How to Save Money Renting Disney Vacation Club Points
These money-saving tips for renting Disney Vacation Club points will get you Deluxe Resort rooms during your vacation at Walt Disney World, Disneyland or beyond. DVC rental is safe, easy, and cheaper than standard hotels. It’s also a great way to “test drive” before buying a membership.
For those who are unfamiliar with it, Disney Vacation Club (DVC) point rental is the one-time use of a set number of a points or already confirmed reservation at a Deluxe Villa room at a Disney Vacation Club Resort. It’s an easy process, and you can do this on a person-to-person basis via social media groups, or via one of the established point rental marketplaces that we recommend.
If you’re simply looking for the best and safest way to rent DVC points at the lowest prices, our top recommendation is David’s Vacation Club Rentals. That’s the short and sweet advice for renting DVC points, as you get the cheapest per point cost that is also backed by a buyer protection program. If you want to know more or compare options, this post offers info & tips. Disney Vacation Club point rental can be a great way to save big on your Walt Disney World vacation in 2026, but it can be complicated, confusing, risky and require planning. For that, we’re here to help!
Let’s start with a quick update on a topic that’s been making waves among Disney Vacation Club members: Disney’s crackdown on commercial DVC point renters. This started over 6 months ago and, honestly, we haven’t seen or heard much about it having much of an impact. It seems like mostly a way of appeasing angry owners. Disney’s way of claiming to care about a problem.
This is ostensibly aimed at reducing abuse and misuse of DVC ownership interests that are detrimental to the membership at large. Disney Vacation Club has seen a proliferation of members who only own points purely as a business. They never use the points for themselves, their families or friends. They always rent out their points, and often ‘optimize’ by scooping up speculative reservations that cost the lowest number of points but will sell for the highest dollar amount.
If you’re considering DVC point rental, but are worried about how this could impact you, the safest course of action is simply sticking with the established DVC rental companies. This might seem like an odd recommendation given that Disney is cracking down on commercial renters, but the difference is that those businesses are conduits connecting members with guests.
They are obviously companies, but they are not, themselves, commercial renters. They’re marketplaces or intermediaries. And as large and established businesses, you can look up reviews to see if there are problems with cancellations (we haven’t seen or heard of any). You also have recourse if something goes wrong.
We recommend steering clear of renting via Facebook or other social media, or anywhere else lacking transparency or accountability. What might seem like an individual owner could very well be an LLC that is constantly renting out points. We’d also recommend avoiding confirmed reservations, and this even extends to those marketplace websites. Confirmed reservations are the single biggest red flag of a business making speculative reservations regularly with the intention of maximizing their ROI.
Disney is not attempting to stop all rental activity–occasionally renting out unused points is well within the rules. Disney is cracking down on a small number of owners who have amassed massive amounts of points and exclusively sell reservations for the highest possible profit. (This rule is likely aimed at a dozen or so commercial renters–everyone else is perfectly fine.)
Chances are, you will not run into any issues no matter how you opt to rent DVC points this “crackdown” looks more like a superficial warning than something with actual enforcement. Still, it’s better to be safe than sorry. That’s precisely why we recommend erring on the side of caution and using the DVC rental marketplace businesses. The commercial renters aren’t going through middlemen (it would reduce their profits) and the DVC rental marketplaces offer consumer protection.
Now let’s dig into the basics of Disney Vacation Club point rentals…
Here’s how DVC point rental works: the owner of the points agrees to “rent” the points out to a customer, and in exchange for payment to the owner of the points, the owner makes a room reservation for the rentee in that guest’s name. The amount of the payment is determined by the number of points needed for the booking, with a per-point cost being agreed upon by the parties.
For example, if the agreed upon price is $25 per point, and the rentee wants to stay book Animal Kingdom Lodge for December 1-7, that will require 60 points, for a total cost of $1,500. Contrast that with booking directly from DisneyWorld.com, which would cost $2,451.38. That’s almost $1,000 off by renting DVC points for that Christmas-time stay!
As you can see, the big advantage of Disney Vacation Club point rental is saving money over booking directly with Walt Disney World. Even the biggest and best special offers booked directly through Disney won’t beat DVC rentals in terms of bottom-dollar price if you want Deluxe Resort accommodations. As a general rule, you’re going to pay roughly Moderate Resort prices (maybe slightly more) for a Deluxe Resort via DVC point rentals.
Ideally, you want to make reservations over 7 months in advance. Some popular resorts and room categories will sell out well before the 7-month mark for certain dates. If you’re planning a trip for the upcoming holiday season, you’re already going to find limited availability since we’re inside the 7-month mark.
There’s a reason the holiday season is such a popular time to visit Walt Disney World. You can read more about why we love this time of year, dates & details, what’s happening, and more in our Ultimate Guide to Christmas at Walt Disney World. Without question, this is the best time to visit Walt Disney World–we highly recommend making reservations immediately so you can get a good resort!
While this is the best time to visit Walt Disney World, it’s just one of many times that Disney Vacation Club Members tend to prefer, which book up quickly as a result. Other popular times of year include all school breaks, long weekends, the start of EPCOT festivals, and any ‘cheap’ dates when a lower number of points is required to book rooms.
The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, Polynesian, BoardWalk, Beach Club, and other resorts in close proximity to Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios always book up over 7 months in advance for the most popular travel times. That’s doubly true when it’s a combination of the above–such as the start of an EPCOT festival that’s also a low point season.
This brings us to lesson #1 about DVC point rental: book as close to 11 months in advance as possible. It used to be the case that booking at least 7 months in advance was sufficient, but that’s no longer true.
If you’re planning a Christmas 2026 trip to Walt Disney World and considering DVC point rental, you should make the decision ASAP for the best availability. That’s doubly true for the off-peak dates that make our list of the 10 Best Weeks to Visit Walt Disney World in 2026 & 2027. If you wait until the 7-month mark rolls around, you’ll have far fewer options.
At that point, the only option for the most popular resorts will be confirmed reservations. And as we mentioned above, we strongly recommend avoiding confirmed reservations. That’s in part because they’re more likely to be speculative reservations booked by businesses, subject to the crackdown.
It’s also because they offer worse value for money–confirmed reservations are more expensive than their per-point counterparts. You might as well just book directly from Walt Disney World via a discount as opposed to doing a confirmed reservation.
In the past, confirmed reservations were rare. They were often bargains that were available because a DVC Member had to cancel a trip at the last-minute, and was hoping to recoup some money. In the last few years, confirmed reservations have exploded in frequency.
Now, it’s rare for confirmed reservations to be owners in a pinch offering a last minute deal. Confirmed reservations are almost exclusively commercial renters. Owners who operate as businesses attempt to maximize their profits by finding the ‘sweet spot’ when the cost in points is lower, but the price people will pay in cash is higher.
While the amount varies, it’s common for confirmed reservations to charge $30+ per point. Our hope is that confirmed reservations become rare again soon as Disney’s crackdown on commercial renters continues. In the meantime, we’d implore you to avoid confirmed reservations as the risk-reward calculus just isn’t worth it.
On a positive note, DVC has been doing a ton of room refurbishment projects in the last ~4 years after many of these were deferred due to COVID. This game of catch-up is finally more or less finished, and the fruits of it are fantastic.
Every resort that has recently received a soft goods refurbishment has included installation of the new pull-down sofa bed and couch combo (like the one pictured above). And for good reason, as member satisfaction surveys give these rooms very high marks and satisfaction scores have increased by 20% among guests who have stayed in new rooms.
This pull-down bed is a colossal upgrade over the pull-out couches, and has been one of several functional improvements that have really improved the ‘quality of life’ of DVC rooms–Imagineering has done a fantastic job weaving themed design into the upgraded units.
The new rooms have made a big difference for the average guest, and most resorts have been redone in this style (Old Key West, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Treehouse Villas are the only rooms being refurbished in 2026–the rest have already been redone in the last few years.)
In terms of other updates, there are a few big benefits of renting Disney Vacation Club points.
That’s because guests staying in Walt Disney World resorts have access to a couple of perks. First is Early Entry, which gives all on-site resort guests a 30-minute head start at any Walt Disney World theme park, every day before normal operating hours begin. Learn more strategy in our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World.
Second, there’s Extended Evening Theme Park Hours. This benefit is exclusively for guests staying at Deluxe Resorts, Deluxe Villas, or other select hotels. This includes Disney Vacation Club resorts and those renting DVC points are eligible. This second perk is incredibly advantageous, as crowds are usually low during these nighttime hours. See our Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World for taking advantage of this perk, eligibility, and more.
New for 2026 is that Kids Eat FREE All Year at Walt Disney World. Throughout all of 2026, guests staying at one of Walt Disney World’s on-site resort hotels will get a Free Disney Dining Plan for their kids (ages 3 to 9 at the time of travel) when purchasing a Disney Dining Plan as part of their package for the other members of their party (ages 10 and up at the time of travel). This even applies to DVC, which is normally excluded from the so-called Free Dining promo!
Finally, there’s the Free Water Park Day in 2026. Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests can enjoy admission to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach on their check-in day. Room-only reservations, vacation packages and Disney Vacation Club stays on points will all be eligible–but all guests must be on the reservation. Unlike last year, this perk is only available for summer visits, valid for arrivals from May 26 to September 8, 2026.
For the most part, the perks of DVC point rental are shared with all or most other on-site hotels. See Walt Disney World’s On-Site Advantage: Perks & Benefits of Staying in WDW Resort Hotels for more selling points.
Okay, now on with the normal DVC point rental tips…
In recent years, renting points has gone from relatively uncommon to a bit more mainstream practice. There are individual owners who rent points because they either aren’t going to be able to use their points or need a way to offset some of the considerable cost of membership, and there are companies that exist solely for the purpose of renting Disney Vacation Club points to savvy Walt Disney World and Disneyland guests.
DVC point rental has become big business, and there are now a number of small mom and pop shops that have sprouted up to rent points commercially in addition to individual members. In our view, the only ones worth considering are David’s Vacation Club Rentals (our top pick) and DVC Rental Store.
The reasons we’d go with one of these as opposed to a newcome is that both are trustworthy businesses that have been around for over a decade, have massive inventories, best availability, and dedicated customer service teams. This isn’t true of most newer point rental agencies, so you really have to ask yourself why you should bother going through a company–just cut out the middleman if you’re not going with one of the big two.
David’s Vacation Club Rentals has one huge advantage: lower prices. This makes David’s the better option if you’re simply looking to pay the least money possible.
Another policy change is their “Deferred Dreams” cancellation policy. This no-fuss policy allows guests to cancel their DVC points rental reservation and receive the Deferred Dreams Travel Credit, which offers the ability to reschedule the magic anytime within 3 years of cancellation.
This was previously the biggest difference between David’s and DVC Rental Store, and the benefit of paying a bit more for the latter was their more favorable cancellation policy. Now that the gap has closed, you might as well book based solely on price.
DVC Rental Store’s strength is flexibility. All reservations include their Stress-Free Cancellation Policy, which basically means paying more for lower risk. Additionally, they don’t require full payment up front–your balance is due 75 days prior to check in. The obvious advantage here is that you’re not paying in full up front, meaning you can cancel your reservation if you’d prefer to just walk away and not deal with credits.
Speaking of timeframes, it’s generally recommended that you rent DVC points at least 7 months in advance or, ideally, 11 months in advance. These are when the booking windows open for Disney Vacation Club resorts, so you’ll have a higher likelihood of success the earlier you contact one of the rental companies.
If you think you’re going to get exactly what you want 5-6 months in advance, think again. Resorts along Magic Kingdom’s monorail loop, EPCOT’s Crescent Lake, and the Skyliner gondola all start booking up more than 7 months in advance.
Although we are Disney Vacation Club owners, we have a relatively low number of points, so we’ve actually rented points ourselves on multiple occasions. In attempting to rent points, we’ve contacted both the point rental marketplaces and individual members on forums about rental, and have opted to go with the point rental marketplaces (despite paying a bit more) for simplicity and peace of mind.
How you go about renting Disney Vacation Club points, and whether it’s safe, is probably the most common reader question we’ve received in response to our Disney Vacation Club Buying Guide, so I figured I’d put together this guide based on our experiences and research, along with my thoughts about the pros and cons of each method of renting points.
Let’s start with the pros and cons of renting DVC points in general to determine whether it’s right for you…
Pros & Cons of DVC Point Rental
The biggest benefit of renting Disney Vacation Club points is saving money. The example of Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas above is a good one. If you wanted to book a stay August 19-23 in a value view studio, that’s exactly how many points you’d need, and how much it would cost if you rented points through one of the point renters.
For a stay December 2-6 it would be even cheaper! Other nights throughout the year would cost more, but you get the idea. You couldn’t even stay in a Moderate Resort for the rates you can get by renting Disney Vacation Club points, let alone a Deluxe.
In addition to saving money on hotel rates, another benefit of renting Disney Vacation Club points, for some people, is getting the Disney Dining Plan without purchasing park tickets. And as noted above, this includes the Kids Eat Free promo for 2026, which is huge for families with children ages 3 to 9. The DDP goes from being borderline to a no-brainer if you have multiple kids that age.
Speaking of food, the studio rooms feature a kitchenette and one bedrooms and larger have full kitchens. This means it’s easier to prepare full meals than if you’re staying in a standard hotel room. Not something everyone wants to do on vacation, but it’s nice to have the option. This is especially true for breakfast when you want to get out the door quickly, or for late night snacks after the restaurants have closed. To that point, here’s what we recommend for grocery delivery at Walt Disney World.
Similarly, guests staying in Disney Vacation Club units have access to free laundry rooms. Moreover, one-bedroom units or larger have in-room washers and dryers. Laundry is another thing we hate doing on vacation, but having the option in your room is huge, and the convenience of that cannot be overstated.
Finally, not purchasing a vacation package from Walt Disney World directly means you can save money by purchasing tickets from an authorized ticket broker. These savings can be small or huge, depending upon the size of your party and the tickets you get, this could amount to another $800 or more in savings!
The biggest downside to renting Disney Vacation Club points is that you don’t have total control over the reservation. Someone else books the reservation for you, and someone else has to make any changes to the reservation for you (such as adding the Disney Dining Plan, once that returns). Disney Vacation Club won’t discuss the reservation with non-members, so even if your name is on it, you’re at the mercy of the person who booked it if you need changes.
Another downside for some guests is that, since the unit rented is a villa and not a hotel room, housekeeping service is not daily. Most stays will only have one visit by Mousekeeping. This isn’t a problem for us, but for some people, not having the full hotel experience might be a fatal blow to renting DVC points.
The final downside is cancellation and refund policies. While it’s possible to purchase travel insurance for DVC point rentals, the cancellation policies are not nearly as forgiving as booking directly via Disney. This is because of the strict policies surrounding DVC point usage. In the event of hurricane or some other ‘Act of God’ scenario, the member who is renting out the points may not be able to reuse them if the guest cancels.
We recommend paying close attention to contract when renting, and making sure you’re not agreeing to terms that would not create an undue burden if you need to cancel, because there are no cash refunds. Part of the reason DVC renting saves so much money is that it comes with compromise–there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Whether DVC rental is right for you comes down to your personal risk vs. reward assessment.
How To Rent?
If you’re convinced that renting Disney Vacation Club points is right for you, the next question is who to use. There are a couple popular choices here: David’s Vacation Club Rentals (our recommendation) as well as DVC Rental Store.
The advantages to renting through them are that both are accredited by the Better Business Bureau, both have a team that does this as its full-time business, and both have a sterling reputation. The other upside to renting from these companies is convenience.
They have “home resort” inventory for every Disney Vacation Club resort. This means that if you want a popular resort, you can book with him at the 11 month mark. If you want a hard-to-book resort and plan on booking through a specific member, you need to do so 11 months out and find an owner who has the resort you want as a home resort. That can make the whole process of booking person-to-person more time consuming and tedious.
Compounding that challenge, most of the forums that previously facilitated person-to-person point rental have closed, with the exception of the Disboards one. However, several Facebook and other social media groups have popped up in their place. If you have friends who are DVC members that are willing to rent out their points to you, that’s another route, too.
The downside to renting from strangers is that you have no guarantee that you aren’t going to be ripped off, or that the owner will be available to assist you if something goes wrong with the reservation. You’ll have a bit of uneasiness until the moment at the check-in desk that your reservation pulls up.
For whatever it’s worth, even amidst the current crackdown, I’ve heard of very few instances of people being ripped off by people on the forums or social media. It does happen, but it seems to be infrequent.
It’s not a risk I’m personally willing to take, but I also don’t want to scare anyone into believing that a high-percentage of Facebook transactions are scams. They are not. Probably less than 1% have a risk of having problems. Basically, it comes down to how risk averse you are and how much more you can save by going through an individual as opposed to an institution.
If it’s a short weekend trip and the David’s Disney Vacation Club Rentals is charging ~$23/point versus $20/point directly via a DVC member, I can’t see going the person-to-person to say what will amount to $30 or less. The possibility that we could be scrambling at the last minute to find an alternate hotel room for such a short trip wouldn’t be worth it. Given how significantly Disney has increased their prices in the last few years, these rentals are still a good deal.
If we did end up going through Facebook or an individual member, I would do a few things to protect myself as best I could. First, I wouldn’t rent from any new members with only a handful of posts. I’d want someone with an established reputation on the forums. Second, I’d ask for references. Third, I’d pay with an American Express credit card rather than any other form of payment.
Similarly, this is why we use David’s as opposed to newer, smaller point rental companies. The former are well-established with deep roots in the Disney community, years of positive reviews, and a history of doing the right thing for customers. You’re paying a premium for all of that, and understandably so. With the new businesses, you’re still paying a premium over an individual…but for what? Are they really any more trustworthy than dealing directly with a DVC member? To each their own on that, I suppose, but the answer for me is “no.”
Which DVC Resort?
Finally, you need to figure out which Disney Vacation Club Resort is right for you. We’ve stayed at every single DVC resort at Walt Disney World, most several times. It’s tough to declare a definitive “best” Disney Vacation Club resort, as each has its pros & cons, and is a good option depending upon your priorities.
We have a listing Ranking the Disney Vacation Club Resorts at Walt Disney World and shares the strengths and weaknesses of each. To be honest, though, we love just about all of them. That list does give you a good basis in terms of theme, location, amenities, and other things to consider that will help you make an informed decision, though!
Ultimately, Disney Vacation Club point rentals is a great way to save tons of money without making the long term commitment to joining. If you’re currently booking Moderate or Deluxe Resorts directly from Disney, it’s definitely something to consider. Most of the time, renting Disney Vacation Club points will be cheaper than booking a Moderate, and it will ALWAYS be cheaper than booking a Deluxe (even with the best discounts!).
Renting one-on-one from specific members is the best way to maximize your savings, and renting from David’s Vacation Club Rentals is the best and safest way to rent. It’s a full service company with great customer service that can help you through the process, answer all of your questions, and offer protection against potential problems.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you agree or disagree with our recommendations for renting DVC points? Any firsthand experiences you care to share? Which DVC resorts do you recommend for a first-timer renter? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing feedback about your experiences is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Another great blog Tom! We became DVC members back in 2014. following your advice and buying resale at SSR. We’ve never regretted it! Our kids are in high school now, and since we’re traveling less, we’ll be turning to DVC rentals to pay for our annual dues. BTW, since becoming DVC members, we’ve literally spent just one night at SSR prior to moving over to UOR. In fact, my daughter and I are staying at the Riviera for the first time in October! We love DVC!
I’m trying to get DVC rental for mid-May 2024 and both companies are having no luck with finding anything for me. I would have thought 9 months out would have been a good enough lead time! We shall see.
There is inventory depending on where you want to stay, and the room….
The more popular resorts broke pretty much when the window opens, the larger one fill up between 3 and 4 months out….
The rental companies do t own points. They are brokers. They have to find owners that want to work with them….
Lately owners have been finding it better to go it alone…. Check some of the Disney blogs for RTB boards
BTW – this is a very helpful quick-check link on availability. https://tools.dvcvacations.com/points-calculator
In response to the part about price comparisons, for our 2022 vacation booked in 2021, prices were all cheaper on David’s than DVC Store. But I was surprised this year booking for our 2024 trip that the prices were the same on both sites 11 months out (with the exception of Beach Club which was more). We opted for DVC Store for their stress-free cancellation policy. However, my in-laws chose David’s and had a confirmed reservation that day vs. ours which took a week. So seems like David’s has more inventory, maybe? But the prices seem to now be the same at 11-months out.
We’ve been waiting over a week as well with DVC store for a confirmed reservation for early 2024. I emailed them just to inquire and got a long email about how “difficult” it is to get members to rent their points “this far out.” I have a credit with DVC so we are staying with them but, a few years ago, (pre Covid) we had a confirmed reservation much faster. I did wonder if it was normal and I agree it sounds like their inventory might be low?
Some of the rental stores changed policies post COVID…. The new policies put the risk on the owner not the rental store.
Lots of owners have either sold or rent directly.
Hi Tom,
Thanks to your detailed post, I chose DVC Rental Store to get a 1-BR villa at the Grand Californian for next Halloween season at Disneyland! I booked right at the 11-month mark for this popular season, which is critical for the GC as there are not many DVC rooms. Would’ve been nice if they were on the schedule for refurbishment but I love the GC so much that I don’t care 😀 Thanks again!
Two major timeshare rental companies are now in the business of renting DVC confirmed reservations. Redweek.com and Go-Koala.com both have numerous DVC reservations for rent. Both offer protections to renters, including cancelation policies.
How do split stays work when renting points? Do both reservations show up in my Disney? Do you have to buy tickets before or after linking reservations?
Yes, we are doing a split stay in august and rented points directly from same owner for three nights at BCV and three nights at BWV ($18 per point at the 11 month mark). Both rezzies immediately showed up in My Disney Experience app. Park tickets are completely independent so can be purchased and linked before or after or not at all. We bought tickets from undercovertourist after and very easily linked them to my trip in the app. Good luck.
Thank you for your help Harlan!
Split stay show up as two independent stays.
Both show up in MDE after you enter the reservation number.
Other than transfer your bags it is no different than two separate vacations.
I would also recommend lyft to get between the hotels with the bags …. Maybe a Minnie Van
We pieced together a last minute trip from 2 different owners’ confirmed reservations in the same resort and room category. They could not be merged but we stopped by the desk as early as possible on check in day and they made sure we wouldn’t need to change rooms mid-trip.
You said there are millions of points more than available space??? That sounds uncomfortably like a Ponzi scheme and i wonder how they get away with it. Paying for parking while a resort guest and limited times now for park hopping?? Dishonest wait times?? The whole thing sounds like planning the invasion of Normandy. No thanks.
I was wondering if anyone has used DVCstore.com
Went to look up a stay in January or February and everywhere is booked solid, much to my surprise. Is that pretty normal? I got pretty used to the open availability of trips in 2020-2021, so I really don’t have a good baseline anymore. There’s still plenty of confirmed reservations at least, so I’ll probably wait till right before the trip and take advantage that way, but it would have been nice to pick out the days.
I wouldn’t say that’s normal, but it’s definitely closer to normal than what you’ve experienced the last two years. We’ve been discussing this issue for a while here: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-vacation-club-point-pool-problem-closed/
Even pre-closure, DVC availability had been getting progressively worse due to a number of factors. (Discussed here in 2018: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/limited-availability-disney-vacation-club-resorts/)
On the plus side (?), DVC bookings are not even remotely conclusive of attendance or crowds. DVC is just “busy” year-round now.
Since mid 2021 DVC has been sold out almost before the 7 month mark for studios at the preferred resorts. Even SSR and OKW have been a lot hard to book at less than three months
Thank you both! Those are good reads, Tom – I’m really surprised the water hasn’t made it back into the pool yet, but since it was already starting to overflow in 2018 I can see why it doesn’t have anywhere to go right now. I can’t say I’m excited for them to finish the new ‘themed resort’ at the Poly, but maybe that’ll make some space open up elsewhere.
If you rent DVC points can you take advantage of 60 day ADRs?
Yes you can
Okay great! I guess I was confused because they mention uncertainty about your booking until you get there. Does that mean you can register your booking with WDW somehow so you’re recognized before your visit as someone staying at a Deluxe?
If you rent points either from a dental store or direct from the owner, you should get your travel plan number right then.
This number can then be loaded I. The my Disney experience app.
Once it is, you can do everything you want or need to do.
Okay great. Thanks Robbie, that’s super helpful!
I’ve renter thru Dave’s and DVC Rental. Both are very reliable. Once your confirm number links on your MDE, you can book ADR with all the on property benefits. In years past, if you wanted the Dining Plan, that needed to be purchased thru the DVC points owner. Dave’s and DVC Rentals were great intermediaries for that. It will be interesting to see if that’s been updated thru MDE.
I understand that parking is free at the resort & parks when renting DVC points. Are you able to also park at another resort for free, ex: Beach Club while renting points for GF? We wanted to visit the resort & walk over to Boardwalk & Epcot.
We used to be able to visit any resort as long as we were staying on property, but they have tightened restrictions and you may need to have a dining reservation now to get past the gate at the hotel. I hope not, as we want to be able to visit some resorts to see the holiday decorations when we go at Christmas. That said, you can park for free over at the Boardwalk without having a reservation (not at the hotel, although you can drop/load passengers there, but in the main parking lot), and then walk over to Epcot, another hotel, or the Studios from there.
I’ve been very much interested in renting DVC points for the opportunity of staying at a Deluxe resort, since we’ve only done Value before. Turns out a friend’s dad is a DVC member and they rarely use their points since the pandemic, they basically rented us points at the lowest price possible only to cover their fees! And now we have a reservation for the Poly for January 2023 at a much lower rate than even the Value resort we stayed at last time. Insane! I’m so, so excited.
Sounds like you got a great deal
Congratulations
Our family of 6 wants to do a split stay by renting points for two standard studios at Grand Floridian and Boardwalk Villas for the third week in August 2023. Would the probability be high that we could snag these accommodations if we waited to rent the points at 7 months instead of jumping on it at the 11 month mark?
I would strongly suggest you book with before the 7 month window.
By 7 months both of those resorts will have limited availability.
Thank you. Would that be true for slower times like late august too?
I don’t think there are slow times at Disney any more. At least not for DVC
I tell all renter to plan on booking as close to the 11 month window to get the best chance of getting what you want.
I have tried to booked rooms for people at the 11 month window and have had to change category views to make it work.
OKW and SSR are the only resorts that practically ever have availability at less than 6 months
We used David’s back in 2015 and it was great!!! We had a large party and needed a 3 bedroom villa and could never have afforded it otherwise. I have checked with them recently when looking to rent and although there was no opening at the resort I was interested in David’s customer service was top notch just as it was years ago. I highly recommend them!
What are your thoughts on DVC Shop and dvc-rental.com? I have found good things about DVC Shop but I’ve not been able to find much on dvc-rental.com
Unfortunately, Mouseowners’ Rent/Trade/Transfer Board is permanently closed.
Did boards is alive and well
There are also 4 or more Facebook groups
Tom, you mentioned that parking is included (free) when DVC points are rented. I was told that parking is also free at the parks for those who are using DVC points. Can someone confirm that benefit? Also @PegP – that sounds like a really crumby experience with DVD Rentals. I’ve rented through them four times, and have only experienced positive, supportive assistance. One of those times, I found out my granddaughter’s graduation was taking place the weekend I had just booked. My DVC “advisor” went back to the DVC member and changed the dates, something that is specifically NOT included, per their contract. It was really going the “extra mile”. Anyway, I’ve booked through both DVC Rental and Dave’s, and found them both to be helpful and professional. Dave’s is significantly cheaper ($4 a pt), but doesn’t have as extensive an inventory as DVC Rental. I tried renting a Grand Villa for May 2022 through Dave’s, and after 2 days, they reached out to me that they didn’t have anyone with that many points. I got my deposit back, and contacted DVC Rental. They had me AKL Grand Villa secured within 24 hours!.
I can confirm that when I rented points we were able to take our car to the parks for free. All they do is scan your magic band and it says you are staying at a hotel; they don’t see how you booked it.
I can confirm you get free parking at the resort when saying on DVC points. I had not heard the parks were also.
I might want to confirm that directly with Disney
Hi Tom! Thank you for this post! We were on the fence about renting points but after reading this article I booked a 1 bedroom villa at AKL Kidani through one of the companies you mentioned. I can’t believe the money we saved.
I can’t emphasize this enough – do NOT rent through The DVC Rental Store! Go with David’s or some other credible company. I’ve been having the worst time with DVC Rental the past few months trying to reserve different resorts for different dates. Their communication is beyond bad. You’ll often wait days to hear back from them when submitting a request or even asking a question. I’m still waiting for my online chat question to be answered (asked over a day ago). I’ve been accused of paying a deposit before I was supposed to, then lectured on their policy for submitting deposits. But I hadn’t paid the deposit yet as I was waiting to hear from them that the room was available. I’ve had two different people tell me two completely opposite things on the same day. I’ve been told my deposit wasn’t received, when it not only had been received (keep emails!) but had also cleared my credit card company. They’ve told me my requested resort was no longer available when it was. It’s been a NIGHTMARE! I finally got so stressed and frustrated that I canceled all my requests and booked rooms through Disney. Yes, I paid more, but you get what you pay for. So if you don’t mind incredibly rude and inconsistent customer service, then The DVC Rental Store will work for you. It didn’t for me. There’s just too much money involved for that much incompetent handling of it.
PegP, I wholeheartedly agree with you and I personally feel that the DVC Rental Store is the absolute worst and a complete rip off. We naively booked a reservation with the DVC Rental Store (after reading recommendations/reviews) back in September ‘21 for a May ‘22 trip with a deposit of $1,200. In February my brother-in-law was diagnosed with cancer and we needed to reschedule our trip as he would be undergoing surgery / treatments in April & May and my sister would not be able to travel and be away from him. I reached out to the DVC Rental Store to explain the gravity of the situation and to inquire if we could simply push out our reservation to the fall of 2022. Their response was very loud and clear, NO. There is no rescheduling, only viewed as a cancellation and no monies would be refunded for any reason. We had no other choice but to sign their cancellation form and get $0 of our $1200 deposit back. I will never rent from the DVC Rental Store again nor would I ever recommend them to anyone. We immediately rebooked our trip directly through Disney – same resort/same villa type (Riviera 1 bedroom villa) for fall 2022 and although it is slightly more expensive, in my opinion it is absolutely worth the $$ as it is the only “safe” way to book a Disney vacation. I have always gone directly through Disney for all of my Disney vacations in the past (2x per year @ deluxe resorts), so I have no idea why on earth I even considered the DVC Rental Store this go around – my bad and a tough lesson learned.
Tom, please don’t let the DVC Rental store fool anyone into believing that they are the safer choice and refund your monies bc they absolutely do not. It is unimaginable and appalling that consideration would not be given for a major life altering crisis, especially when we were not flat out cancelling but simply trying to reschedule. Therefore based on my personal experience, I cannot ever recommend The DVC Rental Store to anyone in any way.
I’ve rented from DVC Rental Store twice and it was smooth sailing. You know up front that it is nonrefundable, regardless of the situation.
I am happy with the Rental Store.
Hi CatherineB,
I’m sorry to hear about your brother-in-law. I hoe that works out for the best.
I normally would not defend any other the rental stores but in this case I will at least try and explain why there is usually a no refund policy when you rent DVC, either directly from an owner or a rental store.
First, DVC points are like lettuce, that is to say they have a very finite shelf life. In fact they are good for exactly 12 months. In some cases the owner can Bank the points into the next year, but that has to be done early in the Use Year. Based on a basic understand of how the rental stores work, how the points work and a little assuming on my part, I’m going to assume that the points you rented expired in May, but best case August. It would not be possible for the rental store or anyone to simple push the reservation to the fall.
Next Most DVC resort book full or nearly full at about 6 or 7 month prior to travel. When I say DVC resort here I’m only talking about the points rooms, the cash rooms are a completely different inventory and you might as well pretend there are not there.
If you tried to change you vacation in February and the points expired in May it would have been next to impossible for the rental store to resell the points you had rented.
The rental store also has a contract with the points owner to pay then for the points for your vacation. They don’t get out of that just because you are no longer able to go. In this case the rental store had to buy the points from the owner at the agree price. They then would have to sell those points on their last minute bargain board. At three months out it is almost impossible. So they either needed to sell someone else you exact reservation or piece something together. Neither of those are easy, and they have to discount the points to do it.
Most everywhere that rents point has a no refunds policy for these reasons.
When I rent points, I have a big bold clause that states that the vacation is final. I have been able to move vacation before for people when they have let me know early. 8-11 month prior to travel. I will also refund some money if I can re rent the points. I gave 75 percent of whatever I get for any points I re rent.
The big thing you have to remember about renting DVC is that you are going to save between 40 and 60 percent of the cash room rack rate of the same resort. The down side is that do to the point rules place on the points by Disney, DVC is very inflexible.
Most owner book 11 months prior. I almost never book at less than 7.
It is a trade off. You have to had your plans craved in stone. In this case clearly, you had to miss you vacation to support you sister and brother in law. Unfortunately, in your case you plans had to change, but at the same time, even though you didn’t get to go on vacation, you had used up someone else points.
I know and completely understand you don’t see it that way, but think about trying to return a head of lettuce after is sat in you refrigerator for seven months.
Again I hope everything works out for your brother in law
I also have had two positive experiences with the DVC Rental Store. The prices are higher than Dave’s but as others said the inventory is larger. It at least has some form of cancellation policy so at various points in times you can get some money “back” in the form of a credit to use in the future (not an actual refund). And you don’t have to pay the full cost immediately. I closely read my contracts and entered the cancel by dates into my personal calendar. Honestly renting DVC points is a risk and not for the risk averse. Unfortunately things happen that make cancelling necessary. Sometimes unforeseen, awful things that don’t time themselves with cancellation policies. I told myself going int that I was risking an investment and also potential WDW discounts like free dining. I didn’t have a poor customer service experience so I am sorry for those that did. I just personally cannot afford Disney rates for deluxe resorts and decided to take the renting plunge. But you really have to be okay with knowing you could lose and it’s not like other companies/situations where compelling circumstances lead to policy exceptions. I can understand that leaving a bad taste in someone’s mouth and I am sure I would feel the same way when it happened. But it just isn’t forgiving so if risks make you at all nervous don’t do it.
I’m updating my previous comment since a year has gone by and there were some people commenting that had positive experiences, so I decided to give them another try. Unfortunately, though, I won’t be doing that again. The last two times I tried were even worse. I tried last year and again this month. Both times I put in a request for a room that was showing available for my dates. Both times I didn’t receive an answer either way, whether it was available or no longer available. I got the stock email saying they’d gotten my request and I’d hear back in about 24 hours, then that was it. Didn’t hear anything more after that. I ended up booking through dvcreservations.com. The DVC Rental store ignoring both of my requests actually turned into a good thing because DVC Reservations had a much bigger inventory to choose from with way lower prices and a much friendlier staff. The cancellation policy isn’t really that great unless you cancel over six months in advance. And even then it’s not a refund, just a credit to your DVC Rental Store account. It’s actually cheaper to just buy trip insurance, especially since you get the money, not just a credit. I’ll never use any other company besides dvcreservations.com again.