Trouble booking at home resort

[ParkHoppers]

I was wondering if anyone is having any trouble booking at the 11 month window at their home resort. I have heard some discussion about GFV but would like to hear feedback from the DIS community. Also I am guessing studios book up first. Is this correct? How about a place like VWL. I know there isn,t that many rooms there which shouldn,t matter if only a certain number of points were sold at VWL. Any experiences or theories on this subject would be very helpful to me in deciding where to buy my next contract. Right now VWL is top of my list. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[RipperSB]

We are owners at Bay Lake (since 2013) and the only "trouble" I've had is getting a Studio with a Standard View. In five attempts, I have only been successful for our next trip in Jan 2016.

 

[CMNJ]

I was wondering if anyone is having any trouble booking at the 11 month window at their home resort. I have heard some discussion about GFV but would like to hear feedback from the DIS community. Also I am guessing studios book up first. Is this correct? How about a place like VWL. I know there isn,t that many rooms there which shouldn,t matter if only a certain number of points were sold at VWL. Any experiences or theories on this subject would be very helpful to me in deciding where to buy my next contract. Right now VWL is top of my list. Thanks in advance for any info.

I do not own at VWL but I have only read that it can be difficult in December if not booked right at 11 months because many people own there specifically to go when it is decorated for Christmas.

 

[jstarcze]

I've never had a problem at the 11 month window getting exactly what I wanted at BLT including Std view Studios and 2 bedrooms. I call or go online first thing in the morning when the window opens. I've always been able to get my 7 month transfers too using the same strategy, even at BWV and BCV. Of course it wasn't at EPCOT-centric times

 

[Granny]

I own at VWL and have booked Christmas week twice at the 11 month mark at that small resort with no problem. I do make the reservation right at the 11 month mark...in both cases it was prior to on-line booking capability so I called MS as soon as it opened. With the on-line one hour booking advantage, I'd definitely use that method.

If you really like a particular resort and want to visit WDW during the heavy DVC booking times (pretty much October - December and other holidays), then you should definitely buy points at that resort. If you are less choosy about where you stay, then you can buy pretty much any of the WDW DVC resorts and use the 7 month booking window, knowing that you may not have a lot of luck many times or have to work the waitlist.

 

[Reddog1134]

I own at AKL. There's no problem getting a standard or savannah view room at 11 months.

Value and club rooms, on the other hand, are very limited and much harder to get.

 

[rlovew]

I have had trouble getting standard view studios at BLT during the last quarter of the year, although when I have waitlisted at 11 months they have come through although our trips have never been more than 4 nights and the time I waitlisted was the week prior to Thanksgiving and the waitlist came through by the Monday following our booking so it certainly seemed to be based on someone walking for Thanksgiving.

 

[JLitfin]

I own at VWL and was able to book a reservation online for this upcoming mid-December with no problems. I was online at the 11 month period, I'm hoping to add an additional night but have to wait till 7 months so I can use some of my other points. I'm very excited since this will be our first Christmas trip at VWL and can't wait to see all the decorations.

 

[Minniesgal]

We own at AKL, VCG and VGF and have never had a problem but we book at 8am 11 months always.

I had an issue once surprisingly at AKV when changing at 7 months I changed my mind about what I wanted and needed to book a 2 bedroom Savannah view for 2 nights about 3 days after 7 months (all due to a last minute change of mind). Never got it and ended up doing a split stay with only 2 nights at Kidani which was frustrating as I had originally had 8 nights booked at 11 months. No big deal as we got BLT instead but it did surprise me. This was late August.

 

[bobbiwoz]

For this year's upcoming NYE stay, I could not get SV 1 bedroom. Do have LV, so we are there. This is for BLT. This is the second time in my membership, since 2003, I did not get what I wanted exactly 11 months out. The first involved a SV studio at VGF, in December, but there, the waitlist came through within days, so someone was walking.

 

[twinklebug]

I own at AKL. There's no problem getting a standard or savannah view room at 1 months.

Value and club rooms, on the other hand, are very limited and much harder to get.

Same experience. Club level is near impossible due to the "walkers", a behavior that, in my opinion, has to be stopped.
Value is not quite as hard, but chances are I'll end up with a few days on the waitlist here and there when booking 11 months out. WL has usually come through for me, but release those rooms and you'll never get them back

 

[Dean]

I was wondering if anyone is having any trouble booking at the 11 month window at their home resort. I have heard some discussion about GFV but would like to hear feedback from the DIS community. Also I am guessing studios book up first. Is this correct? How about a place like VWL. I know there isn,t that many rooms there which shouldn,t matter if only a certain number of points were sold at VWL. Any experiences or theories on this subject would be very helpful to me in deciding where to buy my next contract. Right now VWL is top of my list. Thanks in advance for any info.

Specialty items, very difficult resorts and certain times of the year will always be an issue. VGF, AKV concierge/value, standard at any of the monorail resorts, 2 queen dedicated 2BR at BCV, standard & BW view & GV at BWV, HH for summer and 3 BR in general will be issues for most options and situations. VWL is an issue as you approach Dec esp.

 

[ParkHoppers]

Would be nice if walking would be stopped by Disney but I can,t think of anyway it could be stopped.

 

[ParkHoppers]

Thanks to all for your replies.

 

[Dean]

Would be nice if walking would be stopped by Disney but I can,t think of anyway it could be stopped.

There are lots of ways it could be stopped or reduced drastically if they chose. IMO the best and most consistent one is to make all changes a cancelation and rebooking. Others that come to mind include variations such as not being able to extend a given reservations, charging for changes, limiting the time frame of when it can be done, the number of changes a given person can make in a UY and some of the variations of a minimum length of stay. I'm sure there are others we can come up with.

 

[twinklebug]

There are lots of ways it could be stopped or reduced drastically if they chose. IMO the best and most consistent one is to make all changes a cancellation and rebooking. Others that come to mind include variations such as not being able to extend a given reservations, charging for changes, limiting the time frame of when it can be done, the number of changes a given person can make in a UY and some of the variations of a minimum length of stay. I'm sure there are others we can come up with.

Yes! Cancel & rebook anyone looking to add a day or more. Dropping a day should be allowed without a rebook, and run the wait list in between otherwise it's essentially the same as continuing to allow walking.

If we did the above, would this have effected my reservations in the past? Yes. I frequently book long before I grab airfare, and then adjust accordingly. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Having home resort advantage does nothing for us once that 7 month window is met.

 

[drusba]

In tracking, I have not seen VWL have an issue at 11 months out any time of year.

A few can be unavailable at 11 months out much of the year: AKV club level studios and 2BRs, OKW GV's in the Hospitality House booking category, and Aulani standard view GV's. As for others potentially having issues at 11 months out:

AKV value studios and 2BRs and BLT standard view all room categories can potentially have issues, and VGF studios have even a higher risk of being unavailable, first and second week of Dec, Dec 23 through Jan 1 (and almost certainly Dec 29 through Jan 1 if you wait to try to book for a start date of Dec 29), Tues through Fri of Thanksgiving week, marathon weekend in January, Columbus Day weekend, the weekend after Columbus Day, and the weekend in first half of Nov when they have the Food & Wine race. Also, those can disappear quickly, like even before 9 a.m. once the 11 month window opens during other times in last quarter of the year, and around holidays and special event weekends during the other nine months of the year.

BWV standard and boardwalk view studios and 2BRs and GVs have a risk of disappearing before 11 months out for some days first week of Dec, late Dec through Jan 1 if your start date is after December 27, Wednesday through Friday of Thanksgiving if start date is Wednesday or after, and the Friday of the weekend in Nov that has the Food & Wine race if your start date is that Friday. There can also be other times in last quarter of the year where booking 11 months out at 8 a.m. online may be important.

VGF 1BRs can have some risk of being gone 11 months out for days in the first week of Dec, and Dec 29 through Jan 1 if start date is Dec 29 or after.

 

[twinklebug]

VGF 1BRs can have some risk of being gone 11 months out for days in the first week of Dec, and Dec 29 through Jan 1 if start date is Dec 29 or after.

Can someone explain to me quickly why that first weekend in December has become so popular? Are these folk clamoring to see the filming of the Holiday parade for TV? The last time I was there during it, it was simply a traffic jam of people, with over and over replays of certain aspects of the parade. It made it well worth avoiding MK!

 

[supersnoop]

Can someone explain to me quickly why that first weekend in December has become so popular? Are these folk clamoring to see the filming of the Holiday parade for TV? The last time I was there during it, it was simply a traffic jam of people, with over and over replays of certain aspects of the parade. It made it well worth avoiding MK!

Christmas decorations are up, the holidays are in full swing, and yet it's still the lowest point season of the year.

 

[twinklebug]

Christmas decorations are up, the holidays are in full swing, and yet it's still the lowest point season of the year.

Yes, but so are the next two weeks, and they don't book up half as fast. I've watched those weeks starting at my 11 month out window for the last two years. This year we can also see other resorts and I see the same pattern with the first week/weekend filling up.