Availability reality at non home resort 7 months out

[crisi]

Oh, in addition to bigger units - shorter and flexible stays help when booking in demand resorts at seven months as well - i.e. maybe you can get your first or last two nights at BCV, then the rest of your trip at a different resort.

A lot of people that are happy with the non-home resort availability for DVC are happy because they are really flexible - they have two or three resorts they are willing to switch to, they don't mind moving mid trip, they can move their vacation around by a few weeks for availability, they will waitlist and/or stalk to get a reservation, and the worst thing that will happen is that they remain at their home resort that they are happy to be at. The more you are a "I want to go to the website once and book exactly what I want for exactly when I want it - and that includes VGC/ BWV standard studios during F&W/VAKL Concierge Rooms/etc the less likely you are to be happy.

 

[CarolynFH]

This is why you just have to accept your fate, embrace the suck, and buy enough points to always stay in 2BR villas...LOL. We just stayed at BCV in July, on a reservation I made in January (6 months out) using exclusively SSR points, with no walking or waitlisting needed. I wouldn't expect that to be the case come December, especially at such a small resort, but there is some value to grabbing a good chunk of SAP's at a resort with reasonable MF's if it means you can get a villa during busier periods simply by opting for a larger villa.

It’s important to realize that this works better at BCV with its dedicated 2BR than at BWV where all 2BR villas are lockoffs, meaning that when studios are gone, so are the 2BR. BWV 1BR are a little easier to book because they’re the leftovers.

 

[DonMacGregor]

It’s important to realize that this works better at BCV with its dedicated 2BR than at BWV where all 2BR villas are lockoffs, meaning that when studios are gone, so are the 2BR. BWV 1BR are a little easier to book because they’re the leftovers.

True, but in a general sense, looking at 7-month availability at just about any time with the possible exception of the holidays, you are MUCH more likely to grab a longer reservation at a greater number of resorts if you start with 2BR's. There are always going to be exceptions (obviously PVB isn't even on the list), but the number of options often doubles or triples when you open up to staying in a 2 bedroom.

 

[kboo]

What happens is that a lot of people waitlist and stalk the website to piece together some of these reservations - and waitlists and stalking often become most effective right before travel - stuff happens and people cancel trips. So especially if you are stalking, watch for holding.

I have 2 points in holding now because of this - first time it's happened in 6 years - oh well. I'll look around 60 days before my next trip but I'm not going to be worked up over losing $40-44.

I would love to move our trips to January but August it will be as long as we go with my daughter and granddaughter.

If you can - late August is wonderful so long as you're realistic about the weather (heat, mostly). The parks and restaurants are super-uncrowded, you have F&W (which wasn't really good for us until the kids got a little older) and the Halloween party, and sometimes Moonlight Magic.

Even in August?

We've had some good success at 7mo/8am and with the waitlist for BWV and BCV in late August. We've never NOT had it happen, BUT I don't promise that it will until the reservation is confirmed. Especially with studios. We were very lucky to piece together 5nights in a studio at BCV for my last-minute-I-wanna-come sister, and to this day I don't think she appreciates that we'll probably never again be that lucky. So I tell my DIS and DVC friends because they get it.

 

[tom1944]

I have 2 points in holding now because of this - first time it's happened in 6 years - oh well. I'll look around 60 days before my next trip but I'm not going to be worked up over losing $40-44.

If you can - late August is wonderful so long as you're realistic about the weather (heat, mostly). The parks and restaurants are super-uncrowded, you have F&W (which wasn't really good for us until the kids got a little older) and the Halloween party, and sometimes Moonlight Magic.

We've had some good success at 7mo/8am and with the waitlist for BWV and BCV in late August. We've never NOT had it happen, BUT I don't promise that it will until the reservation is confirmed. Especially with studios. We were very lucky to piece together 5nights in a studio at BCV for my last-minute-I-wanna-come sister, and to this day I don't think she appreciates that we'll probably never again be that lucky. So I tell my DIS and DVC friends because they get it.

We went August 17 to the 24th and had a great time.

We all felt Disney does as good a job as they can to mitigate the heat issue.

Our trips will start after the Florida kids go back to school.

 

[RuntheMouse]

Another data point.
Just booked a night at CCV for mid October. Also had the option of SSR, PVB(which I was too slow on), OKW or AKV.

ETA: book a studio

 

[tom1944]

Oh, in addition to bigger units - shorter and flexible stays help when booking in demand resorts at seven months as well - i.e. maybe you can get your first or last two nights at BCV, then the rest of your trip at a different resort.

A lot of people that are happy with the non-home resort availability for DVC are happy because they are really flexible - they have two or three resorts they are willing to switch to, they don't mind moving mid trip, they can move their vacation around by a few weeks for availability, they will waitlist and/or stalk to get a reservation, and the worst thing that will happen is that they remain at their home resort that they are happy to be at. The more you are a "I want to go to the website once and book exactly what I want for exactly when I want it - and that includes VGC/ BWV standard studios during F&W/VAKL Concierge Rooms/etc the less likely you are to be happy.

We are new and we have 9 resorts we plan to cycle through until we decide whether or not some become must stays and some are never again.

Right now, I have to decide if our next trip becomes 8 days at BLT (1br) or 9 days at BLT(1br)/SSR(2br) for a 9-day split stay5/4.

Besides which resorts we need to see if 7,8-,9- or 10-day stays work best for us. Add in do we like or hate split stays.

Our initial few years will be trying different stays and resorts.

Of course, what we decide will determine where and how many points we buy next.

 

[MyDogTink]

It’s important to realize that this works better at BCV with its dedicated 2BR than at BWV where all 2BR villas are lockoffs, meaning that when studios are gone, so are the 2BR. BWV 1BR are a little easier to book because they’re the leftovers.

Agree. I’m having difficulty getting a 2BR at BWV 11 months out. There must be walkers for studios because 1 BRs are available but studios are not, leading to 2BRs being unavailable. I’m not liking the lack of dedicated 2 BRs there.

 

[jrieder]

What are "walkers"?

 

[MyDogTink]

What are "walkers"?

People start booking ahead of their desired dates to ensure they secure their desired date. You modify you start and end date each day by one day until you eventually get your dates. If I want a check in date of Aug 15, I may start booking sep 13th for aug 13 and then the next day modify check-in to Aug 14 and then the next day modify to Aug 15. When I modify on Sep 15 for Aug 15, I already I have a reservation and block someone starting fresh on Aug 15 for a Sep 15 check-in.

 

[jrieder]

Is this tried a proven tactic...do you get priority over others

 

[MyDogTink]

Is this tried a proven tactic...do you get priority over others

People say it works. I don’t know. Some say it’s helpful at high demand seasons. Others say it’s not necessary to do.

 

[Sandisw]

Is this tried a proven tactic...do you get priority over others

Other than situations where DVD takes room out for a strange situation, it will work at 11 months because once you secure your room, and move it forward before the check out day you have, no one can get your room

Many rooms do not require it. The problem is that some of the rooms are in such high demand for fall and into the holidays that more want then can get.

I have done it a few times but typically not for more than a week or so and more often when I needed to secure more than one room.

 

[intamin]

Is this tried a proven tactic...do you get priority over others

It works if you own at the resort you’re trying to book. It does not work all the time when its at a resort you don’t own at because an owner of the resort can swoop in at any time before your window opens and book the room before you can and interrupt your walk. The only time a walk is interrupted at 11 months is if there’s maintenance going on and it’s pulled from inventory or if there are owners with fixed weeks. Again this goes back to buying where you want to stay. Theres no real point in walking a SSR room as they’re pretty much always available until the last few months before a trip. But for somewhere like a BWV standard room? You better own there and walk it if you’re planning to do a full week at food wine in September or if you’re doing early December.

 

[crisi]

Is this tried a proven tactic...do you get priority over others

You never get priority over others. What you are doing is trying for high demand room at a less high demand time - or having a "get lucky" situation with a room that is always in high demand. So if I want a BWV Standard View studio for the first week in October over F&W, I might start booking it in August, changing the reservation every six days and moving it forward until I have the week I want. But all members are entitled to do it - at least until DVC makes a change to its rules (which, personally, I think is likely - DVC takes a long time to close loopholes, but they tend to close them eventually) - its too much bother for a lot of owners.

It doesn't work consistently at seven months for high demand rooms because any fully booked day within your walk is going to make the walk not work - you can't "jump over" a booked day to keep it going. So walking into BWV/BCV studios at seven months into early December is generally is a problem and is never going to work for VAKL Concierge (but walking into those rooms at seven months in August might work).

 

[MyDogTink]

Does walking always work at 11 months? I would think not if someone started walking earlier than you.

 

[intamin]

Does walking always work at 11 months? I would think not if someone started walking earlier than you.

It works if the first day of the walk is not already booked. Today’s 9/16, if 8/16 is open, you can start walking now. If the date is unavailable then you can’t walk it because it’s already been taken. Again the only exceptions are if a room is taken out for maintenance or if it’s somebody’s fixed week.

 

[tx911]

How about if we just all agree never to do this

 

[crisi]

It doesn't work consistently at seven months for high demand rooms because any fully booked day within your walk is going to make the walk not work - you can't "jump over" a booked day to keep it going. So walking into BWV/BCV studios at seven months into early December is generally is a problem and is never going to work for VAKL Concierge (but walking into those rooms at seven months in August might work).

There is an error of sorts in here. I said any fully booked day within you walk is going to make it not work if you are trying this at seven months. It doesn't need to be fully booked by home resort owners - if you've been walking into a day with six other owners for six rooms, it works - but if one day there are five rooms and six owners walking forward, someone is going to get dropped from the walk. Its sort of a game of musical chairs where you don't know how many chairs there or how many people are playing for any given day. As walking has become a better known strategy for getting rooms, I suspect that most seven month walks are interrupted because on a given day there are more walkers than rooms.