Last minute trips?

[gtrist4life]

How has people's luck been with last minute trips?
If we wanted to book a one bedroom with say a week to one week before we would arrive, would anything be available?

Any thoughts or experiences?

Thanks
G4L

 

[RobDoc]

It will depend entirely on when you call. Some dates are not likely to be available- many will be available.

If you are flexible with your dates, resort and room type- you will often still find something.

60 days before any given date, any rooms unreserved using DVC points are released to Disney for cash reservations- so the general public also has access to the same rooms you're talking about.

The dynamics of the reservation system create many openings for rooms- as long as you have some flexibility.

Good Luck!

 

[BillPA]

I think that would be possible, depending on the time of year and if you stay flexible on the resort and room size. Try calling MS and see what's available now, to get a feel for what summer time has open. Remember that DVC is hardest to get when the rest of WDW is not so busy, and often easier to get when the rest of the resorts are busy. With SSR opening next year, that will make many more, un-owned accommodations available.

 

[TroyWDW]

Our last trip in April was a spontaneous event. My wife had already gone to work, but I got the itch to use some of the DVC points.

At 8:00 am I started thinking how nice it would be to spend a week at WDW. I called the airlines to see about availability and pricing at 8:45 am. I called MS at 9:00 am and was able to get a room at OKW. We were on a plane at 1:00 pm and arrived at OKW by 7:00 pm.

Does this qualify me for the DVC Anonymouse support group? "Hi my name is Troy, and I'm a DVC-holic."


Things we learned

1) Same day ticketing on Northwest Airlines was very reasonably priced. Next day or later, they wanted big money. We were able to do an E-ticket and I checked-in via the internet immediately and printed my own boarding passes. It was very simple and I didn't need to see an agent.

2) Same thing for a rental car. Got a great rate, better than my corporate rate.

3) Coordinating all of the reservations was a bit challenging, since they were all dependent on each other. Basically, it required two rounds of phone calls to check availability and then make a reservation.

4) The first call I made to MS, the CM quickly told me there was availability at BWV. When I called back to make the reservation, the CM put me on hold saying she would need to call the resort directly for such a short lead time. There wasn't availability, but she then called OKW and we lucked out. The second CM explained to me that they have to call the resorts to positively confirm availability on such short notice. The first call I made, the CM gave me an answer immediately and did not call the resort. Lesson learned.

5) We were very happy to just have a room, but if you are picky about: "Top Floor, near the HH, next to the bus stop". Forget it, you are at the very end of the room assignment list. We were hoping to get a non-smoking and they were able to give us a "roll-in shower" room.

6) A little spontaneity in life is a good thing.

Troy

 

[CarolA]

I did the exact same thing a few months ago. One minute I was sitting at work and the next thing you know...... I got a studio at OKW booked my SW Rapid Reward ticket and was outta there!

Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I tried for a fairly late reservation over July 4th and struck out.

 

[kda]

If you're not sure when the "busy" times for DVC property are, just ask. The parks are quiet in early December and there's usually lots of room discounts, but DVC gets filled up really early. We just booked a few weeks ago for early November (Food & Wine Festival time) and there wasn't a 1 BR at BCV or BWV when I called several times. Don't know if the 'wait list' would have worked out or not. OKW and VWL had availability for weeks before, but the day I called I almost didn't get a 1 BR at OKW.

We've booked a 1 BR at OKW in early May about 2 weeks before, but this was also for a weekend. Sometimes there's more availability for W/E because people don't want to spend the points. So, it depends. Definitely possible/probable, if a quieter time of year (for DVC) and you're flexible. MS will really work with you to try to make it happen.