# RCI Exchange for Timeshares at Disney World



## jenmcnitt (Apr 13, 2021)

When looking at the RCI Weeks resort directory, I see several Disney resorts listed.    How likely is it to be able to make a trade to one of these resorts though?    I have quite a few weeks points saved up (75) and have an ongoing search setup, but I'm wondering if I will need to think about a back-up option also.

I've stayed at timeshares near Disney before, but it would be nice to be able to stay on site at least once.   The vacation would be in early Feb '22.

Thanks!


----------



## bnoble (Apr 13, 2021)

If you join TUG, you will see the Sightings forum which will give you lots of specific details.

In general: 2BRs are not possible. 1BRs can be if you are flexible about which dates and resort (Saratoga Springs is most common).


----------



## CPNY (Apr 13, 2021)

jenmcnitt said:


> When looking at the RCI Weeks resort directory, I see several Disney resorts listed.    How likely is it to be able to make a trade to one of these resorts though?    I have quite a few weeks points saved up (75) and have an ongoing search setup, but I'm wondering if I will need to think about a back-up option also.
> 
> I've stayed at timeshares near Disney before, but it would be nice to be able to stay on site at least once.   The vacation would be in early Feb '22.
> 
> Thanks!


Early Feb will come up in the summer/fall. You’re looking at either Saratoga springs resort or old key west. It’s not unlikely but they do go quickly if not matched on an OGS


----------



## jenmcnitt (May 16, 2021)

I ended up using some of my points for another trade.  Would anyone know how many RCI week points are needed to trade to either of these resorts?

Edit:  actually I believe I figured it out.


----------



## TimeshareTraveller (Jun 21, 2021)

Hi @jenmcnitt , 
We've traded into Saratoga Springs twice with RCI week points from our Massanutten in VA and Vail, CO timeshares. It took 55 points on each trade, and we were lucky to find them. We snagged them around midnight when they dropped into the open trading platform.  We've seen Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, and on one lucky occasion, Animal Kingdom Lodge (though we didn't have enough points at that time to snag it). One Saratoga Springs was about 3 years ago (pre-covid) and it was mid-August and smoking hot heat. We were put in the Paddock section, and found that the quieter pool there is open very late (possibly 24 hours). We would come back from a midnight Magic Kingdom closing, change into a swimsuit, and gratefully drop into that pool for a quick swim before bed.  In August heat, that pool was invaluable.

The other stay was also a 1 BR Saratoga Springs and I just can't remember what time of year it was. (That's Covid. It's messed with my memory a bit and I've had to retrain some things over these last 6 months)  We were put in the Paddock section but a lot further from the pool that time. 

We just returned from a Florida trip to Orlando and only did mild theme park stuff (Discovery Cove and SeaWorld). It's only June, and I had heat exhaustion symptoms on four days of last week after only a few hours of marching around.  It's the fact that I haven't done much walking since Covid shut us all down, so I was truly unprepared for 7 mile hikes in 97 degree weather with 60% humidity.  I didn't have heat exhaustion at Discovery Cove, though I spent most of the time there in the water.


----------



## rickandcindy23 (Jun 21, 2021)

jenmcnitt said:


> I ended up using some of my points for another trade.  Would anyone know how many RCI week points are needed to trade to either of these resorts?
> 
> Edit:  actually I believe I figured it out.


DVC trades in weeks have been 45 points, but I have seen them as high as 59 points.   45 points is actually pretty reasonable for a DVC one bedroom.


----------



## Gwendyc (Jun 24, 2021)

Not the original poster, but I also had a question about backup options. We would like to spend some time in Florida in early December, and am intrigued about the idea of staying at either AKL or SSR (or, wishful thinking, Boardwalk Villas). We are new to timesharing and this would be our first time using RCI. If we put in an OGS and are waiting for matches, at what point should we just book a backup option at a non-Disney resort?


----------



## bnoble (Jun 24, 2021)

Gwendyc said:


> If we put in an OGS and are waiting for matches, at what point should we just book a backup option at a non-Disney resort?


If you look at the Sightings board (or even if you just watch the inventory yourself) you'll notice that deposits seem to be running only 2-3 months in advance of check-in, sometimes a little more. If I didn't have something by about six weeks, I'd start to think it was a long shot.

Given that timeline, I think you're better off booking a cancellable backup in advance, rather than move to a backup last minute. That's what I do. I'm even okay with some friction in that process. For example, I wouldn't mind taking a Wyndham Bonnet Creek exchange (typically deposited about 7-8 months prior to use), with points protection, and then just dropping it if a good DVC option turns up. The upgrade is worth the extra exchange fee in most cases.

In Orlando, you can usually roll the dice and grab a decent last-minute exchange, but that's more stress than I need in my life right now.

One thing to note: The first two weeks of December is usually the absolute busiest time for internal bookings in DVC, so it is likely to be one of the hardest exchanges to get--particularly in resorts not named Saratoga Springs. This year is likely to be even harder than most with the points glut working its way through the DVC system.


----------



## Gwendyc (Jun 24, 2021)

bnoble said:


> If you look at the Sightings board (or even if you just watch the inventory yourself) you'll notice that deposits seem to be running only 2-3 months in advance of check-in, sometimes a little more. If I didn't have something by about six weeks, I'd start to think it was a long shot.
> 
> Given that timeline, I think you're better off booking a cancellable backup in advance, rather than move to a backup last minute. That's what I do. I'm even okay with some friction in that process. For example, I wouldn't mind taking a Wyndham Bonnet Creek exchange (typically deposited about 7-8 months prior to use), with points protection, and then just dropping it if a good DVC option turns up. The upgrade is worth the extra exchange fee in most cases.
> 
> ...


Good info, thanks. I had no idea early December would be busiest. I was talking to someone who said first 2 weeks would be lower crowds. Though we would be happy at SSR. At least there are a lot of nice options in Orlando area.


----------



## TheHolleys87 (Jun 24, 2021)

Gwendyc said:


> Good info, thanks. I had no idea early December would be busiest. I was talking to someone who said first 2 weeks would be lower crowds. Though we would be happy at SSR. At least there are a lot of nice options in Orlando area.


Yes, first two weeks are traditionally lower crowds in the parks - and the combination of lower crowds and lower points cost per night means those two weeks book up by DVC owners faster than even the Christmas to NY week. So I agree with others above - book your “backup” now and put in the OGS. You might get lucky!


----------



## jenmcnitt (Jul 25, 2021)

OP here…

The latest posts have been helpful.  My plans have changed and I am planning to go to Disney in Oct instead.  About a month ago I changed the dates for my ongoing search.   Is there any chance that a DVC resort match will come up for me for the last full week in Oct?  For a while I saw some days come up for Aug and early September.  Nothing for Oct yet though.  Maybe it is still too soon.


----------



## CPNY (Jul 25, 2021)

jenmcnitt said:


> OP here…
> 
> The latest posts have been helpful.  My plans have changed and I am planning to go to Disney in Oct instead.  About a month ago I changed the dates for my ongoing search.   Is there any chance that a DVC resort match will come up for me for the last full week in Oct?  For a while I saw some days come up for Aug and early September.  Nothing for Oct yet though.  Maybe it is still too soon.


Sept/Oct/Nov are historically very hard to match in RCI. This year I’ve seen some September and that’s mostly due to Covid availability. I believe some Jan/Feb inventory is starting to hit on OGS as well as open inventory. Keep us posted if you match an Oct week. If you do, consider yourself lucky.

I may be completely wrong but that was the trend I saw when I went combing through the DVC sightings threads a year or two before covid.


----------



## TheHolleys87 (Jul 26, 2021)

jenmcnitt said:


> OP here…
> 
> The latest posts have been helpful.  My plans have changed and I am planning to go to Disney in Oct instead.  About a month ago I changed the dates for my ongoing search.   Is there any chance that a DVC resort match will come up for me for the last full week in Oct?  For a while I saw some days come up for Aug and early September.  Nothing for Oct yet though.  Maybe it is still too soon.


The highest-demand period for DVC before the pandemic was mid-September until after Marathon weekend in January. This year demand was even higher and DVC booked up even faster than usual, and right now there’s little to no availability for those months, even for SSR and OKW which in normal times were the last to fill. I have no idea how DVC handles its RCI deposits, so it’s possible they’ve reserved some villas for October and haven’t posted them yet, but in any case you should put in an OGS and also check your RCI account frequently in case something pops up.


----------



## bnoble (Jul 26, 2021)

...and in general, having a range of dates you are interested in is more likely to result in a match than having only one specific week in mind. Granted, sometimes you have to plan for a specific week, for other reasons. For example, I am often looking for a week that matches one or the other of my kids' college spring breaks. But, when I'm doing that, I _always_ have a backup in place for lodging. As a Wyndham owner, that's usually Bonnet Creek.


----------



## elaine (Jul 26, 2021)

WDW 50th anniversary is Oct 1. It's possible, but I'd expect most of Oct will be jammed. Esp. if you're wanting just 1 week, I'd have a realistic back up plan.


----------



## jenmcnitt (Aug 9, 2021)

Thanks everyone this is helpful.  I have some backup options if this trade does not work out.  I did not realize this was a peak time since TouringPlans showed the dates as not peak times.   Since it is during the school year, I thought it would not be a peak time too.


----------



## bnoble (Aug 10, 2021)

DVC peak is not always the same as Park attendance peak.


----------



## TimeshareTraveller (Aug 10, 2021)

Gwendyc said:


> Not the original poster, but I also had a question about backup options. We would like to spend some time in Florida in early December, and am intrigued about the idea of staying at either AKL or SSR (or, wishful thinking, Boardwalk Villas). We are new to timesharing and this would be our first time using RCI. If we put in an OGS and are waiting for matches, at what point should we just book a backup option at a non-Disney resort?


Oh...while I was writing this, the Aug 15 DVC SSR week was snagged. 

Currently I am seeing 5 DVC SSR resorts in the Orlando area in my RCI Weeks search.  Two are low points (12pts each) for Aug 15 start and Aug 21 start.  Since that's just a few days from now, these were probably cancellations dropped back into DVC.  Three are for mid to late January, 45 points. So it looks like normal inventory is dropping for January now, and if you want October you may be looking for a cancellation.  

Club Wyndham Bonnet Creek is also booking for Jan/Feb now, with a couple of Aug cancellation reservations in there.  It's not DVC, but that's a nice resort.    

Hilton Parc-Soleil, the one closest to Disney parks, has a decent amount of availability from Jan through June. They may have sent out the maintenance fee invoices (though I thought they go out in November).  There's a few of September.


----------



## TimeshareTraveller (Aug 10, 2021)

Just be aware that October at Disney this year will likely be IMPOSSIBLE to get because of the Oct 1 - 50th Anniversary Celebration and the popularity of Disney Halloween events (that start in August). 

While Covid is keeping the foreign travelers away, the draw of the 50th anniversary is going to be immense.


----------



## TimeshareTraveller (Aug 10, 2021)

We're planning a trip this winter, and managed to score reservations at Ft Wilderness for an eye-watering cost. My kid really wanted Disney and this will be part of the "50th Anniversary Year" but we couldn't find a late Sept/early Oct reservation block six months ago. All of those special events are sold out too. And it may be mobbed wall-to-wall with folks celebrating.


----------



## jenmcnitt (Aug 12, 2021)

Based on what I'm seeing, I'm fairly certain that I will not get into a DVC unless I get lucky with a cancellation.      I'm still deciding if I even want to go this fall now due to various reasons so I haven't  put anything on hold.   Vacation Village at Parkway is an internal trade for me since I have a Vacation Village resort.   So far I'm seeing a good number of rooms available when I was considering going.    If I wait a bit longer, I may be able to just use one of my 2-45 free trades vs using any points.

Decisions...


----------



## rickandcindy23 (Aug 12, 2021)

You won't get anything for October.  I have had a search going for 8 months and nothing has come through.  I had the entire month of October in my search.


----------



## dms1709 (Aug 13, 2021)

I have had a request in for 8 months also,  DVC from Oct 1-Dec 31 and nothing.   I do have a back up plan.


----------



## Ansley (Aug 16, 2022)

Some info on getting Disney resorts with RCI.  Last year in April 2021 my family stayed at Saratoga Springs Resort for a week, then just the last 2 weeks in from July 31 - Aug 13 my family stayed at Old Key West resort at Disney by trading RCI!  We were so excited as I had NEVER seen a Disney resort on RCI in about 28 years, not that we were looking all the time, but somehow I came across a post on Facebook where someone mentioned it in Feb. 2021.  So I checked, and we booked a week at the end of April 2021 for Saratoga Springs, the only resort available and only for about 4 weeks.  Sadly the week we really wanted was gone overnight, that week my 2 boys were on spring break, but we booked a week in late April. They were all 1 BR unit sleeps 4.  It cost about 85000 RCI points and an exchange fee and cleaning fee.  The Exchange fee is $239 and cleaning fee was $160? or so, total was just under $400 dollars for the week!  That's insane as I checked online and they go for $450-$600 per night on Disney's website.  We had a great time, no catches, you call the DVC phone number provided after a few days and give them the confirmation that RCI sends you, then you can get into the Disney website (ie. Disney Experience) and book everything like you are a Disney guest.   Then this year around May I saw a bunch or weeks pop up for July and August at both Disney Saratoga Springs resort AND Disney Old Key West Resort.  So, the difference this time was some of the weeks I could put a hold on, while I talked to my family about going, for a day.  So I put 2 different dates from both resorts on hold so we could talk abou it.  I ended up doing 2 weeks, 2 sepearate bookings, at Old Key West for July 31-Aug 7 and Aug 7 to Aug 14.  Again, it was 85000 points per week and the same cost, so total just under $400 per week.  We just got back, my Son came down for a 9 days and my wife after for about 6 days.  It is pretty awesome staying on Disney property for essentially the cost of a budget Kissimmee hotel!  The total is only about $57 per night.  Amazing, plus it was nice having extra days to relax with a full kitchen and laundry.  My son and I have Universal season passes so we spent part of 2 days there, we LOVE Universal.  Bottom line if the resorts pop up again, but maybe doubtful, we'll do it again.  We have a lot of points due to 2 double units in NC that we own between my Wife and Mother-in-law, so the points aren't a problem.  We have trouble using all of our points.  I say doubtful they will come up again because I think Disney only dumped weeks on RCI because of low occupancy during COVID.  I'm not sure how DVC manages the resorts, like what happens if people don't show up or can't come, or if people don't seel their points privately but I think they are only showing up becasue of lack of demand in the current environment and economy.  I would LOVE it if more weeks show up in the next few years.  Also, they go VERY fast, so if/when they show up again you need to jump on them quickly.


----------



## jenmcnitt (Aug 16, 2022)

Ansley said:


> I would LOVE it if more weeks show up in the next few years.  Also, they go VERY fast, so if/when they show up again you need to jump on them quickly.



Be aware though that Disney resorts in the future are no longer going to be traded through RCI.  There maybe a few straggler weeks here and there, but they are only going to be exchanged through II in the future.  

Unfortunately my home resort is RCI exclusive.









						Disney Vacation Club announces Interval International will replace RCI as exchange provider
					

Disney Vacation Club has named Interval International as its new exclusive exchange provider, in an agreement comprising of 15 DVC properties.



					attractionsmagazine.com


----------



## Ansley (Aug 18, 2022)

jenmcnitt said:


> Be aware though that Disney resorts in the future are no longer going to be traded through RCI.  There maybe a few straggler weeks here and there, but they are only going to be exchanged through II in the future.
> 
> Unfortunately my home resort is RCI exclusive.
> 
> ...



Yes, I pointed out I had seen any weeks in YEARS, and that this was probably only due to the Pandemic, and I'm afraid this won't repeat again.  I guess I can say we REALLY enjoyed it while it lasted last year and this year!


----------

