For the past five years, I’ve had the privilege of being the Disney Vacation Club (DVC) expert at Theme Park Tourist. A kind and brilliant man asked me to fill this niche, and I’ve done my best to make him proud. Something I recently realized, however, is that I’ve failed in a fundamental way. I’ve always assumed some knowledge that many readers don’t have. I plan to correct that right now. Here’s everything you need to know about an actual Disney hotel stay using DVC points.
How to Get Points
Image: DisneyYou have two main options to get DVC points. The most obvious way is to join the Disney Vacation Club. Whether you buy directly through The Walt Disney Company or via resales, you’ll receive a set number of annual points. You will exchange these points for a hotel stay at participating Disney resorts. Generally, these hotels are the nicest ones at the various theme parks and will make you feel like an elite theme park tourist during your stay.
The debate about resales purchase vs. buying through Disney comes down to cost versus amenities. Disney sometimes changes their rules to enhance the perception that you get more through them. Your potential financial savings through resale purchase is in the thousands of dollars, though. You must decide which purchase is most sensible for your family.
Either way, Disney will load your account with points at the start of your Use Year. They’re the magical currency that enables you with a free hotel at Disney during your visits. The downside is that you’re committing a lot of capital.
Image: DisneyThe second choice is to rent DVC points. Even as a DVC member, I’ve employed this tactic several times before. It’s convenient, and there are several reliable vendors for DVC points rental. David’s Vacation Club Rentals and DVC-Rental are occasional contributors to my DVC Roundtables and have glowing reviews (note: neither Theme Park Tourist nor I receive any compensation from anyone listed here, including Disney).
When you rent points, you’re making a one-time investment for a specific trip. It’s similar to booking a regular Disney vacation, only you’ll get to stay at a Deluxe Tier resort for Moderate Tier pricing. As always, there’s a caveat emptor factor. Some points rental purchases go wrong, especially ones involving individuals rather than businesses. Please do plenty of research before spending your hard-earned money.
How to book a DVC room
Image: DisneyHow you book your room depends on which method you chose. Customers who rent points will mostly leave the process up to someone else. You’ll pick your dates and hotel. Then, someone else will do all the legwork. It’s great for people who don’t want the stress of booking hotel reservations. Anyone who wants some control of the process will find it a bit frustrating, though.
Booking via your own DVC points is much different. If anything, you’ll have too much control. You’ll go into the official Disney Vacation Club website and choose the Book Online section. From there, the process is fairly self-explanatory.
You do need enough points in your account to book the reservation. Thanks to the lenient system in place, however, you may borrow from the following Use Year as needed to schedule your trip. I realize that’s a lot of jargon, so here’s what matters. As long as you purchase a decent-sized contract (say 75 points or more), you can always spend a week at a Disney resort at least once every two years.
Image: DisneyBooking a hotel room does depend on availability, of course. DVC is just like a standard hotel stay in this way. You’ll find that the most popular resorts book the quickest. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is particularly tricky since it has only a little over 100 DVC rooms available. Properties like Disney’s Old Key West Resort and Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa are much easier to book since they have the most extensive inventories at Walt Disney World. No matter where you stay, however, every resort in the DVC catalog is impeccable. You’ll feel like royalty the first time you visit one of these hotels.
You may wonder how you address the rest of your Disney trip. You’ll be responsible for purchasing tickets. It’s important to point out that DVC members frequently receive ticket and annual pass discount offers. They’re also eligible for the Disney Gold Pass, something otherwise open only to Florida residents. It’s one of the cheapest annual passes and not significantly more than seven- to ten-day tickets.
Image: DisneySomething I like about the DVC booking process is that it separates purchases. I love having the flexibility to discover admission tickets at other outlets. Most standard Disney bookings require packages. Speaking of which, you CAN buy the Disney Dining Plan for a DVC vacation. I mention this because a non-DVC booking would force you to get a package deal. You can segment your purchases as a DVC member. I quite like that extra amount of control. It lets me price shop, although I’ve generally found that booking everything through DVC winds up cheapest.
A DVC hotel stay
Image: DisneyYou’re probably wondering what’s different about a DVC hotel stay as opposed to a regular one. The honest answer is, “not much.” I’ll start with the one oddity of a DVC reservation. You won’t get trash service or room cleaning each day. Why? While Disney is unwilling to describe DVC as a timeshare service, it’s modeled after that style of vacation. We’re talking about a business model predicated on extended stays. Timeshare companies don’t want to pay extra cleaning fees, so they limit such services.
Disney’s quite generous compared to major timeshares. They provide room cleaning and trash pickup every fourth day. The only inconvenience involves towels. Large families may run low and be forced to re-use towels. Anyone who does that at home anyway won’t care. For some, it is a trifle annoying, and I fall into this camp. You do have the right to pay for an extra room cleaning and/or trash pickup for a modest fee.
Image: DisneyBeyond the towel and trash situation, your hotel stay is identical to one that you booked as a regular Disney guest. You’ll get your Magic Bands in the mail, you’ll have access to Magical Express, and you can skip the hotel lobby if so inclined. Your Magic Bands will unlock your room and already have your payment method tethered to them.
In fact, the positives of a DVC stay outweigh the negatives around the cleaning service. DVC rooms are significantly larger than standard hotel rooms. Even the “smallest” DVC studios are 339 square feet. The most generous design of Moderate Tier resorts, Disney’s Port Orleans French Quarter, is 314 square feet. A studio at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort maxes out at 465 square feet. It’s 48 percent larger than the most expansive Moderate hotel room. That space gives you a chance to stretch out and relax a lot more.
DVC studios also come standard with kitchenette features. They have microwaves, coffeemakers, toasters, dishwashers, kitchen sinks, glasses, and plate ware. DVC one-bedroom villas come standard with a full kitchen. An oven, refrigerator, and stove are all available. When you book one of these rooms, you can theoretically save money by cooking meals yourself…although I suspect this is more of an urban legend rather than something a lot of people do.
Image: DisneyAll other parts of your DVC hotel stay are similar but superior to a regular Disney visit. You’ll get all of the phenomenal amenities, but they’ll be a bit better. Disney has crafted its Deluxe Tier resort features to justify charging significantly more to stay there. You’ll get all of the benefits without the extravagant nightly costs.
The cheapest Deluxe Tier rooms start at $375, with most costing $500 or more nightly. For a six-night stay, you’re looking at a cost of $2,000 (plus tax) or higher, usually north of $3,000. A DVC room has no sales tax since you’re paying with points. The only cost is your contract purchase plus your annual maintenance fees. Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a lot of money, but the value is certainly there as well.
Image: DisneyYou can research the three phases mentioned here – getting points, booking rooms, and DVC hotel stays – to decide whether it’s right for you. On a personal level, what I regularly recommend to friends is that they rent points the first trip. It’s a kind of trial run to see whether the DVC lifestyle works for them. If/when they love it, I then explain the pros and cons of direct/resales purchase and let them decide for themselves. The one thing that I can say with confidence about a DVC hotel stay is that it’s a marvelous home base during a vacation.
