DVC Rental vs. Pop Century Reservation

[Tsi2quick]

We are planning our first trip to Disney the week of October 18th 2004. I'm getting more and more excited as today we ordered our PHP's and should get those in a couple of weeks.

Now that we have the tickets we need to find the right accommodations to fit our budget. We were looking at staying at the Pop Century for 3 nights before moving on to US for the remainder of the trip with the rest of the family. This was going to cost in the neighborhood of $360 or so per the Disney site. Before making this reservation I remembered reading about renting DVC points and checked it out. If we went that route it would take 12 points a day to stay at VWL studio which at the going rate of $10/point would come out to about the same amount but we would be getting a mini-kitchenette along with what I think would be a more "relaxed" atmosphere. Having the mini-fridge and microwave are important as we plan on trying to eat lunch in the room as well as one or two mornings breakfast.

A couple of questions I have is, how hard is it to find an owner willing to rent their points?

Next, if going by the basis of $10/point and needing 36 points you would come to a total of $360. Does this total include tax or will their be additional fees I should be aware of?

To me, renting the points seems to be the better way to go but I may be missing some crucial facts as this is still very new to me. What do you fine folks recommend for my situation?

I'm hoping I am posting this in the correct forum, if not I apologize. Any help on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

As a side note, this DVC sounds like a great way to ensure you get to experience Disney on a yearly basis!

Thanks!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Renting points is a great way to save money and get a serious upgrade in accomodations. The nice thing about renting points for $10.00 each is that is your only cost. No tax, no fees, no nothing. 36 points isn't a lot and you may not find an owner willing to do just 36 points right away. You may also have to be prepared to pay the total amount up front. You will without a doubt love DVC over staying in a regular motel room.

Good luck,

HBC

 

[colleen costello]

You can post on the rent/trade board here and see if anyone contacts you. If a member offers to make a reservation for you at $10 per point, there will be no taxes added. The studios at the Lodge are lovely, roomy and very nice. Having the kitchenette is great.

Since you are planning ahead, there is no harm in seeing if you can arrange a DVC transaction. You can always book POP later if necessary. Sorry I don't have any leftover points to rent to you! Advice here on the Boards will remind you that when you rent points from a member, trust is required from both parties. Most rental transactions go smoothly. We rented points for an "extra" trip this past November and it went fine.

Renting points is a great way to get nice accomodations at a reasonable price. Good luck.

 

[Poorman]

There are no additional charges after you agree to a point price. Ten dollars is pretty much the going rate. You do not get daily housekeeping. What you do get is deluxe accomadations. If you want to save even more money and get 2 queen beds in the room look to rent points for Old Key West. At 8 points a night for that time of the year it is a real bargain. I just saw HBC just answered most of your questions. Good luck. PS go over to the rent/trade board and look around and read the FAQ's. Also keep in mind Friday and Saturday nights are about double the points so any savings are wiped out.

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by colleen costello
You can post on the rent/trade board here and see if anyone contacts you. .

Try posting it on the Forum below....

http://130.94.75.33/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=29

 

[Canadian Tom]

Hello: $360 for pop century seem high for 3 night in Oct. I would say a cost of about $240 or lower would be more real. This is value season and there is usually discounts offered for accom. as the year goes on. Book it now and then watch the boards. That said. There is no comparision between pop century and DVC. Did both this month(pop century and BCV) and what an amazing time we had at BCV. Pop century is nice, but need I say more.

 

[Lori-n-NY]

When you get a quote from the Disney website is will quote you for a perferred room which is an extra $10 per night. Oct is regular season so its $99 plus the $10 plus tax.

Sept and Nov are value season but Oct is regular season so the amount she was quoted was right. She could drop the perferred room and save about $30. But why spend $330 when you can spend $360 and stay in a DVC unit.

I may have points to rent I need to figure out my vacation for next year first.

Lori

 

[mikesmom]

If you are going to rent, you might want to start trying now. Mid-October is pretty busy for DVC because of low point costs and the Food & Wine Fest at Epcot. The ressies at BWV and BCV go first, as they are a "walk in" to Epcot, but VWL has the smallest amount of rooms, so it can fill up quickly at any time.

 

[Tsi2quick]

Thanks for all the replies!

It seems the majority vote that DVC is the right choice, which is how I felt too!

I was planning on posting a message on the rent/trade board after I got my questions answered here as I didnt want to congest that board with just questions and not transactions.

Also, thanks for suggesting OKW as they are indeed 8 points a night for a grand total of only 24 points. That sounds even better! lol

OKW looks to be very nice as well so since I am new to everything Disney anyways I doubt I would tell much difference between it and VWL.

Lori, you have a PM coming your way!

Thanks all!

 

[mickeyc]

I agree with the above. As a DVC member renting is a great way to go. However, I posted on the DVC rent board and my points rented immediately.

You need to react quickly and have the dates in mind when you are able to go. My experience in renting my points is they do not last too long.

I have stayed at most Disney resorts and there is no comparsion to the value resorts and the Villas.


Good luck & Enjoy!

 

[Tsi2quick]

I too noticed that when points are made available they are snapped up pretty quick. Unfortunately I can't monitor the forums as much as I would like to so hopefully when I post a message regarding renting the points someone will reply back to me and be able to help out rather than having to watch the board like a hawk! lol (of course I could always do that too!)

 

[Lori-n-NY]

PM coming back to you...Tsi2quick