Great report! So when do you head back??
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I haven’t been on in awhile and I’ve been reading trip reports the past few days. I don’t think we will be going on our April trip and I am super depressed about it. However your resort trip has inspired me to plan out our next trip and do a split stay so thank you! Also thanks for the slide opinions and video!
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That’s a tough question. I love OKW for the vacation vibe it gives you with all the palm trees and the neutral color scheme. The proximity to DS is a bonus. But I like the seclusion of CSR. It’s almost like you’re on an island with the parking lot and buses behind the buildings on the outside perimeter. Once you step inside the circle of the resort, everything else seems to disappear. There’s no streets, no buses, everyone’s just walking, jogging and even the cast members are on bikes traveling here and there. It’s just peaceful. So yeah, CSR gets the edge
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Good question… I’ve been to Disney every month but March so maybe then. My bucket list is to stay at each one of the resorts at least once. If my calculations are correct there are 22 (including Swan and Dolphin). I’ve stayed in 12 so far. So depending on what’s open/available in March I may shoot for then.
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I like your goals and hope to also stay at all the resorts. I’ve got 9 to go
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Thanks for giving me hope! I have never rented points before. I have read people doing this but don’t know how this is done. Can you give me specifics on this please? We usually stay off WDW due to the cost but maybe we can swing some time there this year!
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There’s a couple of ways to rent points. Through a broker like David’s or DVC rental. Or through a private party. I’ve used both without a hitch. Going through a broker will generally cost a bit more unless you book last minute and get a dedicated reservation someone else has cancelled. Booking through a broker in advance is generally about $19 a point. So for example, 1 night at OKW is 10 points. @ $19 a point that’s $190 a night. That’s a studio with a kitchenette for less than what an average moderate without a kitchenette will cost you.
Through a private party you can generally find a lower price per point. I’ve rented points anywhere from $8 up to $16 a point. I’ve had most success renting points from Liners right here on this site. I just made a post saying I’m looking to rent points. I’ve used 2 other forums as well, Dis Board and MouseOwners. I signed up through their forums and searched for the sections on renting points and did the same thing (made a post inquiring about renting points) through Dis boards you have to make a minimum of 10 posts before you can use the Private Message feature to communicate directly with other members. You can make them quickly and they have instructions laid out. Through MouseOwners you have to sign up using a Gmail or other non MSN email address. I have a Hotmail email address so I had to create a Gmail account specifically for that. Not a major issue. Then I had to wait about 24 -48 hours before I could use the Private Message function. No minimum posts.
Once browsing through either of the 2 forums you can also view posts from DVC point owners who are looking to rent out their points. Some will post saying they have x amount of points to rent @ $14 a point, another will say they have x amount @ $12, etc… They will have expiration dates of when the points will need to be rented. Generally, the closer it gets to the expiration date the lower the cost per point because the owner does not want to lose them. They’d rather get something for them. From there you just PM that person and start a conversation.
There is risk involved. I’ve never been burnt by a scam but it’s something you need to keep in mind. I never respond to owners who have just joined the forum recently (I look for their join date), I don’t respond to owners who have only a few posts. Generally I’m looking for experienced members on the forum who’ve rented points before. You can ask for references and do title searches to make sure they’re actual DVC members but to be honest I’ve never had to go that far.
Also, most owners will provide a contract. Be sure to ask them if the reservation needs to be cancelled what the options are. Depending on the expiration dates some may be willing to work with you if you need to cancel. But the rule of thumb is these rentals are sort of final and you may want to look into some kind of 3rd party insurance in case you need to cancel. I’ve personally never had to do this and if I think it’s possible I’ll need to cancel I just don’t book at that time. I’ll wait til I’m 100% sure then book. Sometimes that means the exact resorts I want are not available or I may have to pay a little more per point but I’d rather do that then be out of my money.
This works great for split stays which is my specialty. Because you can generally find 1 or 2 nights here and 1 or 2 nights there and book them through the same owner. On my last trip we were arriving late so I booked 1 night off-site through Priceline @ a Wyndham Resort on I-drive for $75. For the 2nd night I booked CSR directly through Disney via the Disney Visa discount for $125 a night, then I rented points through a liner here on the forum for a Villa @ GF and the next night at the Poly through the same liner. Both nights cost me about $225 per night ($450 total) again for a studio with a kitchenette. That’s generally cheaper than staying at POR or FQ in a standard room. The last night we rented 8 points through a private party I found on DisBoards for $12 a point. So that studio cost me $96. In the end we flew down for free on points I have through Southwest and we spent appx $750 for 5 nights accomodations and we stayed at some pretty nice resorts. On average we spent about $150 a night for the 5 nights.
If you want see what’s available at the DVC resorts for specific dates use this link:
https://tools.dvcvacations.com/points-calculator
It’s subject to change based on bookings but they update it twice a day I believe. If there’s any other questions feel free to PM me or just post here. It may help others who are interested as well.
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I use that same tool Olafsdad mentioned for seeing what’s available when I want to go but I’ve only booked through David’s DVC Reservation Request Form | David's Vacation Club Rentals or https://dvcrentalstore.com/
I’ve worked with both with no problems. You’ll pay more than working directly with a member but it’s more secure since they do the verifying of the DVC owners for you so I prefer that. You cannot cancel as Olafsdad mentioned so be sure and/or get insurance. But yes you can stay in Deluxe accommodations for the price of value or moderate depending on when you go. There is also a tool for seeing when rooms cost less points so if you can go when rooms cost less points you’ll need to purchase less points saving you money too. https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/vacation-planning/points-charts/ and then click on the resorts you are interested to see how many points it is for the various dates you’re looking at.
Here’s an example for my upcoming trip so you can see how much you can save. I booked 12 nights at BWV in a Garden/Pool View Studio. They don’t even offer those on WDW’s site but for the Standard View (parking lots) with the current sale (30% off) through Disney I’d pay $5,404.66. I booked the better view room for $3920.00. saving $1484.66 or 27.5% off the already 30% discount through Disney. If Disney hadn’t been offering this 30% sale (which they weren’t when I booked) I would have paid $7,720.90 and my savings would have been almost 50% (49%). Also when you rent DVC points you do not have to pay for parking so you can add this in as extra savings as well if you planned to have a car making your savings even greater. It’s probably the only way I’ll do this anymore it’s such a huge savings.
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Yes, let me clarify what I posted
I should have said “if you need to cancel AND reschedule within the points expiration period”
Some owners I’ve dealt with have offered this option to me. In fact, I’ve had to cancel and was able to reschedule successfully. It’s not something you should expect but definitely worth inquiring about if you’re dealing with a private party.
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Video stroll from TTC/Poly to Magic Kingdom via the new Grand Floridian walkway…
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Thank you! Did I miss it? Where in the walk is security?
Thank you so much, Olafsdad, for your in depth response! 
It seems a little intimating but I am sure I will be able to wade through the rental.
Also, thanks jennyturin, for you response and example. 
It helped me put everything in perspective!
What is the software that used to edit your film? I’m just curious. I am an amateur video editor using Filmora.
They wouldn’t let me film going through temp check or security but you use the same temp check and security as the people who used the resort boat launch to arrive. I was looking for a tent along the way, similar to what CR guests go through. But there was no such tent. I simply made it all the way to MK and merged with the guests getting off the resort boat.
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If you have any questions feel free to PM here. I was a bit intimidated myself at first.
I used a free app called YouCut for this video. I usually use another app called Video Guru but it was being glitchy. I’m new to the editing stuff myself so any pointers would be appreciated.
There is a lot of resources out there on YT and I have learned a lot from other creators. I have been doing editing for 2 - 21/2 years. I love it and I am still learning. Let me know if you have further questions.