Based on what I have seen checking reservation times over the years:
A. Rooms with a Year-Round 11 Month Issue:
The hardest to book room out of all
DVC rooms is not at WDW and is not a studio. The standard view GVs at Aulani are basically impossible to get. No matter what arrival date of the year you try for at Aulani. at 11-months out, those are repeatedly shown as already filled for that arrival date plus all the other nights being shown for the week that starts on that arrival date.
The only other rooms that have a year-round 11-month issue, where they fill right at or even sometimes before 8 a.m. at 11-months out are the AKV club level and value studios (and 2BRs, since all 2BRs are lock-offs and can disappear due studio reservations), and the BWV standard view studios (and 2BRs).Those BWV rooms are not quite as bad as the AKV rooms since they tend to open up more often than the AKV rooms due to walkers passing by.
B. WDW DVC Rooms with a Partial 11-month Issue:
As to other resorts at WDW with an 11-month issue, the time of year can make a difference: the high to extremely high DVC demand "Fall" season from late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan versus the rest of the year which is mostly a moderate season. The highest demand week of the year (measured by how fast rooms fill) is the first week of Dec, second is Christmas Week (and NYE is the highest demand night of the year) and third is second week of Dec. Other extremely high demand times in the Fall season are the Tues thru Fri of Thanksgiving week and the Thur to Sun of the Nov and Jan race weekends. Those times make the two Easter weeks look like an off-season. The lowest demand times of the year have been Feb 1 to the Thurs before Presidents' Day, July 7 to July 31, and any time in April that is not in the week before or of Easter. Since DVC's redoing of the
point charts a few years ago, which lowered the points per night needed for May to Sep, and raised them for much of the Fall season, some shifting of demand to that May to Sep period has been steadily occurring from year-to-year, e.g., the demand for first two weeks of May, which went from being in a high point season to the second lowest, has steadily increased significantly. However, despite points not decreasing, the Princess half-marathon weekend (Thurs thru Sun) in latter part of Feb, has thus far remained the highest DVC demand time in the moderate season.
1.
OKW: OKW GVs in the near Hospitality House booking category are worse than others, booking full right at or even before 8 a.m. at 11-months-out throughout most of the Fall season and about 75% of the moderate season. For other rooms, OKW has never had an 11-month issue except once. For the period Sep 29 through Oct 1, 2021, near Hospitality House studios and 2BRs disappeared very quickly after 8 a.m. at 11-months out. Many rooms everywhere at WDW disappeared right around 8 a.m., e.g., for BWV and BLT it was all rooms, and for VGF it was all rooms except 1BRs. The reason: October 1, 2021, was the start of the 50-year anniversary celebration at WDW.
2.
BLT: BLT standard view studios and all 2BRs (including dedicated) have the 11-month issue throughout the fall season and about 65% of the moderate season. Theme Park view studios (and lock-off 2BRs), often have the issue during those highest demand times in the Fall season. BLT standard 1BR's have had the issue at times during those highest demand times and once-in-a-while other times of year, and Theme Park view 1BRs and Lake View GVs have often had the issue in the first and second week of Dec.
3.
BWV: The standard view 1BRs have at times had the 11-month issue during the first two weeks of Dec. Boardwalk view studios (and 2BR) have the issue throughout the Fall season but only once in a while at random times the rest of the year. Boardwalk view 1BRs have sometimes had the issue during those first two weeks of Dec. Pool/garden view studios/2BRs have also had the issue at times during those three highest demand weeks of the year. GVs have often had the issue during those highest demand times of the Fall season. (Note, during the last refurb that started in Sep 2023 and hopefully is now over, DVC took out-of-use half the resort that included all boardwalk view rooms for more than three months and then all standard view rooms for almost another three months, and the pool/garden view studios were booking right at 11-months out during many parts of that time, but that can be considered a one-off problem -- until the next refurb.)
4.
VGF: the VGF Deluxe Studios (and lock-off 2BRs) standard view have had the 11-month issue through much of the Fall season, likewise the lake view studios but not as often as the standard view, and both have disappeared once in while at random times during the rest of the year, although that has occurred less since the addition of the Resort Studios. Resort Studios have had the issue at times during parts of the first two weeks of Dec and standard view sometimes during the other highest demand times. VGF 1Brs have sometimes had the issue during those highest DVC demand weeks. GVs have had the issue during the highest demand times. And then we have an event that occurred for some of days during the first week of Dec 2024 that had never occurred before -- all VGF rooms disappeared fairly quickly after 8 a.m. at 11-months out.
5.
CCV: the studios and lock-off 2BRs have had the issue during much of the Fall season and have also had the issue at various times in the moderate season. However, a common occurrence is for it to be a "half" issue, i.e., the shower only studios are gone or, instead, the studios with a bath and shower are gone, although in the highest demand times of the Fall season it has often been both. Dedicated 2BRs have also disappeared occasionally during the highest demand times of the Fall season. And 1BRs have even had the issue sometimes in the first week of Dec.
6.
Riviera: Riviera is still in the development stage of an 11-month issue since it is not sold out, and thus whatever is happening now will probably get somewhat worse after sell-out. Also, unknown is what life will be like 25 years or so from now when possibly half or more of the Riviera owners are resale owners who can book only Riviera, a factor that could have a significant effect on the 11-month reservation issue. Currently, the Tower studios and standard view studios (and lock-off 2BRs) have often had the issue during the highest demand times of the Fall season. The Tower studios also started having the issue at random times during the moderate season starting about two years ago, and the the standard studios and lock-off 2BRs have now started having that same problem. The standard dedicated 2BRs actually had the issue for part of the first week of Dec in 2024.
7.
AKV: other than the club level and value studios and 2BRs, which have the 11-month issue year round, the value and club level 1BRs, have often had the issue in the Fall season, and at a number of random times the rest of the year. Also, the Jambo standard studios (and 2BRs) have sometimes filled for days during the first two weeks of Dec.
8.
BCV and BRV: BCV and BRV have sometimes (but not every year, and for BRV very rarely) had an 11-month issue during the first two weeks of Dec or time around NYE,
9. Except for that 50-year anniversary time, Poly and SSR have not had the 11-month issue.
C. Non-WDW Resort Rooms with a Partial 11-Month Issue
1, Aulani: other than the standard view GVs, the hotel rooms have also had an 11-month issue at various times during the year for a total about 25% of the year.
2, HHI and VB: Hilton Head GVs sometimes book full at 11-months out between May and Aug, likewise the Vero Beach 3BR's.
3, VGC: All rooms at VGC have disappeared at times at 11-months out for the MLK weekend in Jan which is a
Disneyland race weekend. The GV's sometimes, but not often, disappear at 11-months-out during other times of the year, likewise the studios and 2BRs but more rarely for those.
4. VDH and Cabins: it is too early in the sales process to conclude anything, but the VDH GV has disappeared right at 11-months out a few times. No dates have booked full at 11-months out for CFW.
