New DVCer!

[ErieCruiser08]

Hello!
We just bought at BLT and we would like to take our first trip "home" this fall. Our dates are flexible, but we aren't exactly sure when we want to go. Since it seems that the fall is a pretty popular time to visit WDW for DVC members, should we book something tentatively?
What is the cancellation policy? I'm afraid of there not being anything available if we wait much longer. Advice? Comments?
Thanks everyone!

 

[TLSnell1981]

Cancellation must take place 30 days or more in advance, so you have to be pretty sure about your dates. It can be a bit more complicated, depending on you UY and whether or not you borrow points.

 

[BDJazz]

Welcome Home! In the fall I would shoot for food and wine festival. I have not been myself but hear it is wonderful...

 

[sleepydog25]

Hello!
We just bought at BLT and we would like to take our first trip "home" this fall. Our dates are flexible, but we aren't exactly sure when we want to go. Since it seems that the fall is a pretty popular time to visit WDW for DVC members, should we book something tentatively?
What is the cancellation policy? I'm afraid of there not being anything available if we wait much longer. Advice? Comments?
Thanks everyone!

As a pp said, the Food and Wine festival would be great to visit, but it's very popular so you'd need to make a reservation quickly, though you might not get your home resort at this point. If you're fairly certain that's when you want to go, then I'd pick up the phone and make a call to MS.

 

[Kidanifan08]

Fall is a great time to go! We went in October '08 and '09. The weather is usually really nice (although 10/09 was unseasonably hot!) Try to avoid Columbus Day weekend if possible -- the parks are much busier on that weekend.

As others have said, food and wine is a great event in October and early November. There is also Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party on select nights in October. We have done that twice and it is a fun event with the characters in Halloween costumes and the rides open late. That event can sell out quickly, so if you want to go, you should get your tickets purchased in a timely fashion.

If MNSSHP is not important, you could plan your trip in early November. The weather is cooler and the crowds are lower. F & W is still going on at Epcot until mid-November.

Have fun, and Welcome Home!!

 

[ErieCruiser08]

Thanks for responding everyone!
A couple more questions:
We will be bringing our daughter for her first WDW trip. She will be around 14 months old when we go. Is Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party a little much for a small child? Just curious if she might be a little young to enjoy it--we might be better off skipping it this time.
How about food and wine? Why does everyone love it so much? We want to check it out but am just curious why everyone else likes it.
TIA

 

[newyorkmike]

Thanks for responding everyone!
A couple more questions:
We will be bringing our daughter for her first WDW trip. She will be around 14 months old when we go. Is Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party a little much for a small child? Just curious if she might be a little young to enjoy it--we might be better off skipping it this time.
How about food and wine? Why does everyone love it so much? We want to check it out but am just curious why everyone else likes it.
TIA

Welcome Home!

There are certain elements of the halloween parade at night that may be a little scary for a 14 month old. We stepped away from the parade a little early when we were there with our 18 month old son and he got scared of the grave diggers in the parade (they do a dance routine with shovels as they walk by that they bang and scrape on the ground in a noisy and creepy way!). Everything else about the Halloween party is great and not really all that scary.

The food and wine festival is so well-liked because it provides such a wonderful oppurtunity to sample a wide variety of foods and beverages from all over the world in a single place. We like to try a few different countries each night we visit during the festival.

Lastly, did you purchase direct from Disney or buy resale? If you purchased direct from Disney and are still within 30 days of your closing date, your guide may be able to assist you in obtaining a reservation at a resort that may otherwise be "fully" booked through member services. They offer this as a courtesy service for new purchasers. The way it works, as I understand it, is that DVC can pull inventory at the resort that is still owned by DVD (Disney Vacation Development) and which is not available for DVC reservations because it has not been declared yet and make it available to a new purchaser for a DVC reservation.

Good luck with your first reservation!

 

[jeremysdisneymom]

Welcome Home!

We just bought last week at Bay Lake Tower as well. For your first trip as DVC, member services will work with you to find availability. That means they usually go into their bank of rooms for the general public. We are going over the 4th of July. We wanted a split stay at AKV and BW. They were able to accomodate AKV fine but BW was not available even when they went to the bank of rooms. However, they were able to get us something at BLT from their bank of rooms.

You should be able to tell member services it is your first trip as DVC. If they don't help with it, call the sales person.

Have fun!