Introduction

Our purpose from day one with DisneyMomandDad.com has been to help people better enjoy their Disneyland vacations and to share with our readers some of the lessons we have learned along the way. Really those things we wish we would have known before our first trip, those are the things we hope to share with you before your next trip. One topic that fits squarely in that realm of advice is the experience and understanding we have developed in connection with the Disney Vacation Club. And its not the purchase of the membership in DVC that we wish we would have known before our first trip, but rather it is the understanding of the DVC generally, and how we could have taken advantage of the system to “rent” DVC points and save thousands of dollars for better rooms during our early vacations.

The bottom line and the most important message in Part 2 of this series is that by renting points from a DVC owner, you may be able to stay at DVC resorts such as the Grand Californian for a fraction of what it would cost to book the room directly through Disney. 

The purpose of this two part post on DVC is to help you understand how to do just that. In this Part 1 we’re going to explain some of the basics of DVC so you have a better understanding of the DVC point system and what it is you are actually renting (and why a rental market exists). In Part 2 we go into the specifics on researching the costs, deciding on a room, and connecting with an owner to rent the points for your vacation. This two part series is what we call “Disney mom and dad’s DVC 101”. We do not deep dive into DVC purchase and ownership specifics, but have information and feedback we’d be happy to share if you reach out to us.

Our DVC Story

We bought into DVC in 2017, mostly because after running the numbers we decided that the DVC membership would result in cost savings for our vacation plans in the future (and we didn’t know that renting DVC points was even an option at that time).  Our youngest had just been born, and now, with three little ones plus the two of us and regular helpers traveling with us (either grandparents or aunts and uncles), we had outgrown the ability to stay in one hotel room, and were now looking at the budget increase related to booking two hotel rooms for every trip.  Our trips up to that point had been at the Grand Californian, and we had stayed in both the standard rooms and at the concierge level, so we knew that doubling the cost of the accommodations by booking two rooms instead of just one was going to be difficult financially.  We did the calculations and discussed how often we wanted to come back to Disneyland. After agreeing on our goals we decided that either we needed to change our plans (by changing the way we vacation and losing the conveniences and amenities of the Grand Californian, or going less frequently than once per year) or we needed to find a way to do achieve our plans in a more affordable manner.  The result was a decision to purchase our first DVC membership at the Grand Californian.

What is DVC?

Technically, DVC is an interest in real estate that is purchased from Disney.  Disney builds a hotel-type structure for the purpose of selling these real estate interests, or in some cases adds on to or converts an existing hotel into rooms that can be sold off by means of these real estate interests.  When a person buys a vacation club membership they actually receive a deed that says they are the owner of some incredibly small percentage of the building.  From a practical standpoint, there is no real significance of the real estate ownership and the percentage shown in the deed.  What is important from a practical standpoint, on the other hand, is that each owner receives an annual allotment of points with their membership that they can use to book rooms at DVC resorts and potentially other locations.

The Points System

When thinking of a timeshare, we often think of a dedicated week or a week during a particular season at a specific location or resort.  DVC is a points-based system, so instead of buying a week an owner buys a number of points that can be usede in any number of different ways.  An owner can use 100 points to book a week in a studio one year, and then use that same 100 points to book three nights in a 2 bedroom villa the next year.  They can reserve a room for a one night stay or a ten night stay if they have the points to do so.  The nightly point per room cost varies (a) from one resort to another; (b) based on room type (studio, 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom grand villa or in some cases a specialty room like the treehouses, bungalows or cabins at the WDW resorts); (c) the time of year; (d) the day of the week (Sun-Thurs. or Fri/Sat); and (e) other distinctions between rooms of the same type (such as preferred vs. standard views). 

Each contract has a particular 12 month period to use their allocated points (called a “Use Year”), unless you bank those points which is discussed below.  For example, if an owner purchased 100 points with a June Use Year, they would get 100 points deposited into their Vacation Account each June to be used within the 12 months of deposit.  Owners do have the ability to bank and borrow points one year in each direction.  That is, if they aren’t going to use their points for a particular Use Year (12 month period), they can bank that year’s points so that they can use them during the following 12 months by providing Disney with notice a few months in advance of the end of their Use Year.  Note that points can’t be banked multiple times into future use years (2020 points can be banked to be used in 2021, but those 2020 points cannot be banked again to be used in 2022). The inability of an owner to bank points (either because they missed the deadline to bank points or they have already banked the points in question) is a major reason that points are available to rent. Owners are faced with the choice of renting their points so they can be used before they expire, or losing the points for that year and getting nothing in return.

Annual Dues

The DVC Resorts

Before we get into the specifics of actually renting points in Part 2, we want to point out that the concepts we describe are applicable at all of the DVC Resorts, not just the Grand Californian. In fact, if you’re looking to plan a trip to Walt Disney World you’ll likely find it much easier to rent points at cheaper costs, as there are so many more available DVC rooms surrounding WDW. Overall, there are currently 15 DVC Resorts, including 11 locations in Orlando: Old Key West Resort, Boardwalk Villas, Beach Club Villas, Boulder Village Villas at Wilderness Lodge, Bay Lake Tower at the Contemporary Resort, Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa, Animal Kingdom Villas, Villas at the Grand Floridian, the Polynesian Villas and Bungalows, Copper Creek Villas & Cabins and Riviera Resort.  There are also four DVC properties outside of Orlando, including Vero Beach Resort (VB) in Florida, Hilton Head Island Resort (HHI) in South Carolina, Aulani Vacation Club Villas (AUL) in Hawaii, and the Villas at the Grand Californian (VGC), which is currently the only DVC at or near Disneyland and California Adventure. Another resort named Reflections– a Disney Lakeside Lodge is planned in Orlando, to open in 2022. In addition, Disney has filed for permits with the city of Anaheim to build a new DVC tower next to the Disneyland Hotel. 

One item to note is that each owner of points owns their points at a specific resort (or sometimes resorts if they have purchased multiple allocations). So if an owner purchased points at the Grand Californian, the Grand is considered their “home resort.” THis is important in understanding the DVC point system because every owner has what is called a home resort priority booking window of 4 months at their home resort. All owners can book at any DVC resort within 7 months of the beginning of the reservation, but owners get to book at their home resort 11 months prior to the reservation. So, for example, if an owner wants to book at their home resort for a vacation starting on December 1, 2020, they can book that reservation on January 1, 2020. IF the reservation is at a DVC resort that isn’t their home resort, they can’t book the reservation until May 1, 2020. Besides being able to have the reservation booked earlier, the primary reason to understand and take advantage of the home resort priority is to get a preferred room before they sell out. Sometimes certain room types or certain resorts will be completely booked by the time the 7 month window begins, so the home resort booking priority may be the only way to get a reservation at that resort or for that room. This will be applicable to your understanding of the point rental process described in Part 2 of this post, because if you are looking to rent for a specific date at a specific resort, that reservation may only be able during the home resort priority booking window, meaning you need to rent from an owner who owns points at that resort.

Each resort has unique benefits (and drawbacks).  A resort may be close to a certain park, it may have more spacious rooms or additional bathrooms, or it may just be cheaper (in points) to book a room at one resort vs. another.  What they all have in common however is that the accommodations and service are widely regarded as deluxe level and will give you the benefits and experiences of staying on property.  In Part 2 we’ll get into the details of renting DVC points. 

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