Booking Questions

[fulles]

I ordered a DVC DVD from disney and they called last night to make sure they had the correct address. Whilst on the phone I asked for a rough estimate of costs for a studio in AKV for 2 weeks in Sept. He said I needed 210 points. That was higher than I expected so I looked on the internet after the call ended.

He had quoted for a Savannah View studio. At first, I thought he had quoted that because it was one of the most expensive and he was trying to maximise the $$$. Then I got thinking about availability, and I have a number of questions which hopefully someone will be able to answer.

1) How many studios are there at AKV (at each level)?
2) Are all of these available to DVC or are some cash only? If so, how far in advance can cash bookings be made?
3) If I bought enough points for a standard studio (2nd level out of 4), would I be guaranteed availablity if booked 11 months in advance? Also, travelling from the UK means that airfare is high portion of the cost. Therefore, it is only feasible to go once per year for 2 weeks. That means that I would only be able to book 10 1/2 months in advance. This puts me at a disadvantage to someone from the US only wanting to book a few days as they would be able to book earlier.
4) How easy is it to book other resorts at 7 months?
5) Has anyone ever not been able to get a booking at their home resort?

I am sure I will have other questions as the more answers I get the more questions I seem to get.

Thanks in advance.
Steve

 

[UKDEB]

There are 128 studios in Jambo House (i.e. the converted hotel rooms in the existing Lodge) and there will be a further 168 at Kidani Village. Only 46 of them (all at Jambo House), are dedicated studios. That means the rest can also be booked as two bed lock-offs. [In case that means nothing to you, I'll attempt an explanation. DVC properties have some self-contained two-bed units, but they're also able to combine studios with one-beds to make additional two-bed units and these are what they describe as lock-offs.]

• Value studios are smaller than the other categories, but approximately half have a savannah view.
• Standard studios are bigger, but the "standard" designation refers to the view, so none overlooks a savannah (views will be of the pool, garden or car park).
• Savannah rooms are the same size as standard, but with a savannah view.
• Concierge rooms are the same size as the standard and savannah rooms, but not all have savannah views. They do provide access to all the concierge amenities including the lounge.

These room designations apply to Jambo House only - there are no value or concierge categories at Kidani Village. The studios there will all be identical, the only difference being whether or not they have a savannah view.

DVC is able to retain a small percentage of each property as cash inventory. It's set in stone at the outset. Disney can't hold back points inventory to rent out and neither can members use points to buy cash inventory rooms. When members trade out for non-DVC properties, though, that does then become cash inventory. DVC members receive a discount on cash nights and that can actually be beneficial for some weekend nights, particularly during high points value periods.

Booking other resorts at the 7 month window is becoming increasingly difficult. It used to work without too many glitches until SSR sales neared capacity (that resort is huge and many owners there want to switch out to the resorts close to the parks). Panic booking at the 11 month window has now become the MO for DVC members. It's catch 22. People book their home resort at the 11 month window, even though it's not necessarily what they want, "just in case". At the 7 month window they try for what they really wanted all along, but they can't get it because everyone else did the same. It's a crazy situation, but until Disney comes up with a system for matching those waitlisted, rather than just waiting for someone to cancel and thus start the domino effect, it's a game you're probably going to have to play (i.e. book at the 11 month window and then make any necessary alterations once you're able to make your travel arrangements). DVC works on calendar months, whereas flights are bookable at the 333-336 day mark, so you do have a few days to play with. Waitlisting is often successful, especially for the slower times, but they often don't come through until the last minute which I find very stressful - I like to have everything settled.