Questions on Renting DVC for Fall 2019

[Sha259]

Hello all knowledgeable DVCers and DISboarders! I have been a slightly lurking member of the DIS boards for a while and have planned 2 Disney vacations over the years. This will be the first one where I am looking to rent DVC points! So I have a few questions.

1) How hard is it to get a BCV or BLT studio for September or October? We haven never stayed on Disney Property but would like to stay close to MK or Epcot. I assume I would have to aim for the 11 month window?

2) Space wise, would you recommend a studio or 1 BR for a family of 3 with a 3 year old at time of trip? The point difference is huge so I'd like to know if it is worth it.

3) If I request the points as well as to purchase the Disney Dining Plan, if Disney offers Free Dining during my dates, could I modify the reservation to get it, or is that not allowed?

4) Since I am looking to rent September/October 2019, how soon before the 11 month window should I start looking for DVC members to contact about renting? I guess the real question is, how soon before the 11 month window do DVC members begin posting point rentals?

Thank you for your help and I'm excitedly waiting for October 2018 to roll around!! My son will turn 2 and I'll get to start planning his first trip to Disney World!!

 

[disneynutz]

1. Book at 11 months.
2. If you spend time in your room, book a 1 bedroom.
3. No free dining plan.
4. Start looking at 12 months.

Bill

 

[chalee94]

BLT studios are small but with a 3 year old, I think even that would work fine.

I agree with the other suggestions. There's no free dining ever with DVC and you'll need to start early since that is the highest demand for DVC bookings - it's called Fall Frenzy for a reason. ..

 

[Sha259]

1. Book at 11 months.
2. If you spend time in your room, book a 1 bedroom.
3. No free dining plan.
4. Start looking at 12 months.

Bill

Thank you for your quick feedback!! This is just was I was thinking but wanted to confirm with those more knowledgeable than I.

 

[Sha259]

BLT studios are small but with a 3 year old, I think even that would work fine.

I agree with the other suggestions. There's no free dining ever with DVC and you'll need to start early since that is the highest demand for DVC bookings - it's called Fall Frenzy for a reason. ..

Thanks! This is one of the reasons I started my research now. Because I wanted to know exactly what my preferences and options are, so that when it comes time to book I can make decisions quickly. My dates for all of September and October are wide open and flexible, so I hope that works to my advantage.

 

[crisi]

Earlier in September will be easier than later in September or anytime in October. Do not plan on getting a BLT standard view studio. You might be able to get a BLT standard view one bedroom however, since one bedrooms are less popular. BLT lakeview will be the easiest to have the combination of owner and availability. From BCV, getting to the MK involves a bus - and with a three year old, that means strollers on buses - I'd do BLT - that way you monorail to two parks.

 

[Sha259]

Okay, two more questions.

The Points difference between a 1BR and a studio for both are the difference of over $1000 for a 7 night stay, is the space really worth that, or is it basically paying for the availability because most studios are hard to get and likelihood of getting a 1BR for popular times is higher?

Will it be hard to find one reservation for a 7 night stay? Do people book that many days? Or am I likely to have to book a split stay?

 

[Sha259]

Earlier in September will be easier than later in September or anytime in October. Do not plan on getting a BLT standard view studio. You might be able to get a BLT standard view one bedroom however, since one bedrooms are less popular. BLT lakeview will be the easiest to have the combination of owner and availability. From BCV, getting to the MK involves a bus - and with a three year old, that means strollers on buses - I'd do BLT - that way you monorail to two parks.

Thank you! I was thinking BCV for the proximity to Epcot where DH and I would like to spend at least 2 days of our anticipated 7 night stay. Also closer to HS as we will be going after many of the renovations there will be complete! We are okay with stroller bus hopping for a day or 2 as we have a small lightweight umbrella stroller we use for travel and our son's needs are pretty minimal when we go out (we are lucky). But we are also debating renting a car to bypass the buses all together for this reason. We have parked and monorailed/ferried to MK before and it worked well and quickly for us.

By earlier Sept do you mean say before Sep 15th? My husband would prefer that timing so I am good with any dates in Sept or Oct actually.

 

[Ben E N]

Okay, two more questions.

The Points difference between a 1BR and a studio for both are the difference of over $1000 for a 7 night stay, is the space really worth that, or is it basically paying for the availability because most studios are hard to get and likelihood of getting a 1BR for popular times is higher?

Will it be hard to find one reservation for a 7 night stay? Do people book that many days? Or am I likely to have to book a split stay?

I did a Lakeview studio with a 2 and 4 year old, as well as my wife, a year ago and bad no problems. I would say go studio and use some of the $1000 savings on fun meals and other activities. You will still come out ahead.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I think your bigger challenge will be finding the point owner ready to book. If working through an agency, most agencies won't take/hold your request until 12 months out; owners cannot book until 11 months. Agencies aren't going to "hold" an owner in readiness for your 11 month date, especially in that season -- request volume is high, and it's not first in/first out. Owners can pick and choose requests as well.

Going private, some owners may be willing to hold points for you and try to book at 11 months, but that may cost you - it may be more per point, as the owner is giving you a level of service and taking a risk holding their points for your 11 month booking date, in the event you squirrel.

 

[Sha259]

I think your bigger challenge will be finding the point owner ready to book. If working through an agency, most agencies won't take/hold your request until 12 months out; owners cannot book until 11 months. Agencies aren't going to "hold" an owner in readiness for your 11 month date, especially in that season -- request volume is high, and it's not first in/first out. Owners can pick and choose requests as well.

Going private, some owners may be willing to hold points for you and try to book at 11 months, but that may cost you - it may be more per point, as the owner is giving you a level of service and taking a risk holding their points for your 11 month booking date, in the event you squirrel.

Interesting. So if I'm understanding you correctly, is it just that it's unlikely that I will be able to find anyone willing to rent their points for the Sept Oct time frame 11 months out? Or that they may just not be willing to rent their points specifically to me (such as maybe they rent to their DIS Board friends only, or for whatever reason don't want to rent to me personally)? Or that when owners on the boards post rental threads they are not actually ready to book the points they are renting? Just trying to get it all straight!

I just assumed that if I had a list of resorts in preference order that when someone posted their willingness to rent (for a point value and resort that I was interested in) I could quickly jump on the thread and they would be willing to check availability if they accept my request to rent. Maybe that is not the case? I guess I understand that DVC owners first priority is rightly to book their own vacations! But if someone knows they will not be visiting Disney that year or for whatever reason does not want to use their points, the willing to rent thread signals to me that they are willing to rent the points. I understand that there may not be any threads when I start looking, but it doesn't hurt to look or know what I am interested in so that I can act quickly when the opportunity presents itself, right?

My intention was to begin regularly checking the DIS Board for R/T in about October 2018 to see if anyone was listing their points for rent. Is that in bad taste? Obviously I would not expect someone to rent me their points for a stay unless they started a post stating as much. And I fully understand that I may not be able to find my first choice, or second, or third. Which is why I have a list of about 7 resorts I am researching now to determine my order of preference. If I cannot get any of them by Dec 2018 I will likely just wait for a room only rate deal at a moderate or just stay off site.

I'm super flexible and, though I have my heart set on going to Disney World, we don't have our heart set on staying anywhere particular. Our flights will be free and our tickets are deeply discounted so the only thing I really have to plan at this point is the room!

Thanks for the insight though! I've got lots to think about for the next few months!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

I just assumed that if I had a list of resorts in preference order that when someone posted their willingness to rent (for a point value and resort that I was interested in) I could quickly jump on the thread and they would be willing to check availability if they accept my request to rent.

In general, yes. Some posters are more responsive than others, and depending on points needed and UY, they may not be booking for, say, October. There is also a lot of noise on the Rent/Trade forum - people posting to rent SSR points, and then 10 people posting home resort requests for BWV on that thread. So signals do get lost.

So long as you understand UY and home resort, there is a good chance. But people do jump on posts for the higher demand resorts, and you do need to be expecting to pay $16-18 per point for fall at BWV, BCV, Poly, VGF and maybe even BLT.

 

[Sha259]

In general, yes. Some posters are more responsive than others, and depending on points needed and UY, they may not be booking for, say, October. There is also a lot of noise on the Rent/Trade forum - people posting to rent SSR points, and then 10 people posting home resort requests for BWV on that thread. So signals do get lost.

So long as you understand UY and home resort, there is a good chance. But people do jump on posts for the higher demand resorts, and you do need to be expecting to pay $16-18 per point for fall at BWV, BCV, Poly, VGF and maybe even BLT.

Got it! Thanks for the advice and you are completely right. Which is why I have both OKW and SSR on my list as I know OKW will be just finished a mild renovation, is light on the points and both are close to DS (with all the new restaurants we will likely be eating there alot!) I'm just super not picky so would likely be happy to get any DVC property so that I can stay deluxe accommodation for the general price of a moderate (even at $18pp).

But yeah, when I'm looking in the beginning, I'll only be looking for owners who are willing to rent their home resort at 11 months out. Only time will tell.

 

[crisi]

Okay, two more questions.

The Points difference between a 1BR and a studio for both are the difference of over $1000 for a 7 night stay, is the space really worth that, or is it basically paying for the availability because most studios are hard to get and likelihood of getting a 1BR for popular times is higher?

Will it be hard to find one reservation for a 7 night stay? Do people book that many days? Or am I likely to have to book a split stay?

We call it the nookie tax. Its expensive nookie, but my husband is far more likely to vacation if the kids sleep in a different room. (Yes, its absolutely worth it to us to have our kids sleep in a separate room, to have a washer and dryer in the room, and to be able to cook up a few eggs in the morning for breakfast and arrive at the parks ready to go until lunch. If I just wanted a studio, I wouldn't own DVC, I'd stay in the IMHO WAY NICER Deluxe rooms or save money in a moderate).

And by early September, generally after labor day, but the earlier you go, the easier it is to get DVC reservations. October becomes prime Fall Frenzy time - and I wouldn't want to bother making a reservation for ANYONE other than myself in October.

 

[Sha259]

We call it the nookie tax. Its expensive nookie, but my husband is far more likely to vacation if the kids sleep in a different room. (Yes, its absolutely worth it to us to have our kids sleep in a separate room, to have a washer and dryer in the room, and to be able to cook up a few eggs in the morning for breakfast and arrive at the parks ready to go until lunch. If I just wanted a studio, I wouldn't own DVC, I'd stay in the IMHO WAY NICER Deluxe rooms or save money in a moderate).

And by early September, generally after labor day, but the earlier you go, the easier it is to get DVC reservations. October becomes prime Fall Frenzy time - and I wouldn't want to bother making a reservation for ANYONE other than myself in October.

I get you! And I definitely see the benefit of having the full kitchen, but I think we would be more likely to stay offsite if we feel we NEED the full kitchen or separate 1 BR because the DVC price then becomes MUCH more expensive than the offsite suites or even renting a house. Our original plan was to book a room only at Port Orleans (either one really), and that is still our backup if we stay onsite. For me, the main benefit of doing DVC is getting a deluxe room/location on Disney property for the same price as a moderate. Once the price goes much above the moderate price I either will book the moderate or book offsite.

But I do know that everyone's priorities are different for their Disney stays!

 

[CraigInPA]

A one bedroom will put your 3 year old in a pull out sofa or a sleeper chair in a separate room from you and your spouse, who will be enjoying a king sized bed. Call me an old fuddy duddy, but when I was young, my parents made do with 3 boys under the age of 8 in a regular hotel room at the Poly (2 queen sized beds and a sofa). I don't see any issue whatsoever in staying in a BLT studio with a 3 year old unless you think you're going to need to do laundry, cook extensive meals, or spend considerable time in the room.

Staying at BLT isn't comparable to staying at Port Orleans. You can WALK to the MK from BLT in under 10 minutes. You can hop on a monorail to the TTC and transfer to the Epcot Monorail. You can see the MK fireworks from some rooms, or the bridge connecting to the Contemporary. From some rooms, you can see the fireworks in the distance at Epcot and DHS.

 

[crisi]

Since your other option is a moderate, something else to factor into your decision making is that generally speaking, a DVC room is non-refundable. For any reason. It depends on who you rent from - some people will try and work with you, others won't do anything - but even the most willing of owners may find their hands tied depending on where your vacation falls in their use year. I would really recommend getting travel insurance on a DVC rental (if its a private rental, you'll have to find your travel insurance elsewhere - some brokers offer something like it IIRC). Having to cancel a DVC room because of a loss in income or a sick kid or some other emergency can be a very expensive proposition.

 

[TexasChick123]

1) How hard is it to get a BCV or BLT studio for September or October? BLT standard studio is tough because there aren't that many in the standard category. BCV is also tough but doable since there is no delineation on room category there other than size. This will be where "when you are going" is a major factor.

2) Space wise, would you recommend a studio or 1 BR for a family of 3 with a 3 year old at time of trip? We don't stay in studios with our kids, and we never have, but that is a personal preference. You need to compare apples to apples here: a 1-bedroom is really the size of 2 hotel rooms, and the studio is the size of one hotel room. No one can tell you what would be too small for your family. We have always liked a little bit of separation from the kids.

3) If I request the points as well as to purchase the Disney Dining Plan, if Disney offers Free Dining during my dates, could I modify the reservation to get it, or is that not allowed? No free dining with any DVC rental, ever. That is only a perk when staying in one of their hotels, not a DVC resort. They are separate divisions.

4) Since I am looking to rent September/October 2019, how soon before the 11 month window should I start looking for DVC members to contact about renting? Start looking at 12 months out.

5) By earlier Sept do you mean say before Sep 15th? Yes, the earlier the better for September regarding availability. HOWEVER, it is CRAZY hot in September in central Florida, so plan accordingly. This is coming from someone who lives in Texas, so you know it must be hot if I am saying it is!

Good luck, and happy planning!

 

[Best Aunt]

I would add:

a) If you are thinking of renting a car, driving from BLT to Epcot or DHS lets you park at the theme park. Driving from BCV to MK means parking at the Transportation & Ticket Center, getting on the tram to get from your car to the monorail/boat, then riding the monorail/boat to MK.

b) Since you are thinking of going during Epcot's Food & Wine Festival, I would think BCV could be difficult to book because it is small (not a lot of rooms) and it is near Epcot. Is there a reason you have ruled out BoardWalk Villas? If you want to stay at the Epcot area, it's bigger (has more rooms) than BCV.

c) Renting at 11 months would mean finding an owner who both has the correct home resort and who has enough points they don't need for themselves. Someone might have BLT as their home resort but not have as many points as would be needed for what you want to book. For example, a lake view one-bedroom at BLT for a week in October is 241 points.

d) I have never tried to rent points, but if you're trying to do it at the 11 month mark, I'm not sure how it would work if your first choice is one resort and your second choice is a different resort. If someone is trying to book for you at 11 months, they can only book at their home resort. I don't know how likely it is that someone would have enough points at two different home resorts, so that if they couldn't get your first choice they could switch to your second choice.

e) I don't know who came up with the buzz line of renting DVC points so that you can stay at a deluxe resort for the price of a moderate, but that person is very good at marketing. In reality, it sometimes to leads to people comparing the rack (un-discounted) rate of a moderate versus the cost of renting something which has very limited availability, such as a value studio at AKV. It ignores the fact that sometimes Disney will have discounts for its regular hotel rooms, or free dining. It also ignores the fact that the DVC villas with limited availability are hard to rent.

f) So in order to get what you want, you need (1) an owner who has the correct home resort, and (2) who also has enough points, and (3) who is willing and able to go online at the correct time on the correct date to try to make the reservation, and (4) who is fast enough to book what you want before other people book it.

 

[Henwen88]

Alternatively, consider the Poly. Nice sized studios for 3, split bath, trundle bed for the kiddo (so your sofa can stay a sofa!), and what I consider monorail access to MK and Epcot (via a nice, short walk to the TTC). It's my second fave food and wine resort over BCV.