stalking pays off!

[tigger175]

Two weeks ago we had to change dates for our Thanksgiving trip (added two nights at beginning of week and leaving earlier). There were no rooms of any size or view anywhere on DVC points. We did 2 waitlists but would have taken anything rather than having to pay oop.

Decided to stalk the MS page for availability and it paid off - just got a Savannah View studio at AKL for both nights! So excited as we have never stayed there before. Studio will be tight but worth it (2 teenagers, DH and I). Plan to relax and enjoy everything the resort has to offer before we move to 2BR at home resort of BWV. Persistence pays off.

 

[DizBub]

Congraulations!! It's good to know that you can pick something up last minute. Have fun!!

 

[harpetj]

Congrats! Same story here! We added onto our Nov. trip and needed to add the Sun-Wed. of Thanksgiving week. I was able to book a studio at OKW (we are LOW on points....took what we can afford ). Then I waitlisted the other 2 nights and all 3 at BWV. I have been stalking online for the last week or so a couple times a day. I was able to get the other 2 nights at OKW today! The first night is HH, and the other 2 are standard, but hopefully the first night comes through in the standard. I was surprised at how many nights pop in and out of availability. If you really try hard, you can get something 2 months out and during a holiday!

 

[Carolyn]

How exactly are you stalking a DVC reservation? I am currently waiting on a waitlist, but have doubts that it will come through. Thanks for the information.
Carolyn

 

[Breyean]

How exactly are you stalking a DVC reservation? I am currently waiting on a waitlist, but have doubts that it will come through. Thanks for the information.
Carolyn

If you have internet access and time during the day, you go to the online booking section of the DVC member site and check the dates/resort you want as often as you can. As soon as someone cancels their reservation, that night will show up as available. The trick is getting to it online before the wait list is run against newly opened nights and to snatch it up before it disappears.

I've been able to book two quickie vacations withing 3 months each time, at VGC doing this. One for the week including July 4th and another for the week before Christmas coming up. For the July 4th one, I posted about my luck on the board, and to let others know the whole week, which had been unavailable for quite a while, had come open that day. I only grabbed a few days and wanted to let another Dis member get a crack at it. Turns out someone responded that they had a wait list for the exact days/room size I had grabbed and he wasn't too happy.

Anyway. That's the basics. Check often. Grab it when you see it. Good luck.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

I did this just a few weeks ago for my early October dates and one day there it was... I had not even bothered to waitlist

 

[tigger175]

Exactly Breyean! I would sign on to member website whenever I had free time and go to book vacation page. Started with first choice of resort - tried each room type then went to next preferred resort, etc. Often found one day but didn't want to move twice, so kept trying till I found this studio. Also, I went ahead and cancelled my waitlist because we decided we wanted to keep AKL since we had never stayed there and who know when we get the chance again.

 

[robinb]

I'm surprised there is a window of time between when a reservation is cancelled and when waitlisted are checked. I would have thought that checking the waitlists was all part of the cancelation process in the computer.

 

[NC State Tigger]

I needed 4 studios for one night in December before our cruise.
I booked them at OKW 'cause that was the only resort with 4 available. Wait listed and "stalked" trying to get 4 studios at BLT. Got 2 studios thru the wait list and 2 by "stalking".
Now we can all walk "home" after MVMCP!

 

[Breyean]

I'm surprised there is a window of time between when a reservation is cancelled and when waitlisted are checked. I would have thought that checking the waitlists was all part of the cancelation process in the computer.

There were a couple of threads about the process back when we started seeing these kinds of snatches taking place after online booking started. Members who know a whole lot more than I about how DVC works seemed to think the wait list is only run as a batch, maybe only once a day, while the cancellations show opening right away.

I look at it like this - Before online booking there were always members who posted about how they had called MS to check on a wait list request, only to be told their request could be filled right then and there. People were, of course, always happy when that happened, but it's really just the same thing as what we can now do ourselves online. The rooms become available and sit there waiting for someone to call MS for those days or one of us to get online and snatch them up. If that doesn't happen, then they are matched against open wait list requests whenever that is done.

 

[Moparlar]

I did the same thing, we are going at the end of next month and my DW decided to go a day early. Guess what no rooms anywhere, I did a waitlist but kept checking and saw a room available online so I called right away. At first I was told not available but she kept trying and then we got it. It is the way it works.

Larry

 

[robinb]

There were a couple of threads about the process back when we started seeing these kinds of snatches taking place after online booking started. Members who know a whole lot more than I about how DVC works seemed to think the wait list is only run as a batch, maybe only once a day, while the cancellations show opening right away.

If that is true, then it's a wonder that anyone comes off the waitlist during busy times and we will all turn into Pavlovian website "stalkers" to get the dates we want. *sigh*

 

[disneyeveryyear]

If that is true, then it's a wonder that anyone comes off the waitlist during busy times and we will all turn into Pavlovian website "stalkers" to get the dates we want. *sigh*

I had 2 waitlists set up for our trip 1/1 - 1/7/13. We had a 2bedroom lockoff at SSR, but I had a waitlist for OKW and THV. I was also stalking one night and found a 2BR at SSR (not lockoff), so first I changed to it, but left the waitlists.

One morning I was stalking and nothing, later that afternoon while stalking, I found that our waitlist at OKW had come through. I had to reset the THV waitlist as it had cancelled when OKW came through. I just wonder how far down on the waitlist I dropped.

So, it does cycle through during the day, but I have also successfully stalked the internet.

 

[DeeCee735]

What's the "ms" page?

 

[Mousewerks]

What's the "ms" page?

dvcmember.com I think..

 

[Carolyn]

I just want to say thank you for telling me to stalk the DVC member site. I had gotten all but one day. Today I got the last day. I am so happy and a firm believer in stalking now!
Carolyn

 

[palhockeymomof2]

Sooo glad I saw this post I had wait listed 2 nights the end of October at BWV for my son and his fiancé .....if I didn't get it no big deal they would have slept on the pull out in our 1 br......checked the website this morning and found them a sv studio for the 2 nights I needed

 

[marsh0013]

Sooo glad I saw this post I had wait listed 2 nights the end of October at BWV for my son and his fiancé .....if I didn't get it no big deal they would have slept on the pull out in our 1 br......checked the website this morning and found them a sv studio for the 2 nights I needed

that's awesome, i've been piecing together a stay at the end of oct into beginning of nov. i see that right now my first 2 nights (oct 29 and oct 30) are available in standard view at bwv. we currently have oct 29-nov 2 in bwv pool/garden studio, then nov 2-nov 3 in akv value studio. i don't want to move more than once, otherwise i'd love to switch those first 2 nights to standard and save 10 points! argh! i think i need to just stay put and be happy that i have the same room for 4 nights in a row (planned only a few weeks ago). and i'm actually kinda hoping the last night waitlist doesn't come through, because i LOVE animal kingdom lodge and we won't be doing food/wine that friday and saturday anyway...

 

[rlduvall]

With the new on-line booking process, I have had success both ways, 1) waitlist came through for 2 nights in December; and, 2) stalking provided me with the exact night I had waitlisted for in December. It is a little frustrating to know that just being on-line at the exact moment that a room becomes available can snatch it from the waitlist pool - even if I have been rewarded for it myself.

Now - as for my opinion regarding on-line booking. LOVE IT, HATE IT. Love it because it is so easy to jump on there and see what is available. Hate it because I keep jumping on there to see what is available and messing around with my reservation.

 

[palhockeymomof2]

that's awesome, i've been piecing together a stay at the end of oct into beginning of nov. i see that right now my first 2 nights (oct 29 and oct 30) are available in standard view at bwv. we currently have oct 29-nov 2 in bwv pool/garden studio, then nov 2-nov 3 in akv value studio. i don't want to move more than once, otherwise i'd love to switch those first 2 nights to standard and save 10 points! argh! i think i need to just stay put and be happy that i have the same room for 4 nights in a row (planned only a few weeks ago). and i'm actually kinda hoping the last night waitlist doesn't come through, because i LOVE animal kingdom lodge and we won't be doing food/wine that friday and saturday anyway...

I agree we don't like to move either so as much asi like to save points I'd stick with the pool/ garden view......

Also just realized that today is the last day for people with reservations to cancel without their points going into holding....so I guess that played a part in the room opening up