how accurate is the resort availabilty thread

[pmaz70]

Just curious how accurate and up-to-date are the postings for dvc resort availability. I am thinking about buying. Although I love BCV I see more value in buying SSR and just waiting to book at 7 months. According to availabilty I would have no problem getting what I want and my schedule, job etc. is flexible. I don't travel during peak times. Any thoughts/comments are appreciated..........Steve

 

[crisi]

Its better for telling you what isn't available than what is. Its completely dependant on the few hundred of us that post here, and of those, the smaller proportion who report.

Buy where your heart is. BCV in particular is a small resort. Its possible that you would be able to stay there more often than not, but if you will be disappointed when the nots happen, buy where you won't be disappointed to end up. Remember that every year there are more DVC members and BCV isn't getting any bigger.

But if money is an issue and you'd be content at a different resort (its at Disney after all!), your plan is good. Just don't expect 100% availability.

Also, DVC peak times can be very different than normal peak times.

 

[AmongMadPeople]

My first word of advice is that that board only shows what people have tried to get and then reported it. In reality, there could be no availability for a BCV studio in May but if no one ever tried we wouldn't know that.

My second piece of advice, which you'll hear on these boards all the time, is buy where you want to stay. WDW peak travel and DVC peak travel aren't necessarily the same. Food & Wine Fest time makes BWV and BCV hard to book even if you own there, and the first two weeks of December can be tough to book anywhere. Both examples are off-peak times for WDW in general, but make DVC reservations harder to get.

I'm sure others will be have better advice, but since no one else has replied, there is my two cents

 

[dianeschlicht]

As those above have posted, it's not a good indication of availability.

When you say you don't travel at popular times, are you SURE? DVC popular times are often the opposite of what most people call popular times at Disney.

For example: The first 2 weeks of December are very quiet at Disney but very difficult to get at DVC resorts unless you book 11 months out. Summer isn't so difficult with DVC, but holiday times are. Even the "small" holidays can be tough.

Buy where it makes sense for YOU. If you like SSR, then for sure buy there and reap the benefits of lower dues etc. On the other hand, if you plan to NEVER book there, what is the point of owning there? If you think you are most likely to want to book at one of the small DVC resorts like VWL, BCV, or BWV, then you need to own at those, since they will always be more difficult to get on short notice or for the lower point stays.

 

[Tara]

Just curious how accurate and up-to-date are the postings for dvc resort availability. I am thinking about buying. Although I love BCV I see more value in buying SSR and just waiting to book at 7 months. According to availabilty I would have no problem getting what I want and my schedule, job etc. is flexible. I don't travel during peak times. Any thoughts/comments are appreciated..........Steve

What do you consider peak times? For the most part, that's holidays. But for DVC, that's also times like Food & Wine festival (very hard to get into BCV or BWV without home booking advantage), or December (not xmas week) when point values are low but there are lots of holiday decorations and events. January can even be tough over marathon week.

If you can't book more than 7 months out, then it really doesn't matter as much where you buy.

 

[chalee94]

Although I love BCV I see more value in buying SSR and just waiting to book at 7 months.

if you love BCV and would be disappointed if you couldn't stay there, buy at BCV and book 10-11 months out.

if you don't mind getting "stuck" at SSR if BCV or another DVC resort doesn't come through, then save some money and buy at SSR (and book there at 10-11 months out). you'll probably be able to switch most of the time if you try at exactly 7 months out and use the waitlists...and if you can't switch, you're still at wdw.

some owners like to think they'll always be able to switch at 7 months with no problem...but eventually they wind up posting a thread like this...

 

[fers31]

The postings are probably a little more accurate than asking a Magic 8 Ball.

 

[Deb & Bill]

It is 0% reliable for what is available. It is about 25% reliable for what is not available.

 

[wildernessDad]

The postings are probably a little more accurate than asking a Magic 8 Ball.

Really? (Tosses 8 Ball aside)