DVC members living in florida

[mitros]

Just wondering how many of you folks out there are DVC members living in Florida? I think all of us members living in the sunshine state would have a lot in common regarding DVC. One of the problems I seem to have is getting a weekend on short notice. We are only an hour and a half away and would like to stay overnight more often at the spur of the moment,but can rarely do that. Anybody else have that problem?

 

[CarolMN]

I'm not from Florida (wish I were today as we Minnesotans woke up to below zero temperatures).

If by short notice you mean less than 60 days from arrival, I'm not surprised you have a tough time getting a points reservation. At 60 days out, I believe DVC allows CRO to rent unreserved point inventory out for cash. Have to believe most cash visitors strongly prefer weekend nights to weekdays, so that's probably why there aren't many weekend nights available on short notice.

 

[Beth]

We've actually had a lot of success with last minute reservations - when we're trying for only 1 or 2 nights. We've made reservations as late as "day of" on two different occasions.

We had the Thursday & Friday following the SS Member Cruise booked in a studio at OKW since last August. A few weeks ago - we decided to try and switch it to VWL. Friday was available, but not Thursday. So I went on the waitlist - and got the call yesterday - 2 weeks prior to check-in.

If you're flexible with your choice of resort - and even with studio vs 1BR - you might have better luck.

The only ones we've had problems with is getting the Sunday night prior to a federal holiday. "Those" you often need to book a little farther in advance. Last Memorial Day - we decided about 1-2 weeks ahead to try to go over - just for the night. We finally settled for a night at POR. Hated to blow all those points - but it was fun to try out the resort.

A co-worker of mine tried to get the Sunday prior to MLK day (just this past week) about 2-3 weeks in advance. No luck - she got a FW Cabin, instead.

It sure is nice to be close, isn't it?

 

[genmasjoy]

We have been able to get a DVC reservation on short notice if we are flexible. We just booked a 1 night studio at Wilderness Lodge; we requested BWV or BCV, which weren't available, but we like Wilderness Lodge too so we were happy.

 

[mitros]

Hmmm.. never did try the wait list. We try to be as flexible as we can . My DW works a rotating shift at the sheriffs department, so we can go at odd times during the week as well as the weekend. The only problem with going to a one bedroom from a studio is that more points are involved. we only have 300 points in our use year, so we try not to waste them on larger than needed rooms.Also, our home resort is OKW, which we really like because of the convenience of parking right in front of your room. Don't get me wrong, it's not that we can never get a room, just not as often as we would like. And as the years go on, it seems like it is more and more difficult to do this. I have a personal thought about why that is. And that is that I think they are over selling the place. Have you noticed that they have DVC kiosks everywhere you go on property? That's my opinion anyway. I've had a number of people tell me that it can't happen. I don't know.......

 

[ez]

A couple weeks before MLK weekend, we tried to get that Sun. night, and were told everything was full. I asked if I could get waitlisted. They called back later that very same day with availability at BWV. The waitlist hasn't failed me yet!

 

[mitros]

I've personaly talked to a number of people that swear by the waitlist. I do beleive I'll try that next time we decide to go at the last minute. Our most current trip will be the last week in february. Iwas able to get that when I called just before the holidays. I was told that I could have practically any accomadation at any DVC resort because that was right after presidents week and the kids were all back to school. Thanks for the input folks.

 

[Scoootch]

We're also an hr and a half from WDW and so far we've been pretty lucky with our last min. ressies. We do alot of calling on a Thurs. for a Sat.night when the mood seems to hit us. But we also tend to want to go when it's not quite as crowded -- like Sept or May so maybe that's why we've been so lucky. The most problem we've had has been not getting our 1st choice of resort when we have called last min. but so far knock-wood we have always gotten to go when we have tried for and for the size unit we wanted. We usually try for a studio at OKW when we go for just overnight and most often we haven't had too much problem. I guess it's probably got alot to do with so many members liking to check out for the weekends since it costs more pts.

 

[jag90]

We often go at the last minute. We haven't had any problems getting reservations. We've actually even called a couple of time on our way down with no problems.