October and Deluxe Resorts

[merappa]

I'm planning on a 3 night stay in mid-October and am having a hard time finding availability at the Contemporary or Wilderness Lodge. It seems like a lot of rooms are booked solid at the high end resorts. I thought October would be a slower time to visit. Any ideas why?

 

[loves to dive]

F&W, halloween. F&W normally impacts the Epcot resorts more but still, it's there.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Mid October includes Gartner IT and they book a lot of deluxe resorts. A lot of schools have breaks Columbus day week.

 

[Capitalangel]

Wilderness Lodge lost half of it's rooms in the conversion to DVC on one side of the lodge, so rooms are harder to get there.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

These boards were FULL of “I can’t find any rooms in the fall” posts last year. It was a constant refrain. The new Disney norm, for better or worse. Events, parties, holiday breaks, conventions - it has become a busy time of year.

Also, your three night search is probably working against you too. Disney’s availability algorithms are generally more favorable to longer stays.

 

[LMO429]

I just had this happen to me. I was looking to add 2 nights onto our week long trip i had booked for October and not much was available. At first i thought it was a glitch in the system but now reading this post I know its not October just a popular time of year to go.

 

[SarahC97]

October has become one of the most popular months to go, so I'm afraid that what you're seeing is a reflection of the fact that it's much busier that time of year.

 

[NJ Goofy]

I am a DVC member and will be trying to change my reservation to an EPCOT resort at the 7 month mark for an October trip, but I'm not very optimistic. October has become a very busy time in WDW.

 

[hes122]

Seeing this post makes me glad we got our room booked at the Boardwalk when we did!

 

[dolewhipsareforlovers]

I also had a harder time finding a reservation for October! We too are doing a 3 night stay. I wanted Wilderness Lodge, but there was no availability. I ended up renting DVC points(this was my first time renting points) and ended up with 3 nights at Bay Lake Tower! While its not the WL I am still excited about it!

 

[ktlm]

The Gartner Convention is October 14-18. They book up a large block of rooms at some of the deluxe hotels (I think Yacht Club and the Poly are usually the main ones), so even if you are not looking at a Gartner hotel, availability can be tight because you have more non-Gartner booking at the different hotels. We have stayed at Yacht Club a couple of times during Gartner and has seemed like the whole resort is there for the convention except for us. Makes it nice to get on the bus to the parks in the mornings- we were the only ones at the bus stop more than once.

 

[gillep]

The Gartner Convention is October 14-18. They book up a large block of rooms at some of the deluxe hotels (I think Yacht Club and the Poly are usually the main ones), so even if you are not looking at a Gartner hotel, availability can be tight because you have more non-Gartner booking at the different hotels. We have stayed at Yacht Club a couple of times during Gartner and has seemed like the whole resort is there for the convention except for us. Makes it nice to get on the bus to the parks in the mornings- we were the only ones at the bus stop more than once.

Our last day at the YC was the first day of Gartner last year, I could not believe how many people descended on that hotel, it was a huge change from the previous week, especially just walking through the lobby or going to the lounges at the resort.

 

[CinderellaDream]

I also had a harder time finding a reservation for October! We too are doing a 3 night stay. I wanted Wilderness Lodge, but there was no availability. I ended up renting DVC points(this was my first time renting points) and ended up with 3 nights at Bay Lake Tower! While its not the WL I am still excited about it!

We also rented points for BLT in October. I'm looking forward to it!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The Gartner Convention is October 14-18. They book up a large block of rooms at some of the deluxe hotels (I think Yacht Club and the Poly are usually the main ones), so even if you are not looking at a Gartner hotel, availability can be tight because you have more non-Gartner booking at the different hotels. We have stayed at Yacht Club a couple of times during Gartner and has seemed like the whole resort is there for the convention except for us. Makes it nice to get on the bus to the parks in the mornings- we were the only ones at the bus stop more than once.

It's not just Poly and YC. They have blocks at CR, GF, BWI, BC, Coronado and Swan/Dolphin. Might have a few at AKL as well. They have special buses for the conference.

Gartner is not small.

 

[malissa99]

We were at AKL end of October 2017 and it was crowded. We were originally booked at Contemporary for Sept but had to move it due to Irma and there was very limited availability. Much more crowded than our Septmeber 2015 AKL trip. But I think that seems to be the norm now. We’ll be looking at non fall dates for our next trip.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

So sad. I remember fondly October of 2013 when we did MNSSHP and the crowds were super light and free dining offers were plentiful and resort rates were still reasonable and the weather was gorgeous.

We still have one of those.

Unfortunately, it seems I discovered the beauty of WDW in the fall about the same time everyone else did.

 

[Shanti]

I'm planning on a 3 night stay in mid-October and am having a hard time finding availability at the Contemporary or Wilderness Lodge. It seems like a lot of rooms are booked solid at the high end resorts. I thought October would be a slower time to visit. Any ideas why?

October is one of WDW's busiest months now.

 

[SarahC97]

So sad. I remember fondly October of 2013 when we did MNSSHP and the crowds were super light and free dining offers were plentiful and resort rates were still reasonable and the weather was gorgeous.

We still have one of those.

Unfortunately, it seems I discovered the beauty of WDW in the fall about the same time everyone else did.

I went in October 2013 too -- and it was awesome. Then, I went in October 2016 and the difference was night and day. Even January of this year was what I would call incredibly crowded. So, for me, it's time to throw out crowd calendars and just go the time of year I enjoy because it all seems to be crowded now.

 

[Amy11401]

Do many people who go to the Gartner convention go to the parks?

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Do many people who go to the Gartner convention go to the parks?

Yes. Or they bring their families, who do. Tax write off trip!