DVR Rental -- First-timer

[MouseOfCards]

The week after the week of Labor Day can be somewhat quiet, as can the first 2 weeks of December. October is no longer by any definition "lowest crowd," due to the shift of many schools to fall breaks, plus the Columbus Day weekend. November also has Jersey Week, the Wine & Dine runDisney event, and Veteran's Day weekend.

However, the entirety of fall is high season for DVC. The first weeks of December are in the top-demanded weeks of the year. Food & Wine books the monorail and Epcot resorts pretty heavily in the 11-month booking window. If you are renting DVC in the fall, good rules of thumb are that 11-month bookings are essential for monorail resorts and Epcot, and if you are trying to get a booking at the 7 month mark, an 8AM login is essential and your success may depend on if your computer is faster than someone else's. This year, for much of October, the 7-month booking window was quite fierce.

Thanks for the detailed breakdown!

 

[Dean]

Thank you! With just myself and toddler, and then my mom joining us later, we should be well under your figures.

Just put her on the reservation, you'll be fine if she comes for part or not at all. That is, as long as you don't get the Dining Plan because everyone in the room at any point must have it the entire time.

How strange we often have issues booking one!

They hold them to be booked last. If you can't get one that means either people booked them up (not everyone who books them needs them) or the room type is booked in general. Overall they often tend to have more than they need but that's not going to be all the time.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

Just put her on the reservation, you'll be fine if she comes for part or not at all. That is, as long as you don't get the Dining Plan because everyone in the room at any point must have it the entire time.

They hold them to be booked last. If you can't get one that means either people booked them up (not everyone who books them needs them) or the room type is booked in general. Overall they often tend to have more than they need but that's not going to be all the time.

Thanks Dean. I think it is the roll in shower types that get booked up. There are other types that have tubs and grab bars etc that they always have plenty of. But I need the shower version as I use a wheelchair. But if nobody is using them or they aren't booked no issue. But I would urge folks to not book them in advance unless they need them. Pretty please... Like I would not book a campsite for a throwsway room for a magic band. No matter what people say about 'but Disney get the money etc'. The thought of an empty campsite and folks wanting to pitch their RVs there and can't doesn't inspire me!

 

[Dean]

Thanks Dean. I think it is the roll in shower types that get booked up. There are other types that have tubs and grab bars etc that they always have plenty of. But I need the shower version as I use a wheelchair. But if nobody is using them or they aren't booked no issue. But I would urge folks to not book them in advance unless they need them. Pretty please... Like I would not book a campsite for a throwsway room for a magic band. No matter what people say about 'but Disney get the money etc'. The thought of an empty campsite and folks wanting to pitch their RVs there and can't doesn't inspire me!

There are a number of facets to this issue. They include the needs of some, wants of others, laws of the state and federal among others. There are extremely few instances where timeshares and ethics can be used in the same sentence. I don't think people should book HC room without a need but there are many different needs. One of the issues I have is those that likely need a HC room but refuse to book them then get upset if they don't get their requests related to the special need (like first floor at OKW). However, I don't have any issues with how people want to use their points even if it leaves a room empty. I know there are those out there that feel DVC should simply hold the HC rooms for only those who need them but this is not feasible or reasonable with such a system.

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

There are a number of facets to this issue. They include the needs of some, wants of others, laws of the state and federal among others. There are extremely few instances where timeshares and ethics can be used in the same sentence. I don't think people should book HC room without a need but there are many different needs. One of the issues I have is those that likely need a HC room but refuse to book them then get upset if they don't get their requests related to the special need (like first floor at OKW). However, I don't have any issues with how people want to use their points even if it leaves a room empty. I know there are those out there that feel DVC should simply hold the HC rooms for only those who need them but this is not feasible or reasonable with such a system.

I do not understand why somebody would fail to book an accessibly room if they need it and then complain it doesn't meet their needs . That just does not make sense! But I have heard all kinds of requests at the check in and the CM keeping real calm! Honestly I take my hat off to them at times we can be a demanding crew! One lady wanted to know why her Magic Bands were not in her room and why that she had to go to the check in to collect them.... How would she have got in the room? Lol...

 

[Dean]

I do not understand why somebody would fail to book an accessibly room if they need it and then complain it doesn't meet their needs . That just does not make sense! But I have heard all kinds of requests at the check in and the CM keeping real calm! Honestly I take my hat off to them at times we can be a demanding crew! One lady wanted to know why her Magic Bands were not in her room and why that she had to go to the check in to collect them.... How would she have got in the room? Lol...

I agree with you but we see the request here not uncommonly. It's usually location like first floor OKW or near elevator. DVC tends to put medical requests as a higher priority but I've seen people refuse to reserve a HC room due to medical needs, not get the request, then complain. IMO they have no room for complaint in that situation. OTOH there are situations where a HC villa clearly is harmful to a given situation and for that circumstance, DVC ownership might not be a good choice.

 

[Missyrose]

Wait, whaaat? No longer a low crowd season? When did this happen? I thought weeks like those in September, October and early December are low crowds based upon my past experience and crowd calendar predictions. What am I missing? I'm not expecting completely empty parks, but not full capacity either. I was at Magic Kingdom on Sept 1st last year and it had a very low crowd.

The first 10 days of September are still pretty low-crowd. But once the Halloween parties and the Food and Wine Festival kick off, the crowds ramp up exponentially.

Like others have said, from late September through marathon weekend in January, DVC availability can be tough to come by -- in studios (and close-to-park resorts) especially. If you want to rent during that time, plan to have an owner in place to book as close to the 11-month window opening as possible.