Last Minute Spring Break Trip??

[DVCLiz]

My friend and I were planning to take our daughters to New York City for their Spring Break (March 24 - 28) but her mom is ill and she won't be able to be away. I offered to take the girls to WDW. I know I can (and will) call in the morning, but could some of you give me an opinion about the possibility of getting a DVC room at such short notice? Is there a cancellation time that's coming up that might make me a little luckier? I would have to borrow next year's points but have 430 to play with, so technically I could rent any size for the 3 of us. It would be ideal to have a 2BR, of course!!!!

Just wondering if somebody has callled this week and what the possibilty was of getting a DVC room anywhere!!

Thanks, Liz

 

[paults]

why not call now MS is open till 5:30 all week now aren't they.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Call now!
Bobbi

 

[DVCLiz]

why not call now MS is open till 5:30 all week now aren't they.

Thanks, paults, you're a genius!! On the phone now - but slim pickins....

Still, I'll have my own car and 2 teen girls who will be easy to pack up, so if we have to switch around several times, it won't be the worst thing in the world!!!!

 

[bobbiwoz]

How nice that you are willing do donate all of those points to a spur of the moment type trip!
Bobbi

 

[DVCLiz]

Well, technically I'm borrowing from next year, and I don't really want to use them all, but this is a great opportunity to take a friend who hasn't been. They will be thrilled!!! My DD and I went over Christmas this year with another friend and her family, so we were kind of Disney'd out, but this will be fun - hey, it's always fun to go to WDW!!!!!

I got a studio at VWL for one of our nights, and a 1BR at SSR for two consecutive nights - and I waitlisted for the other nights. I might have to move 4 times in a 5 night vacation!!!! I'm hoping the waitlist will come through, though. If not, I'm going to call and see what cash availability is at some of the other resorts - I'm sure it's slim, too. We'll just see what we see!!!!

 

[lmb]

I just planned a last minute trip with my daughter for march 2-5 and was able to get a studio for the 3 nights I wanted (about 1 week in advance!). I called several times 2 days in a row and there was nothing and then the third day there was a cancellation and I was able to get a studio. Just keep calling every day! Now that we're within a week and there's no waitlist I've still been calling several times a day to see if there are any cancellations and I can switch resorts. Good luck!

 

[dislainey]

Good Luck! I just plannned a last minute trip with my son for part of his spring break. Because it was less than 30 days out I lucked out and scored a studio for 2 night and a 1 bedroom at BWV for 1 night. I also had to borrow from next years points to go on this last minute trip but isn't is great that we can do that! Enjoy the trip with the girls!

 

[DVCLiz]

Good Luck! I just plannned a last minute trip with my son for part of his spring break. Because it was less than 30 days out I lucked out and scored a studio for 2 night and a 1 bedroom at BWV for 1 night. I also had to borrow from next years points to go on this last minute trip but isn't is great that we can do that! Enjoy the trip with the girls!

Thanks!! Keep your fingers crossed for that waitlist....

 

[DVCLiz]

I called again just now and was able to add the last night in a 1BR at SSR, so we will have a 1BR for the last three nights of our trip. Good thing, because it looks like we'll be moving every night the first three nights!!! Today I was able to add a 1BR at AKV, which is thrilling, because that's our arrival day, and we can enjoy the Animal Kingdom Lodge and hopefully the pool even if we don't go into the parks on our first night.

From there we move to a studio at VWL for our second night, and we are waitlisted for the third night. I'm very encouraged now that I've decided to bite the bullet and borrow these points to make this trip happen. I've gotten 5 of the 6 nights, and if we have to we can go off-site for one night. I know it will be a hassle to move that many times - I am hoping some waitlists clear and we can stay 2 nights in a row at the beginning of the week, but we'll see. If we need to, we can get up, get dressed, pack our stuff, and go to a park, then go to the new resort and check in if we take an afternoon break or if we finish during the evening. I am pretty sure they won't give our room away if I have booked it with points, right? How late can you wait to check into a room - anybody know? Maybe I'll just let the girls go on to the park and go check in to the new resort before I meet them - that might be a plan.

Anyway, just thinking out loud but thought some of you might be interested in a real "last minute" trip and what ends up happening with regard to room availability!!

 

[bobbiwoz]

It's coming together for you, great!

I wouldn't wait to check in. I would check in before going to the park. You can leave your car at the resort and take a bus. You'll get a number to call, and that way, you can call from the park and maybe your room will be ready just when you were hoping to leave. I would like getting to the resort and knowing the room is ready.

Bobbi

 

[DVCLiz]

It's coming together for you, great!

I wouldn't wait to check in. I would check in before going to the park. You can leave your car at the resort and take a bus. You'll get a number to call, and that way, you can call from the park and maybe your room will be ready just when you were hoping to leave. I would like getting to the resort and knowing the room is ready.

Bobbi

Yes, even as I was typing I was thinking, "No, I wouldn't dream of waiting until the end of the day to check in - better check out, go to the new resort and check in, then head to the parks!"

I am excited it is coming together - I hope my final night will clear, so we have some place to stay each night, and then I can work on a more specific waitlist hoping to get two or three nights together during the first part of the week. It would be ideal to have 3 nights at the Animal Kingdom and 3 nights at SSR (although I love my Wilderness Lodge!!) but we had a week there at Christmas so I could be up for something different!!

Keep on keeping your fingers crossed for me, and thanks for the help!!!!

 

[DVCLiz]

I just went to dvcmember.com and lo and behold! My waitlist has cleared for one of the nights! It was an upgrade from a studio to a 1 BR at the Wilderness Lodge, but it came through in the last 90 minutes or so, because I called late morning to update some other information and I still had the studio.

Woo Hoo!!! Now I have a 1BR for 5 of the 6 nights!!! It seems weird to me that Monday and Tuesday are available, but not Wednesday, of the week AFTER Easter, but I'm going to keep hoping something will open up that night.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Wow, you can be happy that there wasn't much of a waitlist, or perhaps you were the only one desperate enough to do it day by day! Good for you!! And again, how nice that you're going the 1 bedroom route for the 3 of you!!!!

Bobbi

 

[DVCLiz]

Wow, you can be happy that there wasn't much of a waitlist, or perhaps you were the only one desperate enough to do it day by day! Good for you!! And again, how nice that you're going the 1 bedroom route for the 3 of you!!!!

Bobbi

There is the possibility that the other mom will be able to join us, and if so, I would like two different sleeping areas because...someone snores. And this mom was the only one who ever had to spend the night with me in a tent with the Girl Scouts when I had a bad head cold, and she didn't sleep all night. I have felt guilty about it for years!!!

So, my thinking is, in a 1BR I can have the king bed to myself and the girls can sleep on the queen sleeper sofa in the living room. That way I have a private bedroom with a closed door. The girls won't mind the sleeper sofa - my daughter shared one at the Wilderness Lodge, which has the old style ones, over Christmas for a week and she was fine. Maybe a little less than ideal, but still she slept like a rock every night. So I think the girls will be fine. And if the other mom comes, she and her daughter can share the sofa bed and my daughter and I can share the king bed. Of course, I will do the right thing and offer to take the sofa bed, but after all they are MY points, so I wouldn't really feel that guilty about taking the better bed!!!!

I just wanted to have two separate sleeping areas for another adult if she is able to come with us.

 

[DVCLiz]

I also called to book some dining reservations, and I was pleasantly surprised at how many I was able to get. Jiko for our first night, The Rose and Crown for lunch and Morocco for dinner on our Epcot day, The Sci Fi Dine In and 50s Prime Time Cafe on our DHS day, and two nights at MK - one at Tony's and one at Narcoossee's. All were decent dining times - lunches in the noonish timeframe and dinners around 7:30 -8:00pm. Except for the DHS day - that lunch and dinner are late - lunch at 3ish and dinner at 9ish. That will be great, though, because we will have been out late the night before at Epcot (open til midnight) and they will sleep in and not get moving before noon, I'm sure. So we'll have a breakfast snack, but eat lunch late and then dinner late. DHS is open until 1:00am that night, so a late start will work really well.

Sorry to be so chatty - I'm just so excited that I have another WDW trip and that it has worked out at the very last minute for such a busy time!!!!

 

[byoung]

Have a great trip!

 

[DVCLiz]

Thanks!!!

 

[dislainey]

Fingers crossed that your last night comes through on the waitlist! Glad to hear you received the 1 bedroom and got all the ressies you desired. Isn't the plannning almost as much fun as the trip. Enjoy!!

 

[DVCLiz]

It was like a full time job yesterday - does anyone else get obsessed with checking dvcmember.com to see if a waitlist has cleared? The first one took me by surprise - I had a studio at VWL but was waitlisted for a 1 BR. I checked early in the morning and when I went back a couple of hours later, I saw a 1BR listed. Then it was Game On! How many times can I check to see if something else has changed??? It was very entertaining, but very time consuming!!!!

I feel good about my chances for the last night to clear somewhere. And I have most of my ADRs set, so I think I will call today and get the rest in place. We don't have any chance of something like a Princess breakfast or dinner at the castle (both of which my daughter and I would skip, but would be fun for our friend who as never been to Disney!!) but we have plenty of fun ones picked out - Morocco and England at Epcot, Sci Fi and 50s Prime Time at DHS, and Tony's and Narcoossee's at MK - lots of "good eats" there!!!!

I'm not going to do the DDP because I'm not sure whether the mom will be able to join us, and I don't want to commit to meals we may not use. I have the DDE card so we'll use that instead.

I have to get some actual real-life work done today, but keep your fingers crossed that my last night opens up!!!