7 month window should start at midnight. Why not?

[crisi]

I wouldn't say it's not advised...just that it isn't 100% guaranteed. I successfully walked a 2BR at VGF just last month at the 7 month mark using some transferred in SSR points. I needed Th/F/Sa/Su, and I knew the Th/F days were going to be difficult, so I booked T/W/Th/F first. This prevented non-VGF owners from grabbing the Th/F nights. Sure, a VGF owner could have snagged Sa/Su and blocked me -- but my thought was that if a VGF owner didn't already book those days, they probably weren't going to book them just days before their home resort advantage expired. Therefore, the bigger risk to me was the large amount of people that were waiting to switch over at 7 months.

I think where people say walking at 7 months is pointless is for walkers that are trying to start their walk a few weeks in advance. In my case, I started only a few days, so it had a much higher chance of working.

Its also higher risk when you are walking into a really high occupancy time. Trying to walk into a BWV Studio at F&W at seven months is just not likely - because an owner probably will grab those days available - there are owners still making plans "last minute" and very few rooms left. That can be the problem with a lot of low supply options - you can see that their is a room available - but it might just be one. And it only takes one owner to extend his vacation into your day to have it disappear before you get there. One night gone in the middle of your walk and you are back to square one.

 

[bebec22]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but with your being a teacher, the times you're likely going to WDW are not high DVC seasons. So being online right at 8 am is even less of an issue.

Yes, this is an excellent point. I will not be traveling during the peak DVC season. I'm more thinking of when I'd like to try a different resort at the 7 month window. That is if I can ever figure out where I'd like to buy! I love too many resorts.

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

Yes, this is an excellent point. I will not be traveling during the peak DVC season. I'm more thinking of when I'd like to try a different resort at the 7 month window. That is if I can ever figure out where I'd like to buy! I love too many resorts.

I also teach and run into that problem booking SW flights when I need to get to school so my husband is responsible for booking flights since the "6am window" isn't always so ready. At least for him, if he is a bit late getting to work, the world isn't going to end unlike if we miss getting to school on time. I have noticed that for school vacations, there are a decent amount of options open at the 7 month window but I always book my home resort at the 7-11 month window just to make sure I have a room!

 

[DenLo]

VGF can be very difficult to get even for owners sometimes at the 11 month mark.

As to Aulani, anytime there is an Hawaiian Schools 3 day weekend, often those weekends will be booked in the home resort prior period 7 months+ to 11 months. The local DVC owners love Aulani and frequently book staycations at the resort over the school holidays, especially on long weekends. And even non DVC owners get involved because Disney gives better discounts to the locals to book those school holidays. So not only are the declared DVC rooms booked solid but so are the cash rooms for DVC and the hotel portion.

As to your problems being from the west coast, think of those owners in Hawaii.

 

[Madame]

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but with your being a teacher, the times you're likely going to WDW are not high DVC seasons. So being online right at 8 am is even less of an issue.

Depends how vacations fall. We get 2 wks at Christmas. Sometimes we go back around Jan 2, sometimes around Jan 9th - dependent upon when XMas falls.

If Marathon week-end is that same first week in Jan it makes for stiff competition at 7 months & a very attractive week for teachers as it is really the only low points week some of us get (& it doesn't fall that way every year).

I was on at 8 at the 7 mo mark last June trying to swap out. Luckily classes start at 8:15 here & the site was functional.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

VGF can be very difficult to get even for owners sometimes at the 11 month mark.

As to Aulani, anytime there is an Hawaiian Schools 3 day weekend, often those weekends will be booked in the home resort prior period 7 months+ to 11 months. The local DVC owners love Aulani and frequently book staycations at the resort over the school holidays, especially on long weekends. And even non DVC owners get involved because Disney gives better discounts to the locals to book those school holidays. So not only are the declared DVC rooms booked solid but so are the cash rooms for DVC and the hotel portion.

As to your problems being from the west coast, think of those owners in Hawaii.

Right, and I think its lousy that they have to be up at 3am to book a resort down the street. Same goes for The West Coast and VGC. The time coordinating with the respective resort would be more equitable.

 

[FireflyTrance]

Presidents week will always be tough because many school districts in California get that week off. VGC is just tough in general though. I kind of think Disney just has DVC there to say they do, but in reality only owners can book it for the most part.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Presidents week will always be tough because many school districts in California get that week off. VGC is just tough in general though. I kind of think Disney just has DVC there to say they do, but in reality only owners can book it for the most part.

I know that's a commonly put out perception but just isn't true. If one is ready right at the 7 month window to book there almost always 1BR's and 2BRs and often even studios other than a few exceptions revolving around events. There are quite a lot of posts of success.

 

[skier_pete]

We tried to get a couple nights that week at VGC in 2016, no luck. We waitlisted and had a room open up with 33 days to go, though it was a 1-bedroom. Realize there are only 23 studios available at the entire resort, so there could easily be only 2 or 3 available at 7 months, and it would be pure luck to be the one to snatch it up. My suggestion would be to waitlist.

As an east coaster, I would be fine with your idea of midnight. 8 AM east coast is not the greatest for me either since I have to be at work by 7:30 AM, so I have to arrange for being able to access from work. This hasn't been a problem so far, but it is not ideal. Midnight would actually work better. Though I guess if I were on the west coast I wouldn't stay up all night to hit 5 AM, I would just set an early alarm, though maybe that's because I get up at 5:50 AM anyways it doesn't seem that bad to me.