere up to 7 months in advance.
6. Since we are within the 7-month window for March 2015, VGF Studio rooms are booked solid for the entire month.
7. At this point, the resorts most likely to have rooms for March are Animal Kingdom Villas (AKV), Old Key West (OKW), and Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR). VGF is the most expensive DVC resort at WDW, so booking at one of those three should cost less.

Happy hunting!

 

[basmal8]

Newbie here, but when I priced everything out, it was far cheaper for us to rent DVC points. Process was a bit overwhelming at first, but just read through all the info on the websites and you'll manage fine We used DVC Rental store (dvcrentalstore.com) and they were SUPER helpful. Quick email replies to my MANY questions. We are staying at AKL-Kidani in a 1 bedroom and are SO EXCITED! Trip is for May 2015. I had been to Disney as a kid twice, but this will be my first trip in over 20 yrs... with husband, 3 kids & grandma.

We are adding the Dining Plan thru DVC Rental Store too. Haven't decided on tickets yet, though. Can buy them thru them too, or was thinking thru AAA. Will link everything on MDE.

Good luck!

 

[EOD K9]

I've rented my points directly to people on this site. It has helped them experience the resorts so that they too may become DVC owners. I have rented for a few dollars cheaper than the rental sites but am out of points right now. The people I rented to have had numerous posts on here. Sometimes it can be hit or miss with the renter and rentee. But it is way cheaper than going through Disney for a week.

 

[DizneyPryncess]

We also found that renting a villa for our trip next year would cost far less. I contacted DVC Rental (I wasn't sure about them or David's, but had read great things about both.) At 11 months out, nothing was available. Unless something opens up at 7 months, we'll be at POFQ. Already booked to be safe - and we love it there too!

 

[jenluvswdw]

I rented from a friend last time I went. The only thing that was a pain was everything had to be done through her. We did a lot of three way calling. Ex: changes, add on, dining plan. I waited till we arrived to buy park ticket so everything would be linked on our magic pass. This was before the magic band.

 

[kniquy]

I just booked though Davids DVC rental. So far the experience has been very smooth. We are staying at saratoga springs for 3 days after new years and it is just over $500 for 3 nights-- normally these rooms go for (i believe) over $400 a night. So definitely a great deal. We have decided to add on the dining plan so for security reasons we are just purchasing a gift card and then Davids DVC rental will communicate with the owner of the DVC points to then go ahead and purchase the dining plan. If you are planning well in advance and your time frame is a little flexible then definitely go with a points rental. The website does have a calendar and a points calculator so you can figure out exactly what the cost would be. They do charge $98 to start the booking or looking for points available process, but if they don't have anything available for your time frame they will refund the money. So a pretty safe bet.

We are late planners for this coming new years so we ended up having to split up our trip with 3 days at Caribbean beach booked directly through Disney and then the 3 days at saratoga springs -- considering Disney will move my luggage for me to the new room i am thrilled to get to check out 2 different resorts during out stay.

 

[ParentsOf4]

David's DVC Rental just (November 5) announced a pricing change.

It looks like renting points are extremely popular at Villas at the Grand Floridian (VGF), Bay Lake Tower (BLT), Boardwalk Villas (BWV), Beach Club Villas (BCV), and Villas at Wilderness Lodge (VWL). For these 5 WDW properties, David's is now charging $16/point when booking more than 7 months out.

For those of you unfamiliar with DVC, DVC members purchase points from a specific resort. This is called their "Home Resort". DVC members can book up to 11 months in advanced at their Home Resort, 7 months elsewhere.

It appears that David's has been unable to secure enough points from DVC owners for these resorts. Demand is exceeding supply and to attract more points from DVC members who own at these resorts, David's is passing the $2/point increase directly on to DVC members.

For some background, Saratoga Springs Resort (SSR), Old Key West (OKW), and Animal Kingdom Villas (AKV) are WDW's 3 largest DVC resorts and generally are the easiest to book. For reference, VGF (the smallest) has what Disney calls 100 "two-bedroom equivalents", while SSR (the largest) has 828.

However, it also should be noted that some rooms at AKV (e.g. "Club Level" and "Value") are very difficult to book. Club Level rooms tend to get booked right at 11 months, while Value rooms, particularly Studios, are booked soon after. It's unusual to see either of these 2 room categories available at 7 months.

 

[draybook]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but for all of my research on renting points it seems that the price is about half of what it would be going directly through Disney.

 

[Master Yoda]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but for all of my research on renting points it seems that the price is about half of what it would be going directly through Disney.

Typically yes. However, the price can vary a good bit if you rent from an individual.

I have heard of people locking up those hard to get reservations and renting them at a premium. They are still less then what Disney charges, but more than the usual $15 +/- per point.