So Frustrating!

[Capwkidd]

Why does it have to be so hard to find a place to stay at the end of October/Start of November?

I realized, maybe 2 weeks ago, that the last halloween party and the first Christmas part where a week apart, so I picked up tickets for both of them. Then I needed to make sure I could get a flight out and back, easy, the flight out I picked up right away, $128, super cheap.... The flight back was going to be $319, so I waited until it went down, it went down to like $118, I used my points, and covered the flight back, great! Then I worked on getting the rooms, I wanted to stay at a Disney Resort for the first few nights, then got to Sapphire Falls for a couple of nights, then back to Disney. Well, this is where the problems started, Sapphire falls did not have availability the nights I wanted, so I picked dates earlier in my stay, so I got the first 4 days booked (2 at Disney, 2 at Universal). Now, I find that only 1 resort has availability the last 5 nights, and there are no other slit stays available, and of course this 1 resort is expensive, over my budget, but what else am I going to do? So frustrating, this is the first time I have had issues getting rooms, last time I was there, I did not even get a room until I was 1/2 way between the airport and the Magic Kingdom. I realize, things can change, and availability could change, and I have thought about staying at Universal for the entire trip, or more days.... But we will see what happens. Any ideas? Suggestions? Sympathy (lol)?

I realize, I "could have" booked earlier, but it took time for the pieces to start falling into place.

Seemed like you can't take a trip to Disney world for less than a couple a grand each time.... Maybe I should purchase DVC... Hmm.... Then I would have to plan everything at least 7 months out (so I hear from DVC members).....

Just sharing my frustration....

 

[DrunkJam]

Honestly, we have to book well over a year out to get the availability we want. I WISH things were less of an organisational challenge going to Disney, but, I guess, it is what it is?

I REALLY hope you can get what you want though, I think people do change their plans last minute and stuff opens up.

have a fabulous trip anyway!

 

[Capwkidd]

Thanks, appreciated!

 

[mommyrosa2]

Ditto on what the pp said. What used to be a quiet time to go, just isn't anymore. Keep trying as things change constantly and good luck!

 

[kristenrice]

Seemed like you can't take a trip to Disney world for less than a couple a grand each time.... Maybe I should purchase DVC... Hmm.... Then I would have to plan everything at least 7 months out (so I hear from DVC members).....

If you were a DVC member and want to book in Oct/Nov, you have to book ELEVEN months out...or really hope and pray that there is anything left at 7 months.

We secured our home resort (AKV) at 11 months out for a week in October. At 7 months, we wanted to switch to the Boardwalk to be with the rest of the family. At 9am on the day the window opened, I could only get 3 of the 7 nights I wanted. I had to waitlist and I did manage to get two more...but that was it. We wanted a 1BR, but had we wanted a studio, we would have been at the mercy of the waitlist.

So owning DVC would only help you travel in the fall if you are able to book MORE THAN 7 months out...and wanting a 1BR would help.

I hope you are able to find something. I got an offer in the mail yesterday for All-Star Sports starting at $89/night for select dates this fall. It was an AP offer, but perhaps they have some availability.

 

[Capwkidd]

Thanks mommyrosa2, appreciated!

Hmm, I did not get an email about an AP deal... I have the one for both. A and FL....

 

[buzznina]

I feel your pain With everything going on, school, jobs etc. we rarely can make a reservation outside of 6 months. We just booked a March trip and this has been the earliest that we have booked a trip in years.
Just keep trying, rooms are always opening up.

 

[kristenrice]

Thanks mommyrosa2, appreciated!

Hmm, I did not get an email about an AP deal... I have the one for both. A and FL....

It was inside the back cover of the Mickey Monitor...I assumed that was the passholder mailing.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

I never book non-refundable airfare until I have my hotel in place. WDW's room change/cancellation policies are much more flexible than the airlines. You could have put a payment down on a room while you were waiting for the airfare to come down. I understand you have a travel puzzle to put together, but, IMHO, you should have put the hotel puzzle together first.

 

[Capwkidd]

I never book non-refundable airfare until I have my hotel in place. WDW's room change/cancellation policies are much more flexible than the airlines. You could have put a payment down on a room while you were waiting for the airfare to come down. I understand you have a travel puzzle to put together, but, IMHO, you should have put the hotel puzzle together first.

There was also the matter of getting the time off, which also caused a delay... oh well, I get your point...

I usually like to go the start of December, since that seems to be the best time to go with not so hot weather and of course all the nice decorations ..... but I want to try some new experiences as I am about to hit a new age milestone....

 

[robinb]

Did you try the Swan/Dolphin? Could you slip your Sapphire Falls resort to one end or the other and not have to change hotels so much? Have you considered renting a condo or a timeshare? It sounds like you have an AP so you'll get free parking.

 

[NeedMoreMickey]

My husband surprised me with an email saying let's go to WDW for our 25th anniversary, only 53 days to plan. We had to push it back to the last week of October because that's when I found a room at BC. Got very lucky, at first only could find a 1 bdrm at Boardwalk so I booked it. Early the next day found a room at water view BC and I check every day less expensive room and nothing. With the Food & Wine festival the Epcot resorts fill up quickly. WDW has turned into a need to plan way in advance kind of place.

Happy New Age Milestone Day. Always a good reason to go to WDW and celebrate.

 

[Hopefully]

No Sympathy here Not only could you have booked your room earlier, you should have booked your room first. It is a small, refundable deposit. October through December is a very busy time of year. It often sells out fast.
As PP stated, we are DVC owners and we book our October trips exactly 11 months to the day in advance. Airfare, tickets, even time off requests all come later.
Live and learn I guess, because it is what it is now.

 

[ktlm]

The Disney Wine and Dine half Marathon is November 3-6. That may be the issue with the end of your stay. There is another person posting today that they have had BC booked for 6 months and are supposed to arrive on November 7, and they received a call today telling them that BC was overbooked, that they did not have room for them, and the ONLY alternative was to be moved to AKL. I would either book the expensive room (if you can afford it) or book Universal or off property and then keep trying to see if maybe a room somewhere on property might open up (the deadline to pay of the trip is now 30 days instead of 45 for people with packages, so that 30 day mark might open something up).

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

It's absolutely possible to book last-minute or just a couple of months out. But sometimes you get caught up at peak times. It's always better to nail your room reservation down first before you purchase any potential non-refundables like airfare or special event tickets. I feel your pain here, but don't blame Disney.

 

[Kevin355]

I would try calling WDW directly. What has shown sold out on the website has been open with a CM. You may not get the resort you want, but they will find something.

 

[Capwkidd]

Ok... update... I called and asked if I can extend my stay at All Star Movies.... and they where able to do that, but no AP discount.... so I cancellled my other resorts stays..... for now, staying at 1 resort the entire stay.... it's a value, so, no excitement, but it's cheap . I won't have to worry about getting from the airport and to the airport either....

Nice to minimize my stress! lol..... now to start working on the other trips this year for my other destinations...

 

[Boopuff]

Try calling. Give your dates. Be very flexible. The agent should be able to get you in. Now you will probably have to do a split stay. Could be worth it. Good luck.

 

[Dave006]

Ok... update... I called and asked if I can extend my stay at All Star Movies.... and they where able to do that, but no AP discount.... so I cancellled my other resorts stays..... for now, staying at 1 resort the entire stay.......

You might want to check back around the 45 day mark and again at the 30 day mark. The 45 day mark used to be when the final payment was due for "Packages", last chance to cancel without penalty. The 30 day mark is now when the final payment is now due for packages. I have always had good luck around these dates by calling.

Note: The web offerings are almost always a subset of what CRO can offer based on actual availability.

Dave

 

[tizzant]

No Sympathy here Not only could you have booked your room earlier, you should have booked your room first. It is a small, refundable deposit. October through December is a very busy time of year. It often sells out fast.
As PP stated, we are DVC owners and we book our October trips exactly 11 months to the day in advance. Airfare, tickets, even time off requests all come later.
Live and learn I guess, because it is what it is now.

We changed our dates around mid august to the end of october/early november (we're doing the same thing the OP is with the parties). We have a military member with us and lol, the very idea of trying to plan anything, much less a vacation, 11 months out is hilarious and absurd to me. I don't know about the OP, but there's lots of people out there far from a position to be able to plan things 3 months in advanced, much less 11 months. It's great you can, but "no sympathy here *smiley face*" comes off incredibly condescending and I can't imagine you meant it that way.

OP I feel for you. We ended up getting everything we wanted (we're staying at pop, got all our dining reservations, perfect fast passes, etc) and now we're just waiting for the day to go. Hope you manage to finish smoothing it over.