"Walking" a Reservation

[KAT4DISNEY]

Yes, Thank you, I am very familiar with that fact. My comment was based on the continuing conversation about there always being days in the middle of the 11 month +7 days that are unavailable. Comments have been made that it isn't possible, I was just showing how this always seems to be the case when I look to book at the 11 month mark. How I can't get a whole week at 8am at 11 months because of a day or two mid week being unavailable

If that's a current search done today then those days aren't actually in the middle of the week following the 11 month mark. The day that is available is 2 days past it's 11 month window. The 13th is the actual 11 month mark and all the days past it are available. When we talk about it not being possible it's because we're referencing past the 11 month booking date. For concierge studios it's 5 rooms and what could happen is that they are all booked up for the next 7 days so there would be no availability from the 13th thru the 19th but the 17th or 18th wouldn't be unavailable and the 15th still open.

What you are showing is not an example of rooms being gone in the middle following the 11 month window as far as I can see.

 

[supersnoop]

View attachment 225209 OK, here it is again, and I think seems like anytime i look. How is this not the norm? Looking for a week next February. I can't get a week straight, there are always day(s) unavailable mid week

Again, this is what I was referring to. I understand how two consecutive days at the beginning of the week are booked. It's the days in the middle of the trip that are unavailable that seems to be "an anomaly". Where the day at 11 month mark is booked, the following day is not, the next day is booked. How do you walk a reservation when you can't get a whole consecutive week?

Today is the 13th. The 13th is unavailable. That's normal. If the 14th was available and the 15th was missing, that would be the anomaly we've talked about.

 

[jerseyduke]

What are the rules, if any, about Disney pulling out rooms due to breakage and/or trade outs? I have seen this before, and sure enough it was at a holiday (thanksgiving), as this one is the days leading to Valentine's day. If you use points for a cruise, can DVC then use those points whenever? That is the only way I can see that being possible. Since I saw it happen over thanksgiving, it leads me to believe that it is in Disney's best interest to have DVC rooms available around Holidays.

 

[DVCTigger]

If that's a current search done today then those days aren't actually in the middle of the week following the 11 month mark. The day that is available is 2 days past it's 11 month window. The 13th is the actual 11 month mark and all the days past it are available. When we talk about it not being possible it's because we're referencing past the 11 month booking date. For concierge studios it's 5 rooms and what could happen is that they are all booked up for the next 7 days so there would be no availability from the 13th thru the 19th but the 17th or 18th wouldn't be unavailable and the 15th still open.

What you are showing is not an example of rooms being gone in the middle following the 11 month window as far as I can see.

Wow, what a brain fart on my part! You are so correct. Not sure what I was thinking, or how I put in the date that I did. Thanks for setting me straight.......must have been a Monday.

 

[txbradybunch]

I have been a DVC member since 2006 and never heard of this practice before this post. I would hate for my flexibility to be gone, because I have had to change reservations due to changing family plans (thought I could take a Spring Break family trip but due to varsity baseball practice rules had to move it to summer, etc). Personally I cannot foresee myself ever using this practice either - my family did our one time at Disney over Christmas, and we will never ever ever do that again.... it was insane and I would much rather go in September when no-one is there than in December when everyone is there! I cannot imagine a need to walk a September reservation!

 

[Anal Annie]

I have been a DVC member since 2006 and never heard of this practice before this post. I would hate for my flexibility to be gone, because I have had to change reservations due to changing family plans (thought I could take a Spring Break family trip but due to varsity baseball practice rules had to move it to summer, etc). Personally I cannot foresee myself ever using this practice either - my family did our one time at Disney over Christmas, and we will never ever ever do that again.... it was insane and I would much rather go in September when no-one is there than in December when everyone is there! I cannot imagine a need to walk a September reservation!

Walking in Sept. would depend on where you wanted to stay. With F&W and MNSSHP starting in Sept. now it's pretty busy. If you wanted to stay in BWV or BCV for the access to EP you'd face some stiff competition....

 

[txbradybunch]

Walking in Sept. would depend on where you wanted to stay. With F&W and MNSSHP starting in Sept. now it's pretty busy. If you wanted to stay in BWV or BCV for the access to EP you'd face some stiff competition....

True - I will give you that - but I guess with my families preferred resort being AKL I don't face that issue often. And I had a wait list come through for Food and Wine last September - but I was not picky about where we were staying (and we changed mid-week as well just to have a ressie all week). I am praying for pixie dust to be sprinkled on my June wait list so that my family gets to stay in the AKL Savannah view instead of having to move to a standard view for our final night (which I just added 2 extra nights last week).

 

[docsoliday1]

Well, I'll confess I was one of those that had never heard of this before...guess maybe because I was always taught to play by the rules and play fair. I don't look for loopholes, I just kinda figure Disney is popular so if I can't get my first choice, I'll go to plan B or C if needed. We just stayed at AKL and although it may not have been one of the most sought after rooms or sought after dates, I was still able to get it at the 7 month point without "blocking" others from getting what they want.

While I agree we all like the flexibility, I think maybe a good compromise would be limiting the number of changes to 5 or 6 times. Yes, plans can change, but unless you're gaming the system, 5 or 6 should be sufficient to cover that. It's easy to track how many times the ressie has been changed. Also, that's what the insurance is for...just in case you must cancel. It will not prevent walking completely, but would prevent folks from doing it every day for weeks or months.

 

[docsoliday1]

I only walk when I need to book special rooms like Grand villas at BW during Dec periods. [snip] So for some rooms you have to walk or you will not get them.

Too bad there's not a dislike button...

My thought is so you don't get them and someone else was able to without scr*wing everyone else in the process. I have the same thought about people in traffic who know they need to exit, but instead of getting in line and waiting their turn, choose to stay left and then cut everyone else off. Obviously they're WAY more important than everyone else and should get their way!

 

[Anal Annie]

Well, I'll confess I was one of those that had never heard of this before...guess maybe because I was always taught to play by the rules and play fair. I don't look for loopholes, I just kinda figure Disney is popular so if I can't get my first choice, I'll go to plan B or C if needed. We just stayed at AKL and although it may not have been one of the most sought after rooms or sought after dates, I was still able to get it at the 7 month point without "blocking" others from getting what they want.

While I agree we all like the flexibility, I think maybe a good compromise would be limiting the number of changes to 5 or 6 times. Yes, plans can change, but unless you're gaming the system, 5 or 6 should be sufficient to cover that. It's easy to track how many times the ressie has been changed. Also, that's what the insurance is for...just in case you must cancel. It will not prevent walking completely, but would prevent folks from doing it every day for weeks or months.

Too bad there's not a dislike button...

My thought is so you don't get them and someone else was able to without scr*wing everyone else in the process. I have the same thought about people in traffic who know they need to exit, but instead of getting in line and waiting their turn, choose to stay left and then cut everyone else off. Obviously they're WAY more important than everyone else and should get their way!

You know, technically there is no "rule" against this booking process because it is how the system currently works. Chainkid is correct. Sometimes there are rooms or times of the year you cannot get at some resorts if you wait even a single minute too long to book, let alone wait for 7 months. Sometimes it comes down to how important a specific room or resort is to someone and how much work they're willing to put into securing it. This method does take planning and can be time consuming. We typically take pot luck and last year for F&W didn't book right exactly at 7 months and we ended up at OKW. That was fine but not where we wanted to be again this year for F&W. For marathon week next January I booked our SSR standard studio promtly at 11 months because I know how quickly that week books up and there won't be anything left by 7 months. Sure enough, even now the only studios left for the 6 consecutive dates we want are OKW (not HH) and SSR preferred view. I decided to add a 2nd standard studio last week because I doubt I will be able to switch to a villa that sleeps 5 at 7 months and I had to waitlist one night in the middle. YES. Even SSR is half booked up at 10 months out. I would love to switch at 7 months but I know there won't be a prayer it will happen - esp. to the accomodation type we may need. I'm also pretty sure there may have been people booking their standard villas at BWV with this method for marathon week because they've been there on the short end of the stick before and missed out. They learned the hard way.

 

[docsoliday1]

You know, technically there is no "rule" against this booking process because it is how the system currently works. Chainkid is correct. Sometimes there are rooms or times of the year you cannot get at some resorts if you wait even a single minute too long to book, let alone wait for 7 months. Sometimes it comes down to how important a specific room or resort is to someone and how much work they're willing to put into securing it. This method does take planning and can be time consuming. We typically take pot luck and last year for F&W didn't book right exactly at 7 months and we ended up at OKW. That was fine but not where we wanted to be again this year for F&W. For marathon week next January I booked our SSR standard studio promtly at 11 months because I know how quickly that week books up and there won't be anything left by 7 months. Sure enough, even now the only studios left for the 6 consecutive dates we want are OKW (not HH) and SSR preferred view. I decided to add a 2nd standard studio last week because I doubt I will be able to switch to a villa that sleeps 5 at 7 months and I had to waitlist one night in the middle. YES. Even SSR is half booked up at 10 months out. I would love to switch at 7 months but I know there won't be a prayer it will happen - esp. to the accomodation type we may need. I'm also pretty sure there may have been people booking their standard villas at BWV with this method for marathon week because they've been there on the short end of the stick before and missed out. They learned the hard way.

There may not be a "rule", but it still is a very selfish and self-centered concept...
When someone books dates they never intend to use because they want what they want and don't care about others, it's the ME ME ME mentality.
If someone books for 12/1 to walk it to Christmas to get what THEY want, then the person who ACTUALLY wants that for 12/1 can't get it and because they don't realize someone is booking for dates they never intend to use, they don't know to call back in a few days after the person who isn't breaking the rules walks by. So, they don't get what they want although they tried to book at the time specified as correct per the rule.

It's not breaking the rules to go 35 in a 55 mph zone(except on the interstate where there is a minimum speed), but how inconsiderate is it of the other drivers? It's not breaking a rule to walk reservations, but how inconsiderate is it of everyone else trying to book THEIR dream vacation? I wanted Jambo house instead of Kidani for our last vacation, but the room and dates I wanted weren't available at 7 month point. OH WELL!!! I SURVIVED!!! Still had a good time and I bet the folks I DIDN'T block by waiting my turn did as well. I doubt I will ever convince the folks who feel perfectly justified to do this because there's no rule against it and they're getting their way, so I suppose wasting more time on this is an exercise in futility.

 

[AdamEfimoff]

Confused to why you would do this. And doesn't walking usually mean when you book a hotel and its booked out so they 'walk' you to another hotel

 

[Anal Annie]

There may not be a "rule", but it still is a very selfish and self-centered concept...
When someone books dates they never intend to use because they want what they want and don't care about others, it's the ME ME ME mentality.
If someone books for 12/1 to walk it to Christmas to get what THEY want, then the person who ACTUALLY wants that for 12/1 can't get it and because they don't realize someone is booking for dates they never intend to use, they don't know to call back in a few days after the person who isn't breaking the rules walks by. So, they don't get what they want although they tried to book at the time specified as correct per the rule.

It's not breaking the rules to go 35 in a 55 mph zone(except on the interstate where there is a minimum speed), but how inconsiderate is it of the other drivers? It's not breaking a rule to walk reservations, but how inconsiderate is it of everyone else trying to book THEIR dream vacation? I wanted Jambo house instead of Kidani for our last vacation, but the room and dates I wanted weren't available at 7 month point. OH WELL!!! I SURVIVED!!! Still had a good time and I bet the folks I DIDN'T block by waiting my turn did as well. I doubt I will ever convince the folks who feel perfectly justified to do this because there's no rule against it and they're getting their way, so I suppose wasting more time on this is an exercise in futility.

OK, now that you have established that people who understand how to work the DVC timeshare system are selffish and inconsiderate ya wanna talk politics?!



(just kidding)

 

[docsoliday1]

OK, now that you've established that people who understand how to work the DVC timeshare system are selffish and inconsiderate ya wanna talk politics?!

(jk)

I've established the people who manipulate the DVC timeshare system at the expense of others are selfish. Not the same! And, no, I will not talk politics.

 

[Anal Annie]

(I SAID just kidding.)

Sorry, I'm just poking the bear now.

Forgive me....I'm out.

 

[chalee94]

Confused to why you would do this. And doesn't walking usually mean when you book a hotel and its booked out so they 'walk' you to another hotel

DVC is a timeshare and not a hotel. One purpose of this thread is to explain what "walking" means in this context. If you read this thread from the beginning, it will explain why some owners would do it.

 

[skier_pete]

Well, I'll confess I was one of those that had never heard of this before...guess maybe because I was always taught to play by the rules and play fair.

Not that I really want to start an argument...and I can accept that someone would think that walking a reservation is unethical because you are potentially hurting other people's chances to get their vacation at the benefit of yourself, and that's a fair argument to make. (Though anytime you book a vacation you are preventing someone from booking that room...I digress.)

But what I don't understand is when people make this sort of statement about not "playing by the rules". Exactly which "rule" is walking breaking? In my view - walking IS "playing by the rules". If I wanted to walk a reservation for an entire year - Disney would not once tell me I can't do it. Just because not everyone knows the option exists doesn't mean that it's not "the rules".

It's like if I go to the bank and they have a bin of free pens. Every day I stop at the bank to make a deposit and take a free pen. I take so many pens that they run out and other people can't get their free pens. Now ethically that would maybe make me a not very nice person. But "by the rules" I did nothing wrong.

Or to keep it to a DVC analogy, if I get a super accurate clock, and learn exactly the second I have to hit the button to do a "room search" at the exact split second that 8 AM ticks across and every single time I book - I know I'm going to be the first person in at 8 AM to always beat everyone else to booking a room...would that be just as wrong? Because I am taking advantage of the system in a way that others don't...is that "not playing by the rules"?

 

[docsoliday1]

(I SAID just kidding.)

Sorry, I'm just poking the bear now.

Forgive me....I'm out.

My apologies...I didn't notice the just kidding.

 

[supersnoop]

But what I don't understand is when people make this sort of statement about not "playing by the rules". Exactly which "rule" is walking breaking? In my view - walking IS "playing by the rules". If I wanted to walk a reservation for an entire year - Disney would not once tell me I can't do it. Just because not everyone knows the option exists doesn't mean that it's not "the rules".

The problem, as I see it, is that there's a difference between the "rules" and the implementation of a policy to satisfy the rules. The "rule" is that you can book at 11 months. The policy is that you can book 7 days into the future at that point. That was not how it originally worked; you use to be limited to the single day at 11 months.

The way I see it, walking means that you're taking advantage of a policy which was set up to make booking more convenient, but you are using it beyond what was intended. And, morally and ethically, it's the intent that matters.

 

[skier_pete]

The way I see it, walking means that you're taking advantage of a policy which was set up to make booking more convenient, but you are using it beyond what was intended. And, morally and ethically, it's the intent that matters.

I have nothing much else to add - but I think it's funny that we are talking about the ethics of booking a hotel room.