Saving Money on Disney World Resorts

You may already know that I love to book our rooms in Disney World by renting DVC points. We pay about 30-40% less than directly from Disney (win), stay at our favorite resort (win again), and usually with those savings we can book a bigger room than we normally would.

And in our nap-time days, having a separate room for a sleeping babe was the biggest win of all.

First, what are “DVC” points?

DVC stands for “Disney Vacation Club”. Someone becomes a DVC member when they buy a set amount of points once, and they replenish automatically every year. 

*Before I keep going, I want to mention that when I talk about renting DVC points, this has NOTHING to do with becoming a member yourself!*

Let’s say for example that our friend Sara buys 150 points at Disney’s Polynesian…

This is now her “home resort”, which means she can book the Polynesian room she wants 11 months before she wants to visit. This is an advantage because anyone using points at their NON-home resort has to wait until 7 months before. 

Those 150 points will be replenished every year until 2066. Crazy, I know.

So what happens on a year when Sara starts a new job, gets pregnant, or decides to galavant in Europe all summer?

She wants to get some $$ back by renting out these 150 points she’s not using.

This is the part we care about because it’s going to save us a LOT of money.

Now, not every resort in Disney World is a DVC resort, but they’re going to be the best-of-the-best with the closest locations to the parks and more amenities, better pools, etc.

So, deluxe? Check.

AND it’s going to be cheaper than Disney’s normal rate because Sara already feels like she paid for her points years ago, she just doesn’t want them to go to waste.

Discounted? Check.

How to Rent DVC Points

If you’re thinking “where do I sign”, here’s a quick explanation of how it works.

You need an easy way to find a DVC member that can be matched for

>> the resort you’re looking to stay

>> the dates you want to go

There are a few ways to do this, but the safest, least scammy way is to use a third-party broker. 

You’ll put in a request with your dates, where you want to stay, and in some cases, a small deposit. Depending on the DVC room availability and when you’re looking to book, you could hear back right away or a couple of weeks.

Once you’re “matched”, you sign a contract and the DVC member will book a room in your name.

You get a completely normal Disney Resort reservation number that can be easily linked to your My Disney Experience account.

I’ve used brokers in the past that had a strict no-cancellation policy and you had to pay in full – that was always the downfall.

Now, I love DVC Rental Store because they have a fairly flexible cancellation policy and an awesome payment plan. You can learn more about them here.

So, count me as your DVC friend – this is hands down my favorite way to stay in Disney World aaaand save a little money.

Happy DVC-point-renting!

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