Chance of DVC Availability in May

[Catbear]

Hi All,

I finally was able to talk my husband into booking a trip in May, staying at GF with a TPV room for us and the kids! (5 of us total) Well, my mom has asked if she could come along, which sounds great..extra set of hands to help out, maybe a babysitter one night, etc...However, we are now a party of 6, which means that we are no longer in a single room. The options I have been given so far by Disney are: 2 BDR villa at Sarasota Springs for about the same price, a 2 BDR villa at the Wilderness Lodge for $3,000 more, or a 1 BDR Club Level in the Main Building at GF for about $6,000 more. The GF Club level is out (That would almost double our total cost, and my mom isn't about to pay $6,000 just to go to Disney for the week), and I am not sold on either Sarasota Springs or the Wilderness Lodge, though I can be convinced, I guess. From what I can tell online, there is availability at AK - Kildani at the special package rate, and BLT, GF Villas without the discount.

Okay, for those of you that have stuck with my ramblings this far (Thank you!), what are the chances of being able to rent DVC points for these properties (BLT, GF Villas, or AK Kildani) so close to the date we would want to leave? Does availability to book online without a DVC membership correspond to being available through renting DVC Points? I have a request to a rental site for these, but I don't want to get my mom's hopes up about coming down, only to have to tell her tomorrow that there isn't availability. The dates are from May 10-16th, if that makes a difference...

 

[erionm]

DVC Rooms available on disneyworld.com are from a separate inventory from what members can book on points. Those rooms are probably available because a member used their points for a disney cruise or another hotel outside of the DVC resort system.

As far as points availability, only AKV Kidani Village has a 2 bedroom (savanna view) open for those dates.

 

[patty57]

The availability you can see online has nothing to do with what might be available through DVC. I'm sorry, but I don't know what your chances are as far as availability in May.

Oops...must have been typing as erionm answered.

 

[NS8VN]

You shouldn't have an issue getting a room at SSR on points during that time, you can often get a 2-bedroom there with only a week's notice. All you are waiting for are points to become available. I can't speak for every service but I have rented my own points out through David's and I know they wouldn't have even put you on a list if there weren't rooms available.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Cash rental and points rental are two different inventories, as stated. Basically, Disney "own" 2% of the DVC properties, and rent that 2% out for cash. They also receive units based on member point swaps. They rent those for cash to recoup the cost of the point swap.

May is low season, but VGF is small and BLT is popular. You can likely get in at AKV, SSR or OKW however. Inventory does change quite quickly.

 

[DisBuckMan]

The following all show full availability for a 2br DVC villa for May 10-16 currently:

SSR standard and preferred
OKW
AKV Kidani Savanna View
Wilderness Lodge

 

[Catbear]

DisBuckMan, thanks for showing that, it puts my mind at ease a bit. Either way, best case, I am in a Villa somewhere on property, worst case, I am still at GF, but without my mom. (Though that may be best case scenario for my husband )

 

[a742246]

Nothing beats a 2 bedroom for your situation. Did you get a price from Davids to rent someone points?

 

[Catbear]

I did get a price, it's coming in around $4100 for Animal Kingdom...The two bedroom sounds nice, and it would be exactly what we needed. However, after my mom thought it over, she is actually suggesting that we keep our reservation at GF, and she will just get a garden view room. It may not be the most cost effective version, but I think she is actually looking forward to staying at the Grand for the first time, and enjoying some of the more relaxing aspects of the resort.

 

[DeanDoug]

It all really depends on what you are looking for. We own and love DVC for the extra space we get. Coming "home" after a long day in the parks when kids want to click on a tv (in another room!) and we sit on a couch in the living room is heaven. It's just not the same in a hotel room, even at GF. But, this is all about preference. SSR isn't much in the way of a "resort" like GF, meaning, you can't run to the lobby if you need something, want to shop, eat, etc. There are some DVC that do offer these amenities... BLT, AKL, WL and even OKW if you're close to the main area all offer amenities close by if not in the same building. There are lots of options for renting DVC. In our opinion, it is the best way to go! Enjoy.