Walking a grand Californian reservation

[quandrea]

want to stay oct 21-27. Do I walk S reservation by booking on October 15 for one week then calling daily to add a day and cancel a day? Can I do this on the computer?

 

[CMNJ]

You can book the initial reservation online (assuming you can get it) at 8 am but you will have to call MS daily to modify the reservation as you cannot do that online. Also it is still possible the walk can fail as there is no way to know how many rooms are avail. For instance if only a single room is avail for any night needed to complete your walk a VGC owner could book that night at any point during your walk and block you from getting the intended reservation.

 

[quandrea]

Thanks

 

[Deb & Bill]

You can't really walk at seven months out. Only for a home resort and you start walking before your actual check in date.

 

[ivanp91]

For instance if only a single room is avail for any night needed to complete your walk a VGC owner could book that night at any point during your walk and block you from getting the intended reservation.

I wasn't walking, but pretty much this exact thing happened to me last week. I only need two nights and started checking the availability about a week before I could have booked, checking once a day to see if anything changed. Literally the day before I could have booked, 7 months and 1 day out, the 2nd night became unavailable. As the 1st night was still showing availability, I guessed an owner had booked it. Very annoying that it happened right the day before I could have booked it for myself, but at the end of the day it's a part of the home resort perks.

 

[Anal Annie]

You can't really walk at seven months out. Only for a home resort and you start walking before your actual check in date.

You can try - in order to maybe beat someone else who may be about to book the same dates at 7 months.

 

[marx]

For me, it was essential to walk my 7 month Grand Californian reservation. If I didn't I wouldn't have been able to book the room.

I was looking for a studio for 4 nights begining 8/19/15. Looking at the availability calender 7 months and a couple of weeks out I noticed that there was availability from about 10 days prior to what I wanted. I also noted that as the 7 month window opened the available rooms were booked quickly. Sometimes for just the date 7 months out and sometimes for two days. I decided to walk my reservation.

I was online at 8am trying to book a studio, but due to limited availability I failed to secure a reservation on 5 consecutive mornings. Finally, on my 6th try I was able to book 7 nights. I only had to walk a couple of days, then cancelled the 3 extra days that were at the beginning of the resv a couple of weeks later (I wanted 4 nights, not 7).

At any point guests whose home resort was the GC could have booked the available rooms and ruined my chances. But that didnt happen.

If I see availability disappearing at the 7 month mark, I walk the resv. I did it again for HH for August 2017.

 

[TexasChick123]

If you call MS, they can tell you how many of a particular room size are available for your dates. I just did this. It either shows 5+, or it tells the exact number if 5 or less. Good luck!

 

[Shelly S]

I started my VGC reservation early. I got 2 nights into the days I needed and an owner jumped in my next two nights. I waitlisted two nights but could not go any farther, then everything was taken. About a week later my waitlist came through plus a few other days opened. and I now have 7 of the 9 nights I want. I have another waitlist for the last 2 nights. It is very competitive getting a studio at VGC. I was lucky with the waitlist but trying to walk it didn't really work out

 

[DebbieB]

For me, it was essential to walk my 7 month Grand Californian reservation. If I didn't I wouldn't have been able to book the room.

I was looking for a studio for 4 nights begining 8/19/15. Looking at the availability calender 7 months and a couple of weeks out I noticed that there was availability from about 10 days prior to what I wanted. I also noted that as the 7 month window opened the available rooms were booked quickly. Sometimes for just the date 7 months out and sometimes for two days. I decided to walk my reservation.

I was online at 8am trying to book a studio, but due to limited availability I failed to secure a reservation on 5 consecutive mornings. Finally, on my 6th try I was able to book 7 nights. I only had to walk a couple of days, then cancelled the 3 extra days that were at the beginning of the resv a couple of weeks later (I wanted 4 nights, not 7).

At any point guests whose home resort was the GC could have booked the available rooms and ruined my chances. But that didnt happen.

If I see availability disappearing at the 7 month mark, I walk the resv. I did it again for HH for August 2017.

Wasn't the D23 convention around that time? That complicates things.

I'm 5 for 5 for VGC and the only thing I've done is book a day or two early and then drop them (actual stay 4 or 5 nights), mainly for peace of mind.

 

[CaliAdventurer]

As owners, I think we are all making the same decisions 179 days out- are we sure? are we sure? Knowing that if we don't take what we need, it'll be gone the next day if we don't take it. But maybe that means that some owners take it and hold before they make their own 7mos out somewhere else to make sure it pans out. Worth a wait list. I'm having this dilemma now for October break and may make a home resort res jic. Though we are thinking to stay flexible between HI, FL, & CA.