Frustrated with online booking

[rlduvall]

So today [12/22] I went online at 7:45 a.m. EST to get myself ready and waiting for 11 month booking of a value studio at AKV and it was already allowing booking for November 22. I thought online booking for the 11 month Home Resort wasn't allowed until 8:00 a.m. EST. Naturally, it was already booked. Has anyone had this problem occur before? Am I missing something obvious and 12/21 was the actual booking deadline for 11/22? So frustrated with all this inability to book value studios anymore!!!!!

 

[JETSDAD]

So today [12/22] I went online at 7:45 a.m. EST to get myself ready and waiting for 11 month booking of a value studio at AKV and it was already allowing booking for November 22. I thought online booking for the 11 month Home Resort wasn't allowed until 8:00 a.m. EST. Naturally, it was already booked. Has anyone had this problem occur before? Am I missing something obvious and 12/21 was the actual booking deadline for 11/22? So frustrated with all this inability to book value studios anymore!!!!!

It just means they are already booked solid beyond today's date, not that booking opened early. Values are being walked so if you watch as the days go by quite often previous days open up (as seen in the current Value availability).

 

[rlduvall]

It just means they are already booked solid beyond today's date, not that booking opened early. Values are being walked so if you watch as the days go by quite often previous days open up (as seen in the current Value availability).

I'm not talking about the lack of availability for AKV value studios - at least not as the main issue [I know how hard they are to book]. I'm saying that the online booking engine was allowing booking for 11/22 and forward at 7:45 a.m. EST. It should not have been doing that.

 

[JETSDAD]

I'm not talking about the lack of availability for AKV value studios - at least not as the main issue [I know how hard they are to book]. I'm saying that the online booking engine was allowing booking for 11/22 and forward at 7:45 a.m. EST. It should not have been doing that.

If I recall correctly, once midnight hits it allows you to choose the date however it won't actually let you book starting that date until 8AM.

 

[cvjw]

Did you actual go all the way thru with booking at 7:45? You can get almost all the way thru with booking before 8:00 am, but at the very end, it doesn’t allow the booking because the window isn’t officially open.

If booking actually opened before 8:00 am, that would be unusual. AKV value studios already being booked at the 11 month mark is not unusual since there are so few of them to go around.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I agree that it gives that appearance. At midnight the day appears as an option to select but it won't allow the booking to be finalized until the 8amwindow opens.

 

[Frederic Civish]

The most popular, desireable units are all being walked. And walked. And walked. But then this often means that they ‘give up’ the previous days, after a few minutes or sometimes hours. If you hang around and keep looking, you might not get the current day, out at 11 months, but you might suddenly see yesterday or the day before. They might appear after the walkers release them, and you can grab them and start stringing them together, piecing together a longer vacation by grabbing the released reservations each day. I call this stamp collecting.

 

[JETSDAD]

As noted the issue wasn't with availability but rather the appearance that booking started prior to 8:00. Here's what it looks like for bookings starting tomorrow (well today as we are now past midnight) and then what happens if you click on Continue. The first one will show that it is available for a booking starting today but the second is what happens if you actually try to book it. This will happen until 8am. Good luck to everyone who may be competing in the Value Studio lottery in the morning.

 

[rlduvall]

Thanks everyone. You were right - it only gave the appearance that you could do the booking, but trying to complete it did not work as I saw for myself this morning. On November 21st, I checked and an AKV Value Studio was available for 11/22. Apparently, after I checked someone added that day to their reservation, thus why it was no longer available earlier than 8:00 a.m. the next morning; not a glitch as I thought. Thanks JETSDAD for posting that screenshot after midnight last night/this morning.

As for the "Value Studio Lottery", I struck out again this morning. I was ready and refreshing and refreshing, but within the second I could book someone else was able to grab that last value studio. It is what it is!

 

[mixmastertoy]

Walking is the only way to get value and club level... I’ve watched for months and sometimes I would go and try to book a week and just 1 day was available. I got up every morning and one day finally was able to book and now the walking begins. It NEVER used to be this hard a few years ago.

 

[chainkid]

Actually walking used to be a lot harder because you always risked losing whole reservation when you made the change especially if you got a chatty Kathy for cast member checking inventory . You never had to start so early walking because not many people knew about it or were willingly to invest time needed to string a vacation together. The new online tool for modification has made walking a piece of cake so anyone can do it and will ,in order to secure those hard to get units or times at prime times. Personally prefer the new tool as it ensures your reservation is held while you make changes . It also levels playing field for most members however there is still an advantage to members with lots of points versus those with min points who have to borrow to complete reservations. If you are trying to book thru thanksgiving and you do not have the high points needed without borrowing then when you walk thru at the adventure season you will require less points. Any points borrowed and ultimately never used remain and cannot be banked back .

 

[bumbershoot]

As for the "Value Studio Lottery", I struck out again this morning. I was ready and refreshing and refreshing, but within the second I could book someone else was able to grab that last value studio. It is what it is!

I personally would keep trying. You don’t know if someone else is walking a reservation that starts later on, and might release your days one by one.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Actually walking used to be a lot harder because you always risked losing whole reservation when you made the change especially if you got a chatty Kathy for cast member checking inventory . You never had to start so early walking because not many people knew about it or were willingly to invest time needed to string a vacation together. The new online tool for modification has made walking a piece of cake so anyone can do it and will ,in order to secure those hard to get units or times at prime times. Personally prefer the new tool as it ensures your reservation is held while you make changes . It also levels playing field for most members however there is still an advantage to members with lots of points versus those with min points who have to borrow to complete reservations. If you are trying to book thru thanksgiving and you do not have the high points needed without borrowing then when you walk thru at the adventure season you will require less points. Any points borrowed and ultimately never used remain and cannot be banked back .

CM's have had the ability to add and remove dates of an existing reservation for as long as I've been a member so there was never a danger of losing a reservation when walking. Well, beyond general IT failure happening while it was being done. That is the process that is done when walking - add and remove dates.

What most CM's seemed unable to do was to hold an existing reservation while switching to an entirely new one but that differs from walking. That also is done now with the online modification tool. And it makes me wonder why the phone CM's couldn't and it caused all the angst of switching at 7 months.

 

[10CJ]

The most popular, desireable units are all being walked. And walked. And walked. But then this often means that they ‘give up’ the previous days, after a few minutes or sometimes hours. If you hang around and keep looking, you might not get the current day, out at 11 months, but you might suddenly see yesterday or the day before. They might appear after the walkers release them, and you can grab them and start stringing them together, piecing together a longer vacation by grabbing the released reservations each day. I call this stamp collecting.

Have you tried wait listing a day or two at a time to pick up the walk as it moves through? If so, how many do you wait list at a time?

 

[RRB]

I booked today as well for 12/26/19 at the BW. Allot of availability.

 

[CarolMN]

I booked today as well for 12/26/19 at the BW. Allot of availability.

That shouldn't be possible. Did you mean 11/26/19?

 

[RRB]

That shouldn't be possible. Did you mean 11/26/19?

Yes, sorry