No DVC Resort availability yet again?!?!?!?!?

[ohiosam74]

I was just wondering if any of you have ever had this problem. I went to WDW twice last year, the first time I stayed at Saratoga Springs and had no problem booking a room with DVC points a few months ahead of time (did not really check on availability of other resorts), the second time planned the trip even further out (at least 6 months) and was told by DVC that only Old Key West was available and everything else was fully booked. I found this kind of hard to believe, I'm not sure what your experiences are, but I know that when I stay at a Disney resort (DVC or not) that it seems like I rarely see other guests around so it's hard to imagine that all the rooms are booked. This time I was looking to stay at another DVC resort in the first week of March and again I was told that everything but Saratoga Springs was completely booked. I realize that March is the beginning of spring break time, but I was going to go early in the month after the President's Day crowds and before the spring breakers came. I can't believe nothing is available at all. Anyone else have this problem?

Thanks!

 

[alldiz]

I would keep checking for cancellations.....

DVC is becoming much more difficult to book last minute trips.....

Usually last minute only SSR is available....if that
Kerri

 

[G8r4evr]

That stinks...thats a big monetary commitment to make only to have such difficulty finding availability. I guess that excludes my husband and I from considering DVC....we book all of our Disney trips only a few weeks out =(

 

[ohiosam74]

G8r4evr - I wouldn't use my experiences as a reason not to invest in DVC, I'm kind of hoping that the problems I've had recently were just unique to me and that others have been more successful. Overall I think DVC is a great program, it just hasn't been working too well for me lately!

 

[safetymom]

moving to DVC forum

 

[maciec]

Keep in mind that it also depends on what time of year you are trying to book and what else is happening at Disney during that time.

 

[simzac]

Booking DVC resorts on points within the 7 month window will only continue to get harder and harder as membership keeps growing. Owning DVC means being able to plan your trips more than 7 months in advance. JMO

 

[DVC Mike]

You'll rarely be disappointed if you can plan and book your home resort at the 11-mo window. You also need to book non-home resorts exactly at the 7-mo window. Waiting any longer than that means you may only be able to get SSR and/or OKW (because of their size).

 

[ohiosam74]

maciec - I realize that the time of year plays a big part in availability and I do usually try to plan my trips for off times.

simzac/DVC Mike - Unfortunately it's not always possible for all of us to plan our vacations 7 or 11 months out - trust me I would love to be able to do that, but with varying work schedules, vacation times, etc. that's not always possible.

 

[browniemtb]

I wouldn't give up hope yet. We booked a March 06 trip and booked it at 6 weeks. Of course both the BW view and Stnd were gone but we were able to get a pref overlooking the pool. Don't give up on DVC there will be more rooms in their inventory once AKV are fully open and who knows what the contemporary may bring to the table.

Brownie

 

[ohiosam74]

browniemtb - Thanks for the encouragement, I know that anything's possible right up until the time we go!

 

[Brian Noble]

Unfortunately it's not always possible for all of us to plan our vacations 7 or 11 months out

As with most timeshares with either floating weeks or points systems, DVC works best for those who can plan ahead. It's not like a "regular" hotel where Disney has to constantly market the rooms---in steady state, nearly all of the rooms are "pre-sold" for the entire year, system-wide, until contract expiration. Any room that is not developer inventory left vacant means some member allowed their points to expire. If members are trying to make full use of their points, there will not be be any "slow" times at a DVC resort.

So, to have the very best chance at the specific unit, resort, and time you want, you need to be able to plan ahead. And, you can't just depened on overall Disney demand to tell you what's "easy" and what's "hard", because the points charts are only approximations of true demand. There are times (e.g. early December) when units are arguably under-pointed, and others where they are likely over-pointed relative to underlying demand.

Folks who can't plan ahead in this way may not be good candidates for membership.

The 11/7 windows aren't even as far out as they could be. Wyndham's point system has a 13/10 month booking cycle---13 home resort only, 10 anyone. If you want to stay, say, south carolina or destin beachfront summer, washington DC for much of the year, Hawaii in winter months, etc., you HAVE to call right at 8AM at the 10month mark. And, even then, the owners at those resorts often take all prime week inventory.

 

[ohiosam74]

Brian Noble - Thanks for the lesson on how DVC and other timeshares work, but that's not exactly the advice I was looking for and I don't think that was really necessary. I doubt that I'm the only member that isn't able to make vacation plans so far out and in previous years I have made reservations as few as 3 weeks in advance and had no problems getting exactly what I wanted (and yes it was at similar times as this year). I'm sure if DVC was only made up of people that were able to make vacation plans at exactly there 7 or 11 month window, then membership would be much lower.

 

[jodifla]

Brian Noble - Thanks for the lesson on how DVC and other timeshares work, but that's not exactly the advice I was looking for and I don't think that was really necessary. I doubt that I'm the only member that isn't able to make vacation plans so far out and in previous years I have made reservations as few as 3 weeks in advance and had no problems getting exactly what I wanted (and yes it was at similar times as this year). I'm sure if DVC was only made up of people that were able to make vacation plans at exactly there 7 or 11 month window, then membership would be much lower.

I think the thing is, you expect to get exactly what you want, which isn't likely realistic given how many members there are nowadays.

For us, and we've been members 12 years, we've found if we're flexible with the resort, we can get on property when we want, even just weeks out.

 

[tfc3rid]

It has been this way recently... I would get put on the waiting list, as it worked out for me last year... You can still find times where you can make a reservation, say 2 months out, but it is rearer. WDW is coming up with more things to fill up those 'off seasons' so you won't really see ANY down time at WDW anymore...

 

[dianeschlicht]

Brian Noble - Thanks for the lesson on how DVC and other timeshares work, but that's not exactly the advice I was looking for and I don't think that was really necessary. I doubt that I'm the only member that isn't able to make vacation plans so far out and in previous years I have made reservations as few as 3 weeks in advance and had no problems getting exactly what I wanted (and yes it was at similar times as this year). I'm sure if DVC was only made up of people that were able to make vacation plans at exactly there 7 or 11 month window, then membership would be much lower.

You might not like that advice, but it is pertinent. MOST timeshares work that way, and expecting a reservation just a few weeks ahead of a trip would be difficult no matter which timeshare you are talking about. DVC does have a system of "waitlisting" that works quite well for those like you who can't plan ahead. The problem is that it is not a "sure thing", so it makes the program a lot less flexible if you must constantly use the waitlist. Timeshares aren't the best way go go for everyone.

 

[Brian Noble]

Thanks for the lesson on how DVC and other timeshares work, but that's not exactly the advice I was looking for and I don't think that was really necessary.

Your original post asked this:

I was going to go early in the month after the President's Day crowds and before the spring breakers came. I can't believe nothing is available at all. Anyone else have this problem?

That seems to indicate that you believe (a) there are slow times at DVC with last-minute inventory, and (b) that those slow times can be predicted by overall park crowds.

My post points out that neither of those are necessarily true. There should be no slow times at DVC, if members are all getting use out of their points. And, you can't use overall park crowds to predict when DVC reservations will be easier or harder to get.

I'm sorry that it's not the answer you wanted, but it's the answer that is true.

That said, all is not lost. If you are committed to going during that time, book what you can get, and waitlist what you'd rather have, and see what happens. Folks cancel all the time---and, for that week, we'll be at the 31-day window in not too much more time, so there could well be a small little bump in inventory right around then.

 

[ohiosam74]

jodifla - I agree and this last time I was pretty open to at least 4 or 5 of the DVC resorts, I try not to have my heart set on one especially when I'm trying to make a reservation that's only a few months away, but the only one out of all those with availability was SSR.

tfc3rid - I'm still hopeful for the waitlist, you never know what could happen!

 

[nunzia]

I think the thing is, you expect to get exactly what you want, which isn't likely realistic given how many members there are nowadays.

For us, and we've been members 12 years, we've found if we're flexible with the resort, we can get on property when we want, even just weeks out.

I'm a little confused and have a quesiton. I have read many times that unused DVC rooms go into regular booking inventory at 60 days out, so how can you ever get short notice reservations? Would that then only be inventory that hadn't sold on a cash basis?

 

[Chuck S]

I'm a little confused and have a quesiton. I have read many times that unused DVC rooms go into regular booking inventory at 60 days out, so how can you ever get short notice reservations? Would that then only be inventory that hadn't sold on a cash basis?

While it is becoming more rare for DVC to turn rooms over to CRO at 60 days, if such rooms exist, they can be pulled back for use by DVCers on points. Most rooms available on CRO cash, however, do not fall into this category.

If however a room was turned over to CRO because of a member trading to a non-DVC location, those rooms can not be pulled back and used by DVC.