Advice Please: Problem with online reservation timing

[Kayla Seanna]

Hello. I’m having a problem with a 11/2020 reservation. I’m a long term owner so I know the process of 7 nights at 11 months out but I keep on getting a message that I am out of my booking window when I try to reserve right at 8 am. I’m not fussy about the days I need but this has happened about 5 times now. When I go back in after refreshing the room (I’m trying for a BWV standard studio) is gone. I thought my clock might b wrong on my phone but that isn’t the case. Any advice? I’ve never had this issue before. Thanks. Kayla

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Are you trying to book more than 7 nights?

 

[Kayla Seanna]

No. Just the 7 nights. It comes up as available for November 2020 and when I select the next screen it says the requested dates are outside my booking window and I should select a date after April 3, 2020 or use vacation points from another contract. My use year is April
And I have plenty of points for 2020 use year.

 

[Sandisw]

Are you hitting the check availability button before 8 am? If you get to the calendar that shows what is available before 8 am, you have technically searched early, which will give you that message when you hit book.

You can enter dates and choose room size prior to 8, but have to wait till then to do check availability. As you said, by the time you refresh, the room is gone.

 

[Kayla Seanna]

Thanks but no I wasn’t doing that until exactly 8. I spoke with member services and they said once the room pops up as available someone else can grab it before my selection goes through. This doesn’t sound right. I dont wait more than a second and I’ve never had this issue before. This is just getting harder and harder to make plans.

 

[skier_pete]

So what I've been told if you start the search before 8 AM, and just click the button right at 8 AM, it doesn't register, and then by the time you re-search for your days, the available rooms are gone. Welcome to the reality of fall frenzy with a hard-to-get room. (Standard view studio?)

 

[cvjw]

Try to book a little later. I had the same issue trying to book a BWV standard studio for September. No availability at 8:00 am, but I was able to get the studio the next day as walkers released the rooms.

But, the fact remains that more BWV owners are trying to book the standard studios than there are studios to go around. Some owners will always be disappointed.

 

[drusba]

No. Just the 7 nights. It comes up as available for November 2020 and when I select the next screen it says the requested dates are outside my booking window and I should select a date after April 3, 2020 or use vacation points from another contract. My use year is April
And I have plenty of points for 2020 use year.

The system appears to be claiming you are not a BWV owner and can reserve BWV only at 7 months out. That indicates something is actually wrong with the way the system is dealing with your account and you need to contact MS and talk to someone who can actually address fixing the system as to your account, not just an MS reservation representative.

 

[Wakey]

So what I've been told if you start the search before 8 AM, and just click the button right at 8 AM, it doesn't register, and then by the time you re-search for your days, the available rooms are gone. Welcome to the reality of fall frenzy with a hard-to-get room. (Standard view studio?)

I don’t think this is correct Pete. If you have it already ‘lined up’ so to speak and press to proceed as soon as it passes 8am it goes through, or at least it did with my Grand Californian the other day.

 

[skier_pete]

I don’t think this is correct Pete. If you have it already ‘lined up’ so to speak and press to proceed as soon as it passes 8am it goes through, or at least it did with my Grand Californian the other day.

That is just what I've heard. I have had zero luck of late grabbing hard to get rooms no matter what technique I use. I think the biggest problem is you have maybe 100 people trying to get 10 rooms, so the success rate is very low. But that's good to know that it isn't true.

I try to use the world clock to time it. It seems like somewhere between 50 seconds of 8AM and 8AM is when the slot opens. As I said, I've not found a good method of late to grab those hard to get rooms.

 

[n2mm]

Remember that you’re also competing with the waitlist too. If someone drops the day before as they add a day the waitlist is also filling too. I’m pretty fast at booking, but got locked out 11 mornings last fall and had to piece my reservation together 1 day at a time. remember your first day is also someone else’s last day, so availability is very slim once it opens.

 

[Philsfan77]

Hello. I’m having a problem with a 11/2020 reservation. I’m a long term owner so I know the process of 7 nights at 11 months out but I keep on getting a message that I am out of my booking window when I try to reserve right at 8 am. I’m not fussy about the days I need but this has happened about 5 times now. When I go back in after refreshing the room (I’m trying for a BWV standard studio) is gone. I thought my clock might b wrong on my phone but that isn’t the case. Any advice? I’ve never had this issue before. Thanks. Kayla

you're trying to book the toughest room to currently get at the 11 month mark unfortunately. Probably up against a couple hundred other people trying to get a handful of rooms that are left for that date to be booked. Odds are...you are trying to advance before 8AM...even if you don't think you are...the system is saying you are. Maybe your clock on your computer is a minute fast...maybe 30 seconds fast...whatever the case may be...it's recognizing you as trying to advance too early, and unfortunately when you go back...those rooms are gone to whoever had the quickest trigger finger at 8AM.

Either way...keep plugging away...dates have been getting dropped as the walkers go past. Several of the days in early November are open now...you could always scoop them up, and then waitlist the days you are still missing...or just keep scooping up days as the walkers keep moving along.

 

[DVC_HK]

Is it possible to book your week before someone walks their res? I just checked the RAT and seems people are snagging rooms for 11 months already

 

[DaveNan]

If you are trying to get a BWV SV Studio, many days there are none available even before the 11 month mark (all people with reservations have already reserved the next day). If it is a morning with with a room available (an existing reservation is not continuing to today), the system will show availability. If you try to book the reservation before 8am, you et an error,
"The booking window for your selected Resort(s) opens at 8:00 AM Eastern Time. Please check availability once the booking window opens." That means you went too far too early. If you have search for the room, it shows available, and you continue after 8AM, and get the message about "outside your booking window", I believe it matches what MS told you. It means someone else got the room before you. The error message is totally wrong (which is not the only time in the booking system). It should state "the room is no longer available", but it doesn't. The error around trying to book > 7 nights right at the booking window is wrong too. You just need to keep trying, or pick up the "walker droppings", the next day. To confirm, go in and try to book a pool/garden studio. If you can book those from 7-11 month, your contract is right. I went through the same thing for several days before I got a room and got that same error message on all failed attempts at the 8am frenzy.

 

[mlittig]

Some days, I have no luck but today I was able to book a Boardwalk standard view studio for next November It seems to be sheer luck of the draw and maybe your internet speed I also used my phone this morning in addition to my laptop and it is a good thing I did because I got the dreaded "we're working on it" dwarves message on my laptop Luckily, I was able to complete my reservation on my phone

 

[PacoDF]

So what I've been told if you start the search before 8 AM, and just click the button right at 8 AM, it doesn't register, and then by the time you re-search for your days, the available rooms are gone. Welcome to the reality of fall frenzy with a hard-to-get room. (Standard view studio?)

This is what happens. The search page must be reloaded AFTER 8am. Just clicking the Book button after 8am is not enough if the whole page was loaded before 8am.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

This is what happens. The search page must be reloaded AFTER 8am. Just clicking the Book button after 8am is not enough if the whole page was loaded before 8am.

That's new in this year then because that's not how it's worked even in January. I hadn't heard it changed.

 

[crvetter]

I search all the time at 7:55 AM and then sit on the page with the Booking button (to reserve the room). I click that button right at 8:00 AM. I don’t need to refresh the availability checking (actually on the backend the website does a recheck on availability every single time you click to reserve a room, along with many other checks, point eligibility, booking window, etc.). I just did this this morning perfectly fine.

The issue is DVC is throwing the wrong error message. It’s throwing a trying to book too early message when the flag thrown is that the room isn’t available. So it’s just an instance of a mistake in their code.

 

[PacoDF]

The issue is DVC is throwing the wrong error message. It’s throwing a trying to book too early message when the flag thrown is that the room isn’t available. So it’s just an instance of a mistake in their code.

This could be it.

 

[T-i-double-guh-er]

If you try to book the reservation before 8am, you get an error,
"The booking window for your selected Resort(s) opens at 8:00 AM Eastern Time. Please check availability once the booking window opens." That means you went too far too early. If you have search for the room, it shows available, and you continue after 8AM, and get the message about "outside your booking window", I believe it matches what MS told you. It means someone else got the room before you.

This is exactly my experience booking AKV Value Studios. You can search before 8. The messages are different if you click too soon vs. too late. The “too late” error message is just wrong.