Renting dvc point? Tell me about it : )

[scrooks]

I'm just curious...renting dvc points seems like a good option but we may be too late to rent for a fall trip (at least through David's). Has anyone ever done this? Was it easy? Worth it (versus staying somewhere like the wyndham)? Can you get the dining plan? And can you make your reservations (dining and fastpass) as early as those booking thought disney?

[kristenk]

I rented through David's for an upcoming stay. I'm anticipating that all will go well! :) Yes, you can get the dining plan, although we didn't. We made reservations for dining and fast pass+ with the same timeframe as anyone else staying on property. What is it, 180 days for dining and 60 for fp+?

I'm sure it would be cheaper if we were staying offsite, but I'm happy with the price that we paid.

[hellokitty]

Yes! I rented points through DVC Store, Lauren was my agent and she was absolutely wonderful to work with. It was very easy. You can get the dining plan and yes, as an on site guest, you get to make your ADRs and FP reservations at the same timeframe as onsite resort guests. Just go to their website to request a quote. She is very prompt and if she doesn't have dates for the resort you want, she will let you know what else is available. We stayed in a 1 bdrm at AKL Kidani and we absolutely LOVED it, what a wonderful resort and the amenities were wonderful for our family of five. I doubt we will ever go back to WDW w/o doing dvc rental again.

[hillview]

We did it through dave's a few years ago and it went super well

[123LuckyMom]

How do the prices compare with a deluxe room? For example, if we were to get a one bedroom at the BayView Towers vs. a regular room at the Contemporary or Polynesian, would it be less expensive? If so, what are the downsides? We're planning a trip for Spring 2016 and trying to decide where to stay. We've still got a stroller kid, so we know we want to have ease of access to and from the parks. We know nothing about DVC or the points system, but we're really curious!

[kristenk]

You can look at the prices for points by plugging your dates in here: https://www.dvcrequest.com/cost-calculator.asp

Compare to the rates on WDW's website. When I was looking, I figured out the discount that I'd have to get for the WDW rates to be equal to what I'd pay through points rental. For me, I'd need a huge discount to get the same rate and it seemed extremely unlikely (bordering on impossible) that would happen. I decided to rent points.

[LKMang]

I actually own DVC but we rented a ton before we became owners. Another option is to rent directly from owners. It's usually a little cheaper than going through Davids. You can check it out on DISboards. There is a little more risk (since you are just going through a person and not a company) but we've done it probably 5 times and never had any issues. We love DVC and the amount of space you get is great. Seriously, my kids are spoiled! Good luck! We are going back in the fall too and can't wait.

[MSWR0319]

We rented from an owner through a local lady who rents out points for her clients. It was wonderful! We paid her a $150 fee and then I think it was $11/point maybe. We stayed at the Beach Club. Last trip we did Wyndham and liked that too. It was super nice though to be able to walk to Epcot and be able to book FP+ earlier.

[marymoo86]

How do the prices compare with a deluxe room? For example, if we were to get a one bedroom at the BayView Towers vs. a regular room at the Contemporary or Polynesian, would it be less expensive? If so, what are the downsides? We're planning a trip for Spring 2016 and trying to decide where to stay. We've still got a stroller kid, so we know we want to have ease of access to and from the parks. We know nothing about DVC or the points system, but we're really curious!

I rented directly through an owner for a 1 BR lake view at BLT. Much cheaper than a corresponding studio at Contemporary and cheaper than going through Dave's since there is now a premium added to renting 11m out versus 7m. I received confirmation from Disney and double checked ownership before sending my check. It is more expensive than staying offsite or one of the on property non Disney hotels but have 2 littles so premium was worth promixity to MK where will most likely spend most of the time. There are forums on Mouseowners and Disboards for folks to rent directly. We had a contract and I also purchased travel insurance to cover any foreseen issues.

[scrooks]

Thanks for all of the info guys! I am still torn what to do but this thread has been super helpful. I am now thinking about Windsor hills and renting a condo...they are so cheap for the space. My Dh is big on space. I would love to stay on property just once but I also worry how Dh will like being tied to disney transportation. We would probably have to rent a car too which would make staying on property even more pricey....what to do what to do!

[hellokitty]

Scooks,

My dh refuses to stay off site. However, when I pointed out to him how close Wyndham Bonnet Creek was (we literally passed it otw to dtd), even though I had told him it before, to physically see how close it to wdw, made him think a little bit more about it, esp whenI point out how much $$$ we save. He says he wants to go back again in about 2 yrs and I am hoping we will just stay off site. I like staying onsite, but it IS expensive. It would have been cheaper for us to stay at POR as a family of five vs, the 1 bdrm dvc at akl kidani, but it is not an apples to apples comparison. I know that 2 yrs from now, we'd also like to do universal as well, and not spend the bulk of our trip on disney. It is easier as your kids get older, to stay off site. It's baby steps for him. Now that he's had a taste of the extra space, full kitchen, two bathrooms, w/d, I'm hoping he will take one more step and stay off site next time. We've stayed onsite 3x already and I don't think that the buses are worth it to stay onsite. The theming is nice, but at a high cost.

[Still-in-Shock]

Yes! I rented points through DVC Store, Lauren was my agent and she was absolutely wonderful to work with. It was very easy. You can get the dining plan and yes, as an on site guest, you get to make your ADRs and FP reservations at the same timeframe as onsite resort guests. Just go to their website to request a quote. She is very prompt and if she doesn't have dates for the resort you want, she will let you know what else is available. We stayed in a 1 bdrm at AKL Kidani and we absolutely LOVED it, what a wonderful resort and the amenities were wonderful for our family of five. I doubt we will ever go back to WDW w/o doing dvc rental again.
KItty, which website did you use? I found a dvcrentalstore dot com, that charges more per point than Davids' dvcrequest.com for rentals under 7 months (but if the service is that much better, I would consider it), and I found a dvcstore dot com, but they handle resales for DVC properties.

[westwoodmom04]

How do the prices compare with a deluxe room? For example, if we were to get a one bedroom at the BayView Towers vs. a regular room at the Contemporary or Polynesian, would it be less expensive? If so, what are the downsides? We're planning a trip for Spring 2016 and trying to decide where to stay. We've still got a stroller kid, so we know we want to have ease of access to and from the parks. We know nothing about DVC or the points system, but we're really curious!

I think it depends on where you stay. Bay view is one of the more expensive dvc properties and I think it would still be more than a hotel room at a deluxe. However, you get a lot more space (2 bathrooms, laundry, a kitchen) at the bayview and can still use all the amenities at the Contemporary as well as at the Bay view. We had a great view of the fireworks from our living room.

[hellokitty]

KItty, which website did you use? I found a dvcrentalstore dot com, that charges more per point than Davids' dvcrequest.com for rentals under 7 months (but if the service is that much better, I would consider it), and I found a dvcstore dot com, but they handle resales for DVC properties.

http://dvcrentalstore.com/ It could be the same site you looked at for points, I didn't really look into David's, since I had heard to many raves about the place I went to and their customer service.

[abh5e8]

how do room reservations with kids work? we are planning a trip with DBIL/SIL and their 2 boys. we have 4 kids, 1 under 3 and they have 2 kids, 1 under 3. could we register one of our kids in their room, so we could each stay in a deluxe studio at BLT? (says sleeps 4 plus one child under age 3). would so love to be on the monorail, but to go up to a 1 bedroom price is about double.

[rkold]

We rented points privately via a member on the DisBoards (we're owners but we went through all our points) and it went wonderfully. The person we dealt with was friendly and helpful and extremely good at making sure everything we needed went through. (If you want to use the Magical Express, the person who owns the points needs to book it.)

Re: off vs. on property. Honestly, it depends on which attractions/meet n greets you want to do and when you are going. If you're going during say most of January, stay off property, it's super easy to book FP+s, however during other times of the year, staying on vs off property might be the difference between getting a FP+ you want and not getting one. Even on property booking at the earliest possible moment, I couldn't get a FP+ time to meet Anna and Elsa in Oct or December of 2014.

October is a relatively popular time to go to Disney. It has the Halloween Party and Food and Wine. We're actually going in Oct. I would say right now your options for availability might be limited to Saratoga Springs, Old Key West and maybe Animal Kingdom.

Personally, I wouldn't lie because it might get complicated if your groups decide to get a meal plan or one of the groups cancels at the last minute (which can happen.) I guess I would instead look for a studio that can take 5 people like VGF or the Poly. I love BLT but the studios are pretty tiny.