DVC vs. Disney package deals

[hosler427]

Hi everyone. I have read countless places that the way to get the best value is to rent DVC points and purchase food/tickets, etc separately.

My plans as of now are to stay at Port Orleans Riverside in December 2018 (yes I am a planner as an 11 year late honeymoon with my wife. We have been to Disney many times but this will be our first trip by ourselves...we are normally in a large group.

Here is where my struggle is: I have done the math and research and it will be more expensive going the DVC route . December typically offers free dining this time of year and I would not qualify for this using the DVC rentals. So what does everyone prefer from their experience? Is DVC rentals really worth the extra $$.

If I go the DVC route it would more than likely be Wilderness Lodge or Polynesian Village that we stayed at.

Thanks in advance!

 

[kmv]

I have done both and honestly, it depends on the deals I can get through something like Southwestvacations.com and what Disney is offering for a deal verse the DVC points. The problem with this is you do have to wait awhile to find out the deals.
This trip I am taking in June I did the DVC points for $10/pt thru a friend of a friend and Southwest had great flights but no vacation deals anyway.
Last trip we did a Southwest vacations deal and made out way better than I would have had I gone thru DVC points.

 

[rwdavis2]

We rented DVC pointed at Boardwalk Villas last November at about 1/2 the cost ($243 a night) of a booking at rack rate. Great location and nice rooms. It all depends on where you want to stay and what deals are offered. Disney has been putting more and more restrictions on free dining over the last few years.

 

[EdmondD]

I'm staying at a Beach Club studio in May and for eight nights it's $1900, so $230ish a night, which is great for a deluxe, but doesn't get me into deals at all. I am certain it's not going to save me money over staying a moderate with a potential discount. It is a great deal if you want to stay at a deluxe, but not a great deal when compared to free dining or the associated deals offered along with free dining.

But do I think it's worth it to pay for the ability to walk quickly to Epcot and walk to HS if I want (or boat there if I don't want to walk)? And to be in the Boardwalk area? Yes, to me that's worth it. Similarly, you might find staying at the Poly and the quick transportation to two parks (not to mention the great theming) to be worth it. Given this is a solo trip for you and your wife and you're celebrating - go ahead and splurge, I say. I am good at spending other people's money!

You also have to take into account the work required to rent points. And the uncertainty, which might be stressful for a self-described planner.

BTW, you seem to have accidentally chopped out some text: "Here is where my struggle is: I have done the math and research and it will be much ."

 

[hosler427]

We rented DVC pointed at Boardwalk Villas last November at about 1/2 the cost ($243 a night) of a booking at rack rate. Great location and nice rooms. It all depends on where you want to stay and what deals are offered. Disney has been putting more and more restrictions on free dining over the last few years.

This is what I will definitely be monitoring and could change our plans. If this happens to be the year that they strip down the dining plan, it could push us towards the DVC route.

Do people find DVC places more desirable? If you strip it down, take price out of the equation (within reason)..would you rather stay at a DVC place or regular room?

 

[hosler427]

I'm staying at a Beach Club studio in May and for eight nights it's $1900, so $230ish a night, which is great for a deluxe, but doesn't get me into deals at all. I am certain it's not going to save me money over staying a moderate with a potential discount. It is a great deal if you want to stay at a deluxe, but not a great deal when compared to free dining or the associated deals offered along with free dining.

But do I think it's worth it to pay for the ability to walk quickly to Epcot and walk to HS if I want (or boat there if I don't want to walk)? And to be in the Boardwalk area? Yes, to me that's worth it. Similarly, you might find staying at the Poly and the quick transportation to two parks (not to mention the great theming) to be worth it. Given this is a solo trip for you and your wife and you're celebrating - go ahead and splurge, I say. I am good at spending other people's money!

You also have to take into account the work required to rent points. And the uncertainty, which might be stressful for a self-described planner.

BTW, you seem to have accidentally chopped out some text: "Here is where my struggle is: I have done the math and research and it will be much ."

LOL...thanks for spending my money so well. I agree with what you said...the convenience of being so close to parks and transportation may be worth bypassing the "deals". I am not dumb enough to think that anything at Disney is free and I also fully acknowledge how much food the dining plan is! If we didn't have free dining, we would be sharing lunch and not getting many desserts, etc. I have looked at Beach Club and Boardwalk Villas as well...both look great.

 

[MikeRx]

A case in point: we are renting points from a friend for $12 point for a 7 night trip in October. We are booked at the Poly DVC in a studio and it will be $650 less than the Fort Wilderness Cabins if there is a 25% AP discount. If the discount is less or non-existent the savings will be far greater. We are giving up a few square feet for a far better location in our opinion. Free dining has never made sense for our plans and we've relied on the room only discounts for the best deal for us. Waiting for the discount can be nerve racking and I'm glad our DVC connection came through.
Mike

 

[hosler427]

A case in point: we are renting points from a friend for $12 point for a 7 night trip in October. We are booked at the Poly DVC in a studio and it will be $650 less than the Fort Wilderness Cabins if there is a 25% AP discount. If the discount is less or non-existent the savings will be far greater. We are giving up a few square feet for a far better location in our opinion. Free dining has never made sense for our plans and we've relied on the room only discounts for the best deal. Waiting for the discount can be nerve racking and I'm glad our DVC connection came through.
Mike

Now if only I had a DVC hookup. I would do $12/point in a heartbeat! The problem is actually finding that without a connection. Every secure place online is at $15+

 

[CupcakeLisa]

We have only been DVC owners for two years but in that time have done 3 DVC and one package. We had ran out of points and it was a better deal to get package rather than rent points.

 

[Hopefully]

The internet hype that the best way to go to WDW is renting DVC points is not always true. Sometimes there are other discounts that are better. You have to do your research. December is high DVC season. To rent points for December 2018 you will have to find an owner/broker with points 11 months in advance. You will not be able to cancel or change that reservation and it will likely be before the discounts are out.
DVC rentals do not include daily Mousekeeping, clean towels, coffee and toiletries replenishment etc. On a 7 night stay you would have Trash and Towel service on day 4.
DVC studios (other than OKW) only have 1 Queen bed and a double sleep sofa.
Like everything, there are pros and cons. Head to the DVC forums here on the DIS and do more research before you commit.

 

[westie55]

Whether or not the dining plan actually saves you money is dependent on the type of dining and how much food you actually intend to eat. For me, it makes more sense to pay out of pocket for dining because I can feed myself for less than the "cost" of the dining plan. When you get FREE dining, your room costs more. You pay one way or another, from what I can tell. Now, if you eat tons of snacks and large meals 3 times a day, free dining is a better value. That doesn't happen to be me so I prefer to get the room discount and pay out of pocket for dining which gives me the flexibility to eat the kind of food I want when I want. Larger families also tend to benefit more from free dining. Renting DVC is a great value (I've done it several times) mostly for a studio... IF you would otherwise stay deluxe. With larger rooms, it's not quite as much of savings. The least expensive DVC studios (AKL, OKW, SSR) usually price out around the cost of a moderate. This fall I rented points for my first stay at the GF. While the cost of my room is half what I would pay from Disney, it's still more than the cost of staying moderate. So to make a long story short, whether renting DVC or getting free dining is a better deal really depends on the specifics. Either way, have an awesome trip!!!

 

[Nancyg56]

The internet hype that the best way to go to WDW is renting DVC points is not always true. Sometimes there are other discounts that are better. You have to do your research. December is high DVC season. To rent points for December 2018 you will have to find an owner/broker with points 11 months in advance. You will not be able to cancel or change that reservation and it will likely be before the discounts are out.
DVC rentals do not include daily Mousekeeping, clean towels, coffee and toiletries replenishment etc. On a 7 night stay you would have Trash and Towel service on day 4.
DVC studios (other than OKW) only have 1 Queen bed and a double sleep sofa.
Like everything, there are pros and cons. Head to the DVC forums here on the DIS and do more research before you commit.

Thank you for posting this. I always cringe when renting points is the first suggestion made. It can be a great deal, and it can offer an affordable alternative for some families, but there are cons associated with this decision.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

And the first part of December is the highest demand.period.of the year for DVC.

I cringe when DVC rental at Poly is presented as easy, especially in fall. Home resort points at Poly are hard to find. David's wait list for them is so long they stopped taking poly 11-7 month requests through year end a few weeks ago.

 

[hosler427]

Thank you for posting this. I always cringe when renting points is the first suggestion made. It can be a great deal, and it can offer an affordable alternative for some families, but there are cons associated with this decision.

This is why I posted this thread. Most of my research led to this but the most common thing I ran across was an immediate "renting points is the only way to go" in advice threads/columns. I just found it interesting.

as for the dining stuff, I know we COULD eat for much less if we didn't have the dining plan. If the room only discount was 20% savings on an average of $240 per night...it would be an average savings of $48 per night. Free dining comes at like $68 per person per day so a daily savings of $136...Now it isn't truly that price because we wouldn't buy that much stuff but I would say $90/day for two adults in Disney is reasonable when you are going to a couple nice places. Either way, the free dining is nearly twice the savings of a 20% discount.

 

[Nancyg56]

This is why I posted this thread. Most of my research led to this but the most common thing I ran across was an immediate "renting points is the only way to go" in advice threads/columns. I just found it interesting.

.

It is. I think that some of the issue I have is that it is not always as easy to rent for specific dates as posters are led to believe, and once your dates are set, most of the time you are locked in. I think renting is a great way to stay deluxe, but I am not sure it is the best way for everyone. Now to the dining thing....nope...not today! LOL! !!!

 

[Twilight Sparkle]

This is what I will definitely be monitoring and could change our plans. If this happens to be the year that they strip down the dining plan, it could push us towards the DVC route.

Do people find DVC places more desirable? If you strip it down, take price out of the equation (within reason)..would you rather stay at a DVC place or regular room?

We have only stayed DVC, but this year, we are exploring all options. We rent DVC points through David's, and the price goes up a bit each year. This next trip, we will need to be a bit tighter with our money, so we are going to see what the Disney travel agents can find for us and compare that to renting DVC.

So far, renting DVC points is still cheaper than renting the same type villa through Disney, but there are cheaper rooms on property so we might forego the villa this time and just adjust our expectations accordingly. It will be just a place to sleep and shower, and that's fine. I do enjoy the villa when we are in it, but most of our time at Disney is spent in the parks.

If money was no object, we would stay DVC always. We rent a 1 bdrm villa at AKL Jambo House, and we love it there so much. Since this is a delayed honeymoon, I would be so tempted to rent DVC if I were you. The deluxe resorts will be so pretty in December.

Edit: Also, keep in mind that DVC prices include tax. By the time tax is added in when I look at other options on WDW 's website, there's very little difference between even a value suite or two value rooms and renting DVC, and in some cases we would spend more by not renting. That's why I've decided to check with a travel agent. I'm hoping they can find a deal for us that saves us a good bit of cash. We don't stay during free dining offers because we typically can't travel at those times, so we are not taking that discount into consideration.

 

[Lynzer4]

I've done the math many times... there are many factors that make which deal the best choice. I've found that DVC point rental is the better deal when you stay Deluxe-- hands down. I've not yet found a discount that can get you a deluxe for less then renting points. But as you said... its not always the easier option. Dave's is the easiest way to rent but you can sometimes get a better deal going direct but that takes more work.

Depending on what DVC you stay at you can sometimes get a studio cheaper renting points then a mod but usually those are OKW and SS.

Here is a breakdown for June that I've been working for myself....

OKW - Studio Room
w/ Discount: $1,265
Pt rental: $ 780 (from Dave's)

AK Savanna Room - Studio
w discount: $1,985
pt rental: $1,020

Mod - Via Disney Port Orleans - Riverside Standard Room
Rack Rate - no discount for mods available - $985


Now free dinning changes the factors since you pay rack rate for the room. In June paying rack rate (if there was a FE) would be the best deal... but that is based on what you consider the best deal ie is it price no matter what level (mod vs deluxe) or is it that you can save almost $900 at a deluxe and that will pay for your food so you are saving verse paying via Disney!

Have a great vacation!!!

 

[stinkpickle]

We only rent DVC points if we REALLY, REALLY want to stay at a deluxe. It usually works out to be about the same price as a moderate, but we can more easily cancel or change a moderate reservation.

 

[SharonZ]

Book the room that you can afford, there is no guarantee that you will get free dining even if it was offered.

 

[Ava]

For me, I have to take into account what I want from the vacation. We had "free" dining on our last two trips, and by the end of the 2nd trip we were over it - it's too much food for us & not the way we prefer to eat, plus it locks you into a TS meal nearly every day which on top of FP+ is a lot of scheduling with two young kids. We also stayed at AoA on our last trip because we had grandparents joining us, and while the resort & room were really fun we got burnt out on the buses back & forth to every park.

So, for this year we decided we wanted to stay at either a monorail resort or an Epcot-area resort so we'd be closer to at least one of the parks we'll spend the most time at (MK & Epcot). I looked into some travel agent deals and looked up what the historical room-only discounts were for the time we're going to travel, and also started researching renting DVC points. In the end we decided on renting points at Bay Lake Tower because we REALLY like the thought of being able to walk to MK. Plus the pool there looks great (my daughter missed having a slide at AoA since we'd been at CBR the year before). I understand the cons of staying on DVC points (no daily Mousekeeping, etc) but I think the pros will far outweigh them for our family.