Personal Experiences at 7 Month Window

[ricapito]

Inquiring minds want to know... for reference

Premier Season:
March 20 - 31
April 1-2
Dec 24-31

 

[tjkraz]

I don't have a lot of experiences, but here are the ones I remember:

* May / June stay (Memorial Day) / BCV Studio / Successfully booked at 6.5 mos.

* May stay / BWV PV Studio / Attempted to book at 4 mos; went on waitlist and received room 2 weeks later.

* May stay / BWV PV 1B / Booked at 3.5 mos.

(All of the above were the same trip--we changed resorts / dates / room sizes multiple times.)

* December stay (Saturday) / BCV Studio / Booked at 4 mos.

* May stay / BWV Standard 1B / Booked at 7 mos.
(I also called last week to see if I could extend the above BWV Standard View reservation by 1 night and was told that there is still availability 3 mos out.)

 

[mrsminniemouse]

I have only stayed at my home resort (SSR) so far so I haven't yet tried booking at 7 months but I want to try all the resorts so I will need to use the 7 month window at some point.

As we live in England and our journey is long, our trips are always for 14 or sometimes 21 nights. I guess getting a room at a smaller property like BCV or VWL could be even more difficult if I am booking 7 months out and need such a long duration. What I am trying to say is, I guess there must be more probability of finding a few nights available than there is of getting 2 weeks plus.

Anyone got experience of this? Not talking about Christmas, Easter or major holidays. Probably May, September or early December.

However, we had a great time at SSR so I certainly wont be upset if I cannot get into another resort. We loved SSR!

Mandy

 

[DukeStreetKing]

I have made 3 reservations at a "non-home" resort and have never had any problems with the 7 month window.

 

[lsutiggeratwk]

We own at VB and haven't stayed there yet. We have taken several trips to WDW and I always make the reservation exactly at the 7 month mark (not calling day by day) and have not had any problems getting what we want where we want it. Once I was going to give BWV a try, there was not vacancy and took our second choice, which I don't remember what it was. Anyway, DH and I are not real "picky" and have second choices. And we have not yet tried to make a reservation during "peak DVC" season.

 

[ricapito]

We own at VB and haven't stayed there yet. We have taken several trips to WDW and I always make the reservation exactly at the 7 month mark (not calling day by day) and have not had any problems getting what we want where we want it. Once I was going to give BWV a try, there was not vacancy and took our second choice, which I don't remember what it was. Anyway, DH and I are not real "picky" and have second choices. And we have not yet tried to make a reservation during "peak DVC" season.

I don't know if you saw my post on the regualr DVC area, but you are exactly the type of person I felt not only existed, but might be more common than I thought. I think you are on to something and appreciate your post...

 

[Coach Rick]

I may not have gotten my first choice, but that was mostly because I had certain demands. ie...I needed 2 studio's and a 2 bdr near each other....

 

[robinb]

I have been able to book somewhere other than my home resort in the 7 month window, but sometimes not my first choice. Last year I ended up at VWL because BCV and BWV were already full. One year I was able to book New Year's Eve at BCV in the 7 month window. Of course, that was the summer that the resort opened.

ETA: I think your poll should be be "First Choice" to make any sense in the context of your other posts on the subject.

 

[ricapito]

I thought about a "fist choice" option but it would have created too many other problems and felt I had to draw the line somewhere. Its just meant to be an approximation anyway...

 

[thegoods]

We own at OKW and VB for the 11 month priority for those times when we absolutely must travel during peak periods. We have never had a problem with booking at WDW during the 7 month window when staying outside OKW. Of course, we are not picky since any WDW DVC resort satisfies our desire to be on WDW grounds. There are wonderful things to do at each resort so we always have fun, no matter where we stay. We have found that if we are flexible in our dates, then we are able to try out all resorts very easily. That said, we had problems one summer (2000) getting into HH at 7 months so when we go there we find off season is much easier to get and we have not had a problem. Frankly, we like HH when the island is not so crowded.

Essentially, we are not selective about our location at WDW DVC resorts at 7 months. I think we will soon find that the off sites (HH and VB) will get tougher to get at 7 months because they are the only off site choices.

 

[Plus4206]

Two to three times a year I use the 7 month window..always get what I want, but I usually don't ask for much.

 

[DebbieB]

I've booked early/mid May the past 6 years at 7 months with no problem, OKW 1 bedroom. Two times I also added member cash nights and once an AP rate for weekend night(s).

 

[Shamus]

I thought about a "fist choice" option but it would have created too many other problems and felt I had to draw the line somewhere. Its just meant to be an approximation anyway...

I understand your comments here .... however.....leaving out the "first choice" makes this poll irrelevant to the arguments being made in the "buy where you want to stay the most" thread. The "Stay the Most" and "First Choice" parts go hand in hand. I thought since you mentioned the poll in that thread it would have had some direct relevance.

Anyway......The poll however is interesting in its own right.....

I once booked a room at VWL for my brother at the 7 month window (Studio- January) ......I had to waitlist the first day ... It never came through and he had to stay at OKW for the one night. Poor Guy

Shamus

 

[ricapito]

I understand your comments here .... however.....leaving out the "first choice" makes this poll irrelevant to the arguments being made in the "buy where you want to stay the most" thread. The "Stay the Most" and "First Choice" parts go hand in hand. I thought since you mentioned the poll in that thread it would have had some direct relevance.
Shamus

I also can't fihure out how to edit a poll?

 

[CRSNDSNY]

Thus far our waitlists have come through. That being said, I am very nervous about calling at 7-months for our upcoming December vacation. Currently we have a 2BR at SSR, but want to switch to BWV Standard. I really hope this one comes through if we don't get it from the start!

 

[kdonnel]

I have tried to book five trips at 7 months or less.

Four times I had my choice of resorts at Disney. All the WDW vacation club resorts had availability in my room size choice.

Once I tried to add a few pre trip days at Hilton Head. It was summer and a no go. That same trip I tried to add a few post trip days at Vero. It was still summer and still a no go.

 

[ricapito]

Wow, nearly 79% were able to book at a non-home resort at 7 months! I know a few of you maybe didnt get 1st choice but still this is a great relief to many of us who hope try many different resorts!

 

[sarhenty]

ok, so is it hard to get BCV at 7 months for the first week of October? A 2BR?

 

[dgaston]

For our first trip as owners (rented points 4x) we even got Standard view at BWV! That's a 1 BR.

 

[doubletrouble_vb]

I think this post would be a bit more relevant if it was limited to the last year... I'm wondering if the advent of SSR will impact my ability to stay when I want to stay never mind where I want to stay. I'm currently in a situation where I can't plan more than 7 months in advance...