How to “Rent” a Disney Vacation Club Timeshare Residence

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It’s no secret that one of the best places to stay while at Walt Disney World is in a world renowned Disney Vacation Club (DVC) residence. Disney does everything well, so it comes as no surprise that these units are of the same standard (or higher in many cases) as the Disney Resort hotel properties themselves. These residences are particularly useful if you have a large family. The three-bedroom Grand Villa’s at Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian for example can sleep up to 12. That’s the equivalent of three hotel rooms utilizing the fold out couch in each! Most of the timeshare units also have a full kitchen, separate family room, dining area and extra-large bathrooms. Every unit also combines the magic of Disney and the theme of the resort really well.

There are eight Disney Vacation Club locations in and around Walt Disney World:

Bay Lake Tower (next to Magic Kingdom) – This DVC offers uniquely modern amenities and is a short walk to the monorail and minutes from the front entrance to the Magic Kingdom.
Animal Kingdom Park (next to Animal Kingdom) – This has an outstanding “backyard” called The Savanna, filled with Giraffes, Zebras and other wild animals – all outside your balcony!
Saratoga Resort and Spa –Visions of the Rockefellers, Morgans and Kennedys vacationing all summer long at their upstate NY lakeside homes come to mind this unique resort.
Boardwalk (next to Epcot and Hollywood Studios) – This resort theme is Atlantic City, circa Turn-of-the-Century and it feels very Gatsby-esque.
Beach Club (next to Epcot and Hollywood Studios) – A Turn-of-the-Century seaside home in the Northeastern United States is the theme of this resort. One can imagine themselves on the beaches of Cape Cod or Martha’s Vineyard at this opulent resort.
Disney’s Old Key West Resort (the very first Disney Vacation Club, 1991) – Reminiscent of the Florida Keys, this DVC is what started it all.
The Villas at the Wilderness Lodge – Reminiscent of the Great National Parks in the United States such as Mount Rushmore and Yellowstone Park.
The Villas at the Grand Floridian Resort (directly next to Magic Kingdom) – This is the newest addition to the Disney Vacation Club line up, styled after “old money” Southern hospitality and charm.

Each location has spectacular pools, spas and restaurants designed in the theme of the individual resort and each offers one of four accommodation options: 1) a Studio (Sleeps 5), 2) One Bedroom Villa (sleeps 5 with more privacy), Two Bedroom Villa (Sleeps 9) and, a Three Bedroom Villa (sleeps 12).

DVCs offer many things a WDW resort hotel room does not:

Kitchen (particularly important to save money or casual family gatherings prior to launching into the big day);
Washer and dryer;
Additional bedrooms without the need to rent additional hotel rooms;
Living rooms (most units)
Dining room area (most units)
Accommodation for big families (or several generations of one family coming together once a year!);
Relaxed “at home” feeling’

But . . .

This is not an article on how to buy a Disney Vacation Club timeshare unit, this is an article on how to rent one. The fact is, unless you are 100% sure, you don’t want to buy any timeshare, Disney Vacation Club or other. You are committing to a certain type of vacation, every year, forever! Yes, the units are bigger, badder, offer many more amenities and are more comfortable that a Disney World Resort hotel room, and yes it’s a great place to gather the entire family for magic that can’t be replicated at home; but every year forever??? This is why we’re big fans of renting a Disney residence vs buying one. If you still love it as much after two or three years of renting, then consider buying.

So How Do You Rent a Disney Vacation Club Unit?

Two ways –either on your own or through a professional rental service

Renting a unit on your own

You can come upon some great deals if you find a motivated Disney Vacation Club residence owner willing to rent you his unit directly. Usually this happens late in the game (and in fact the later the better, the price normally drops significantly as the owner realizes they are stuck with a unit they are not going to use so he or she just want to recover something from their investment that year). The problem is that this method is unreliable. It works well if you have a lot a flexibility – but most people reading this article have jobs and kids; both make it difficult to just pick up and go at the last minute.

Rent your unit from a preferred professional rental service

This is our preferred method because it allows you to lock in early and reliably. In fact we recommend David’s Vacation Club Rentals. Here’s why:

They are A+ rated by the Better Business Bureau
They have the largest selection of DVC rentals we’ve seen by far
Their price is good, in fact very good for all that you receive
They are located just outside the Magic Kingdom, just in case . . .

What we love most is that they guide you through how to access the “owner only” benefits that come with a DVC unit, but are hard to understand unless you know your way around the Disney properties.

Whatever you decide, Disney is a wonderful place and well worth the money; whether you rent “on property” or “off,” we wish you loads of fun on your upcoming Disney vacation!