Renting Disney Vacation Club Points
Renting Disney Vacation Club (DVC) points, on the surface, can seem a bit scam-ish. I'll admit, I was a skeptic. I've been to Disney World 12 times (I think) since 1992, 6 of those since I married Adam in 2011. We are not exactly Disney rookies. Still, until about a 18 months ago, I brushed off renting DVC points as something done shadily in the dark corners of the internet. I didn't realize it was a legitimate thing I should be considering until another Disney fan that we know shared her own research!
At that time, we were already booked for a stay at the Beach Club Resort with the Deluxe Dining Plan and a water view (that is a story in its own right...), but curiosity took us down the rabbit hole and we were a little miffed to discover that renting DVC points could have SAVED us close to $2000! When it came time to book our next Disney vacation, the research and spreadsheet analysis kicked into high gear.
In digging through a number of Disney dedicated blogs we consistently found reference to two reputable companies dealing in the rental points market:
David's Disney Vacation Club Point Rentals and The DVC Rental Store
Each had slightly different but overall comparable fee structures and processes as well as friendly online tools to check pricing and availability. The David's required us to either supply our credit card number to an unknown points owner, or purchase Disney Gift cards in the necessary amount and forward that information to the owner. These two options fell under the categories of too risky, and too inconvenient. That ended up being the deciding factor in choosing The DVC Rental Store. Adding dining with them allowed for secure payment through their website and a small surcharge (For our reservation it appeared to be about $20).
We ran the numbers on a variety of different resorts and room types comparing prices on the Disney website to what we found for DVC points. With the common components of 6 nights, Deluxe Dining Plan, and 5 day park hoppers, we were pleasantly surprised. Our "splurge option" of a water view room at the Polynesian resort with DVC points was over $2500 cheaper than booking that same room category directly through Disney. In fact, the DVC rental price was on par with a "preferred" room category at Port Orleans French Quarter (a moderate resort)! Decision made.
We submitted our request for dates and preferred location paying the deposit online with a credit card through a secure system. Soon were emailed by our assigned customer service representative Kate G.
Email responses were prompt and well laid out with confirmations and what to expect next. The Deluxe Dining Plan was an easy add on. On the front end, the only big difference in the process was having to wait a couple of days for initial confirmations and for reservation details to show up in the My Disney Experience App. We ordered tickets elsewhere, but could have also done this through David's service. Everything linked together seamlessly between platforms.
Would I recommend this for Disney rookies? Definitely NOT. For people that already feel relatively at home within the Disney bubble though, I think it is worth your time to at least investigate!
Now, we are just waiting to see if that seamless experience carries over to the check in process! Stay tuned!