DVC Peak vs. WDW Resort Peak

[Pixiedust530]

I have been reading these threads for weeks to learn as much as I can before purchasing DVC. One of the things I am trying to decide is where we will choose for our "home resort". I would stay at any of the DVC Villas, but would also like the flexibility to try out other resorts (yes, I know this is not guaranteed to always be an option).

It sounds like SSR, OKW and possibly AKV all are relatively easy to book at the 7 month mark, but others are more difficult depending on the season (BLT, BWV, BCV). I keep reading where people mention "OH, that's a busy DVC time".

So...here's my question...what are the "peak" times/seasons for DVC? It seems like they don't quite match with the regular busy times (except maybe as far as Christmas). If BLT, BCV or BWV wasn't my home resort what would be the likelihood of getting a villa at the 7 month mark for travel in June? July? October? Early December? Summer and sometimes October would be the most common times for us to travel and would like to do at least one trip in early December to see all the Christmas decorations.

Thanks in advance for any and all insight!

 

[Chuck S]

June & July are relatively slow DVC times. October at the EPCOT area resorts is busy because of Food and Wine festival. Early December is a busy time for all DVC resorts, points are relatively cheap and the Christmas activities are in full swing.

 

[Sammie]

Summer months are not that hard to book at 7 months due to higher points required, park crowds and heat and storms.

As Chuck said October, and December can be much harder. BWV and BCV are hard to get at 7 months during any of the Food and Wine dates and VWL is hard to get during early December due to decorations at the Lodge.

 

[BestDadEver]

I have been reading these threads for weeks to learn as much as I can before purchasing DVC. One of the things I am trying to decide is where we will choose for our "home resort". I would stay at any of the DVC Villas, but would also like the flexibility to try out other resorts (yes, I know this is not guaranteed to always be an option).

It sounds like SSR, OKW and possibly AKV all are relatively easy to book at the 7 month mark, but others are more difficult depending on the season (BLT, BWV, BCV). I keep reading where people mention "OH, that's a busy DVC time".

So...here's my question...what are the "peak" times/seasons for DVC? It seems like they don't quite match with the regular busy times (except maybe as far as Christmas). If BLT, BCV or BWV wasn't my home resort what would be the likelihood of getting a villa at the 7 month mark for travel in June? July? October? Early December? Summer and sometimes October would be the most common times for us to travel and would like to do at least one trip in early December to see all the Christmas decorations.

Thanks in advance for any and all insight!

I just joined and have yet to use my points yet but . I have about 3-4 people I know that have DVC for quite a while . Because I here so much here about avalability and not getting what you want , I have asked all of them and no one ever has an issue getting what they want from people I know a long time .

I picked SSR for a few reasons one the price pp was less then most and the dues were almost the lowest . I would have got BLT cause the dues were less then SSR , but the PP was too much, now its way more .

I didn't get AKV cause they have higher dues , but being I that I only got 100 points I have though it may have been better to get AKV just to be able to get the value rooms and make my points go further . When I add more points I will not really be looking for value rooms so it shouden't be a big deal .

 

[OldGrizzly57]

If BLT, BCV or BWV wasn't my home resort what would be the likelihood of getting a villa at the 7 month mark for travel in June? July? October? Early December? Summer and sometimes October would be the most common times for us to travel and would like to do at least one trip in early December to see all the Christmas decorations. Thanks in advance for any and all insight!

If you want any of those resorts from October through New Years you should buy at one of those resorts. Seven month booking for any of them during those times may be difficult and the "low point" or "best view" options for BLT and BWV will be very difficult if not possible.

Summer just depends. It seems odd but summer for BCV and BLT can be tight at seven months and then at three to four months seem wide open. I'd say a lot of people booking those "what if" trips and then cancelling when they decide not to go but I'm just not sure.

Good Luck!

Griz

 

[MinnieGirl33]

We bought at BLT specifically to be able to get December stays.

 

[tb1972]

I was wondering about Flower and Garden at Epcot. I've never been during March or April - is this a peak DVC / WDW event? The photos look beautiful!

 

[Caren90]

I was wondering about Flower and Garden at Epcot. I've never been during March or April - is this a peak DVC / WDW event? The photos look beautiful!

I was at Flower and Garden for both an April and May visit. I was able to get BWV with relative ease (and that was with Boardwalk view) at the 2 month mark. I am not sure if I was lucky or if this is the general experience for most people during that time of year.
Stephen

 

[Pixiedust530]

Thank you to everyone that has responded! I would love to hear from others also. Personal experiences are a plus.

I am somewhat surprised to hear that summer is not extremely difficult to book at 7 months out. I guess maybe it's because most often I will be traveling with my DS5 and am limited to his school schedule and not all DVC owners are adults with school age kids.

We just went to Disney this past October and fell in love with weather, crowds (or lack thereof) and MNSSHP, so I'm sure we will go back again at that time of year at some point.

I'm still unsure where our home resort should be.

 

[Sammie]

I was wondering about Flower and Garden at Epcot. I've never been during March or April - is this a peak DVC / WDW event? The photos look beautiful!

There can be certain days, such as Mother's day weekend, that you will see an increase in bookings. Not near what you see for Food and Wine though.

Certainly Spring Breaks can see a rise in bookings too.

The hardest I have found is the Epcot resorts during Food and Wine and VWL in early December and BLT too.

 

[Sandisw]

Thank you to everyone that has responded! I would love to hear from others also. Personal experiences are a plus.

I am somewhat surprised to hear that summer is not extremely difficult to book at 7 months out. I guess maybe it's because most often I will be traveling with my DS5 and am limited to his school schedule and not all DVC owners are adults with school age kids.

We just went to Disney this past October and fell in love with weather, crowds (or lack thereof) and MNSSHP, so I'm sure we will go back again at that time of year at some point.

I'm still unsure where our home resort should be.

Nothing is ever impossible with a DVC booking--but, getting what you want, for the length of time you want, at the resort you want, without having to split stay becomes much harder at the times you mention wanting to go, specifically October through New Years.

We own at BLT and BWV. My DH decided right around the 11 month mark to do a 4 night trip for the first week of December. I booked 5 days into the 11 month window and could only get LV in a studio at BLT--all the SV rooms were gone. I was able to get SV at BWV but within a week of the 11 month window, both BWV and BLT had no more SV studios left.

Now, my wait list for the SV studio at BLT did come through, about a week after the 7 month window opened, but I had been on it so early in the 11 month window, I think that is why.

IMO, if you want to stay at BWV, BLT, or VWL during those fall months, my suggestion is to buy at one of them. If you are willing to roll the dice and won't be upset if you can never get those for your trip, then go with other options.

Summer should not be a problem getting something at the 7 month mark at those resorts--we travel in August yearly and have yet to have a problem--but those other times will be hit or miss.

We own where we want to stay so that I know going in I have what I want since where we stay is the number one priority for us when we go.

Good luck!

 

[DebbieB]

I was at BWV from April 28 to May 4 at BWV. Just for the heck of it, I checked online reservations to see how booked up the hotel was right before I left. A pool/garden 1 bedroom was still available. I've stayed at OKW several times around Mothers Day and didn't have a problem at 7 months. I've also stayed at AKV and didn't have a problem at 7 months for June. October through December is the hardest time for DVC.

 

[Lynne M]

If BLT, BCV or BWV wasn't my home resort what would be the likelihood of getting a villa at the 7 month mark for travel in June? July? October? Early December? Summer and sometimes October would be the most common times for us to travel and would like to do at least one trip in early December to see all the Christmas decorations.

June and July aren't tough to get at all, particularly at the 7 month mark. BLT, BCV and BWV are going to be very tough from Oct through New Years. In December, all resorts are difficult to get at 7 months.

Do you like to do the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot during your October trips? If so, I'd look for a resale at BWV or BCV. For your December trip(s), you'll definitely want to book your home resort at 11 months out. You can use your summer trips for trying other DVC resorts, I should think you'd have availability just about anywhere at 7 months.

 

[drusba]

You need to view it as three factors that determine ability to get something at 7 months out: time of year, room category and identity of resort:

The two highest DVC demand times of the year are first week of December (it is number one on the DVC demand scale) and December 23 to about Jan 3 (number two on the demand scale but having the highest demand night of the year, New Year's Eve). The last two days of September through second week of Nov, the day before Thanksgiving to end of Nov, and second week of Dec are also high demand. Likewise last few days of June through about July 9, The Friday to Thursday that includes Presidents' Day, third week of March through mid- April are high demand with the two Easter weeks, wherever they fall, being very high demand. The Thursday through Monday of marathon weekend in Jan is also quite high. Other than time around July 4, June through mid-August is moderate demand, as are last two weeks of April unless Easter is is late into that third week. May is lower demand with somewhat higher around Memorial Day weekend. Also low to moderate are last part of Feb though second week of March. Somewhat low demand from about Jan 4 or 5 to Wednesday before marathon weekend, and just as low is third week of December until Dec 22. Low demand from Tuesday after marathon weekend through mid-Feb with MLK weekend time creating a little but not much higher demand. Lowest demand period of the year is mid-Aug to about September 28 (and Labor Day weekend makes no difference as it also a very low demand time).

The room category and identity of resort then create large variations. At 7 months out: (a) you can always find any room size at SSR other than treehouses which usually disappear before 7 months out; (b) it is also usually easy to get rooms at OKW except Grand Villas can sometimes disappear before 7 months out as can any rooms close to Hospitality House (HH is a booking category there); (c) at AKV standard and savanna view are almost always open at 7 months (the exception can be first week of December although even then you can usually get lucky if you reserve on-line exactly at 8 eastern seven months out); GVs at Kidani are usually open at 7 months out and at Jambo may be found during lower to moderate demand periods; concierge and value rooms are usually gone most of the year at 7 months although you can sometimes find a value during the lower demand times; (d) at BLT, standard views are usually gone before 7 months out although they might be found at times during the lowest demand periods, MK view rooms, including GVs, are usually open at 7 months during low to moderate times and sometimes during somewhat busier times; Lake View rooms are usually open at 7 months except can be gone during very high demand times; (e) at BWV, GVs are usually gone before 7 months out, and standard and boardwalk view rooms can often be gone at 7 months out except for the lower demand times, but pool/garden view are usually open except for very high demand times; (f) Beach Club is usually open during lower demand times, gone during very high demand times, sometimes gone during high demand times, and usually open but can be hit or miss during moderate times; (g) VWL is usually open for any moderate to low demand times and also even open for a number of higher demand times.

Studios tend to go before 2BRs which tend to go long before 1BRs. In fact, 1BRs are very often an exception to any of the above difficult times or views for reserving at 7 months out and you can often get a 1BR at the highest demand times for the walk-to park resorts when nothing else is available. Moreover, regardless of any of the above, you may just get lucky any time of year 7 months out even for the most difficult times and rooms or a waitlist may come through.

 

[wdwfan1]

I was at Flower and Garden for both an April and May visit. I was able to get BWV with relative ease (and that was with Boardwalk view) at the 2 month mark. I am not sure if I was lucky or if this is the general experience for most people during that time of year.
Stephen

Lucky you. We own there and I was not able to get all our days for March. I did not book at exactly the 11 month window, it was about 10 months out.

I also could not get all my nights for December at WL. Still on the waitlist. Once again I waited until about 10 months out.

Sometimes it works at 7 months and sometimes it doesn't. Just have a back up plan.

 

[44Majestic]

Just to relay our experiences: We've never had a problem getting any resort at the 7 month mark except for Christmas / New Years. We usually go during August and have stayed pretty much at all the DVC resorts except Saratoga Springs. We've also been able to get into Vero around Thanksgiving a few times and Hilton Head during the summer. We own at VWL and we've booked that for our six night stay during Christmas week and after New Years Eve this year. We are wait listed for BWV and BCV for those nights.

One thing that is hard to fathom but you may want to consider is fairly obvious: You and your family will evolve during the next decade or so. We joined in 2001 and thought being near MK was ideal. We love VWL still today, but our children are older and now we enjoy the Epcot resorts very much. Our kids 20 and 17 also enjoy the freedom being at BWV or BCV and the ability to walk to two parks without Mom & Dad.

Good luck with your choice and most of all enjoy!

 

[Pixiedust530]

Nothing is ever impossible with a DVC booking--but, getting what you want, for the length of time you want, at the resort you want, without having to split stay becomes much harder at the times you mention wanting to go, specifically October through New Years.

IMO, if you want to stay at BWV, BLT, or VWL during those fall months, my suggestion is to buy at one of them. If you are willing to roll the dice and won't be upset if you can never get those for your trip, then go with other options.

We own where we want to stay so that I know going in I have what I want since where we stay is the number one priority for us when we go.

October is something that hubby and I would likely do as an adult only trip since I wouldn't be likely to pull my DS out of school. That being said, we could be more flexible with our dates and length of stay. We would probably want to try out BWV, BCV or BLT during an October trip but we wouldn't be unhappy at AKV, SSR or OKW. I guess we could always buy at BWV, BCV or BLT and roll the dice to get one of the others. Right now...staying at a specific resort isn't a huge priority for us, but I'm sure as time goes on and we try more and more resorts we will develop favorites!

Do you like to do the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot during your October trips? If so, I'd look for a resale at BWV or BCV. For your December trip(s), you'll definitely want to book your home resort at 11 months out. You can use your summer trips for trying other DVC resorts, I should think you'd have availability just about anywhere at 7 months.

We did enjoy F&WF at EP this past October. I never even thought to stay at an BWV or BCV to be closer to that. So many decisions!

You need to view it as three factors that determine ability to get something at 7 months out: time of year, room category and identity of resort:

The two highest DVC demand times of the year are first week of December (it is number one on the DVC demand scale) and December 23 to about Jan 3 (number two on the demand scale but having the highest demand night of the year, New Year's Eve). The last two days of September through second week of Nov, the day before Thanksgiving to end of Nov, and second week of Dec are also high demand. Likewise last few days of June through about July 9, The Friday to Thursday that includes Presidents' Day, third week of March through mid- April are high demand with the two Easter weeks, wherever they fall, being very high demand. The Thursday through Monday of marathon weekend in Jan is also quite high. Other than time around July 4, June through mid-August is moderate demand, as are last two weeks of April unless Easter is is late into that third week. May is lower demand with somewhat higher around Memorial Day weekend. Also low to moderate are last part of Feb though second week of March. Somewhat low demand from about Jan 4 or 5 to Wednesday before marathon weekend, and just as low is third week of December until Dec 22. Low demand from Tuesday after marathon weekend through mid-Feb with MLK weekend time creating a little but not much higher demand. Lowest demand period of the year is mid-Aug to about September 28 (and Labor Day weekend makes no difference as it also a very low demand time).

The room category and identity of resort then create large variations. At 7 months out: (a) you can always find any room size at SSR other than treehouses which usually disappear before 7 months out; (b) it is also usually easy to get rooms at OKW except Grand Villas can sometimes disappear before 7 months out as can any rooms close to Hospitality House (HH is a booking category there); (c) at AKV standard and savanna view are almost always open at 7 months (the exception can be first week of December although even then you can usually get lucky if you reserve on-line exactly at 8 eastern seven months out); GVs at Kidani are usually open at 7 months out and at Jambo may be found during lower to moderate demand periods; concierge and value rooms are usually gone most of the year at 7 months although you can sometimes find a value during the lower demand times; (d) at BLT, standard views are usually gone before 7 months out although they might be found at times during the lowest demand periods, MK view rooms, including GVs, are usually open at 7 months during low to moderate times and sometimes during somewhat busier times; Lake View rooms are usually open at 7 months except can be gone during very high demand times; (e) at BWV, GVs are usually gone before 7 months out, and standard and boardwalk view rooms can often be gone at 7 months out except for the lower demand times, but pool/garden view are usually open except for very high demand times; (f) Beach Club is usually open during lower demand times, gone during very high demand times, sometimes gone during high demand times, and usually open but can be hit or miss during moderate times; (g) VWL is usually open for any moderate to low demand times and also even open for a number of higher demand times.

Studios tend to go before 2BRs which tend to go long before 1BRs. In fact, 1BRs are very often an exception to any of the above difficult times or views for reserving at 7 months out and you can often get a 1BR at the highest demand times for the walk-to park resorts when nothing else is available. Moreover, regardless of any of the above, you may just get lucky any time of year 7 months out even for the most difficult times and rooms or a waitlist may come through.

Thank you for the VERY detailed explanation! This is exactly what I was looking for. Most of the time when our family travels it will be hubby and I and my DS (currently 5YO). For right now, a studio will probably be more than enough room for us. As DS gets older and/or we take others with us, our need for a 1BR will probably be more likely. It's good to hear that 1BR's tend to be easy to get sometimes. Is this because you aren't really getting a whole lot more than a studio, but the points are so much more?

One thing that is hard to fathom but you may want to consider is fairly obvious: You and your family will evolve during the next decade or so. We joined in 2001 and thought being near MK was ideal. We love VWL still today, but our children are older and now we enjoy the Epcot resorts very much. Our kids 20 and 17 also enjoy the freedom being at BWV or BCV and the ability to walk to two parks without Mom & Dad.

Good luck with your choice and most of all enjoy!

Thank you for the food for thought! I had given thought to our family evolving from a studio to a 1BR but hadn't really thought about evolving to prefer a different resort. I guess if/when that happens we will add on with another resort! I haven't even bought my first contract and I already have add-on-itis!

 

[zavandor]

You need to view it as three factors that determine ability to get something at 7 months out: time of year, room category and identity of resort:...

Greatest post ever about this topic. It would deserve to be stikyed somewhere!

 

[Deb & Bill]

... (g) VWL is usually open for any moderate to low demand times and also even open for a number of higher demand times.....

I'll disagree on VWL for the winter holiday times. Because of the decorations at WL and VWL, owners want to book there for the winter holidays and it can be hard to find something more than a day or two here or there at seven months out.

 

[drusba]

I'll disagree on VWL for the winter holiday times. Because of the decorations at WL and VWL, owners want to book there for the winter holidays and it can be hard to find something more than a day or two here or there at seven months out.

You will note that I distinguished between high and very high demand times First week of December and Christmas week are very high demand times (the two highest of the year) and second week of Dec is close to them and you will have difficulty for any of those for VWL at 7 months out. However, as I saw with reservations made in May for December 2012, the third week in December is a low demand time and you could easily get anything at VWL 7 months out and even a few weeks beyond 7 months out; also you could get 1BRs for any of the weeks in December except the first week of December.