% off or rent points?

[StuckInKS]

Although we loved the DD Hilton during our last stay, we would like to experience staying on property and I would LOVE not to have to drive or take a bus to the parks most days (we would do MK 3 days, EP 2 days and 1 day each of AK and DHS) so we are examining out options. We have the 30/35/40 code and have figured that it would be a $300/room difference between staying at WL vs. Poly and at Poly we would be directly on the monorail line. However, if renting points from a DVC owner is significantly cheaper than the
$300/room, then we would be equally as happy at WL. Does anyone have any ideas on this? I think the usual rate is $10 per point to rent, but not sure how many points it will take per room at WL. Are there are drawbacks to this option? I know we would not be able to add the DDP, but since we have GADGAD vouchers, we will most likely not get a package anyway (I am running the numbers to see if saving $300 on tix and paying OOP for food will be cheaper then getting the DDP.) Any other drawbacks?

 

[pbryan]

I looked into renting points for an upcoming trip. My group needs a 2BR Villa, so I was comparing the same type of room with points vs. a 40% PIN I had.

For my trip, staying in a 2BR at BCV, the 40% off PIN came out to roughly the same price as renting points.

Some potential downsides to renting points:
- Mousekeeping only once a week, or you can pay extra for daily service.
- You are dealing with a DVC member to book your trip not Disney.
- Cancellation can be tricky, some (many? most?) owners will require payment up front with no refunds.

You can find out how many points you would need here: http://www.wdwinfo.com/resort/dvcpoint.cfm

My understanding is that you can still add dining plans to DVC reservations, but you will have to pay for the DP when checking in.

You should be able to get some good info on the DVC section of the forums as well...

--Paul

 

[miprender]

For this upcoming trip we are renting points for the first time. We are staying 9 nights at AKL Value Studio and the price btwn POP and AKL ended up only being a few hundred dollars.

If you do rent points you can still get the Dining Plan. You just have to have them add it on to your reservation and pay for it when you check in.

 

[robinb]

What size room are you looking at over at VWL? Your family of 6 will not legally fit in a studio or a 1BR. The occupancy limits are 4 plus one infant UNDER 3 so you would have to look into renting a 2BR. Bay Lake Tower and Animal Kingdom Lodge allows 5 people plus an infant in their 1 bedrooms but the studio occupancy is still only 4. FWIW, you may have to spend a bit more that $10 per point as that is pretty much the minimum price.