Can someone please explain reservation waitlist...details??

[soccermom16]

Okay...I've done a TON of research in the last 3 years, and even more in the last week after taking a tour at SSR a week and a half ago. DH and I have decided DVC would be right for our family, but we are trying to decide on a last few items. One of those decisions is purchasing points at one resort or 2 different resorts with different expiration years. I'm confused on how these points would work with different booking times (i.e. 11 mos out vs. 7 mos out).

I realize you would have 2 home resorts and could only book as mentioned above (11vs7, if booking at a home resort). But can someone explain to me how the waitlist works on a reservation?? So, for example, if I have 100 pts at AKL and 60 at BWV and want to book a 1BR at BWV, I can only book my 60 pts at 11 mos, correct? Then I have to wait to book the rest of my points at BWV and hope there are still coinciding dates/rooms available???? I guess I'm looking at how this works without having to change rooms mid-vacation. And what are your chances of actually getting what you want in this scenario. Is it just easier to have all of your points at one resort??? (I see A LOT of you have multiple contracts at different resorts!!)

I am also aware that if we want a completely different resort (i.e. booking at BCV vs. a home resort), we have to wait until 7 mos out to make our reservation.

Help! This is one thing I've looked for and haven't seen details on....
Thanks!
Pam

 

[Sammie]

Yes you can only book your home resort points at 11 months out. If you ended up with two reservations they would link them. You would have to go get new keys at that time but should not have to leave the room.

As to getting what you want at 7 months, depends on many factors, when you are going, what room size, which resort.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Okay...I've done a TON of research in the last 3 years, and even more in the last week after taking a tour at SSR a week and a half ago. DH and I have decided DVC would be right for our family, but we are trying to decide on a last few items. One of those decisions is purchasing points at one resort or 2 different resorts with different expiration years. I'm confused on how these points would work with different booking times (i.e. 11 mos out vs. 7 mos out).

I realize you would have 2 home resorts and could only book as mentioned above (11vs7, if booking at a home resort). But can someone explain to me how the waitlist works on a reservation?? So, for example, if I have 100 pts at AKL and 60 at BWV and want to book a 1BR at BWV, I can only book my 60 pts at 11 mos, correct? Then I have to wait to book the rest of my points at BWV and hope there are still coinciding dates/rooms available???? I guess I'm looking at how this works without having to change rooms mid-vacation. And what are your chances of actually getting what you want in this scenario. Is it just easier to have all of your points at one resort??? (I see A LOT of you have multiple contracts at different resorts!!)

I am also aware that if we want a completely different resort (i.e. booking at BCV vs. a home resort), we have to wait until 7 mos out to make our reservation.

Help! This is one thing I've looked for and haven't seen details on....
Thanks!
Pam

Honestly, if I were only going to own 160 points, I would probably have them all at one resort. With that said, there are several members on the boards who have small (</= 100) contracts at multiple resorts and like the flexibility that comes with it.

One thing you could do is use banking and borrowing to have a "larger" contract every two to three year. Given your choices above, you could have 120 points for a trip to BWV every other year and 200 points for AKV on the opposite every other year cycle. That way, you could stay at one resort for your entire trip and book at 11 months at that specific home resort.

We have had good results with waitlisting at 7 months, but it is hit or miss. Getting BWV or BCV for a stay of more than a few days during F&W is very difficult. The first week of December is very difficult to secure a non-home resort at 7 months.

Split stays are not terrible, but I would not want to do one that is less than 7 or 8 days total. And with those, it is ideal to stay in the larger accommodation at the end of the trip, so you have the space and the extra amenities. We have done a couple of split stays where we went from a 2BR to a studio, and that was a bummer!

If you are planning on doing resale, keep in mind that contracts of 100 points or less sell quickly and often for the asking price -- particularly at BWV and BCV. The AKV 100 pointers may last a little longer and you may be able to get it for a little less than asking, but you run the risk of losing it to someone else if you wait too long or try to go too low. Also, the closing costs on small contracts are relatively high in comparison to the size of the transaction, so that should be calculated into your cost. The closing costs for a 60-100 point contract are only slightly less than a 160 point contract. The 160 point contracts are more widely available and the price you pay resale is much easier to negotiate than on the smaller contracts.

Have fun shopping!

 

[sleepydog25]

Okay...I've done a TON of research in the last 3 years, and even more in the last week after taking a tour at SSR a week and a half ago. DH and I have decided DVC would be right for our family, but we are trying to decide on a last few items. One of those decisions is purchasing points at one resort or 2 different resorts with different expiration years. I'm confused on how these points would work with different booking times (i.e. 11 mos out vs. 7 mos out).

I realize you would have 2 home resorts and could only book as mentioned above (11vs7, if booking at a home resort). But can someone explain to me how the waitlist works on a reservation?? So, for example, if I have 100 pts at AKL and 60 at BWV and want to book a 1BR at BWV, I can only book my 60 pts at 11 mos, correct? Then I have to wait to book the rest of my points at BWV and hope there are still coinciding dates/rooms available???? I guess I'm looking at how this works without having to change rooms mid-vacation. And what are your chances of actually getting what you want in this scenario. Is it just easier to have all of your points at one resort??? (I see A LOT of you have multiple contracts at different resorts!!)

I am also aware that if we want a completely different resort (i.e. booking at BCV vs. a home resort), we have to wait until 7 mos out to make our reservation.

Help! This is one thing I've looked for and haven't seen details on....
Thanks!
Pam

Yes, it is easier to own at a single resort as you don't have the confusion of a second 11/7-month window. The reason most people own at a second, third, or even fourth resort is so they can have that 11-month window for booking. Keep in mind, however, that buying at two resorts can dilute the power of your points. Using the example you gave, if you have 100 points at one resort and 60 at another, do those point totals give you enough bang for your buck for each resort? You essentially would be guaranteed only 100 points for AKL at the 11-month window and only 60 points at the 11-month point for BWV. If you plan to go to BWV for the Food and Wine Festival and you want to stay over a weekend, then 60 points won't give you many nights. The 100 points from AKL would be super, but you'd have to wait until 7 months out to use them, and BWV is notoriously difficult to get at that time due to F&W. However, if your plan is to save up BWV points for a visit every other year or every third year, then that would work. Then again, you'd only have the 100 points each year to use for AKL which might may or may not be enough depending on when you plan to vacation.

In short, if you want to ensure you have enough points for your needs, at least for your first DVC purchase, then go with all your points at one resort. It's simpler and easier to book at 11 months out, and most resorts at 7 months can still be booked with the exception of traditionally tough times (BWV during F&W; VWL during the Christmas holiday season). Then again, only you know how you plan to vacation and when. Either way, it sounds as though you've done a good bit of research, and that's always good. Good luck!

 

[Sandisw]

We do own two resorts, BLT and BWV because we want to have the booking window for both. But, we own larger contracts and use them for different travel times so it works out. We just finished adding on another 100 points so we now have 280 T BLT and 150 at BWV so more than enough to book right at 11 months.

You can always use banking/borrowing as well to get more points at 11 months if you own two. I know some who bought say 100 at BWV and AKV and then alternate years at each. For example, this year you'd bank AKV but borrow BWV. That would give 200 points to book the whole trip at BWV.

Depending on the type of room you want and when you will travel, getting extended days at 7 months could be tricky and you'd be forced to split your stay. So, before I'd start out with two resorts, I'd try to run a few different situations to see how many points at each resort would be needed to make a travel plan that would work consistently for you.

Good lick!

 

[kristenrice]

We own 100 points at AKV and 50 points at HHI. We plan trips to WDW 2 out of 3 years and use ~150 AKV points each time. Then, in our "off" year, with banking and borrowing, we have 150 HHI points to use for spring break.

With HHI (and all other off-site resorts), if you want to stay there at all during any sort of peak season, you really should own there. At WDW, there are 7 (soon to be 8) DVC resorts. If you own at WDW, you can always book your home resort and try to switch to a different one at 7 months. At the off-site resorts, that is not an option. You don't have the option of "I'll just stay in whatever resort is open at 7-months". If the resort does not have availability at 7 months, you are forced to waitlist. We travel over spring break which frequently coincides with Easter and we prefer to stay in 1BR's. Easter (and most holidays) is a very popular time at HHI and it is frequently at capacity. Combine that with the fact that there are only 21 1BR units at the resort and you can see why one would need that 11 month window. If we couldn't get in at 7 months, we wouldn't be able to go at all.

With DVC expanding, it is getting more and more important to buy at a resort that you love. The home resort advantage is getting more and more important. Some resorts (SSR and OKW, for example) generally have a lot of availability across most categories (THV's and GV's at OKW excluded) for most of the year. The home resort advantage is not as important for those resorts. This was one thing we considered when we chose to buy. We love AKV and knew that the value 1BR's (and eventually the value 2BR's) would be a perfect fit for our family since we only wanted 100 points. We also knew that since there are only 10 available rooms in that category, the home resort advantage would be necessary to book them. We loved OKW as well (low points required and HUGE rooms) but we also knew that for most of the year, a 1BR would be fairly easy to get at 7 months. So, we chose AKV and have no regrets.

OP, you have started on the right track by doing your research. Read up, ask questions and take your time so that you are not disappointed down the road.

Good Luck!

 

[disneynutz]

Here is my take on the questions. Life outside of Disney can be a pain and a lot of work. We go to WDW to leave all of that behind if only for 30 days per year.

That being said, we want to book where we want, when we want, and we don't want to play the "wait list hope we get it game". We also don't want to be forced into split stays.

We bought at or favorite home resorts for the 11 month booking advantage at all park close resorts. One vacation we do MK and stay at VWL or BLT. The next vacation we stay at BCV or BWV and do Epcot and DHS. When we feel like being wild we book AKV and do AK.

Spending this kind of money your plans and happiness shouldn't be left to chance hoping to get the resort or room you want.

Bill

 

[soccermom16]

Good insight and perspective from all of you! I think I have a fairly good handle on how the whole waitlist reservation happens now. Basically, you book your home resort at 11 mos, then at 7 mos call reservations back to hopefully change your booking. If not, they waitlist you, but you keep your original booking (which is why you want your home resort to be one you really like...you may end up there more than planned with all the recent activity).

DH and I spent the morning crunching numbers (up front purchase w/ long term maintenance fees), talking about it all and how we plan to use the points and vacation with them. What use year month is best for us, etc, etc. I think we have a fairly good handle on it all and hopefully everything will pan out in our favor to be able to buy in soon!!

Wish us luck!!!

 

[Kidanifan08]

... then at 7 mos call reservations back to hopefully change your booking. If not, they waitlist you, but you keep your original booking (which is why you want your home resort to be one you really like...you may end up there more than planned with all the recent activity).

The one big issue with having a small number of points, is that when your 7 month window opens, it opens at 8AM ET online but not until 9AM by phone with member services.

Believe it or not, that 1 hour can make a big difference in getting what you want or having to WL it. I suspect that 1 hour difference give the biggest booking advantage to owners of large resorts, especially SSR, but also probably AKV and OKW, since the large resorts generally have wide availability for all room types at the 7 month mark (other than AKV value and CL and perhaps SSR/TH and GV's at OKW). So those owners can keep their points available for booking until 8AM of their 7 month mark and snap up the difficult to get BWV, BCV or whatever before those who need to call and work with MS to make a reservation at 7 months. If what they want is not available, they can always proceed to book their home resort and WL what they want.

You can always cancel a reservation online on the evening before or morning of your 7 month mark, but once you do, it could be gone and then you may be left with nothing that you want. This is another issue that really drives home the "buy where you want to stay" idea.

We have all of our points at AKV and we love staying there. Even though there is wide availability at 7 months, we almost always book at 11 months.

Good luck shopping!