I'm not going to get grief about this, am I?

[ftwildernessrick]

I can understand why Disney is trying to get away from the weekend only ressies, but don't understand why someone would have to book 2 weeks, just to get one week.

Looking at it from their standpoint, a week long ressie is more likely to be someone taking a vacation, therefore, they will be buying tickets, meals, souveniers, etc..

Whereas a weekend stay (especially at the Fort), is probably seen as just someone wanting to get away from it all for the weekend and is not as likley to spend the extra dollars during their stay and then that site will stay vacant for the next 4 or 5 days until the next weekend.

I am not saying that I like it, but I understand their point of view. However, during the off season, when the Fort is never booked up, those restrictions should be lifted.

 

[ebank]

For the past week I have been 'playing' the reservation game on Disney's web site, I finally managed to get Thanksgiving, Xmas and New Years weekends just by checking every day.

As it gets closer to the 5-day loose-your-deposit deadline, more sites become available.

 

[Born 2 Fish]

For the past week I have been 'playing' the reservation game on Disney's web site, I finally managed to get Thanksgiving, Xmas and New Years weekends just by checking every day.

As it gets closer to the 5-day loose-your-deposit deadline, more sites become available.

Very good, I commend you.
Thats also how my wife does it,(or at least tries).

 

[ccgirl]

I am not familiar with the Fort. Why would you have to book more nights than you will stay? I might be crazy but I don't get why???

 

[BradyBz12]

I am not familiar with the Fort. Why would you have to book more nights than you will stay? I might be crazy but I don't get why???

I don't think anybody really gets why. It's just the way the reservation system is setup.

For example, in September I needed to book 11/13, a Saturday night.

I tried online, nothing.

I called, nothing.

Then I tried booking 2 weeks with 11/13 smack in the middle.

Guess what - it was available!!

So I booked those 2 weeks online and then got on the phone and canceled all the other days except for that one.

Makes no sense whatsoever, but there you have it.

 

[ccgirl]

I don't think anybody really gets why. It's just the way the reservation system is setup.

For example, in September I needed to book 11/13, a Saturday night.

I tried online, nothing.

I called, nothing.

Then I tried booking 2 weeks with 11/13 smack in the middle.

Guess what - it was available!!

So I booked those 2 weeks online and then got on the phone and canceled all the other days except for that one.

Makes no sense whatsoever, but there you have it.

Thanks for the explaination. You would think it would be the other way around and it would be more difficult to get a 3 week reservation where one day in the middle might be unavailable.
Very strange.

 

[Disneefun]

OP here -- I t was a relatively painless process to cancel the unwanted weeks. The only problem was I had to call twice before I got lucky and the reservation system was up and running! But once I got a CM with a functioning system, no problemo, and no grief.

 

[DisCamper]

I have found if you book 10 days and stay a month you will have a great time. So don’t cancel the date’s just stay longer.

 

[BradyBz12]

...The only problem was I had to call twice before I got lucky and the reservation system was up and running!

The online res system has been up and down a bunch in recent days.

It took many attempts and the better part of the day for me to finally complete online checkin yesterday.

I have found if you book 10 days and stay a month you will have a great time. So don’t cancel the date’s just stay longer.

Past couple of years we've booked 4 weeks at the 499 day mark - just in case we need to shift things a week once we firm up vaca time.

DH is always hesitant to cancel that 4th week because he says "you never know - maybe we'll stay a month!"

I'm convinced one of these years he's going to work a way for us to stay longer.

 

[cm8]

You're freeing up the dates at some point so that someone else can use them, so I don't see a problem with this. It's not like you are reserving a 'throw-away' campsite or anything that prevents someone from coming to the Fort if they want to.

 

[AprilLizbeth]

Bringing up an old thread... This system frustrates me to no end. I have resigned to the fact that to book any weekend (the only time we stay), we must book a week. I know this is so that they can book for longer stays, but it really turns off locals and FL residents who come often, but usually just for a weekend. I'm sure Disney misses out on a lot of bookings because of this rediculous system. Isn't it better to have the weekend booked than none of the week booked? Well, I'm off to play their game!

 

[Teamubr]

The system really does seem peculiar. Even if you want full weeks, it seems to make you add days on either end to get what you want. I'm sure it is trying to fill as many days without leaving gaps. Someone has probably programmed it to not allow 2 or 3 day gaps depending on the season.

I have friends that own resorts in Branson. There reservation system has similar "rules" that he can set up. During the busy season, he has minimum 7 night stays. Some holiday weekends its 3 or 4 night minimum. During the off peak season, you can book anything you want. His system also trys to not allow gaps. I'm not sure if it shows nothing available if you request a room type that will leave a 1 or 2 day gap, but it might. Unlike Disney, he doesn't refund for cancelled nights unless he re-rents them. I know his system will not let you book for shorter than the minimum. I towed my camper down over July 4th last year. He had a 4 night minimum, but I only wanted 3 nights. The system let me see the RV site, but not complete the reservation. It also displayed a calendar that showed me what was available. It would be nice if Disney did that.

j