Do you always get your reservation?

[tx2tn]

OK.....another stupid question. Lets say I buy into DVC at Hilton Head and I want to take a trip and stay at Beach Club Villas, for example. Would I ever have trouble making a reservation there when I wanted it? KNowing I could only do so 7 months prior.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Depends on when you want to go and what type of accomodation you want. If you want a GV at BW, you'd be out of luck. If you want something during Easter, F&W, etc, you'd have to make that reservation exactly at 7 months.

The motto of DVC is "Buy where you want to stay."

 

[LisaS]

BCV is one of the smaller DVC resorts and is very popular. People are currently paying over $90/point resale for BCV so that should give you some idea of BCV's popularity. There will be times during the year when it is nearly impossible to book there at 7 months, for instance during the Food & Wine festival and from Thanksgiving through NYE, to name just two. So if BCV is where you really want to stay, you should consider buying points there.

 

[crisi]

BWV Standard Views can be challenging most times of the year, as are OKW Grand Villas (which may get easier with SSR - SSRs are a little more expensive, but at least there are more options). If you want the Boardwalk View at the Boardwalk, that is guarenteed and fills early. VWL is the smallest resort - popular over the holidays - basically all Fall and Winter.

Several "serious" DVCers own points at their favorite resorts to ensure they will be able to stay where they want when they want (they still need to preplan). Generally OKW and SSR will have availablity later, then BWV Preferred (the scary clown is not as popular as the other views), than BCV and VWL.

However, if you are in it for the long haul and don't NEED to stay anywhere in particular, a combination of calling right at seven months, the waitlist, kuck and/or being flexible will mean you won't spend 35 years without ever staying at BCV.

 

[tx2tn]

No. we would be happy with any Disney Resort at WDW. I was just curious if the 7 month limitation was really a major factor. We would probably use the Hilton Head resort more than any of them.

 

[simpilotswife]

I haven't always gotten what I wanted at the 7 mo window but that has only happened once and it was for President's week. We "settled" for Wilderness Lodge and were delighted with the resort.

 

[bicker]

We've found it much easier to get Friday and Saturday night reservations at the 7 month point, than weekday night reservations. If you're looking just for weekend exchanges, you will have much better odds than looking for full week exchanges.

 

[rparmfamily]

We've had no real issues with getting reservations, we were able to get Boardwalk for this July for a 2br. We did waitlist for a little while, but it came up, and were staying at VWL in a 2 br before we switched. We just made reservations in the last month.

It is totally a combo of what you want/where/when. I'd stick with where you'd probably stay more often. We bought at SSR but would be thrilled to stay anywhere!

 

[CarolMN]

No. we would be happy with any Disney Resort at WDW. I was just curious if the 7 month limitation was really a major factor. We would probably use the Hilton Head resort more than any of them.

In that case, you would be wise to buy HHI. That resort is very difficult to book at the 7 month window if you plan to vacation there in the summertime. That's especially true if you only want a studio or 1 bedroom unit. There aren't very many of those - most units at HHI are 2 bedrooms.

If you are willing to stay at any of the WDW DVC resorts, you will be able to get a reservation at 7 months - no matter when you want to vacation.

Best wishes -

 

[Disney Doll]

I have always gotten the reservations that I wanted, but we tend to travel at oddball times.

Getting BCV at 7 months may be tough, depending on when you go. It's a small resort and popular due to it's location.

 

[byoung]

So far we have gotten what we want.

 

[DVCMem100]

SO someone said it is HARDER to book a weekday than a weekend?
We got our reservation minus the first Thurs in October. They keep telling us the day should come through but this is our first time booking and I am NERVOUS!

When is this food and wine thing and should that make me MORE nervous.

The DVC people told me they cannot tell where you are on the wait list. That is CRAZY to me!

 

[bicker]

SO someone said it is HARDER to book a weekday than a weekend?

Pretty-much always, since weekend are so much more "expensive" than weekdays. Many members extend their points by booking Sunday to Friday.

The DVC people told me they cannot tell where you are on the wait list. That is CRAZY to me!

I see their point: People would probably expend more MS resources, calling to check on their status periodically, if MS would provide an indication of where you were on the waiting list. I wouldn't want such excess strain on MS coming out of my fees.

 

[CarolMN]

...(snip)....The DVC people told me they cannot tell where you are on the wait list. That is CRAZY to me!

But they really don't know. Here's an example to help explain why -

Member A is on the waitlist for the nights of October 10, 11 & 12.
Member B wants October 12
Member C wants October 11 & 12
Member D wants October 8 -12 (checking out on 10/13)
Member E also wants October 8 - 12 (checking out on 10/13), but is waitlisted for each of the days individually.


Assume that the above all want the same resort and the same room type, and that they got on the waitlist in the order they are listed.

Let's say that October 11 and October 12 become available. Who gets what?

Keep in mind that MS will not hold nights waiting for other nights to become available. So in the above example, Member B will get October 12 and Member E will get October 11.

Now think about the number of members that may use the waitlist (way more than in the example, I'm sure) and the many different combinations there could be. You can understand why MS cannot tell you where you are on the list. For example, what number is Member E on the list? Member A was first, but even so, she didn't get her request ahead of the members who signed up for the waitlist after her.

This is also an example of why members have a better chance of getting the waitlist if they do it by individual day and not for the whole vacation or groups of days. Of course, those who waitlist by individual day take the chance of having to move back and forth if all of the days don't come through.

Best wishes -