trying to decide on a home resort - question about booking window

[heb]

I understand the 11 month vs. 7 month booking windows, but can you book your home resort 11 months out, and then if a different resort opens up at the 7 month pre-trip window, can you change your reservation to that one? Or are you locked into staying at your home resort at that point?

 

[chalee94]

If there is availability at the new resort, you can cancel and rebook with no issues or fees. It is pretty commonplace.

You should really do some searches on banking rules and how DVC busy periods can be different from general wdw busy periods to get more details.

 

[DisneyfromDeland]

You can change your reservation at the seven month window for something else. I would say many owners do that so that they have a reservation at their home resort at seven months and then they try to change to something else once the seven month booking window opens. By securing a home resort reservation at 11 months, you have something that you are probably happy with in case you can't change at 7 months due to availability.

 

[heb]

If there is availability at the new resort, you can cancel and rebook with no issues or fees. It is pretty commonplace.

You should really do some searches on banking rules and how DVC busy periods can be different from general wdw busy periods to get more details.

Thanks Charles! I've done TONS of research on banking/borrowing, busy times, break-even point, etc. Enough to drive myself crazy - lol - but we're finally close to making a decision

 

[chalee94]

Just wanted to make sure that you understand:

1) sometimes if you cancel at 7 months out, you may have pts left over. If the freed up pts are "current" and you are within your banking window, you can bank them forward. Otherwise, there may be problems...

2) some people assume that if early December is a slow period for wdw, it will be slow for DVC bookings (but I'm sure you know better than that).

Some people do buy specifically to use at their home resort so I typically recommend buying at a resort you'd be happy to be "stuck" at. Just in case travel patterns change and the 7 month window gets tougher...

 

[heb]

Just wanted to make sure that you understand:

1) sometimes if you cancel at 7 months out, you may have pts left over. If the freed up pts are "current" and you are within your banking window, you can bank them forward. Otherwise, there may be problems...

2) some people assume that if early December is a slow period for wdw, it will be slow for DVC bookings (but I'm sure you know better than that).

Some people do buy specifically to use at their home resort so I typically recommend buying at a resort you'd be happy to be "stuck" at. Just in case travel patterns change and the 7 month window gets tougher...

Thank you, Charles! So kind of you to clarify. Banking is definitely something to take into consideration. I've heard that Oct - New Years is very busy for DVC, even though there are times within that period that are "slow" at the parks (and by "slow" I actually mean "not crazy busy"). And yes, we would be buying at a home resort that we love (if we decide to do it), but I wanted to double check that "switching" resorts at the 7-month window was allowed, just in case we ever wanted to try another resort. There is so much to think about in making this decision!

 

[disneynutz]

I understand the 11 month vs. 7 month booking windows, but can you book your home resort 11 months out, and then if a different resort opens up at the 7 month pre-trip window, can you change your reservation to that one? Or are you locked into staying at your home resort at that point?

You are never locked in to a reservation but changing or canceling may cause you to return points back to where they came from. Depending on your UY and when you cancel you may create problems for yourself.

Bill

 

[River Country]

I purchased 4 years ago at SSR and it is exactly what Charles said. Its a resort I don't mind being stuck at. I actually like SSR its a HUGE resort number 1 and it really is lovely and built on the land of the old Vacation Villas which is where I stayed as a child...so its sentimental to me. I have stayed at OKW, BWV, VWL, BCV as well all booking at the 7 month window and have rarely had an issue, but my advice is if one of your choices is a "popular resort" i.e. BCV, BWV, BLT, VGF I would recommend making them your home resort to get that 11 month priority