No issue booking new DVC cheaper weeks (early May)

[Her Dotness]

We were encouraged by DH (aka Planner Guy ) easily getting our VGF 1br for a May cheap week next year.

He had to wait until his first break at 10:15 a.m. EDT to do it and reported no issues at all.

Like some of you, perhaps, we've been a bit nervous about demand increasing substantially for VGF1, particularly after the cheaper points weeks shifted to May.

Reassuring to find that 1br availability may be much the same as before the advent of VGF2.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

I've been eyeing VGF 2 bedrooms (both dedicated and lockoff) for March through May of next year and haven't seen any issues with availability at all. Ended up booking two studios instead of a 2 bedroom, and that was easy enough to do at the 10 month mark!

 

[Sandisw]

Congrats! Of course we won’t know until all the points are sold and in the system but hopefully it the 7 month bookings that are the ones that see the issue and not home resort!

I did get my deluxe studio for 2 nights in May this morning SV without an issue about 9:30 am. So that was good too!

 

[ain0004]

I think studios are going to be the first to go. While we are a 2 bedroom family anymore

 

[Her Dotness]

I think studios are going to be the first to go.

Oh, no question of that. That's always been the case and wasn't the concern.

The worry a number of those preferring villas with kitchens have had is how much new VGF owners, whether current members or DVC newbies, would skew demand for the original building. There was much discussion that it might become more difficult to get multi-brs, especially 1brs, because there'd be substantially more owners like us--adding points to upgrade from studios to 1brs.

Obviously, our booking ease doesn't necessarily indicate anything. Still, we were heartened to find that getting a 1br wasn't any more difficult at 11 months than it had been. We were apprehensive because the fewer points shift to early May might make that time more difficult to get, too. So far, doesn't seem to be.

 

[BeachClub2014]

We were encouraged by DH (aka Planner Guy ) easily getting our VGF 1br for a May cheap week next year.

He had to wait until his first break at 10:15 a.m. EDT to do it and reported no issues at all.

Like some of you, perhaps, we've been a bit nervous about demand increasing substantially for VGF1, particularly after the cheaper points weeks shifted to May.

Reassuring to find that 1br availability may be much the same as before the advent of VGF2.

That's great!

Maybe it's just me, but the mere act of getting a confirmed reservation, regardless of dates or resort, always makes me smile because I know we are going back to our happy place.

 

[CarolMN]

Obviously, our booking ease doesn't necessarily indicate anything. Still, we were heartened to find that getting a 1br wasn't any more difficult at 11 months than it had been. We were apprehensive because the fewer points shift to early May might make that time more difficult to get, too. So far, doesn't seem to be.

I'm one who thought the worries over booking the larger villas were overblown & mostly just FOMO. Same worries are now being expressed for the new Poly tower should those villas be added to the existing association.

Most DVC Members are much more interested in stretching their points than staying in the larger villas. IMO, booking patterns for the larger villas won't change much for owners who book during the home resort priority period. The patterns are somewhat skewed right now due to the pandemic glut, but I think they will return to their pre-pandemic norms once that clears out.

 

[DonMacGregor]

I'm one who thought the worries over booking the larger villas were overblown & mostly just FOMO. Same worries are now being expressed for the new Poly tower should those villas be added to the existing association.

Most DVC Members are much more interested in stretching their points than staying in the larger villas. IMO, booking patterns for the larger villas won't change much for owners who book during the home resort priority period. The patterns are somewhat skewed right now due to the pandemic glut, but I think they will return to their pre-pandemic norms once that clears out.

I'm one of those people who still wonder how availability will look once DVC sells a few hundred thousand more VGF2 points over the next few months, and more popular seasons come up for booking. No FOMO here though: I don't own VGF, and have no desire to. Just a curious onlooker.

I am one who isn't (primarily) interested in stretching out my points though, versus staying in what I would rather call a more practically sized villa ( bigger or smaller). I initially guestimated how long we'd like to stay based on a few decades of family vacations, and the size of the villa we would prefer, and purchased accordingly (or as best as I could as a newbee). As we've settled into our Disney-specific vacation patterns, established preferred resorts, and further identified our seasonal preferences, we've added on points. I may be an outlier, but based on the robust resale market for add-on contracts, the add-on tool provided and promoted by DVC, and the general affliction of add-on-itis on this board, I may be in the minority, but not alone. Certainly the board isn't a representative sampling of the general ownership, but it must reflect some percentage of all owners.

Don't get me wrong. If a planned vacation straddles two seasons, I'm not averse to shifting a trip a week or two forward or back into a lower priced season and taking an obvious points saving, but I'm not limiting my trips to only the cheapest seasons, points-wise, or stepping down into a smaller villa just to get two or three more days of vacation. I can't be alone.

Again, no skin off my nose either way, but given the compelling argument that DVC will be selling Poly2 as a separate resort and promoting the existence of larger villas versus Poly1, it would appear that DVC also appreciates the existence of a sizeable market for access to units larger that studios (or "resort studios"). Certainly Poly1 is ridiculously imbalanced with zero 1 and 2BR villas, versus VGF1's more diverse offerings, but DVC certainly sees a need for larger units, versus simply pumping out more hotel room conversions.

 

[wnielsen1]

Come talk to me once the entire VGF2 is sold out. I never thought the larger units would be a sell out right at 8 AM 11 months out, even after all the points are sold. But availability for the larger units will be tougher down the road - that is a mathematical certainty.

 

[Her Dotness]

Come talk to me once the entire VGF2 is sold out. I never thought the larger units would be a sell out right at 8 AM 11 months out, even after all the points are sold. But availability for the larger units will be tougher down the road - that is a mathematical certainty.

I'm still in the rebel camp, so to speak.

I thought from the get-go that because the GF attracts more affluent families, the resort studios were a great idea for people who neither want to fix food in their room nor do their laundry. But, would like to save money over the years.

I'm still not convinced that VGF1 will see an appreciable influx, making booking the multi-brs noticeably harder. If your aim in buying VGF is primarily a less-pricey GF stay, the resort studios fill that wish better than the larger villas do.

Except for the space hogs like us who prefer a separate bedroom and living room for us two even though we rarely cook and only occasionally do laundry if I get uncharacteristically motivated.

 

[tjkraz]

Come talk to me once the entire VGF2 is sold out. I never thought the larger units would be a sell out right at 8 AM 11 months out, even after all the points are sold. But availability for the larger units will be tougher down the road - that is a mathematical certainty.

There will be more owners with access to the rooms at 11 months, that is a certainty. What's undetermined is how often demand will outweigh supply during the period from 11-8 months. Right now, similar room categories like BCV 1B, BWV Standard 1B and Riviera Standard 1B tend to be quite readily available during the home resort booking period.

 

[wnielsen1]

I'm still in the rebel camp, so to speak.

I thought from the get-go that because the GF attracts more affluent families, the resort studios were a great idea for people who neither want to fix food in their room nor do their laundry. But, would like to save money over the years.

I'm still not convinced that VGF1 will see an appreciable influx, making booking the multi-brs noticeably harder. If your aim in buying VGF is primarily a less-pricey GF stay, the resort studios fill that wish better than the larger villas do.

Except for the space hogs like us who prefer a separate bedroom and living room for us two even though we rarely cook and only occasionally do laundry if I get uncharacteristically motivated.

No, I get it. It's just that the number of total points at the resort is increasing and at some point the shiny newness of the resort studios will wear off. Those factors will have an impact, the question is how much? If you needed to book 9 months out for a 2BR (just throwing a number out there), will it become 10.5 months, for example? I'm fairly certain it will not reach AKL value studio booking patterns.

 

[RoseGold]

VGF 1BR is insanely priced. It will always be the last to go. This room is going to bring up the back in the whole system.

There are a lot of families that two resort studios make more sense than a 1BR. I will be doing this when we take grandma. I don't want to put grandma on a sleeper sofa in the living room. This wasn't an option in VGF1 because the studios were all lock-offs -- there aren't connecting studios in VGF1. Connecting studios in VGF2 a good choice for many.

I do think the 2BR could suffer, assuming the new studios don't take pressure off the studio side of the lock offs. It's impossible to tell now, because they just went online.

 

[DonMacGregor]

No, I get it. It's just that the number of total points at the resort is increasing and at some point the shiny newness of the resort studios will wear off.

And, there is a whole VGF1 building filled with 1 and 2BR villas, also just as shiny and new after their refurb last year also.

 

[TinkB278]

We were encouraged by DH (aka Planner Guy ) easily getting our VGF 1br for a May cheap week next year.

He had to wait until his first break at 10:15 a.m. EDT to do it and reported no issues at all.

Like some of you, perhaps, we've been a bit nervous about demand increasing substantially for VGF1, particularly after the cheaper points weeks shifted to May.

Reassuring to find that 1br availability may be much the same as before the advent of VGF2.

Thank you for sharing! I was curious what the availability on these rooms would be like now with vgf2. Curious to see if this holds up once all points are sold.