Best Disney World Resorts for Stretching Your DVC Points

Disney's Animal Kingdom Lobby

Disney Vacation Club Members planning their Disney World trips often ask which resorts will allow them to get the most length of stay with their points.  And prospective Members also tend to ask this when considering which resort to choose as their Home Resort as well.

So, which resort will your points last the longest at Disney World? Out of the 10 DVC Resorts at Disney World, 4 of them consistently rank as the highest value:

Disney's Boardwalk

Turns out, Disney’s Boardwalk offers great value for those looking to squeak out a few more days with the mouse.

Timing Matters When it Comes to DVC Points

Below is a chart for each season on the DVC calendar.  Each chart ranks #1 – #3 the top resorts for stretching your DVC points based on a weekly stay for the 4 main DVC room types:  Studio, One-Bedroom, Two-Bedroom and Grand Villa.  Additionally, a theoretical cost is provided, which simply takes the number of points for the stay and multiplies that number by the cost per point per year to own at that particular resort.  For more details on how the cost per point per year is derived for each DVC resort, please see Proposed 2018 DVC Annual Dues and its Economic Impact to Owning DVC.

Accommodation Size Can Make a Difference Too

Animal Kingdom and Old Key West appeared more than any other WDW DVC Resorts in ranking the fewest points required.  Regardless of the season, Animal Kingdom consistently took the top ranking for Studios, One-Bedrooms and Two-Bedrooms and Old Key West regularly took the top spot for a Grand Villa Accommodation.

The main reason for Animal Kingdom’s high rankings were due to the unique room type they have, referred to as “Value”.  At Animal Kingdom, hotel rooms originally at Jambo House that were converted to DVC rooms were smaller than the typical DVC accommodations and thus got considered “Value” rooms.  As a result, as their name indicates, they provide a tremendous value as they not only require some of fewest points in the entire DVC network, but the majority of those rooms still face the famed savannahs at the Animal Kingdom Resort.  Very importantly though, if you intend on taking advantage of Value rooms at Animal Kingdom less than 10% of the rooms are in this category, and consequently it can be difficult to get without Home Resort Priority at Animal Kingdom.  As a result, making ownership at Animal Kingdom critical to staying in Animal Kingdom Value rooms on a regular basis.

Giraffes at the Sunset Savannah

It should be no surprise to many DVC Member veterans that Old Key West is appearing frequently on the charts for the fewest points usage.  Old Key West was the original DVC Resort, and it has been often said it was created before Disney knew exactly what they were doing in the world of timeshares.  This statement has often been said as Old Key West rooms were made 20% larger than most other timeshares with point charts that are considered historically low when compared to DVC Resorts that have came since.

Disney's Old Key West

DVC Resort Value Charts

For all the seasons, the following DVC Resorts consistently ranked #1 for the fewest weekly points required:

  • Studio:  Animal Kingdom Value Accommodation
  • One-Bedroom:  Animal Kingdom Value Accommodation
  • Two-Bedroom:  Animal Kingdom Value Accommodation
  • Grand-Villa: Old Key West
Adventure Season (Jan. 1-31, Sept. 1-30, Dec. 1-14)
  #1 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #2 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #3 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points
Room Size Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost
Studio Animal Kingdom Value / 69 pts. / $646 Old Key West (tie) / 76 pts. / $776 Boardwalk Std. (tie) / 76 pts. / $857
One-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 139 pts. / $1,302 Boardwalk Std. / 154 pts. / $1,736 Old Key West / 157 pts. / $1,602
Two-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 185 pts. / $1,732 Old Key West / 217 pts. / $2,214 Saratoga Springs Std. / 218 pts. / $1,856
Grand Villa Old Key West / 349 pts. / $3,560 Saratoga Springs Std. / 464 pts. / $3,949 Animal Kingdom Std. / 501 pts. / $4,689
*Theoretical cost is derived by multiplying the costs per point per year to own that respected resort by the number of points needed for the stay.

 

Choice Season (Oct. 1 – Nov. 20, Nov. 24-30, Dec. 15-23)
  #1 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #2 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #3 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points
Room Size Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost
Studio Animal Kingdom Value / 69 pts. / $646 Old Key West (tie) / 78 pts. / $796 Boardwalk Std. (tie) / 78 pts. / $880
One-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 158 pts. / $1,479 Boardwalk Std. / 166 pts. / $1,871 Old Key West / 174 pts. / $1,775
Two-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 213 pts. / $1,994 Boardwalk Std. / 231 pts. / $2,604 Saratoga Springs Std. / 241 pts. / $2,051
Grand Villa Old Key West / 358 pts. / $3,652 Saratoga Springs Std. / 498 pts. / $4,238 Animal Kingdom Std. / 529 pts. / $4,952
*Theoretical cost is derived by multiplying the costs per point per year to own that respected resort by the number of points needed for the stay.

 

Dream Season (Feb. 1-15, May 1 – Jun. 10, Aug. 16-31)
  #1 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #2 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #3 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points
Room Size Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost
Studio Animal Kingdom Value / 76 pts. / $712 Saratoga Springs Std. / 99 pts. / $843 Old Key West / 99 pts. / $1,010
One-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 167 pts. / $1,564 Old Key West / 199 pts. / $2,030 Boardwalk Std. / 206 pts. / $2,322
Two-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 220 pts. / $2,060 Saratoga Springs Std. / 248 pts. / $2,111 Old Key West / 269 pts. / $2,744
Grand Villa Old Key West / 428 pts. / $4,366 Saratoga Springs Std. / 554 pts. / $4,715 Animal Kingdom Std. / 603 / $5,645
*Theoretical cost is derived by multiplying the costs per point per year to own that respected resort by the number of points needed for the stay.

 

Magic Season (Feb. 16 – Mar. 24, Apr. 8-30, Jun. 11 – Aug. 15, Nov. 21-23)
  #1 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #2 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #3 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points
Room Size Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost
Studio Animal Kingdom Value / 95 pts. / $890 Saratoga Springs Std. / 106 pts. / $903 Old Key West (tie w/BW Std.) / 108 pts. / $1,102
One-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 188 pts. / $1,760 Boardwalk Std. / 220 pts. / $2,480 Old Key West / 222 pts. / $2,265
Two-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 243 pts. / $2,275 Saratoga Springs Std. / 294 pts. / $2,502 Old Key West / 296 pts. / $3,020
Grand Villa Old Key West / 477 pts. / $4,866 Saratoga Springs Std. / 688 pts. / $5,855 Animal Kingdom Std. / 707 pts. / $6,618
*Theoretical cost is derived by multiplying the costs per point per year to own that respected resort by the number of points needed for the stay.

 

Premier Season (Mar. 25 – Apr. 7, Dec. 24-31)
  #1 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #2 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points #3 Rank for Fewest Weekly Points
Room Size Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost Resort / Weekly pts. / *Theoretical Cost
Studio Animal Kingdom Value / 118 pts. / $1,105 Saratoga Springs Std. (tie) / 150 pts. / $1,277 Boardwalk Std. (tie) / 150 pts. / $1,691
One-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 234 pts. / $2,191 Old Key West / 300 pts. / $3,060 Saratoga Springs Std. / 304 pts. / $2,588
Two-Bedroom Animal Kingdom Value / 322 pts. / $3,014 Saratoga Springs Std. / 396 pts. / $3,370 Old Key West / 398 pts. / $4,060
Grand Villa Old Key West / 615 pts. / $6,273 Saratoga Springs Std. / 812 pts. / $6,911 Animal Kingdom Std. / 850 pts. / $7,956
*Theoretical cost is derived by multiplying the costs per point per year to own that respected resort by the number of points needed for the stay.

 

All tables above are based on the 2018 Point Charts.

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