Changing ressie, waitlist question....

[Lesley]

Here's our story...

My parents have decided to come to WDW at the same time we'll be there in December (12th to 17th). Right now they are looking into booking their own room at the Wilderness Lodge...we'll be at the villas. The rates are high though and if my mom will go for it I am going to look into getting us all a 2br. Right now we have a 1br booked.

My question has to do with the likely scenario of having to waitlist for a 2br for those dates....and how that works with our points. We would have to borrow the 40 extra points to move up to a 2br from next year. Not a problem if we can book it right away and simultaneously cancel the 1br. But what happens if we're waitlisted for the 2br? Will they automatically cancel the 1br reservation to get the points? Or would they double book us...and therefore borrow points that we don't want borrowed, that can't be put back?

Any suggestions?

Of course this all depends on my mom being willing to stay in a 2br with us....they may just prefer to have their own room. I'd just hate to see them end up at a different resort or not come due to cost....plus I know my mom will love WL! I sort of doubt they'd decide not to come at this point though....we're already making plans to celebrate the holidays together while at WDW since we live so far away!

 

[chris1gill]

If your mother would prefer her own room, you could always try to get a studio for her...

But, to answer your question they'll use your points from the 1 bedroom, plus they will automatically borrow to cover the difference if that's what you've instructed them to do... On our waitlist I usually just have them call us first so I can direct what goes on with our points....

 

[jonesmatNY]

They book you for all the nites that are available, and waitlist you for the ones that aren't, you have to have the points available now if the 2 bedroom is available.

I have a similar problem, looking for a studio for oct 28 to Nov 2, but the 31st and 1st are sold out, so I have to use points for the first three nights and waitlist for the last two. I have to borrow points for the whole reservation, which creates a problem, if I decide to cancel the reservation if the waitlist doesnt come thru. So what I did was just to waitlist for the two nites, if they open up then I would do the entire 5 nites, assuming of course the other nites dont fill up in the meantime! I dont want to change hotels in the middle of the stay.

The system works good if you know what you want to do at 11 months out, its the last minute trips or changes that can make things complicated!

 

[TiggerFreak]

We initially made ressies for 10-24 thru 10-30 at BWV.
With the intention of staying at the Swan the night of 10-23, but it seems that SWAN/DOLPHIN are not offering AP discounts this October. So we decided to book that night on points. Only available when I called was SSR so I took it and wait-listed for BWV. CM asked if I waited them to give them autorization to make ressie with out calling me if it became available because it would be neccessary to borrow a few more points. I said OK!
Well last week, 2 letters in mail from MS, 1 for the SSR ressie and 1 dated the next day for a BWV ressie, same arrival date.
I called MS the next day and they had canceled the SSR night then borrowed the extra points and made the BWV ressie.
Smooth.
Disney service as usuall!

 

[Cruelladeville]

To sum it up, MS will do whatever you ask them to do. If you waitlist for a 2 bdrm, you can ask them to notify you, or you can just have it done automatically. You can have them give you a 2 bdrm day-by-day, or you can wait and have them give you the unit only when they have all the nights you ask for. They can automatically borrow the necessary points, or they can call you first. There are ramifications to every decision, so talk to MS about it and have them explain it all to you. By the way, if they are instructed to call, and you don't return their call within 24 hours, you are thrown off the waitlist. I prefer to have them fill my request, and then send me a confirmation unless doing so would be closer than 31 days, which means that if I changed my mind the points would go into holding.

 

[Lesley]

Okay, I think I get it but I have one more question....

if I waitlist, do I have to cancel my 1br reservation.....or will they hold that reservation until the 2br comes through? And will they make the 2br reservation and cancel the 1br when (if) it becomes available....rather than borrowing the whole amount from next year?

I don't want to give up my 1br reservation until I know we have something else!

As far as just getting my parents a studio....its 20 more points that way....and it would eat up half of the rather meager number of points we have left next year. 40 points is one thing....60 is another. I have suggested to my mom that she might try renting points as well.....

Thanks everyone!

 

[Happy Birthday Cat]

Originally posted by Lesley
Okay, I think I get it but I have one more question....
if I waitlist, do I have to cancel my 1br reservation.....or will they hold that reservation until the 2br comes through? And will they make the 2br reservation and cancel the 1br when (if) it becomes available....rather than borrowing the whole amount from next year?

You don't have to cancel the 1BR. You can hold on to that while you are on the waitlist. If the waitlist comes through and you told them to fill it without calling you, they wiull cancel your 1 BR and reserve the 2BR. If you told them to call you first to confirm, they will do that.

The other part of the wait list is whether you told them to fill it day by day or wait for the whole thing to open. Day by day is easier to get but it could leave you having to move around if the whole thing doesn't come through.

Remeber that the wait list expires at 30 days so call an renew it. It will then stay active up to 7 days. It doesn't hurt to call and see how things are going with the waitlist from time to time either.

Good luck.

HBC

 

[Lesley]

Thanks for the info. And maybe I'll get really lucky and they'll have a 2br available for our dates so I won't have to waitlist! If anyone has checked VWL availability for that week recently I'd love to know how its looking.

Any recommendations on how to waitlist? Is it pretty safe to try the day by day option this far out? Is there a chance we'd have to move during our stay even if the 2br comes through for the whole time?

My mom has given me approval to get them the room as long as I allow them to pay for it.....so now I need to decide if that cash will cover a couple nights at AKL after they leave, or if I should rent points to replace the ones I'll borrow from next year (of course, there's an option I should have thought of from the beginning.....lol!)

Thanks again!