Villa Question

[Travellerman]

I've been looking into a visit to Disney for probably next year. I'll need about a year to save up for what I want. Probably in the summer but a little flexibile there. I would love to stay at a villa of some kind. A 2 bedroom one is what we'd need. My personal preference is the Boardwalk as I love the location. I am asking if it is best to just go through the normal hotel booking/Disney sites, or I have heard about renting points or something like that. Wondered if that would be cheaper but I dont know anything about it.
If it was cheaper to rent points and stay at DVC, is there a minimum amount of time one has to stay? (was thinking a split stay, 1/2 the time at Boardwalk, 1/2 the time at Caribbean Beach)
Thanks.

[BuffaloFan]

You can use services such as David's DVC or you can find a site that allows current members to sell their points. I've done both successfully but there is always a risk. Make sure you get references and be smart about it. Disney charges a lot for a villa, so it's going to be cheaper to rent points. Also Boardwalk is popular so you might want to consider a 2nd and 3rd option.

[dholmes1950]

There is a section on the Disboards where DVC members rent or sell points.

[Ladcassidy]

For our upcoming trip, reserving directly through Disney was less expensive than renting points.

[Travellerman]

Thanks for the advice and help. Its a lot to decide and i'm giving myself plenty of time to think it over.

[chemnerd09]

Originally Posted by Travellerman

I've been looking into a visit to Disney for probably next year. I'll need about a year to save up for what I want. Probably in the summer but a little flexibile there. I would love to stay at a villa of some kind. A 2 bedroom one is what we'd need. My personal preference is the Boardwalk as I love the location. I am asking if it is best to just go through the normal hotel booking/Disney sites, or I have heard about renting points or something like that. Wondered if that would be cheaper but I dont know anything about it.
If it was cheaper to rent points and stay at DVC, is there a minimum amount of time one has to stay? (was thinking a split stay, 1/2 the time at Boardwalk, 1/2 the time at Caribbean Beach)
Thanks.

We've rented DVC points for most of our trips and haven't had any problems. I would price it out both ways though because sometimes Disney runs specials that are cheaper than renting. In most of our cases, renting has been cheaper. Getting into the Boardwalk might be difficult as someone else said, so I'd have a couple of choices if I was renting points. I have checked into David's DVC rentals and they cannot not do one night stays. You might also have to do a split if the Boardwalk isn't available for your entire trip. That has happened to us, and it wasn't too much of a hassle for us to switch hotels. Its like having two vacations in one.

[bumbershoot]

Originally Posted by Ladcassidy

For our upcoming trip, reserving directly through Disney was less expensive than renting points.

Definitely price it both ways, AND know exactly what you're getting if you rent.

If you rent, you get the DVC-type of stay. And that means no daily housekeeping, which can mean a lot to some people! I personally don't mind, but others do. So it's good to know exactly what it means, to have a points-based stay, vs booking through Disney with cash.

[Deb & Bill]

Originally Posted by Travellerman

Thanks for the advice and help. Its a lot to decide and i'm giving myself plenty of time to think it over.

That could be a problem if you wait too long. DVC is Disney's version of a timeshare. You purchase a reservation the member makes with their timeshare points at a DVC villa. Most members start booking their stays 11 months out. And cancellation is almost impossible, as is rescheduling because timeshare points have a shelf life.

[BradleyB]

Look at booking both ways. The week I am going, I could not find any historical discounts, so I went with renting through David's or Dave's (a sponsor on this site). I needed two studio condos due to privacy/medical issues and am VERY HAPPY with the price. For those dates, it beat DISNEY's price by a bunch!

I could have booked two POR rooms cheaper (and thought about it) but the boardwalk location was important to us for many reasons.

Whatever you decide, good planning (not overplanning) will make it magical.

[mountdew1]

Originally Posted by Ladcassidy

For our upcoming trip, reserving directly through Disney was less expensive than renting points.

For an identical situation? I find that very hard to believe. For instance, a Value 1 season Value Studio at AKL was $300 per night for 2012 through Disney direct. Point wise the room would have been 9 points mid week, 12 points weekend, or 69 for the whole week. So 7 nights at $300 per night would be $2100. Renting points at the typical going rate of $13 per point should have cost $897. That's a cost savings of almost 60%. Even looking at the Holiday season (Christmas to NYE) is $515 direct vs 16/19 points or $208/$247 to rent. Once again, potentially 60% savings. Maybe I'm missing out on phenomenal discounts, but I don't believe that any widely available discount offered within the last few years has been greater than 40%. A 2BR villa in that same value season was $635 direct vs 25/30 points or $325/$390 to rent.

Now if you were say comparing a moderate resort direct through Disney vs renting points for a 1 BR (to accommodate a typical 4 person family), then yes, going direct could possibly be cheaper than renting points. But you don't get the extra space, no kitchen, etc.

As mentioned, renting points is the basically the same as if you actually owned the timeshare. You don't get daily housekeeping, and the owner needs to make any changes to your reservation in case either of those matter to you.

There is no minimum stay with DVC, either owning or renting through an owner, as it is a points based system. So the owner simply has to have enough points to spend the night, and it's all set. You could in theory spend one night at each DVC resort on property if you wanted.

If you do have a real strong desire to stay in a certain property, don't wait to long. Owners can book 11 months out at the property they own at, and 7 months out a the other properties. So during busy times they can book up fast. For instance trying to get into BW or BC during F&W can be very difficult if you don't own there to book 11 months out. However if you don't mind what resort you stay at, there is the slight chance you could get connected with an owner who has points that will be expiring soon, who will be willing to rent them for less than the going rate.

[mickey&minniealways]

If you really have your heart set on a split stay do the dvc villa for the later part of your trip. Otherwise you are probably going to be disappointed with your accomadations. Just my opinion though. That being said we have rented points several times. We rent directley from a member and have never had any problems. Get references though and use a contract. We have never paid more than $11 per point. Last time we went was durring dream season. We had a 2bdrm with a partial savanah view at AKV. It cost us $2500 for 7 nights in 2007. Our favorite resort is OKW. Will go back there next time. Prefer the themeing there and you can't beat the size of the rooms. A 2bdrm at AKV, BLT and OKW sleeps 9 at all other DVC resorts it sleeps 8. A 1bdrm at the same 3 resorts sleeps 5 all others sleep 4. Hope this helps in your decision.