Making Reservations - Phone or Internet?

[I Love DVC]

My 11-month window is coming up shortly. Just wondering....should I book by phone or on dvcmember.com? Are there any advantages to booking one way over another?

 

[bigsmooth]

Booking over the Internet is definitely not immediate. I imagine if you are not concerned about availability it will be fine. I used it the first time I made a reservation, got a reply back the next day. But for additional reservations I have used MS, since you got your confirmation number and could ask questions about availabily right then and there.

 

[CarolMN]

At this time, booking over the internet is really booking via email. Not a good idea if you are trying to get something that is in relatively small supply (like a standard view room at the BWV or a 2 bedroom with 2 queens in the second bedroom at the BCV) for a popular time. AFAIK, these are not worked immediately as they come in or given any priority over phone calls.

If you are booking SSR (large number of rooms) for August (not the most popular time of the year for DVC members to visit), you can easily send an email and be almost guaranteed of getting the accomodations you seek.

Best wishes -

 

[disneystick]

I only use phone...great way to instantly confirm res. with special request on room view, etc....also can ask any questions on dining res. or any other Disney info. from a live person. Reps have always been very helpful and many of them have visited Disney and stayed there and they can give recommendations.

 

[JimMIA]

Definitely phone. You have live interaction with a real human being, can ask questions, confirm point balances and status, etc. etc. etc. And, it's one call and you're done. Email isn't even worth considering, IMHO.

 

[Granny]

Email isn't even worth considering, IMHO

I agree that we much prefer to use the phone and get "instant gratification" and knowledge about the reservation, etc.

But I can't dismiss one great benefit of e-mail....the "paper trail". I'm thinking of the case of the recent post where MS claimed the DVC owner had requested something he/she clearly hadn't.

E-mail does provide a written record and takes any guess work out of what was requested, etc.

Having said that, we still prefer the phone.

 

[Nanajo1]

I prefer the phone and when asked in any surveys I always say phone.

 

[gracelrm]

I use both. I probably use the phone more often, but when I'm making a ressie for a time that I'm pretty sure it won't be hard to get what I want - I might use email. My work schedule makes it hard to call during MS open hours (unless I'm calling during the summer) and a few times I've tried to call from work - something has come-up while I'm on hold and so I have to hang up. I also like the paper trail that comes with using email.

 

[disneybride96]

I didn't realize that online was not instant. I did it kind of by mistake the other day while waiting for MS to open. We did get what we wanted, but I hated the wait for the reply! I'll always phone from now on.

 

[*elaine*]

It would be great if they eventually had the situation worked out similar to booking online at the other resorts, where you can actually do it yourself. I'm an internet kind of person, and if I can do it myself, I will. Before buying DVC, I booked our WDW vacations via the internet, without talking to a single person.

The way the system is set up now, I prefer calling them and talking to a MS person.