Typical Availabilty

[mikeymc1115]

Is there any sort of chart that shows typical DVC resort/room availability for the different times of the year? Maybe not even availability but just overall DVC popularity? I'm aware that DVC peak times are for the most part different than the rest of WDW I was just curious to compare.

TIA

 

[drusba]

It is not a chart but see my post, no. 8, on this thread: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=3201761

 

[mikeymc1115]

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks so much!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Just don't plan on trying to book later than seven months out many times during the year. Unless you don't mind moving around a lot - one night here, another there, still another in a third place.

At seven months out, everyone wants to try to book their non-home resort. That includes Aulani, Vero Beach, Hilton Head, GCF owners. So competition can be fierce.

 

[mikeymc1115]

Just don't plan on trying to book later than seven months out many times during the year. Unless you don't mind moving around a lot - one night here, another there, still another in a third place.

Is it that difficult to plan spur of the moment trips with DVC?

 

[chalee94]

Is it that difficult to plan spur of the moment trips with DVC?

depends on the time of year, how late you are planning and how much you love SSR (a nice resort but typically the last to have availability as it is by far the largest).

keep in mind that there are only enough pts sold to book every night for every room available. if 50% of the owners want to use their pts in early december (an exaggeration to help the example), there are not enough rooms available for that to work out - some owners will be disappointed. there can be a competitive aspect to booking DVC as points have a limited usage life.

but if you like traveling during non-holiday weeks in february, you might have a few extra choices in the last few months before arrival. (and there's always one guy who claims to have booked BCV the week before arrival in early december - nothing is impossible, but that is really, really rare.)

 

[tjkraz]

Is it that difficult to plan spur of the moment trips with DVC?

Sometimes yes, sometimes no.

The safest assumptions to make when buying are:

1) Buy points at a home resort you would not mind staying at...and ideally make your reservation more than 7 months prior to arrival. Over the years, some people have purchased at the lowest-cost resort--or whatever DVC happened to be selling--and were then disappointed they could not get another specific location at 7 months. At least make sure you LIKE the resort at which you own...even if it isn't your absolute favorite. Don't buy Vero, Hilton Head or Hawaii if most of your trips will be to Walt Disney World.

2) If you plan to frequently book on less than 7 months' notice, understand there is a high likelihood you will be at Animal Kingdom Villas, Old Key West or Saratoga Springs. Those are there largest resorts by wide margin.

Obviously there are many other moving pieces to the discussion. Some dates you will find availability at every WDW resorts at 7 months (or 6 months, or 5 months.) Other times you may find you can't even get 3 consecutive nights in ANY studio when you're still 5-6 months from arrival.

 

[drusba]

Is it that difficult to plan spur of the moment trips with DVC?

At the 7 month window, you get a flurry of reservation activity particularly to book near park resorts -- connsider that more than 60% of the members at WDW own at SSR, OKW and AKV and those at non-WDW resorts can also reserve there at 7 months out. Thus you can get very high demand for near park resorts at 7 months with the result that things can start to disappear quickly at those. Also, in the last two months before any given date, anything left over can be reserved generally through Disney for cash and thus even SSR can disappear at times. If you are talking about last minute trips at least reserving a little more than two months out, and at times other than around holidays during the mid-Jan to end of Sep period, you will likely find SSR with a good chance for OKW and AKV savanna or standard view; for others you might be able to find a 1BR for a week, and possibly other size rooms for three or four days in a row at BLT lake view, BWV pool/garden, and even VWL. During the high demand quarter, at just over two months out you may find only SSR or even nothing unless seking only a couple nights in a row but even then there can be some windows of opportunity for more such as third week of Nov, third week of Dec, and time from Jan 3 to the Wednesday before marathon weekend

You also have another side to the spectrum. The Usual Suspects I mentioned in my post on the other thread can disappear quickly once the 11 month window opens particularly during that high demand quarter. AKV club level is the most extreme in that studios and 2BRs are ones members even have trouble getting at 11 months out much of the year -- you can book 11 months before date arrival at home resort and at AKV club level that often means others are booking and filling your intended arrival date by booking a day or more before you try to.

 

[holula]

(and there's always one guy who claims to have booked BCV the week before arrival in early december - nothing is impossible, but that is really, really rare.)

That was us this year. We booked a couple of nights at a one bedroom at BCV the second week of December and we booked the week before.

We own at OKW. It's fairly easy to move reservations at 7 months although I wouldn't try it at Christmas, New Year etc. Its much harder to plan a trip 3 months out. Generally there will be a handful of studios, maybe one or two consecutive nights in each available place, and a few 1 beds. Trips on short notice require you to be flexible with location AND be willing to spend more points.