Home-Resort Reservations at Peak Times

[Deb & Bill]

So how DOES one book home resort for NYE? Be lucky? I would have taken ANY room, except the Grand Villa; when I ”refreshed” availability at exactly 0800, at VGF, only the one bedroom was available. By the time I entered all of the information to complete the booking, experienced the system crash, kept getting 504 errors or Seven Dwarves for another five minutes or so, everything was gone.

If walking reservations is the only way, I either need to learn that skill or accept the fact that I might not be able to ever stay at my home resort on NYE.

If you are entering the names of all your guests, wait to do that after you get the reservation. Get your name in as the lead guest and move on from there.

 

[kboo]

I'm not sure pricing/the amount of points needed to book had anything to do with it: like I said in my OP, I was unable to book ANY room, not just the attractively priced/pointed studios.

What made me lose out on NYE this year is twofold: one, Disney's computers/servers crashed at the exact moment I was finalizing the reservation that I was able to initially grab and two, there are a lot of owners with points to burn this year due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Those who are VGF owners are staying longer, in larger accommodations, and during peak travel times.

All of that, is why as @kboo mentioned, booking for NYE this year at VGF was like gladiatorial combat: I competed, I lost.

Hopefully I'll have better luck next time.

Definitely set up your wait list(s) and stalk - availability does come up, and people's plans will change. Also, as @debandbill said, just enter your name and don't worry about other names until later. You have 11 months to fix that! LOL. (I am just now going to go in and fix the names of the various single nights I snagged, then maybe will call MS next week to have them consolidated. (There's a part of me that's hoping that once I make all the names the same, they'll consolidate on the back end for me... it's happened before....)

Good luck... and yes, for the next year or 2, until things normalize slightly. you may need to walk it - though this year it wouldn't have made a difference because single nights at 11mo + x days seemed to be being taken out of service, messing with the walk.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Messing with the walkers?
Never thought about it that way ....

 

[gisele2]

Kboo, For Real!

I was truly shocked that there was nothing available in any room category (except maybe the Grand Villa) exactly at 11 months. That was a first for me.

I've waitlisted the time that I'd like to go. I don't really see any point in Booking January 1st and 2nd if I cannot get NYE. Since I'd have to borrow (not alot, but some) to make the trip, I'm not going to do that unless I know we can go: if I don't have my waitlist fulfillment at 7 months, I'll know for sure we aren't going, and I'll plan something for another time. There is always an opportunity to spend some points!~

This is having a good spirit .

 

[kboo]

Messing with the walkers?
Never thought about it that way ....

I don’t know if it was intending to mess with the walkers, but it definitely had that effect...!

Good luck, @Popouri DVC!