BLT question

[palaemon]

See if my logic is correct.

If we own at SSR, and want to book into BLT at the 7-month window, which times of year are the best/worst and what about room size?

We have no kids and can vacation whenever. We like Sept & May, but would like to do F & W once in a while. We'd like to go every other year and our plan is to have enough points to book a 1BR (LV is perfectly fine.)

I'm not saying that we'd be booking primarily into BLT, because we'd really like to try all of them over the years.

I just want to verify that if we want to do a 1BR/LV in either May or Sept (non-holiday weeks), that there is likely a pretty good chance of getting in at the 7-month window.

 

[kenny]

Sept would probably be your best bet or early jan.

However as has been discussed many times on this board, 7 month availability is hit or miss. Some say they always get what they want and others say they hardly get it.

Personally I fall into the middle. Sometimes I have gotten it and sometimes not. Still have not gotten BVC or BWV (BV) at 7 months and have tried several times for a 1BR.

That all being said, I wouldn't buy SSR with the plan on always switching at 7 months. Sometimes it will work and other times it will not. We owned SSR and it was a great resort. We like BLT better but were very happy with SSR. Ultimately decided we wanted to guarentee BLT so we sold SSR and bought BLT.

I would decide on a resort that I liked and go from there as there is never a guarentee that you will get a non-home resort. Plus in the future with DVC membership increasing and the always possible switching of booking rules you never know what can happen.

 

[palaemon]

Sept would probably be your best bet or early jan.

However as has been discussed many times on this board, 7 month availability is hit or miss. Some say they always get what they want and others say they hardly get it.

Personally I fall into the middle. Sometimes I have gotten it and sometimes not. Still have not gotten BVC or BWV (BV) at 7 months and have tried several times for a 1BR.

That all being said, I wouldn't buy SSR with the plan on always switching at 7 months. Sometimes it will work and other times it will not. We owned SSR and it was a great resort. We like BLT better but were very happy with SSR. Ultimately decided we wanted to guarentee BLT so we sold SSR and bought BLT.

I would decide on a resort that I liked and go from there as there is never a guarentee that you will get a non-home resort. Plus in the future with DVC membership increasing and the always possible switching of booking rules you never know what can happen.

Thanks for the reply. Actually, SSR is where we'd like to "end up.” We will always drive, MK is great, but if I were to pick a resort to walk to, I,d rather walk to EPCOT. The problem isn't that SSR isn't our favorite, it's that we like ALL of them, but can only afford SSR resale (plus MFs aren't outrageous like BWV)

When we bring family down, we'll want the THVs and the resort itself is lush and beautiful. Also, we would never feel disappointed in SSR. To be honest, if we had to have another resort at a difficult time (eg VWL in Dec or BCV during F&W) we'd just rent out our points and then rent/transfer those points for the 11-month advantage.

You said that you weren't ever able to get into BWV/BCV at 7-months. What months/time of year were you trying for?

 

[kenny]

SSR is really a great resort. There are tons of amenities and you can walk to DTD which is a huge plus for dining/shopping.

We also had a car at SSR so the size wasn't an issue. Loved the quiet pools and Congress Park was a great location. Beautiful views of DTD, nice quiet pool and playground for the kids.

Resort has a great spa and nice grounds. Very relaxing.

From a monitary standpoint you can't go wrong with SSR. Just wanted to mention the 7 month issue since many people post questions about buying SSR because it is the most affordable but switching out all the time. If you are good with staying at SSR (and we were very happy) and look at a swap as a bonus when you get it, then go for it. That is the approach we took originally as well.

We tried both fall and spring (nov, oct, mar, apr) and were not able to get anything at 7 months. then again we go for 8-10 nights so if I can't get the entire stay I consider that not available. Others do split stays and shorter stays so maybe it isn't an issue. We did a split last year but had a 5yo and a 5mo at the time so maybe that was part of it. Too much stuff!

Good luck

 

[newyorkmike]

Our home resort is AKL. At the 11 month mark, we booked a 1BR standard view room at AKL-Kidani for May 16-21 (for me, DW and DS) and then a few days later booked a 2BR standard view at Kidani for May 21-28 (for me, DW, DS and my parents).

At the 7 month mark for the first week, I called at 9AM and could not get a 1BR at BCV or BLT. So we kept our 1BR at Kidani until about a month or so ago when some 1BR standard view rooms at BWV became available and were able to switch there.

Also at the 7 month mark, I called at 9AM and although there was no availability at BLT for that week, I was able to switch our second week (May 21-28) to a dedicated 2BR at BCV! Interestingly, when I called a week later to try and get a lock-off 2BR, there was nothing available at all of BCV.

I hope this info helps. I think your best bet is always to call at 9AM on the day your 7 month window opens up. You can also try walking a reservation as well.

 

[szymcl]

I was able to get a LV BLT one bedroom in May last year and I wasn't even right at the 7-month mark, maybe it wasn't sold out yet then? I was also able to get a week in July after the 7 month mark for this summer.
I loved it! I loved walking to MK to get a Dole Whip, or just wander over there when the rest of the family didn't want to go. We left at 11;00 on morning, but I was still able to get the MK for one last round!
I also like the whole being on the monorail, going to the other resorts etc.

 

[hollis]

Of all views in BLT, lake view is about the easiest to get. Many times, theme park view and standard view may not have all the nights (or have none of the nights), and I can still get lake view.

For example, in early Feb, I was able to get 9 nights in a 2-bedroom lake view for Aug. That's at the 6-month window. Granted, I had to be a little flexible with dates. A couple of dates at the end in the original plan was not available. So the vacation was shifted up a couple of days. Actually, if I had wait listed, those 2 missing dates became available within a week.

Another example. In early Mar, right at the 7-month window, I was able to get a lake view studio for a week for early Oct (the Columbus Day weekend). But a standard studio for the same time period was not available.

Like some, if one day for your entire stay is not available you consider it not available, then it is best not to rely on the 7-month window. But for me, being flexible and persistent pays off. I almost always get what I want. It does take a lot of work in some cases.

 

[palaemon]

Of all views in BLT, lake view is about the easiest to get. Many times, theme park view and standard view may not have all the nights (or have none of the nights), and I can still get lake view.

For example, in early Feb, I was able to get 9 nights in a 2-bedroom lake view for Aug. That's at the 6-month window. Granted, I had to be a little flexible with dates. A couple of dates at the end in the original plan was not available. So the vacation was shifted up a couple of days. Actually, if I had wait listed, those 2 missing dates became available within a week.

Another example. In early Mar, right at the 7-month window, I was able to get a lake view studio for a week for early Oct (the Columbus Day weekend). But a standard studio for the same time period was not available.

Like some, if one day for your entire stay is not available you consider it not available, then it is best not to rely on the 7-month window. But for me, being flexible and persistent pays off. I almost always get what I want. It does take a lot of work in some cases.

This is what I was thinking. Since we'd be planning 7 months out, we wouldn't care about the exact dates (S-S, W-W, whatever, as long as it's a week and during the right points season.)

 

[disneyfan97]

We own at SS as well, and we have actually never had a problem getting into other resorts over the years. We don't always get it right at the 7-month mark, but I don't think we have ever had a wait-list that did not come through. Definitely make a reservation at SS as aa back-up, but use the wait-list option and see what happens. We are on the wait-list right now for BWV and for BLT for the first week in October. I fully expect (based on previous years) that BWV will come through as we get closer to the 30-day mark, but not sure what to think about BLT. That's the first time we have tried to get a room there, and since I'd be perfectly happy with SS we thought why not try. So, we'll see what happens.

I love SS too, but we do like to try all the resorts out as well. We've had a lot of fun going to all the other resorts along the way!

Good luck!

 

[disneyfan97]

Oh, and another thing that I just thought of -- you might try splitting the reservation, and being willing to change rooms/resorts in the middle. The chances of getting the full week are not as good as getting half of the week - or possibly both halves eventually but not all available at the same moment that you are trying to book.

This coming trip is booked in a 1-BR at SS for the whole trip, but I'm wait-listed at BWV for 4 nights and BLT for 4 nights.

 

[palaemon]

We own at SS as well, and we have actually never had a problem getting into other resorts over the years. We don't always get it right at the 7-month mark, but I don't think we have ever had a wait-list that did not come through. Definitely make a reservation at SS as aa back-up, but use the wait-list option and see what happens. We are on the wait-list right now for BWV and for BLT for the first week in October. I fully expect (based on previous years) that BWV will come through as we get closer to the 30-day mark, but not sure what to think about BLT. That's the first time we have tried to get a room there, and since I'd be perfectly happy with SS we thought why not try. So, we'll see what happens.

I love SS too, but we do like to try all the resorts out as well. We've had a lot of fun going to all the other resorts along the way!

Good luck!

It's like you're reading my mind.

I know there are a lot of SSR h8rs out there because it's so big and they feel that SSR owners are just buying the cheap points to stay elsewhere a 7 months. I think trying out all the resorts is what's fun about DVC, otherwise it's just like owning a single property and not a CLUB.