Nervous for 7 month switch

[Kazi7]

I'm coming up on my 7 month mark for switching resorts and I'm nervous! Right now there is good availability for my dates but I haven't done a 7 month switch for a while. I have 3 villas (2 x studio + 2 BR) booked at OKW and want to switch (online) to 2 villas (2 x 2BR) at VGF. It makes sense to confirm availability in the am before canceling the original reservation, but I didn't know if it takes some time for the points to reset in the account to book the new place. Should I just enter one person in each room to be faster, then go back and add the rest? I'm so close to the finish line and I don't want to screw it up!

 

[Minniesgal]

Don’t cancel everything only 1 studio. Modify the 2 bedroom to a 2 bedroom at VGF then modify the second. Studio reservation to a 2 bedroom at VGF. That way most of the OKW reservation is safe until you have secured VGF. Then at worst you are down 1 studio which can hopefully be rebooked at OKW if VGF doesn’t work.

 

[Kazi7]

Thanks. I've seen the "modify" option, duh. That makes sense. Yes right now there is plenty of availability at OKW so I should be able to get it back if all goes wrong.

 

[RoseGold]

Walk it! Check if there's some availability before your dates, so you can walk.

The problem with VGF is that there's so few studios, it might look like there's availability, but there's only one.

 

[zavandor]

Walk it! Check if there's some availability before your dates, so you can walk.

The problem with VGF is that there's so few studios, it might look like there's availability, but there's only one.

I would do the same, but be aware that walking at 7 months is risky. Any VGF owner can jump in front of you and book one of the nights you need, stopping your walk. You risk not being able to secure the VGF reservation and you already canceled your OKW reservation. Walking is really an 11 month thing.
Also, while there might be good availability now at OKW as it usually is, at 7 months it might disappear more quickly then expected. With the point backlog caused by Covid, availability has tightened everywhere and every time.

 

[RoseGold]

I would do the same, but be aware that walking at 7 months is risky. Any VGF owner can jump in front of you and book one of the nights you need, stopping your walk.

Depends on how many points you have, haha. I have walked with a seven day booking when I was only trying for a couple nights.

 

[kes601]

Depends on how many points you have, haha. I have walked with a seven day booking when I was only trying for a couple nights.

I'm in the middle (well beginning) of walking something something for a trip that starts June 18. As the other poster said, we know that an 11 monther could block us at any point, but it prevents other 7 monthers from getting it.....

 

[JETSDAD]

Depends on how many points you have, haha. I have walked with a seven day booking when I was only trying for a couple nights.

Unless you're only walking within those 7 nights you could still be blocked by a VGF owner.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Walk it! Check if there's some availability before your dates, so you can walk.

The problem with VGF is that there's so few studios, it might look like there's availability, but there's only one.

I agree with this recommendation. Several times I've tried to get a studio at VGF, and haven't been able to. It's the only resort where the waitlist never came through. However, this past summer I had some "Use 'em or lose 'em points" to use up, I got 2 nights in a studio at VGF(at 5 months out) and built everything else around those dates. I thought VGF was everything I'd hoped and more-good luck that you can get it.

 

[RoseGold]

Unless you're only walking within those 7 nights you could still be blocked by a VGF owner.

As the VGF owner, I'll just get a studio every three days in month 8 for funsies LOL.

 

[Kazi7]

Ok thanks for the info. I want two 2BR's, not studios, at VGF. The studios and lock-offs are gone but the dedicateds are still available so I'm hoping for the best.

 

[Sandisw]

Ok thanks for the info. I want two 2BR's, not studios, at VGF. The studios and lock-offs are gone but the dedicateds are still available so I'm hoping for the best.

One thing I do when I want two rooms abs worried is book one starting a day earlier so I am not trying for both on the same day.

Once I get both I just adjust the first one to the real days.

 

[JELLYROLLS4LIFE]

As others have said, the nice thing you can do now is modify a reservation without cancelling the old one. If you have enough points, you can modify the two 2-bedroom ones and then cancel the studio. If you don't have enough points, your risk is cancelling the studio to get enough points. I would maybe consider booking the 2-bedrooms for a shorter time (say 5 nights instead of seven) then cancel the third reservation, then go back in an extend the time on the two VGF ressies. (of course making sure that you have that full length of stay rooms at VGF available first.)

 

[Sammie]

Totally agree, I would not walk a 7 month reservation. It's really odd how one day, say a Tuesday or Wednesday is there, then not. Also with foreign members now able to travel, booking is going to be difficult.

 

[Kazi7]

I feel better knowing about the modify function. It sounds pretty straightforward. Good suggestion on booking one of the rooms the day before then changing it. Maybe I'll consider that. I was trying to be concise in my OP, but I only need 2 nights (Sat and Sun) at VGF, not the whole week. It's a split stay and the second half is set. When my kids were little, I booked 2 BR's quite a bit at 7 months and usually had good availability but I haven't done a switch lately.

 

[Donna M]

I'm coming up on my 7 month mark for switching resorts and I'm nervous! Right now there is good availability for my dates but I haven't done a 7 month switch for a while. I have 3 villas (2 x studio + 2 BR) booked at OKW and want to switch (online) to 2 villas (2 x 2BR) at VGF. It makes sense to confirm availability in the am before canceling the original reservation, but I didn't know if it takes some time for the points to reset in the account to book the new place. Should I just enter one person in each room to be faster, then go back and add the rest? I'm so close to the finish line and I don't want to screw it up!

To answer your last question, yes, just put in one name and add the others later.

 

[RamblinWreck]

I agree with this recommendation. Several times I've tried to get a studio at VGF, and haven't been able to. It's the only resort where the waitlist never came through. However, this past summer I had some "Use 'em or lose 'em points" to use up, I got 2 nights in a studio at VGF(at 5 months out) and built everything else around those dates. I thought VGF was everything I'd hoped and more-good luck that you can get it.

Interesting!

I've only done one waitlist so far, and it was for a VGF standard studio on Halloween weekend (next weekend! woo!)

I was surprised when I logged in yesterday to see that it had actually gone through!

 

[Kazi7]

Just to update my original post, if anyone is interested...I wanted to switch at 7 months to two 2BR units at VGF for 2 nights, June 4 and 5. Three or four days before I could book, the availability started to disappear, so I knew it likely wouldn't be available, and it wasn't. There were single days in different booking categories, but I didn't want to mess with that. So I ended up booking two 2BR's at BLT which was my second choice, so it's fine. And it's fewer points so that's good! I will say that a month before my 7 month window, there was a lot of availability everywhere, even for studios, but during the last week, the bookings really got filled up. This will be for late May/early June.

 

[Gizmo74]

Just to update my original post, if anyone is interested...I wanted to switch at 7 months to two 2BR units at VGF for 2 nights, June 4 and 5. Three or four days before I could book, the availability started to disappear, so I knew it likely wouldn't be available, and it wasn't. There were single days in different booking categories, but I didn't want to mess with that. So I ended up booking two 2BR's at BLT which was my second choice, so it's fine. And it's fewer points so that's good! I will say that a month before my 7 month window, there was a lot of availability everywhere, even for studios, but during the last week, the bookings really got filled up. This will be for late May/early June.

I am looking at the same timeframe. I am looking for only a studio that slept 5 but would have been open to anything. I was stalking the few days before my 7 months and saw the inventory going away and knew it would be hard. My home resort is Poly and didn't want to book there because we just stayed there in Oct and I would have had to borrow points to make it happen. I was able to grab Board Walk and put in waitlist for Beach Club. I am shocked how just about all studios are sold out late May/Early June.

Thankfully, I am really flexible at this point since I have not bought airfare yet and could even drive. So if summer weeks open up I might just move the vacation if I can get Beach Club. I knew Rivera was more but gosh it would have been over 40 points more staying there vs Boardwalk.