Better to rent DVC or wait for codes?

[NiftyJ88]

Hi all! I'm brand new here, but super anxious for taking my daughter to DW the week after Thanksgiving 09. It's the first time we're going with a child. Last time was our honeymoon and we stayed at WL and got a great rate. This time, we want to stay at AK (savannah view) studio. It seems with regular price booking, we'd be much better off going with renting DVC points. Since many of you seem like experts, what do you think? Should I book with Disney directly and hope for some great codes down the road? Or will I save more by renting points? Thanks for any advice!

 

[luvsTink]

We have rented points the last couple times and have loved being in the spacious villas. However, when compared to non-discounted rates we got a bargain.....but of course, after we rented the points a number of discounts came out including free dining! But you can't bank on that level of discounting. I guess the answer is....it depends! If you are going to rent a studio I would say it is likely you will get discount that would make a regular room pretty cost effective. But, if you are doing a one or two bedroom you can't beat the rental price on such great accomodations. Just one girls opinion!

Anne

 

[Silvrezs]

We just booked DVC and they were full for January the week of the 4th! My advice is to choose and then book. We waited for deals as well and ended up having to book 1 night at AKL reg. price no DVC avail anywhere this date. The AKL one night cost as as much as our total cost for Old Key West for 4 nights! We were not going to be there long enough to do the free nights.

 

[zumbergc]

The weeek after thanksgiving is one of the most popular dvc time, because it costs fewer points to book the nights.

That being said. Most people book the resort in there 11 month window, so thats at the end of dec. So, you will want to rent points from someone who has AKL points (only akl owners get akl priority at 11 months). If you rent from someone with other points, they will have to wait until 7 month window, and unfortunately, many people were on wait list for that week, before turkey day, and the first couple weeks in dec. If they waited for the 7 month window.

If you go over to the dvc area of the board, you can read about the dec wait list thread, some have been waitlisted for many, many months.

Connie

 

[anonymousegirl]

My DH and I rented points for a late January visit and booked 2 nights at the GF at the beginning of the trip. When the AP holder rate came out I called and got a great deal on a MK-view CR instead of GF garden-view (saved $140 too!!!)

I then did the math seeing if all 7 nights at that rate would have been cheaper than my DVC rental and the DVC rental still came out ahead by over $800. Now of course, the CR room is a MK view so it is not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, but I think the larger room and full kitchen are somewhat comparable against the theme-park view smaller non-kitchen CR.

In the end, you will always get a larger room with more amenities by going DVC. I think for your first time with a child you might appreciate the added room.

As for your choice of AKL, you might want to hold off on that unless your child is old enough to appreciate watching the animals. If you go for the new DVC, Bay Lake Towers (BLT) you will be right next door to the park your little one will probably love best and the monorail will make getting a sleepy one home in a snap. I have read many threads about parents raving about how convenient the monorail is for getting home fast with strollers, tired kids, etc. BLT will be the only DVC on the monorail and it opens (fingers crossed) September 1, 2009.

 

[NiftyJ88]

I'm ready to make a move ASAP, but with the 4/3 free discount that just came out and I could get free dining plan w/ my Disney Visa...I'm just afraid that if I book using DVC, I'll lose out on a great deal.
When we went for our honeymoon, we book CBR and ended up at WL for the same price becuase of the discount.
When I compare the disney rack rate price at AKL it's more than $3000 for the time we're going, but the DVC points would cost me under $2100. I just can't decide...

 

[gatorfreud]

Just keep in mind that if you rent points, it's a done deal. You pay now, and then those are your dates and your resort. No changing/cancelling. You can save quite a bit by renting points (we got a 1 BR and it was awesome!!), but no changing later. That may be a bit stressful depending on your work situation, travel arrangements, etc... So just make sure you know that it is exactly what you want.

Kim

 

[Deb & Bill]

If you do decide to rent a reservation from a DVC member, that member is under no obligation to allow any cancellations. Rebooking is difficult and their points have a shelf life - meaning they expire if not banked and can only be banked once (and before a deadline). Think of it as Priceline type reservation. You book it , it's yours.

So if you decide to rent that reservation from a member and some fantastic deal comes out, you won't be able to just cancel the points reservation and book the fantastic deal.

 

[MAKHayes-DisneyDiva]

Right after we rented points for June 09, the 7/4 deal came out. I was concerned that I'd made a bad choice, but did some number crunching and found that I'm still way ahead with the point rental.

 

[thesupersmartguy]

We waited for codes untill last month when we bought into DVC.

 

[kaffinito]

WELCOME to the DIS!!

You might have to wait a while before renting points as pp's have said. There are deals and discounts that come out for this time period, but you might be better off, and have more control over your ressie if the good deals/discounts come out if you don't rent points.

You could always play the odds, and book at the resort you want, then wait to see if a good deal on a points rental comes out for your dates, or if a good WDW discount comes out before your 45 day window closes. Read the stickies on the DVC Rent/ Trade board for some really good info on renting points. Points rentals can be very worthwhile if you need space, and don't care if Mouskeeping comes by every day.