General Booking for non-home resorts- lost cause?

[kristenabelle]

Hi all! We're in ROFR for a 270 point contract at BWV and super excited! We love BWV, but we're also huge fans of BLT, VWL, AKL, and I'm sure we'll love the Poly once it's done. I enjoy reading the blogs and message boards, but one particular trend has gotten me a little down. It seems like the majority of availability posts say book at exactly 11 months, exactly 7 months, or don't hold your breath. Even then, if you book exactly at 8 AM on the 7 month date, you may not get what you want. This seems especially true for 1 and 2 BRs. My family's perfectly fine with making reservations that far out, but is the hope for getting a non-home resort (other than SSR/OKW) really that bleak? Thanks in advance!

 

[DeDobber]

In my opinion, people are overreacting a little. You should be able to find something at 7 months without needing to wake up at 8am. Yes, some room types sell out right away, but a lot do not.

You can look at the availability of any resort/room combination at ******.com. There, you can see that at BLT, for instance, 6 room types are currently not available at 7 months, while 8 other room types are available.

 

[kristenabelle]

In my opinion, people are overreacting a little. You should be able to find something at 7 months without needing to wake up at 8am. Yes, some room types sell out right away, but a lot do not.

You can look at the availability of any resort/room combination at ******.com. There, you can see that at BLT, for instance, 6 room types are currently not available at 7 months, while 8 other room types are available.

Thanks! Much appreciated. Can't wait until this seemingly endless ROFR process comes through

 

[drusba]

For availability issues you may face during the year see generally my post, #8, in this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=50125575&posted=1.

 

[chalee94]

General Booking for non-home resorts- lost cause?

not a lost cause, just managing expectations. you can often switch out to a non-home resort at 7 months out (not counting early december)...but if you are going to be really disappointed to get "stuck" at SSR or whatever, you are better off buying where you don't mind staying and booking that home resort at 10-11 months out.

if you get a different resort at 7 months out, great. if you have to keep your home resort reservation when the non-home resort doesn't work out, then you are still happy.

 

[rkold]

We booked at the end of October/early November 4 nights in a standard view studio at AKL (Jambo) for the middle of January with no problems at all. We could have done 5 nights if we wanted Kidani. A standard studio was our first choice, and for us 4 nights was best.

I think it really depends on resort and time of year.

But heck, we were even playing with the idea of going to WDW on Christmas for a few days and we still found some DVCs with availability other than OKW and SSR when we looked at the beginning of November. It was the airfares that made us decide against the trip.

 

[Minniesgal]

It depends when you travel. We have so far stayed 24 DVC nights and only 6 of those were home resort. I would have booked most nights at 8am 7 months out but I did book OKW 3 nights 3 months out for mid August this year.

 

[bwvBound]

Another voice for "it depends!" We've been very successful booking Grand Cal, Aulani, Boardwalk, Animal Kingdom, Vero Beach, Wilderness Lodge, Old Key West, Grand Floridian (booked, later cancelled) all using our points from Saratoga Springs. FWIW, I don't know that we've ever been shutout from the dates we requested -- although we have had to "trust" the waitlist up to the very bitter end a few times.

 

[Disney Dreams]

There is no solid answer to your question. It depends on where, when, and what everyone else out there chooses to do. Sometimes, it could be easy. Sometimes it could be impossible.

It also depends on your flexibility. For example, you want to travel the 10th through the 16th, but might be able to get what you want the 12th through the 18th. Are you willing to shift? Those types of things increase your ability to stay at non-home resorts.

HTH,
Dreams

 

[disneynutz]

not a lost cause, just managing expectations. you can often switch out to a non-home resort at 7 months out (not counting early december)...but if you are going to be really disappointed to get "stuck" at SSR or whatever, you are better off buying where you don't mind staying and booking that home resort at 10-11 months out.

if you get a different resort at 7 months out, great. if you have to keep your home resort reservation when the non-home resort doesn't work out, then you are still happy.

That's why you should buy where you love to stay.

Think about all of the new owners that buy each year, they are just like everyone else trying to book at a non-home resort at 7 months. Some will get their wishes and some will not. The competition is increasing.

Bill

 

[WILDERNESS FAN 55]

I agree it's more time of year than anything else with a little flexibility on room type/view. I am heading down next week (the dreaded 1st week of Dec) and staying BLT and BWV . Both on waitlists that came thru,(4 months ago) not on booking at 7 months. But shows you there is availability at times. Of course I originally booked home resort OKW as backup. Really wanted BWV in case I can talk DW into owning there !
Also next big family trip is end of April 2015 and in checking right now there are 2br's at virtually every DVC for end of April 2014 (basically 5 months out) not all views but plenty of options.This should give me hope at the 7 month mark for that trip.

 

[DebbieB]

I was able to pull together a BWV pool/garden studio for the second week of November about 4 to 6 weeks out. I didn't get it all at once, I was able to pick up nights by stalking the website and waitlist.

I've been able to get VGC at 7 months 3 times and just got VGF for next May.

 

[DVC Dude]

I think the studios book the fastest and any value rooms.

Of course holidays book pretty fast too.

I would not worry too much as there is usually plenty of 1 and 2 bedrooms at SSR and AKV and OKW at the 7 month mark.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Short stays are easier to get than longer stays. AKV might also be easier since it is larger.

But the resort that everyone wants at seven months out is going to be hard. Anything for the first week of December. Anything for Christmas week. BWV and BCV for F&W Festival, etc.

 

[staceymay00]

Like others have said, it really depends. I can tell you from personal experience that it is very difficult to find 2BR availability right at 7 months for Thanksgiving week, particularly Wednesday through Saturday, except at OKW and SSR. Spring break in April was much easier than I imagined it would be. I could have booked a 2BR at any WDW resort right at 7 months the one time we stayed on points during spring break.

Sent from my iPad using DISBoards

 

[gdrj]

It depends when you travel. We have so far stayed 24 DVC nights and only 6 of those were home resort. I would have booked most nights at 8am 7 months out but I did book OKW 3 nights 3 months out for mid August this year.

Not only time of year but accommodation type. We just booked Easter recently without a hitch. We could have stayed 7 days at Kidani but instead choose to do a split stay at AKV Jambo and BWV (home resort). Our most recent stays have been BCV, BLT, BWV's.

You can also do a little homework ahead of time and use common sense on deciding what is realistic, based on location size and how many units the location has.

As long as you are willing to be flexible and adjust you will be fine.

 

[crisi]

It is certainly not a lost cause.

If your primary destination is WDW, you are content to stay at any of the WDW properties, you can book six months or more out, you will always find SOMETHING at WDW. If you book a home resort you enjoy, and book it before the seven month window, you will always have a resort to stay in at seven months. At seven months you can switch. See what's available. Sometimes, nearly everything is - more often MOST things are, and very rarely during the year very little is.

If you are the type of person who decides that this year they NEED one of the few VAKL concierge rooms and you don't own there, or think that an annual F&W trip where you stay at an Epcot resort is in the cards - when SSR is your home, you are doomed to disappointment with DVC. While its possible that you'll always get exactly what you want when you want it, it isn't very likely.

The more flexible you are - the more you are willing to take resort X instead of resort Y, to travel in early September instead of October, to jump on VGC or Aulani when its available instead of planning a trip a year in advance and then finding it booked - the happier you will be.

I think the the worst is the offsite resorts - each of them can be challenging to book at certain times of the year (for California, its pretty much year round) and as they are the only DVC option at those locations, it can be really disappointing not to get your room. Whereas with the onsite resorts, most of us buy to take multiple trips to WDW, and if you don't get BCV this year, you can try next year.

 

[bumbershoot]

It seems like the majority of availability posts say book at exactly 11 months, exactly 7 months, or don't hold your breath. Even then, if you book exactly at 8 AM on the 7 month date, you may not get what you want.

But the people posting don't encompass everyone's experience. Sure there are some "yay, got what I wanted!" posts but I think most of the time people want to commiserate with each other, not high five each other. So when I finally FINALLY came upon availability in the week leading into Marathon weekend, I was overjoyed in my house, but didn't get on here to shout with glee. Those dates were open ages before, then they were ALL gone, and I'm talking ALL gone, and then they slowly started trickling out again.

Past success doesn't mean it will always be that way, but it's also true that just because it's all you are reading in this teensy subset that doesn't mean it's the only thing happening.


Then again, we are totally happy with SSR (as long as we don't get the Mildew Room again) and OKW, so....

 

[Deb & Bill]

The other issue that hasn't been said here yet. You can't get what you want at seven months out, but you see the exact same reservation available on the Disney website and wonder why can't I get that reservation for my points?

In simple terms, two different inventories. One inventory of villas is available for points. Another is not because it isn't owned by members (it is owned by DVC, either the 2-3% they own at each resort, inventory bought back by ROFR or foreclosed inventory) or it used to be owned by members, but they traded it out for a DCL or ABD or other Disney non-DVC vacation and DVC has to pay for it by selling the villas those points represent.

 

[bakerworld]

For the heck of it I just checked the availability of 1Br at BW or BC for the first week of February and both are available.