Difficult To Get Last Minute Reservation?

[goofy1978]

I'm a prospective member of DVC and like to make a last minute trip every now and then(1-3 months out). I usually plan a trip in advance every year for dec/jan with the kids and 1 or 2 short trips with my wife. The short trips are usually more spur of the moment(1-3 months out). How difficult is it to get an OKW studio that close to the trip date? Thanks in advance!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Extremely difficult.

 

[TenThousandVolts]

DH and I did a "last minute" (about 10 weeks out) trip in May. May is one of the slower times for DVC and we got a studio at SSR- that was the only resort with a studio available.
I think many other times of the year I would have been shut out.

 

[ebenmax]

While I cannot officially answer your question about OKW, my DH and I called for a spur of the moment trip about 10 days ago and reserved a studio at SSR for July 23-26. MS had to actually call SSR because there were so few rooms left. We had asked for any available resorts and all others were sold out. We were thrilled that a room was available and we LOVE SSR.

However, I think it would really depend on the time of year for your spontaneous trips as to whether there is availability or not. But the size of SSR helps a lot for last minute bookings. OKW is large but not as big as SSR.

HTH

 

[global_mom]

Seems that the difficulty level could flucuate based on the time of the year that you want to make the last minute plans. Busy times = extremely difficult. Slower times = not too hard. Do note that the busier "seasons" for DVCers tend to be a bit different from WDW's published "seasons".

Good luck with your decision!

 

[spiceycat]

at 60 days all the unused villa go to CRO.

so anytime you call in the last 60 days it will take longer.

MS has to call CRO to make sure what MS is seeing is still there.

I have had pretty good luck with last minute trips. You have to be flexibility both in the resort and days.

like sometimes you want the second week in March, but it is not available but the first week is - member service is great!!!

they try their best to find something for you.

also if you are willing to change resorts - like a few days at OKW, then few days at SSR - then I would say definitely most of the time.

dec is hard at any time!!!!

 

[Darkside]

I got a studio at BWV 4 days before we arrived this past January. I was able to reserve a studio at SSR from Aug. 15-19. I made the reservations on 6-12-07, so about 2 months out? I am sure different times of year would be harder/easier? I am real pleased with availability at DVC.

 

[Mamiamjo]

Time of year definitely has an impact on availability. I was looking for a studio reservation between now and Dec and except for a few days here and there the only thing available was SSR from 11/12-11/20 and a few days at OKW, everything else was booked!

Maybe in winter, late spring, early summer you'd have better luck

Mike

 

[dianeschlicht]

If you switch to a 1 bedroom, I think you will have good luck during the less busy (DVC) times of the year. Late January, May, Late August and most of September fit that scenario. Other times, I think you will have luck if you waitlist, but studios will be the most difficult next to 3 bedroom GVs on short notice.

 

[hellerjw]

I agree that it will depend primarily on the time of year and your flexibility. If you are willing to move around, push your dates back-n-forth a week or two, or go with a 1BR you should have pretty good results no matter what time of the year you want.

Once the new AKV Kidani building gets under way there will be more inventory than there is today so you should have a slightly better chance. Of course, they are always adding new members so that will affect any "inventory bump" that AKV will add in the short-term.

 

[CarolA]

Extremely difficult.

Not always!

A few considerations.

1. Are you picky? Will you stay at any DVC? If you will only stay at BWV, BCV, VWL... not a good idea.

2. Are you willing to waste some points. For example, at under 30 days I decided to change my SSR reservation to BCV. It's just me. I went on the waitlist for a studio or 1 BR. Got the one bedroom, yes it's a waste of points, but my friends are staying there.

3. Last week I added the night prior to the BCV stay at SSR studio. That was ALL that was open.

4. Are you willing to be "locked" out? I am, I have no problem checking into a local hotel if I can't get a DVC room

(I have called FROM the airport to get a room. I can count on two fingers the number of times I have been "locked" out and I have done this quite often Once was in June of this year when I tried to get a studio for a friend of mind...NADA. Of course there was not one ROOM to BUY at Disney that week. CRO was SOLD OUT!! In that case......I am sure Disney sold the DVC rooms we didn't prebook!)

 

[sagwanamu]

It all depends. One time, about 2 years ago, I was be able to book BWV with about a month notices for early March. Now even with a few months notice (long for me but it can be a short notice for others), it's hard to find a room on most of resorts, other than SSR.

Good luck...

 

[Disney Doll]

In the 10 years I have owned DVC, there was one time out of many times that I called last minute where I did not get a room, and I was looking for a room for Spring Break week & I called about 3 weeks prior.

Other than that, I have always gotten something. Now, that doesn't mean that I decided 1 week before the F&W Festival started at Epcot that I wanted to stay at an Epcot view room at the BCV and got it, but I have always gotten something.

It has been my experience that if I call last minute, I generally end up at OKW or SSR, because they are the largest resorts. I also usually put myself on the waiting list for another resort if I want something different. A couple of years back I booked at OKW and waitlisted BWV during th F&W Festival, and BWV came through the day before we left.

 

[tinkerbell102]

I am a new dvc owner, and was fortunate enough to book a 2 bdrm as ssr for 8 nights in august 1 1/2 mo before. I also just called yesterday and was able
to book a studio for bcv in Dec for 4 nights! Luck was def on my side for this one!

 

[cookies]

I just booked a 1 bedroom at BWV for Sept. 15-22 this morning. It all depends on what you want and when you want it.

 

[kgkmom]

Two days ago, I booked a 4 night stay in a studio at SSR for *Labor Day Weekend*! It can be done if you aren't picky and can be flexible with your dates. We're going from Wed-Sun, which I think must have helped. I actually had a choice between SSR and OKW for those dates.

Plus, I'm soooooo glad I waited, because I was able to get the cheap-o flights on Southwest out of Providence. Yahoo! Now I just have to decide whether to renew my AP or just buy 4 day passes. My DD will be going next April with school, but she'll be on a package plan through the school. We might go back one other time next year, but I don't know for sure. <sigh> Any thoughts/advice?

 

[DonnaL]

DH and I decided the end of March (with the help of SW's Ding fares) to take our 5 yr old grandson on quick 4 day trip in mid May. I called MS the third week of March and asked what was available. I could have gotten a 1 bdrm at either OKW or SSR at that point.......no studios available just 1 bdrms....which was fine because that's what I was looking for. However, mid May isn't the busiest time either.........don't know whether that would happen during a busier time.......but, we don't usually travel during the busier times so it works for us.

 

[jarestel]

We have noticed over the seven years we've been DVC members that last minute trips have become increasingly more difficult to book and I would expect that trend to continue. If you're somewhat flexible with dates and resorts you stand a fairly good chance of landing something, but it's not a slam dunk. The possibility of being "shut out" does exist so you need to determine how much of an impact on your potential DVC membership this might have before making any decisions.

Good luck!

 

[crisi]

The other thing to keep in mind is the banking window. Saving points for the last six months of your use year can be dangerous so you'll probably want to carefully think through the complexities of banking and borrowing, because if you do this often, you'll need to understand that. If I took last minute trips to WDW along with planned trips, I'd own DVC for my planned trips and use an AP discount for my spur of the moment trips because of the combination of point management and availability.

 

[goofy1978]

Thanks everyone for the wonderful advice! We're on the verge of taking the DVC plunge. See ya real soon!