Stalking Strategy

[DisneyMimiUSMC]

I am trying to piece together an October 2023 trip for four nights over a weekend. I snagged one reservation yesterday for a studio at BWV for one night and I've been checking multiple times a day and there's zero movement in any resort other than OKW and SS which I'm not too keen on but will book if necessary. I'm a new DVC owner and this is all new to me. Over the next two months do my odds go up or down for rooms opening up? I'm trying to decide if a cash stay will be more likely.

 

[MyDogTink]

I don’t think you will see such movement until 31 days prior which is the cut off for cancelling without penalty. I also think October is a tough time in general so would not be surprised if there is no movement. I’m waitlisted for October and constantly stalk and I haven’t seen much movement.

 

[Sandisw]

From mid - September to right after the marathon in January, you have the busiest DVC time. Many book right at 11 months.

The near park resorts see very little movement, especially this close to the trip. BWV is going through renovations than and all the BW view rooms are out of service...

I would take SSR or OKW at this point to have something...and then see what happens. While you may see a bit more movement around that 31 day mark, getting 4 days night over a weekend would be tough, especially if you are going Columbus Day.

Last year, it was around this time that I was trying for the same for my DD and her boyfriend for mid October. The initial rooms were 4 different places and room sizes...I got it down to 2 nights to start at SSR in a 1 bedroom (could never get a studio or all 4 in the 1 bedroom) and then got them 2 nights at RIV in a PV room....

Good luck!

 

[DisneyMimiUSMC]

From mid - September to right after the marathon in January, you have the busiest DVC time. Many book right at 11 months.

The near park resorts see very little movement, especially this close to the trip. BWV is going through renovations than and all the BW view rooms are out of service...

I would take SSR or OKW at this point to have something...and then see what happens. While you may see a bit more movement around that 31 day mark, getting 4 days night over a weekend would be tough, especially if you are going Columbus Day.

Last year, it was around this time that I was trying for the same for my DD and her boyfriend for mid October. The initial rooms were 4 different places and room sizes...I got it down to 2 nights to start at SSR in a 1 bedroom (could never get a studio or all 4 in the 1 bedroom) and then got them 2 nights at RIV in a PV room....

Good luck!

Ok, thanks! We're looking at the weekend after Columbus day. We got Sunday night which would be our last night of our trip. I'm kicking myself for not grabbing a 20 point Jambo house this morning. Big mistake. It looks like we'll be split staying big time this trip lol. If I book four different resorts and then something pops up closer to our stay, is there a penalty for dropping one room and grabbing another?

 

[DisneyMimiUSMC]

I don’t think you will see such movement until 31 days prior which is the cut off for cancelling without penalty. I also think October is a tough time in general so would not be surprised if there is no movement. I’m waitlisted for October and constantly stalk and I haven’t seen much movement.

I see some options for 1 bedrooms which I might have to resort to at some point if I can't find anything more point friendly.

 

[Sandisw]

Ok, thanks! We're looking at the weekend after Columbus day. We got Sunday night which would be our last night of our trip. I'm kicking myself for not grabbing a 20 point Jambo house this morning. Big mistake. It looks like we'll be split staying big time this trip lol. If I book four different resorts and then something pops up closer to our stay, is there a penalty for dropping one room and grabbing another?

Not until you are within 31 days of the trip. You should also modify your nights instead of dropping....this way, you can replace if something matches something else you have...

MS can merge them back into one reservation if you snag the nights one at a time, assuming this is all under one membership!

I do tend to do a search first, and if I see something, go back to my dashboard, choose modify and replace. But, I have also lost a room this way when there must have been someone else who snagged it at the same time.

The best chances happen when you have extra points to hold a few extra nights while you are trying.....and then you can waitlist to have it replaced...this is another way I have slowly gotten multiple nights in the same room to reduce moving!!

 

[DisneyMimiUSMC]

Not until you are within 31 days of the trip. You should also modify your nights instead of dropping....this way, you can replace if something matches something else you have...

MS can merge them back into one reservation if you snag the nights one at a time, assuming this is all under one membership!

I do tend to do a search first, and if I see something, go back to my dashboard, choose modify and replace. But, I have also lost a room this way when there must have been someone else who snagged it at the same time.

The best chances happen when you have extra points to hold a few extra nights while you are trying.....and then you can waitlist to have it replaced...this is another way I have slowly gotten multiple nights in the same room to reduce moving!!

Modifying is confusing! My concern is that I don't have a lot of points for this trip. Just 90. So if I modify, don't I have to drop a reservation to free up points for the new one?

 

[Sandisw]

Modifying is confusing! My concern is that I don't have a lot of points for this trip. Just 90. So if I modify, don't I have to drop a reservation to free up points for the new one?

No! That is the benefit of modifying...you simply choose it, go to the calendar and search all the resorts...if something else pops up, you choose to book it, and then follow through...it uses the same points you have for the room plus any extra you may need you still have...or, if it is less, those will be returned.

That is why once you get to 31 days, you can only modify rooms that cost more and not less. And, its the way you can sometimes snag the same room, night by night!

For example, I had two nights in a PV and two nights in a SV studio at RIV for my January trip....all of a sudden, the first night showed up in a SV room so I snagged it on its own...had the extra 16 points to do that...then waitlist listed for night two and asked them to replace the two nights in the PV room...it came through a few weeks later.

I had them merge and had all 4 nights in SV doing it this way...had the waitlist not worked, I would have canceled the extra SV room I was holding and done the 2/2 split stay.

 

[DisneyMimiUSMC]

No! That is the benefit of modifying...you simply choose it, go to the calendar and search all the resorts...if something else pops up, you choose to book it, and then follow through...it uses the same points you have for the room plus any extra you may need you still have...or, if it is less, those will be returned.

That is why once you get to 31 days, you can only modify rooms that cost more and not less. And, its the way you can sometimes snag the same room, night by night!

For example, I had two nights in a PV and two nights in a SV studio at RIV for my January trip....all of a sudden, the first night showed up in a SV room so I snagged it on its own...had the extra 16 points to do that...then waitlist listed for night two and asked them to replace the two nights in the PV room...it came through a few weeks later.

I had them merge and had all 4 nights in SV doing it this way...had the waitlist not worked, I would have canceled the extra SV room I was holding and done the 2/2 split stay.

I'm a smart girl and still can't wrap my head around this lol. I'll have to see if there are any Youtube tutorials. I'm definitely a visual learner.

 

[Sandisw]

I'm a smart girl and still can't wrap my head around this lol. I'll have to see if there are any Youtube tutorials. I'm definitely a visual learner.

You'll get there! Big thing to remember is try and modify and don't cancel so that at least, if there is nothing new, you don't loose what you have!!

 

[DisneyMimiUSMC]

You'll get there! Big thing to remember is try and modify and don't cancel so that at least, if there is nothing new, you don't loose what you have!!

Ok, thanks so much for explaining it!

 

[frapdawn]

I am trying to piece together an October 2023 trip for four nights over a weekend. I snagged one reservation yesterday for a studio at BWV for one night and I've been checking multiple times a day and there's zero movement in any resort other than OKW and SS which I'm not too keen on but will book if necessary. I'm a new DVC owner and this is all new to me. Over the next two months do my odds go up or down for rooms opening up? I'm trying to decide if a cash stay will be more likely.

We are trying to do the same for a November trip. I keep making and dropping it’s exhausting lol. I’m now on the hunt for my one last day. I’m mulling over making room res through Disney hoping we don’t have to move rooms since hubs is working and we have one switch midweek already. I have read somewhere Tuesday is the day so I’ll have to check today if that’s true. I hope you get your trip together too. Good luck.

 

[Best Aunt]

OP, one problem for this fall is that refurbishing is expected at both Beach Club Villas and BoardWalk Villas. For people who like to stay in the Epcot Resort area, those are their # 1 and # 2 hotel choices. If both of those hotels are pulling rooms out of service at the same time, it could make it even tougher than usual to snag a room at one of those hotels. Also, both of those hotels tend to be popular in October because people like the easy access to Epcot during the Food & Wine festival.

Obviously nobody knows who might decide to cancel. But you might have better luck if you focus on a different resort.