Renting points vs free dining??

[peaches0313]

I priced our dates for next September and it almost seems as though we would save about $1000 doing a GF villa renting points vs just booking a standard GF room through Disney.com. However, I am *hoping* for free dining for next September, which would also save give or take $1000... thoughts??? This is our first trip and I don't know which route to go...it would be nice having the extra space in a villa but I am a bit nervous about renting points...

 

[worm761]

That is a hard one. With renting points, as long as you go through a reputable company like Dave's DVC, I think you will be OK. But I know that you have to book pretty far out and it is nonrefundable if you cancel. Though the space and ability to cook some of your own meals may help with the cost.

The problem with "hoping for free dining" is that it might not happen. While there is a pretty good pattern for it, it is not guaranteed at all. And if you wait to book DVC hoping for free dining then you may miss your opportunity to book at the DVC resort you want.

Personally, I would add up the costs associated with each one(DVC rental, free dining, no free dining). Then weigh the pros and cons of waiting to book versus what I wanted for my vacation.

 

[Marionnette]

I priced our dates for next September and it almost seems as though we would save about $1000 doing a GF villa renting points vs just booking a standard GF room through Disney.com. However, I am *hoping* for free dining for next September, which would also save give or take $1000... thoughts??? This is our first trip and I don't know which route to go...it would be nice having the extra space in a villa but I am a bit nervous about renting points...

I never budget my vacations with the hope that there will be some sort of discount later. I subscribe to the philosophy that "a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush". Renting VGF points would be a sure savings of $1000 but you would have to start looking for an owner to book that villa in Sept. 2013 in order for them to book for Sept 2014. VGF owners' booking window will open in Oct. 2013 for those dates. Of course, that also means that you will have to pay a considerable amount upfront and it may not be refundable.

I just want to point out that the VGF studio villas are less roomy than the hotel rooms. The deluxe studios are 374 sq. ft. while the GF hotel rooms are 400 sq. ft. Those 26 sq. ft. mean a lot! Plus the studio will have a pullout sofa, not a second bed and no maid service. This can be an issue for some people.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure that you are aware of the details that make the difference between a resort hotel stay and a DVC points rental before you commit to it.

 

[crisi]

To me, where price is an issue, booking a non refundable vacation a year out is a lot of risk. I'd hope for free dining and if it doesn't come through, consider cheaper options like offsite.

 

[kristenrice]

I own DVC and I can honestly say that if the prices were comparable, I would take a FD stay at the GF over renting a studio on points. The studios are smaller, you lose the daily housekeeping, there is no chance of an upgrade and you are paying NON-REFUNDABLE money IN FULL almost a year prior to travel.

Now, if you're talking about a 1BR villa, the story changes. The 1BR/2BR's are the reason I bought DVC. I had no desire to "waste" our one-week-a-year family vacation crammed into one room.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[peaches0313]

Thanks everyone! To clarify, I am definitely talking about a 1 bedroom villa (NOT a studio) The whole reason we were interested is so that my husband and I could have a separate area to hang out after the kids go to bed. But, I am just not sure it is worth the worry or paying up front almost a year before our vacation. Also, I wasn't going to book until January 2014 (for our September 2014 trip) Does this change things? Would the GF villa all be taken?

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks everyone! To clarify, I am definitely talking about a 1 bedroom villa (NOT a studio) The whole reason we were interested is so that my husband and I could have a separate area to hang out after the kids go to bed. But, I am just not sure it is worth the worry or paying up front almost a year before our vacation. Also, I wasn't going to book until January 2014 (for our September 2014 trip) Does this change things? Would the GF villa all be taken?

Unless they declare the rest of the GFV inventory in January, I think you might have a tough time booking it for points. Unless you already know someone who owns points at GFV and can book that for you at eleven months out. Since GFV is so new, it is the hottest property for DVC stays right now.

 

[crisi]

Thanks everyone! To clarify, I am definitely talking about a 1 bedroom villa (NOT a studio) The whole reason we were interested is so that my husband and I could have a separate area to hang out after the kids go to bed. But, I am just not sure it is worth the worry or paying up front almost a year before our vacation. Also, I wasn't going to book until January 2014 (for our September 2014 trip) Does this change things? Would the GF villa all be taken?

You will almost certainly have a difficult time renting. You are still nine months out, so there would be a hope, but you'd have to find a GF owner who doesn't want to travel on his brand new points.

 

[kristenrice]

Thanks everyone! To clarify, I am definitely talking about a 1 bedroom villa (NOT a studio) The whole reason we were interested is so that my husband and I could have a separate area to hang out after the kids go to bed. But, I am just not sure it is worth the worry or paying up front almost a year before our vacation. Also, I wasn't going to book until January 2014 (for our September 2014 trip) Does this change things? Would the GF villa all be taken?

DVC members can book their home resort 11 months in advance. The GFV is the smallest DVC property at WDW so availability can be tight. It is brand new and so there is no way to predict what availability will be like in January. There are a few things working in your favor. First, 1BR's will probably be the easiest to get. They sleep 5 (just like the studios) and they cost substantially more points per night. The second thing working in your favor is that September is typically a very slow time of year.

I amend my previous comments...if the prices are similar, absolutely take the 1BR. Be warned...you will be spoiled. Yes, you will have to pay the full amount up front, but then you don't have to worry about *if* they release FD for your dates. Take the 1BR and don't look back. You will absolutely love it.

 

[peaches0313]

Thanks Kristen! I could book in November.... I guess. It's just a very busy time of year for me, but when is the best time for me to try to rent with Dave's DVC rentals IF I am wanting the GF villas? November? December? Thanks again! I guess a 2nd option for me would be the BLT 1 bedrooms, but with 2 little girls I was thinking the GF would be more of a good match

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks Kristen! I could book in November.... I guess. It's just a very busy time of year for me, but when is the best time for me to try to rent with Dave's DVC rentals IF I am wanting the GF villas? November? December? Thanks again! I guess a 2nd option for me would be the BLT 1 bedrooms, but with 2 little girls I was thinking the GF would be more of a good match

Even if you try to book with David, he might not even have GFV points available. He has to find a member who has the points and is not planning on using them. He doesn't own all the points used for stays booked through him. He finds members who don't plan on using the points and want to get cash for them.

You almost need to book with him twelve months out and ask him to keep you at the top of his list.

My guess is the same as crisi. Most of the new owners at GFV will be using their points this year and not selling them. It's going to be hard to find a rental at GFV more than seven months out and at seven months out, you are competing with every DVC member who doesn't have GFV as their home resort.

 

[Marionnette]

Thanks everyone! To clarify, I am definitely talking about a 1 bedroom villa (NOT a studio) The whole reason we were interested is so that my husband and I could have a separate area to hang out after the kids go to bed. But, I am just not sure it is worth the worry or paying up front almost a year before our vacation. Also, I wasn't going to book until January 2014 (for our September 2014 trip) Does this change things? Would the GF villa all be taken?

I don't see where you're going to save $1000 by booking a 1-bedroom villa at VGF vs. getting a standard hotel room at GF. Picking a random week in Sept. (09/14-09/21/14) and comparing the rates on David's Vacation Club Rentals (check his points calculator tool) vs. DisneyWorld.com, you're looking at least $3458 for a standard view 1-bedroom villa vs. $3924 for an outer building garden view room at GF. The savings is just under $500. It's still a savings, but it's about half of what you had stated.

I know that people talk about getting distressed points (an owner who has to use his points in a very short time or lose them) at a bargain rate of $8-$9 per point, but that is not going to happen with a VGF reservation. In fact, many VGF owners are asking more per point for their reservations because their buy-in costs were so much higher than other DVC resorts.

I'm not trying to discourage you. I'm just putting things in a realistic light. You're less likely to be able to get a September reservation at VGF if you wait until January to start looking. And you're not not likely to get a VGF reservation for the bargain rate of $8/pt.

 

[robinb]

I priced our dates for next September and it almost seems as though we would save about $1000 doing a GF villa renting points vs just booking a standard GF room through Disney.com. However, I am *hoping* for free dining for next September, which would also save give or take $1000... thoughts??? This is our first trip and I don't know which route to go...it would be nice having the extra space in a villa but I am a bit nervous about renting points...

How many people are in your family? "Free dining" is generally not a good discount for the Deluxe resorts since the rack rate is so expensive. Regular room-only discounts are often a better deal for small families or families with children under 10.

 

[peaches0313]

We were looking at going 9/8-9/13 checkout, so 5 nights only. Maybe that is where the difference in cost savings is from. We are not staying over the weekend. The cost of a standard GF room on disney.com was somewhere around $3600, give or take. The cost (according to Dave's point calculator) was $2400 (173 points). All this point talk though is making me think we should just go the simple route and book through Disney. The only reason we were looking at renting was to get a separate "living area" so my husband and I could hang out after kids go to bed. But that may not be worth having to pay upfront, find a popular suite, etc. Should I stick w/ my original instinct and just try to book a regular GF room in January? I am not sure how much hanging out my husband and I will do anyways after a full day in the parks, but just thought I'd be nice to have a drink a night or two. I feel like with the kids in the room, we have to go to bed when they do! Are there balconys on all the standard rooms at GF? Maybe that is the answer..thoughts?! Thanks for everyone's awesome advice!

 

[peaches0313]

P.S. There are 4 people in our family. 2 adults, and a 3 year old, and a 5 year old at time of travel...

 

[pigletto]

I had the same debate for our December trip. I have used Davids several times in the past and always had a very good experience. I checked for our December dates and he did not have points for Wilderness Lodge at 9 months out. I decided to book with a member here on the rent/trade board and I am glad I did as VWL is quite popular at Christmas. I did get a free dining pincode about 3 days later that covered my dates, however I still came out ahead renting points for a studio over booking at rack rate in a Standard View room with free dining so all worked out.
If you have your heart set on a particular hard to get reservation I would try several avenues. Start with Davids, but just know he may not have the points available.

 

[ssawka]

How many people are in your family? "Free dining" is generally not a good discount for the Deluxe resorts since the rack rate is so expensive. Regular room-only discounts are often a better deal for small families or families with children under 10.

This was my thought, how many people and for how long are you going? Also, how old are your kids? That makes a huge difference on how much you actually "save" with "Free Dining".

 

[Marionnette]

We were looking at going 9/8-9/13 checkout, so 5 nights only. Maybe that is where the difference in cost savings is from. We are not staying over the weekend. The cost of a standard GF room on disney.com was somewhere around $3600, give or take. The cost (according to Dave's point calculator) was $2400 (173 points). All this point talk though is making me think we should just go the simple route and book through Disney. The only reason we were looking at renting was to get a separate "living area" so my husband and I could hang out after kids go to bed. But that may not be worth having to pay upfront, find a popular suite, etc. Should I stick w/ my original instinct and just try to book a regular GF room in January? I am not sure how much hanging out my husband and I will do anyways after a full day in the parks, but just thought I'd be nice to have a drink a night or two. I feel like with the kids in the room, we have to go to bed when they do! Are there balconys on all the standard rooms at GF? Maybe that is the answer..thoughts?! Thanks for everyone's awesome advice!

I'm seeing $2685.50 for those nights in a GF garden view room, outer building. That's still a savings of over $200 for a 1-bedroom (173 points @$13/pt.) when renting DVC points vs. a regular hotel room by booking rack rate through Disney.

However, you stand a good chance of a room-only or package discount becoming available for Sept. of next year, which could bring that $2685 down quite a bit. Disney's cancellation policy is a lot more lenient and you would only have to put 1 night's stay down as a deposit if you book with Disney. Another thing to consider is that 1-bedroom villas have one king-size bed in the bedroom. The second bed is the pullout sofa in the living room area. Do you want to spend your vacation sleeping on a pullout sofa?

GF resort rooms all have either a balcony or a patio if they are on the ground floor. You and your husband could go out there to relax and talk while the kids fall asleep inside. We did that plenty of times when our own children were young. It's not as nice as having a living room to relax in but it works out okay. The trick is how to re-enter the room through the sliding glass door without waking them up. But if they're exhausted from a long day in the parks, they may be out cold within minutes of hitting their pillow!

 

[davedmaine]

I priced our dates for next September and it almost seems as though we would save about $1000 doing a GF villa renting points vs just booking a standard GF room through Disney.com. However, I am *hoping* for free dining for next September, which would also save give or take $1000... thoughts??? This is our first trip and I don't know which route to go...it would be nice having the extra space in a villa but I am a bit nervous about renting points...

You're far better off with renting points. Free dining is for suckers.

 

[peaches0313]

thanks Marionnette! I see now what you are talking about. I was looking at tickets in the disney price too (forgot to take that out) SO the savings are not as great as I thought for these villas, I guess since they are so new. They are about what you said. Neither of us would have to sleep on the sofa, just my husband and I would be in the King. Baby in pack n play. We just liked the idea of the villas to have the separate living space, but as you say if every room at the GF has a balcony then that may work too IF Disney offers free dining next September ( I realize they may not) Disney would be much cheaper than renting. My numbers (which include tix, airfare, and food) Disney (with Free dining): $4,692 Disney (w/dining) $5,692, villa (with dining) $5,307