GRAND FLORIDIAN

[jltdone]

Ok i have always wanted to stay at the G.F. we are looking at a 1bedroom but will have to book at 7 months out for the adventure season which is Dec 1st to Dec 14th. We are looking at staying for 9 nights in 2018. Has anyone had any luck with this or is it a BIG PIPE dream and I need to burst my bubble now.

 

[disneynutz]

Plan for the worse and hope for the best.

Bill

 

[_auroraborealis_]

That's the busiest two weeks of the year for DVC. A lot of VGF owners get shut out of studios then. Not sure how many upgrade to 1BRs.

 

[CarolMN]

That would be a very tough get. Of course you should still try - at the 7 month mark, the 1 bedroom availability is usually better than that for studios or 2 bedrooms. Your chances are better if you are willing to book the nights you can and take a chance on the waitlist / stalking to get the missing nights. You could also consider a split stay with your home resort.

If this is really important to you, consider renting points for that VGF stay and do it as close to 11 months as you can arrange. You could rent your points to recover some of the cost of renting and think of the difference as a "premium" for that special stay.

Good luck!

drusba's 7 month Booking Summary

 

[DVC Doctor]

I am pretty sure you will get a few nights, but getting all 9 nights may be challenging

The good news is that 1 bedrooms are not as popular as studios as getting a studio those dates is almost impossible.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

If you rent, you can make the request anytime and have it ready to book at 11 mos.
Depending on your home resort, maybe you could work out a trade or transfer.

 

[sndral]

I happened to be watching 1 br.s @ VGF for Dec. this year as I was buying a contract there. We got our points at 8 months out and I was able to switch the last 4 nights of our existing AKV reservation for a lake view 1 br. for 12/15 - 12/19. I would have done more nights, but there was no availability in any 1 br. during the first 2 weeks in Dec. and no availability in a standard view 1 br. in the first 3 + weeks. I've been checking availability periodically to add on 12/14, 13, 12, etc. or to switch to standard view and so far no luck.
I think a lot of VGF owners who bought thinking they'd stay in studios up grade to standard view 1 br.s for fewer nights when the studios are gone. Additionally I think VGF owners are not likely to switch at 7 months.
You may be able to waitlist/stalk & string together a couple of nights stay, we managed to get 3 consecutive nights one night at a time in a 1 br. standard view in the 3rd week of Dec. 2 yr.s ago (and would have added more nights but no additional nights opened up, that was 2 people each checking the RAT 3-4 times a day.) But to get 9 nights the first 2 weeks of Dec. you need to have access at 11 months even for a 1 br., IMO, based on my personal experience.