Questions about the waitlist

[Deranged Hermit]

I'm very new to the DVC experience (our points haven't even loaded yet) so I had a few questions.
My wife and I want to spend a few days in Orlando mid-January for our 25th anniversary. While my points haven't loaded yet, I'm still able to view availability and it looks bleak. We don't mind checking out different resorts so a split stay is fine.
Anyway, on to the questions:
* What are the odds of something shaking free? There's some availability at Saratoga Springs, but only to cover the second half of when we want to stay.
*What are the best strategies to succeed on waitlists? Should I do multiple waitlists because we are not choosey? January 12-15 are our problem area right now.

 

[dez1978]

If you bought direct, call Member services and see about a Welome Home reservation. Sometimes they can work "magic" if it's your 1st trip.

 

[Deranged Hermit]

If you bought direct, call Member services and see about a Welome Home reservation. Sometimes they can work "magic" if it's your 1st trip.

I did not buy direct, but it would be our first trip. I'll give it a try anyway when my points load up.

 

[RoseGold]

If the "second half" is three days, your odds are not good. Getting a week straight in the same category is unlikely. DVC has dozens of categories of rooms between views and sizes and accessibility options.

That said, I've always been able to get something, especially with some time, a lot of stalking, and some waitlists. I don't mind moving, I kind of enjoy it, so no big deal to me.

You only get two waitlists. I'd book what you can and do a day at a time with a room with a whole lot of inventory, like SSR or Kidani.

 

[Deranged Hermit]

If the "second half" is three days, your odds are not good. Getting a week straight in the same category is unlikely. DVC has dozens of categories of rooms between views and sizes and accessibility options.

That said, I've always been able to get something, especially with some time, a lot of stalking, and some waitlists. I don't mind moving, I kind of enjoy it, so no big deal to me.

You only get two waitlists. I'd book what you can and do a day at a time with a room with a whole lot of inventory, like SSR or Kidani.

We were looking to stay Jan 12 and check out the 20th. SSR has the 12th, and the 16th-19th available. Basically we are missing the Friday, Saturday and Sunday days.
*edit* We are definitely open to two different hotels. We actually like staying different places.

 

[Sandisw]

Once you have your points, I would definitely book what you can and go from there. I would waitlist SSR and stalk to try and piece it together.

You did not say room size, but that is another option with a split stay. Good luck.

 

[Deranged Hermit]

Once you have your points, I would definitely book what you can and go from there. I would waitlist SSR and stalk to try and piece it together.

You did not say room size, but that is another option with a split stay. Good luck.

It's just my wife and I, so just a regular room is fine to be honest.

 

[Her Dotness]

It's just my wife and I, so just a regular room is fine to be honest.

You say that now, but I'm tellin' ya "Tain't necessarily so." From experience. Only two of us as well.

If you'll have enough points for a 1br, look for one of those. Your chances are better because that's a points-pricey category and not nearly as popular as studios for that reason.

Studios tend to go first and stay gone unless someone must cancel.

Booking a 1br first stay, even a split, can spoil you horribly, though. It's soooo nice if one of you has insomnia and wants a snack or some tv in the middle of the night. You can go into the living room-kitchen area and not wake the other.

We added 25pts two years after that 1br first stay to feed our need for nothing but a 1br. We now have enough points for a 1br in any WDW resort for a week annually. You've been warned.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

That is MLK weekend which is part of your troubles. It might work out but might not.

 

[tjkraz]

If you have to waitlist something, Saratoga Springs preferred view would probably be the easiest to get. After that it's a toss up between things like Old Key West (non Hospitality House), Animal Kingdom Lodge Savanna or Standard view and SSR Standard View. You can only have 2 active waitlist requests at a time. If some nights are available when you have points, book what you can. But the SSR nights you see now could be taken by someone hours or minutes later.

Studios are the most popular room size, so that hurts your chances. One Bedroom villas are much easier to get. It may be more points than you want to spend and more space than you need, but booking on <3 months notice is not ideal. Those are the tough decisions you have to make.

 

[sndral]

Once you have your points loaded, grab what you can get, put your waitlists in place & then stalk the availability calendar several times a day, if one of your days shows up grab it. I’ve had more success w/ stalking the availability calendar than with waitlists.
I love 1 br.s, they are point hogs, but the space is wonderful & I really like the washer/dryer in the unit.

 

[kda]

Congratulations on your DVC purchase and your upcoming anniversary!

I'll second the advice to stalk for rooms, after you have submitted the 2 waitlists. I needed 5 nights in a studio in early January for good friends, not realizing that the dates were over the big marathon weekend. It was a shock when I saw NOTHING in a studio for the dates I needed. This was 7 weeks ago. Since I'm retired, I can check availability several times a day. Over the course of the last 7 weeks, I put together 5 nights at SSR Preferred by stalking and using the waitlist. I knew they really wanted Kidani, Savannah view, so started a new hunt and just got 5 nights there by stalking and using the waitlist. Sometimes waitlists never come through, and sometimes they do. Waitlist plus stalking increases chances of success.

Short (1-2 night) waitlists have a better chance of being filled than a week, because the entire week has to be available at one time. So, start with whatever night or nights you can get and put in a waitlist for nights before or after that. If you have success stalking and end up with individual nights, you can contact Member Services via phone or Chat to merge the nights together into a single reservation.

I'd also suggest that while waiting for your points to load, you use this time to check for availability and watch how much things can change. People cancel and change reservations on an ongoing basis. That said, I've seen a week go by with no rooms availabile for the dates I needed, so don't get discouraged.

 

[Disdreaming479]

try Swan maybe for the days you can’t get.

 

[Deranged Hermit]

Well, everything is loaded and I put in two different requests for Saratoga Springs. Fingers crossed.

 

[Deranged Hermit]

I must be missing something. We decided to go in February since there was open availability in Saratoga Springs, bur everytime I try to book, I get the 7 dwarves "something went wrong but we're working on it". Starting to get very, very vexed.

 

[Sandisw]

I must be missing something. We decided to go in February since there was open availability in Saratoga Springs, bur everytime I try to book, I get the 7 dwarves "something went wrong but we're working on it". Starting to get very, very vexed.

Give MS a call. There may be an issue with your account, especially if it was newly set up.