Weird group composition - Pop vs Villas - Cost!

[Princesca]

So we're traveling with a group of two couples, one senior citizen, and one three year old, so 5 adults and one preschooler. Right now, we've booked two rooms at POP, that came to about $1800 for 7 nights, total, after AAA discount.

But I've started to think about the possibility of renting DVC points. I always hear people say that they get good deals with those, but my basic research says that we'd be looking at about $3000 or more for the last week of April in the various two-bedroom villas around Disney property.

Am I doing something wrong? My thinking is that I will not be able to rent DVC points cheaply enough to make it close to our budget. We'd be willing to pay $200-$300 more, but not $1000 more. The pricing makes sense to me... i just wanted to make sure I'm not missing something in my calculations.

 

[Lynne M]

When people talk about good deals when renting points, they mean 'good' in comparison to the cash rate for booking those villas. And it's true, you'll generally pay much less that the rack rate.

But, it's sort of an apples-to-oranges comparison, putting two rooms at Pop up against a two bedroom villa. You're getting a living room where people can gather, and two bedrooms, in some cases three bathrooms, a full kitchen, washer/dryer, your own balconies, a jacuzzi tub, and much, much more square footage than you would have in two Pop rooms. Plus, the amenities of a deluxe resort - at least one table service restaurant, really nice pools with slides, etc. At some DVC resorts, you can walk to a theme park - BLT is right next door to MK, and BCV and BWV have walking paths to both Epcot and DHS.

I'm not talking down Pop....just explaining what you're paying the extra money for at a DVC resort.

It really comes down to looking at what you'd get at the DVC resort you're interested in, comparing that to what you'd get at Pop, and deciding if the extras are worth the additional money to you.

 

[Goofy4]

Also, 6 is not the ideal number for DVC rental since you can't book a one-bedroom and a 2-bedroom would accommodate 8 or 9 for the same price.

If you were to consider 2 family-suites at ASM, the numbers would be much closer.

 

[Princesca]

Yeah - I know they're apples and oranges. We're trying to stay on property for as little as possible, so it looks like a Value is our best bet. Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing anything.

Personally, I was advocating for Bonnet Creek, but most people in the group felt that Pop would be much more fun for the preschooler, and I agree.

We'll try it this once, and then perhaps the bloom will be off the rose and we'll get to try WBC next trip.

 

[Lynne M]

Also, 6 is not the ideal number for DVC rental since you can't book a one-bedroom and a 2-bedroom would accommodate 8 or 9 for the same price.

If you were to consider 2 family-suites at ASM, the numbers would be much closer.

I wouldn't necessarily write off a two bedroom for a group of 6. The maximum occupancy under the fire code may be 8 or 9, but that doesn't mean that it would be comfortable for everyone. Depending on the configuration, a two-bedroom villa has a king bed, two queens and a sofa bed, or a king bed, one queen and two sofa beds. The ones that accommodate 9 have a sleeper chair in the living room.

Putting 8 people in a two bedroom means two people in every bed and sofa bed. That's not always workable, depending on the makeup of the group.