How To Choose the Amount Of DVC Points You Need In A Disney Vacation Club Contract

So you’re thinking of becoming a Disney Vacation Club member, but you don’t know how many DVC points you will need. The thought of saving money at Deluxe Resorts when you visit Disney year after year has caught your eye. However, now comes the difficult part. Where should you make your home resort? How many points will you need? We will help you walk through the process of determining how many points you will need on your Disney contract.

How To Determine How Many DVC Points You Need

Everyone’s needs and wants are different, so the best place to start is to ask yourself the following questions. How many guests will be with me the majority of visits? What resorts do I want to stay at the majority of the time? How many days will our vacation(s) be, and what time of year will we be visiting?

How Many Guests?

One of the first things to determine is how many guests you want to take with you the majority of times you visit Disney. This amount will help you figure out what type of lodging you will need. Studios are small, but they are able to sleep 4 guests. One bedroom villas offer a little more space to sprawl out, but they usually only sleep 4-5 guests depending on which resort. Two bedroom villas can sleep 8-9 people. Three bedroom villas (or grand villas) sleep up to 12 guests typically. You can find room size, layout, and how many guests can sleep in each room for all DVC resorts here. Finding the answer to how many guests you will typically want per year will lead into the next question: What resort should I choose?

What Resort?

The amount of points you need will depend on what resort you choose. Once you know how many guests will typically be with you, you will want to look up each resort and see how many guests actually do fit in each villa. Once you have found a resort that fits your needs and you like, you will want to add up how many points you will need to visit. We will discuss this in the next question: How often do you want to visit Disney? Or how long do you want to stay? 

While we’re discussing resorts, there are a few things to point out. First, you don’t have to stay at the resort you choose. It may benefit you to look at several resorts and compare averages of how many points you would need to stay at each resort. 

We do recommend you buy at the resort you want to use the most so you get home resort priority at 11 months. This means you can book rooms at that resort when other DVC members who do not own there have to wait until 7 months prior to their visit. 

How Often & How Long Will We Visit?

The next step to figuring out how many points you need is to figure out how many nights you will be staying. Important to note: weekends are always higher than week days. Secondly, if you plan to visit several times throughout the year, you will have to check each of those approximate visits and add them together. Also, some DVC members schedule a visit for just two as well as a visit for the whole family. There will be a bigger point difference needed for a week with 2 guests versus a week with a family of 9 guests. 

What Time Of Year Am I Visiting?

The time of year you visit Disney and stay at a Disney Vacation Club villa will also affect how many points you will need. There are several seasons that overall require higher amounts of points to book a room than other seasons. Spring Break, Fall Break, and Holiday seasons require more points. Lowest amount of points are needed in September and parts of October.

Do I Want Extra DVC Points To Rent?

This may sound like a crazy question, and you may be confused why it’s even here. Why would you rent your points out if you want to go to Disney? Well, some DVC members have found a way to rent out some of their points in order to pay for annual dues that come with Disney Vacation Club membership. If you also want to help pay for your Disney addiction, look into how many points you will need to cover your annual dues. Read this blog on how to cover your annual dues by renting points. It will help you determine how many extra points you will want. 

Figure Up The Disney Vacation Club Points You Need

We have a trusty points calendar that will help you see how many points are required for what rooms in resorts for the entire year. Just simply input the dates you want to visit Disney World on a regular basis, scroll down to the resort you prefer, and find the room you prefer. The point total is on average what you will need for that time of year. If you want to visit Disney several times, remember to put in all the dates you want to visit and add the points together. This will help you know how big of a DVC contract you will want to purchase. 

Check out our blog for more information on Is Disney Vacation Club Worth It? Another helpful read: Purchasing Vs. Renting DVC Points may help determine what is best for your family. For info on the different themes of DVC Resorts, visit Each Walt Disney World DVC Resort In A Word. If you are looking to buy into Disney Vacation Club, we recommend you read Why Your DVC Home Resort Matters [For Your Wallet & Experience]. We also recommend you find out How To Try A DVC Resort Before Buying into Disney Vacation Club.