I'm in a bind...question about wait lists...

WDW_Ding

Ohana means family.
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So, I'm taking a "last minute" WDW trip in November, before Thanksgiving.

I booked the plane tickets and then headed over to the DVC webpage to book a room.

No availability, anywhere, for a studio or 1 bedroom.

Yikes...I've never had this happen before.

So, I wait listed for Saratoga and OKW. I like those resorts and they are two of the largest, so I thought they were the safest bet.

I set the wait list to expire 7 days prior to departure. But, how long should I *really* wait before trying to make other plans? Is it reasonable to hope that my wait list comes through in the middle of September?

Waiting longer than that makes me nervous...

I looked at the availability for other (non-DVC) resorts on property and the only ones with decent availability were All-Star resorts. I'm not opposed to staying there, but I'm surprised that there isn't more availability elsewhere.

Anyhow, when should I give up on the wait list and book elsewhere?
 
I would book a hotel room, those can be cancelled up to 24 hours before arrival.
I would give it until at least 30 days out, cause of lot of room come available around the 31 day mark due to people not wanting points to go into holding.
 
I would book a hotel room, those can be cancelled up to 24 hours before arrival.
I would give it until at least 30 days out, cause of lot of room come available around the 31 day mark due to people not wanting points to go into holding.

That is good info, thanks.
 
Are your DVC points Direct from Disney? Or Resale? IF they are direct from Disney, then you might consider using your points, in the "Disney Collection" to book a Hotel room with the points, at either French Quarter or Coronado Springs or Caribbean Beach. Depending on your nights, this might cost 20 to 25 points per night. Not wonderful, but not bad. I know people recommend renting out the points and using the money to book a room, and you MIGHT be able to do that. But this is a possibility, and I have used it.
 

As long as they aren't booking during the last four months of the UY and the trip falls during that same time. Rule of Four.

Plus of the DVC reservation comes through, the points they used for the Disney Collection are now reservation points and cannot be used for DVC reservations.
 
We are also doing a quick last minute trip but after Thanksgiving. Since we'll be visiting in Panama City and they have no decent airfare we're flying in and out of MCO. I can't drive by Disney and not stay for a few days! There was no availability except for piecing together 1 bedrooms so we took All Star Movies for 3 nights. Pretty much all they had left in Value.
 
I would book a hotel room, those can be cancelled up to 24 hours before arrival.
I would give it until at least 30 days out, cause of lot of room come available around the 31 day mark due to people not wanting points to go into holding.

FYI, I was told that it was 5 days, not 24 hours.
 
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Are your DVC points Direct from Disney? Or Resale? IF they are direct from Disney, then you might consider using your points, in the "Disney Collection" to book a Hotel room with the points, at either French Quarter or Coronado Springs or Caribbean Beach. Depending on your nights, this might cost 20 to 25 points per night. Not wonderful, but not bad. I know people recommend renting out the points and using the money to book a room, and you MIGHT be able to do that. But this is a possibility, and I have used it.

Not a bad idea, but I went ahead and booked Port Orleans (300 per night, yikes).

If my wait list comes through, I'll cancel Port Orleans.
 
Plus of the DVC reservation comes through, the points they used for the Disney Collection are now reservation points and cannot be used for DVC reservations.

Yep. So if they're doing that, just cancel the WL.



Not a bad idea, but I went ahead and booked Port Orleans (300 per night, yikes).

Holy moly. It's a moderate. 300??
I'd have gone with the value.
 
You can get Port Orleans, depending on the time of year, and by using ‘specials’ for as low as about $225, sometimes, and I’m not sure that includes taxes, and it certainly doesn’t include parking fees, if you have a car. But, there are occasional deals like that.

But, more typically, French Quarter or Riverside will run $300 to $350 (for 4 people, including room tax, and depending on your ‘view’), and that is what I have typically had to pay to stay there. French Quarter is one of our family’s favorite resorts. Their biggest lack is only that they don’t have a ‘better’ restaurant, but if you want that, Riverside has one, and we have stayed there, too.
 
You can get Port Orleans, depending on the time of year, and by using ‘specials’ for as low as about $225, sometimes, and I’m not sure that includes taxes, and it certainly doesn’t include parking fees, if you have a car. But, there are occasional deals like that.

But, more typically, French Quarter or Riverside will run $300 to $350 (for 4 people, including room tax, and depending on your ‘view’), and that is what I have typically had to pay to stay there. French Quarter is one of our family’s favorite resorts. Their biggest lack is only that they don’t have a ‘better’ restaurant, but if you want that, Riverside has one, and we have stayed there, too.

It is just under 1500 total (with taxes and everything) for 5 nights, Garden View. It was that or Pop Century for 1000.

I thought it was worth the extra money for PO. Maybe I'm wrong?
 
We've stayed both and with the new rooms at Pop, I'd go with Pop. Not a fan of Riverside but if it was French Quarter, that would be harder to resist. $500 is a lot of Mickey Bars......
 
Riverside is supposed to have the absolute best external grounds, for walking and relaxing, in Disney World. Or, at least among the Moderate resorts. We liked Riverside, but my family doesn't think it is anywhere near as nice as French Quarter.

We have also stayed recently in the new, updated Pop Century, and in French Quarter with a Garden View. The updated Pop Century rooms were okay, but the only really noticeable addition, to us, was the 'wardrobe' cabinet that was actually a pull down, queen sized, murphy bed. A nice enough bed, and getting it out of the way when not in use was a nice touch, but it didn't make that much difference to us.

Pop Century is our go-to 'Value' resort, and we like it a lot. We will stay there often. But we LOVE French Quarter, and the difference for us is the design and the ambience. We have stayed in Pop Century at least once per year (and often more) for the last 5 years. But I currently have two reservations that I have already scheduled for French Quarter in the next 9 months.

The point is, you can't go wrong with either, so choose what you want. Pop Century wins on price. French Quarter wins on 'niceness.' But neither resort actually 'loses' on anything.
 
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By the way, the Skyliner Gondolas, with a terminal being built on the bridge between Pop Century and Art of Animation, will be a very big, and very beneficial, selling point for Pop Century. I will definitely be making plans for sometime next fall to stay in Pop Century to try it out.
 















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