A Tennessee musician spent years wondering how anyone affords Disney’s most expensive hotels. Then he booked six nights at the Polynesian by renting points from a Disney Vacation Club member he has never met. By his reckoning, it cut the bill almost in half, and he says the process took him one transaction and a confirmation number.
Jordan King (@jordankingmusic1), a Christian singer-songwriter whose channel is mostly about his music, laid out the method in a video that has to date drawn more than 26,900 views.
“I’ve always wondered how people are able to afford staying at these really nice Disney resorts, and we kind of finally figured it out this year,” he says. “We’re staying at the Polynesian, which, if you know Disney, is one of the more expensive hotels.”
What he had run into was DVC, the Disney Vacation Club timeshare, and the secondary market in members’ unused points. “It’s something that I had heard about for years and years but never actually understood,” he says. “It always seemed too confusing.”
The mechanics turned out to be fairly straightforward. “You just go to these websites, you put in the dates you want to go, you put in the resorts that you’re okay staying at, and it’s going to populate owners of these rooms who are basically renting out their room to you,” he says. “You literally just purchase the room. They give you a reservation number, you put it in your Disney app, and that’s it.”
Answering commenters who asked for hard figures on pricing, he replied “On this trip I got two rooms, six nights, for $6,000,” he told candyland1214. “Through Disney it was $11,000.”
What The Cheaper Rate Buys, And What It Costs
The savings are real, but there are some catches. The broker King used tells customers that bookings are non-refundable. Under its cancellation policy, payments “are non-refundable—but they are not lost: they become a credit toward a future stay,” on a sliding scale that pays 75% between 60 days and 11 months out, 50% at 32 to 59 days, 25% at five to 31 days, and nothing inside four days of check-in.
Changing a booking is also not easy. Any modification “counts as a cancellation of the original reservation and is subject to the timetable above,” the policy reads, with the replacement treated as a fresh transaction.
For a Florida resort booked months ahead, it’s also worth noting the exclusions. The policy carves out events beyond the company’s control, including hurricanes, pandemics and resort closures, and recommends guests buy a “third-party policy that covers non-refundable travel.”
Commenters were aware of these catches. “You need to book like one year in advance and you have to pay in full, no cancellations,” wrote jenniferboaman. Yoshmallow, who has rented through several brokers, wrote, “The only downside would be if you want to modify or cancel like you would directly with Disney, usually there are fees involved or you just can’t.”
Disney Has Been Tightening The Rules
Putting the catches aside, the whole market that King is pointing to has been shrinking somewhat as Disney tightens its rules. On its own site, Disney states that an ownership interest “should only be purchased for personal use and enjoyment by Members,” and that memberships “should not be purchased for resale or rental, as an investment opportunity, or with any expectation of achieving income.”
In March, Disney went further and set out some things that cross the line. Its Commercial Use Policy, effective March 31, treats more than 20 reservations in a 12-month period mostly used by other people as a marker of commercial use, along with “regular advertising by an owner of the availability of points for rental.”
Members found in breach face enforcement lasting up to 24 months, which can include cancelled reservations and bans on borrowing or transferring points. Renting occasionally, and renting through an established broker, remains permitted.
Owners Are Not Uniformly Delighted
Disney may be reacting to pressure from paying members. Gary2023, claiming to be a member of 26 years, argued renters are eating into availability that owners pay for. “That’s why I paid thousands of dollars and monthly dues to be able to have a room down there, and there are companies that are buying thousands of points just to rent them out,” he wrote, adding that he raises it with DVC “every time I call.”
Owners who rent out spare points were unmoved. Shadowhams said the alternative is waste: “I rent the points I don’t use to pay for all my dues and tickets for when I do go. I’m not letting my points go to waste.”
Others simply could not figure out how to take advantage of the deal King was talking up. “Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but every time I look up the Poly for a DVC rental, the price seems like it isn’t any cheaper,” wrote mholls85. Julieishere was blunter after checking the site: “Definitely no deals.” King’s answer to both was persistence. “Sometimes you have to check a few sites, and check every day,” he said.
BoardingArea reached out to King by email and to Disney Vacation Club for comment. We’ll be sure to update this if either responds.
@jordankingmusic1 Anyone else know some hacks to get nice Disney stays for less? I always wondered how people could afford to stay at the really nice Disney resorts… then I found out about DVC rentals. Turns out there’s a whole other way to book Disney resorts that I had no idea about. If you’re planning a Disney trip, save this one. It could save you a pretty good chunk of money. https://dvc-rental.com #DisneyWorld #DisneyTips #DisneyPlanning #DisneyResorts #DVC ♬ Polynesian Sunrise – Peri Valencio & Yuri Valencio
