Honeymoon Hotel advice!

[Cruncy Tortillas]

Hi guys! So me guy and I decided no on a Disney Wedding because of the new seasonal pricing, we just can't do it. However, we still are considering Disney for our honeymoon.

I wanted some advice/opinions on what we should do.

Obviously the cheapest thing to do would be stay at a value resort the whole time. But that wouldn't be super romantic and I still want our honeymoon to be special and feel like one.

We could do half the time at a value resort with 2-3 nights at a deluxe resort like the wilderness lodge (which would be less expensive by a few hundred dollars at this point). Or we could spend the entire time at a more romantic moderate like coronado or POR (a bit more expensive). The more expensive option would be more convenient and more romantic overall, more appropriate for a honeymoon but that would cut into our fun spending (like we probably wouldn't be able to do a tour or something then). The other option is slightly cheaper and exciting getting to stay at a deluxe resort, but more of a hassle/worry to transfer over and neither value resorts or the Wilderness lodge seem very romantic at all.

What are your thoughts? What would you do?

 

[rspencer38]

Why not rent DVC? Often times renting a DVC resort is comparable to moderate pricing, if not better. For example, we typically go in august where 7 nights at the boardwalk through a dvc rental would be about $222 per night. A standard room a Coronado would be in the $200 per night range.

 

[justme0729]

Renting DVC points is a good idea... I would do the value/ deluxe if you could do a deluxe that you are really excited about. But if WL doesn't sound overly exciting, I would do a moderate the whole time. Prolly POR for boat to Disney springs

 

[Cruncy Tortillas]

Why not rent DVC? Often times renting a DVC resort is comparable to moderate pricing, if not better. For example, we typically go in august where 7 nights at the boardwalk through a dvc rental would be about $222 per night. A standard room a Coronado would be in the $200 per night range.

Have you done this before? How has your experience been?

 

[rspencer38]

I personally have not booked using DVC rental points, however, there are tons of people that do this all the time. Las time we went we were planning on DVC but ended up going value and getting free dining. We are getting married next year at Disney and we are renting DVC for our accomodations! There is a DVC forum on disboards, alternatively check out sites like DVC Rental Store. Very popular company that facilitates booking DVC rentals for people, they can also provide you with tons of info on tickets, dining plans etc....

 

[LadyD]

We rented DVC points for a our honeymoon this past fall using the DVC Rental Store. It worked out great. It is definitely a good option for getting to stay at a deluxe resort for approximately a moderate price. If you go this route, just make sure you read all the fine print so you understand exactly what kind of agreement you're entering into.

 

[justme0729]

DVC rental store is super easy to do

 

[lurkyloo]

We rented points for our honeymoon and split our stay among 4 resorts. It was not difficult and it allowed us to save money while experiencing many different types of places at Disney. They move your luggage for you, so it's very easy to switch resorts. I have a detailed trip report here: http://disneytravelbabble.com/trip-reports/wedding/

 

[Smittolis]

Congrats on the wedding! We have looked into it too, its a tad expensive! Maybe we will renew our vows there one day? ;o)

We have rented DVC points 4 times and love it, no anxiety, no issues and the if you can take advantage of 'discounted points' and still have the availability within the DVC program, its a match made in heaven. Great discounts, great hotels and a honeymoon to remember!

We have stayed in a studio at BLT, Poly & a 1 bedroom at WL with DVC points. All through the same company. We love it and will definitely do it again. Due to wanting to get discounted points (as well as not having to pay 50% upfront straight of the bat financially) we usually wait and see what happens, this restricts availability but is better for us financially, this way we usually split our time in 2 places due to long consecutive days not being available, but we see this as a cool way to experience new hotels.

Whatever you choose, have a great time enjoying the magic of both your marriage and the parks!

 

[Cruncy Tortillas]

Thanks everyone! It never occurred to me to rent points, what a great idea! I'm still a little confused on the process (like how it related to MagicBands and such) but I think I will get a better understanding as I keep researching! Thanks!

 

[dolewhipsareforlovers]

We are going to Disney for our Honeymoon in August. We didn't want to pay for a deluxe so we are staying at POFQ. I like that the resort is smaller and seems so much quieter. We got the Disney Dining Plan because I want everything paid for before we go so we don't have to worry about money at all and I wasn't sure if you could do that when renting with DVC points.

 

[vampiroth]

We are doing DVC for our honeymoon trip. I ended up renting points from a reputable member, and having them handle the reservation for me. It wasn't easy getting into Polynesian when we are going (Oct 22-Nov3) 11 nights, we saved nearly $3500 vs booking with Disney. We are paying ~290 a night, vs Disney at around 650 a night.

I would have gone through an agency that deals in DVC like Davids, but Davids didn't have points to book my trip. We've got our room confirmed and I'm excited. I highly recommend it.

 

[Traver Freeman]

We stayed at the All Star Movies on our honeymoon because we wanted to save money. We were poor college students after all. But since then, we've only stayed at moderate resorts and I love the Caribbean Beach Resort. I wish we could have stayed there on our honeymoon, but it is what it is. With the construction going on there you probably wouldn't want to stay there now anyway, but a moderate would have been nice for our honeymoon.

We mostly went to ASM because of the nostalgia. It's the resort I stayed at as a kid growing up and hadn't been to WDW in 8 years.

We didn't spend a whole lot of time in the room, so it wasn't a super huge deal, but yea. That's my thoughts.

 

[MumziMom]

I also agree - rent points. To be "safe" I'd use a broker. We rented points for the first time for this upcoming August, and saved a lot of money. You could get a value studio at AKL Jambo House for around $150 a night, depending on the season. There is no tax to pay either. Any of the value resorts you will pay tax, and at any of the All Stars, that adds 13.5% to your bill (most resorts are 12.5%) When I did the number crunching, with tax included moderate resorts always cost more than renting deluxe points, and value resorts came close when tax was included. You can purchase dining through your broker (at least using David's DVC). If you purchase dining, you need to purchase dining for the length of your stay, so if you wanted to only purchase dining for part of your stay, purchase two separate stays - you could even resort hop if you wanted to.

Just fwiw, there is minimal mousekeeping for the DVC resorts.