Should You Purchase A Disney Vacation Club Membership or Rent DVC Points?
Maybe you just got back from a Disney vacation or a cruise, and someone approached you about purchasing a Disney Vacation Club (DVC) membership. Or maybe you’ve heard of others “renting DVC points” and saving up to 65% of what they would have paid if they had booked directly through Disney to stay at a Deluxe Disney resort! Whether you want to learn more about purchasing DVC or just renting DVC points, we’re going to help you choose what’s best for your family.
What is the Disney Vacation Club (DVC)?
A Disney Vacation Club (DVC) membership is essentially a timeshare for certain resorts at Disney. There are advantages that come with DVC – access to Deluxe Disney Resorts, free parking at these resorts (booking through Disney results in paying $25 per night for parking), getting to stay at Deluxe Resorts for less than if you booked directly with Disney to stay there, and more! Many find themselves asking, “ Should I buy into DVC?” Maybe. Maybe not.
Pros & Cons To Purchasing a Disney Vacation Club Membership
Pro: It can save you money
Now, please don’t read this and think it saves you money on one trip to Disney. No, we’re talking long term investment, go every year to Disney, always staying at top resorts, should save you money. It’s a way of rewarding loyalty, or you could also look at it as a way of hooking you into going to Disney every year. 😉 Either way, it does save you money over decades, and here is how:
Let’s say I want to purchase a Disney Vacation Club membership, and I choose an Animal Kingdom Lodge, 200 point contract. It costs $22,400 (this is based on an actual contract, but does not mean all contracts cost this). The deed for Animal Kingdom Lodge expires in 2057. It is currently 2020, so I could have that contract for 37 more years (supposing I don’t sell it). With those 200 points every year, I could stay at Animal Kingdom for a week each year (either in a 1 bedroom Savanna view), or a 2 bedroom standard view!
Now, over 37 years, despite having to pay annual dues (see below), I would have definitely saved money.
(Contract cost ÷ Years of contract) + Annual Dues* = Yearly cost
(22,400 ÷ 37) + $1534.00 = $2139.41 for 2020
Booking during Oct 11 – Oct 17
2020 DVC cost for Animal Kingdom 1 bedroom Savanna View = $2139.41
2020 Cash stay at Animal Kingdom 1 bedroom Savanna View = $3648.00
That is a savings of $1508.59 multiply that by 37 and you are getting a savings of $55,817.83. Now before you go gangbusters and start buying all the DVC contracts. Notice that my estimates were based on buying the contract outright and did not include any interest that you incur when you finance the membership. If you are in need of a loan for DVC, we recommend Monera Financial, they are number one in DVC financing and DVC loans!
*Annual Dues vary by year (keep reading for more on annual dues)
Cons To being a DVC member: Annual Dues
So there’s a catch. There always is. With your Disney Vacation Club contract, there comes annual dues. Annual dues are due at the beginning of the year in January (but they can also be paid on a monthly basis). No one is exempt. All have to pay. However, every resort has different dues. So your home resort (the resort on your contract) is the one you pay dues on.
The chart below shows all of Disney Vacation Club’s resorts available and the current annual dues that go with them.
| Home Resorts Available | 2020 Annual Dues |
| Animal Kingdom | $7.67 |
| Aulani | $8.33 |
| Bay Lake Tower | $6.58 |
| Beach Club | $7.06 |
| Boardwalk | $7.37 |
| Boulder Ridge | $7.78 |
| Copper Creek | $7.45 |
| Grand Californian | $6.60 |
| Grand Floridian | $6.56 |
| Hilton Head | $9.10 |
| Old Key West | $7.84 |
| Polynesian | $6.79 |
| Saratoga Springs | $6.77 |
| Riviera | $8.31 |
| Vero Beach | $10.13 |
Let’s break this down, and stay with the 200 point Animal Kingdom contract. That means my annual dues for 2020 would be $1534.00. That’s a pretty hefty amount due right after Christmas. The other downside is that these annual dues vary, and they always seem to increase a little each year.
Pro: Choosing Your Home Resort
When you are a DVC member, you get to choose your home resort! This is an important choice because your home resort (resort on your contract) allows you to book 11 months out from your trip! To stay at any other resort, you will need to wait until the 7 month mark, and then you can try to book your reservations. As you can imagine, choosing a home resort also gives you a higher chance to book the 5 most difficult DVC Rooms.
Pro: Get Discounts & Get Into Events Early (MVMCP, MNSSHP, etc)
Another advantage to being in the Disney Vacation Club is that you often get discounts on special events (up to 15% off!) These events include Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party as well as Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party! Not only do you get a discount, but you also can get into the party 2 hours earlier than everyone else! DVC members get in at 2pm while everyone else can enter at 4 pm!
Pro: Top Of The World Club
Just like most clubs, there is a place only Disney Vacation Club members can get into, and that is the Top of The World Club (located at Bay Lake Tower). You must show your card to enter. Therefore, even if you are staying in a DVC room via renting DVC, you may not get into the Top Of The World Club.
Epcot also has a member lounge that only DVC members are allowed into. However, Disney’s website only mentions that this will be open through 2019. You may find the DVC member lounge on the second floor of the Imagination! Pavilion.
Hopefully this helps you understand Disney Vacation Club a little more. Next, let’s take a look at renting DVC Points. After you understand both of these concepts, you will be able to choose which path is better for your family.
An Introduction To Renting DVC Points
What Is Renting DVC Points
Renting DVC points is when you (who are not a DVC member) “rents” a Disney Vacation Club member’s points in order to stay at a Deluxe Disney Resort. In reality, what is happening is we, DVC Rental Store, are matching you up with a DVC member who has points to spare, and they use their points to book you a reservation.
Pros To Renting DVC Points
There are several pros to renting DVC points. As we mentioned before, a DVC member has annual dues. When you are not a DVC member, you have no annual dues to deal with! You also are not tied down to having to use these points or lose them. You can decide each year if you want to go to Disney or not.
Another advantage to renting DVC points is that it helps you know if you want to buy into Disney Vacation Club. You can get a taste of being close to the parks, of getting to stay in deluxe Disney resorts, and getting to enjoy all the activities at the deluxe Disney resorts!
Cons To Renting
Unfortunately, there are cons to renting DVC points. One of the biggest cons is that you don’t always get the booking reservations you want. This of course can be remedied if you are flexible and are open to exploring multiple Disney resorts. As a side note, even if you are a DVC member, it doesn’t guarantee you get the room reservations you want unless you book at 11 months at your home resort. Even then, some types of rooms may be unavailable by the time you book.
If you compare renting DVC points versus buying into Disney Vacation Club, then another con to renting points is that long term, you would lose money instead of saving money if you rent every year instead of buying into Disney Vacation Club. It really comes down to how often are you visiting Disney to figure out how much you would actually save to become an owner of DVC.
Questions To Ask Yourself
If you are wondering if you should buy into DVC or rent DVC points, here are some questions you should discuss.
Do we like going to Disney every year?
If the answer is yes, or maybe you like going multiple times a year, then you may want to invest in the Disney Vacation Club.
Are we afraid of commitment?
If you don’t like to be tied down to things, then the Disney Vacation Club may not be for you. You’ll have to keep track of annual dues, points and mortgage bills. If you don’t use your points, you lose them, so this will definitely take some time commitment on your part.
On the flip side, buying into DVC doesn’t mean you have to visit Disney every year. In fact, you could rent any points you don’t use through DVC Rental Store and get some cash back.
What stage of life is my family in?
This is an excellent question! Many times when families hit the stage of life where the majority of their kids can enjoy Disney, then they buy into DVC. When the kids start to grow out of this stage, you have options – either you can sell your contract, or you can do Disney Cruises, or even travel to far off lands with Adventures By Disney. The advantage of hanging onto DVC even after your children may have grown out of it is that soon there may be grandchildren who will enjoy Disney! And….if your kids are like me…they’ll enjoy it even in their young adult years!
Next Steps For Purchasing a Disney Vacation Club Membership or Renting DVC points
If you are looking to purchase a Disney Vacation Club membership, you have two options: buy directly from Disney or buy resale. We recommend DVC Resale Market if your are buying resale. If renting DVC points is your next step, you can request availability here or look at our specials page for reduced reservations that are available to claim right now!
If you still have questions on buying versus renting, reach out to us via Facebook on our facebook page DVC Rental Store! We would love to answer any questions you have!
We hope you have found this blog helpful as you look to rent points or buy into Disney Vacation Club. For more information 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.
