Waitlist for a complete newbie who is finding it hard to wait

[qv09vvp]

So we've closed & I'm waiting for my member number.

Now I have a new forum to stalk.

Quick question on the waitlists that are being talked about...

given that that the 11 month and 7 month windows are long past, if you do a waitlist--- I figure most people know their dates and room types.....just wondering are waitlists by resort? room type? or what?

TIA!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Waitlist is by resort and room category (size/view). You can have two open at a time. They are filled sort of in order of waitlisting, with the caveat that your entire requested stay must match, and you must be front of line.

So if you are 5th in line and waitlist a M-F, but Bob, Mary and Jane in front of you waitlisted M, W, F for that unit type before you got on the waitlist and a Saturday-Friday stay is cancelled, Bob, Mary and Jane's waitlists will be fulfilled, and T and Th will go back into the bookable room pool. You will get nothing.

If someone then cancels a Sun-Tuesday stay, you will again get nothing, because it won't match up. for dates, complete

 

[LisaS]

just wondering are waitlists by resort? room type? or what?

You are limited to two active wait lists and each wait list is very specific: resort + room size + view. For example, Boardwalk Villas has three different views: Standard, Boardwalk View, and Pool/Garden view. If you wanted to set up a wait list for a studio there, you cannot set it up for "any studio at BWV". You could set up one wait list for "BWV, Studio, Pool and Garden view" and use your other wait list for, say, "BWV, Studio, Boardwalk view". If a Standard View studio happened to become available for your dates, it wouldn't match either of your wait lists. Therefore, when creating a wait list it's best to set it up for the view category with the largest number of rooms at the resort, to increase your odds.

As PP stated, your wait list must fill in its entirety. Let's say you are at the top of the wait list for a particular resort, room size and view and want 5 nights: Mon - Fri inclusive. Someone cancels Mon - Thu. Your list doesn't fill unless Friday also happens to be available, otherwise the system continues to work its way down the list until it gets a complete match. If someone below you on the lists wanted any/all of Mon - Thu, their list fills even though they are behind you in line.

 

[qv09vvp]

Lisa5. Thanks for your help. I'm off to Search for floorplan/qty of room per type per resort

 

[loveswdw]

Lisa5. Thanks for your help. I'm off to Search for floorplan/qty of room per type per resort

Look at the very first thread stickied at the top of the board. The DVC Resource Center thread has all that info on all the DVC resorts.

 

[ziravan]

It is still a matter of debate exactly how rooms go to waitlist. Sometimes they do directly (never show back up in inventory) and sometimes they pop back up into inventory and go to waitlists minutes or hours later.

The upshot is that even if you waitlist, you're often just as successful stalking the RAT (resort availability tool).

A good strategy is to do both.

 

[disneynutz]

Our use of the waitlist process was pretty much a failure. Others were snagging reservations even though we were listed for the same times/locations, after a few years of disappointment, we bought our favorite resorts and started booking at 11 months.

Bill

 

[qv09vvp]

Look at the very first thread stickied at the top of the board. The DVC Resource Center thread has all that info on all the DVC resorts.

hmm...it says I have insufficient authority to look at that thread...

 

[skier_pete]

I've had decent luck with the waitlist but each time it was a short period of time (1-2 days) and I put it up at 7 months. I can't say I've seen any info at how regularly waitlists open up. There's often talk of people having more success stalking the availability site than using waitlists, but again there's nothing concrete that says this works better.

Your best bet is to select (1) room categories with lots of inventory and (2) limited numbers of days in a row. So if you want to stay for 8 nights, use your 2 waitlists as 4 nights each at a pretty large resort (SSR probably the best but could try AKV - Kidani Savannah or OKW). If you try for say 8 nights in a row - ALL 8 nights have to open up at the same time, AND no one ahead of you can be looking for any part of that block of days. (Someone looking for 2 nights will get those 2 nights and you won't get anything.

 

[Deb & Bill]

hmm...it says I have insufficient authority to look at that thread...

Try again. It should work for anyone. Just log into the system to see the photos and lists.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

hmm...it says I have insufficient authority to look at that thread...

At this thread? https://www.disboards.com/threads/dvc-resource-center-updated-july-2017.3514540/

It's not open for replies but you should be able to view it.

 

[DebbieB]

I've had success stalking the reservation website. I once had to change dates because of a work conflict. I had a BWV studio for mid November and found out the dates had to change about 2 months before to a week earlier. That's hard to get. I booked an AP discount studio as a backup and waitlisted the five nights, Sunday to Thursday. I waitlisted pool/garden because that's the easiest. I kept watching the website, Tuesday thru Thursday opened up, I booked it and changed the waitlist. Then Monday opened up, booked it and changed the waitlist. Then finally about 4 weeks out, my waitlist for Sunday night was filled. Member Services combined the reservations into one. I then cancelled the cash room, the cm said I'm sorry you have to cancel. I said don't be sorry, I now have it on points!

 

[qv09vvp]

HI - thanks to this website...i called member services and was all setup. When they said Welcome HOME --it was a great feeling!!! would ya'll believe when I first searched for my dates in december a poly studio & a saratoga 1 bedroom came up? I didn't think I would see anything. long story short, I was so freaked out that by the time I went to grab the poly it was gone. I'm guessing when our snail mail appears I'll get a lot of questions (like magic bands, discounts etc)...but just wanted to say thanks to everyone for your help!! YOu really know how to spread the magic!