gbss,
You have to keep checking every day. Even multiple times at key time windows. Being only a month plus out, watch the calendar closely.
People who have booked a Package (site, tix, dining etc) have to pay in full 45 days before arrival. So 1.5 months before Christmas plus a week or so for arrivals would put us in the next 7-10 days. Once they pay in full the cancellation penalties are a little less friendly so you should see some availability as people cancel slightly longer than 45 days before Dec 20-25.
Room only cancellations have up until 5 days before arrival to cancel without penalty. So you may go down to the wire trying to get a cancelled room-only spot.
It's pretty late now to be shooting for any part of the week between Christmas and New Years. That time frame is the single busiest/costliest/most desired time of year at the Fort (you can tell by the pricing, can't you?) so it stands to reason it's booked well in advance and tough to get on short notice.
For folks lurking and reading, popular times like the week before Easter, the week after Easter, Halloween Week, and the week between Christmas and New Years book up at LEAST a year in advance. Reservations can be made 500 days in advance (that's about a year and a half) of arrival.
IMO, reservation policies are pretty lax. If you do a room only reservation, all you will pay is one night's deposit when you make the reservation which is fully refundable if the cancellation comes before 5 days of arrival. So if you think you might want to be at the Fort, book WELL IN ADVANCE. Add a few extra days before or after what you plan-you can always drop days but sometime it is hard to add days. But please drop them once you know your plans so another DISser can pick up those dates that you make available.
gbss, be persistent and keep trying. Good luck!
Bama Ed
PS - please let us know your progress...
