Disneyland people who have gone to Disney World?

tarheelalum

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jan 16, 2013
Hello all. I am looking for Disneyland vet's opinions and help on vacationing at Disney world. I'm asking here because Disney World people often skip over vital info that they think everyone already knows about about Disney World and have their own language about WDW. And I know nothing about Disney world other than what I've read in the past few days. Also I'm asking here because I'm familiar with the posters here and I value their opinions, so if possible, please mods, let this post stay here.

My wife and I are planning 10 days at Disney World and 4 days at Universal in early December, 2020. We are thinking about staying at Port Orleans French Quarter and will get the park hoppers with water parks. We are considering getting the deluxe dining plan just so we can eat anywhere without feeling ripped off about their crazy prices. I have never been and its been 20 years since my wife last went. This will probably be a one time trip to WDW for us.

After looking into it for a few days it appears ridiculously complicated to vacation there with coordinating the dining plans with advance dining reservations, fast passes, parks, resorts, and transportation. But my wife grew up going there and wants to go back. I'm curious as well but it appears to require a lot of planning and we are more go with the flow spur of the moment type people. And that doesn't appear to be a successful strategy there.

So my question to you all is how did you plan it out? We are thinking of getting the deluxe dining plan but are worried it might be too complicated traveling around for all of the reservations when planning out the crazy way they do fast passes there. But I want to be able to eat without worrying about the crazy prices and feeling ripped off. Also I've heard from several people that the quick service there is like dog food when compared to Disneyland so I'm thinking the 3 table service meals per day might be safer.

But I was wondering if its possible to have three sit down meals there per day and plan it out with the fast pases and transportation? Any opinions about a trip there from a Disneyland perspective would be greatly appreciated. Also any thoughts about Port Orleans French Quarter? Is early December a bad time to go? Deluxe Dining plan opinions? And anything else you wish you would have known before you went to Disney World for the first time? Thanks in advance!!
 
Your initial impressions are all correct. However, there is a payoff at WDW for all this complexity. I really want to comment on all of this now, but have to run off to a meeting. I will get you some of my thoughts later today. :)

:wizard:
 
Hello all. I am looking for Disneyland vet's opinions and help on vacationing at Disney world. I'm asking here because Disney World people often skip over vital info that they think everyone already knows about about Disney World and have their own language about WDW. And I know nothing about Disney world other than what I've read in the past few days. Also I'm asking here because I'm familiar with the posters here and I value their opinions, so if possible, please mods, let this post stay here.

My wife and I are planning 10 days at Disney World and 4 days at Universal in early December, 2020. We are thinking about staying at Port Orleans French Quarter and will get the park hoppers with water parks. We are considering getting the deluxe dining plan just so we can eat anywhere without feeling ripped off about their crazy prices. I have never been and its been 20 years since my wife last went. This will probably be a one time trip to WDW for us.

After looking into it for a few days it appears ridiculously complicated to vacation there with coordinating the dining plans with advance dining reservations, fast passes, parks, resorts, and transportation. But my wife grew up going there and wants to go back. I'm curious as well but it appears to require a lot of planning and we are more go with the flow spur of the moment type people. And that doesn't appear to be a successful strategy there.

So my question to you all is how did you plan it out? We are thinking of getting the deluxe dining plan but are worried it might be too complicated traveling around for all of the reservations when planning out the crazy way they do fast passes there. But I want to be able to eat without worrying about the crazy prices and feeling ripped off. Also I've heard from several people that the quick service there is like dog food when compared to Disneyland so I'm thinking the 3 table service meals per day might be safer.

But I was wondering if its possible to have three sit down meals there per day and plan it out with the fast pases and transportation? Any opinions about a trip there from a Disneyland perspective would be greatly appreciated. Also any thoughts about Port Orleans French Quarter? Is early December a bad time to go? Deluxe Dining plan opinions? And anything else you wish you would have known before you went to Disney World for the first time? Thanks in advance!!
I don't have time address everything but I can say that we really like French Quarter, it is one of the smaller moderates so you don't have to worry about your room being far away from all the amenities. It also gives us a little bit of a DL feel since NOS is our favorite area of DL and it has a little bit of that feel. They also (at least they used to) have their own bus setup so you didn't have to worry about a bunch of stops at other resorts before getting to your destination.
 
We do both DL & WDW. Yes WDW requires more planning, but its more of a vacation IMHO.

Normally we've done our own planning and booking. Next Feb 2020 we're using a Travel Agent, so they can (a) help us better navigate the best days/times to go and they will book our ADRs & FP+ too. Being on the left coast I'm not a big fan of waking up super early to book those.

As far as food, Yes IMHO Disneyland has better Quick Service. That said there some real gems at WDW. For example Pecos Bill's in MK is one of our go to QS locations. I haven't had great QS at DHS. Epcot there are numerous places around World Showcase. For AK Flame Tree Barbecue is good, but IMHO not as good as Bengal Barbecue. I woulnd't do 3 Table Service meals IMHO, (a) it's a lot of $$ and a lot more time. We always eat breakfast at our hotel, have either a QS in the park or a later lunch/early dinner TS. You also have some outstanding options at Disney Springs, the plus here is the boat ride from POFQ right to Disney Springs.

We are staying at POFQ in 2020, our TA really likes it and I like that it's smaller and has boat service. We've often stayed at the Swan/Dolphin which isn't owned by Disney but is on Disney property (it's owned by Marriott now) the location was great due to access to Epcot & DHS either via boat or walking.

Dining plan in December, probably unlikely the use the DDP as a way to entice people, but it's 2020 so hard to say when it will be offered.
 


I would say to start doing the math now on how much you think you'll spend on dining. The deluxe dining plan is usually not a very good value once you break down how much you can actually eat and how much it will cost. 3 Table service meals is a lot of food plus the snacks you get on top of that; the best use of the deluxe dining plan is to do signature meals for dinner and a table service breakfast (or vice versa). Also when doing the math do not add tips as they are not included with any dining plan.

Park hopping takes at least 30 mins; closer to an hour if hopping to/from Animal Kingdom if sticking with Disney's "complementary" transportation. Even with uber you're looking at 15-20 mins to park hop. If you plan on going to the parks all 10 days you're at WDW look into getting APs, they're much more affordable than DLR and the discounts you could get may offset the difference in price between AP and 10 day park hopper plus tickets. The Platinum plus includes entry to the water parks as well. If you do decide on getting APs look into the Tables in Wonderland card, it's $150 to get 20% off the bill at meals (alcohol included) but an automatic 18% gratuity is added. On my 9 day trip in Feb I came out "losing" about $15 but didn't do a table service meal every day and have another trip planned this year.

I haven't stayed at Port Orleans but from what I've heard the resort as a whole is highly recommended. I think Riverside is considered the better "side" of the resort but it also costs slightly more than French Quarter. You should also look into DVC rental, it's possible you could get a "better" resort for the same price as Port Orleans.

While everyone seems to stress how much advanced planning is needed it's not really. Other than a few hard to get FPs and dining reservations you can get just about anything same day or a month out as long as you're flexible. Touring Plans has a free dining reservation finder, you put in the restaurant, dates, and times and they'll text/email you when they find something that matches your search criteria. I was able to get Be Our Guest less than a month out using the reservation finder.

WDW FP has some similarities with Maxpass, with the main differences being you choose your return time and you can book 3 per day for your whole stay 60 days in advance of the first day of your stay. (eg. If you travel Dec 1st thru 11th you can book FP for the whole trip starting on Oct 2nd). Once you use the 3 for the day you can get them 1 at a time subject to availability. Also, you can only have FP for 1 park at a time booked in advance so if you plan to park hop it's generally suggested to make FPs for the afternoon park.

Hopefully this helps you understand things a little more, but don't be afraid to ask more specific questions as they come up.
 
We went to WDW last summer and we are DL veterans. We were there for a week and had 5-day single-park-per-day tickets. Here's what I learned about WDW through the planning and trip process:

Transportation:
  • it always seemed to take forever to get anywhere. MK especially. We rented a car so sometimes we used the free on site transportation and other times we just drove. Plan on 60-90 minutes to get to your destination. This is important especially if you have ADRs to consider where the ADR for the next meal is at another resort or park from where you currently are.
Quick Service Food:
  • I felt that DL definitely gets the win over WDW in this department. The pizza at Pinocchio's in MK was especially awful!
Table Service:
  • some ADRs are very hard to get. Be Our Guest is a good example of that. Same for Cinderella's Royal Table, both in MK.
  • If the Deluxe dining plan involves 3 TS meals per day, from what I've read, you will probably find that to be just way too much food. And you'll be spending a LOT of time in restaurants.
  • So consider what you want the focus of the trip to be...TS restaurants and fewer attractions? Or maybe 1 TS per day and more attractions and other "stuff" to experience? If you get the regular Disney Dining Plan, that includes 1 TS meal, 1 QS meal, & 2 snacks per day per person.
  • Everybody should go to the Hoop Dee Doo Review at some point during a WDW vacation. I think that Hoop Dee Doo is 2 TS credits.
  • However, you could do dinners or lunches solely at 2 TS credit restaurants and then do a brunch/lunch/breakfast at a 1 TS restaurant and not have to eat so much food, nor waste as much time 3 times a day. This website lists the 2 TS credit places --> https://www.themouseforless.com/wal...-restaurants-require-2-table-service-credits/
  • Common advice I've read about TS meals is to plan on eating at the park where you'll be that day and/or at your home resort in order to minimize a lot of back & forth with transportation.
  • OR, for example, if you're at Epcot or HS, you could go to a TS restaurant at Beach Club or Yacht Club since those are closer.
  • OR spend the day at Animal Kingdom and go to TS at Animal Kingdom Lodge (the bus ride there is super short).
FP+:
  • I found getting FPs at WDW to be way more stressful than at DL. I think that DL's FP system with Max Pass is far superior to WDW's. The notion of having to plan out the specific times that you want to ride specific rides 2 months ahead of time is something I have a hard time wrapping my head around.
  • Practically every character meet & greet has a FP at WDW. I think that makes character meet & greets a lot more difficult at WDW. So we pretty much bypassed almost all meet & greets at WDW on our trip because we did not want to wait in an hour long line to take a picture with somebody.
  • For the obvious rides like Pandora Flight of Passage, your best bet is to choose to go to Animal Kingdom later during your trip so you'll have better odds in getting a FP time for a coveted ride like that.
"Go with the flow" and "spur of the moment" are things that, unfortunately, don't work out too well at WDW these days, in my opinion. Well, not unless you don't mind waiting an hour to go on a ride. If you're up for getting up early and being at a park at rope drop, then yes, "spur of the moment" will work for the first couple of hours that the park is open.

But "spur of the moment" + getting there late morning/early afternoon? Forget it.

When we go again to WDW, I think that I'd want to alternate our days in the parks. For example, day 1 is a park day. Day 2 is a rest day (you sleep in, don't have to be anywhere early). Day 3 is another park day. Etc. A rest day would be a good day to also try out some of the other stuff that is available at WDW. Horseback riding at Fort Wilderness, for example.

BUT...remember...
If you're getting the dining plan where it's 3 TS meals per day and you decide to sleep in and cancel your breakfast reservation <24 hr ahead of time, then you get charged to your credit card for that. I think that if you are "go with the flow" folks, then the Deluxe Dining Plan would be the total opposite of that. You will need to have every single day structured. You'll need to decide ahead of time every restaurant you want to eat at...there will be no spur of the moment decisions, really, for "Oh how about we go to Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner this evening." There probably will be no TS reservations available. Or if there are, they'll be at weird times and you will just have eaten lunch an hour or 2 previously because of your lunch ADR.
 
First I will start with my biggest and most important advice - if you try to do 10 straight days at WDW parks you will likely die of exhaustion. You need to plan for off days and half-days off.

IMO parkhoppers are a waste at WDW. It takes way too long to park hop. Some WDW vets agree and some don't. But no matter if they agree or not, parkhopping at DLR takes 2 minutes and at WDW it can easily take an hour. Or more. I suggest you do not park hop.

This recent article helps explain the exhaustion principle: I Screwed Up My Disney Vacation by Making This 1 Mistake

If I had 10 days at WDW, and I have, twice, here is what I would do - with some best guess 2020 post-SWGE advice thrown in assuming that interests you:

MK - 2 full days
Epcot - 2 full days
AK - 1.5 days, one full day and one evening to see Pandora at night, see ROL using a FP, and ride FOP a second time with FP (on the half day I would rest all day before going to AK)
DHS - 1.5 days, one full day and one evening to ride SWGE rides a second time and/or see an evening show (on the half day I would rest all day before going to DHS)

That is 8 days. Will you have travel days during the 10 days are do you have 10 full days? Assuming 10 full days, the other 2 days I would take one entire day to rest. And if it is warm enough, maybe go to a water park on the other day.

Another idea for an off day is to take a tour. WDW has tons of them. If it works for your budget, the Backstage Magic tour is really cool. It is all day, but it is relaxing still.

I have always used Disney transportation (except on my trip this month when I had a car for business visits and was able to use it around WDW). When using the Disney bus/boat system, I have always avoided the POFQ and the other PO's because of the large size and many bus stops. At DLR I am a diehard walking distance hotel guy. So my preferred hotels at WDW have been the Swan and Dolphin - easy access to 2 of the four parks (Epcot and DHS). With the new gondolas coming to WDW later this year, that should make hotels like CBR and AOA a better choice as far as easy transportation. But I will always go Swan or Dolphin first. I like the location and access to the Boardwalk.

Some people can make WDW work as spur of the moment, but truthfully DLR is way, way, WAY better for that. I suggest you get used to the idea that making a plan, in advance, and mostly sticking with it is the way to go at WDW. The impact is mostly on dining reservations and the FPs you need to make in advance.

I have visited WDW 8 times now and have never used their dining plan. It has never made sense to me. I would rather have the flexibility to dine wherever as needed.

I would not make 3 dining reservations per day. For me, morning time is way too precious and not worth it to stop. Same thing at DLR for me. So morning is bagels/bananas/apples/granola bars/etc. On the way out the door to catch a bus (at WDW). I would not say WDW QS dining is "like dog food compared to DLR", but it is definitely true QS is not as good as DLR. There are some good ones.

WDW has lots of cool dining options and do not restrict yourself to those inside the parks. Like at DLR, there are some good options at the hotels and at Disney Springs and the Boardwalk (WDW's versions of DTD). I usually make at least one dining reservation per day, and sometimes two (for lunch and dinner).

I have lots of good links for transportation, dining and FP.

Other advice...

Do not let the long transportation times overly frustrate you. It comes with the territory at WDW. WDW vets will tell you they are fine with it - until they visit DLR and realize what it is like to be able to walk everywhere. Then they say "OK, now I understand what you DLR vets are saying". The ones who only visit WDW do not get it.

Embrace the resort. My observations are that DLR vets are park-centric and WDW vets are resort-centric. There are lots of cool things to do outside the parks. Things like the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue. Roasting marshmallows at Ft Wilderness. Seeing a Disney movie under stars at oodles of places there (the DLR hotels have started doing this recently), rent a boat, go horseback riding, go to a water park, etc., etc. Do not go to WDW and be 100% focused on the parks. That works at DLR, but at WDW you will miss a lot of what the resort offers.

Good luck!

:wizard:
 
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I just got back from WDW and had a great trip, but I did find myself missing some of the "easiness" of a trip to DLR. WDW feels like you have to structure things a lot more (between dining reservations and FP+).

Deluxe Dining Plan: My family did this once and it was way too much food! Unless you're planning on eating a lot of Signature meals (two credit) and/or don't mind spending most of your time eating, I wouldn't do the Deluxe Dining Plan. I would allow between 60 and 120 minutes for a TS meal (2 hours for a Signature is pretty common). While it can be a good value (especially now that alcohol is included), I felt like we pretty much had to have an appetizer, entree, dessert and drink at each meal to justify the cost. I think that most people find they would spend about the same (or maybe even less) if you pay out of pocket and order what you would normally order (e.g., would you normally order an appetizer, entree, and dessert at lunch and dinner on the same day?). Also, don't forget that in most cases you'll still have to pay the gratuity separately, so factor that into your budget.

Dining ADRs: There is a lot more competition to get the most popular dining ADRs. While it is possible to get them at the last minute (we have done it), it's not guaranteed. You pretty much have to be online as soon as your window opens if you want to snag prime ADRs for the most popular spots (e.g., CRT, BOG, 'Ohana, etc.). Otherwise, you just have to hope to get lucky and pick up a reservation as someone cancels it. I second the recommendation to pick your dining locations based on where you think you'll be spending the day (e.g., Epcot restaurant on your Epcot day). Also, don't forget to check Open Table for some of the Disney Springs locations.

TS: Some of my family's favorite TS locations include Le Cellier, Les Chefs de France, Via Napoli, Sci Fi, Hollywood Brown Derby, Tiffins, LTT (for lunch), 'Ohana, and Narcoossee's. At Disney Springs, we really like Raglan Road and Morimoto Asia.

QS: I do feel like the QS in DLR is better in general, but there are still plenty of pretty good QS locations in WDW. For my family, Epcot has the most options (Les Halles is like Jolly Holiday, but with French pastries!) and DHS has the least.

Fastpass Plus: I like some things about FP+ (like the ability to choose a time window that works for you), but having to make them so far in advance. While it might be possible to get lucky and get some of the popular ones on short notice, you pretty much have to make your FP+ reservations as soon as you are able if you want the really popular ones (like the rides in Pandora, Frozen in Epcot, 7DMT in MK, etc.). Also, remember, you can only make three FP+ reservations in advance and you cannot get any more FP+ times on that day until you've used those three FPs. So, if you book a FP for a nighttime show (e.g., Rivers of Light or Illuminations), you won't be able to get a fourth FP until after the nighttime show. On the flip side, there is no extra cost for FP+.

Resort: We stayed at Riverside once and it was fine, but we normally stay at the Boardwalk or Beach Club because of the proximity to Epcot and DHS. If you can swing one of the Epcot area resorts, I highly recommend that. Otherwise, I do think you'll be fine at Port Orleans.

Transportation: I've found the Disney transportation system to work pretty well, but you do have to allow about an hour to get anywhere (about 30 minutes to wait and 30 minutes travel time). Even though it takes time, I'm still a fan of park hopping when it works into the schedule. On past trips, we'd often spend the morning in one park and then hop to different park in the evening (e.g., morning in Epcot, have lunch, then hop to the MK for their nighttime shows). I found that hopping between Epcot and DHS is especially easy (one boat ride that is about 25 minutes long - so it means a 25 minute rest for my feet!).

Also don't forget about Disney Springs. If you like to shop, then that's another place to visit. It's way bigger than DTD! There are some really good restaurant at DS as well.
 
Yes, WDW does take a lot more advance planning. But the fact that you even recognize that puts you far ahead of the curve! Far too many people just show up without doing anything besides book a hotel and then complain that they can't eat in the best places, or can't get FPs, or whatever.

For your hotel choice - POFQ is lovely. We stayed there on our first trip. I would stay there again without hesitation. It is calm and small and convenient, far better than the other moderates which are so spread out, or the values which are just loud and obnoxious (to me - I know other people who love them, and that is each person's opinion). December is also a great time (preferably early December) as all the decorations will be up but its before the worst of the crowds.

Honestly there are so many things to consider and everyone tours differently so it's hard to just give general advice. If you are already feeling very overwhelmed, I would recommend looking into a Travel Agent. If you get a good one, they will help walk you through everything and even do your ADRs, FPs, general touring plans for you. And they can provide more help with finding any available discounts.

For some of your specific things and what other people have brought up. Park hoppers - I think that is a decision for everyone individually. If you are going to go park-park, then yes, it can be a waste of time. If you are going to go park-resort for a break-park, then it can be worthwhile. Deluxe Dining Plan - Consider which restaurants you are considering. I think 3 TS a day is too much, but a good number of nicer restaurants are 2 TS credits, so you could easily just have 2 TS per day. I have never gotten the dining plan because it hasn't worked out financially in my favor. If you will be there for 10 days, consider maybe having one of you get an AP. That would give you dining discounts, merchandise discounts, and photos, which could work out better. A TA would be able to help you figure that out.
 
Oh and also, things change all the time with WDW. So something we tell you right now may not be the same as what will be in effect during your trip (i.e. ride closures/opening, FP availability, etc).
 
We've been to WDW more times than we've been to DLR, although we pretty much abandoned WDW after our 2012 trip because of the coming FP+ apocalypse ;).

If you make 3 ADRs a day at WDW you will likely leave wondering how you got so little done in 10 days. The regular dining plan can provide a nice balance. Just be careful to schedule your meals in a park you will be in already, or at a resort you will be close to that day. Your goal is to incorporate it into your day, at a time you are ready to get off your feet and take a break rather than have it be just another item on your agenda.

I definitely agree with @HydroGuy about the park hopping. Huge time suck without much payoff (IMO). And we always get hoppers at DLR.

Great resort choice. It's lovely and easy to navigate. And it's an easy boat ride away from Disney Springs.

Early December is still a good time to go, although all bets are off if the second SWL ride happens to open then. Nobody knows what to expect regarding that.

We're planning to swap back to WDW for our next trip, and it's sort of exhausting just trying to stay in front of everything that's constantly changing. I feel lost. And I've done this many times before.
 
FWIW, here is my top 10 at WDW that is not at DLR
  1. Expedition Everest (ride)
  2. Rockin Rollercoaster (ride)
  3. Flight of Passage (ride)
  4. Philharmagic (ride/attraction)
  5. Happily Ever After (fireworks show)
  6. Festival of the Lion King (show)
  7. Voices of Liberty (entertainment)
  8. Sci-Fi Dine-In (restaurant)
  9. Be Our Guest (restaurant)
  10. Shula's Steakhouse (restaurant)
:wizard:
 
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Great advice above-echo what HydroGuy said about down time-make sure you have some. We have only been twice, both for 10 days. First trip we only had one non-park day between 6 days at WDW and 3 at Universal. So exhausting. Second trip, we did parks for two days, then a rest day, wash, rinse, repeat. There is so much to see and do on non park days.

We did not do the dining plan either trip-way too much food for us and we love to eat. We rented a car both trips and it was money well spent-we have two early birds and two whom like to sleep in a bit. Honestly, we only used the Disney transportation maybe on 3 out of 9 park days for both trips. While we didn't have any terrible experiences, it just wasn't not all that convenient to our schedules. We did get hoppers both trips as we planned evening meals at specific locations to coincide with night entertainment or just a lazy evening of eating and then strolling that park without worrying about rides. We also rented DVC points both times-scary at first but man did that work out so well. Essentially half the costs for the deluxe resorts we stayed at.
 
Thank you all for letting me know that the deluxe dining plan might not be the greatest idea. After running the numbers the regular dining plan seems to be a better fit and far less stressful. I might have to come out of pocket a few times with the regular dining plan but even then it still wins. Just thinking about managing all the deluxe dining plan reservations and coordinating them with dining/fastpass+ already had me stressed and that is no way I want to spend my time on vacation.

Overall I'm going to be going over everything you guys shared with me in the coming months and trying to figure out some sort of plan. I may bother you all again in the future with some details but I'll try not to be a pest about it!!! It will be ten days but 9 of them will only be park days. Probably 8.5 considering our last day we will be checking into a Universal property resort. But out of the 10 days our first day will be travel from Phoenix to Orlando so we probably won't do anything in the parks that day. At most dinner at some resort on the day we arrive. Unfortunately it will be difficult to convince my wife before hand to take it easy at her childhood land of dreams. Hopefully she will just burn out on exhaustion one day and sleep in !!

But one question did come up now and I was hoping to get some opinions. I was looking at David's Vacation Club Rentals, (others companies as well) and it seemed to be a fantastic deal in comparison to WDW resort prices. Are these point rental businesses legit? Anyone know the pros and cons to it all? The only downside I can see is when you buy it, you are stuck with it and if something happens and you can't travel, you lose all of your money and that is concerning. Any other potential issues am I missing with this? Has anyone tried renting DVC points before? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Any particular companies you like/dislike? And any other thoughts at all about DVC rentals you may have, I'd love to hear them.

But most of all, thank you all for you help. I truly appreciate it.
 
But one question did come up now and I was hoping to get some opinions. I was looking at David's Vacation Club Rentals, (others companies as well) and it seemed to be a fantastic deal in comparison to WDW resort prices. Are these point rental businesses legit? Anyone know the pros and cons to it all? The only downside I can see is when you buy it, you are stuck with it and if something happens and you can't travel, you lose all of your money and that is concerning. Any other potential issues am I missing with this? Has anyone tried renting DVC points before? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Any particular companies you like/dislike? And any other thoughts at all about DVC rentals you may have, I'd love to hear them.
I used David's to rent points to stay at GCV at DLR. But I had to pay in advance 10 months before the trip (2018). For WDW I would consider them again for sure. You are right, it is less expensive than the hotel route. But it is less flexible.

:wizard:
 
I used David's to rent points to stay at GCV at DLR. But I had to pay in advance 10 months before the trip (2018). For WDW I would consider them again for sure. You are right, it is less expensive than the hotel route. But it is less flexible.

:wizard:

Were you afforded all of the privileges of being a regular hotel guest when you were at the Grand? Early magic hours, etc.. when staying there with a points rental?
 
Were you afforded all of the privileges of being a regular hotel guest when you were at the Grand? Early magic hours, etc.. when staying there with a points rental?
Yes. I think it is similar at WDW. Cleaning service every 4th day. Everything else is like being at normal GCH.
 
1. Do you have a Disneyland annual passport? If so, when does it expire? What type is it? You might want to consider going after the DLR AP's expire, then purchase a WDW AP (or 10-day ticket to upgrade to an AP) and then while there, upgrade the ticket to a Premier Passport (good at both parks).

I say do it that way (rather than purchasing the Premier AP in CA) because the ticketing systems don't mix and when you're on the WDW website (My Disney Experience), it won't recognize your Premier AP (then it creates all sorts of hassle calling Disney IT to get it fixed).

I will say that when we did have the Premier AP (purchased from DLR), we only park hopped once....and that was because we went to EPCOT for the last day of the Flower & Garden Festival where they put all their merchandise for 25-50% off! LOL. We went to HS that night.

2. David's Rental is a broker. They broker owners' points for vacation rentals. Reservations are non-refundable and have to be paid in full fairly quickly. So, there is that to consider. Notwithstanding, my group rented points for our WDW stays (at AKV, BCV, and BLT)....that's Animal Kingdom Villas, Beach Club Villas, and Bay Lake Towers (Contemporary) for non-DVC people.

3. Glad you decided against the DxDP. That seems like a lot of food for two people. You should look at the menus at Allearsnet.com and see what you would actually eat.
 
But one question did come up now and I was hoping to get some opinions. I was looking at David's Vacation Club Rentals, (others companies as well) and it seemed to be a fantastic deal in comparison to WDW resort prices. Are these point rental businesses legit? Anyone know the pros and cons to it all? The only downside I can see is when you buy it, you are stuck with it and if something happens and you can't travel, you lose all of your money and that is concerning. Any other potential issues am I missing with this? Has anyone tried renting DVC points before? I'd love to hear your thoughts. Any particular companies you like/dislike? And any other thoughts at all about DVC rentals you may have, I'd love to hear them.

Renting DVC will get you all the perks of staying onsite at WDW (EMH, transportation, 60 day advance FP, etc) I think the biggest con to renting points is you're likely to loose your money if you can't make the reservation. DVC rental store has an additional cancel for any reason policy for a $1.90/point rented with a minimum cost of $190. You can also look on the DVC section of DIS, they have a forum for point rentals direct from members if you want to try that route.

If you decide to rent points just be aware that resort availability will be limited as Novemeber/December is a popular time for DVC owners to try and use their points.
 

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