Renting DVC Points for Split Stay

[txelle05]

I am in the process of planning our first trip WDW for April 2022. We are planning to be there for 7 nights - 5 park days with a rest day in the middle. For the rest day, I really want to be at Yacht Club to use their pool so my initial plan was to stay at a value resort for the first few days, switch to Yacht Club on a park day, and the next day would be the rest day. I have already contacted a travel agent and gotten quotes for this option but my main issue that I'm struggling with now is the travel time to and from the value resort (we were quoted Pop Century). My son will be 5 when we go so I anticipate having to go back to the hotel in the middle of the day during our park days to rest and I am worried that that will take a really long time utilizing park transportation. I know Uber is always an option but I am hesitant to do that without a car seat and I just don't think he will be big enough for a booster by then.

Now my plan is to try and rent DVC points for the first few days where we were originally going to be at Pop Century, and request one of the monorail resorts. I have my order of preferences already for that, but would put all three down to increase my chances of finding something. I will also be purchasing Cancel for Any Reason travel insurance since I know if I manage to get the resort on points, it is non-refundable.

Basically, either way we are doing the split stay unless there is something I'm not thinking about that someone is about to tell me! I just don't want to pay for Yacht Club the whole time, I like the idea of experiencing 2 resorts, and my husband is saying this is the only time we're doing Disney. I had considered trying to find points for the full trip at Beach Club but I was wondering if would be harder to book a full week stay like that? Or if my chances are about the same no matter how many days I'm looking for? I am planning to use the travel agent to book the Yacht Club portion and purchase tickets. I really feel like I need someone that is keeping track of all the changes going on with reservations, fast passes, etc. so I'd like to keep the TA involved in that way.

Does this seem like a crazy/bad idea and that I'm just overcomplicating things for myself? I already feel like I'm in the weeds on this and I only just started planning for a trip that is over a year away!

 

[cvjw]

If you book 11 months out, you should have no issue getting beach club for your whole visit. Keep in mind, if your visit is around Easter, the DVC points per night are much higher due to the holiday.

If this is your first and only visit, I would not change resorts. I would pick one and enjoy.

 

[starry_solo]

Remember that points rentals are non-refundable (typically) so make sure you are ok with doing this before taking the plunge to rent points.

 

[txelle05]

Remember that points rentals are non-refundable (typically) so make sure you are ok with doing this before taking the plunge to rent points.

Yes, that was another reason to do the split stay with part through points and part through the TA. I would be getting travel insurance with the cancel for any reason clause, but even that only returns 75% in the best case scenario. If, for some reason, CFAR didn't apply when purchasing points, then I wouldn't do it. I still need to look into that a bit.

 

[Marthasor]

I would suggest thinking about which parks you will going to the most and then picking your resort from there. I would not recommend splitting your stay for a first visit. I've stayed at BC/BCV/YC numerous times (love the location), but I really don't understand the hype with the pool. Yes, it's sand bottomed and the ship is cool (though that slide will be hard to navigate with a 5-year old). Personally, if it were my first trip and only trip with a 5-year old, I would consider Poly. The theming is off the charts, the view is amazing and I think the pool and slide (and splash area) are more conducive to a 5-year old. You will have the monorail to MK (and EP as I am assuming it will be running there by 2022). Volcano pool, splash pad, view of MK plus monorail really makes for an incredible one-and-only trip, IMHO. You could do a standard room there or a studio (if you want to rent DVC points, you could rent points for the studio as well). If you really want the pool at BC/YC, I don't think you would have a problem renting at BCV for the week. Maybe also consider BWI or BWV if you want to be in the EP area. That pool and slide are also more conducive to a 5-year old, IMHO. I would not do a split for a first-time, one-and-only stay.

 

[txelle05]

Just curious why no split stay? Just the extra hassle? The main reason it came up for us was the money-savings over a weeklong stay.

Poly was my first choice for the first part of the stay. It is good to hear the feedback that that may be better for us anyway. I will have to talk with my husband about maybe just renting points for a full stay there - I don't see that happening for us at the normal Disney rates. I do feel bad for involving a TA though and ultimately not booking with her if we do go with points.

 

[Marthasor]

Just curious why no split stay? Just the extra hassle? The main reason it came up for us was the money-savings over a weeklong stay.

Poly was my first choice for the first part of the stay. It is good to hear the feedback that that may be better for us anyway. I will have to talk with my husband about maybe just renting points for a full stay there - I don't see that happening for us at the normal Disney rates. I do feel bad for involving a TA though and ultimately not booking with her if we do go with points.

I think the split is a bit of a hassle, particularly if this is your first visit and you aren't familiar with the lay of the land. If you were to do the split, I would suggest a 4 night/3 night split at the very least and I would do a MK monorail resort and an EP resort, if it's in your budget. 2 nights isn't enough to fully enjoy a WDW resort, IMHO. The one nice thing about doing a MK/EP resort split is, if you plan your park visits based on your resort location, you can cut down on park transportation time considerably.

If you do decide to rent points for your stay, perhaps consider purchasing your park tickets through the TA if you would like to continue to work with her in some capacity.

 

[Deb & Bill]

If your 5 yr old is a very good swimmer and you don't need to stay right next to him all the time, Stormalong Bay won't be too bad. But if he isn't an expert swimmer, able to manage swifter currents with deeper pool areas, various areas out of your sight, I wouldn't bother with SAB. You can't just sit on the edge of the pool or on a lounger and watch from there at SAB.