Amazing deals at Disney properties

[las710]

I did a search and did not find anything recent about this on this board so I thought I'd share a recent amazing deal I found.

Disney has a timeshare-type club called Disney Vacation Club. Instead of having a week's rental somewhere like other timeshare owners, Disney DVC members accrue "points" that can be used at various resorts throughout Disney. If they will not be using their points, they offer to "rent" them to non-members.

I just "rented" via a DVC member a 2-bd, 2-ba villa at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in November for $207 per night (no taxes or extra fees apply). The rental was 23 points/night and the DVC member charged me $9/point. The same villa on Disney's site was going for more than $650/night!

A lot of these owners are pretty saavy and have contracts they use, process payments via PayPal, etc. The typical going rate for points seems to be $10/point. You can find DVC members on disboards.com at http://www.disboards.com/forumdisplay.php?f=7 and on mouseowners.com under the Rent/Trade tab.

You can view the DVC resort point charts at http://www.wdwinfo.com/disney-vacation-club/DVCpoints.shtml -- figure out which resort you want to stay at and when and then you'll be able to determine how many points you need. Then you can start shopping the boards for points and secure the reservation via a DVC member. It is a win-win situtation because DVC members are able to recoup some $ on points that may be expiring or that they will not use and us non-members can get a great deal.

Like I said... I purchased mine this morning (hopefully from a legitimate owner and I am not getting scammed) and already have my confirmation numbers for the trip. He also got me set up for the Magical Express service between the hotel and airport. Now I just need to determine if I want to purchase a dining plan through him too.

Hope that helps!
Lisa

[clc053103]

I know many that have stayed at DVC properties this way. The ONLY down side is that you aren't eligible for any offers such as free dining. The upside is you get a great villa at a great price with free internet and I believe all other perks given to DVC members (if you pay cash to stay at a DVC resort, you dont get the DVC member perks- only when renting points).

[Momof3Labs]

The other downside is that you may not have the ability to cancel and get most/all of your money back if something comes up. The DVC owner may choose to refund your money if they can recoup their points, but they have every right not to refund your money as they may not be able to sell or use their points before losing them.

[las710]

This is correct, but hopefully the wording of the contract will address the cancellation issue. This is what my contract stated, which I think is fair and the owner has been good to work with, so unless we had to cancel at completely the last minute, we should be able to push the reservation to a different time...

"Payments will become non-refundable 60 days before the reservation arrival date (September 15, 2009) but will be returned if the reservation is cancelled in writing prior to that date. In the event that, after the refund period has passed and Renter is unable to use the reservation made, Renter agrees that no monies will be refunded, but DVC Member agrees to assist Renter in making changes to the existing reservation. Changes can include making the reservation in the name of another Renter (only at the direction of the original Renter), changing the date, resort, or room type – all based on availability and all limitations of the DVC program itself. In all cases, Renter understands that DVC Member will not refund either deposit or full payment after the refund period has passed. Renter agrees that he/she will be subject to all policies of DVC regarding any desired changes to the reservation."