Are "Last Minute" Trips Impossible?

[Cheltenham]

I have been reading up on DVC in hopes of soon buying in. From the boards I understand the importance of being able to plan trips well in advance. However, are last minute reservations ever possible?

I ask because I only recently found I could make a trip to WDW during Details Removedand so I tried to get a reservation through David's DVC Point Rental. I expected that I could not be choosy but I was disappointed when they quickly responded that there was no availability in ANY category in ANY DVC resort during the dates I wanted.

Again, I know planning is an important part of DVC ownership but it concerns me if it is virtually impossible to get a reservation on relatively short notice during a relatively quiet time of year.

Any thoughts or experience with getting "last minute" reservations? Thanks.

 

[chalee94]

some people have gotten reservations on the day of check-in. calling a couple hours ahead of arrival is definitely last minute. so it's not "impossible."

but timeshares are predicated on the notion that there is enough time in the year for every owner to stay there. but for a simple example, if no owners book jan or feb, then there is not enough time in the rest of the year for every owner to find availability and some will be left out...so booking well in advance is a good strategy.

 

[antnyh]

That's funny a friend of mine and his wife wanted to go May 15-24 and I almost just laughed at them. I called MS just to see what I could do for them and there were more than two resorts with availability, AKL, SSR and OKW. I guess the dates really make a difference. Maybe try calling back and see if anything changed?

 

[Disneyfreak616]

I know someone who just booked a studio at Kidani less than two weeks in advance. They are going down today and coming back Monday. It's definitely possible.

 

[helenk]

On January 4th I booked a 4 night stay at the AKV-Kidani I wanted to arive on Jan 17th. I was able to get a studio, they did not have any savannah views available but I was fine with getting a standard view.
It all depends on when you want to travel. I am sure that trying to get something at the Epcot resorts during the food and wine festival would be nearly imposible last minute as would trying to get anything in December.

 

[Sammie]

Depends greatly on when you want to go, where you want to stay, how many nights you need and what size unit.

 

[HookdonWDW]

As others have said, it just depends. We were just able to get a room for 4/24 - 5/1. We figured that there was no way we would get in, but we actually had our choice of resorts, and ended up at one of our home resorts for our stay!

 

[palaemon]

I've heard it's all about being flexible. That and pixie dust.

 

[HsvTeacher]

Like others have said, it really depends on the situation. We've been able to book two last-minute trips. We booked our July 2010 trip with three weeks notice and stayed at SSR. Next week's trip was booked a couple of months ago, and we'll be staying at VWL.

 

[castleri]

I called for reservations a little over a week ago and had a couple of choices for two nights next week. We took 2 nights at Kidani in a savannah view 1BR and could have had 2 nights at OKW but didn't need that many this trip. We just want to get away while they are painting the outside of our house and were not fussy about where we stay. I have had similar luck in the past but do say it is best to make reservations as far in advance as possible to be sure of getting what you want. I am going to call tomorrow and see if I can change to a two bedroom somewhere as we are taking friends along and DH says he thinks that would be better. It will be very interesting to see if I can get something with less than a week to go.

 

[crisi]

There are two things you should know before buying...

DVC slow times are not necessarily the same as Disney slow times. October through December are some of DVCs busiest times of year.

The problem with not being able to get a reservation last minute is two fold. 1) you don't have a reservation but 2) points are "use em or lose em" - if you can't get a reservation and you are late in your use year and using that years points, you may waste points. DVC planning is not always about "getting your room" - its often about managing your points.

 

[TisBit]

I know some people have taken lots of last minute trips, but as others have said the availability varies GREATLY from time to time and it is just hit or miss. If you are looking for specific dates, you are far less likely to get a room, but if you have a couple of weekends/days to choose from you will have a greater chance.

 

[BlackRock]

It does depend on the time of year; but the rooms have been going quickly.

Blackrock

 

[castleri]

Called this morning (4/8) to change reservation from 4/13-4/15 to 4/12/-4/14 and to a 2 BR instead of 1 BR. Asked about BCV (knew it was not going to happen but asked anyway, BW and OKW - BWV preferred view and OKW both available. Took OKW because DH does not like BWV but more because it saved a few points and also OKW is my favorite resort anyway. It is possible to get reservations on short notice for a couple of days - not always your first choice but it can be done. I guess it is partly due to the break between Spring Break and Easter also for this coming week being available.
As has been stated - slow times at Disney are not always slow times for DVC . I have had trouble getting reservations at AKV for end of Sept thru first week of Oct. even at six or seven months out.
Good luck with your decision making process and keep asking questions until you feel comfortable with whatever you decide.

 

[Stickfigure]

I called Monday for a last minute trip the 20-23 and was able to have either OKW or SSR 1BR ...... I was pleasantly surprised ...... I am still wait-listed for BWV or BLT.. but I was happy to be able to plan it....

Think it's just luck.

 

[nickspace]

Sometimes things open up last minutes. Just pack light in case you have to split your stay between a couple resorts.

 

[TisBit]

As has been stated - slow times at Disney are not always slow times for DVC . I have had trouble getting reservations at AKV for end of Sept thru first week of Oct. even at six or seven months out.

And busy times for WDW are not necessarily busy times at DVC! I have planned trips where I thought it would be difficult to book because of time of year and it turned out almost every resort was available!

 

[newyorkmike]

We did a split stay in September 2010 spending a week at in a 1BR at Kidani followed by a few days at Vero Beach in an OV Inn Room. While at Vero, we didn't want to go home and were missing Disney already, so on our last night at Vero we call MS and were able to book a 1BR at SSR for three nights starting the next night. We drove back to Disney the next afternoon and enjoyed a wonderful extra three days at SSR in the grandstand area.

 

[Massillon Dad]

....and the last resort to get booked up, BUT...hundreds of people cancel their travel plans last minute, every day! (think about it: for every 10,000 Disney guests, if 1% cancel their thavel that = 100 openings due to cancellations) (also the disney Pop Century has availability probably 3/4 of the year, a CM told me.)

 

[TisBit]

....and the last resort to get booked up, BUT...hundreds of people cancel their travel plans last minute, every day! (think about it: for every 10,000 Disney guests, if 1% cancel their thavel that = 100 openings due to cancellations) (also the disney Pop Century has availability probably 3/4 of the year, a CM told me.)

SSR is actually many peoples first choice too and not just THV's....but SSR and OKW are the largest resorts, so there is more availability there as well. Even AKV, being the third largest has decent availability.

SSR takes a bashing on the boards for a variety of reasons, but even that has seemed to of dropped off a decent amount. DVC has actually done a lot to answer the legitimate complaints at SSR, inlcuding building a new theme'd pool and CS option.