Any Advice?

[ZipZop]

My fiance and I are going to Disney World for our honeymoon Sept 30-Oct 7.

We currently have a small, refundable, deposit down on a trip with our arrangements made to stay at Port Orleans Riverside in a king room through a wonderful agent at AAA.

However, I began looking into DVC rentals through a well known broker service and got a quote for a savannah view studio in Kidani Village for only slightly more money.

Being the extremely risk averse person she is, while being excited for the prospect of the upgrade, she is concerned by the lack of control over booking (being dependent on the member booking the room/dining plan).

Any advice? Reassurance?

 

[jarestel]

I think you'll minimize the risk factor by renting through a "well known broker service" so I wouldn't be too concerned about that. POR is a wonderful resort and I'm sure you'll have a great time there, but AKL is absolutely mind-blowing and has some of the best restaurants on Disney property. Maybe you can watch some of the youTube videos on both resorts to help you decide. Good luck and congratulations!

 

[Shanti]

AKV is much nicer than POR. That's where you should stay.

 

[4DisneyFam]

I like POR but we stayed at AKL last year and absolutely loved it.I would absolutely choose AKL if it works for you.

 

[Happiest.Haunt_999]

Kidani all the way!

 

[hereforthechurros]

You won’t be able to change room size or dates once you’re locked in. The booking process moves quickly, once points are secured guy must pay immediately. The owner must add you to DME, add dining plan if you’re using one, and make any room requests. The reservation will link to your MDE account so you’ll be able to see it and manage your ADRs and FPs. It’s your honeymoon - splurge on AKL!

 

[elsbit]

I also say AKL all the way too! It is your honeymoon! I have booked DVC before, and for our next trip. I did not have to pay the full amount up front. I also booked the DP this time, and it was a smooth process.

 

[Joel W]

Honeymoon at Kidani with a savanna view. Make the most of it!

 

[Haley R]

I’m in the minority but we did a split stay at akl and por last year. Dh and I both agreed that we liked por a lot more than akl.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

I am wondering what dream unlimited can do for the cost. I know we cannot mention travel agents. But dreams being a sponsor must be an exception

 

[dansdad]

I am wondering what dream unlimited can do for the cost. I know we cannot mention travel agents. But dreams being a sponsor must be an exception

We most definitely can mention other travel agents. The DIS does require you use the full URL for the business/agency you are mentioning. There are a couple that are banned from the DIS and the software will filter it out.

https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...travel-agencies-and-other-businesses.3551156/

 

[rwdavis2]

Buy travel insurance just in case somethings comes up and you have to cancel. We use AIG Travelguard and you can buy any coverage that suits you. They give you an estimate on their web site.

We rented points in 2016 at Boardwalk Villas. Originally the owner had my name wrong on the reservation and working through the rental company it was fixed in a couple of days. Great room, located where we requested after doing online check in.

We'd do it again without hesitating.

 

[unrequited23]

I'm going to sound like an old fogey here, but my advice is to take that small amount of money that would be the difference between AKL and POR and put it on your mortgage/school loans/down payment fund. Looking back, I really wish we would have spent less on the wedding/honeymoon and invested more in our life (paying chunk on the mortgage principle early in the loan.)

 

[SharonZ]

Are you prepared to pay most/if not all of the cost of renting DVC at the time of booking? That's usually what is required.

 

[ZipZop]

My (future) wife is mostly concerned with what recourse there may be should something fall through on the part of the room owner, such as bankruptcy or just not paying member dues type stuff. We don't want to spend several grand on this trip and have it fall through because of something that is out of our control and be out a ton of money. I know they do a point protection plan, which we are considering, but it mostly seems to cover if you cancel, and doesn't mention anything in terms of recourse should something happen with the owner.

We're also unclear of how everything will look/work in the MyDisneyExperience considering the room will be in his name. Will we be able to get tickets through a discount ticketing service? Will/can those be attached to the MagicBand?

 

[dansdad]

We're also unclear of how everything will look/work in the MyDisneyExperience considering the room will be in his name. Will we be able to get tickets through a discount ticketing service? Will/can those be attached to the MagicBand?

It will look and work exactly the same as If you booked through WDW. Yes you'll be able to get tickets from a 3rd party. Nothing is attached to the Magic Bands. Tickets ,dining credits ,etc are linked to your MDE account. The Magic Bands are just a way for you to access the entitlements linked to your MDE account.

 

[rwdavis2]

if you rent through a company, I would think they will reimburse you if the reservation falls through. It is probably on the website.

 

[ZipZop]

Thanks for all your help everyone! We've decided to make the stay at Kidani!

We actually emailed a copy/paste of our questions from here directly to the company, and received a response from the wonderful lady who is taking care of our booking. For posterity's sake, I would like to copy/paste her response here for others who may harbor the same concerns as us.

The letter reads as such (sorry for any formatting issues):

First, be assured that there are countless safeguards in place to ensure that doesn't happen. First, the reservation is made in your name and you will link it to your MyDisneyExperience account, so you will always see that it is still there. Second, we verify it in several systems on a regular basis to ensure it is still intact. The Member is contractually obligated to provide the Villa and they want their money. It's a mutually beneficial relationship and we've NEVER had a guest show up to Disney without a room. In the
extraordinary event where something does happen, you would not be out your money. We would work to find an alternative option and your money would be refunded. But as I say, even that happens so rarely, a handful of times in the entire history of the company. The room is NOT in the owner's name - the room is in YOUR name so MyDisneyExperience works the same as usual. You will receive a confirmation # that you can link to MyDisneyExperience and everything will show up there as it would for a regular resort reservations and all the benefits of being a resort guest are included in that, such as making FP+ reservations 60 days in advance. You can purchase your tickets from whomever you choose and you can link them to your MyDisneyExperience account so they will be linked to your MagicBand. I would be happy to help you with those as well. You will set up Magical Express through me. I will send you a link once you have your flights booked. Hope that helps! Please don't hesitate with any additional questions. Your request has gone out to a Member so I will have your confirmation details shortly. Thanks again!

 

[bluejasmine]

Honeymoon is once in a lifetime go with AK! The travel agent wont be able to do the dvc rental youll ae to go through a broker.. I just did it and Im looking fwd to our trip

 

[VicarJT]

We honeymooned at POR, and while we had a wonderful trip together, we will never stay there again. So I think you made the right choice!