Booking an August trip in mid-April

[WMorganS]

I have two questions for all those more experienced DVC owners out there, but first let me say, wow, what a pain!! I just finished booking ADR's for a late August trip, one day at a time, every morning, right at the 180 day mark. Why? Because my trip will be using the banked points from a resale I'm still in the process of buying, and I won't be able to book a room using those points until mid-April.

Now my two questions are:

1. Come April. how hard will it be to use those points on a nice 1 BR in late August? Will I be able to get a nice room at VWL, BLT, BWV, or AKV? Or will I need to stay at SSR (our least favorite)?

2. What would YOU do if you wanted to go in late August, but had to wait to book with the banked points? Would you have booked with cash then recouped some of the cost by renting the banked points?

Note: I am a DVC owner, but I don't have any points left to play with for this year.

 

[Anal Annie]

First, as an SSR owner I would happily take a "nice" 1 bedroom villa at SSR if I was booking 4 months out. But then I always consider myself lucky to get something if I book at less than 6 months out and I am not picky about our choices. I would not book a cash room now I would wait & take what was available.

Second, I would think you would be able to "get in" at AKV or OKW. AKV is pretty big so I would guess they will have some availability. Late August is not as high demand as earlier in the month due to schools starting back up in a lot of places by mid-August. That's why the points go down on August 16th. We often go during the week that the seasons change from "Magic" to "Dream". I don't know what the odds are to get a "nice room" at BLT, BWV or VWL since I'm not sure what you are considering a "nice room" unless it's anything other than a room at SSR or OKW? Since VWL is the smallest of the ones you mentioned I would guess that one might be the hardest to get into. BWV is pretty big so you may have a shot there. But I don't know if they will have any "nice rooms" left by then. They will have probably booked all of those by then.

FWIW unless it's for spring break week at Easter I have never had problems booking our ADR's for August. Usually everything has availability as long as I don't have to have a particular time every night. We're pretty flexible with our dining times. We tend to eat late and I find the online booking to pretty easy to navigate with the 2 hour window they offer around the time you enter. I wouldn't stress over the ADR's.

 

[Jobelly]

Sorry I was just reading this and had a question on why you can't book your accommodation sooner.
I'm looking to but SS (bit worried as to why it's your least favourite -i've never stayed there) and am hoping for a contact with a Feb use year and I'm hoping for no 2013 points but full 2014 in February. We want to go next may so I thought in June I would be able to book. Is this not the case, would I have to wait until February?
Sorry to butt in.

 

[WMorganS]

Sorry I was just reading this and had a question on why you can't book your accommodation sooner.
I'm looking to but SS (bit worried as to why it's your least favourite -i've never stayed there) and am hoping for a contact with a Feb use year and I'm hoping for no 2013 points but full 2014 in February. We want to go next may so I thought in June I would be able to book. Is this not the case, would I have to wait until February?
Sorry to butt in.

.... Because my trip will be using the banked points from a resale I'm still in the process of buying ....

 

[WMorganS]

Regarding SSR, there's nothing wrong with it. We've always had a great time staying there, but we generally prefer resorts that are closer to a park, as opposed to being close to DTD.

 

[Jobelly]

I'm still new to thus but I think I see what you mean, thank you for explaining. Good luck with your contract.

 

[twinklebug]

I own DVC so hopefully I won't ever have to pay with cash again. In response to your second question: nope, I'd wait and book with points only. Nothing against renting though, I have been known to rent/transfer points from others when I'm short

Re: your first question - I doubt it will be difficult to book a room in late August for AKV, VWL or BWV. In the past I've booked stays for August as late as June. By August most schools have restarted with a few regional exceptions and it's known as hurricane season keeping other more timid travelers away. (I love late summer!) BCV will still be tough to get and you might need to break the trip into a split stay regardless of where you book, but those can be nice too. BLT should also have some availability if you're open and flexible to room category.

 

[WMorganS]

Thank you everyone. I'm feeling better about my decision to wait and pay points

 

[nalajms]

If this year is anything like last year, August won't be too bad. My neighbor closed on her resale in May and had several options when booking a 1bd in late August.

I had banked points from my add-on (closed in early May last year), and decided on a last minute trip in late July. I was able to book a 1bd Savanah AKL for 4 days followed by 1bd BWV (pool/garden) for 4 days. I was able to get the 4 straight days at BWV only because I stalked the website everyday for almost a month! Good luck!

Jobelly: I don't think May is a busy month, unless it's around Memorial day. I booked last month for our May trip. Beach club is probably the only resort that books up quickly. I was able to get our last 2 days there. The other days I got a BLT - Standard view! Again, I'm on the site everyday around 9am.