Mini-Rant about getting a room...or NOT getting a room....

[Vulnox]

I do recommend stalking. We had a similar situation in that we had us and two friends going Feb 9th-13th. It was going to be our first stay as DVC members and it was 1BR at Boardwalk. But our friends had to back out. I canceled the 1 Bedroom, but even that we only got because of the pixie dust of closing on our first contract. So I put in a waitlist for boardwalk studio and after reading on here decided to start stalking the availability. Almost every day for a week I saw a bunch of rooms come and go. We now have our 9th-13th stay booked, and I think I put together a hopefully really fun trip. We are doing a lot of resort hopping, but by choice. I got us at boardwalk the first night, since the next day we are at Epcot/HS. Then we stay at Animal Kingdom with Savannah view because the park day after we start at Animal Kingdom (while not walking distance, will at least be a short ride). The next two days a bit less exciting currently as we have a studio at SSR, and then a 1 BR at SSR. I still may change one of those days, I have a waitlist open for Riviera 1BR SV, but our last full day we planned to just relax and maybe do some more resort hopping to see the resorts we aren't staying at.

Anyway, the main point is, it wasn't that hard to piece this together and aside from what we booked I am seeing rooms come and go almost every hour as far as availability. I just hit the "Update" button every so often and see what is new, and nab it if it's worthwhile.

I wouldn't want to do this all the time, so nothing I said really changes that DVC is tougher within a 3 month window. And we may be benefiting from restricted travel for those outside the US in how much we have had available, but I wouldn't give up hope for your near term trip.

 

[tjkraz]

This is a very valid point. As Disney builds more resorts where people don't want to stay regularly ie. Aulani, those points then flood into wdw.

Where are all of these new "resorts where people don't want to stay regularly?"

Aulani may be underwhelming from a sales standpoint, but it's a very popular destination for owners using their points. You might want to take a look at availability sometime. About 80% of the room categories are completely booked between now and the summer.

 

[pklein09]

Thank you for all your suggestions and support! I called member services....only about a 30 minute wait. I explained our situation, and that I knew the points would go into holding. I asked him to check availability for 2/19 because he might be able to see something I couldn't. Nope, nada, nothing, which was not unexpected.

He offered to cancel the reservation, take my points out holding, and bank them for me for next year (we have a June use year). Yay!!! I was very please and surprised with that outcome. It was much more than I expected. The CM was great, and I left him stellar reviews on the phone survey and disneysurvey.com.

I will continue to stalk the site to see if I can grab a reservation. If not, it's not a big deal. We still have our park reservation for that Saturday, and we'll just come home at the end of the day.

Again, thanks for listening to me!!!

 

[TiggerBouncy]

So glad to hear about a positive ending!

 

[Lilsia]

I have noticed that there is a lot of people who have booked trips and are trying to sell them. I don't know if this is the new way to sell your points, as a guaranteed reservation or if people just needed to use their points up and are going to go if they can't sell the reservation. Plus many did not go last year and have to use up their points. This year is just going to be busy.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Thank you for the additional responses. When I went to change my park reservations (we have APs), we were able to rebook for the 19th. The weekend before is a blackout date for us, so I thought that was Presidents weekend, not the 19th. We no longer have school-aged kids, so I'm not as aware of the school holidays as I once was.

I will call Member Services to see what they might be able to do. At minimum, the points will go into holding....it's just a LOT of points....about half my annual allotment.

I'll have to talk to DH. It just might be time to sell. We've had a great 20 year run. With 4 kids, we needed at least 2 hotel rooms, and DVC just fit the bill so well. We made amazing memories and had a great time. At this different phase of our lives, it might be time to move on from DVC.

There are reports that member services is waiving holding, especially if illness is the reason for cancelling the trip. You should explain that to them and see if they'll waive the holding.

Edit: Glad to see that's what ended up happening.

 

[BamaGuy44]

I have noticed that there is a lot of people who have booked trips and are trying to sell them. I don't know if this is the new way to sell your points, as a guaranteed reservation or if people just needed to use their points up and are going to go if they can't sell the reservation. Plus many did not go last year and have to use up their points. This year is just going to be busy.

I just did this, and it worked great. We are new owners, and get 160 2021 points we weren't expecting. The resale listing showed 0 2021 points, but there they were in our account when the other points showed up. We couldn't use the points, so I made a 6 night reservation at BWV in mid-march, and a 1 nighter at Boulder Ridge the same week. That combo used exactly the 160 points. The BWV reservation sold within a day or 2. The one night at BRV just sold, took about 6 weeks. So an extra $2,300 we weren't expecting, I'll take it. Maybe just offering up the points is even easier, haven't tried it that way yet.

 

[Lexxiefern]

Another vote for stalking! I just did this for a 2 night trip only 2 weeks out. I was trying to move it out 1 week. I spent 2 days (really 1 1/2 days) stalking about every 30 min. I was shocked at all the different rooms that showed up. I had my choice of AKV 1 bed standard, OKW studio, RIV 1 bed pref, poly studio, GFV 1 bed standard, VWL 1 bed. And those were just the options for the 2 nights together. Many single nights came up as well. I ended up booking a 1 bedroom at BWV boardwalk view!! This was 3 weeks out. So just keep checking!!

 

[Jelly563]

just think about it this way.... it's February and it's Florida. that's a busy month to want to go where it's warm. availability low. Time to sell

 

[bwvBound]

We are now semi-locals....we live about an hour away.
<snip>
What?!? I'm local....I want to book a couple weeks in advance for some of my points. How am I supposed to know that far in advance that I'm going to want/need a weekend away?

LOL. That is how we feel about DLR and the Grand Cal. We live about 90-minutes away and generally only "plan" a couple weeks out ... or even "night before." It is a problem unique to "locals." Proximity absolutely changes one's use of the product.

Gladly for me, stalking the RAT has been very successful since the Grand Cal reopened, post-Covid. I hope you are also successful in your searches!

 

[DebbieB]

A friend of mine was able to change her daughter’s birthday trip this weekend from 3 nights in a CCV studio to 2 nights BCV 1 bedroom, 1 night BLT 1bedroom. She changed it on Thursday night, 2 days before arrival. So it’s possible.

 

[JenSop]

I bought in 2007. Things HAVE changed when it comes to availability.
I used to have no problem getting non-home resorts at 7 months, but that is proving to be increasingly difficult every year. This past trip (a few weeks ago) I couldn't get BWV at 7 months. (Had NEVER been a problem before.) Yes, our wait list DID come through a month before our trip, but this was the first time I ever had to waitlist my preferred place to stay on a trip.

I will say that my guide was GREAT when I bought in. I was told everything - the good and the bad - which I'm grateful for. I knew all that was promised to me was a room at my home resort, and that everything else could be changed or taken away at any time. So I bought where I would most want to stay. (AKV) I also knew that it was NOT a good fit for last-minute trips.

That being said, I've rented my extra points out several times, and am really pleased with that experience!