(Article last updated: January 6, 2018)
There are lots of destinations you can visit where renting a timeshare can be an affordable option.
Disney World has a version of timeshares called Disney Vacation Club where you can rent from the owner and pay less than if you booked the room through Disney.
Here's how you can rent DVC points at Disney World....
In this article
What is DVC?
Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is Disney's point-based timeshare system. Owners pay thousands of dollars to buy points which allow them to stay in Deluxe accommodations for the life of their contract.
DVC owners don't always use their points so they are willing to rent them to people like you and me.
There are 10 DVC locations at Walt Disney World, most of them being located adjacent or in the same building as a Deluxe Resort.
The current DVC locations are:
- Beach Club Villas (located in the same building as the Beach Club)
- Boardwalk Villas (located in the same building as the Boardwalk Inn)
- Bay Lake Tower (separate building located at The Contemporary Resort)
- Animal Kingdom Villas (some located in same building as Animal Kingdom lodge, some in a separate building)
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Wilderness Lodge (adjacent to Wilderness Lodge)
- Copper Creek Villas at Wilderness Lodge (adjacent to Wilderness Lodge)
- Old Key West Resort (DVC resort, not connected with a Deluxe Resort)
- Saratoga Springs Resort and Spa (DVC resort, not connected with a Deluxe Resort)
- Grand Floridian Villas (located next to The Grand Floridian)
- Polynesian Village Resort (located at The Polynesian)
Process to rent DVC points
Let's say that you've been thinking about staying at The Contemporary Resort, but wanted to check into Bay Lake Tower to see if is a better option.
Step 1: See how many points you'll need for your stay. You would need to consult a DVC point calculator to help you figure it out.
Step 2: You basically have 2 methods of renting points: using a point rental company or going directly to an owner.
The DVC rental company that I use is DVCRequest.com. You'll usually pay a little more than if you work directly with an owner, but it's a more secure and professional process.
You can also find a DVC owner with points to rent. There are DVC owners posting on message boards to let renters know what they have available. MouseOwners.com, for example, has a large community of renters and owners. To find a DVC owner with points available, go to their Points Available for Rent forum.
Be sure to read the information there about how to find points. Some owners have points with expiration dates that might take place before your trip. Some owners have points tied to specific resorts. Look for an owner that has the number of points you need for your dates and contact them through their message board post to see if they still have them available.
Step 3: Pay for your point rental. Once you find an owner who has the points you need, you'll need to pay for them. You can expect to pay around $16/point if booking through DVCRequest.com, but it could be a little less if booking directly with an owner. For example, if you computed in step 1 that you'd need 102 points for your reservation, it would cost $1,632.
A standard room booked through Disney will often cost 50% more.
So why wouldn't everyone rent DVC points if it saves so much money?
Wellllll, you may have thought this sounded too good to be true. It isn't too good to be true, but there are always pros and cons with everything.
Here are the cons if you decide to rent DVC points.
Your agreement is with the DVC owner, not Disney
When you rent points, you are entering an agreement with the owner. That means you are paying the owner and they are responsible for making your reservation. Although the financial agreements of each transaction can differ, your best bet is to pay partial payment up front and then require a reservation confirmation before making your final payment.
You can get references on the owner, see if they've had previous dealings on the message board you're using and/or speak to them on the phone to help you feel more comfortable.
Less frequent visits from Mousekeeping
Disney resorts receive daily Mousekeeping visits, but DVC accommodations only receive a visit once or twice during your stay (trash service is now daily though).
For visits that are 7 or fewer night, you will get Mousekeeping trash and towel service on day 4. This includes:
- Fresh bathroom towels
- Replacing shampoo, facial soap and bath soap
- Replenishing facial tissues, paper towels and toilet paper
- Replenishing coffee, sugar and cream
- Replenishing diswashing liquid, dishwasher detergent, sponges and laundry detergent as applicable
For stays that include 8 or more nights, you will get a full cleaning from Mousekeeping on day 4 and trash and towel service on day 8. Full cleaning includes:
- Changing the bed linens
- Vacuuming and dusting
- Bathroom cleaning
- Cleaning the kitchen/ette and washing the dishes
The standard DVC rooms are smaller (but have a kitchenette)
While there are a few different room sizes to choose from, we are comparing the standard rooms in this example. Standard rooms in the hotel resorts include two beds and often include a day bed, comfortably fitting 5 people. The studio DVC rooms include a bed and a pull-out couch, making it more difficult to comfortably fit.
Using our example, the studio rooms at Bay Lake Tower are about 300 square feet. A standard room at The Contemporary is 422 square feet.
The DVC rooms do have a kitchenette which is something the Deluxe Resort rooms don't include.
One major exception to this are the Polynesian Villas Studios which are actually bigger than the Standard Polynesian rooms. It almost always makes more sense to book a Villas Studio than a Standard room. See the graphic below for a comparison.
What is not a problem
Many people looking into renting DVC points worry that their benefits as an on-site guest will go away. This is not the case.
You can still:
- Enjoy all on-site benefits including Extra Magic Hours and on-site transportation
- Add a Disney Dining Plan to your reservation
- Use MagicBands
Booking timeframe
When DVC owners buy into their contract, they specify which resort will be their home resort. They are allowed to book at this resort up to 11 months in advance. That means you can also book up to 11 months in advance if that owner wants to rent their points. During popular times to visit, this can work to your advantage as you secure your room well ahead of time.
This chart from DVCRequest.com can help you see when to book each resort.
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59 Comments on "How to rent DVC points (deluxe hotel for moderate prices!)"
The infographic posted for Polynesian is incorrect. The studio has 1 toilet and 2 showers; it is not 1.5 baths which implies 2 toilets.
The graphic says “half bath with extra shower” to try to help explain that it’s an extra shower, not an extra toilet. It’s such a weird thing to have 2 showers and only 1 toilet that it’s hard to know how to describe it.
what is the per person adult cost for adding a dining plan when you rent via DVC points? CHildrens cost?
Same price as people who book directly with Disney. Here are the prices – http://wdwprepschool.com/about-the-disney-dining-plan-and-how-to-get-it-for-free/#Disney_Dining_Plan_options
I’m guessing you can’t pay for your trip using Disney gift cards if you rent DVC points?
Correct. Using Disney gift cards has to be done in transactions w/Disney. Point rental is done through a third party.
Hi! I’m looking to rent DVC points for an early 2018 trip. Does anyone know if you can add the reservation to your My Disney Experience? Thanks!
Yes. I’m renting DVC points for 2018 and the reservation is in My Disney Experience. Just be sure that your reservation email address is the same as your MDE email.
We have a family of 6. Myself, husband, 8yr old, 6yr old, 4 yrs old and 4 month old. We had decided to stay at Port Orleans Riverside after reading your post on where to stay with large families (thank you)
Now I’m wondering if we should rent points and try to stay somewhere nicer through DVC. However, will we end up spending more to accommodate our family?
Do you recommend just going with our original plan?
LOVE YOUR SITE!!!! It takes all my vacation planning anxiety and turns it into child like excitement!
Hello!
I’m really interested in DVC, but worried about relinquishing control. Is it possible for the DVC member to cancel your reservation on you? I would rent from the site you suggested, but wonder if this is a possibility. I would hate to driver 15 hours and find out they canceled it on me
Hi All. Hoping someone could help me out. I rented out DVC point. It went smoothly. However, I wasnt aware that I had to book the dining plan 30 days ahead of my stay with the rental service. Here’s my question. Does anyone know if I can contact Disney directly to add the dining plan now? If so cant it be down up to the week I would be traveling? I stay on 11/5 and would only be able to book the dining plan on 10/31.
This is what seems to happening to me right now. First I was told there was availability, then, after I had paid my deposit, there wasn’t for my exact dates. Now we are working on securing a split stay. I’m worried I won’t get anything I wanted, in which case we will likely cancel. I’m all about saving money, but I’m not enjoying this process at all.
P.S. I started the whole process about 3 weeks ago and I’m trying to book for November.
We booked an AKL savannah view room with club level access. We were able to apply a pretty good discount, but I wanted to compare to renting points for a club level room. I was told that for a club level DVC studio, a savannah view could not be confirmed. Any clue why that is?
How do fast pass reservations work when booking a room with rented DVC points? Do we still get to book 60 days in advance?
I’m doing my research on renting DVC points at the moment. I’ve read a few times that if you don’t rent points and book your accomodation at least 11-7 months in advance then you will probably only get to choose between SSR or OKW. Do you know if this is true during quiet periods like Sept? I’m thinking for making reservations as late as 2-3 months out.
Thanks
Yeah, it can still be true even during less busy times.
Thanks Shannon
Better go and check out your pros and cons of each resort for OKW and SSR then 🙂
Did you find any reviews on the DVCShop. I’ve found them to be cheap but am having trouble finding any information about them….
I went with Davids DVC in the end just based on the testimonials, reviews and other websites that endorsed them. Went ok but I ended up dealing with about 6 or 7 different people which was a bit confusing both sides at times. They don’t line you up with one person which was what I was expecting. Worked out in the end ok though.
Do you need to purchase a Magic Band when you rent DVC points through DVCRequests.com?
Your magic band will be included just as if you had booked through Disney. We used DVCRentalStore.com on out October trip. Everything was as seamless as when we booked through Disney. I’m so glad we did it. Now we want to buy DVC points.
How does dvc work with MDE? Will it show up in the app? So I can book dining and fp+ same as if I booked a resort room directly thru Disney? And what about Magical Express Transportation to/from airport?
Hi! Just wondering about room size. I know you mention that most of the DVC rentals (w/ the exception of the larger, more expensive options) are smaller than the regular Disney Deluxe rooms, however, how do they compare in size to the moderate rooms?
Thanks! 🙂
We can stay at the swan for my mothers points and 340.00 for the week. In the long run for us it going to be cheaper ? after we add all the amenities meal plan. park tickets . Basically what do you see as the pros and cons of this choice versus staying at the Caribbean / french qtr or at AOA ? We have a 6 year old .. and want her first trip to be the best !
I read on a site somewhere if you rent DVC points for your reservation, that one thing you do not get that DVC members & those that book directly through disney get is wifi access? Do you know if this is true? Just wondering since so much of the planning is done online/my disney experience app. Thanks!
While I’ve never rented points (I’m a DVC member), I can say that I don’t believe you’d have a problem with wifi since all you do is accept their terms… not actually log in using a room number or anything like that. Also, my cousins have met me at the resort for lunch before & they all used the wifi for their children & Facebook.
I just rented points for BLT (1st time on site… So excited!). The DVC Owner I booked through says I can use their perks like; 10% off dining, pool hopping.. Etc. Is this true? It seems to be unclear on the forums. Thanks!
I’m curious about this too, because I’ve heard you do not get owner perks when renting (just general Disney perks like transportation and Magic Hours). TIA for any answers! Rebecca
I’m a DVC member and I know when we want to use the 10% on dining or shopping, we have to show our DVC membership card. Just thought I would mention that. thanks
I’ve been researching renting DVC points, and so far, every website says you can use the transportation system, add dining plans, take advantage of extra magic hours,etc– but all state that renters will NOT receive the discounts like the actual DVC member gets.
Hello!
We are a family of 6 (kids will be 8, 6, 4 & 4) planning our first Disney trip. Because of the size of our family, I’m thinking a DVC villa might be our best option. We’re interested in renting points, but since it’s our first trip I’d really like to go through an authorized travel agent to plan the logistics of the trip for us (dining and extra activities like Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique). Do you know if the agents can still plan these things for you if you rent points? Thanks!!
The owners are not travel agents so you would need to book dining ADR, get your tickets, special experiences.. Etc. The only thing they have to do if you want it, is add the Disney Dining Plan to your hotel room. If you want someone to plan everything for you, Travel Agents the way to go.. But if you do everything yourself, most of time, it can save you money.
Hi, Anna –
Everything that you mentioned will work fine if you book through DVC. The biggest thing that you can’t do when booking DVC is take advantage of promotions offered by Disney. You could even add the Disney Dining Plan if you’d like. I recommend DVCRequest.com as I’ve used them a couple of times and had good experiences. I wrote about them in the post above and if you click the link in the post, I get a referral fee for sending you their way. Hope that helps!
My daughter turns 8 the end of July. My husband is a reluctant traveler. I may have him on board for a VERY last minute trip to WDW as a birthday surprise for our daughter. We would only be staying 3 or 4 nights. Due to the lack of planning time, it looks like there are no resort discounts for the end of July/beg of August. Are DVC point rentals a good option for last-minute travel? Thanks!
Only if you are willing to stay at Saratoga Springs Resort. DVC properties book up even earlier than the other hotels. There might be some discounts you can still use. I suggest the travel agent who is listed in the sidebar on the right side of the site. She’s very helpful and can search for good rates for you.
Hi.We’ll be going to WDW for the first time in middle August for 14 nights.Would the DVC points be the best option for a family of five(2 adults&3 kids)?Since there will be deals and discounts in some of the hotels.Please help !Am overwhelmed.
Probably not because the rooms are smaller than standard hotel rooms, unless you upgrade which is really expensive. With 5 people, your list of possible resorts is narrowed down. See my other page w/more hotel info, including a list which tells you which rooms allow 5 people. http://wdwprepschool.com/how-to-plan-a-disney-world-trip-in-6-steps/step-2-choose-where-to-stay/
Question not related to DVC points, but the free dining mentioned in one of the comments above. We are planning on going in late August, and I haven’t seen anything regarding free dining. Am I missing it? We have already purchased a package, but wanted to make sure I’m not paying for something I don’t have to. Thanks a billion, and sorry to get off subject.
Thanks so much for this very informative post! I’d never really considered purchasing DVC points before but it seems like a great option and opportunity to try some of the deluxe resorts we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. I’ve always been intrigued by OKW, but am wondering if it’s too far off the beaten path? Can you still use the Magical Express service if you do this?
Thanks for such a quick response. We have 5 in our family, our youngest will be 4. We have no problem with sleeping arrangements, but it is wise to have space to spread out. I’ll be sure to check uot your 6 steps!
WOW! I am feeling totally overwhelmed with choices and how best to plan our first trip ever this fall. Is it best to just get a hotel, free dining and tickets, or is a DVC the way to go? We want to be able to swim, maybe go back to the room if necessary. It also scares me to think of losing money if someone is not honest. What are the abbreviations you used above, Melissa?
How many people are in your family? I wouldn’t recommend DVC for most people since the studio rooms are so much smaller than a typical Deluxe hotel room.
Be sure to go through my 6 step planning process which you can see in the upper left part of the site (“How to plan a WDW trip”) and you can work through each step to make it less overwhelming.
Here’s what Melissa’s abbreviations mean:
As Melissa pointed out, the OKW studios have two queens – not a queen and a pull-out sofa. The one bedrooms there are my favorite bang for the buck. At over 900 sq ft, that does have a twin pull-out chair and a pull-out sofa in the living room, along with a king bed in the master.
Love your page and youtube videos! I have a question for you. If I were to rent a DVC room in August during the “free dining” promotion, could I apply that to one of these rooms? Thank you! ~Brenda
Hi, Brenda –
Free Dining is a promotion that only applies to people who book packages that include hotel and tickets, but doesn’t apply to DVC bookings. You can add the dining plan to your DVC booking but you won’t qualify for free dining.