Offsite vs Onsite Non-Disney Hotel vs DVC Rental

Walt Disney World Accommodations
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To answer your question about DVC rentals, I don’t typically see them getting cheaper as you get closer, because they specifically make a reservation for you. HOWEVER, often they have booked reservations, that, for some reason need to be used… those may get cheaper as you get closer. So check for those.

Inside of 7 months is typically the cheapest for renting points, but availability can be more difficult. I have rented points many times and usually been happy with it. It is typically a lot cheaper than getting a deluxe hotel room (for sure at rack rate - but even sometimes in comparison to available discounts). There are drawbacks, too (especially around cancellation policies) so read the fine print carefully.

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I rent DVC personally and love it. If you’re flexible, willing to potentially switch hotels you can get really good deals last minute by renting someone’s else’s points (guaranteed reservations). I once got BWV for $180/night but I think that day is long gone.

If you’re willing to take that risk, you can book something else that is cancellable and then check daily for guaranteed reservations on the three main site, David’s, dvcrequest and dvcshop. I’ve used all three and never had a problem with a one of em.

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Would someone do a DVC Rental post for Dummy’s? :rofl:

I’m so tempted to do this for our trip (not until next year). I don’t know that I understand any drawbacks or gotchas. I looked at David’s, and it looks very simple.

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The main drawback is that there is usually no cancelation allowed. Each place is a little different, but the cancellation policies, broadly, suck.

So, if I am renting points for a trip I am 98% or more likely to take… I just rent it and go.

If I am renting points for a trip with less than 98% likelihood - or if it is a LONG way off in the future, I buy a private trip insurance police. see insuremytrip.com

It usually costs me between 150 and 200 for a policy and provides me some peace of mind.

SOme of the rental comapnies offer their own insurance, but the last time I checked they were more expensive and not as generous as the policies you can get privately.

Mostly, that is the only drawback!

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It’s pretty straightforward. Just pick your broker, read the instructions on their site, and submit a request at the earliest date you are allowed to.

What questions do you have about the process?

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Also make sure to check out @JJT ’s awesome work to find those great DVC deals- DVC Rental Deals New Blog Post & Reference Page

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I’m completely hijacking this thread (apologies, but hopefully some of that helps you too).

I don’t think I have enough info to ask questions yet, but I’m sure I will!!

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Thank you very much–that makes sense.

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Another way to rent points is if you know someone you can trust who has points to rent out, but doesn’t use a broker such as David’s. This is how I rented points. The advantage isn’t necessarily cheaper price, but that the money you are paying goes fully to the one renting out the points. You also might be able to easily work out scenarios where, say, you have to move your trip (within their same use year). And if their home resort happens to match where you want to stay, you can get that 11 month booking advantage.

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Thanks! I just refreshed that page this morning and have a blog post on some Grand Flor studio deals in August posting on the blog in 2 nanoseconds.

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I don’t know how your family would define relaxing…

Beds - For my family, it is not a relaxing vacation when the kids can’t sleep well because that translates to bad attitudes during the days. By the time they were 10ish (now DD24 and DS22), they had a hard time sleeping on a sofa bed. So, when looking for vacation rentals, we always looked for ones that sleep at less 5, even though there is only 4 of us. Entering 4 tends to give us 1 bed and a sofa bed. So, a relaxing vacation means that everyone needs to sleep in a bed!

Space and Bathrooms - Last year, we got to stay in a couple of vacation rentals where each kid had their own room! It was relaxing to have the space! Hotel rooms are small, many without couches. And having more than one bathroom is so, so nice! It’s a time saver and we all have better attitudes when we can use the bathroom when needed!

Park Days - A WDW vacation is not necessarily “relaxing”. I know; DH and I just came home from an 8-night one on Sunday. RDing to nearly closing the park is tiring. And all that walking! :tired_face: And you will have humidity in July! If you take an afternoon break, staying onsite could be convenient.

Saving money at Disney is a big topic. Everything is pricey!

Food is expensive. Does your family need a hot breakfast everyday? Or can they do bars and other packaged items? Factor this into your housing.

I know families who bring their own sandwiches for lunch and dinner for their entire Disney trip. My family wouldn’t say it is relaxing to be eating a sandwich on the bench with other guests watching them. But we have done a few brown bagged lunches to save some money for TS dinners.

So, do factor in the food and snack costs because they add up really fast for a family at WDW! You can find prices on the menu. And offsite food is a whole lot cheaper! We had this Cuban Roast Pork with 3 sides for $12 before tax! It was enough food for two of us.

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It is very possible to rent an offsite vacation rental, rent a car, and rent a room onsite for 5 people for a night (to get the Disney perks for arrival and departure days) for close to the same price as staying at an onsite resort once you add up all the projected costs. Some Liners here have elaborate spreadsheets to budget!

In 3 trips to WDW, we stayed onsite once; at a good neighbor hotel once, using lyft and hotel shuttle; and offsite once, renting a car and renting a room for once night.

Do consider your family’s overall vacations needs, touring style, and budget together before you decide. Have a magical, relaxing vacation!

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My main question is: do you think you will all stick together at all times? Will your older kidt want to stay in/sleep in/stay later. How will you all get around? On Disney property, it might be easier as the shuttles are safe and constantly running, but off-site it’s harder.

How many nights/park days are you planning? If you are planning 4days/4 nights, for example, I would stay onsite as to maximize park time. If you are doing 7 nights/5 days, than offsite sounds like a good plan and plenty of time to rest.

Last suggestion: could you book two cheaper hotel rooms, next to each other? That way everyone would get a bed, more space and two bathrooms. Depending on the DVC price/discounts on value rooms, it might be around the same price.

I just stayed in a studio DVC and I loved it, but I don’t think I would do it with three teenagers. It was fine with my baby and toddler, but my husband literally went to bed at the same time as them so everyone would be rested.

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Thank you! I know very little about DVC rentals so the barely-existent cancellation policy is good to know.
Now that you mention it, now i do remember disney hotels holding various activities for the kiddies - it’s been a few years and i’m old :laughing:

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So here’s the weird thing…
i’ve done the house rental off-site before - nice house, pool, game room, etc; problem was, trying to save money by stocking the house with food and cooking/heating it up, was too much like home. That is when i realized, that when i’m on vacation, i don’t want to go grocery shopping, cook, nor clean up a kitchen - i don’t want any remnants of my real life :laughing With that said, that was my 1st time staying off site and i think i really missed the convenience of “the bubble.”
Hence, this time around, i’m wondering if it was really the convenience of a hotel (restaurant in hotel or close, room service) will make me feel differently about the experience. So Floridays isn’t as far down on the list as i made it seem. LOL

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Our Doubletree experience is from July 2018. We had spent several nights in a room at Caribbean Beach with the single Murphy bed and two queen beds. We were two brothers,13 and 9, me, my sister and her 13 yo grandkid who claimed the Murphy bed. That Murphy bed is advertised as a kid bed. A slightly built petite adult would find this bed big enough. And comfy to sleep on.
We spent the last part of our trip in a suite at the Doubletree which was beyond spacious. Huge main room with lots of space for a large table, sleeper couch which the boys slept on, and a large bedroom with 2 queen beds. Only one bathroom. There was a sink in the kitchen area.
I don’t recall the kitchen at all other than the sink. There probably was a coffee maker and a microwave. Pretty sure the fridge was under counter. Tho spacious the room was quite plain. The storage was not enough for us.
When we were there - 3 days - we had different bus experiences every time. Unreliable. At the parks, the bus stops are not as handy as Disney bus stops. More walking and not covered. We took a Disney bus to Disney Springs from Epcot one night after growing tired of waiting for our bus and walked to the Doubletree. Probably about a 15 minute walk if you’re not exhausted or out of shape. The one in-house restaurant was more like a counter service. On a Friday night at 6 pm we were the only guests there. We were on the 2nd floor. The laundry was in the 4th floor. We had a car and noticed that the guest parking lot was small. We paid for valet parking to let them figure out where to park.

We have stayed a few times in DVC. The queen size Murphy bed is quite comfy - it’s my favorite sleeping surface. The single Murphy bed is like the one at Caribbean Beach room. There’s still only one bathroom, with an extra sink. Not much storage. We like and rely on the bus service. When we’ve had older teens they like the extra options having the bus service affords them. We like having more food service options provided by DVC resorts (compared to Doubletree) because sometimes plans change.

We stayed vrbo in 2017 that was advertised as 15 to 20 minutes from the parks. Since we were trying to to get to the parks when the locals were trying to get to work, our drive to the parks was more than 30 minutes. One traffic light was so slow.

You can have a fun memorable trip at any of your choices if you’re comfortable with your budget and bring plenty of patience and perspective.

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Blockquote Ubering a lot of the time (which is also a good option if you don’t want to rent a car and don’t need multiple car seats)

Is ubering everywhere truly a viable option? (never done it so not sure how convenient it really is)
I’m wondering if the inconvenience of it would outweigh the money I’d saved by not renting a vehicle?

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Never rented a car via costco before - how does that work?

ALL advice is very much welcomed and much appreciated!
Regarding sleeping arrangements, usually what we do is put the girls in the bed together and then my son would take the sofa bed or rollaway bed.

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I’ve found it to work really well around WDW, although I prefer Lyft slightly.

Technically, all 4 of you can fit in a standard, but it will be very tight with bags. If Standard, you’re looking at $40-50 each direction from/to MCO and $10-20 each ride to/from a park from a nearby offsite hotel. If XL for extra space, might be like 20-50% extra for each ride. Add up and compare to car rental, or if the freedom and flexibility of a car rental wins out regardless.

I’ve also never waited more than about 15 min for any ride.

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URRGHHHH - this is so difficult!
In the past we went hard when going to the parks - rope dropping & staying until close - so hotel rooms got very little use. However that was usually because we went with people who had never been. This is the 1st time it will just be my immediate family and therefore, looking for a trip more slow-paced than what we did in the past, which means more time in the room.

I definitely remember being annoyed at how long it took to go back to the house when staying off-site and maybe i’m unrealistically expecting i’ll feel differently this time around. As i type, i think i was leaning toward onsite, non-disney but, now that you mention space… I would have to pay double the Floriday price in order to get the same space at the Doubletree. But, then again, it would probably even out as i would need a rental car if staying at Floriday… decisions, decisions

And, i haven’t even heard about Flamingo Crossing - will look into it. Thanks!

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It’s very convenient but it costs a bit more than a rental car. It’s worth pricing out to see how often you’d use an Uber vs cost of a rental car - it really depends on how many trips back and forth you take, and how much you value time vs. money. If you’re really on a budget, using complimentary shuttles isn’t horrible.

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