Any online modification gurus? Use Year question.

[Boardwalk III]

Hi all,

So I have been “walking“ a reservation for the past few weeks in order to be assured a couple of “Boardwalk view” rooms for early December 2019. Mostly doing online every 5 days or so, but the last two times I made changes I’ve had to call DVC because I have a December use year, so was getting into a situation where some of the days were in November 2018 and some December, crossing my use year, which the online system does not allow. My current reservation as it stands now begins November 30th for 7 nights with check out 12/7. So am currently using 1 night of November 2018 points and 6 nights of 2019 points. When I spoke with MS this morning I asked whether I can go online tomorrow to do a modification (as they won’t be open for me to call) and whether the system will allow me to do so now that the reservation will be starting December 1 moving forward, and no longer split between two use years (which requires a call to DVC). They actually weren’t sure, and told me to “try it”, and if it doesn’t work I’ll have to call on Wednesday morning. Anyone have experience with this or know if this is possible? I wouldn’t much care except I plan to be out fairly late due to New Year’s Eve & would prefer not to have to be online first thing tomorrow if it’s not going to work Though I suppose I wouldn’t really need to be on right online at 8:00 am. In any case, still curious!

 

[Marionnette]

Hi all,

So I have been “walking“ a reservation for the past few weeks in order to be assured a couple of “Boardwalk view” rooms for early December 2019. Mostly doing online every 5 days or so, but the last two times I made changes I’ve had to call DVC because I have a December use year, so was getting into a situation where some of the days were in November 2018 and some December, crossing my use year, which the online system does not allow. My current reservation as it stands now begins November 30th for 7 nights with check out 12/7. So am currently using 1 night of November 2018 points and 6 nights of 2019 points. When I spoke with MS this morning I asked whether I can go online tomorrow to do a modification (as they won’t be open for me to call) and whether the system will allow me to do so now that the reservation will be starting December 1 moving forward, and no longer split between two use years (which requires a call to DVC). They actually weren’t sure, and told me to “try it”, and if it doesn’t work I’ll have to call on Wednesday morning. Anyone have experience with this or know if this is possible? I wouldn’t much care except I plan to be out fairly late due to New Year’s Eve & would prefer not to have to be online first thing tomorrow if it’s not going to work Though I suppose I wouldn’t really need to be on right online at 8:00 am. In any case, still curious!

Why would you even need to be online tomorrow at 8 AM? Your reservation runs through the 7th. You will not need to modify your walk until 1/6. You can do it earlier but it won't be essential until then. Even if you go online to do this tomorrow, it doesn't have to be right at 08:00. You could try it at any time of the day. That's the beauty of a walk. Once you're in, the pressure is off.

 

[LauraLea]

You should be able to do it online, but you will need to bank the 2018 points to use them for a Dec 2019 reservation.

Laura

 

[Boardwalk III]

Why would you even need to be online tomorrow at 8 AM? Your reservation runs through the 7th. You will not need to modify your walk until 1/6. You can do it earlier but it won't be essential until then. Even if you go online to do this tomorrow, it doesn't have to be right at 08:00. You could try it at any time of the day. That's the beauty of a walk. Once you're in, the pressure is off.

You’re right about the 8 AM, not sure why I was fixated on that. And although technically I don’t need to move it again until 1/6 there have been a number of online reports of people getting “blocked out” of their walk when waiting until the last day or two of a walk (I still don’t understand how or why this could be happening) I’ve been doing it every 5 days, but you’re actually right about no need for the emergency tomorrow morning. Holiday brain, thanks!

 

[Boardwalk III]

You should be able to do it online, but you will need to bank the 2018 points to use them for a Dec 2019 reservation.

Laura

Thanks. I’m actually going to use only 2019 points for that reservation once I am fully into December (for now anyway) which is one of the reasons I wanted to get this tidied up tomorrow so that I can use the 2018 points for something else. I did confirm with MS and if I don’t end up using all of my 2018 points I can bank them at any point up to my Banking deadline and then have them re-allocate them to that December trip if I’d like to.

 

[Jamie]

OK, I guess I just do not understand the advantage of walking a reservation. I was planning to make a reservation on Jan 7th at 8:00 am EST for Dec 6-13th at my home resort then adding the 14th the next day. Now I am thinking I should book the 7 nights now and then modify it until I get it to the right days. Is this correct? Why do you NOT have to do it first thing in the morning? I am on the west coast and really do not want to log in every day for a week at 5 am. Help!

 

[Boardwalk III]

OK, I guess I just do not understand the advantage of walking a reservation. I was planning to make a reservation on Jan 7th at 8:00 am EST for Dec 6-13th at my home resort then adding the 14th the next day. Now I am thinking I should book the 7 nights now and then modify it until I get it to the right days. Is this correct? Why do you NOT have to do it first thing in the morning? I am on the west coast and really do not want to log in every day for a week at 5 am. Help!

You shouldn’t have to “walk” for most reservations. It depends on resort and room type. The Boardwalk Views at BWV are tough to get in early December however which is why I decided to do so. If you are nervous take a look at room availability for the week before. If you you do decide to walk you can make a one week reservation for 7 days now and then modify online every 5 days or so (don’t need to do right at 8:00 am, anytime that day should do) until you get to the date you want. You don’t need to do it daily if you get the latest start date available. Good luck!

 

[Frederic Civish]

OK, I guess I just do not understand the advantage of walking a reservation. I was planning to make a reservation on Jan 7th at 8:00 am EST for Dec 6-13th at my home resort then adding the 14th the next day. Now I am thinking I should book the 7 nights now and then modify it until I get it to the right days. Is this correct? Why do you NOT have to do it first thing in the morning? I am on the west coast and really do not want to log in every day for a week at 5 am. Help!

Walking a reservation gives you multiple chances to get the exact vacation you want. If you want a particular type of unit, at a popular resort, at a popular time of year, then what typically happens is you sign on at 8 AM, 11 months out from the day you want. And you click on it, and it tells you it is booked. Let's use BLT Studios with Standard View on December 20th - 27th, 2019 as an example, and suppose that you need TWO studios. I can guarantee that there will be 5 times more people signing on at 8 am on January 20th, than there are rooms available. It will be gone in seconds. So, no matter how fast you click that button, somebody else will hit it just a fraction of a second before you, and when it pops up for you, it will already be gone. And, just suppose you ARE lucky to get one of your studios, you will NEVER get that second studio, on that day.

So, what do you do? You pick a day, some time before your desired reservation date, and you make a reservation, in this case a 7 day reservation. You can do this days, weeks, potentially even MONTHS before your desired date, and Walk the reservations. If you pick a less busy time, you might actually be able to sign on and get one studio reserved, and then get the second one reserved, and then start Walking them. Or, you might 'miss' getting it for multiple days in a row, but then hit it one morning. As long as it is still some date BEFORE you need it, you are golden. In my case, I wanted 2 rooms at BLT for a very specific date period, during the Food and Wine Festival time next year. I started about 10 days before the date I wanted, and I was unable to get ANY room for the first 2 days. Then, on the 3rd day I was able to get 1 Standard View Studio. And two days later I was able to get the second room. Then I started Walking them.

To Walk, you need to have a reservation that extends 'into' the window. For example, if today is the 20th and the window is the 20th of the month 11 months from now, then you can make a reservation on the 20th, that extends for the next 7 days, until the 27th. So, it sticks 6 days into the window. Now, every 1 to 5 days, you need to sign on and 'Modify' your reservation, selecting the 'check in date' that is now exactly 11 months out (but still within the period that you have already reserved). You modify the reservation to those new dates. This is Walking. Because you have a period already blocked out, and it is the 11 months window, there is no way that I know of for someone to jump past you and block you out. So long as you modify it as the window moves, and keep it extending into the window, you are safe. If your INITIAL reservation ran from the 10th through the 17th, but what you WANT is the 20th through the 27th, then you could modify it on the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th or 16th. But if you wait until the 17th, they can now jump past you and block you from the dates you want. You keep modifying the reservation like this, every few days, until you Walk it into exactly the position you want. That is what I did with my two reservations. I ended up with exactly the time I NEEDED. And I did it with some effort, but without a lot of stress. I am absolutely sure that if I had waited to try it on the exact day that I really needed, I would have been blocked and shut out.

As far as I can figure out, if you are doing this at the 11 month window, then once you are 'in,' once you have your initial reservation, no one can jump past you and block you out. HOWEVER, if you are doing it at the 7 month window, there is a small, but real chance, that people who have home resort priority CAN jump past you and block you. Because they CAN reach into the 7 month window, because it is their home resort. On the other hand, if they really wanted those reservation dates, they most likely would have already done the reservations earlier in the 7 month to 11 month window.

I hope this helps, and also explains why you might want to Walk a reservation, and how to do it.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

OK, I guess I just do not understand the advantage of walking a reservation. I was planning to make a reservation on Jan 7th at 8:00 am EST for Dec 6-13th at my home resort then adding the 14th the next day. Now I am thinking I should book the 7 nights now and then modify it until I get it to the right days. Is this correct? Why do you NOT have to do it first thing in the morning? I am on the west coast and really do not want to log in every day for a week at 5 am. Help!

What room are you going to book? Most don't require walking. And actually if you could book it tomorrow then you can also probably book it on January 6th. (That's the date you can book a reservation with a start date of Dec 6th - if you wait until the 7th you're waiting an extra day).

 

[Wakey]

Walking a reservation gives you multiple chances to get the exact vacation you want. If you want a particular type of unit, at a popular resort, at a popular time of year, then what typically happens is you sign on at 8 AM, 11 months out from the day you want. And you click on it, and it tells you it is booked. Let's use BLT Studios with Standard View on December 20th - 27th, 2019 as an example, and suppose that you need TWO studios. I can guarantee that there will be 5 times more people signing on at 8 am on January 20th, than there are rooms available. It will be gone in seconds. So, no matter how fast you click that button, somebody else will hit it just a fraction of a second before you, and when it pops up for you, it will already be gone. And, just suppose you ARE lucky to get one of your studios, you will NEVER get that second studio, on that day.

So, what do you do? You pick a day, some time before your desired reservation date, and you make a reservation, in this case a 7 day reservation. You can do this days, weeks, potentially even MONTHS before your desired date, and Walk the reservations. If you pick a less busy time, you might actually be able to sign on and get one studio reserved, and then get the second one reserved, and then start Walking them. Or, you might 'miss' getting it for multiple days in a row, but then hit it one morning. As long as it is still some date BEFORE you need it, you are golden. In my case, I wanted 2 rooms at BLT for a very specific date period, during the Food and Wine Festival time next year. I started about 10 days before the date I wanted, and I was unable to get ANY room for the first 2 days. Then, on the 3rd day I was able to get 1 Standard View Studio. And two days later I was able to get the second room. Then I started Walking them.

To Walk, you need to have a reservation that extends 'into' the window. For example, if today is the 20th and the window is the 20th of the month 11 months from now, then you can make a reservation on the 20th, that extends for the next 7 days, until the 27th. So, it sticks 6 days into the window. Now, every 1 to 5 days, you need to sign on and 'Modify' your reservation, selecting the 'check in date' that is now exactly 11 months out (but still within the period that you have already reserved). You modify the reservation to those new dates. This is Walking. Because you have a period already blocked out, and it is the 11 months window, there is no way that I know of for someone to jump past you and block you out. So long as you modify it as the window moves, and keep it extending into the window, you are safe. If your INITIAL reservation ran from the 10th through the 17th, but what you WANT is the 20th through the 27th, then you could modify it on the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th or 16th. But if you wait until the 17th, they can now jump past you and block you from the dates you want. You keep modifying the reservation like this, every few days, until you Walk it into exactly the position you want. That is what I did with my two reservations. I ended up with exactly the time I NEEDED. And I did it with some effort, but without a lot of stress. I am absolutely sure that if I had waited to try it on the exact day that I really needed, I would have been blocked and shut out.

As far as I can figure out, if you are doing this at the 11 month window, then once you are 'in,' once you have your initial reservation, no one can jump past you and block you out. HOWEVER, if you are doing it at the 7 month window, there is a small, but real chance, that people who have home resort priority CAN jump past you and block you. Because they CAN reach into the 7 month window, because it is their home resort. On the other hand, if they really wanted those reservation dates, they most likely would have already done the reservations earlier in the 7 month to 11 month window.

I hope this helps, and also explains why you might want to Walk a reservation, and how to do it.

That is a great explanation of this oft misunderstood phenomenon.

 

[Boardwalk III]

For those who have been following this thread....tried this morning and online system will not let me modify my reservation that was straddling 2 use years yesterday, even though the modification would bring it all into my Dec 2019 use year (no more straddling). Not a big deal as I will just call tomorrow to do the modification, but it’s too bad the system has this limitation. Here’s the message that pops up:

Membership Ineligible: This reservation can’t be completed because you can only select one use year based on your old reservation. Please adjust your dates to start on or end before December 1, 2019.


(and yes, the start date I entered was in fact December 1st 2019

 

[Frederic Civish]

For those who have been following this thread....tried this morning and online system will not let me modify my reservation that was straddling 2 use years yesterday, even though the modification would bring it all into my Dec 2019 use year (no more straddling). Not a big deal as I will just call tomorrow to do the modification, but it’s too bad the system has this limitation. Here’s the message that pops up:

Membership Ineligible: This reservation can’t be completed because you can only select one use year based on your old reservation. Please adjust your dates to start on or end before December 1, 2019.


(and yes, the start date I entered was in fact December 1st 2019

Very interesting. I will have to keep that in mind.

 

[Jamie]

Thanks everyone for the information. Since we are trying to get a Boulder Ridge Studio the 2nd week (starting Dec 6th) of December I knew it would be hard to get. Last year I tried on day 1 of my 11 month window and was waitlisted. It never did open up. This year I want to make sure we get what we want. I was able to book Dec 1-7th this morning and will change it everyday until we get the 6-14th. Again, thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Jack_Sparrow_NJ]

Walking a reservation gives you multiple chances to get the exact vacation you want. If you want a particular type of unit, at a popular resort, at a popular time of year, then what typically happens is you sign on at 8 AM, 11 months out from the day you want. And you click on it, and it tells you it is booked. Let's use BLT Studios with Standard View on December 20th - 27th, 2019 as an example, and suppose that you need TWO studios. I can guarantee that there will be 5 times more people signing on at 8 am on January 20th, than there are rooms available. It will be gone in seconds. So, no matter how fast you click that button, somebody else will hit it just a fraction of a second before you, and when it pops up for you, it will already be gone. And, just suppose you ARE lucky to get one of your studios, you will NEVER get that second studio, on that day.

So, what do you do? You pick a day, some time before your desired reservation date, and you make a reservation, in this case a 7 day reservation. You can do this days, weeks, potentially even MONTHS before your desired date, and Walk the reservations. If you pick a less busy time, you might actually be able to sign on and get one studio reserved, and then get the second one reserved, and then start Walking them. Or, you might 'miss' getting it for multiple days in a row, but then hit it one morning. As long as it is still some date BEFORE you need it, you are golden. In my case, I wanted 2 rooms at BLT for a very specific date period, during the Food and Wine Festival time next year. I started about 10 days before the date I wanted, and I was unable to get ANY room for the first 2 days. Then, on the 3rd day I was able to get 1 Standard View Studio. And two days later I was able to get the second room. Then I started Walking them.

To Walk, you need to have a reservation that extends 'into' the window. For example, if today is the 20th and the window is the 20th of the month 11 months from now, then you can make a reservation on the 20th, that extends for the next 7 days, until the 27th. So, it sticks 6 days into the window. Now, every 1 to 5 days, you need to sign on and 'Modify' your reservation, selecting the 'check in date' that is now exactly 11 months out (but still within the period that you have already reserved). You modify the reservation to those new dates. This is Walking. Because you have a period already blocked out, and it is the 11 months window, there is no way that I know of for someone to jump past you and block you out. So long as you modify it as the window moves, and keep it extending into the window, you are safe. If your INITIAL reservation ran from the 10th through the 17th, but what you WANT is the 20th through the 27th, then you could modify it on the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th or 16th. But if you wait until the 17th, they can now jump past you and block you from the dates you want. You keep modifying the reservation like this, every few days, until you Walk it into exactly the position you want. That is what I did with my two reservations. I ended up with exactly the time I NEEDED. And I did it with some effort, but without a lot of stress. I am absolutely sure that if I had waited to try it on the exact day that I really needed, I would have been blocked and shut out.

As far as I can figure out, if you are doing this at the 11 month window, then once you are 'in,' once you have your initial reservation, no one can jump past you and block you out. HOWEVER, if you are doing it at the 7 month window, there is a small, but real chance, that people who have home resort priority CAN jump past you and block you. Because they CAN reach into the 7 month window, because it is their home resort. On the other hand, if they really wanted those reservation dates, they most likely would have already done the reservations earlier in the 7 month to 11 month window.

I hope this helps, and also explains why you might want to Walk a reservation, and how to do it.

Thanks for a great explanation!

 

[Boardwalk III]

Thanks everyone for the information. Since we are trying to get a Boulder Ridge Studio the 2nd week (starting Dec 6th) of December I knew it would be hard to get. Last year I tried on day 1 of my 11 month window and was waitlisted. It never did open up. This year I want to make sure we get what we want. I was able to book Dec 1-7th this morning and will change it everyday until we get the 6-14th. Again, thanks for the suggestion.

With a 7 day reservation you really don’t need to modify daily. If you want to be safe do it every 3-4 days until you get to your final start date and that should do it.

 

[Elizabeth D]

Hi everyone, thanks for the super useful info. Some of you are clearly seasoned pros! I have a question- I wanted to go to Disney during my birthday (dec 28-Jan 2). I’ve never walked before, but seeing as I can’t be flexible on the dates, I think I may have to. How can I modify the resercation online to walk? Member services said I could adjust the dates online (as long as it involves days on the ends) but I haven’t been able to make this work. Does anyone know how to walk a reservation using the dvc website?
Thanks again!

 

[Marionnette]

Hi everyone, thanks for the super useful info. Some of you are clearly seasoned pros! I have a question- I wanted to go to Disney during my birthday (dec 28-Jan 2). I’ve never walked before, but seeing as I can’t be flexible on the dates, I think I may have to. How can I modify the resercation online to walk? Member services said I could adjust the dates online (as long as it involves days on the ends) but I haven’t been able to make this work. Does anyone know how to walk a reservation using the dvc website?
Thanks again!

Hello and welcome to the disboards. Use the search function to find posts about how to walk a reservation. Some people have posted very detailed and easy-to-follow instructions. Personally, I'm of the belief that the more it is posted, the more people will do it and the problem will just grow.

You are looking for a very popular time of year and studios at many resorts are already booked up for dates 11 months from today. Some of those owners are walking for Christmas/NYE. If you have a reservation that includes at least the night of 12/07/19, you will be able to walk it forward. If not, you won't be able to and you will need to be online at 8:00 AM EST every day until you are able to snag a reservation that begins right at the 11-month window for that morning.

 

[Elizabeth D]

Hello and welcome to the disboards. Use the search function to find posts about how to walk a reservation. Some people have posted very detailed and easy-to-follow instructions. Personally, I'm of the belief that the more it is posted, the more people will do it and the problem will just grow.

You are looking for a very popular time of year and studios at many resorts are already booked up for dates 11 months from today. Some of those owners are walking for Christmas/NYE. If you have a reservation that includes at least the night of 12/07/19, you will be able to walk it forward. If not, you won't be able to and you will need to be online at 8:00 AM EST every day until you are able to snag a reservation that begins right at the 11-month window for that morning.

Thanks so much! Found a room just now. I booked it for 4 nights and 5 days- the amount that I’ll need for my birthday trip. Was that correct? Or should I have booked the week and removed days later?

Thanks again!!!

 

[Liv&Leah]

Hi everyone, thanks for the super useful info. Some of you are clearly seasoned pros! I have a question- I wanted to go to Disney during my birthday (dec 28-Jan 2). I’ve never walked before, but seeing as I can’t be flexible on the dates, I think I may have to. How can I modify the resercation online to walk? Member services said I could adjust the dates online (as long as it involves days on the ends) but I haven’t been able to make this work. Does anyone know how to walk a reservation using the dvc website?
Thanks again!

Hi everyone, thanks for the super useful info. Some of you are clearly seasoned pros! I have a question- I wanted to go to Disney during my birthday (dec 28-Jan 2). I’ve never walked before, but seeing as I can’t be flexible on the dates, I think I may have to. How can I modify the resercation online to walk? Member services said I could adjust the dates online (as long as it involves days on the ends) but I haven’t been able to make this work. Does anyone know how to walk a reservation using the dvc website?
Thanks again!

You will have to book something now with a December 7th start date and modify it online until you get the dates you want. I just used the modification tool for the first time this morning and it is pretty straightforward. Once you have a reservation, you just search for the entire length of stay for your new dates and if they are available, you modify to replace your existing reservation. There isn't a lot of availability now. I would definitely stalk the site multiple times a day and try to be on at 8 am sharp. It took me a few days to get a room to even walk. We are going Christmas/NYE. I don't recall having this much trouble in early December last year, so I am glad I started early. Good luck to you.