DVC or WDW Direct?

[ChoppyGirl]

Originally Posted by Claudette

I don't understand your explanation of the numbers at all and I have read it a few times now , but if one appears much cheaper to you then do that.

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Sorry I wasn't too clear. Looking at the WDW site for next May (which is the time of year we want to go) the price when you add everything together (DDP, tickets) is £2000 more than booking through DVV and adding everything together. On the WDW site there is no free dining at the moment but there is a free night offer which is a saving of £1150 but we would pay for the dining plan which is £1600. If free dining comes out I imagine the free night offer will end so if that is the case and free dining does actually come out then the difference between the two choices will be less by about £450 as the free dining offer is worth more than the 2 free nights.

Hope I make sense now!

[sha9]

Originally Posted by ChoppyGirl

Sorry I wasn't too clear. Looking at the WDW site for next May (which is the time of year we want to go) the price when you add everything together (DDP, tickets) is £2000 more than booking through DVV and adding everything together. On the WDW site there is no free dining at the moment but there is a free night offer which is a saving of £1150 but we would pay for the dining plan which is £1600. If free dining comes out I imagine the free night offer will end so if that is the case and free dining does actually come out then the difference between the two choices will be less by about £450 as the free dining offer is worth more than the 2 free nights.

Hope I make sense now!

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Prices aren’t out for 2021 yet so the saving may be even more renting DVC as presumably WDTC prices will go up.

[ChoppyGirl]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

The DVC villas at Grand Floridian are much nicer than the hotel rooms- why would you want a hotel room? I also would not pay for dining plan either- simply is not worth it- hardly any DVC owners buy it- just put that money in an account and you will likely come home with quite a bit left, generally eating what you want.
Out Building like a shed? Have you seen it? Has one of the most luxurious lobbies of any Disney hotel- smaller of course. The DVC villas are very nice here.
It is a no brainer for me- rent the DVC and do not pay for the dining plan.

Watch this- the building is adjacent to the main building under a covered walkway-


I would personally go for the DVC Grand Villa

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Thanks for that - I am at work so can't see You Tube stuff but will have a watch at home.

It's the words 'Out Building' that made me chuckle as I have an imagine of a shed or stable block as that's what they usually say on programmes like 'Escape to the Country'. I have walked round the Grand Floridian and no shed type places there.

Good idea about saving the DDP money separately. DH just likes the thought of DDP. We have had free DDP before and DH tends to eat what he wants whereas if we pay for meals he looks at the price and bases his food choice on the cost.

Looks like the DVC points are the way to go. There was such a difference in price I thought I was missing something and there was a big downside to the villas there which I hadn't spotted.

[Hammo333]

Fully agree with YorkshireT especially on DDP.
We had done DDP for 3 years running before deciding to experiment without DDP but pretending we were still on it and buy anything off the menu.
We are a party of 4 adults we like our food and we still ended up spending £800.00 less over a 14 night stay.
On DDP it felt like we had to eat everything going to warrant/justify how much we spent, and always ended up with a freezer full of snacks we just could'nt eat.
Off DDP with most portions being quite big two of our party would often share a mains.

[YorkshireT]

Don’t fall for the psychological ‘we do not have to worry’ on DDP - they rely on that.
Most loyalty schemes where you agree to give ALL your spend in an area to one supplier- in this case Disney dining- would usually attract a nice discount. This is how DDP used to operate.
Now it works on some psychological premise. You have to struggle to actually spend as much as you are paying for DDP- unless you only ever eat the very most expensive thing on the menu and / or character meals constantly.
Go on this and be realistic- if you were not on DDP what would you really reasonably buy? You may be shocked on how much less you’d spend:

distripplanner

[formosagirl]

We've rented DVC points a number of times now and the cost savings make it a no brainer for us.

Just to add, if you're not keen on paying the full balance up front, maybe try DVC Rental Store, where I believe you pay 50% on booking and the remainder 8 weeks before check in

[Guest]

Originally Posted by ChoppyGirl

Sorry I wasn't too clear. Looking at the WDW site for next May (which is the time of year we want to go) the price when you add everything together (DDP, tickets) is £2000 more than booking through DVV and adding everything together. On the WDW site there is no free dining at the moment but there is a free night offer which is a saving of £1150 but we would pay for the dining plan which is £1600. If free dining comes out I imagine the free night offer will end so if that is the case and free dining does actually come out then the difference between the two choices will be less by about £450 as the free dining offer is worth more than the 2 free nights.

Hope I make sense now!

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Not really, you have kind of said the same as first post. I cannot follow whether you think you would be £450 better off or £2000 or whether the costings are comparable i.e. both with dining, one with dining the other not. But never mind, if it is clear to you that is all that matters.

To the comments on GF "outbuildings", we were in Sugarloaf Club, which is in a separate outbuilding, last September. I would definitely not call it a shed but I did not like it much. Being in an outbuilding meant I didn't feel like I was staying at the hotel as we rarely went through the lobby and rarely saw any staff. I have never been in an outerbuilding before, so usually go through the lobby and feel like I am a guest there, here I didn't feel like I was a guest.

[LLamb]

I think it definitely works renting points for a studio. Once you need/want and 1 bed the points per night are a lot more and the savings aren’t as great vs direct with free dining.
As you won’t be able to book until at least 11 months out renting points I’d wait and see (hopefully) what the free dining offer is and do some firm calculations.

[marlouwrig]

Another consideration if you have a car is no parking charges if you are renting DVC points

[BevS97]

Also the housekeeping is different with DVC. You get either trash and towel or a full clean every 4 days.
I also prefer to be in the main building but for £2000 I’d just make sure I walked through the lobby every time I arrived back before I headed to my outbuilding.

We have been to GF for lunch and sat outside and the grounds between the buildings are stunning.


Re the rooms. We prefer the studio as you get a sofa and a coffee table so you have a Living area as well as a bedroom.