Newbie Question-trouble with Reservations?

[donald#1]

Hi, We're considering buying in. How hard is it to get the reservation that you want when you want it. I know this depends on the time of year, but it just seems that you often have to jump through a lot of hoops ie. waitlisting, day by day reservations, booking at 11 months out then calling at 7 months for the resort you really want. I think this would frustrate me greatly after plunking down the kind of cash it takes to buy in. We typically travel in October or April. What chance do we have of getting reservations during those times.
thanks.

 

[dumbo71]

Hi, We're considering buying in. How hard is it to get the reservation that you want when you want it. I know this depends on the time of year, but it just seems that you often have to jump through a lot of hoops ie. waitlisting, day by day reservations, booking at 11 months out then calling at 7 months for the resort you really want. I think this would frustrate me greatly after plunking down the kind of cash it takes to buy in. We typically travel in October or April. What chance do we have of getting reservations during those times.
thanks.

October is tough if you want BWV or BCV. April is always tough.

I strongly recommend utilizing the 11 month advantage when booking. You can then always switch at 7 months. More and more the "buy where you want to stay" advice is coming into play.

In all fairness I've always gotten what I wanted at 7 months. I do not call day by day either. It hasn't been as tough as this board would leave you to believe in my experiences.

The part that gives me pause with your post is the part about "plunking down the kind of cash it takes to buy in." If that is how you feel about it you are setting yourself up for dissapointment. That cash you "plunked down" is no different than the cash everyone else "plunked down". That "plunked cash" gives you the right to use said resort for 46 years or so with SSR and 34 or so at the others. It also gives you the home booking advantage at the resort you bought into. At 7 months points are points.

You are entitleds to nothing more regardless of the cash you "plunked down". I owned well over 1,000 points at one time. That did NOT give me anymore rights or privledges than someone who owned 50 points, nor should it.

If you don't want to play the booking game, DVC or any other timeshare may not be for you. Other timeshares book 12 months in advance for there timeshares in order to get there week. DVC is first come first served, as it should be with a home resort advantage.

God luck with your decision. It does take a little planning so if you don't want to do that I'd say just rent when you want to go to WDW.

 

[bobbiwoz]

You only have to wait until 7 months out if you're not booking at your home resort. Very few of my ressies have had to be changed. I bought where we want to stay. True, we don't always have enough points to book ALL the rooms 11 months out, but we've never had any trouble getting any other room we want at 7 months.

If you are a family and not taking many multi-generational trips like we do, you shouldn't have any trouble if you buy where you want to usually stay.

On site, the only place I want to stay that I don't own is BCV, and I'm happy with 1 -2 nights a year. I booked what I wanted there for June '07 earlier this week, not even exactly at 7 months, and not day by day. The rest of that stay is BWV, our home, SV studio. Really, there are no hoops!

Bobbi

 

[crisi]

DVC works best for people who can plan more than seven months out and are content staying at their home resort. While booking a resort - sometimes even the smaller resorts - after the seven month window is certainly possible - getting exactly what you want when you want means being able to take advantage of the home resort window.

If you can only book a few months out and really want to stay at the Beach Club Villas - there are a lot of other people who also plunked down their money and planned eariler.

 

[Chuck S]

Remember that the DVC point system is designed to have all resorts operating at near capacity at all times, that's just the way it is with point based timeshares. The earlier you book, the more likely you are to get your desired resort and room class.

 

[donald#1]

Thanks for the input. We love planning our trips early, so that part shouldn't be a problem. If we decide to join, we will most likely buy a resale at BWV or BCV where we would like to stay most often. I guess I'm just hoping that if we book 10-11 months out, that we have a reasonable chance of securing a reservation.

 

[crisi]

Thanks for the input. We love planning our trips early, so that part shouldn't be a problem. If we decide to join, we will most likely buy a resale at BWV or BCV where we would like to stay most often. I guess I'm just hoping that if we book 10-11 months out, that we have a reasonable chance of securing a reservation.

If you book 10 or 11 months out, you are almost assured of a reservation. A very few units book very quickly at a very small time of year - for instance BWV Grand Villas at Christmastime or BW Standard Views during Food and Wine festival.