How far in advance can one book a room-only DVC villa [cash stay] ?

[Starwind]

I know for normal resort hotel rooms at WDW one can call Disney 499 days in advance and make a room-only reservation [the deposit will be at the current price and will adjust when the new, generally higher, rates come out].

How far in advance can one book a DVC resort room/villa, room-only, as a "cash" "hotel" guest directly with Disney ? [We are not DVC members and are not interested in renting points].

Is it also 499 days out (by phone) ?

I know from our trip this past December and while pricing for December 2018 [to ballpark the Dec 2019 trip we actually want] that on the WDW website DVC rooms don't show up to reserve until between 9-11 months in advance, with availability being really whacky in months 11 and 10 until it seems to stabillize a bit. Hotel resort rooms show up earlier for booking [and dont seem to be as whacky for availability, though they have problems too -- presumably IT based somehow].

Thanks,

SW

 

[_auroraborealis_]

It is not 499 days. Generally, it is between 10-13 months that cash inventory is allocated.

 

[Deb & Bill]

Since DVC is a timeshare and members cannot book their home resort until 11 months out, figure 11 months out at the max.

 

[Minniesgal]

It also depends on availability so some might become available at 11 months but others may cone available later

 

[Deb & Bill]

At 60 days out, any unbooked DVC inventory can be given to Disney Reservation Center to sell for cash reservations.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

In general, cash shifts save for unbooked units at 60 days is rare after initial deposits, which occur roughly 11-12 months out. Nature of system.

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

We were able to book a studio at BWV and get free dining over Thanksgiving 6-7 months out (booked on April 24, 2017 for November 2017). The studio seemed to be available for awhile after that too, if I went back and pretended to book another room. I don't think you'll have much trouble finding a studio at some point, if that is what you want.

I have no idea on the 2 br availability, that could be trickier.

 

[Starwind]

We were able to book a studio at BWV and get free dining over Thanksgiving 6-7 months out (booked on April 24, 2017 for November 2017). The studio seemed to be available for awhile after that too, if I went back and pretended to book another room. I don't think you'll have much trouble finding a studio at some point, if that is what you want.

I have no idea on the 2 br availability, that could be trickier.

Thanks. We will be looking for a studio at two specific resorts for specific dates -- they will be bookending a DCL cruise, so there is no flexibility in dates. We also won't be flexible on location.

My plan is to book hotels rooms at the resorts at the 499ish mark, so we are guaranteed a room for the dates and resort [I would book the studios then, but it appears from the responses they won't be available at that point]. Then, when the DVC rooms become available to book, if there is availability switch the reservation(s) to studios. While we will be happy with the hotel rooms, we prefer the studios for a number of reasons, particularly at one of the two resorts.

SW

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

Thanks. We will be looking for a studio at two specific resorts for specific dates -- they will be bookending a DCL cruise, so there is no flexibility in dates. We also won't be flexible on location.

My plan is to book hotels rooms at the resorts at the 499ish mark, so we are guaranteed a room for the dates and resort [I would book the studios then, but it appears from the responses they won't be available at that point]. Then, when the DVC rooms become available to book, if there is availability switch the reservation(s) to studios. While we will be happy with the hotel rooms, we prefer the studios for a number of reasons, particularly at one of the two resorts.

SW

I guess that was my point. We were easily able to find a BWV studio only 6 months in advance for the week of Thanksgiving. We stayed 8 nights, and we had no flexibility in our dates either. I agree it is a good idea to book some kind of room as soon as you can.

For some reason I thought I read BWV in your original post. If that isn't the resort you want, I'm sorry for the confusion. The studios at other resorts might be harder to book for cash.

Sounds like a wonderful trip, wherever you end up staying. Have fun!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The studio you found 6 months out was probably not a new deposit. That inventory would have been allocated to cash 11-12 months in advance of the stay dates.

 

[WishICouldSpeakWhale]

The studio you found 6 months out was probably not a new deposit. That inventory would have been allocated to cash 11-12 months in advance of the stay dates.

Right. I assume there was plenty of availability for BWV studios. We got it with free dining and that room type was available - with the free dining promotion - for quite awhile after the promo was released.

All I was trying to say was that if she wants a studio, especially at BWV, it shouldn't be hard to get and not to worry that it can't be booked more than a year in advance.

 

[FSU Girl]

I know for normal resort hotel rooms at WDW one can call Disney 499 days in advance and make a room-only reservation [the deposit will be at the current price and will adjust when the new, generally higher, rates come out].

How far in advance can one book a DVC resort room/villa, room-only, as a "cash" "hotel" guest directly with Disney ? [We are not DVC members and are not interested in renting points].

Is it also 499 days out (by phone) ?

I know from our trip this past December and while pricing for December 2018 [to ballpark the Dec 2019 trip we actually want] that on the WDW website DVC rooms don't show up to reserve until between 9-11 months in advance, with availability being really whacky in months 11 and 10 until it seems to stabillize a bit. Hotel resort rooms show up earlier for booking [and dont seem to be as whacky for availability, though they have problems too -- presumably IT based somehow].

Thanks,

SW

I book DVC rooms for cash a lot, they won't show up in the system until exactly 11 months out from your trip, some even later than that. I've never had an issue booking a room even when it's a really popular time to book DVC. The only one I really see booked up super fast is the Grand Floridian Villas since there aren't that many. I'm not sure if they can modify your current room reservation to a DVC, but I feel like that should be doable since it's all cash and I've modified normal reservations to DVC before. I would check at the 11 month mark for the room you really want