October or June Use Year

[theostwalts]

I am considering becoming a DVC member with an initial buy in at BLT. Our normal vacation habits have been to travel to WDW in October or November. We are planning a trip for June 2009 for our middle dd's birthday.

At this point, we may keep going in October or November (really like MNSSHP and MVMCP) but I understand that this is a busy DVC time, unlike being considered a slower time for regular resorts.

I am sure we will go more often than one week per year if we buy in because we are only about an 8-9 hour drive away.

What use year should I go with considering BLT would be our home resort? If we do keep going in the summer and want to stay at AKV sometime would that be hard to book in the summer months?

Thanks

 

[drusba]

General advice is to get use year that begins fairly close to but before usual time you go each year. The only reason for that has to do with the risk of cancellation and how banking works. Regardless of use year you can go any time of year and always call to reserve 11 months in advance at home resort, 7 at others.

You can bank any of your points from one use year into the next for use in that subsequent year by doing so on or before the end of the eighth of your use year. That you cannot bank during those last 4 months creates the reason for the cancellation issue. Suppose you have Sep use year and then use Sep 08 points to reserve for Aug 09, the last month of your use year, come June 09 you have to cancel for some previously unforseen reason, points go back into your account but since it is June, the tenth month of your use year, you can't bank the points into your next use year and must use them for a trip that ends by Aug 31, 2009 . Now suppose you have an Aug use year and call and reserve for Sep 09 using Aug 09 points, in which case your trip is early in that use year, cancel in July 09 and points go back into account, you still have the full year, Aug 09 to July 2010 to use them and more than eight months to decide to bank them.

Thus if you usually go in Oct or Nov, a use year that begins Oct, Sep, Aug, or June is fine to assure you will have the cancellation/banking hedge (in fact you would even be good with an Apr or March use year). If you usually go in Oct or Nov but will also do summer, an April or June use year would be fine, and even March would be OK. Also, don't get tangled up in the issue too much as times of year you may go may change over the years.

AKV will be a large resort and should eventually (after the initial "it's new I got to stay there" period fades away) be fairly easy to get in the summer (a slower DVC time) at 7 months out as long as you want savanna view point cost room (those are 80% of all rooms).

 

[theostwalts]

Thanks for the reply. I guess at this point, if we are going to buy in at BLT, I am worried that if we do a Oct or Nov stay, it may be difficult to book BLT later than 11 months out. Do you think BLT will book up fast for those months?

 

[drusba]

Likely what you will see at BLT after it is done and settles into a pattern is that standard lower point cost rooms (11% of resort) will fill fairly early during the 11 month window any time of year. MK views may also do so. Lake views (majority of rooms) will likely be available well into the home resort window most times of year but may fill very quickly once you hit the 7 month window (at least early on when many will want to try the "new" resort). There will be times of year when reserving at 11 months out is extremely wise even for those Lake Views: any holiday period, the month of December. I do not think they will all go 11 months out in Oct and Nov (other than possibly Thanksgiving). Yes, it is a busy DVC time but some of that has to do with Epcot food and wine festival which makes BCV and BWV have very high demand and others are busy but not so that you cannot reserve somewhat later in the home resort window. Note it is always best to be able to call 11 months out because that gives you virtual certainty of getting exactly what you want, but most times of year, and except for specific categories of rooms like those standards will likely be at BLT, you should not have trouble calling later in the home resort priority period.