Booking villas with cash

APiratesLifeForMe2

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Anyone have experience with paying cash for the villas? We are traveling with family friends in December of 2019 and will be paying cash at GF. Currently we have 4 regular hotel rooms booked at GF but were really interested in switching to the villas. Because we don't have enough points for everyone nor do we own at VGF for home resort advantage, we will have to pay cash. Anyone know the likelihood of villa availability with cash through Disney? It seems like they open up cash bookings 11 months out but only certain rooms? Just curious if this is a possibility we can realistically expect or we should plan on sticking with the main hotel rooms.
 
I would think it would be much easier to find a renter that owns there and go thru them. Disney makes you pay a premium to pay cash for DVC villa rooms unless you have a per night credit for some reason. I have not used the larger renting services, but some allow you to name your own price and have an owner counter or accept to rent.
 
I would think it would be much easier to find a renter that owns there and go thru them. Disney makes you pay a premium to pay cash for DVC villa rooms unless you have a per night credit for some reason. I have not used the larger renting services, but some allow you to name your own price and have an owner counter or accept to rent.
Considering we would probably need 2, 2 bedroom villas and possibly a studio at the highest dvc demand time, finding someone with that number of available points and willing to book right at 11 months seemed highly unlikely.
 
If I were you, I'd seriously consider renting points--either through David's (or the like) or directly through an owner. We've paid cash before and also rented points. It just makes no sense to pay the amount they are asking for cash reservations....you can save a TON by renting points.
 


Considering we would probably need 2, 2 bedroom villas and possibly a studio at the highest dvc demand time, finding someone with that number of available points and willing to book right at 11 months seemed highly unlikely.
That is why a service would make the most sense. They could put together points from multiple owners and then book for you. The earlier you book the better.
 


Have to agree.

OP, if your heart is set on GF, best to keep the hotel rooms.

Not ours, just our friends, so I won't get anyone's hopes up about a villas possibility. We just liked the idea of being able to guarantee being adjoined to at least one other member of the party and all in the same building.

2 - 2BR + a studio the 1st week of DEC, I would put your odds at less than 0.001%.
haha I love the honesty. I won't be holding my breath.
 
If I were you, I'd seriously consider renting points--either through David's (or the like) or directly through an owner. We've paid cash before and also rented points. It just makes no sense to pay the amount they are asking for cash reservations....you can save a TON by renting points.

It's not that I don't agree renting points would save $$, but the chance of the match happening and that owner willing to book right at 11 months are so incredibly slim. We don't personally know any VGF owners and I haven't looked too deep into the rental companies but I thought you had to put your top 3 choices or something with a deposit? We don't have a top 3, only that resort, so if it wasn't available we don't want to loose the deposit. Maybe I am wrong about how that works though.
 
We've used David's 3 times--I'm fairly certain that it's a choice if you want to list a backup option. Could be wrong about that, but that's what I recall. If they are unable to match you, you're not out any money. You only have to place a minimal deposit to start the search, so IMO, it's totally worth at least checking. For what it's worth, we've never rented points directly from an owner.
 
I don't think 2 2BRs and a studio, in cash inventory, those weeks, is at all realistic. Disney Own 2-5% of VGF points, so even if you assume that gets them 5% of bookable units every day of the year, 5% of studios is roughly 2 total.
 
As most people have stated, renting is probably the best option. Also consider the other monorail resorts. Better chance at getting multiple 2-bedroom at Bay Lake than at VGF.
 
As most people have stated, renting is probably the best option. Also consider the other monorail resorts. Better chance at getting multiple 2-bedroom at Bay Lake than at VGF.

For this trip we have a few members of the party who want to stay at GF, it's probably their one and only trip to WDW so we are doing what they want.
 
Considering we would probably need 2, 2 bedroom villas and possibly a studio at the highest dvc demand time, finding someone with that number of available points and willing to book right at 11 months seemed highly unlikely.

People rent GV reservations thru owners so I'd never count out finding an owner to do the reservations you need. You also would have the luxury of locating different owners for each of the rooms. You never know until you check if someone might be renting enough points for all of it. The studio is just a tough booking though and as an owner I'd be hesitant to try and promise on that one. But that might be a cash reservation.

And it's not just Disney owned inventory that comes thru for cash reservations as they also rent out rooms to pay for trades.
 
Considering we would probably need 2, 2 bedroom villas and possibly a studio at the highest dvc demand time, finding someone with that number of available points and willing to book right at 11 months seemed highly unlikely.

Possibly. But, what do you really lose by trying, or by even contacting somewhere like David's and seeing if they could hook you up with 2 different owners. It would cost much less than renting through Disney.

If they couldn't fill it, THEN you could contact Disney to rent the Villa. I do not think that Disney will really need you to book 11 months out, if you are renting from them. They often seem to be able to come up with rooms up until the last several months.

Or, how about this, do BOTH things! If you are renting from Disney, you don't have to wait until 11 months. I often make rental reservations with Disney more than a year in advance. They put a small deposit on your credit card, but it is refundable. You could do this and THEN you could ALSO try to get an owner to book for you. If they are able to come through, you get your deposit back. For our trip next October, I booked through Disney (for rental) at TWO DIFFERENT RESORTS, more than 12 months out. And then I got DVC rooms, using my points, at THREE different resorts, at 11 months out. Why so many? Because there are going to be at least 12 of us traveling, and POSSIBLY as many as 14, AND, at such a far out time, and not being sure exactly WHO would be going, I WANTED TO KEEP ALL OPTIONS OPEN, until we could get closer and finalize the plans. Then, I will just cancel the Disney rental rooms that we were not going to use, and drop the DVC rooms we decide not to use. It won't cost me anything except a deposit on my credit card for the rooms we rented from Disney, and I will get that back (actually about $2000 back on my credit card) once I cancel. So, again, why not do both?
 
Possibly. But, what do you really lose by trying, or by even contacting somewhere like David's and seeing if they could hook you up with 2 different owners. It would cost much less than renting through Disney.

If they couldn't fill it, THEN you could contact Disney to rent the Villa. I do not think that Disney will really need you to book 11 months out, if you are renting from them. They often seem to be able to come up with rooms up until the last several months.

Or, how about this, do BOTH things! If you are renting from Disney, you don't have to wait until 11 months. I often make rental reservations with Disney more than a year in advance. They put a small deposit on your credit card, but it is refundable. You could do this and THEN you could ALSO try to get an owner to book for you. If they are able to come through, you get your deposit back. For our trip next October, I booked through Disney (for rental) at TWO DIFFERENT RESORTS, more than 12 months out. And then I got DVC rooms, using my points, at THREE different resorts, at 11 months out. Why so many? Because there are going to be at least 12 of us traveling, and POSSIBLY as many as 14, AND, at such a far out time, and not being sure exactly WHO would be going, I WANTED TO KEEP ALL OPTIONS OPEN, until we could get closer and finalize the plans. Then, I will just cancel the Disney rental rooms that we were not going to use, and drop the DVC rooms we decide not to use. It won't cost me anything except a deposit on my credit card for the rooms we rented from Disney, and I will get that back (actually about $2000 back on my credit card) once I cancel. So, again, why not do both?

There hasn’t been any availability for dvc cash rooms for our dates so I figured they didn’t release until 11 months. I’m going to reach out to David’s and try our luck there too. Thanks.
 
There hasn’t been any availability for dvc cash rooms for our dates so I figured they didn’t release until 11 months. I’m going to reach out to David’s and try our luck there too. Thanks.

From my observance you won't see most or maybe any DVC villa inventory for cash until exactly 11 months. I've thought they have the same restrictions for booking as any owner. One time I was following along and checking and once it hit the 11 month window the next day would load with inventory.
 
keep checking the rent/forum. Even if you can get just one 2 bedroom at GFV and keep some rooms at GF you will have the best of both worlds. You can use the 2 bedroom as a gathering place to eat and drink.
 
keep checking the rent/forum. Even if you can get just one 2 bedroom at GFV and keep some rooms at GF you will have the best of both worlds. You can use the 2 bedroom as a gathering place to eat and drink.
We definitely all want to be in the same building so it will be one or the other. We are fine either way, but if we have the possibility of doing the villas then we would choose that over regular hotel rooms since having the living space (and washer/dryer) is nice.
 
You may be right. Now that I think about it, what I did was reserve some Deluxe hotel rooms at more than a year out, but they weren't villas. Then at right around 11 months, I changed the reservations by dropping those resorts and picking up new reservations at other resorts, and it was villas that i rented the second time. When I just went back and looked, the new reservations were just within the 11 month window. But I hadn't realized it made a difference. I started looking for DVC rooms to reserve around that same time, and that is what triggered me to book the villas at resorts that weren't my home resort.
 
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