devistated about ressies in Dec

[Dean]

I re-iterate that I think it is awful that Gudes seem to be over-selling the ability to book elsewhere at 7 months. Most of the SSR buyer's posts I have seen the past few months mention that they want to book at BWV, BCV or VWL rather than their home resort. This is all anecdotal observation on my part, of course. However, I have been on these boards for 4 years now, and DW for 5, and we agree on this.

No argument, but. DVC seems to be held to a much higher standard than other timeshares, right or wrong. Other timeshare sales staff will tell you anything, and I mean anything, to get a sale. Frank out and out lies abound. I only recall a couple of instances where I'd think the sales staff at DVC actually lied. Most of the situations is where they stretch the truth a little or it's a matter of interpretation. They tell you you can book anything at the 7 month window, you can put 5 in a studio, etc. Just remember the guides have no power and what they tell you that is not in writing, has NO meaning.

 

[Christine & family]

I'm one of those people that started a thread a while back about the possibilities of wait lists opening up. Our guide did tell us that we wouldn't have any problem switching resorts in the "slow" season. What we didn't realize at the time was that our favorite time of the year, the first weeks of December, weren't slow for DVC villas. We just assumed the reference to slow season correlated with park attendance. We know better now. I'm sure there will be times when we'd like to stay at a resort other than SSR. However,since we are really happy with SSR, if a waitlist comes through, that will be nice, but we will be happy wherever we end up. If you go into it with that attitude, everything is much less stressful. This time we are hoping for our waitlist at BCV the first week of December to come through because we are traveling with other people staying at that hotel. All the great advice on these boards definitely helps. We've had five of the eight nights come through and I'm hopeful on the others.

 

[Disney Doll]

Lesson learned, Mrs.Studog. If you know at the 11 month window that you want to go to WDW 11 months from then, book your home resort and then start trying at the 7 month window to get a different resort if you so desire.

We do that all the time, and it has always worked for us. We are currently doing the waitlist dance for BWV for October 22 & 23. I had booked a 2BR at OKW(home) for the week of October 22-29, then waitlisted at either the BWV or BCV for that time period. Slowly but surely, we have been getting all the days at the BWV filled in. Now all I am waiting for is to get the nights of 10/22 & 10/23 at the BWVs, and well be all set. Worst case scenario at this point is we do the 1st 2 nights at OKW and the rest @ BWV, which isn't too tough to take either!

 

[studog100]

Christine and family, I hope that all of your dates come available through BCV and you have a magical trip in Dec. All of us on these boards seem to have a piece of Disney in our hearts and so we should help one another. I will be thinking of you and your family and throwing many positive thoughts along with Pixie Dust your way.

 

[Melrosgirl]

Buy where you want to stay. Such good advice! I hope it works out for you, but SSR is a nice resort, so if you "have" to stay there, it will work out okay.

 

[CharlesTD]

Sorry to hear about that we always book our trips at 7 months and have never had any problems getting studios at any of the resorts for the first 2 weeks of Dec. Hope you get the room you are looking for.

 

[Tanya]

I guess I have been very laid back on making a ressie for the first week of December and also because I have to see if we can really afford to go!
The 7 month window for me would have been last week.... after reading these posts I better start getting on top of things!

 

[joepoe]

I guess I have been very laid back on making a ressie for the first week of December and also because I have to see if we can really afford to go!
The 7 month window for me would have been last week.... after reading these posts I better start getting on top of things!

Please let us know how it comes out. Good luck!

 

[CharlesTD]

I called this AM and was able to book for the first 2 weeks of Dec if I wanted a Studio @ OKW SSR VWL and BWV a 1 bdrm @ OKW SSR and VWL and a 2 BDRM @ OKW VWL and SSR.

 

[twotoohappy]

I'm waitlisted for Nov. 30th for a studio at VWL and I've been on the waitlist since 10 months out for a studio at BCV for Dec - 5th-10th. I have a 1bed for BCV for now for the 5th-10th, but I'm winging it for the 30th. We might just end up at WL for the night if nothing opens up.

 

[Alexander]

I think this is going to be a problem for a lot of members. If we had listened to our guide, we would have bought SSR and waited until 7 mos to book BWV or BCV in early Dec. We told him about 5 different times that we love early Dec and wanted to really only stay at an Epcot resort. His response "no problem" In fact, he went so far as to tell us that we'd be crazy to buy an Epcot resort resale (after WE brought up the idea of resales) because with SSR you get 12 extra years and can stay at the Epcot resorts any time you want.
Lucky for us, we found this board, learned about early Dec being a busy DVC time, read "buy where you want to stay" about 15-20 times, learned about waitlists, etc. We bought a BWV resale thanks to the people on this board and made our early Dec reservation at 11 mos without a problem. If we had not found this board, I'm sure we would have been really bummed when we called at 7 mos. I find it hard to believe that our guide is the only one telling people this. I think it's unfair to new/prospective members. These guides are the face of DVC/Disney. Of course people are going to believe what they say.

In defense of the guides, they are salesmen and women who aren't going to make any money if you buy a resale. If you went to a Ford dealership the salespeople aren't going to tell you to buy a Chevy if you really want to.
Booking reservations is not the guides' problem, it is the members. Honestly, anyone who is going to invest $20K in a timeshare/vacation program needs to do their homework. I'm glad that you did and ended up with the contract that meets your needs.

 

[Alexander]

They tell you you can book anything at the 7 month window, you can put 5 in a studio, etc. Just remember the guides have no power and what they tell you that is not in writing, has NO meaning.

These are truths. It all comes down to interpretation. You can book anything at the 7 month window. You can put up to five in a studio. The fine print however says one must be an infant. And for booking at 7 months out, sure you are able to book anything, but there is no guarantee that anything will be available. The guides are not lying to prospective members, therefore if those members fail to do any research on their own, then they have put themselves at the mercy of what ever should happen. Many people just don't ask enough of the right questions.

 

[Dean]

These are truths. It all comes down to interpretation. You can book anything at the 7 month window. You can put up to five in a studio. The fine print however says one must be an infant. And for booking at 7 months out, sure you are able to book anything, but there is no guarantee that anything will be available. The guides are not lying to prospective members, therefore if those members fail to do any research on their own, then they have put themselves at the mercy of what ever should happen. Many people just don't ask enough of the right questions.

And that is my point. They are exaggerations or conditional responses. But they frequently become untruths in the context they are frequently present. The statement "you will likely be able to book other resorts at the 7 month window" is currently accurate though I suspect it will become less and less so. However, the blanket statement "you will have no problem booking at the 7 month window" is far less truthful and may be a frank lie depending on your situation and the rest of the conversation. As for the infant to make 5, that is actually a stretch that is in some of the literature but NOT in the legal definitions.

As a rule the DVC sales people are very good, honest and appropriate; same can be said for Marriott as well but not nearly as much so for the rest of the timeshare World though I'm sure there are other exceptions. I think most will cue you that you may have a problem if they know so. But if they sell you SSR (for example) knowing full well you want to stay at VWL every December, they are far less than honest.

And you're very right that many don't think about or ask about things they should. They don't read the paperwork, they assume things because of other experiences such as stays at other Disney hotels. And I'd venture to guess this is a FAR larger problem than misleading guides. Still the point remains that if the guides tell you something and it's not in the legal paperwork somewhere, you don't have a leg to stand on in contesting it. I don't recall anyone stating they made a change to the contract but I'd suspect DVC would just say no if one did. Bottom line is the responsibility falls on the buyer to understand the product they are buying.