Planning and booking a Walt Disney World Vacation is an experience in itself. There are many decisions to be made about things such as dining, park reservations, and ticket options. Perhaps the most basic and initial decision involves how to book the vacation. There are many different travel agents to be considered and then there is Disney’s own website. There is another option that is not as well known. And it might be the best way to save big on a Disney vacation.
So what is Disney Vacation Club?
Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is basically a time share at Walt Disney World Resorts. There are some DVC only properties, like the new Riviera Resort. There are also villas within other resorts, like at the Grand Floridian. DVC members are allotted points each year that are used to make reservations. Members can carry over points, but can never have more than double their annual budget. DVC members can “sell” their points on a secondary market. They might do this if they want to help pay for the cost of their membership or if they need to unload points they were unable to use. Vacationers can book these DVC resorts by “renting” those points. The cost is much lower than booking the same resort on Disney’s website.
My experience renting DVC points
In the summer of 2022, I began planning a trip to Walt Disney World for my wife’s 40th birthday. I decided to leave the kids at home, and make it a romantic adventure. I reasoned this was the perfect opportunity to try booking a DVC rental. I had looked into it in the past, but I didn’t want to risk a new endeavor on a family trip. However, travelling without kids provided additional flexibility so I took the chance and it paid off. I booked a room at Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary resort. This is an all DVC property. I have no affiliation with any of the companies that rent DVC points. I chose dvcrentalstore.com. They had the best website and seemed to have a solid business. The process was a little confusing and stressful at first. I completed a request on their website for the dates I wanted to go. I first chose the Polynesian as the resort, but changed it to Bay Lake Tower after corresponding with the helpful staff of DVC Rental Store. I learned that the Polynesian only has a small number of DVC rooms and is always in high demand, making it difficult to secure a reservation. The process is to send in the requested booking, and DVC Rental Store attempts to secure the booking with one of their members. The member then books the reservation and DVC Rental Store creates a contract for you to rent the reservation. There is a $100 deposit to begin the process. The deposit makes sense as they need to ensure some level of commitment before they begin. The deposit is then applied to the cost when the reservation is secured. Once secured, the initial payment of 25% of the cost is paid, and the rest is due at a later date. DVC Rental Store has all of their policies (including cancellations) on their website and it is very transparent. There are also “Confirmed Reservations” available. These are reservations already booked, that a DVC member is selling for some reason. This is even easier, less stressful, and can be cheaper.
Another One Booked
I found myself checking DVC Rental Store periodically to see what prices were looking like. We were considering a summer vacation, and we wanted to stay in one of the EPCOT area resorts. Well as luck would have it, we stumbled on a confirmed reservation for Boardwalk around the dates we wanted to go. The reservation was for $2700 for 6 nights. We quickly checked Disney’s website, and the same room would have cost $3900. Needless to say, the deal was too good to pass up and we secured it immediately.
Conclusion
Renting reservations from Disney Vacation Club members can save serious money for your upcoming trip. These DVC rooms are more expensive than moderate and value resorts. But it saves a lot if you really want to stay in a deluxe resort. And the rooms are really nice, and most, if not all, include a fridge and small kitchen area.
