Booking three months out - possible??

[Mickeyhuk]

We are thinking of purchasing DVC and would like to know how easy it is to get reservations when only three months or so out. There have been threads, but they mostly say that everyone books their home resort eleven months out and then switches to another at seven months. Where does this leave us if we don't plan this far out if we want a studio? What if I said one month? Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Sammie]

I personally could not recommend DVC if this is going to be your pattern for booking, as you are going to be disappointed probably more often than not.

Now this is not to say at certain times of the year, and certain resorts you can get something at 3 months, and even at one month.

However you might not get what you want, where you want it, or even the size of room.

When do you think you would be traveling? The easiest at this point to book at 3 months is SSR, then AKV mainly because they are the largest.

 

[Caren90]

It depends on the time of year and room size/view that you are looking to reserve. I have reserved rooms within three months- sometimes I have been able to get my first choice, other times, I took whatever was available.

But you can't always count on it.

Stephen

 

[tjkraz]

I would say that 95% of the time your only resort options will be Saratoga Springs, Old Key West and Animal Kingdom Villas. Others are typically gobbled up at 7 months. And even if not right at 7 months, they will almost certainly fill up before it gets to 3 months. Might have some occasional luck elsewhere using the waitlist.

And realistically there will be times when some or all of those 3 resorts are already booked, too. I know there have been a lot of reports of very limited availability in October & November '12, and those reports date back to early summer.

Because it's the largest and not particularly close to the action, you could find yourself staying at Saratoga Springs trip-after-trip-after-trip.

Split stays could also be a necessity if trying to piece a trip together on short notice.

Unless you are willing to take ANY resort and are also flexible on exact travel dates and even room size (i.e. take a One Bedroom if no Studios available), I think you will be disappointed with the DVC if you are consistently booking on 1-3 months notice.

 

[DizBub]

It depends on when you want to go and how picky you are about where you want to stay. You can probably get SSR 3 months out but not BLT, BCV or BWV. I have been trying for 7 months to get into BCV for the 1st week of Oct. I did get SSR for the 2nd week. Happy to have it.

 

[luckyman_apd]

I would think that you would be better off NOT buying DVC with this plan. You'd be better off searching for last minute deals and specials (and they are out there). DVC is really made for last minute planners.

 

[com_op_2000]

DVC is really made for last minute planners.

I do not agree with this statement.

DVC is really NOT made for last minute planners.
I am right you left off the not?

 

[gatorgirl02]

Depending on the time of year/demand, it is entirely possible to book at 3 months out (sometimes a couple weeks out), but you will have to be flexible in that you might not be able to stay in the resort you want. As for high demand times, such as the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you really need to book earlier and you probably won't have much luck with booking anything less than 5 or 6 months out.

 

[chalee94]

I do not agree with this statement.

DVC is really NOT made for last minute planners.
I am right you left off the not?

i think the rest of the post makes it clear that they did leave off an important "not" in that sentence.

OP, you should understand that DVC is a little like a game of musical chairs, except that in the beginning of the game, there are enough chairs for every player.

you can almost always grab a spot right at 11 months out, when you are only competing with other owners of that resort who want the same night(s). but as time goes on - and some nights go unused - some people get a spot and some don't.

simplify it down and think about what it would look like if DVC had one villa with 52 owners who had a right to 1 week each. let's say none of those owners liked the idea of staying in early january...so if none of the 52 book 3 of the weeks in january, that leaves all 52 owners competing for the remaining 49 weeks on the calendar...and someone would have to get left out and not be able to use their ownership if someone else got their preferred week first.

the system is a lot more complicated than that (and in real life, for reasons i can't fathom, there are owners who pay their fees and don't get that bothered when their pts expire unused)...but i think savvy owners will understand that there can be a little bit of competition involved.

 

[supersuperwendy]

It would totally depend on when you are trying to travel. Some times of the year that don't seem like would be popular are incredibly popular with DVC. When I called in November 2010 to book for the end of January 2011 the only studios available were SSR. EVERYWHERE else was booked solid...not a studio to be found. Worked fine for us we love SSR anway. On the contrary for June 2012..it seemed so wide open..even after booking at 11 months, switching at 7, up until 3 weeks before the trip I made changes and choices were wide open! If you are rigid with a certain resort then booking last minute isn't a good choice for you OP. Also, if you want last minute bookings during popular DVC times of year..that could be very tough. Planning early works best with DVC.

 

[Sandisw]

It is impossible to get rooms 1 - 3 months out--nope. Nothing is ever impossible with DVC. Put together a December 2011 5 night trip for my DS and his girlfriend just 2 months out. However, they had to change resorts and wait list to get all the nights.

And, had it not been possible, they would not have gone or done a cash stay at a Value.

For someone buying in, I can't recommend it as I think that in many cases you would be disappointed. Now, as mentioned, if you have enough points to take any room size that is available, even if you only need the studio, you might have better luck.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We are thinking of purchasing DVC and would like to know how easy it is to get reservations when only three months or so out. There have been threads, but they mostly say that everyone books their home resort eleven months out and then switches to another at seven months. Where does this leave us if we don't plan this far out if we want a studio? What if I said one month? Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.

If I had those limitations on using my points, I wouldn't have bought. There are too many members currently posting saying why can't they get anything for Christmas? It's still three months out. Or last August saying why couldn't they get anything for F&W Festival. Again only two-three months out.

You really need to be able to plan with DVC. You might find something once in a while, but it's not always going to happen. Just when you want to go to WDW, the only thing available is Vero Beach. Or when you want to go to DL, you can only get Aulani.

 

[Mickeyhuk]

Thank you everyone. This feedback is perfect - it is exactly what we needed and not what we expected. Now we really need to think about our plans.
We appreciate the DIS community. Everyone is a great help.
Mickeyhuk

 

[tb1972]

We became DVC members in mid March and were very fortunate to book 6 nights at Vero (non home resort) the first week of June. This was only 10 weeks out and I don't believe it's the norm. Beginner's luck maybe!

 

[castleri]

Have recently had good luck with getting reservations and having waitlists come through with less than two months before the trip. Also had some that never came through that were made 6 or 7 months out. I agree that it depends on the length of you desired stay, the time of year and how flexible you are about the resort you will stay at. Wanted one night (tomorrow Sept 29) at BCV for son's honeymoon stay before they leave on a cruise. Made a reservation at SSR in June and waitlisted for that one night at BCV. It never came through probably because it was for a studio on the first Saturday of F&W. If you consistently want to book on short notice DVC may not be your best option. Continue to do your research and you will be able to make an informed decision. Much better than jumping in and then finding out it is not for you. Good luck and best wishes.

 

[Dean]

Thank you everyone. This feedback is perfect - it is exactly what we needed and not what we expected. Now we really need to think about our plans.
We appreciate the DIS community. Everyone is a great help.
Mickeyhuk

While it's often possible to get something at 3 months, it's getting more difficult to get shorter time reservation it seems plus your options will always be limited. The other aspect is that you can often rent points for less short notice with the same availability. I'd strongly recommend against buying in if this is the expected usage. Too much cost and risk.

 

[CruznLexi]

I have recently lost my job and am in the process of starting a new job and needed to cancel and move one vacation. My points expire jan 31 so I needed to use 44 or at least close to it. We have a 4 night cruise and was only able to get one night at Vero. I was then able to get 2 nights at AKV I have to move from KV into AKV then next day . Saratoga was open but prefer AKV. So at least minute during food and wine nothing. Dec did have some things open and Saratoga is still open.