Number of People Walking

[DougEMG]

I am not against a reallocation. It seems more DVC people prefer F&W and Christmas decorations to hot summer months.

Love those fall point costs, but now that I've been going more in the spring-summer months, I'm all in fair of a point reallocation between the seasons

 

[n2mm]

Have you always been going at the dates you are trying to this year?

I've always found BWV and BLT to be difficult and don't see a huge difference this year - they are still popular rooms to book.

Yes, I’ve always gone 10-14 days the end of October, except this past October. We only stays at Bwv for 3 nights oct 31-nov 3 (2 standard studios) and did a 7 night cruise, then 2 nights at BLT, all standard rooms. This is the hardest year I’ve ever had getting this same room category for October. I have 5 trips booked for 2019, and 4 of them are at Bwv standard studio (June is 2 standard Bwv studios). Every reservation was made on the first day for booking, no problem, no walking. Just October Has been a hassle.

 

[LSchrow]

Also Bwv boardwalk view too. As I’m adding a dropped day each day, I’ve notice Bw view is also gone immediately. Yes demand has gone up since buying these resorts many years ago. October in general is just getting so darn busy now.

​

Have you always been going at the dates you are trying to this year?

I've always found BWV and BLT to be difficult and don't see a huge difference this year - they are still popular rooms to book.

2019 is the first ever October I've seen where there aren't 7 consecutive days in a BW or standard view studio, 8AM online at 11 months (we've been staying in a BW view studio for about 2 weeks, every October for many, many years).

 

[bobbiwoz]

For F&W, I alternate between BCV AND BWV. It’s been two years, never had a problem get studio SV at BWV before.

 

[deerh]

I disagree.

Poly and BCV have studios that sleep 5 but we don't see the walking issue that we see at BWV for std. view studios. And yet Poly has those point-sucking bungalows. AKV value studios and CL level studios sleep only 4 but they are walked all year. It's not that there aren't enough studios. It's that there aren't enough of those studios to meet the demand.

And TBH, not every owner wants to see studios that sleep 5 or 2BRs that sleep 9. IMO, that just adds to the wear and tear in those villas. Higher occupancy means a greater strain on resources (pools, parking, dining, transportation, etc), which drives up operating costs and therefore the dues. Not to mention that the retro-fitted 5-person studios are cramped when all sleep surfaces are opened and sacrificed storage space in favor of that fold-down bed. It reminds me a sleeping in a travel trailer where one bed can only be accessed by converting the dinette.

That has a "yet but" to it.. YES, Poly has the bungalows, but Poly has 300??? Studios compared to BWV and 144? studios...So, Yeah, but the difference in studios at the 2 resorts is 2:1... So, yeah, no walking prob at Poly.. At BWV, only 40? standard view studios... BIG difference...

As I said, I would like to see the new resorts-Rivera, and Reflections change the size and occupancy of the studios/1BR/2BR.. Gives us DVC'ers more choices!! Not a bad thing!! My .02 worth........ I and a LOT of people think the points for the cabins is way too high...

 

[ziravan]

That has a "yet but" to it.. YES, Poly has the bungalows, but Poly has 300??? Studios compared to BWV and 144? studios...So, Yeah, but the difference in studios at the 2 resorts is 2:1... So, yeah, no walking prob at Poly.. At BWV, only 40? standard view studios... BIG difference...

As I said, I would like to see the new resorts-Rivera, and Reflections change the size and occupancy of the studios/1BR/2BR.. Gives us DVC'ers more choices!! Not a bad thing!! My .02 worth........ I and a LOT of people think the points for the cabins is way too high...

A lot of people thought that they’d do a reallocation at Poly after sellout to make studios a little more in points and bungalows a lot less. I think for every 1 point/night increase in studios you could decrease bungalows by 18 points given the ratio of 360/20.

But they wouldn’t have wanted to do that while Poly was still selling new and they probably don’t want to do so now because of the message that it would send regarding their intentions with the Cabins at CCV.

Personally I don’t think that they object too much with the way things stand now. The Bungalows are a win/win for DVC: more points to sell up front, more breakage income if they don’t book and some VIP access if they neither book nor sell CRO.

 

[deerh]

For us to stay in a CCV "cabin" would be 2 years of points for 3-4 nights! NOT EVEN worth it to us.. For us, a waste of points. As an example and I feel DVC missed the mark on this- I can stay in a BWV Grand Villa (sleeps 12) for 4 nights that sleep 12, compared to CCV cabin for 3 nights that sleep 8!!! A big difference in my opinion..... I think that they totally blew it as far as point/night and occupancy... And by the way, the BWV Grand villa is for only 1 year of points, not 2 as CCV....

 

[Marionnette]

I was finally able to get in for a BW view studio this morning. I still need the day before (10/23) to actually grab my entire week. I'm betting that it will become available as the walkers move forward.

 

[n2mm]

I was finally able to get in for a BW view studio this morning. I still need the day before (10/23) to actually grab my entire week. I'm betting that it will become available as the walkers move forward.

That’s great. I noticed BW view is actually going faster than standard. I stopped trying. I just log on and modify my reservation by adding my missing day prior every morning when someone releases it. It takes about 5 minutes. Though I lose it a few times by not being fast enough. I have 2 more morning left. Good luck

 

[CarolMN]

To finish the thought on reallocating for Dec especially studios:

Do I think that a demand/supply mismatch in maybe 6/30 or so studio booking categories at exactly the 11 month window calls for a reallocation?

I do not..…… .

I agree. No reasonable reallocation will make standard studios at BWV & BLT more available at 11 months. No one who wants a studio at either resort is currently shut out at 11 months. Pool/Garden and Lake View studios are available at 11 months without walking.

IMO (and I think DVC's), speed of booking is not a reason to reallocate. A pattern of unbooked nights is. AFAIK, there isn't such a pattern at any of the WDW DVC resorts. A pattern of unbooked weekend nights was the impetus for the reallocation between weeknights & weekends that occurred a few years ago.

 

[kristenrice]

I was finally able to get in for a BW view studio this morning. I still need the day before (10/23) to actually grab my entire week. I'm betting that it will become available as the walkers move forward.

I need that day too, in a 2BR. We have the 23rd, 24th and 25th booked in a P/G 2BR and we waitlisted the BWV. We are really hoping for the BW view since my dad fell in love with the BWV in 2016 when we snagged a standard view 2BR for a week. This is probably going to be the last trip he can take with the family to WDW. He loves to just sit on a bench and people watch and a BW view room would just make the trip perfect for him. Since I own at AKV, a bulk of our stay (the first 5 nights) will be at AKV, but we were able to transfer in enough BWV points to do our last 3 nights of the trip at BWV, just for Dad. We are not holding out a lot of hope for that wait list, but he already said he will be perfectly content with the P/G view...he's just glad he can stay at the Boardwalk/

 

[kristenrice]

I was finally able to get in for a BW view studio this morning. I still need the day before (10/23) to actually grab my entire week. I'm betting that it will become available as the walkers move forward.

...check the availability again...

I need that day too, in a 2BR. We have the 23rd, 24th and 25th booked in a P/G 2BR and we waitlisted the BWV. We are really hoping for the BW view since my dad fell in love with the BWV in 2016 when we snagged a standard view 2BR for a week. This is probably going to be the last trip he can take with the family to WDW. He loves to just sit on a bench and people watch and a BW view room would just make the trip perfect for him. Since I own at AKV, a bulk of our stay (the first 5 nights) will be at AKV, but we were able to transfer in enough BWV points to do our last 3 nights of the trip at BWV, just for Dad. We are not holding out a lot of hope for that wait list, but he already said he will be perfectly content with the P/G view...he's just glad he can stay at the Boardwalk/

...I'm getting good vibes...

I checked my dashboard and my waitlist has DISAPPEARED...
...then I checked the availability and all three of the nights I need are showing available...

I hope I get an e-mail tomorrow...

 

[twinklebug]

...check the availability again...


...I'm getting good vibes...

I checked my dashboard and my waitlist has DISAPPEARED...
...then I checked the availability and all three of the nights I need are showing available...

I hope I get an e-mail tomorrow...

You should be able to see the dates under My vacation Plans right away when the WL comes through. If it's not there and your point balance looks untouched, grab that date you need asap!

 

[Marionnette]

...check the availability again...

Way ahead of you! I snagged that date this morning when it opened up!

...I'm getting good vibes...

I checked my dashboard and my waitlist has DISAPPEARED...
...then I checked the availability and all three of the nights I need are showing available...

I hope I get an e-mail tomorrow...

Sending pixie dust your way!

 

[TexasChick123]

If you want the standard view or BW view at BWV in the fall/Christmas time you really have 2 options: 1) Walk it in or 2) Pick it up day-by-day when the walkers move along. I don’t like the practice either, but it isn’t going away. We can all complain about it, but it is what it is. You’ve got quite a few Type-A, retired, stay-are-home parents, or work from home people, etc. that have the time to fool with all of this. We own at BLT, BWV, and VGF. Yep, we own at 3 of the resorts that have certain categories which are difficlut to book. I’ve just accepted that if we want to go during those times and stay in one of the “in-demand” rooms, then it’ll be some work to get them. Charging a fee won’t deter a lot of people. Also, I have changed vacation dates numerous times because of plane tickets. I don’t think I should be charged by DVC to modify my dates because the airline(s) published a sale or dropped the price of a flight one day earlier or later and we shift our vacation dates.

 

[twinklebug]

If you want the standard view or BW view at BWV in the fall/Christmas time you really have 2 options: 1) Walk it in or 2) Pick it up day-by-day when the walkers move along. I don’t like the practice either, but it isn’t going away. We can all complain about it, but it is what it is. You’ve got quite a few Type-A, retired, stay-are-home parents, or work from home people, etc. that have the time to fool with all of this. We own at BLT, BWV, and VGF. Yep, we own at 3 of the resorts that have certain categories which are difficlut to book. I’ve just accepted that if we want to go during those times and stay in one of the “in-demand” rooms, then it’ll be some work to get them. Charging a fee won’t deter a lot of people. Also, I have changed vacation dates numerous times because of plane tickets. I don’t think I should be charged by DVC to modify my dates because the airline(s) published a sale or dropped the price of a flight one day earlier or later and we shift our vacation dates.

Seriously, I have more complaints about the airline industry changing up flights after purchase than I do with walkers. At least DVC doesn't cancel and rebook our rooms on us.

 

[TexasChick123]

Seriously, I have more complaints about the airline industry changing up flights after purchase than I do with walkers. At least DVC doesn't cancel and rebook our rooms on us.

So we pretty much only flew Continental/United for years. We've only recently gone back to Southwest. While not being able to choose your seats is maddening, being able to rebook and get my points back when the fare drops is absolutely amazing!

 

[BWV Dreamin]

United is/was famous for flight reschedules and cancellations. We stopped flying with them years ago.

 

[TexasChick123]

United is/was famous for flight reschedules and cancellations. We stopped flying with them years ago.

When you live in Houston, it’s not an option unless you want to connect. Our nonstop options are mostly United and Southwest. I’d love to never fly United again, but sometimes the economics don’t make sense to ignore them. They actually are cheaper than SWA sometimes. Also, they don’t cancel too many flights in/out of Houston because it’s a hub and would disrupt too much. As for delays, we’ll, that’s a different story...

 

[kristenrice]

Way ahead of you! I snagged that date this morning when it opened up!


Sending pixie dust your way!

WOW!!

I'm going to post this in it's own thread, but I just got lucky, thanks to my own gut instinct...

I saw that the BW view was still sitting open this morning, my waitlist was still gone from my dashboard, and yet my reservation still showed that I had a Pool or Garden View booked so I decided to call Member Services at 9:00am and check on the situation. The member services CM told me that it showed that my waitlist had indeed been confirmed and filled....for a POOL or GARDEN VIEW!! They matched my waitlist to the exact same room I already had booked! He could not figure out what happened, but he saw that the BW view was available so he made the change and confirmed that we are now booked in a BOARDWALK view. Phew!

Then, I refreshed the page and saw that the room was no longer available...I GOT THE LAST ONE! Thank goodness I called and checked! I would definitely consider this a HUGE flub on the part of Member Services. If the waitlist is indeed filled by an actual PERSON, that person who did this needs some remediation. If it is an automated process done by a computer...well, it IS Disney IT and I guess I am not surprised.