Reservations at home resort?

[Phudso]

Has anyone ever booked 11 months out and could not get a reservation at your home resort?

 

[Dean Marino]

Something we sometimes forget.... how LONG is your reservation? If it exceeds 7 days, you'll have to delay that 11 month window JUST enough to get all the dates you want.
However - if you are being outright rejected? CALL CALL CALL. You should at LEAST be able to see day 1 of your vacation as valid.

 

[wdrl]

Something we sometimes forget.... how LONG is your reservation? If it exceeds 7 days, you'll have to delay that 11 month window JUST enough to get all the dates you want.
However - if you are being outright rejected? CALL CALL CALL. You should at LEAST be able to see day 1 of your vacation as valid.

Its really not necessary to wait if you are booking more than 7 nights. You can book the first 7 nights (either online or by calling Member Services) as soon as you reach your 11-month window. Then, anytime beginning on day 2 through day 6 you can call MS to add subsequent days to your trip.

In answer to your question, the hardest reservation to book at the 11-month window is AKV-Concierge Club Level. There are only five vacation homes in that category so they are hard to book, even for AKV owners.

There are a few other categories, such as VGF studios and BWV Standard View, that can be a challenge, especially at certain times of the year. There are a couple of threads by drusba and skier_pete (see http://www.disboards.com/threads/pr...tudios-some-1-bedrooms.3419112/#post-53846436) that offer much more detailed look at booking history.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I'd answer that with the single exception of VGF in early Dec that no, people are not shut out of booking their resort right at 11 months. They may not get the exact room category if they are trying for one with very few rooms but there would be something available.

 

[southerngirl528]

They may not get the exact room category if they are trying for one with very few rooms but there would be something available.

Yes. What Kat4Disney said. It is possible to call at the opening of MS at the exact 11 month window and not get what you want, but really only in a real supply/demand scenario. IOW, like a GV at a resort that only has 6 of them. Or trying to book another very low quantity room like a Stnd View at BWV for a popular time like the first 1/2 of December. Situations like that are generally the only time someone could call at the 11 month mark and not get what they want. Now my TS with a competitor in Hawaii? Yikes. Do I have horror stories about THAT…..

 

[n2mm]

While I've seen standard rooms at both my homes, BLT and bwv, not be available at the exact 11 month window at 8:00am during both October and December, I could've gotten other views at those resorts during that times, just not the standard studios, which is one of the reasons I own at both of those resorts.

 

[drusba]

Because they are in high demand and limited numbers, and because members arriving just days before you can reserve up to 7 nights and thus get your arrival date, the following DVC booking categories at WDW have a real risk of being gone before you can reserve 11 months out from your date of arrival during the following times of the year (for AKV and BWV this is based on tracking the last three years; for other resorts it is based mainly on tracking allowed since June 2014 when the resort availability tool first showed up on the DVC offical member site):

AKV club level studios and 2BRs, and OKW grand villas in the Hospitality House booking category, disappear before 11 months out about 80% of the year.

AKV value studios and 2BRs can be gone during DVC's high demand season, late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan, during holidays and special weekends (such as princess half marathon weekend in Feb) during DVC's low to moderate demand season, mid-Jan to late Sep, and then just random other times during that low to moderate demand season.

BLT standard view (all room categories including 1BRs which often disapear in standard view before the studios) follows a similar pattern but not quite as bad as AKV value studios and 2BRs.

VGF studios (and as a result 2BR lock-offs) during DVC's high demand season with highest risk during the extremely high DVC demand times: first and second week of Dec, Christmas week, Tues to Fri of Thanksgiving week, Marathon weekend in Jan, Columbus Day weekend in Oct, the weekend after Columbus Day, and the weekend in first part of Nov that has the Food and Wine race. Even VGF 1BRs have a risk of missing a night or tweo during those extremely high DVC demand times. Also, the studios have some risk of disappearing before 11 months out, or more likely early in the morning exactly 11 months out, during holiday and special weekends in DVC's low to moderate demand season.

BWV standard and boardwalk view studios and 2BRs, and BWV grand villas have a risk of being gone 11 months out during those extremely high DVC demand times mentioned above. Also, particularly BWV standard studios and 2BRs, have a risk of disappearing at other times during the high DVC demand season, and holiday and special weekends during the low to moderate DVC demand season, although the risk is usually more of one of disappearing in the morning shortly after the 11 month window opens rather than before 11 months out.

BLT grand villas have disappeared before 11 months out for some nights during first week of Dec and marathon weekend in Jan.

I have also tracked DVC resorts in locations other than WDW since the availabilty tool showed up and during that time the only room category that has disappeared before 11 months out, and does so a substantial portion of the time, is the standard view grand villa at Aulani.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Has anyone ever booked 11 months out and could not get a reservation at your home resort?

We did once. However, in fairness, it was partially because we waited a couple hours after the 11 month window opened. And combine that with the fact that it was for the BCV during the F&W festival. So it didn't surprise us to be on the waiting list. Since then, we've booked BCV within the first 1/2 hour of the 11 month window opening and been OK.