How far in advance do you book?

[OhThePain]

My girlfriend and I are looking to book another visit back to WDW. However, the dates we are looking to go are over a year away. So I was just curious, how far in advance do you book your vacation?

 

[DLo]

We have to wait for the school calender to come out for the next school year before we book - otherwise my mom would probably book before we leave the current trip. You can still try and get a discount even if you book far out. We booked in early March for our Oct trip . We were able to get the 40% discount code right before our 45 days (final payment due).

 

[sjs314]

I use to book 6 months in advance but now that you can book your ADR's at 180 days , I booked our current vacation at 9 months and thinking about booking one next year already which would be more than a year in advance.

It seems you have to book far in advance to get what you really want when you want it

 

[Kiwini]

It's usually right about 6 months. I voted for 3-6 rather than 6-9 only because this time it was slightly less than 6. Only once (trip #3 of 9) did we get all impulsive and book it about 6 weeks ahead of time.

 

[kristinw3girls]

I like to book for the Holidays he following year. It gives me a goal ($) and makes me happy, so why not? I have been able to change the reservations when a sale or pin code come my way, so no big deal.

 

[serene56]

I have been booked since August 10, 2009 for our upcoming Sept 2010 trip.
I made monthly payments to make it more affordable.

 

[of the seas]

Usually about 5-6 months. I could never book or plan a vacation that I wasn't going to take in a year or longer. I usually get the itch in the cold winter and plan for June!

 

[Mike Port]

I just booked this past week for our trip in October 2011. Will apply discount when they come out. We did want a specific resort and room though.

 

[OhThePain]

Thanks everyone for the replys so far.

I just booked this past week for our trip in October 2011. Will apply discount when they come out. We did want a specific resort and room though.

We are looking to book for a trip for October 2011 as well and are 99% sure on a resort.

 

[guitarob]

I book as soon as I possibly can. Usually in the 9-12 month range.

 

[rentayenta]

If I am staying at my home resort 11 months, if staying at another DVC then 7 months. I start planning way before than though.

 

[Lumiere Lover]

As soon as my husband agrees, I book the trip. We had a DCL trip booked for almost 18 months! Once I have our trip booked, I start the countdown!

As soon as the calendar is available, I book!!!

 

[TakeMe2Disney]

Depends on the time of year. For December we book about 9-12 months in advance. For May or October we usually wait closer to when our dining is about to open. If I had my way completely I would always book a year in advance - I'm a total planning freak and could pack and re-pack for our trip a dozen times before we go.

 

[DjdBrit]

I just booked for next Aug. I have a great TA and she will book me a better deal if one comes around, even before I have chance to tell her

Usually I book between 12-9 months ahead. If I see a deal for airfare then as soon as I can get that booked.

 

[IUHoosiers]

We have booked our Disney vacations anywhere from 12 DAYS to 6 months in advance.

I have learned that the longer I have to plan, the more time it takes to finalize things. It becomes an obsession...not that anyone on DIS knows anything about that! I enjoy the obsessing....but for the sake of time management it is best that I book last minute trips! Then I only ask my husband 10 times (instead of 100) if he'd rather eat at Crystal Palace on Tuesday or Saturday.....or if we should see Fantasmic this trip....or what time he thinks we should leave HS for a 7:30 ADR in DTD????? DH definitely prefers last mintue trips!

 

[CR Resort Fan 4 Life]

I voted for 9 - 12 months because we can usually get the exact resort and room category we want, since it's so far out from when we would arrive.

 

[JenSop]

Since we're DVC, we usually book our home resort at the 11 month window. If we want to switch to another resort, we go ahead and do that at 7 months.

However, for next year, we're doing an add-on of points in prep for a BIG stay in 2012. So we can't book next year's trip until we do our add-on. We'll probably be booking only 4 or 5 months in advance (which makes this über planner very nervous!)

But in general, our answer is 11 months!

 

[AndyFL]

You folks are gonna hate me but we usually make our reservations a day or two in advance. What can I say...we're only 5 hrs away and we have our "Disney luggage" all ready to go at a moments notice. I'm self-employeed and my business tends to be feast or famine so we never know when an opportunity is going to rear its head. I CAN tell you this however.....you don't have to worry about us being in your way at the parks in July again

If things work out we are planning on going this Sunday for 2 or 3 days. One thing that really works out cool for us is that my Grandparents (I'm 46 and still have both grandparents on my Mother's side) live in Tampa so we can take part of a day to go see them and be back in time for the fireworks....that is UNLESS they are working on I4 again

 

[staceycrouton]

We usually book our trip about a week after getting back from the World. It helps to alleviate the letdown of your trip being over and being back in the real world. We will be at Disney from Nov.8-16 this year, so I predict that we will have our 2011 November trip booked before we celebrate Thanksgiving!

 

[GaSleepingBeautyFan]

For me it's whenever.

We've booked as much as a year in advance and as little as the month before.