After over a decade of researching renting Disney Vacation Club points, we finally took the plunge! Here is EXACTLY how the booking process went and a step-by-step of the account of renting DVC points through David’s Vacation Club Rentals.
From making the request to choosing an alternate available reservation, the process was surprisingly smooth. Here is everything I wish I’d had a glimpse into to take the unknown out of the booking process involved with renting Disney Vacation Club points.
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If I knew how to adequately write it out, I would start this with a squeal of joy! Maybe, Eeeeeeeeeeee!!! We’re leaving tomorrow and have been looking forward to this trip for quite a while.
What makes this Walt Disney World trip so special when we’ve gone so many times?
This time we’re renting Disney Vacation Club points with David’s Vacation Club Rentals!
If I were to tell you how looooong it took me to pull the trigger on this, you might not believe it. Or, maybe you would, because you might be in the same boat!
Disney World Money Saving Tips We Use!
Renting Disney Vacation Club Points
I first heard about renting Disney Vacation Club points and David’s Vacation Club Rentals back in 2012 or 2013.
That’s about the time this blogging thing started. I always incorporated Disney, and I don’t remember seeing any other DVC rental companies at the time.
After 10-11 years and seeing many others successfully book amazing vacations, I felt pretty confident to finally jump in and try our hand at renting Disney Vacation Club points!
I would be lying if I didn’t say I was still nervous to book.
I didn’t really understand how renting DVC points worked… I was a bit intimidated by the booking process, and I was just generally nervous about how it all would work out.
Check out David’s Vacation Club Rentals! You can find deluxe resorts at moderate prices!
Our EXACT booking process with David’s Vacation Club Rentals
I finally took the plunge back in August and decided to see what we could find for a January trip. We were open on our dates, so I took a chance and went with January 23 – 30 in a studio room at Animal Kingdom Lodges with a savanna view.
I went through the steps of the rental process on the website, and then received an email that read:
We have received your booking request and will await your deposit before proceeding. These are the details you have submitted: [My contact info as well as our resort choice and dates]
Once we secure an exact match, we will forward a confirmation number to you, at which time the balance owing will be due. If your requested resort/rooms/dates are not available you may be presented with alternate resorts/rooms/dates. If you decline any alternate suggestions we provide to you, your deposit will be refunded.
Shortly after, I received a statement for the $105 deposit.
The deposit is held while David’s Vacation Club Rentals does the work of looking to secure your reservation or provide alternate options. It will be applied to your reservation or returned if an agreement can’t be made.
Alternative Options
Within 10 minutes of the previous emails, I can another explaining my original choice was not available. (I had only entered one choice instead of the option of selecting a second choice.)
We have checked with The Disney Vacation Club Member Services for availability at all 11 DVC resorts, for all Studio and One Bedroom villas, with all view types, as your original choice was not available. However, the following selections are still available
Keeping the dates the same, they offered two different rooms at Saratoga Springs in a similar price range, two 1-bedroom options for Animal Kingdom Lodge, and 1 bedroom at the Riviera. However, the most tempting alternative choice was 1-day shorter stay at The Villa’s at Disney’s Grand Floridian in a studio for an amazing $2,772.
Also shared is a link to Dedicated Reservations page to see what is currently available. If none of those options work for you, they let you know they’d be happy to refund your deposit.
Surprise!
Well surprise to me! It’s been so long that I had forgotten I had actually selected the Grand Floridian option. It looks like I took over a day and a half to make this decision and the first email read this…
As requested, I have updated your form to show your choice of The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort Studio – Lake View, for the dates of Jan 24, 2023 – Jan 30, 2023, which is currently available in the inventory of DVC rooms. Verifying room availability is Step 1 of our process.
We are now proceeding with Step 2, which is to search for a Disney Vacation Club Owner who is available to book this reservation for you. These accommodations are not 100% yet.
We aim for a 24-hour turnaround time and we hope to be in touch soon with either the booking confirmation or an update on your request.
If we are successful in securing your stay, then we will send you an email with your confirmation number, including a payment link for you to submit your final payment. Your full payment is due within 24 hours of you receiving your confirmation number, as we are required to pay the DVC Owner for the use of their points.
We then had to go through the process of selecting the right vacation for us because the next email said…
Regrettably the night/s of Jan 26-28, 2023 sold out in the DVC inventory before they could be secured by a DVC owner.
So, it’s interesting! For me – someone who is incredibly indecisive – I actually enjoyed the changes and figuring out what was available to us.
I wasn’t at all put off by the process of renting Disney Vacation Club points. David’s Vacation Club Rentals were so prompt with the emails and I new the decision was in my hands and nothing would proceed if I wasn’t 100% happy.
Disney with Grandparents: A great multi-generation vacation!
Being open with dates helps
At this point, I wasn’t thrilled with the selections at the time I had originally requested. Since I picked that week at random, I wanted to see if there was anything else in the month of January.
I was more interested in having a savannah view at Animal Kingdom Lodge than the exact date or number of days. I let them know my preferences: “We are open to anything from 6-8 days surrounding 1/30 as the kids have off school that day. Does that help open things up? Particularly with Animal Kingdom or Grand Floridian… or really anything with the exception of Saratoga Springs?”
Within minutes, once again, I got a response with an option for Animal Kingdom Studio Standard view or Savanna View January 28- February 3 or 5. I chose the savanna view with a stay until the 5th.
Once again the email that came back that the request was made and they were moving to Step 2, which is to search for a Disney Vacation Club Owner who is available to book this reservation for you.
Renting Disney Vacation Club Points – Success!
It took about 24 hours and our reservation was secured!
We ended up with Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas Studio – Savanna View January 28 – February 5. The reservation required 136 points, and our total was $2751 + the $105 deposit. Amazing!
This is where things got a little tricky for me – or I made it more difficult than necessary… At the bottom of the email I saw this
Please note: Our operations are in Canada and some U.S. credit card issuers have been charging their customers a Cross Border Transaction fee. We recommend always checking with your card issuer for their current policy.
So, I messed around with PayPal trying to transfer money so I wouldn’t be charged extra, but the timing got all messed up and I had to wait.
It is a bit of a rush to get payment since they’re dealing with the DVC owner and they want to be paid.
So, I rushed a little bit and didn’t end up waiting for the money to transfer. Even doing it through PayPal, it took the payment from my credit card and ended up taking on about $80 for purchasing out of the country. So, that was a bummer! I’m sure there are better ways around that…
Surprise Disney Vacation – the reveal!
After renting Disney Vacation Club points
I was most surprised by how easy it was after renting the Disney Vacation Club points!
Once I had my reservation number, I was able to go into My Disney Experience and add it under reservations. Up popped our stay!
Everything is in your name, completely linked to you, and ready to go once you rent your DVC points!
It’s all yours! You aren’t connected with and don’t have to feel like a “guest” of the DVC members who sold you the points. It’s just like booking any vacation with Disney.
David’s Vacation Club Rentals
I can’t say enough how wonderful the staff from David’s Vacation Club Rentals was! They made the process of renting Disney Vacation Club points feel like there was someone out there looking out for us. They were so helpful and unbelievably quick!
I hope you found this glimpse into the process of renting Disney Vacation Club points with David’s Vacation Rental helpful!
Our booking went so well and I was thrilled with the plans we ended up with. I reached out to David’s Vacation Club Rentals to join their affiliate program because I was so excited to share. If you’re interested in this option please use this link and feel free to reach out to me if you need help!! I’m so happy to share more about the process!
