DVC or normal reservation

[izzy25]

We will be traveling to the World next April and still can't decide if we should rent points for a DVC room or just go with a moderate resort. It will be three of us, 2 adults and our 9 year old daughter. Help me with pros and cons please of both!

 

[Wood Nymph]

We will be traveling to the World next April and still can't decide if we should rent points for a DVC room or just go with a moderate resort. It will be three of us, 2 adults and our 9 year old daughter. Help me with pros and cons please of both!

It all depends on how much money you would save by getting a DVC versus a moderate room and which DVC you would book.

If you plan to book a studio, keep the following in mind:
- studios have one queen bed and one sleeper sofa, except for Old Key West, which has two queen beds
- you usually have to pay in full at time of booking and there is no cancellation fee for most DVC rentals
- there won't be a food court like you get at a moderate resort
- If you book at OKW and Saratoga Springs you will have a bus that stops at multiple locations and is similar to the moderate bus experience.

On the plus side - if the price is right and you rent a DVC at any of the resorts except OKW and Saratoga Springs, you will be attached to a deluxe resort and able to enjoy the deluxe amenities.

 

[kayteekt]

Pro's:
You will be getting deluxe accommodations at a very reasonable price!! Most likely similar or a little more than moderate (if you choose a studio).
* Best locations. Deluxe resorts obviously have some of the best locations.
* The kitchenette (studio) or kitchen in 1 br.
* 1 br will also have washer/dryer.

Cons:
* These bookings can have little to no flexibility once booked. If you use a company, some offer an insurance policy, some do not. If directly, from owner, just depends on your agreement with them. Just depends on how firm you are on your dates.
* Availability can be tricky. Not impossible at all, but be prepared to book far out and be flexible with your dates.
* Room only booking. To me this is not a big deal, but you will be booking your room only with the points. Most owners or rental companies will add on dining if you like, but tickets are your responsibility. So no free dining option, special package pricing etc...
* Really the only other con, that I can think of, is that most of the studios aren't set up like a normal hotel room. The usually have a queen and a pullout sofa. A few have a murphy bed from the wall (BW, poly, wilderness, think coming to BC). For us this is a small compromise. But as our children grow, will be a bigger issue.

For our family, the better accommodations/resort/location always wins. I personally, think renting points is a great value, even if we're paying a little more than we would at a mod, we get SO much more at a deluxe for the price difference.

Happy planning!

 

[rwdavis2]

The pros/cons were well covered above. As an example we rented DVC points from an online company and we are staying 8 nights at the Boardwalk Inn in November for $1950. If you rented that same room today it is about $3870. We bought travel insurance from Travelgaurd that covers not only the room but other travel costs plus medical for about $170. We would not expect to cancel unless someone falls ill.

My wife is a nurse and we have to plot out our vacations far in advance anyway so booking at 11 months out was no big deal.

 

[Hopefully]

The other cons are that you will not have daily Mousekeeping. For a 7 night stay you will only get Trash & Tidy service on day 4. They empty the trash and replace the towels and toiletries - that is all. So no clean towels on your other nights. No daily coffee
Also you do not "own" the reservation. The agency/owner does. Disney will not talk to you. You can not make requests yourself or anything. If something goes wrong, Disney will not help
A DVC rental takes trust.
We chose to not rent points, but rather book directly with Disney. The commitment at 11 months was something I was never comfortable doing. We now own DVC and I love it

 

[loves to dive]

Others have listed most, keep in mind, the resort you want may not be available for rent so if something is available, you may end up compromising. Run the numbers carefully, studios book up fast and if you don't need a 1 bedroom, you might end up paying for than you would with a moderate. Just throwing out there that Swan/Dolphin often run specials that will give you a deluxe at moderate prices if you are interested in an Epcot/HS resort. The studios at DVC tend to be not quite as big as the rooms in a deluxe but compare favorably to a moderate. My biggest worry is always the not being able to cancel, I don't know my plans for tomorrow much less 4 or 5 months from now.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Note also that next April includes Easter, which is an extremely busy week at all of WDW. While it's not in DVC high season, many bookings can still be a challenge near Easter.

 

[izzy25]

Note also that next April includes Easter, which is an extremely busy week at all of WDW. While it's not in DVC high season, many bookings can still be a challenge near Easter.

We are actually planning it for April 29th-May 6th, right after the Easter/Spring break rush so hopefully crowds won't be horrible.

 

[patty57]

I second the Swan & Dolphin as places you might want to look into. I love them. Prime DVC resorts do book up well ahead of the regular resort rooms, so if you want to rent DVC, keep that in mind.

 

[nkereina]

We rent points for every stay now and love it. We've gotten great prices and have had all good experiences. But it's not for everyone and the cons above are outlined well. Personally, I think it's worth a try and if you find it doesn't suit you well, you'll know for next time.

As an aside, there's one point rental broker that has a cancel any reason insurance policy you can add on that will let you cancel and get a refund after it's booked. Not sure of the specifics but if that's one of the things bothering you, it may be worth looking into.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

We rent points for every stay now and love it. We've gotten great prices and have had all good experiences. But it's not for everyone and the cons above are outlined well. Personally, I think it's worth a try and if you find it doesn't suit you well, you'll know for next time.

As an aside, there's one point rental broker that has a cancel any reason insurance policy you can add on that will let you cancel and get a refund after it's booked. Not sure of the specifics but if that's one of the things bothering you, it may be worth looking into.

That said, it adds costs on a per-point basis. Depending on resort and room type, you can often do as well with a good room discount via a travel agency or even a Disney offer. Using OP's dates and current point charts, adding travel insurance makes a Lake View studio at BLT (pricier than BWV or BCV, but less than VGF or Poly) cost slightly less than $2500. With a good agency discount, they could get a Garden View room at the Contemporary Resort for the same dates for about the same price, and have two real beds, daily housekeeping, and Disney cancellation policies without travel insurance.

Which is to say: Consider where you want to stay. Shop around.

 

[patty57]

That said, it adds costs on a per-point basis. Depending on resort and room type, you can often do as well with a good room discount via a travel agency or even a Disney offer. Using OP's dates and current point charts, adding travel insurance makes a Lake View studio at BLT (pricier than BWV or BCV, but less than VGF or Poly) cost slightly less than $2500. With a good agency discount, they could get a Garden View room at the Contemporary Resort for the same dates for about the same price, and have two real beds, daily housekeeping, and Disney cancellation policies without travel insurance.

Which is to say: Consider where you want to stay. Shop around.

Excellent advice. I have rented DVC points from private owners, and have had good experiences. Last time was only two weeks ago. Overall, I prefer having the flexibility to cancel if needed. The time before this last rental was at VWL when they should have been finished with their feature pool renovation, but weren't. The owner I rented from would have changed the reservation, but I had no interest in SSR or OKW...the only resorts available. Moral of the story...even if your schedule stays the same, things can happen at the resorts (renovations etc) that make them less than desirable places to stay. Being able to cancel or change resorts (which is easier on the resort side than the DVC side) is really worth a lot to me.

 

[nkereina]

That said, it adds costs on a per-point basis. Depending on resort and room type, you can often do as well with a good room discount via a travel agency or even a Disney offer. Using OP's dates and current point charts, adding travel insurance makes a Lake View studio at BLT (pricier than BWV or BCV, but less than VGF or Poly) cost slightly less than $2500. With a good agency discount, they could get a Garden View room at the Contemporary Resort for the same dates for about the same price, and have two real beds, daily housekeeping, and Disney cancellation policies without travel insurance.

Which is to say: Consider where you want to stay. Shop around.

But if they're traveling in April which is a higher season, discounts and exclusive agency offerings may be few and far between. It definitely pays to shop around.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

But if they're traveling in April which is a higher season, discounts and exclusive agency offerings may be few and far between. It definitely pays to shop around.

Late April isn't a high season, once they're past Easter. It's "Regular." Regular is slightly higher than Regular 2, and for Regular 2 this year I was able to book a room at the Poly to attach to the end of my DVC stay (ran out of points for the number of nights needed) for under $250/night.

There are several agencies that have offers all year, including during Peak seasons/and OMG IT COSTS WHAT season.

 

[AJA]

Go with DVC. If your daughter loves animals AKL would be my first choice. I know it's more isolated than other DVC resorts but the kiddo's are only little once. Also we loved having the microwave in the room for quick snacks since we weren't on the dining plan.

 

[LaidBackDad]

You are way better off renting point without a doubt. As previously mentioned, there are minor inconveniences and quirks when renting points but they pale in comparison when you look at how much money you will save. Again, the hardest thing about renting points is the lack of availability of rooms in some of the most popular resorts. That however, is not so much a problem with renting points as it is a problem with the whole DVC system. If you are a DVC owner you often will get shut out of a resort you want. The most important thing is you must book early (11 months out exactly, even then it isn't guaranteed) to have the best chance of getting the room and resort you want. When you shop around and compare apple to apples, instead of apples to oranges, you will always save way more money renting points.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

When you shop around and compare apple to apples, instead of apples to oranges, you will always save way more money renting points.

Honestly, this isn't true. If you compare a room-only discount on an available DVC villa offered via Disney reservations, it is true. But if you compare, for instance, a BLT Studio Lake View with travel insurance to a discounted Contemporary Garden View room, which is an apples-to-oranges comparison, you can actually get them for about the same rate. And the Garden View room is bigger, and has 2 real beds.

I'm DVC, but I don't drink the Kool-Aid. In many situations, renting DVC points can be a deal. In others, for similar pricing you can get a resort room with real beds and a larger floor footprint, and the ability to modify or cancel.

 

[SwanVT2]

We will be traveling to the World next April and still can't decide if we should rent points for a DVC room or just go with a moderate resort. It will be three of us, 2 adults and our 9 year old daughter. Help me with pros and cons please of both!

We rented this February for the first time and it was great. Stayed at BCV, which we couldn't have afforded otherwise. We were in a studio and I loved having the kitchenette. We are two adults and DD who is almost 4. We sat on the balcony and enjoyed coffee, could walk to two parks, had an awesome pool and restaurants galore at our doorstep. Our DD had many snacks and cereal in the room, plus we had Garden Grocer deliver. We have already booked our next DCVisit rental this time at BWV. Save a bunch, get travel insurance and enjoy the ease of access to parks!

 

[Juliet25]

Honestly, this isn't true. If you compare a room-only discount on an available DVC villa offered via Disney reservations, it is true. But if you compare, for instance, a BLT Studio Lake View with travel insurance to a discounted Contemporary Garden View room, which is an apples-to-oranges comparison, you can actually get them for about the same rate. And the Garden View room is bigger, and has 2 real beds.

I'm DVC, but I don't drink the Kool-Aid. In many situations, renting DVC points can be a deal. In others, for similar pricing you can get a resort room with real beds and a larger floor footprint, and the ability to modify or cancel.

I agree with all this.

For our upcoming reservation we have a free dining bounce back. It's a good deal, but I investigated every other avenue and discount, including renting DVC points. I just didn't find the savings to be that spectacular. I think renting from an individual you trust would be the best source of a good deal; but for the average vacationer, you can find better deals on your own and have the flexibility to modify or cancel your reservation. I recently looked into booking three nights in a 1 bedroom OKW villa. Through Disney, the rack rate is $1677.39. With the 30% discount (no longer available, but it was when I was looking), it's ~$1174.39. Through a vacation rental site, it's $1260. It's obviously cheaper than rack rate but not with the discount from Disney. Disney also would allow me to book ahead and cancel without penalty up to 5 days in advance. Plus, I don't have to pre-pay.

OP, with just three people in a room you're pretty much going to be comfortable anywhere you go. I'd recommend AKL for a truly unique experience. If you decide to rent DVC, I believe the size of this resort makes it more likely to be available within the 0-7 months booking window (which makes it cheaper on a per point basis if you book through a broker).

 

[Kimberly9701]

Honestly, this isn't true. If you compare a room-only discount on an available DVC villa offered via Disney reservations, it is true. But if you compare, for instance, a BLT Studio Lake View with travel insurance to a discounted Contemporary Garden View room, which is an apples-to-oranges comparison, you can actually get them for about the same rate. And the Garden View room is bigger, and has 2 real beds.

I'm DVC, but I don't drink the Kool-Aid. In many situations, renting DVC points can be a deal. In others, for similar pricing you can get a resort room with real beds and a larger floor footprint, and the ability to modify or cancel.

What about Aulani? I'm hoping to be able to rent points for 8 nights in late spring 2017 there. From what I've been researching that is the lowest per night way to go. Does Aulani ever offer discounts that would equal it out? I'd rather book thru Disney if so.