NewYears Reservations

[Howes1387]

We are looking at coming to florida from Dec 27-Jan 2 and was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to get a reservation or if they would truely be booked solid. I know in the past some people have had some work arounds on it and wondering if anyone had any good tips. I am looking at suprising my wife with this trip, her first time away from our two kids for more then 1 night, our motorhome is going to winter in florida this year i believe and thought this may be a nice getaway for both of us.

thanks in advance for the help.

 

[luckycharm19335]

Just keep trying.
Check the online ressie system every time that you turn on your computer.
It is a VERY busy time at The Fort and Disney overall.
You have time, but start now.

 

[AuntBJ]

Some people have suggested playing around with your dates such as booking a longer trip and cancelling the extra days right after booking. I know I have checked for a shorter trip and found nothing but added days on the front and back end and suddenly there was availability.

 

[super_camper]

Christmas is a busy time and reservations are often booked more than a year in advance. Extending your reservation to 30 days and then cancelling unwanted days can work sometimes, we did this a couple of years ago in January but last year all were gone by Feb 1.

Last year I called dozens of times for a reservation and got a few days but didn't fill my reservation until just before we were ready to leave in December, seems many cancellations occur just as the no-refund deadline approaches.

 

[cah5525]

I have read that cancelled reservations get put back into the system at
7 a.m. est so, try early every morning.

 

[vtwinwilly]

Great information.

We are newbies at this but we did figure out that you just have to keep trying. We were there for Thanksgiving last year and we called , and called and called. Finally an openning and we snatched it up.

Then... while we were there I received an e-mail telling me I could go ahead and book for the following year. Some sort of special booking option for current, returning guest. I neglected and this year had to go through the same call, call, call process but eventually... we were successful. We will be at the Fort from Saturday to Satuday the week of TG.

I must say I'm a bit confused about how they manage reservations. This year we managed to book Monday and Tueday night only. We wanted the whole week. We called and called and called, and then when my wife called and also wanted to extend our park passes, they were able to find a spot for us for the entire week. I suspect that they probably overbook based on historical cancellations just like the airlines do.

We also met a couple last year who managed to get a site for the enitre week of Thanksgiving at the very last minute. They had been booked for the week of Christmas, then changed their minds at the last minute and got a full week at TG instead, no problem. We also found out from the same couple that many campers will book a site during highly desirable times (Christmas and TG) not knowing whether they're actually going to use the site or not. Then as the payment due date approaches, they make their final decission and either pay the balance or cancel. Explains the increase in cancellations as the Payment due date approaches.

Now all of the above is just from my observations. If anyone really understands how this bit of Disney Magic really works... Like Mickey... I'm all ears.