DVC - yet another rental question....

[linanglab]

Okay....Our vacation isn't until next summer, but I am doing my homework to decide if we should consider renting. Plus, the preplanning is good for my soul! LOL

We are a family of 5. Is it possible to rent a 1 bedroom? The size of the room is not too much of an issue as we are used to tighter quarters. We have stayed at POR for 2 years now, and we want something different. We thought about 2 rooms at a value (which is still a possibility), but am looking into renting.

I have looked on the DIS and am OVERWHELMED with all the info and "arguing". So, I came to my friends on SR to ask my questions and maybe you could help me or direct me.

I am a frugal person. POR is cheapest, but we want something different. Deluxe is too expensive for us right now. Does anyone have a breakdown of how much for renting compared to the regular hotels? I know AKL sleeps 5, but we would consider other 1 bedroom if they accept 5 (unless I can decide which child to leave home....hmmm....LOL). AKL sounds VERY fun to me. But I also am wondering about the money.

Please HELP!!! I know I babble. But I told DH that I would start looking into this. We would go in summer, which I understand may be an issue with renting. The dates in summer are not set. Usually we go over July 4th week, but DH's vacation time may change, in which we may go in the beginning of August.

[missymouse]

I believe for your family the only real choice (legal according to the POS documents) is to do a 1 bedroom at AKV, the two bedrooms obviously you could stay anywhere. Here is how it would break down this year.

Check In June 29-Check out July 4
POR- Riverside Standard View one room $1120 (room only) ($179 per night)
AKV Savannah View you would need to rent 150 points (30 pts/night)so the break even would be $7.46 per point. It is unlikely you would be able to get points for that amount but if you upped it to $10 that is possible so it would be $1500 but you would get a kitchen, a king size bed in bedroom, jacuzzi, washer and dryer, and a room with a savannah view.


If you want to stay Sun-Sun it would be
POR- Riverside Standard View $1601 (room only) ($179 S-TH nights, $214 F-Sat.)
AKV Savannah View you would need to rent 268 points (30 pts./ night S-Th and 59 pts/night F-Sat.) so at $10 a point it would be $2680 just for the room. Weekends are more expensive for DVC


Now if you wait until after August 16tn and go from Aug. 17-22 or Aug. 17-24 the numbers would be
POR Riverside One room Standard View would be $149 per night) so 5 nights would be $745 and 7 nights would be $1300
AKV Savannah view you would need 130 points ($10/pt would be $1300) or to stay through the weekend it would be an additional 104 points for at total of 234 points ($10 pt. would be $2340).
however if rates for POR go up again for next year all this would change since the number of points needed never changes so the cost at DVC would only change if the going rent goes up. So it might be a break even situation. If you are happy in one room then you should stay at POR if you want more space or would do two rooms at POR or another Moderate you would do better with renting the points.

I also have a family of 5 we did two rooms at CBR because there was no way I was going to be smushed into one hotel room with my three kids with 2 double beds and 1 bathroom. So for me DVC makes sense. We went to Hilton Head last summer and had a 2 bedroom and it was close to ideal. DD16 wasn't thrilled with it because she still had to share a room with her brothers, it was better once DS13 moved into the Living room on the pullout sofa to sleep.

So basically as long as you are happy in one room it wouldn't pay to rent points. You can stay 2 additional nights for the same amount of money. So it is really about comfort level and if you want space or not.

[linanglab]

Do people usually rent for just the 5 days versus the whole week? That would be an option for us. We could do a split stay - Sun through Thurday, then do the rest at either POR or 2 rooms at value. We may not mind paying a bit higher for the 5 days - especially becuase of the kitchen and ESPECIALLY for the laundry facilities.

I was really confused on the DIS because some said that they will allow 5 in ANY 1 bedroom, but they only give bedding for 4. But I do like the idea of AK.

Thanks for your response. This is SOOOO new to me, and it is overwhelming looking at all the options and legalities, etc.

[wilsonfamily4]

I think you can only have 5 in rooms if they are under 3 and can stay in a crib. I think AKL is the only one you could do. I hate that the DISboards search engine never works so I cannot look up some things I want to for you. I will keep looking.

I know we love DVC. Last year my son threw up all over his blanket that he HAS to sleep with. Having a washing machine in our roms was so nice for this. It can also save you money if you eat some meals in.

My husband is the kind that when he takes his vacation he wants to feel relaxed, so this is it for him. I am so thankful because I was talking about staying cheaper this time and he was the one saying NO WAY.

[missymouse]

Do people usually rent for just the 5 days versus the whole week? That would be an option for us. We could do a split stay - Sun through Thurday, then do the rest at either POR or 2 rooms at value. We may not mind paying a bit higher for the 5 days - especially becuase of the kitchen and ESPECIALLY for the laundry facilities.

I was really confused on the DIS because some said that they will allow 5 in ANY 1 bedroom, but they only give bedding for 4. But I do like the idea of AK.

Thanks for your response. This is SOOOO new to me, and it is overwhelming looking at all the options and legalities, etc.

According to DVC the only place that allows 5 in a one bedroom is AKV however they do allow 5 at most DVC one bedrooms but that is always subject to change. So the answer is yes right now you can usually put 5 in any one bedroom but they will not bring cots or bedding for the 5th person. So you would have to bring your own sleeping bag, aerobed, etc. It is thought that as AKV nears completion and has more One bedrooms with the sleeper chair DVC may tighten up on that. It has also been speculated that as they remodel they may add the sleeper chairs to some of the other resorts but that is just speculation at this point. If you want point cost for other resorts I can get those for you. OKW is the least and the largest room size resort. BWV and BCV are the hardest to get because those are the smallest resort. SSR is pretty easy to get and a large resort.

And yes for renting most people rent M-Th and in fact DVC owners tend to do that also. Many owners do the split stay like you are talking about because it is so much more expensive point wise for the weekends.

[missymouse]

Where people say you can save money by renting DVC points is really comparing it to the cost between booking the DVC properties through Disney and renting so same dates

June 29-July 4 this year
AKV Standard View through CRO would be $2785
Renting Points Standard View (assuming $10/pt.) $1250
Renting Points Savannah View(assuming $10/pt.) $1500

[linanglab]

Maybe I will try to break it down a little bit with a split stay. I think to have 2 rooms at value, it will cost us around $2300 (10 nights). We could do 5 nights at DVC and 5 nights 2 rooms at value. DH isn't too keen on switching resorts, however, we would have to regardless because we stay more than a week.

I would like the breakdown of other DVC resorts. However, I really like the thought of AK. It is such a fun resort (we only visited).

And just like Dee said, the laundry facilities is wonderful to have. You never know when you have a sick child OR you could pack a little lighter because you can rewash clothes (or just wear your favorite jean shorts again).

You all are so helpful. Once I get some numbers (fairly rough estimates because of the rate of WHEN I would rent), I can start knowing how much to save for and let the planning begin.

Do you rent ONLY from owners? Or does Disney have something set up through their site?

[wilsonfamily4]

You rent points from owners because if you go through Disney it is at a very high rate. It is like booking a deluxe, spendy. It is a gamble on renting points though because it is the owners points. you never talk with anyone but the owner and they could scam you. You could pay and they could change the reservation at any point and you have no power to do anything. But I have done it and am doing it again. I feel really comfortable with the lady I am renting from this time as she has over a 1000 post at the DISboards and gave me ALL her contact info. We talked on the phone and have emailed each other. It feels good. It is a trust game.


WE LOVE SSR. It is also on the cheaper side of points so that is nice. OKW would have the most room in their rooms and is the cheapest as well. It was the first DVC so a bit older. There is a lot of insight at DIS in the dvc section

[linanglab]

Dee - that is what makes me nervous. The trust thing. I don't know if I would be comfortable UNTIL I make it to the resort and am allowed in the room! But the thought of staying "deluxe" at the price I would be paying....that seems wonderful. We are just ready for something other than POR, which means more $$.

I understand about doing my homework. Looking at all the renters and the posts, etc.

The other thing, is that AK is very new, right? Is that even an option to be able to stay there since it is so new? Would it even be available? I have a feeling alot of families of 5 will be jumping on this one. I guess I can start looking in August - if I am staying in July, right? Or September if I am staying in August?

[missymouse]

If I put in 10 nights at the values for this summer it comes to just short of $1265 per room preferred room so 2 rooms would be roughly $2500 .

Next summer it would be safe to assume the cost would be at least $1300 per room or $2600.

Now

Old Key West 1 bedroom is 218 points per week so for $2180 per week or 436 for two weeks ($4380) you could stay at Old Key West. Like I said OKW has the largest rooms and the lowest point cost.

SSR 1 bedroom is 243 per week so 2 weeks would be 486 or $4860

AKV if you could get a standard view would be 225 per week
Savannah view is 268 per week

Beach Club is 270 per week

Boardwalk Villas is 222 week if you can get standard (hard to come by) or 270 per week for Boardwalk or Preferred view.


You can book any DVC through CRO but to rent points you have to go through a DVC member