One of the Disney questions we get over and over again is: “How can I save money on my Disney trip?” There are tons of tips and tricks to save money here and there but the biggest bang for your vacation buck is going to be saving money on lodging. Here’s how to score a lodging deal with David’s Vacation Club Rentals.
Is David’s Vacation Club Rentals Legitimate?
David’s Vacation Club Rentals is our go-to lodging trick. The hidden bonus? Not only will you save money, you’ll get more perks for the cash you do spend. David’s DVC Rental is legit.
Here’s how to book, our tips and what to consider when planning your Disney vacation. If you already know all of that, skip on down to the sections titled How Does Booking with David’s DVC Rental Work or Your DVC Points Check-In and Theme Park Experience.
What is David’s Vacation Club Rentals?
David’s DVC Rental is a company that helps you book Disney Vacation Club rooms that DVC owners aren’t going to use.
If you’re wondering what Disney Vacation Club is, we cover everything you need to know, including a discussion of whether it’s worth the price, in this post. But, in short, Disney Vacation Club is a vacation ownership program similar to a timeshare.
Renting DVC Points: Why Should I Use a Service?
Disney Vacation Club members pay for a certain number of points per year. If they don’t use all of them for their own family vacation, they can recoup some of that cost by “renting” the points to non-DVC members.
You might be asking if DVC members can rent out their points to vacationers, why should I use David’s DVC rental service? Safety and the security of your vacation funds are the major reason to use David’s Vacation Rentals.
If you do a private Disney Vacation club point rental directly with a DVC member, there is risk involved on both sides of the transaction. The DVC member can be responsible for damages by the renter (for example if someone smokes in the room).
What are the Benefits of Using David’s Vacation Club Rentals?
We don’t just recommend David’s DVC Rentals, we’ve used the service personally. Our trips have ranged from hosted trips where we can see the experience to personally funded family vacations where we’re trying to make our own vacation dollars stretch further.
One of our SheBuysTravel contributors used David’s Vacation Club Rentals for her family trip in May 2022 and was impressed with the entire experience.
Fans of renting DVC points often claim you can score Deluxe Disney Resort reservations at Moderate Disney Resort prices, so I decided to take the plunge. They were right! And I was pleasantly surprised with how easy the process was through David’s Vacation Club Rentals.
I was booking only 3 months in advance (experts typically recommend 7-11 months in advance), and wanted the cheapest “Studio” tier of rooms. So, unsurprisingly, there was no availability for my first choice of resort, but David’s immediately emailed me a list of great alternatives. The email communications were all prompt and clear, eliminating any confusion I may have had as a first-time renter.
Within 24 hours of booking and payment, the company emailed me a confirmation number that I was able to enter into My Disney Experience. I was so excited to see our reservation on Disney’s website!
I will definitely book again through David’s Vacation Club Rentals, and have no qualms recommending it to friends. Next time we’ll need to book a bigger room. We found a DVC Studio with one queen and a full-size murphy bed was too cramped for our family of four.”
– Tami Mittan, SheBuysTravel.com contributor and owner of ColoradoMountainMom.com
What Perks are Included with Disney Vacation Club Resorts?
This is where the savings really multiply. A Disney Vacation Club room isn’t just a hotel room. The resorts that have DVC rooms are all deluxe resorts. This means that you’ll get all the perks that are only available to deluxe resort guests like Extended Evening Hours.
Honestly, being able to stay in at a deluxe resort for prices closer to the moderate level alone makes it worth it to me! I’m a value-oriented girl. That’s money saved that I can put towards my annual pass, snacks and drinking around the world at EPCOT (priorities). (Read our complete rundown of the Disney World resort properties for an understanding of the differences between resort levels.)
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In addition there are some other fun savings when you rent DVC points, such as free resort parking. Owners’ dues cover the cost of parking.
Which Resorts are Available from David’s Vacation Club Rentals?
David’s DVC Rental currently lists point rental reservations at the following
- Animal Kingdom Villas at Animal Kingdom Lodge (Kidani Village and Jambo House)
- Magic Kingdom area resorts including Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Polynesian Villas and Bungalows at Polynesian Village Resort, and Disney’s Grand Floridian
- Copper Creek Villas and Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- EPCOT area resorts including Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Old Key West and Saratoga Springs Resort
Properties in other areas are:
- The Villas at Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa (Disneyland)
- Disney’s Vero Beach Resort (Vero Beach, Florida)
- Hilton Head Island in South Carolina
- Aulani, A Disney Resort and Spa in Ko Olina (Oahu Hawaii)
CHECK RESORT PRICES / AVAILABILITY
How Much Does David’s DVC Rental Really Cost?
There is a little math involved in figuring out how much a stay will actually cost. Most costs are listed per point. Then you need to determine how many points per night are needed and multiply that by the number of nights you want to stay.
Luckily, David’s Vacation Club Rental has a cost calculator that will allow you to figure out how much you’ll spend on your stay. Quoted prices even include taxes and fees.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Are your dates flexible? Maybe you’re looking for a spontaneous last minute Disney experience? Be sure to sign up for David’s Last Minute Specials Email List for access to special deals!
Our Points Rental vs David’s DVC Rental Cost Comparison
Here’s one example: a Disney World visit from November 23-27, 2022, David’s has a dedicated reservation to Old Key West available. It’s a one bedroom that sleeps up to 5 adults. With David’s DVC Rental you’ll pay $2,709 (129 points at $21 per point, including taxes).
That same room when booking through Disney runs $721.25/night before taxes. Your total after taxes for the stay would be $3,245.63. That is $536.63 more than renting DVC points! You can buy a lot of Mickey pretzels and Dole whips with that.
To put that into perspective, if I look for another room that sleeps 5 adults during that same time period, the cheapest option is Art of Animation. A room there will run you $2,568.39. So, for only $140.61 more, you can go from a Value level resort to a Deluxe level resort with all the perks.
What’s the Booking Process?
Planning is key here. Rentals go quickly and looking at dates that are further out increases your chances of success. You aren’t going to “book a room,” you’re going to fill out a reservation form online. This form is going to list your dates, resorts and rooms in order of interest and all of your travel party’s information.
You’ll also pay a $105 deposit when submitting your request.
CHECK RESORT PRICES / AVAILABILITY
Why Does David’s Vacation Club Rentals Charge a Fee to Book?
This is one of the things that people get hung up on, and rightly so. No one wants to be the victim of a scam.
Resorts book up far in advance. Having a partial payment on hand allows David’s to immediately start the booking process if one of your desired resorts is available. The company will refund your money if there aren’t any reservations available.
I can personally attest to this. I tried to book a stay with points early last December. It was definitely a long shot at a busy time of year, but it was worth a try. Unfortunately, nothing was available. My money was refunded within roughly 36 hours.
We ended up having to stay at Disney’s All Star Music (not my fave). I will look earlier in the future.
What Happens When My David’s Vacation Rental Request is Accepted?
When your request is accepted, the company will apply the partial payment to your booking. Check your email for the confirmation number.
You then complete the online payment form and pay the remaining balance. This final payment serves as acceptance of the DVC rental contract.
Two Major Things to Note about DVC Point Rental
1. It’s Nonrefundable
You cannot cancel and get your money back.
You cannot change the dates.
Therefore, this method is best if you know your dates are solid. You will get a formal contract from David’s DVC rental stating the nonrefundable terms clearly.
SheBuysTravel Tip: Buy travel insurance and make sure it covers illness of you or someone in your party. This way if you need to cancel due to an emergency, you can put in for a reimbursement from your travel insurance company.
2. The Money is Due When You Book
You will be required to pay for the entirety of your lodging within 24 hours of getting the booking. Regular Disney hotel rooms only require you to pay a deposit equivalent to one night’s stay.
David’s promises to pay DVC owners on the day the reservation is booked. This means that you need to pay David’s. Accepted payment methods are Visa, Mastercard and PayPal.
Before You Travel To Your Disney Points Rental You Should
There are several things that will make your Disney vacation go smoother. After your reservation confirmation use this checklist.
- Connect your My Disney Experience account to your reservation. We’ve got a whole rundown on MDE here.
- Book your park tickets and park reservations!
- Put in your MagicBand order (on My Disney Experience) so they are waiting for you when you arrive. You can also set up your passcodes for charging if you’d like to pay for things like food with your MagicBand.
- (If available) Book your Disney Dining Plan.
- Make dining reservations.
Your DVC Points Check-In and Theme Park Experience
When my friend Breeze and I did a girlfriend getaway to
We definitely got the full experience, including a slight hiccup with our lodging.
Let me explain. I’ve always wondered what happens if something goes wrong with a DVC point rental room. Will you still get the same Disney customer service as a “normal” guest?
Well, when the My Disney Experience app told us our room was ready, we happily brought our luggage over. However, when we used our MagicBand to open the door, we found that the room hadn’t been cleaned after the last guest. Bedding was a mess, there was trash around the room and towels were strewn about. It was obviously not hit by Mousekeeping.
This was a bummer. It was a busy day for us. We had been drinking our way around EPCOT (hey, it was an assignment for SheBuysTravel!) and were ready to lay down for a bit before trying to catch the Magic Kingdom nighttime show. That plan was now kaput.
I phoned the Disney customer service line from outside the room. They promised to start working on a solution and call us back in 10 minutes. Thirty minutes later, we still hadn’t heard anything, so we headed down to the Saratoga Springs lobby. We waited for a bit and ultimately got the call back while we were queued up there.
To our surprise (and delight) we were upgraded to a 2 bedroom villa! It was incredible. We each got our own bedroom and I did my laundry in the unit before flying home. So we can attest that if something goes wrong with your Disney Vacation Club room, Disney Cast Members will take care of you. There was absolutely no issue with how we had booked or that it was with points and not cash/card.
Theme Park Perks for Deluxe Resort Guests
Guests of all
Overall, we didn’t see any discernible difference between booking as a points rental guest and as a traditional guest. Booking a points room gives you access to all of the same benefits of booking a
Overall, it’s one of our favorite ways to save money and give your Disney vacation an upgrade.
Would you book a room with points? What questions do you have?
