What Is DVC?

You don’t have to own anything to stay in a DVC villa. Here’s how the whole system works.

Disney Vacation Club (DVC) is where individuals own a portion of a DVC resort. When someone purchases DVC, they purchase a certain amount of “vacation points” that they can use at their DVC home resort on a yearly basis. Owners have priority for reservations and can book at their home resort 11 months from the date of travel, and at all other DVC resorts at 7 months out.

Each resort and room type costs a different number of points per night. At the low end, a studio at Old Key West in September can be as few as 9 points per night. At the high end, a 3 Bedroom Grand Villa at the Grand Floridian over Christmas runs 195 points per night. As owners they have flexibility – they get points rather than a fixed week, which is why they can rent those points to you.

Do I Have to Own a Timeshare to Use DVC?

No! You can rent from an owner without ever buying DVC points. Owners don’t use their points for a variety of reasons and rent them out to others. This is completely allowed by Disney and is how renting DVC works. You get all the same deluxe hotel perks as an owner – including Early Park Entry and Evening Extra Hours at Walt Disney World.

How to Calculate the Cost of Your Stay

Use these two formulas to figure out exactly how many points you need and what your trip will cost.

DVC Lingo Every Renter Should Know

A few key terms will help you understand how the process works and ask the right questions.

Renting from Pixie Point Gals – Step by Step

We have owners at various resorts and are here to make the process as simple as possible. We accept credit card payments that code as travel.

1. Fill Out a Rental Reservation Request Form We can look up in real time what is available at all DVC resorts. We need to know your dates (or flexible date range), the room size you are interested in, and which resorts appeal to you.
2. We Match You with an Owner We find an owner with the right points and text you your options with pricing.
3. Pick Your Resort and Provide Guest Info Once you choose a resort, we collect all guest information needed to book the room. All guests – including infants – must be listed on the reservation.
4. We Send a Screenshot with Confirmation Number You receive a screenshot of the reservation with the Disney confirmation number so you can verify it yourself.
5. Link to Your Disney App We walk you through linking the reservation to your My Disney Experience app (WDW), Disneyland app, or Aulani app to confirm everything is valid.
6. Sign a Contract and Pay Once the reservation is linked and confirmed, you sign a rental contract and pay within 24 hours.

Renting via eBay / Redweek

Both are valid ways to rent DVC. The process is similar to Facebook but listings are more likely to be confirmed reservations.

eBay and Redweek offer some protection because you are transacting through their platform and your credit card adds an extra layer of security. However, keep in mind these purchases will NOT code as travel on your credit card, so you cannot use travel points to erase the cost.

1. Search the Platform On eBay, search “DVC” and “Disney Vacation Club” in the search bar to find available points and confirmed reservations.
2. Find What You Are Looking For Browse listings for the resort, room type, and dates you want.
3. Bid or Buy Place a bid or use Buy It Now on eBay. On Redweek, follow their listing process.
4. Vet the Owner Once the owner contacts you, use the same vetting checklist from Section 11 to verify their legitimacy before finalizing.

How to Vet an Owner When Renting Direct

When renting from a Facebook group or direct from an owner, a little due diligence goes a long way. Scams are rare but they do happen.

First rule: if it is too good to be true, go with your gut. It probably is. We talked with DVC Facebook group moderators and compiled their advice alongside our own rental experience.

Questions to Ask Every Owner

• Where do they own? If they own in Florida or Hawaii, you can look up their DVC ownership in public county records to verify. (Orange County, FL for WDW; Hawaii for Aulani)
• What was the last DVC resort they traveled to? A real owner will have a quick, specific answer.
• Get their phone number or schedule a FaceTime call. Real owners are happy to verify themselves.
• Ask other members of the Facebook group to reference-check the owner using the group search function.
• What is their use year? Use years are months (January, February, etc.). If they answer with a year like “2019” – walk away immediately. This is the easiest way to spot a scammer.
• Are their dues paid in full? Annual dues are paid monthly or yearly. An owner behind on dues could have their reservation canceled.
• Ask if they are willing to accept a personal check mailed via US mail. Most will say no, but it signals you know the rules – and mail fraud carries much higher legal penalties than digital fraud.
• Ask what happens if you need to cancel 30/60/90 days before check-in due to an emergency. A good owner will have a clear answer.
• Ask for a backup contact (email and phone) in case they are unreachable closer to your trip.
• If the Zelle/Venmo/PayPal name does not match their stated name, ask why and re-verify before sending any money.

Do Your Research

• Review their Facebook profile for Disney travel photos. Real DVC owners are almost always avid Disney fans with photos from parks and resorts.
• If the owner provides a rental contract, review it carefully and do not send money until it is signed.
• Be cautious with foreign owners – money sent overseas is nearly impossible to recover if something goes wrong.
• Always load the reservation into your My Disney Experience app before sending any payment. The app connects directly to Disney’s reservation system – a valid reservation showing your name and dates is extremely strong verification.