PLEASE help! How hard is it to get ressie 7 months out at non-home resort?

[disprincess2213]

We are thinking of buying DVC at a resort that would not be our first choice (for monetary reasons). Anyways, we rarely would ever book 11 months out...the questions is, how hard is it to get rooms at more popular locations (Bay lake Towers for example) at the 7 month mark during low seasons? We typically travel Sept-November and Jan-Feb (not on school breaks).

Sorry for the urgency but we are looking to buy soon. We dont know if the home resort is THAT important if we usually dont book 11 months out.

Any of your thoughts would be SO appreciated!! Thank you!!

 

[DizBub]

We are thinking of buying DVC at a resort that would not be our first choice (for monetary reasons). Anyways, we rarely would ever book 11 months out...the questions is, how hard is it to get rooms at more popular locations (Bay lake Towers for example) at the 7 month mark during low seasons? We typically travel Sept-November and Jan-Feb (not on school breaks).

Sorry for the urgency but we are looking to buy soon. We dont know if the home resort is THAT important if we usually dont book 11 months out.

Any of your thoughts would be SO appreciated!! Thank you!!

Honestly, if those are your travel times and you want to stay at BLT or the Epcot resorts then you should buy there and plan to book at 11 months. Late Sept - Nov is F&W and booking anywhere later is very tight. January is low points time so DVC fills up. Plus there is Marathon Week.

Not saying it's impossible but unlikely. I had my reservation booked at 11 months at BLT this year for Oct and had to cancel at 7 months. I'm sure I made someone's day. I wasn't able to switch at 7 months for BLT (they were totally booked) so we ended up at OKW. Still had a good time and saved a ton of points to boot.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Home resort is only important if you will be booking at 11 months out and at least prior to 7 months out. If that won't be the norm then just buy at a less expensive resort but it also might raise the question if a timeshare is the best route to go.

Oct & Nov are very very popular DVC times so I would not count on getting anything outside your home resort at 7 months although that isn't to say you won't. Just don't count on it. Early/mid Sept shouldn't be too difficult to get outside of your home resort nor will be Jan and Feb other than the marathon weekend and perhaps holidays. You also should not count on getting certain categories at some resorts at 7 months such as standard view at BLT, value and concierge at AKV and often standard and boardwalk view at BWV. BCV can also be difficult to get into.

In the end, at least buy someplace that you'll be ok staying at. And for Oct thru New Years you really want to at least book your home resort prior to 7 months out and then try and switch - it's a time that is only increasing in popularity.

 

[disneynutz]

If home resort was not important, everyone would only own the cheapest resort.

Bill

 

[PlutoFan10]

There is lots of information already posted on this board about this, so do some searching.

Not a simple answer. Depends what time you will be traveling (low crowd times for other resorts are not always low times for DVC), what type of room/view you would want to book, etc.

Also important is if you will be ready to book at EXACTLY 7 months. That would give you the best chance to get what you want.

There is much discussion about whether it's best to buy a lower-priced resort (SSR) and book elsewhere, if desired, at 7 months, or to buy where you want to stay. Some DVC members book at their home resort prior to the 7 month mark, so they're sure they have a reservation at their desired time. Then, they look to change to another resort at 7 months. No guarantees, but many have been able to book at 7 months at non-home resort.

Do more research and good luck!

 

[disprincess2213]

If I shouldnt count on getting other resorts at 7 months out, how do people stay at different resorts as a DVC member?
If we are not a family to book at 11 months out, would that mean that DVC isnt right for us?
I guess the question is on availability of rooms. We are only a family of 3 so we wont need a big room at this time, probably only studios. We actually dont care too much about the views either.
Is the DVC only good for those who plan very far in advance??

 

[disprincess2213]

I have been doing a ton of research but only see two pages on "purchasing DVC".

Sorry to ask these questions I wasnt able to find them

But appreciate all the help and feedback!! thanks everyone!!

 

[PlutoFan10]

Are you able to book at 7 1/2 months? Your home resort only matters if you will book more than 7 months out. As each month goes by, you'll need to just check availability and see what you can get. If you are somewhat flexible on dates, even better. Usually there will be several choices, especially right at 7 months. If you wait until 2 months before your trip, the choices are probably quite limited, from what I've seen. If your family wants to plan trips consistently significantly later than the 7 month mark, you may want to reconsider a DVC purchase -- especially if where you stay makes a difference to you.

 

[RobDoc]

If I shouldnt count on getting other resorts at 7 months out, how do people stay at different resorts as a DVC member?
If we are not a family to book at 11 months out, would that mean that DVC isnt right for us?
I guess the question is on availability of rooms. We are only a family of 3 so we wont need a big room at this time, probably only studios. We actually dont care too much about the views either.
Is the DVC only good for those who plan very far in advance??

The three largest DVC resorts (SSR, OKW and AKV) will have the most availability at 7 months. If you don't mind staying at one of those resorts, you will generally be able to get a reservation right at 7 months.

If you are wanting to stay at a specific resort (BLT), you just need to be prepared that you may not always be able to find availability within 7 months. This is also true for villa types/categories with limited numbers to begin with (value villas, club level villas, BW view villas, some GVs, etc.) and some of those options won't even be available to some owners at those resorts even at 11 months because of how few villas meet those expectations.

If you don't really care where you stay and won't be disappointed with any resort, then you will be fine most of the time. Flexibility of your dates and villa type may be an important consideration since everything is based on availability.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If I shouldnt count on getting other resorts at 7 months out, how do people stay at different resorts as a DVC member?
If we are not a family to book at 11 months out, would that mean that DVC isnt right for us?
I guess the question is on availability of rooms. We are only a family of 3 so we wont need a big room at this time, probably only studios. We actually dont care too much about the views either.
Is the DVC only good for those who plan very far in advance??

There are so many factors that come into play and as was said if there were never issues changing at 7 months everyone would buy the cheapest resort. Will you have to have a certain accommodation? Are you going to always want BLT? Are you fixed on the dates you can go or will you have flexibility? None of us have said that you won't be able to get anything else but just are pointing out that if you're going to count on it happening everytime you may be disappointed. Also, don't dismiss when we state that the last quarter of the year is very popular. Even the largest resorts are booking up right around 7 months for certain times.

Studios usually book up fastest so just wanting a small room puts you in a popular category.

Much depends on your level of expectations. People who own where they want to stay and book right at 11 months are going to have almost no issues with DVC but there are people that will come back and state that they aren't able to get into such and such resort at 5 months out and are very upset. But if you're flexible DVC can still work at 7 months.

 

[DizBub]

If I shouldnt count on getting other resorts at 7 months out, how do people stay at different resorts as a DVC member?
If we are not a family to book at 11 months out, would that mean that DVC isnt right for us?
I guess the question is on availability of rooms. We are only a family of 3 so we wont need a big room at this time, probably only studios. We actually dont care too much about the views either.
Is the DVC only good for those who plan very far in advance??

You can get other resorts at 7 months. We've all done this. But you specified BLT at the times you want to travel. Sept - Nov is very hard even if you own there at 7 months.

If you won't be upset if you don't get someplace you have your heart set on then DVC could work well for you and your family. I suspect you are looking at buying into SSR and trying to get BLT at 7 months. It could happen....I lucked out one year and was able to get a 2 bedroom at BCV during the opening of F&W. After that got shut out 2 years in a row but managed to get BWV last year in Oct. We ended up buying a resale contract at BCV.

Studios and 2 bedrooms book up fastest and 1 bedrooms seem to book up last. So you may have luck with that.

Of course, SSR seems to have the most availability since it is the largest resort. Good news is that it's a wonderful place and it is our resort of choice quite often. I can't plan ALL of our trips at 11 months either and have stayed at all the WDW DVC resorts except VWL and VGF.

 

[PlutoFan10]

I'll add that I didn't expect to plan at 11 months when we became DVC members, but I do now. There is a nice dashboard when you log in as a DVC member that tells you what booking dates are coming up -- 11 month mark and 7 month mark. Gets me thinking! Actually, right after I complete a trip, I'm thinking about when we'd want to go next!!

 

[Geomom]

It really depends on the time of year. We own at OKW, so generally, I'll wait until exactly 7mths and try and book somewhere else...knowing that OKW, SSR, and AKV will likely be available. We usually travel in either Feb or April vacations--and I usually have no problem getting another resort right at 7 mths (BWV or BCV...even VGF the February after it opened) as long as it's not around Easter. We've travelled in August and I had to do a split stay--couldn't get a full week at VWL, but we wanted to try it, so did a split stay with Jambo house (also new to us.) We have also received the resort we want from waitlist--we booked OKW at 7 mths for Columbus Day weekend, put BWV on the waitlist right at 7 mths and it came through in July! We've also have occasions that the waitlist didn't come through... I think you can make it work, just make sure you'll be happy with your home resort if that's the only place you can stay!

 

[DisneyDiana]

There really is no simple answer to your question I would not buy if I couldn't at least book 8 months or so in advance. You will very often hear that you can get AKV, SSR, and OKWat 7 months but that is not always true. Example: I am a teacher in New Jersey. We often like to go during early Novemberwhen all Jersey schools are off. I do not want to stay at SSR. This year I could not get any resort for all of my days at 7 months. I dropped the ball and did not have AKV booked since I wasn't sure we were going this year. We have to fill n a few days by staying at Pop I am not thrilled but it is my own fault. Most of the time you can get AKV but not for absolute certain. That is our preferred resort so that ,and BWV, are where we own.

 

[drusba]

I have been doing a ton of research but only see two pages on "purchasing DVC".

Sorry to ask these questions I wasnt able to find them

But appreciate all the help and feedback!! thanks everyone!!

See my post, no. 3, on this page: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3281173&highlight=availability

 

[disprincess2213]

You guys are awesome!! Thank you so so much. This is truly helping us!! I am starting to see the picture!! Does anyone know the low/high seasons for booking? or that may be a silly question as it must differ!!

I like hearing everyone's experiences!!

We are extremely flexible with dates/times of the year and have no REAL preference on where to stay...we actually would love to try somewhere new every time!!

Thanks again everyone!!!

 

[Lynne M]

If I shouldnt count on getting other resorts at 7 months out, how do people stay at different resorts as a DVC member?
If we are not a family to book at 11 months out, would that mean that DVC isnt right for us?
I guess the question is on availability of rooms. We are only a family of 3 so we wont need a big room at this time, probably only studios. We actually dont care too much about the views either.
Is the DVC only good for those who plan very far in advance??

Timeshares, in general, tend to be frustrating for people who are not advance planners.

The problem is partly the resort you want, and partly the time of year you're traveling. BLT is very popular because of the easy monorail/MK access, it's not one of the largest DVC resorts, and you're traveling during DVC's highest-occupancy season. That's going to add up to a possibly rough time getting the reservation you want.

The people who are having an easier time of booking at 7 months are probably going for the resorts with the largest number of villas (SSR, OKW, AKV), or are traveling between mid-January and early September. The time from Thanksgiving and New Years is exceptionally busy; if you plan to travel then, you will absolutely need the 11 month window, and you'll want to call early on the day the window opens. From the end of September to mid-November, you've got the Food and Wine Festival, which is very popular with members, and all of the holiday parties (MNSSHP, MVMCP).

It's not 100% impossible to get BLT if you book at 7 months out, but given your preferred travel time, you're going to be spending a lot of time dealing with waitlists and wondering if you're going to get your reservation.

The other resort you're looking at may be cheaper, but if your heart is set on BLT, or BCV, or BWV, or VWL, it it really worth the expense? To me, that's no bargain, to spend thousands of dollars on a timeshare other than the one I really want, and then stress out every time I'm planning a vacation.

One alternative would be to rent points for awhile, and continue to save until you can afford a contract at the resort you really want.

 

[crisi]

If I shouldnt count on getting other resorts at 7 months out, how do people stay at different resorts as a DVC member?
If we are not a family to book at 11 months out, would that mean that DVC isnt right for us?
I guess the question is on availability of rooms. We are only a family of 3 so we wont need a big room at this time, probably only studios. We actually dont care too much about the views either.
Is the DVC only good for those who plan very far in advance??

They don't count on it. It often works out - although some reservations are harder to get than others. For instance, Epcot resorts during Food and Wine - many people bought BWV or BCV just for that six week period - so by the time the seven month window opens up, there isn't a lot of availability at those two resorts. What availability there is disappears fast - as tens of thousands of members from other resorts think that maybe this year they'll book at BWV/BCV for F&W. Studios usually book first. But for those going in Feburary, who don't need standard view rooms (those go quickly at both BWV and BLT year round), BLT lake view and BWV preferred view aren't likely to be an issue seven months out.

If you want what you want when you want it, you need to own there and book early. If you are fine with anywhere at WDW and if you get what you want, you'll be delighted, not disappointed - then you can make a lower cost resort work.

 

[disneynutz]

My Motto is to buy where you love to stay and hope for your second favorite. Often you won't have any difficulty booking but are you willing to risk it?

Remember as new owners are added to the mix, the competition for 7 month booking increases and you might have your contract for 30 or more years. Any idea of the changes and number of people online at 8 AM booking at 7 months now, in 10 years, 20 years?

Bill

 

[disprincess2213]

See my post, no. 3, on this page: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3281173&highlight=availability

thank you SO MUCH...exactly what we needed!! thank yoiu!!!!