Changing Ressies at 7 Months

[disney junky]

I'm booked for BW for next May, a 2br 2ba and an additional studio for the whole family. I'm considering, and I've never done this before, trying to book 3 days or so at AK at the 7 month window for same accommodations and then cancelling those days at BW. I don't want to risk losing our existing reservations. Has anyone done this and if so, how risky is it? We have NO wiggle room for the time frame.

 

[Sandisw]

AKV is pretty big. I would think you'd have o problem changing at 7 months for May.

 

[disneynutz]

I'm booked for BW for next May, a 2br 2ba and an additional studio for the whole family. I'm considering, and I've never done this before, trying to book 3 days or so at AK at the 7 month window for same accommodations and then cancelling those days at BW. I don't want to risk losing our existing reservations. Has anyone done this and if so, how risky is it? We have NO wiggle room for the time frame.

You state that you are going to book AKV then cancel BWV. How would you lose the BWV reservation?

Bill

 

[disney junky]

You state that you are going to book AKV then cancel BWV. How would you lose the BWV reservation?

Bill

I misspoke. I would not cancel the BWV reservations (or whatever portion of it) without knowing for sure that I had the AKV reservations. Since I've never done anything like this, I was hoping for some suggestions from someone who has or some comment as to the feasibility of it.

 

[Deb & Bill]

I misspoke. I would not cancel the BWV reservations (or whatever portion of it) without knowing for sure that I had the AKV reservations. Since I've never done anything like this, I was hoping for some suggestions from someone who has or some comment as to the feasibility of it.

If you have the points to book the AKV villas, you can do what you want. But if you need the cancelled points to book your stay at AKV, you'll have to cancel before you can book AKV.

 

[disney junky]

If you have the points to book the AKV villas, you can do what you want. But if you need the cancelled points to book your stay at AKV, you'll have to cancel before you can book AKV.

That's what I figured. And therein lies my concern.

 

[Kidanifan08]

For May, there should be good availability of villas at AKV, particularly Kidani, as long as you are not thinking value or concierge. If you do not have enough points to have the BWV reservation and also the AKV reservation, then it would be best to call MS at 9AM (EST) on the first day of your 7 month window and they can do it for you without losing the days at BWV that you want to keep. Of course, they can only adjust one reservation at a time, so you may want to have them make sure there is wide availability for both the studio and 2BR before they book one of them.

One thing to think about with a BWV/AKV split stay is that the AKV rooms will feel much bigger than the BWV rooms and the 2BR at AKV will have the 3 full baths. That could set a few up for disappointment if you start with AKV and then move to BWV. But, the activity on the Boardwalk and the proximity to Epcot and HS helps to make up for that difference. For our split stays, we often try to end the trip at AKV, as it is much quieter and more serene than the resort that are close to the parks.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

 

[disney junky]

For May, there should be good availability of villas at AKV, particularly Kidani, as long as you are not thinking value or concierge. If you do not have enough points to have the BWV reservation and also the AKV reservation, then it would be best to call MS at 9AM (EST) on the first day of your 7 month window and they can do it for you without losing the days at BWV that you want to keep. Of course, they can only adjust one reservation at a time, so you may want to have them make sure there is wide availability for both the studio and 2BR before they book one of them.

One thing to think about with a BWV/AKV split stay is that the AKV rooms will feel much bigger than the BWV rooms and the 2BR at AKV will have the 3 full baths. That could set a few up for disappointment if you start with AKV and then move to BWV. But, the activity on the Boardwalk and the proximity to Epcot and HS helps to make up for that difference. For our split stays, we often try to end the trip at AKV, as it is much quieter and more serene than the resort that are close to the parks.

Good luck and enjoy your trip!

Thanks. BWV is home and we'd likely start there.

 

[disneynutz]

MS can not hold inventory but they can see how many rooms are available before making the switch.

Bill

 

[drusba]

At 7 months out for any time in May 2013 you could have easily gotten AKV savanna or standard view. That was still true at 6 months out.

 

[disney junky]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm going to go to part 2 of my question now. Our reservations are for May 10-17 and we have a party of 8. Six adults and 2 toddlers. How easy is it to make this type of move mid vacation?

 

[drusba]

Depends on the eight people. Easiest process is to give all bags to bell services to transfer, go to a park, leave late afternoon or evening and check in at new resort and have bags brought to room -- bags are usually transferred between resorts about mid-afternoon. That I consider the easy part.

The hard, and actually impossible, part for us is getting everyone to pack to move. In my family there are a few who consider packing an all day exercise.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm going to go to part 2 of my question now. Our reservations are for May 10-17 and we have a party of 8. Six adults and 2 toddlers. How easy is it to make this type of move mid vacation?

I almost put something in my original post about split stays, but deleted it, since it was not part of your original question.

The transfer day can really make you feel homeless, and you will lose some of your free time dealing with getting the things moved over. Bell services can move everything for you (even refrigerated stuff), but they will not have things to your new location until after 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Your second villa may not be available until after 4, so if you plan on swimming in the afternoon at your new location, you should pack some things in a carry on or backpack so you have access to them. With the toddlers, the main issue would be if they need to have a dark, quiet room for a nap. Our son always napped in the stroller, so the transfer day was never a problem.

Our most recent split stay was a Jambo 2 night/BLT 4 night/Kidani 4 night split. There were just three of us at Jambo, so that transfer was quite easy, especially since we moved our own things with our rental car. We also moved our stuff to Kidani, while my brother's family used bell services for their luggage, as well as the food and our Owner's Locker. Having to unpack/repack/unpack the OL is one reason why we will not do a split stay next year. Additionally, when we go on vacation, we prefer to unpack everything once and just enjoy the trip. We did this split stay so my brother's family could experience different resorts.

AKV is a great resort, and if you have never stayed there, it is definitely worth it. Hopefully you can get everyone in the group on board for the transfer day so you don't lose too much time.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm going to go to part 2 of my question now. Our reservations are for May 10-17 and we have a party of 8. Six adults and 2 toddlers. How easy is it to make this type of move mid vacation?

Bunch of people means bunch of stuff. Why not just stay put for your entire stay and try the other resort on another trip? Make it easier on you, your family and your guests.

 

[nalajms]

We're doing something similar the week before you. I've got the BWV standard booked for the week and will switch out the first 3 days to a Savannah view at 7mons.

We like to end at BWV since it's the Flower & Garden festival. The rooms and resorts are different enough that I don't think we'll feel like a downgrade. This year we went from a 2bd in BLT to BCV.... definitely felt it then!

I prefer a shorter stay for one rather than equal time at both. Then I can pack one suit case with enough cloths for the short stay. And fully unpack for the longer stay.

On move day, I pick the park depending on how much time is left. So if we're early, we'll go to MK that day and monorail back to BWV. If we're late getting out, we'll probably head to Epcot or DHS.

 

[WMorganS]

About changing rooms/resorts, I've never had to wait until 4pm to get into a room, but I've had to wait almost 24 hours for my luggage to catch up with me! That shouldn't happen "normally", but to be safe, ask when the luggage shuttle leaves the resort

 

[nalajms]

About changing rooms/resorts, I've never had to wait until 4pm to get into a room, but I've had to wait almost 24 hours for my luggage to catch up with me! That shouldn't happen "normally", but to be safe, ask when the luggage shuttle leaves the resort

For us it has been the opposite. Luggage was transferred over and sitting in bell services, but room's still not available at 6pm and we have dinner reservations at 6:30! What do we do? DH goes with bellman and takes out pants and shirt from our luggage, change in the bathroom lobby, puts old clothes back in our luggage.

It was just the one time.