The Short Answer
For a five-night summer stay in a Studio, rented through a broker at September 2026 rates:
- Saratoga Springs — ~$1,144 (~$229/night). Cheapest villa at Walt Disney World, full stop.
- Old Key West — ~$1,276 (~$255/night). Biggest rooms in the system for the money.
- Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo Value — ~$1,488 (~$298/night). The savanna is the whole point.
All three are Deluxe Villa resorts with Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours eligibility. You're giving up location and theming, not category.
How DVC Rental Pricing Actually Works
Two numbers set your bill: how many points the villa needs for your dates, and what you pay per point. Points come from a published chart that doesn't surge. The per-point rate comes from your broker.
Points rent for typically $22 to $29 per point, depending on the resort and how far ahead you book. Anything cheaper than that is either an expired promotion or a private deal you can't verify — and there's a lot of the former still floating around on Disney blogs. Full breakdown in what renting DVC points actually costs.
| Tier | Rate | Resorts |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum | $29/pt | Beach Club, Polynesian, Cabins at Fort Wilderness — 7–11 months out |
| Premium | $26/pt | BoardWalk, Grand Floridian, Grand Californian, Aulani — 7–11 months out |
| Regular | $24/pt | Bay Lake Tower, Boulder Ridge, Copper Creek, Animal Kingdom, Riviera — year round |
| Advantage | $22/pt | Saratoga Springs, Old Key West, Hilton Head, Vero Beach — year round |
David's published tiers, verified on their own cost calculator September 9, 2026. DVC Rental Store quotes per request rather than publishing a flat rate.
The Three Cheapest DVC Resorts, Ranked
Same comparison for all three: a Studio, five nights, summer dates, rented through a broker at the resort's published tier.
| # | Resort | Points (5 nights) | Total at broker rate | Per-night cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saratoga Springs — Standard Studio | 52 | $1,144 | $229 |
| 2 | Old Key West — Standard Studio | 58 | $1,276 | $255 |
| 3 | Animal Kingdom Lodge — Jambo Value Studio | 62 | $1,488 | $298 |
Saratoga Springs and Old Key West price at David's Advantage tier ($22/pt). Animal Kingdom prices at Regular tier ($24/pt). Rates verified September 9, 2026.
Different dates, different resort, different room size? Run your own numbers instead of borrowing mine.
Open the free DVC savings calculator →1. Saratoga Springs — the cheapest villa at Disney World
Saratoga is big, quiet, and unfashionable, which is exactly why it's cheap. It's also walking distance to Disney Springs, which is worth more with kids than people admit — a dinner you don't need a bus for is a real amenity.
Real cost for 5-night summer stay: ~$1,144 ($229/night)
The trade is transportation. Saratoga is bus-only to the parks and the internal bus loop has several stops, so mornings run long. If your trip is Magic Kingdom-heavy every single day, that adds up. The full Saratoga Springs review walks through what a week there is actually like.
2. Old Key West — the most square footage per dollar
Old Key West villas are the largest in the system. The Studio is noticeably bigger than a modern one, the One-Bedroom is enormous, and nothing about the place is trying to be cute. For families who need space rather than theming, it's the best value at Walt Disney World.
Real cost for 5-night summer stay: ~$1,276 ($255/night)
If you're deciding between a Studio here and stepping up a room size, the studio vs one-bedroom breakdown has the point math.
3. Animal Kingdom Lodge, Jambo Value Studio — the cheapest room worth booking on theming alone
The Value Studios at Jambo House are the lowest point totals at any Deluxe resort, and there are very few of them, so they go fast. You're in a smaller room in a less convenient wing — and you're at Animal Kingdom Lodge, which is the best-themed resort Disney owns.
Real cost for 5-night summer stay: ~$1,488 ($298/night)
Note the tier: Animal Kingdom rents at $24 a point, not $22, so it costs more than the point chart alone suggests. If you're choosing between the two halves of the resort, I compared them in Jambo House vs Kidani Village.
Confirmed Reservations vs Point Requests
There are two ways to rent, and they don't cost the same.
A confirmed reservation is a villa a member has already booked and the broker is reselling. The dates, resort and room type are fixed — take it or leave it — and because the member wants it gone, it's often a little under the standard tier rate. If your dates are flexible, this is where the deals are.
A point request is you naming the resort, dates and room, and a member booking it for you. Point requests are priced at the broker's published tier for that resort — $22 to $29 depending on where and when. You pay for the control.
If you're weighing a villa against an off-property vacation home for a bigger group, I priced the same week both ways — the answer isn't the one this site usually gives.
💡 Dad Tip: Rental bookings are non-refundable, and that's the real cost of the discount. Before you send anyone money, read is renting DVC points safe and best time to rent DVC points.
Cheapest DVC Rental Questions
The Bottom Line
Saratoga Springs is the cheapest Deluxe villa you can rent at Walt Disney World and it isn't close — about $229 a night for a room Disney would sell you for well over $500. Old Key West costs a little more and gives you the biggest room in the system. Animal Kingdom costs $212 more than Old Key West across five nights, because it prices a tier up, and the savanna is the only reason to pay it. That's a perfectly good reason.
What none of these are is a bargain-bin room. They're the same category as the resorts that cost twice as much, with the same park perks. You're paying less for address, not for quality.
Price your own dates before you book anything.
Point charts move by season and rates move by resort. The free DVC Savings Guide walks the rental process start to finish, and the calculator gives you the number for your actual week.
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Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. I only link things I'd tell a friend to use.
— Tom, Dad at Disney
P.S. If a site quotes you under $22 a point, ask them where the number came from. Most of the time the honest answer is "a blog post from 2024."
About the author
Tom is a dad of three who's been renting DVC points since 2019 and writing about Disney savings at Dad at Disney since 2026. He has stayed at Saratoga Springs more times than at any other resort, mostly because it keeps being the cheapest.