DVC Rentals vs. Rack Rates vs. Seasonal Discounts

#1

Ok folks, I couldn’t help myself. I had a pre-existing DVC rental for BCV’s for 7 nights of my May/June trip, but had 3 nights unaccounted for, so I booked 2 nights at AKL and 1 night at Contempo through Undercover Tourist. (2 regular rooms)

Then I was looking at the David’s cost calculator and realized I could save $1,000 (roughly 1/3rd of the total) by renting through David’s (2 BR suites) AND I got better accommodations with upgraded view. I know with COVID this was a risky move, but I was choosing between 100% chance of paying $1,000 more than I needed to vs. a ???% chance of losing the whole $2,500. (I do have trip insurance that supposedly covers COVID, but I’m not relying on that.)

Please help me feel reassured that I made the right decision, even if you don’t think I did. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

#2

Do numbers ever lie?

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#3

You totally made the right decision! It’s gambling, but this seems like a pretty safe gamble. May/June should be lovely

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#4

The other thing I was going to mention with this is that I am ~5-6 months until my trip and the accommodations were all available. I think this is unusual because David’s recommends 11 months and 8 months in advance for the two room types I requested.

#5

Right move, I have used David’s at least a dozen times to add on days to a trip that i am using points on. And yes there seems to be more available than usual. I just booked a Std View Studio for 2 nights at BLT for the first week in January.

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#6

I feel a little better knowing that my money is going to individual owners and a small business rather than directly to Disney. Even though the owners bought from Disney, their short term finances are strained by the pandemic and the inability to travel. Even if I can’t go I will feel better knowing that those owners are covered.

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#7

OK I might be misunderstanding your post but are you saying David’s offered trip insurance that covered COVID?

They didn’t when I checked in the spring.
And cautioned that there would be no credit or any rescheduling or anything. It’d be 100% loss.

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#8

No, I bought trip insurance through a separate broker. It said specifically that it covered COVID but I’m skeptical how that would work in practice.

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#9

I’d say the biggest risk now would be if YOU PERSONALLY (or anyone in your traveling party) came down with something (such as COVID) which would prevent you from going.

For us, since we were also a DVC rental, I knew we really couldn’t cancel without being out the money, so we we found ourselves been VERY strict about who we were in contact with over the few weeks leading up to our trip! Especially which numbers of Michigan were hitting levels worse than Florida had seen at their worst!

But booking DVC rental certainly allowed us a much nicer stay for longer at a cheaper price! So I don’t regret the decision.

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#10

Excellent point

#11

I also did this because it was also a HUGE savings for me just for the BWV Garden/Pool View Studio than booking something through WDW. HUGE savings. Worth the risk and I used a credit card with trip insurance (Barclays) that we have had to file a claim before and it worked. My husband broke his foot on the Abel Tasman trail in New Zealand days before we did the very expensive Milford Sound Guided Hike. We were able to recoup his portion and the rest of us left him alone in a hotel in Queenstown, NZ (I mean there are worse places we could have left him!) and went. At least for us, the insurance worked and was valuable so I’m trusting it again. :slight_smile: I am noticing that some of the DVC rentals have filled up in the last 6 weeks for studios. I think not much left in that area; I’m glad we got them when we did…and maybe we’ll bump into each other if you’re at Beach Club. We’ll be there May 28-Jun 9.

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#12

We will be at BCV May 28th - June 4th!

I’m hoping we get the vaccine before we go. :crossed_fingers: But I do suspect things will look a lot better by then, even if we personally haven’t gotten vaccinated yet.

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#13

Well, you just convinced me to go buy travel insurance for my January trip. Mostly just worried about contracting COVID and not being able to go! Since it’s just me and I only covered the DVC rentals that non-refundable, it was really cheap. I hope I regret buying it. :wink::joy: But I figure this is the only sure way to ensure I won’t need it.

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#14

Murphy’s Law for sure! :joy:

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#15

It’s like carrying an umbrella on a walk so that it won’t rain. Works (almost) every time!

I did buy the insurance from TinLeg or Tin something, which Forbes said had the best Coronavirus coverage!

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#16

I thought when you said you got an upgraded view you were staying at AKL. There aren’t different room categories at BCV, so I don’t see how you can have got an “upgraded view”. :thinking:

Other than that, I think it was worth the risk!

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#17

I think the upgraded view was for the add-on nights at AKL and CR.

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#18

The upgraded view was Contemporary - 1 night Theme Park view. The upgrade for AKL was 2 suites to 2 BR.

(I actually have three reservations: 2 nights AKL - Jambo, 7 nights BCV, 1 night Contempo Theme Park View - all 2 BR villas.)

#19

Now I’m confused.

You had BCV already. Then added 2 nights at AKL (2 reg rooms) and 1 night at Contemporary (in a suite?)

And upgraded to a 2-bed at AKL and saved $1000?

I think I’ve mis-understood lol! Did you maybe rent a 2-bed at Bay Lake instead of a suite or 2 rooms at Contemporary?

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#20

Sorry it is confusing! I’ll lay it out for you:

Original Reservations:

  • 2 nights AKL - Kidani 2 suites standard view (UT)
  • 7 nights BCV 2 BR standard view (DVC)
  • 1 night Contemporary 2 suites standard view (UT)

Revised Reservations:

  • 2 nights AKL - Jambo House 2 BR Villa standard view (DVC)
  • No change to BCV (DVC)
  • 1 night Bay Lake Tower 2 BR Villa Theme Park View (DVC)
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