# I actually rented points!  Can you believe that?



## icydog (May 5, 2011)

After selling my almost 1600 points I decided I wanted to take a trip to WDW by myself. I was not feeling too well but I wanted to get away for a few days. Where better to try out my new solo status ... That's right Disney World. I feel very very comfortable there and with the Magical 
Express it will be a piece of cake. 

(I used to rent my own points out on Redweek and this brief rental is such a juxtaposition that is almost laughable. My family told me to save some points, and not to sell them all, and I guess they were right. The good news is that most values have gone down, so if I were to repurchase it would be at a lower per point amount)

I am staying at SSR in a studio, very last minute so that's why I am there, for five nights. I rented the points from David the DVC re-renter on the Dis. I used 75 points for a Sunday through Friday stay and he charged me $13 a point (the member gets $10). I know I could have gotten them cheaper but the Dis is different now. They seem to only allow renting in a small way now and steer people instead to David. 

It is okay with me for this trip since it is my first trip like this by myself and all. I would have suggested we get up our own rental board but I know it would be more trouble than it is worth. So I won't suggest it. 

I'll let you know how it goes. I am going at the end of the month..


----------



## scrapngen (May 6, 2011)

Good for you, Icy! I hope you have a wonderful trip!


----------



## logan115 (May 6, 2011)

For future reference there's also a pretty liquid rental market on mouseowners.com.  Enjoy your trip, off to Bay Lake Tower in about 2 hours !

Chris


----------



## Twinkstarr (May 6, 2011)

Icy, I know this is a big step for you with all that has happened. I think it is important for you to do. 

I've not rented any points, but I've been following the debate on the R/T board at DIS. The "active member" requirement, now the debate of the $25 charge. What a mess.

I miss the old days of the DIS board R/T, the "sob stories" of someone who wants to rent VWL at Xmas because old grandpa used to be a lumberjack and is rather frail, so can you help us out by only charging $8pp. :hysterical: 

If I ever needed to rent points, I'd be more inclined to deal with a TUGGER. At least they have some sort of grasp about TS system cancellation rules and such. 

Mouseowners also has their version of David, went over there to see if there was the mass migration of people trying to rent. Kind of looked the same to me.


----------



## bnoble (May 6, 2011)

Good for you!  Enjoy the trip.

I also second the recommendation for mouseowners.com.  They picked up a lot of the folks who used to rent on DISboards, and the market there is pretty strong.


----------



## Denise L (May 7, 2011)

Wow, that's great that you are going to WDW!  Have a great trip!  I know it must feel weird to rent points, but like you said, you can pick up a contract at a pretty low price right now if you decide that you will want to go more often.  

I still haven't quite figured out how David can rent points out the way he does from all of those owners.  Does he have control over their accounts and points?  I can't see how he can possibly pool that many points together and make the reservations from his own account.  It's new to me and I miss the old disboards, too.  Will mouseowners let you post a rental as a newcomer?


----------



## bnoble (May 7, 2011)

At one time, he transferred them in.  When DVC limited transfers, he had himself added as an associate on folks accounts. Now that DVC put a stop to that, he does all the legwork but the member makes the actual booking (I think)


----------



## Twinkstarr (May 7, 2011)

bnoble said:


> At one time, he transferred them in.  When DVC limited transfers, he had himself added as an associate on folks accounts. Now that DVC put a stop to that, he does all the legwork but the member makes the actual booking (I think)



From what I can tell, if you are a owner who wants to rent points out, David puts you on his list and he matches up renters with owners. I have heard if he calls, you better be ready to call MS asap or he'll move on to the next owner on the list. 

From some of the posts on the R/T board, it looks like he's a middleman for people who want to transfer points and matches them up with people who are looking to rent but might need/want extra points to make a reservation.


----------



## Eli Mairs (May 7, 2011)

Thanks for the mouseowners.com recommendation.
It will be nice to have an alternative to the dis boards. I have been renting my points on dis for several years when unable to use them. I'm not a regular poster, however, and it was a struggle to come up with required fifty posts before I was able to rent out my points earlier in the year.


----------



## Fern Modena (May 7, 2011)

Marylyn,
I am happy to see that you are strong enough to feel that it is time to go away on vacation on your own.  It may be difficult, but it can be rewarding, too.  Smile at people, talk to strangers in the park, and have a good time.  If you don't know what to talk about or how to start, one of the easiest ways is to compliment them on an article of clothing they are wearing.  That always seems to work for me!

Enjoy!  I am so happy for you for taking this big step (I'm a sister in widowhood, it has been 10 months for me now)

Fern




icydog said:


> After selling my almost 1600 points I decided I wanted to take a trip to WDW by myself. I was not feeling too well but I wanted to get away for a few days. Where better to try out my new solo status ... That's right Disney World. I feel very very comfortable there and with the Magical
> Express it will be a piece of cake.
> 
> (I used to rent my own points out on Redweek and this brief rental is such a juxtaposition that is almost laughable. My family told me to save some points, and not to sell them all, and I guess they were right. The good news is that most values have gone down, so if I were to repurchase it would be at a lower per point amount)
> ...


----------



## Twinkstarr (May 7, 2011)

Eli Mairs said:


> Thanks for the mouseowners.com recommendation.
> It will be nice to have an alternative to the dis boards. I have been renting my points on dis for several years when unable to use them. I'm not a regular poster, however, and it was a struggle to come up with required fifty posts before I was able to rent out my points earlier in the year.



You can pay a $25 fee if you want to use the DIS R/T. I wouldn't be surprised if the whole policy gets tossed.


----------



## icydog (May 7, 2011)

bnoble said:


> At one time, he transferred them in.  When DVC limited transfers, he had himself added as an associate on folks accounts. Now that DVC put a stop to that, he does all the legwork but the member makes the actual booking (I think)


That's exactly how it works. The owner does the whole thing and gets $10 for their effort. I wanted to add the Quick Service dining plan but in order to do so I would have to pay upfront. I didn't want to give the amorphous owner my credit card so I bought a $175 Disney gift card. 

I was going to give the gift card information to David so he could pass it to the owner and that would pay for my food plan, but then I figured I would probably not eat $175 worth of food in five nights. So I am taking the gift card with me and I will be using it to pay for all my food at the quick service places (the only places I would eat at alone). I think I will come out ahead. I'll let you know if my theory holds water.


----------



## icydog (May 7, 2011)

Fern Modena said:


> Marylyn,
> I am happy to see that you are strong enough to feel that it is time to go away on vacation on your own.  It may be difficult, but it can be rewarding, too.  Smile at people, talk to strangers in the park, and have a good time.  If you don't know what to talk about or how to start, one of the easiest ways is to compliment them on an article of clothing they are wearing.  That always seems to work for me!
> 
> Enjoy!  I am so happy for you for taking this big step (I'm a sister in widowhood, it has been 10 months for me now)
> ...


Thank you Fern. I am so sorry to hear of your loss. 




Denise L said:


> Wow, that's great that you are going to WDW!  Have a great trip!  I know it must feel weird to rent points, but like you said, you can pick up a contract at a pretty low price right now if you decide that you will want to go more often.
> 
> I still haven't quite figured out how David can rent points out the way he does from all of those owners.  Does he have control over their accounts and points?  I can't see how he can possibly pool that many points together and make the reservations from his own account.  It's new to me and I miss the old disboards, too.  Will mouseowners let you post a rental as a newcomer?



Thank you Denise. It does feel very, very weird to rent points. I was always on the other side of the rental agreement. Now I had to sign one myself. 



bnoble said:


> Good for you!  Enjoy the trip.
> 
> I also second the recommendation for mouseowners.com.  They picked up a lot of the folks who used to rent on DISboards, and the market there is pretty strong.



Thank You BNoble.. I should have looked into Mouseowners. I thought they were following the Dis's lead and I never bothered to check it out. Oh well, next time. 



Twinkstarr said:


> Icy, I know this is a big step for you with all that has happened. I think it is important for you to do.
> 
> I've not rented any points, but I've been following the debate on the R/T board at DIS. The "active member" requirement, now the debate of the $25 charge. What a mess.
> 
> ...


Thank you Twinkstar. Yes it is a big step for me but I am excited to do it. Where in the world would I feel safer than at WDW. I have been going there since it opened and I was one of the very first DVC members. I was member 79.. It was a good ride and I miss it. Who knows what the future may bring. My daughter is upset that her two year old won't get to go to WDW as many times as the other grandkids. I told her I will make sure he goes.


----------



## vacationhopeful (May 7, 2011)

icydog said:


> So I am taking the gift card with me and I will be using it to pay for all my food at the quick service places (the only places I would eat at alone).



icydog,
As a single person, you should not cheat yourself of a relaxing meal at a sit down restrauant. I do it all the time. It is not a temporary condition of being alone for one night; it could be for many more years. At the buffets, I sample many more items than if I am with someone. If I order, I ask for descriptions of the food items - after all I have to eat my ordered food verses trading with someone. I get good service as I am upbeat and interested in the food. 

Yes, I have known some newly single woman who hate eating out alone. But I eat dinner at home alone (with a TV on many times), I eat breakfast alone when I timeshare in FL (usually mid-morning), and I get takeout dinners sometimes, too.  

But I do love a good dinner out, at a nice themed restrauant as the Disney dining places are - so go for it.


----------



## icydog (May 7, 2011)

vacationhopeful said:


> icydog,
> As a single person, you should not cheat yourself of a relaxing meal at a sit down restrauant. I do it all the time. It is not a temporary condition of being alone for one night; it could be for many more years. At the buffets, I sample many more items than if I am with someone. If I order, I ask for descriptions of the food items - after all I have to eat my ordered food verses trading with someone. I get good service as I am upbeat and interested in the food.
> 
> Yes, I have known some newly single woman who hate eating out alone. But I eat dinner at home alone (with a TV on many times), I eat breakfast alone when I timeshare in FL (usually mid-morning), and I get takeout dinners sometimes, too.
> ...



Thank you vacationhopeful, I do love Boma at the AKV. I'll give it a shot if I can persuade myself to go.


----------



## vacationhopeful (May 7, 2011)

icydog said:


> Thank you vacationhopeful, I do love Boma at the AKV. I'll give it a shot if I can persuade myself to go.



I ate at Boma alone in January when I stayed at Kidani - Savanada view.  The food was very good. I never felt like the wanted to empty out my table. And I enjoyed watching the variety of other guests - the table next to me were French speakers with limited English, the large family with grandparents using the last of their DDP, the young couple alone, and a 4 person family. The only ones I felt sorry for were the guests who spoke limited English trying to figure out the Africian food. 

Let me know. It is a wonderful place and buffets are easy alone - you don't have to wait for food to be brought to your table.


----------



## AnnaS (May 8, 2011)

Hope you relax, enjoy and have a great time.  I have heard great things about David's rental.  I am sure it must feel a bit weird - we want to hear details when you get back or while there.


----------



## glypnirsgirl (May 8, 2011)

I think that if you miss eating with someone else that Oktoberfest would be fun. While we were there on our last trip, we ate their for the first time and there were two other people at the table that were by themselves. One of them was a man who regularly travels to WDW by himself and he told me that he always goes there so that he can talk to people. 

Because he has been to WDW so many times, he was a wealth of information. I learned a lot about different ways to do things. And I have been to WDW 10+ times --- he must be a gift for those people that are there for their first few trips. I think that you would have as much (or more) to offer.

When my son was in his teens, I would take him and a friend with me to WDW. They would go off and do their own thing which left me by myself. I had a good time by walking around and enjoying myself. I would offer to take pictures of couples so that they could be in their picture together, I held babies so that their parents could eat in peace, and my favorite, talking to people while waiting for parades. I had a great time.

I am so glad that you are taking a vacation. I hope you have a great time!

elaine


----------



## Culli (May 8, 2011)

Icy- I'm not sure I know the whole story but you and I have exchanged comments on both TUG and DIS.  I'm happy to hear you are going to WDW again and hopefully things are looking brighter.  

On a personal note my Mom is a widower now for 5 years.  Long story short we started going to Disney as a family (including my Mom) staying at the DVC resorts.  In the last 5 months she took a solo trip in Jan, brought my 4 year old son in March, and will be going with my 8 yr old daughter followed by a 3 day cruise end of summer.  This is on top of our family trips, she just loves the place.  She now has an annual pass and I'm planning her 2012 solo trips or bringing one of our kids.  


She doesn't have to rent a car and worry about getting lost, feels safe at Disney, knows how to get around and it gives her a great sense of independence and confidence.  She never did anything without my Dad and since then didn't wander out by herself.  After her solo trip she was a completely different Women, the confidence it gave her was amazing.

Anyway sorry to ramble off topic.  But I hope WDW can bring a smile to your face again!


----------



## elaine (May 8, 2011)

Icy--I know you'll have a great stay! ME and friendly folks at DVC will be great.  I am also disappointed with what happened to disboards. Sometimes I need some points for a certain trip (like 11 month booking window for HHI) and getting a points transfer has always been so easy on disboards. I have met some very lovely DVCers willing to help me out---never a problem. Too bad for a lot of us over on disboards. Have fun! Also, some places have bars that serve full dinners---eating at the bar, you can talk to others, if you want company. Elaine


----------



## chriskre (May 8, 2011)

So glad to hear that you're feeling good enough to go to Disney Icydog. 

I've been to Disney probably at least 100 times over my lifetime and had never done a solo trip til this year.  I gotta say that I LOVED it.  I rode whatever I wanted to, took pictures of couples for them and they took my picture.  Ate whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and even had a guy try to pick me up on the roof of the Contemporary hotel while watching Wishes Fireworks. :whoopie:  I'm now hopeful to meet my Prince Charming at Disney so am planning a solo trip later this year for Food & Wine.  

I definitely second the motion to visit mouseowners.com.  You'll see me over there as that's my Disney forum home.  Lots of great DVC owners and no censoring like the DISboards.  Different owners and a different agenda.  A wealth of DVC info.  More than you'd ever need to know.  

Daddio (David)  also makes his home at MO and you can talk to him there quite easily.  He's also got a great points calculator on his site in case anyone wants to see how many points you'd need for a vacation.  www.dvcbyrequest.com

Enjoy your trip.


----------



## SueDonJ (May 9, 2011)

Marilyn, I'm happy to see you planning a trip to one of your favorite places - hope it's everything you want it to be.   

And thanks everyone for the heads-up about mouseowners.  Years ago we rented points from a DVC member and probably will do it again, but when the disboards changed their policy I wasn't sure if it would be as easy next time around.  Don't know when it will be, but now at least I know where to look.


----------



## elaine (May 9, 2011)

love Bomas--it's my favorite restaurant there! You MUST go--and go early! For a 6 pm dinner, you could go at 3 pm---1st, go to the Mara and get an iced tea, sit right outside under that big tree or walk around the pool and go to the far left--a little path to the savannah viewing--never crowded and there is usually a nice CM for South Africa there to chat with. Then, go inside and park yourself in the lobby and people watch for a while, then have a glass of wine upstairs in the lovely bar, or, just go to the right far end of the lobby and sit by the fire (even in the summer). Finish the night with the 8:30 (call and ask what time) firepit African stories and night vision goggles. Frequently DH is in conference, golfing, etc. and I am alone--I could sit at AKL lobby for hours--you will not feel awkward at all. Elaine


----------

