Choosing a DVC Rental Site: David’s vs DVC Rental Store

You may be wondering what all the hype is about when it comes to Disney Vacation Club rental points. Are they legit? Can you actually save money? Which is the best DVC rental site? If you are asking yourself these very questions, we’re here to help!

My family and I have been renting DVC points for years and find it to be the best way to save money on Disney resorts. You can easily rent points from an owner in the Disney Vacation Club to save hundreds of dollars per night on your reservation. If you’re wondering how this process works, we will go through each simple step in the article below.

In this post, we will explain how to safely rent DVC points to stay at one of Disney’s best hotels. We’ll also provide input on our personal choice for the best DVC rental site, so you can see which company my family trusts with our own trips.

(This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I may receive a small compensation at no extra cost to you. Please see my disclosure policy at the bottom of this page for more details.)

Comparison: DVC Rental Store vs David’s

There are many ways you can go about renting points, including directly through the owner. While I am sure you can find trustworthy owners who are reliable and honest with points rentals, my family and I prefer to use reputable rental companies. Sadly, I’ve heard to many bad stories of families trying to rent points through a “DVC owner” only to find out that they had been scammed.

Therefore, we prefer to take the safe route by renting points through trusted websites that have been around for years. Two of the most popular companies that people use are DVC Rental Store and David’s Vacation Club Rentals. While both of these companies offer great deals on Disney resorts, DVC Rental Store and David’s Vacation Club Rentals do have several differences.

Availability

DVC Rental Store features a super handy availability tool where you can type in your travel dates and see what rooms are available for your trip. Note that you do have to provide your email address in order to access the tool, but you can always unsubscribe from the mailing list later.

Plus, I actually enjoy getting emails from DVC Rental Store since they often highlight special promotions and discounted confirmed reservations, which we will cover in more detail below. The availability tool on DVC Rental Store’s website is so great because you can get a sense of the available options quickly and easily.

In contrast, when you use David’s Vacation Club Rentals, you can price out the cost of your room using their cost calculator. However, this doesn’t let you know if the room is actually available. Instead, you have to fill out a lengthy form in order and choose your preferred Disney villa without even knowing if it’s available. Therefore, the process is more time consuming.

Price

While my family and I like the flexibility that the DVC Rental Store offers, we often use David’s Vacation Club Rentals since their prices are usually cheaper. That being said, DVC Rental Store has been running promotions where their prices are actually a bit cheaper than those at David’s Vacation Club Rentals. Additionally, DVC Rental Store has also implemented a lowest price guarantee where you can submit their competitor’s pricing.

Payment

When inquiring about availability at David’s Vacation Club Rentals, you have to submit a credit card because they will charge you $105 if they are able to find an exact match for your room preference. If David is able to secure your reservation, the $105 goes toward the price of your rental. So, basically you were going to pay it anyway.

Once David’s Rentals has confirmed that your exact request is available, you are responsible for paying the remaining balance in full. If they are unable to find your exact room request, they will refund your deposit. They have always been great about immediately refunding our deposit whenever our room preference is not found.

Additionally, we like that David’s Rentals often provide other options for rooms in case you are willing to stay at a different resort. For example, they may offer a deluxe studio at Boardwalk Villas if I initially asked for a Beach Club studio. If you decline their additional options, your deposit is refunded in full.

DVC Rental Store has a completely different setup for payments. After checking the availability calendar, you can fill out a reservation form with your request. A team member will then get back with you to secure your reservation. A payment of 25% of the total price is due upon booking. The remaining 75% is due at least 75 days before your arrival date.

DVC Rental Store also offers an option for you to put down a $100 deposit to join a waitlist for an unavailable room. If they are able to secure this room, you will owe 25% minus the $100 deposit. If the team is unable to confirm your room, they will refund the deposit.

Cancellation Policy

Another major difference between David’s Vacation Club Rentals and the DVC Rental Store is the cancellation policy at each company. David’s Rentals does not allow you to cancel your reservation and highly recommends that you purchase travel insurance. DVC Rental Store offers the following cancellation policy (at the time of this article):

• More than 120 Days from Trip – 100% Refund
• 61-120 Days Before Trip – 75% Refund
• 16-60 Days Before Trip – 50% Refund
• 4-15 Days Before Trip – 25% Refund
• Less Than 4 Days – 0% Refund

Therefore, if you are booking your trip well in advance, you may prefer to use DVC Rental Store since they offer the best cancellation options.

Confirmed Reservations

David’s Vacation Club Rentals and DVC Rental Store both offer confirmed reservations that come with really great discounted prices. You can scroll through the list of available options on each website to score huge deals on rooms. Note that these rooms and dates cannot be changed though.

David’s Vacation Club Rentals also offers an option where you can sign up to get notified of additional confirmed reservations for sale. Just choose your dates, resort, and room type, and David’s Rentals will notify you if any matches show up in their system.

Disney Timeshare Rental Options

Now that we have compared the best DVC rental sites, let’s discuss some background information on the Disney Vacation Club program. The official Walt Disney company offers a timeshare program known as the Disney Vacation Club or DVC for short. DVC owners purchase a real estate investment in a chosen DVC resort villa.

The member’s real estate investment is represented in the form of points. Throughout the year, the member may visit the available DVC properties using his/her allotted points. The following hotels are part of the Disney Vacation Club program where members can spend their timeshare points:

DVC Rentals at Disney World 

The Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, FL is home to numerous DVC hotels. Most of these DVC rentals at Disney World are located on the same property as a deluxe Disney resort. If you are staying at a hotel through Disney Vacation Club points, you can use the pools and other amenities that belong to the deluxe resort. 

For example, guests staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas can use the pool, restaurants, and other amenities at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. The following list includes the DVC rentals at Disney World along with our top picks for best DVC rental resort at WDW:

• Animal Kingdom Villas – (TOP Pick) This DVC resort is typically one of the cheapest options. It offers great activities, including animal viewing and amazing restaurants. The pools are fun too!
• Bay Lake Tower – This resort shares amenities with Disney’s Contemporary Resort. It sits in a prime location offering an easy walk to Magic Kingdom along with monorail access at the hotel.
• Beach Club Villas – (TOP Pick) This resort shares amenities with Disney’s Beach Club and Yacht Club Resorts. We love the location of the Beach Club Villas since you have easy access to Disney’s Boardwalk, SkyLiner, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios. Plus, the resort pool is the BEST at Disney World!
• BoardWalk Villas – This DVC resort shares amenities with Disney’s Boardwalk Inn. Like the Beach Club, Disney’s BoardWalk Villas is within walking distance of Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and more. Plus, you can see the theme park fireworks right outside the hotel!
• Grand Floridian – (TOP Pick) This resort shares amenities with Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort, which sits just a short walk away from Magic Kingdom and monorail access. We love the pool and dining options at this property.
• Old Key West – This resort is usually one of the cheapest options when renting timeshare points. We also find that it’s available when other properties are booked, which makes it a nice choice for a last minute trip.
• Polynesian Villas and Bungalows – This resort shares amenities with Disney’s Polynesian Resort. It offers a fun pool, monorail access, and boat service to Magic Kingdom.
• Riviera Resort – This property features beautifully designed rooms and easy access to Disney’s SkyLiner. Plus, it offers a fun character meal.
• Saratoga Springs – This DVC resort is usually one of the cheapest options. It offers easy access to Disney Springs.
• Boulder Ridge Villas – (TOP Pick) This resort shares amenities with Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. We love the pools, dining options, and theming at this property. Plus, you get views of the Magic Kingdom fireworks and Electrical Parade from the Wilderness Lodge onsite.
• Copper Creek Villas and Cabins – (TOP Pick) As with the above property, Copper Creek shares amenities with Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. With great theming, beautiful rooms, and easy access to Magic Kingdom, this resort is a great place to stay.
• Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort – The Cabins at Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort is the newest addition to the DVC properties. These cabins offer sleeping for 6 with a queen bed and bunk beds in the bedroom and a Murphy bed in the separate living room. Guests will also find a kitchen inside the cabin.

Even though we would choose Disney’s Beach Club Villas as the best DVC rental resort at WDW, you really can’t go wrong with any of the other properties!

More DVC Rental Resorts

In addition to the long list of Disney Vacation Club options at Walt Disney World, you can also use timeshare points for a stay at the following properties:

• Grand Californian- at Disneyland Resort
• Aulani- beachfront resort in Hawaii
• Hilton Head Island Resort- in South Carolina
• Vero Beach Resort- beachfront hotel in Florida

So, what is the best DVC rental site?

Regardless of which of the two companies you go with, we are confident that you will enjoy your experience. We have rented points through these reputable companies multiple times and have always been pleased with them. My family and I TOTALLY believe DVC rentals are worth it!

In fact, DVC Rental Store and David’s Vacation Club Rental site are the FIRST places I shop when looking for a room at Disney World. The price you end up paying with David’s website or the DVC store is usually the rate for a moderate hotel on WDW property. And who wouldn’t want to pay moderate prices for a deluxe experience?!

Plus, we find the deluxe resorts are better for catering to kids since they provide easy dining options, balconies, and other conveniences. If you are looking for tips on choosing the right Disney World hotel, join our Facebook group for personalized help on finding the best resort for your family! What do you think is the best DVC rental site? Comment below to share with us!