First booking as a DVC member, trying for BLT advice needed

[SweetBelle]

I bought into AKL, but for this trip I wanted to stay in the Magic Kingdom area, specifically BLT. The last two weeks I've been stalking BLT online as I'm near in the 7th month mark and it seems to be booked up. I'm afraid I may have overestimated my chances of a successful booking at BLT as I could really only find 2 consecutive nights about 6-7 months out. To be fair, it was leading up to and through Christmas and New years that is 7 months out, an extremely busy time for Disney. I wanted to confirm my understanding, I can book a room at my non home resort 7 months from the date of check in for up to 7 nights. I do not have to wait for the last day. So if i want to check in 1/31/15 for 6 consecutive nights, I can call to book that stay 6/30 or 7/1 (hmm there is no 6/31) and hope for the best? There are rooms available at AKL during the time frame I want to travel, at least as of right now, so i do have a back up.

Any other advice you have for a first time booker is greatly welcome and appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

For a stay starting on January 31st and booking at a non-home resort you'll be able to book either online at 8am eastern or call in at 9am on July 1st and will be able to book up to 7 days at that time.

IMO you'll have an excellent chance to get a Lakeview category room at BLT for that time and might even have TPV as an option. Standard may have some days available but that category books up first. I really wouldn't be too worried - the time you've been watching is very popular especially for resorts close to MK and Epcot due to the holiday festivities and aren't an indicator of late Jan/early Feb.

 

[disneynutz]

My advice is for you to book online.

Bill

 

[myty5]

Also try Poly or GF

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[SweetBelle]

Thanks for the feedback everyone - I really appreciate all the posters on this board. I find so much useful information. I'll try not to stress about it too much till 7/1 rolls around. I'm taking my parents, brother and 5 year old nephew. First time my parents and nephew have been on vacation together let alone Disney!! And my Dad mentioned it would be cool to stay at the contemporary so I want to try and get it for them. Plus i think my nephew would love to do the Pirates and Pals excursion.

 

[twinsouvenirs]

As a person who has been trying to snag BLT the past few weeks for an early Jan stay, I can tell you you are watching a combo of holdover New Years traffic and Walt Disney Marathon Weekend traffic. So the 8 & 9 have been impossible to snag for me at BLT at the 7 mo mark. However, I just decided to book the missing nights at OKW since that meant we could add an extra night to our trip, and I have some confidence that over the course of 7 months I may snag the extra nights at BLT. However, my points are don't let Marathon Weekend booking patterns scare you... you are looking at an extremely committed bunch who already locked in a lot of $ on their trips and have no flexibility on dates. There is no such activity that I am aware of end of Jan. Also, don't be afraid to waitlist and keep checking yourself too.

 

[Minniesgal]

My experience e has been BLT is actually one of the easier resorts to get into at 7 months. We have stayed more nights there than our home resort. We travel presidents week and the 4th July not exactly peak DVC but busy times.