Best Disney World Resorts for Stretching Your DVC Points
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:
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.
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.
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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