Updated Resort Availability Tool

[hakepb]

Great job DVC, fix something that isn't broken making it prettier while the rest of the website still has problems. Many of the web pages still haven't been changed to the new colors and using ie11 I get errors even in compatibility mode.

Bill

They probably did the change due to the unfortunate acronym RAT
This new tool is Check Resort Availability.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

If anything can be considered an improvement, you can do a specific search for accessible rooms by clicking on the "Accessible Rooms" square at the top with your request. The result is not just availability of accessible rooms but it also tells you the type of accessibility the room has, such as whether it has roll-in shower. You will also learn that accessible rooms are very often available when regular rooms are not, i.e., they are holding accessible rooms open for those that need them even after the room class is otherwise shown as full.

What that search shows is that you can't really trust the RAT. It certainly appears like there's availability but it's incorrect and there isn't a held back HA room if there isn't that room type available.

As I understand unless someone books the HA rooms then they will still be there to be selected but they do not hold them back after availability is gone. They book them and sombody who doesn't require the HA will be assigned to it.

 

[supersnoop]

It's not as if the resort availability tool is correct. I just this past weekend saw that it said a Poly Standard View was available on a night I had waitlisted, I went over to booking tool and no availability. Yet the resort availability tool continued to say it was for the rest of the day.

I just searched for the dates we will be in WDW 1/7-1/12. Poly showed as available... had to go through 3 more web pages to find out there is no availability at all including bungalows. This tool is just that, a 'tool'.

PVB availability was often incorrect in the original tool, too. That's nothing new.

 

[drusba]

Poly has had continuous problems with accuracy of the availability information since Disney added it to the original tool and never fixed it. Mentioned above is that the new tool is showing Poly open Jan 7-12 when it is actually full for that time. I checked that time for Poly about two weeks ago on the old tool and it was showing the rooms were full. In other words the Poly accuracy problem has now become worse, not better. Just another Disney "success" story for what usually happens whenever it does a redo of any of its sites.

 

[that's nice]

PVB availability was often incorrect in the original tool, too. That's nothing new.

I realize that... I just picked that one to use as an example. I'd go back to check different resorts but I can't click though that many webpages to find out.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I preferred the old RAT by a large margin. Now I will most likely call MS.

 

[supersnoop]

but I can't click though that many webpages to find out.

You don't have to click through multiple webpage. Everything can still be shown on the same screen. In fact, now the calendar isn't a pop-up box, so you can leave multiple of those open now.

Yes, the page has grown longer, but it's really not that much different than it was before.

 

[dsnydaddy]

It's pretty, I gotta give 'em that. But, sheesh! Completely worthless. By the time I navigated the whole thing the room that I want would be gone!

 

[dsnydaddy]

You don't have to click through multiple webpage. Everything can still be shown on the same screen. In fact, now the calendar isn't a pop-up box, so you can leave multiple of those open now.

Yes, the page has grown longer, but it's really not that much different than it was before.

please post a tutorial because I have to go through a lot of pages until I get to where I want to be. Used to be just one click and I can see all availability for a given date. Now I will have to go through it multiple times to select what may be the best dates to go.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

You don't have to click through multiple webpage. Everything can still be shown on the same screen. In fact, now the calendar isn't a pop-up box, so you can leave multiple of those open now.

Yes, the page has grown longer, but it's really not that much different than it was before.

??? Except for the top resort on the page you have to click on the check availability box for each one.

 

[Jennasis]

So I guess after I put in my dates, I then have to go down the list and open all the drop down "check availability" thingys so I can see what each resort I'm interested in has available? I guess on one hand it will make piecing together stays easier since i can see all at once the available days at each room type. For giggles I tried to see about booking a trip 3rd week of January and was able to see a way to piece this relatively last minute stay together without much trouble that would work.

 

[Mouse511]

Ok - I know I may be piling on at this point and normally I would not post in a thread like this, but I just tried the new tool and .... are you kidding me ? Who designed this ? The 'old' version was light years better. More precise, faster and much more efficient. Unless I am doing it wrong, giving me a listing of DVC resorts with Aulani first and then scrolling down through the list to choose my resort and still not knowing if the room is available is horrible. Someone in the IT or product design department needs to rethink this....or maybe they just needed to come up with a new web version before the end of the year, because it was on their year end goals and just needed to complete it to ensure they got a year end bonus........just plan bad.

 

[supersnoop]

??? Except for the top resort on the page you have to click on the check availability box for each one.

Yes, it's added a click, but it's still all on one page. You don't have to go to multiple pages as some folks seem to think. And you don't have to close one calendar to move on to the next, so it's saved a click there.

 

[supersnoop]

please post a tutorial because I have to go through a lot of pages until I get to where I want to be. Used to be just one click and I can see all availability for a given date. Now I will have to go through it multiple times to select what may be the best dates to go.

You will have to expand each resort you're interested in, but you don't have to do multiple searches or go to multiple pages.

To make this easy, first, select that you want to see resorts in Florida. This will narrow things down to 25 properties:

Next, select that you just want DVC resorts. This will give you just the 10 on-site DVC resorts:

Then, select your dates. If you increase the number of people to 6, you'll only get results for two-bedrooms and larger. Increase it to 11 for just grand villas. Decrease the point range and you should be able to narrow it down to studios, but that's not an exact science.

Finally, click on the Availability link for each property you want to view. Click on the "Partial," "No Availability," or "All Nights" link to see the calendar. You can open multiple resorts and multiple calendars.

 

[Sleepy Sheep]

I kinda liked it after I fiddled with it for a couple of minutes. Maybe I'll hate the new dashboard. I'll check it out. Then I can complain too.

Nope checked out the new dashboard. I love it. Better luck next time I guess.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yes, it's added a click, but it's still all on one page. You don't have to go to multiple pages as some folks seem to think. And you don't have to close one calendar to move on to the next, so it's saved a click there.

Except it's now required clicks vs only if something appeared to offer what you wanted. The previous tool had all the info on a single page and it displayed whether there was all, partial or no availability in a glance for all resorts without anything more than scrolling. No more clicks unless you wanted to view the calendar for partial days. And it's way more cluttered.

I still disagree with combining a resort availability search tool with a resort research tool. And the information on "rooms available from xx points" is fairly pointless when it isn't referring to actual availability. Somebody took the WDW booking page and just tried to fill in with what they thought was the applicable DVC equivalent. That's poor design because they are two different systems with a few different needs and different customer base. DVC is almost exclusively a repeat customer and I think many of us just want booking and availability tools with no fluff that are solid and work 99.9 - 100% of the time. As I mentioned before, keep a research tool separate, like it was previously.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

I hate it too. Once you find a room the old system had a "book now" button this one doesn't! When you enter your dates and select a resort its hard to tell if the room is actually available or not. Plus if you put in a weeks time frame it does not tell you if there is particle availability. It flat out tells you no rooms. Way too many steps to search. And so incredibly slow even at 3 in the morning it was so slow.

 

[Jennasis]

I hate it too. Once you find a room the old system had a "book now" button this one doesn't! When you enter your dates and select a resort its hard to tell if the room is actually available or not. Plus if you put in a weeks time frame it does not tell you if there is particle availability. It flat out tells you no rooms. Way too many steps to search.

Every search I've done gave me partial availability.


I don't particularly LIKE the new tool, but it's not impossible to use. Just takes a little practice...and while I'm all thumbs with this kind of stuff, it took me about 10 minutes to have it down pretty pat.

 

[supersnoop]

Except it's now required clicks vs only if something appeared to offer what you wanted. The previous tool had all the info on a single page and it displayed whether there was all, partial or no availability in a glance for all resorts without anything more than scrolling. No more clicks unless you wanted to view the calendar for partial days. And it's way more cluttered.

It's not really more clicks. Before, you had to click each resort you wanted to review before you hit the search button, and now you click each resort after you hit the search button.

 

[gdrj]

You will have to expand each resort you're interested in, but you don't have to do multiple searches or go to multiple pages.

To make this easy, first, select that you want to see resorts in Florida. This will narrow things down to 25 properties:

Next, select that you just want DVC resorts. This will give you just the 10 on-site DVC resorts:

Then, select your dates. If you increase the number of people to 6, you'll only get results for two-bedrooms and larger. Increase it to 11 for just grand villas. Decrease the point range and you should be able to narrow it down to studios, but that's not an exact science.

Finally, click on the Availability link for each property you want to view. Click on the "Partial," "No Availability," or "All Nights" link to see the calendar. You can open multiple resorts and multiple calendars.

Great job explaining... I think the key is that you have to use the word "Finally" As someone who tends to give Disney the benefit of the doubt, the updated site, strictly from an availability tool process has been made more cumbersome.

I started to type that if it had a room type filter and it opened all resorts (so you didn't have to click to expand) and..... I stopped myself. If it worked like the old site there would be no need for filters and digging deeper. The update was designed not to function as a resort availability tool but more of a marketing tool. I hope they adjust the site