New policy on booking more than a week question

[Inkmahm]

I agree with this.

It's why I think the new policy should not apply during the home resort booking period. That would retain the "level playing field" aspect of reservations at your home resort and should not present a large burden to MS in terms of call volume. I have no data, but my sense is that in the sense of sheer numbers there are far more day by day calls made at 7 months than at 11 months. [Number of calls and length of calls are important for call center staffing. (Used to run a big call center for a telephone company). The second and subsequent calls made for day by day reservations (in my experience) are significantly shorter in length than calls for the first day or for "one call" reservations].

MS should let those of us who own a particular resort specifically for those high demand situations continue to reserve on a first come, first served basis for any given day.

I agree with you 100%. I'd be happy if they let the booking at 11 months alone just messed around with the rules for booking at 7 months.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Agree w/you both. Anything that preserves Home Resort rights should be the priority. Home Resort owners should always have a level playing field for a particular date at their resort. JMHO.

I agree 100%.

This new "policy" has me gnashing my teeth, because our preferred travel time includes our wedding anniversary at the end of October. We specifically bought at BCV so that we could get every possible chance of having a villa there during the incredibly popular F&W/Halloween period. Now those arriving even a day or two before us can book everything up and shut us out of our home resort.

This is already a problem with the ADR 180+10 policy ... Disney won't allow you to reserve before your 180-day window, but those guests arriving earlier have that extra 10-day advantage. There are lots of reports of folks calling in at 180 days and being unable to book a seating due to those arriving earlier. It's a patently unfair "rule".

If this had been the policy in effect when we bought, we never would have. I am fit to be tied.

And yes, I have already emailed DVC and we will be calling them on Monday. I hope all of you posting here will email them as well. We have to make our voices heard, loud and clear.

 

[n2mm]

I've been reading all of the info on this new policy and am really curious how this is going to work. We often go for 12 nights in May and October. In May I'm flexible, so not a big deal where I stay and will use my SSR points. BUT, in October I purposely bought BWV points for the sole intention of staying for 12 night at BWV in a standard studio. I always call 11 months on the dot to book that stay to get this type of room. If owning my BWV points no longer gets me the standard accommodations with this new policy, I will sell them as I purchased them only because I wanted the home resort advantage of booking BWV during a highly desireable time of year....guess I will hold tight and see how this works out. I have until November before I can book for October 2009 and hopefully things will be clearer by then.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

This is already a problem with the ADR 180+10 policy ... Disney won't allow you to reserve before your 180-day window, but those guests arriving earlier have that extra 10-day advantage. There are lots of reports of folks calling in at 180 days and being unable to book a seating due to those arriving earlier. It's a patently unfair "rule".

First I have heard of this. Can you explain this a little more? I don't understand the extra 10-day advantage.

 

[CarolMN]

I agree 100%.

This new "policy" has me gnashing my teeth, because our preferred travel time includes our wedding anniversary at the end of October. We specifically bought at BCV so that we could get every possible chance of having a villa there during the incredibly popular F&W/Halloween period. Now those arriving even a day or two before us can book everything up and shut us out of our home resort.

This is already a problem with the ADR 180+10 policy ... Disney won't allow you to reserve before your 180-day window, but those guests arriving earlier have that extra 10-day advantage. There are lots of reports of folks calling in at 180 days and being unable to book a seating due to those arriving earlier. It's a patently unfair "rule".

If this had been the policy in effect when we bought, we never would have. I am fit to be tied.

And yes, I have already emailed DVC and we will be calling them on Monday. I hope all of you posting here will email them as well. We have to make our voices heard, loud and clear.

As much as I hate the new policy, I have to say I really don't think you have to worry. If you call as soon as you are allowed, I would be very surprised if you can't get your villa. Even for Food & Wine, I don't recall BCV selling out during the first couple of weeks or so of the window's opening. If you can get what you want, the new booking policy doesn't matter, right?

The new booking policy will pretty much only impact the very low supply room categories (like SV at the BWV or maybe dedicated 2b/2Q at BCV or Beach Cottages/Grand Villas) during the very popular times of the year.



I'm glad you wrote (so am I), but I don't want you to spend a lot of time stressing out over your anniversary trip. I truly think you will be just fine.

Here's an early congrats on the wedding anniversary. Hope everything is especially wonderful for your trip.

 

[mom3sonstt]

I must be living under a rock - what is this "new rule" and what does it mean? I;ve just read this thread and can't figure out exactly what is going on so I went and searched through the DVC site and didn't see anything there. Can we no longer book more than a week at a time? If so when did this take place because I have ressies for 9 nights and nothing was said when I made those.

 

[DiznEeyore]

First I have heard of this. Can you explain this a little more? I don't understand the extra 10-day advantage.

The policy allows you to book your ADRs 180 days from your arrival, and then up to 10 days going forward. If you're staying for 10 days, you can book all your ADRs 180 days from your arrival rather than 180 days from the day you want to dine.

For example, we are going over Christmas. We want very much to have breakfast at Crystal Palace on Christmas day, but cannot book until we reach our 180-day window on 6/24. However, those who are arriving before us are already booking their ADRs for Christmas day because of the 180+10. It's no longer a level playing field, in that a reservation is available to some and not others depending on their arrival date rather than on the date they want to dine, which is how it used to be.

Hope that makes sense!

 

[DiznEeyore]

As much as I hate the new policy, I have to say I really don't think you have to worry. If you call as soon as you are allowed, I would be very surprised if you can't get your villa. Even for Food & Wine, I don't recall BCV selling out during the first couple of weeks or so of the window's opening. If you can get what you want, the new booking policy doesn't matter, right?

The new booking policy will pretty much only impact the very low supply room categories (like SV at the BWV or maybe dedicated 2b/2Q at BCV or Beach Cottages/Grand Villas) during the very popular times of the year.

I'm glad you wrote (so am I), but I don't want you to spend a lot of time stressing out over your anniversary trip. I truly think you will be just fine.

Here's an early congrats on the wedding anniversary. Hope everything is especially wonderful for your trip.

Thank you, Carol, you've made me feel a little better. We're skipping that period this year due to ds' school schedule, but most of our future trips will more than likely be at the end of October. I hope you're right that we'll still be able to book it with the new policy in place.

I still hope they'll rethink this and maybe do as suggested here and keep the 11-month window as it is. I could live with that; it seems much more reasonable.

Thanks again for taking the time to send calming vibes my way -- it's greatly appreciated!

 

[DVC Grandpa]

I'm saying that the reservation system should not be changed for those who book their home resort before the 7 month window opens. Just leave it the way it was. Change it for non-home resort reservations if necessary, but leave a level playing field for those who book their home resorts before the 7 month window opens.

Yes, Yes, Yes

 

[Chuck S]

Rather than have so many threads running on the subject of the new policy, please post all of your concernes and questions in the New policy for reservations based on check IN date discussion thread.

All the different aspects of the new policy can be discussed there.

Thanks.