2-bedroom availability at 7 months

[princessmocha]

As most have said it will be easier to book a 2 bdrm in August at the 7 month mark than October and May shouldn't be too bad. We like 2 bedrooms so that we all can have a bed and have lots of space and haven't had too much difficulty booking them at the 7 months mark, except when we have gone in October and November. I also reiterate to buy where you want to stay or don't mind staying, while it might be attractive to purchase just for more points at a SSR, you should also want to stay there (which SSR is fantastic, just not right up against any of the parks). We are in ROFR with a couple BCV contracts because we finally got to stay there and loved it, but we also love all of our other home resorts of OKW and CCV (and our Grand Cal and Aulani, which we bought to stay at those one specifically). . Best of luck in making your decisions.

 

[crisi]

The adage goes, "Buy where you want to stay". Strongly recommend it for your first contract.

Or at least "buy where you won't mind staying"

As a DVC owner the smart thing is to book your home resort at eleven months out - and then if there is availability somewhere you'd rather stay, to grab that. Your success will be dependent on travel times, how much you are willing to take a split stay, stalk the reservation website, how many resorts are on your list of "rather stay at" etc. If you define success of being able to get a standard view BWV two bedroom over Food and Wine for seven nights, you will not have success.

So buying where you don't mind staying is critical. If you are of the "anywhere as long as its on Disney property" mindset, then you can pick any resort. If you hate VAKL with the passion of 1000 suns (for instance) then don't buy VAKL. If there is one resort where you will want to stay most often, and will be disappointed if it isn't available at seven months, buy that.

 

[crisi]

Oh, and if you can narrow it down to two or three resorts, then you need to start comparing what's important to you. Availability patterns vs. buy in costs vs. dues vs. years on contract vs. restrictions. I like VAKL, but its an easy resort to get at seven months (if you don't want concierge or value and you don't mind Kidani) and dues are pretty high. A lot of people love BCV - but its got short term left and buy in is high - so you really need to want to stay there all the time to make it worth it (but you will need some luck to get in there if you don't own) - or be pretty price insensitive.

I think looking at it as "if I took 50%+ of my trips at this resort, would I be happy" makes it an easier decision. And if you really want to be able to stay where you want to stay when you want to stay there and stay at a variety of resorts (especially the high demand resorts), DVC becomes something that might not fit you well.

 

[rubybutt]

Just to clarify, getting 2020 points only applies if one is buying an Aug, Sept, Oct or Dec UY since those are all still in their 2020 UY. So, if someone wants an Aug UY, they have to buy by the end of July. However, if buying RIV, they will be eligible for those points with a September UY until the end of August, etc.

So, one only has to buy now if Aug UY is the UY of choice. If someone wants a Feb, March, April, or June UY...which are already in their 2021 UYs, a buyer will not get 2020 UY points buying direct.

But you won't be able to roll anything but Dec because of the 8 month window. Correct?

 

[CarolMN]

But you won't be able to roll anything but Dec because of the 8 month window. Correct?

If you buy direct, MS will allow you to bank current use year points even if the banking deadline has passed. This is a one-time courtesy available for a direct purchase only.

 

[drusba]

Go here for charts (beginning a little ways down the page) which provide availability of studios, 1BRs and 2BRs at the resorts for various times of the year including 7-months out: https://www.disboards.com/threads/p...-bd-charts-september-2019-2-bd-added.3689931/

Note 2BRs are not shown for BWV and Jambo because all 2BRs are lock-offs and thus the studio availability tells you the 2BR availability.. This was last updated in 2019 and does not include CCV or Riviera.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

Studios go first followed by two bedrooms. One bed units go last and are easiest in 7 month window. At BCV and VGF 2 beds are tight in 7 month window but not impossible. I would buy cheapest and the most affordable that gives you the most points, unless you want RIV exclusively. My vote is for SSR or OKW extended. You have more flexibility with more points to book larger rooms which opens up more booking categories

 

[Mary Ramos]

This is super helpful! I remember seeing the discussion about this on the show, thank you for providing the link!

 

[FoodieFriend]

This is super helpful! I remember seeing the discussion about this on the show, thank you for providing the link!

Just keep in mind the data on this thread is pre-pandemic & will not be updated. I don't know if the availability trend from 2019 is currently the same or will be until all owners have used points that were extended during the shutdown in 2020. As I suggested in a previous post, you can google to find if other websites have more current data about availability.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

OP looking at your report preferences you have a wide variety. I think I would purchase AKV or BLT. I like AKV for the value and concierge rooms and BLT for proximity. While I love bcv and BWV the years do not justify cost. RIV I would only purchase direct if you want to use other resorts, but the buying is high and points are high and maintenance fees are high. A two bedroom there for a week will be almost twice as high as AK value 2bedroom

 

[drusba]

Do not buy AKV with any idea of usually getting value or club level studios or 2BRs (which are all lock-offs). Those rooms have a very extreme 11-month reservation problem. An owner at AKV can reserve beginning at 8 a.m. eastern 11-months from date of arrival. The value and club level studios (and thus also 2BRs) typically disappear within nanoseconds after 8 a.m. at exactly 11-months out. The winners are simply those whose computers communicate quickest with Disney's computers right at 8 a.m. at 11-months out, with the result that many owners typically end up disappointed. Moreover, even the 1BR value and club level rooms disappear right at 8 a.m. about 40% of the year.

Also, note that a like problem exists for BLT standard studios and 2BRs (including dedicated 2BRs) as those are typically gone right at 8 a.m. at 11-months out during the fall season and about 50% of the rest of the year.

 

[ccigliano]

And here is one more thing to consider since you say that the Poly is your favorite. If you don’t plan on cooking dinners in your room and plan to just have breakfast and lunch, you could put the Poly back on your list. 98% of the Poly studios are attached so your family of 6 could get two studios or the points of most 1 bedrooms that are attached and spread out. You will miss out on the living room and full kitchen but only be using the points of a one bedroom with plenty of space for 6. Good luck with your decision.

 

[crisi]

And here is one more thing to consider since you say that the Poly is your favorite. If you don’t plan on cooking dinners in your room and plan to just have breakfast and lunch, you could put the Poly back on your list. 98% of the Poly studios are attached so your family of 6 could get two studios or the points of most 1 bedrooms that are attached and spread out. You will miss out on the living room and full kitchen but only be using the points of a one bedroom with plenty of space for 6. Good luck with your decision.

You'll also miss out on our favorite feature of the "bedroom" units - an in unit washer and dryer. But you'd still have access to free laundry - just not the convenience of throwing todays park clothes in the wash at bedtime, into the dryer at breakfast, and folding them when you return from the park in the evening (to throw today's park clothes in). Washer and dryer for us means that there is little packing.

 

[DVCanadian]

Thanks everyone for the feedback! So my dilemma is I can see the pros and cons of all the resorts. Some appeal to me for transportation/accessibility to parks, some for theming, some for value of points. We tend to travel in May, late August or October. So I'm trying to get an idea of what I could book at 7-months and therefore wouldn't need to own at that resort to get a 2-bedroom, and where I would need to own because you can't get 2-beds at 7-months out. For reference, we like AKL, RIV & CCV for theming and BCV, BLT & RIV for park accessibility. I love the Poly, but I don't see how it could work with our family size, bungalos are just too many points. So I figure if I can get 2-beds at the 7-month window at some of these resorts then they don't need to be in the running for our home resort and maybe I should buy at SSR or OKW for the value. So I guess my question really is are 2-beds as popular as studios in general (outside of SSR and OKW) during May, Oct and late Aug?

I think it is fair to say that historically 2 bedrooms are among the easiest rooms to book at non-peak times due to the cost.

I would suggest that you reverse the question and ask yourself what is the likelihood that you can book before 7 months. Does it make sense to potentially pay a premium for a resort if you realistically won’t be able to take advantage of the 8-11 month booking advantage.

We can’t normally book 11 months out, have no strong resort preference, and are happy to try out and stay at all the resorts.

 

[RapunzelRN]

You'll also miss out on our favorite feature of the "bedroom" units - an in unit washer and dryer. But you'd still have access to free laundry - just not the convenience of throwing todays park clothes in the wash at bedtime, into the dryer at breakfast, and folding them when you return from the park in the evening (to throw today's park clothes in). Washer and dryer for us means that there is little packing.

This is the ONLY reason we book 1-2 br villas. If we use less points and book a studio, I end up using the laundry facilities while my fam is doing other fun stuff!