Booking Exactly at 8am

[CmdrThor]

What is your strategy for booking hard to get rooms that sell out exactly when online booking opens? My process is usually go to Plan a Vacation -> Book a Vacation, choose a party of 1 adult so I don't have to review any other information while booking, select my dates, room type, and resort, then hover over the Check Availability button until 8am exactly. Then after it loads expand the room I want and click Continue.

It seems if I Check Availability before 8am and wait until 8am to hit continue I get the "not in your booking window" message. But sometimes this happens to me even if I think I've checked after 8am.

Does anyone have a better method that they have been successful with?

 

[Sandisw]

You are doing it right. We believe the reason you get the message is that it always double checks when you hit continue and at that point, the room is gone so it now adjusts your dates to the next day, which is outside window

 

[CmdrThor]

You are doing it right. We believe the reason you get the message is that it always double checks when you hit continue and at that point, the room is gone so it now adjusts your dates to the next day, which is outside window

That makes a lot of sense. Does it ever work if you search before 8am and click continue exactly at 8am? I suppose I can play around with a room that isn't a hot commodity tomorrow morning. I was trying on my laptop but I seemed to be just as fast on my phone.

 

[SPLzero]

That makes a lot of sense. Does it ever work if you search before 8am and click continue exactly at 8am? I suppose I can play around with a room that isn't a hot commodity tomorrow morning. I was trying on my laptop but I seemed to be just as fast on my phone.

I have loaded up a search for AKL Savannah view before 8am and hit continue after 8am and it gave me the "outside of booking window" error. I used Savannah view because i knew it would not be booked at 11 months.

 

[crvetter]

That makes a lot of sense. Does it ever work if you search before 8am and click continue exactly at 8am? I suppose I can play around with a room that isn't a hot commodity tomorrow morning. I was trying on my laptop but I seemed to be just as fast on my phone.

I always always search before 8 AM (usually 3-5 mins beforehand) sit at the results page and wait until exactly at 8 AM to click the reserve for a specific room, never has that been an issue. I can assure you (following the code of the website) that searching before 8 AM has no impact on the message you receive. It is as @Sandisw stated that the website rechecks the room still being available and if the first night is gone automatically bumps your reservation to start the second night. This is 100% a bug in their code (raised it with them); so because of this you get the error message of outside your booking window.

Other times you could get the message is you click at what you think is 8 AM but it isn't 8AM on the Disney Servers.

 

[arrrroooooo]

Other times you could get the message is you click at what you think is 8 AM but it isn't 8AM on the Disney Servers.

What's the best way to get aligned with Disney Servers?

 

[zavandor]

What's the best way to get aligned with Disney Servers?

There is 99.99% probability that the Disney servers have a time service installed that syncs the server time. It's much more probable that the user's clock is out of sync or that he clicked by mistake a moment before the time.
Mobile phones are synchronized automatically by the network (unless one has disabled that option) so they're a good to look at when booking at 7 months.

 

[SPLzero]

I always always search before 8 AM (usually 3-5 mins beforehand) sit at the results page and wait until exactly at 8 AM to click the reserve for a specific room, never has that been an issue. I can assure you (following the code of the website) that searching before 8 AM has no impact on the message you receive.

When was the last time you booked at 11 month window at 8am? All of December and January trying to book at AK if I click check availability before 8am and clicked continue after 8am no mater if I clicked it at 8:00:00 or 8:01:00 It would come back booking outside my window. That was for Savannah view studio with no availability issues at 11month mark. If I click update at 8:00:00 and click on the room I wanted right away I was able to get Club and Value studio.


I also use Time.gov as my clock.

 

[stuartsong]

I have had that issue with Firefox browser, but not with Safari.

 

[gatordoc]

I have had that issue with Firefox browser, but not with Safari.

Issues with Firefox are known to Disney IT but they don’t seem to have any interest in fixing them. When I last was able to talk with someone there who was reasonably helpful, they told me their systems were optimized for IE and Chrome (which I use now).

 

[SPLzero]

I have had that issue with Firefox browser, but not with Safari.

Interesting. I have the issue with chrome mobile and chrome on a desktop.

 

[crvetter]

When was the last time you booked at 11 month window at 8am? All of December and January trying to book at AK if I click check availability before 8am and clicked continue after 8am no mater if I clicked it at 8:00:00 or 8:01:00 It would come back booking outside my window. That was for Savannah view studio with no availability issues at 11month mark. If I click update at 8:00:00 and click on the room I wanted right away I was able to get Club and Value studio.


I also use Time.gov as my clock.

This morning, a month ago, and in December. Since people say above they have issues related to the browser make sure you have any ad or content blockers disabled for the site.

 

[Xalthon]

@crvetter, since browser may be a factor, which browser did you use for your bookings?

 

[crvetter]

@crvetter, since browser may be a factor, which browser did you use for your bookings?

I personally use Chrome on a Mac but have my Ad Blocker whitelist Disney.go.com so any Disney site doesn't block content which has caused me before.

I also have used Safari on a Mac, iPhone, and iPad but those were a bit older.

 

[lovin'fl]

Wow...sad that we have to work this hard to book our own home resorts. I have chrome and book on laptop. I use the laptop clock. I have tried the searching before 8am and then trying to book right at 8am (standard BWV studio or CCV studio) and no luck. I just walk now. If I want one of those studios (say for festival time at BWV or Dec at CCV). Start like 6 weeks before. Most time I just go with a 1BR. Really shouldn't be THIS hard. Thank DVC for selling all those small contracts and for doing bungalows/cabins that saturated points to be sold (more owners with small contracts all competing for studios).

 

[soniam]

Issues with Firefox are known to Disney IT but they don’t seem to have any interest in fixing them. When I last was able to talk with someone there who was reasonably helpful, they told me their systems were optimized for IE and Chrome (which I use now).

Wow! I thought IE was end of lifed. There are things from the mother ship at my company (yeah, mother ship is the right word ) that only work on IE And then they worry about security

 

[SPLzero]

Just tried it with Microsoft Edge and Chrome. Logged in at 7:45, clicked check availability at 7:57, and clicked continue at 8:01 both came up outside booking window. If I clicked refresh it would let me book.

 

[Xalthon]

Just tried it with Microsoft Edge and Chrome. Logged in at 7:45, clicked check availability at 7:57, and clicked continue at 8:01 both came up outside booking window. If I clicked refresh it would let me book.

Hmm... maybe @crvetter was able to do so because was using Apple products?? No idea why that would matter, but who knows... I will have to try some testing on my iPhone and my PC.

 

[Marionnette]

Just tried it with Microsoft Edge and Chrome. Logged in at 7:45, clicked check availability at 7:57, and clicked continue at 8:01 both came up outside booking window. If I clicked refresh it would let me book.

Sometimes I get the “outside the booking window” message when I use that method on Chrome. Most times, I don’t. I think it has more to do with how many people are also on right at 8 AM and trying for that same elusive BWV standard view studio.

 

[Sandisw]

Sometimes I get the “outside the booking window” message when I use that method on Chrome. Most times, I don’t. I think it has more to do with how many people are also on right at 8 AM and trying for that same elusive BWV standard view studio.

This is my experience, I have had it work at times, and others not. Same with my Ipad, What is strange as I have had better luck on my IPad using Chrome than on my computer.