Is there anyway to find out your "position" on a waitlist

[Disneylovingdad]

First, forgive me as I am sure it has been asked. Especially forgive me if it's been asked numerous times. I searched for about a half hour and could not find out. We are taking our second trip as DVC members in November. We are booked at OKW (where we stayed last year and loved). We are BLT owners but wanted to stay at BWV this time as we have in the past and love it, so we waitlisted it. Anyway, my question is if there is any way to check our position on the waitlist online? By phone? I'd rather avoid tying up the phone lines by calling. If I did call, it wouldn't be for a while just to see. Is the system so complicated with different days and room types and lengths of stay that there really is no organized "list"? I am just curious. Thanks in advance!!

 

[disneynutz]

It's another DVC Best Kept Secret.

Bill

 

[jekjones1558]

I have never heard of anyone finding out their position on the wait list. As you mentioned, there are lots of variables and I don't think MS can even see an actual numbered "list" on their computers. We aren't even 100% sure of the exact method that is used to do wait list matches because there have been cases where a member gets lucky and is able to book a room for which another member is already on the wait list (I know because it happened to me). Bottom line: If I were you and really wanted a wait listed room, I would call periodically and also try to regularly to book the room online. It can't hurt and you could get lucky! Pixie dust to you!

 

[LisaS]

Even if you knew your position on the waitlist, it wouldn't necessarily help you determine if/when it will come through because of the way matches are made against the list.

For example, let's say you are waitlisted for a 5-night stay (Sun - Thu nights) and are first on the list. You need all 5 of those nights to become available at the same time in order to have your waitlist filled. If just the Wed and Thu become available they will look down the list to see if anyone needs just those two nights, or just one of those two nights. In a worst-case scenario, there could be several people below you on the list who are waiting for individual nights overlapping with the nights you need. Any single nights that become available will go to them first while you continue to wait.

 

[Disneylovingdad]

Ok fair enough. Just thinking about how involved it must be made me figure it was not a simple thing to figure out. Thank you all for the quick responses and the advice.

 

[LisaS]

Ok fair enough. Just thinking about how involved it must be made me figure it was not a simple thing to figure out. Thank you all for the quick responses and the advice.

I wish there was more transparency with waitlists. As Jean mentioned, there have been cases where someone called MS and booked a night or nights that somone else was waitlisted for.

Best of luck. I hope it comes through!

 

[RweTHEREyet]

Yep, I don't think they share that information so that they are able to manipulate it the way they want, like fix their mistakes and get someone a room before giving it to someone else that was higher on the list. jmho, not based on any fact whatsoever, except, why else not share that information so that members would know if they should even hold out hope. I wouldn't if I knew I was no. 50 on a list.

 

[moredisneyplease]

i wish we could know!!!

 

[disneymomjcs]

Wish I knew this too!

 

[Disneylovingdad]

It would even be helpful if they could give out a probablity of getting it. For example, we want a standard view (not enough points for another) for 8 nights November 3-11 which is the start of the Christmas festivities and during F&W. Because it is a lot of nights at one of the most popular resorts, I am not holding out any hope. We loved OKW but love the convienence of BWV. Lets say for argument that based on popularity, how many people who have it waitlisted, and length of stay, I only have in reality a 25% chance of getting it. They could maybe put that out based on the past history and stats of people getting the same accomodations. I don't know, could be more complicated and people would wind up with false hope and be upset more. Just thinking out loud.

 

[bwvBound]

It would even be helpful if they could give out a probablity of getting it. For example, we want a standard view (not enough points for another) for 8 nights November 3-11 which is the start of the Christmas festivities and during F&W. Because it is a lot of nights at one of the most popular resorts, I am not holding out any hope. We loved OKW but love the convienence of BWV. Lets say for argument that based on popularity, how many people who have it waitlisted, and length of stay, I only have in reality a 25% chance of getting it. They could maybe put that out based on the past history and stats of people getting the same accomodations. I don't know, could be more complicated and people would wind up with false hope and be upset more. Just thinking out loud.

My other points-based timeshare does this. Based on a number of factors, the waitlist system calculates your probability of getting a match to your waitlist and identifies a "level" for your request. I've gotten all my "Level 1" waitlists and most "Level 2."

 

[LisaS]

It would even be helpful if they could give out a probablity of getting it. For example, we want a standard view (not enough points for another) for 8 nights November 3-11 which is the start of the Christmas festivities and during F&W. Because it is a lot of nights at one of the most popular resorts, I am not holding out any hope. We loved OKW but love the convienence of BWV. Lets say for argument that based on popularity, how many people who have it waitlisted, and length of stay, I only have in reality a 25% chance of getting it. They could maybe put that out based on the past history and stats of people getting the same accomodations. I don't know, could be more complicated and people would wind up with false hope and be upset more. Just thinking out loud.

The Standard View rooms make up 20% or less of BWV. They are highly coveted by BWV owners. F&W is a very popular event and many DVC owners have added on at BWV just so they can book BWV (either Standard View or the Guaranteed Boardwalk View which is also about 20% of BWV) at 11 months out for F&W.

There will be owners who were unsuccessful getting all of their nights in one of those two booking categories already on the waitlist, probably since 9-10 months out. (Speaking from experience since that happened to me last year! I needed just one night, I went on the waitlist 9 months out and I finally got that one night at 7 months out.) Since those already on the waitlist probably need just a night or two, any cancellations will go to filling those waitlists first.

It's highly doubtful that 8 nights will become available in Standard View for those dates. Your best hope to get BWV for those dates would be to waitlist for the Pool and Garden view since that makes up 60% of the resort.

 

[LisaS]

Lets say for argument that based on popularity, how many people who have it waitlisted, and length of stay, I only have in reality a 25% chance of getting it. They could maybe put that out based on the past history and stats of people getting the same accomodations. I don't know, could be more complicated and people would wind up with false hope and be upset more. Just thinking out loud.

Developing something that analyzes the history of waitlist successes would require IT resources they don't have. We waited YEARS for online booking and it's still a work in progress that needs to be completed. The did provide the ability to see our waitlists so at least we can verify they were set up properly. This is a huge improvement.

For now I would settle for "You are number N on the waitlist for a BWV Standard View 1BR." followed by a list of the dates that those above and below me are waiting for. Without that additional info, knowing where you are on the list doesn't tell you enough to estimate your chances of success.

If they do have IT resources available to work on the waitlist I would rather they invest them in making it work properly so that what happened to Jean (waitlisted for something for quite some time, someone called MS and booked those same dates over the phone) doesn't happen to anyone else. That would definitely increase the chances of waitlist success!

 

[lions1995]

If they do have IT resources available to work on the waitlist I would rather they invest them in making it work properly

I agree whole heartedly with LisaS. All Disney IT resources must be pooled to get the high priority items working.

Probability may be beyond their reach.

 

[Breyean]

I have never heard of anyone finding out their position on the wait list. As you mentioned, there are lots of variables and I don't think MS can even see an actual numbered "list" on their computers. We aren't even 100% sure of the exact method that is used to do wait list matches because there have been cases where a member gets lucky and is able to book a room for which another member is already on the wait list (I know because it happened to me). Bottom line: If I were you and really wanted a wait listed room, I would call periodically and also try to regularly to book the room online. It can't hurt and you could get lucky! Pixie dust to you!

Right. I was cruising online booking a while ago and saw, out of the blue, a full week, the first week of July, had become available for a studio at VGC. GOLD!! It wasn't there the prior day. Heck, it might not have been there the prior hour.

But I grabbed a few days as it was just what I had wanted, plus I didn't even have to use my actual VGC points since it was well within the 7 month window.

Today I canceled a day at VWL in November. The whole week is booked, but that day still shows my canceled day as newly available.

My theory is, when we cancel, that shows up as an available room immediately, both on what we can access and what MS sees. This also explains why people on wait lists who call MS to check frequently report being told while on the phone that their wait list JUST FILLED. I think that only happened because they saw the available room and grabbed it for the called.

I think the wait lists are only run as a batch a few times per day/night so a room can be available if newly canceled for a while before the wait list is compared with availability.

Anyway, that's my theory.

 

[Disneylovingdad]

I just fail to realize how a company such as Disney, with all its resources and experience, finds this whole booking process so complicated and seemingly haphazard. Let me explain with a slight update and by saying I DO realize it must be complicated with all the options and resorts they have. So, my wife called on Tuesday to add our eighth night at OKW for the week in question. No problem at all. She asked to add the Eighth night for our waitlist at BWV. The rep told her she would have to call back the following day to add the last night to the list that for whatever reson she could not do it that day without cancelling the entire waitlist and redoing it with all 8 nights, which would drop us down the list. Ok, whatever. The rep then checks with a supervisor to see if she could just add the last night by itself without cancelling it first the next day and the supervisor says yes. So, my wife calls back Wed morning and they tell her there is no way to add the last night without cancelling and doing all 8 nights at once. So she let her cancel and redo the whole week with the last night added. She basically had to let the rep do it or we could be screwed if through some miracle we actually get the waitlist, and they cancel OKW for 8 nights and gave us the original 7 at BWV of course with no guarantee of getting that last night that we would have a whole plan and airline tickets revolving around. Like I said, I have no hopes of getting the waitlist at this point but my point is why all the conflicting info? Why would a supervisor even confirm we could add the last night when we could not. I get that that could be how they work it. No problem but WDW did not open last week. They must get these types of exact questions several times a day. Granted the rep couldve been new but a supervisor confirms? It is always some sort of drama or ordeal involving conflicting info with them and it is frustrating especially for folks like us who are fairly new to the whole process. I am not mad, again I know it must be complicating but it is like get it together and be consistent.