Why walking works:
Let's assume you want Nov 20, 2023 arrival to Nov 26 departure. Today, Nov 7, 2022, we are 11 months out from Oct 7, 2023. You could go online today and, if available, book the room you want for Oct 7 to Oct 13, 2023. That results in preventing anyone else from booking the room you have for the nights of Oct 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12, 2023. That also prevents anyone from booking the room you have for any dates after Oct 12, 2023, until Nov 13,2023. Why? Because at 11-months out from any given arrival date, you cannot book any room that is already full for that arrival date, e.g., if you went online today and saw that the rooms are booked full for Oct 7, 2023, but open for all days thereafter, you could not possibly book a room for any of those open days.
Thus, if today you were to book Oct 7-13, 2023, you effectively block out everyone else from booking the room you have, not just for Oct 7 through Oct 12, but all dates thereafter, until Nov 13, 2022. Thus on Nov 12, 2022, your room will still be open for all dates after Oct 12, 2022. On Nov 12, 2022, at any time of the day, you can go online and modify the reservation for the room you already have by changing the start date to Oct 12 and departure date to Oct 18, 2023, with the same result of blocking everyone else from reserving the room you have for Oct 12 through 17, 2023 and all days thereafter. You would then modify your reservation on Nov 17, 2022 to Oct 17-23, 2023, then again on on Nov 22 to Oct 22-28, 2023, and continue that process until you have the actual dates you want.
Some do more modifications in that process, such as modifying the reservation daily to move the arrival and departure dates up one day. To do a walk, you need enough points to make it through any higher point weekends that occur during the walk. Nevertheless, you actually need only enough points for two nights to do any walk, e.g., you could today book Oct 7-9, which results in preventing anyone else from reserving the room you have before Nov 9, and thus you could go online tomorrow, Nov 8, and modify the reservation to Oct 8-10, and continue that daily modification process until you can start actually adding the days you want to keep for the trip.
When Walking May be Needed
You have the dual question of whether walking is needed, and, if so, when do you start looking to begin a walk. For most rooms and times, walking is unnecessary because the kind of room you want is typically open in the early morning at 11 months out, e.g., no SSR rooms have ever completely filled at exactly 11 months out. Here are the rooms that currently have an 11-month issue, in that they can be already filled even when trying to get them early morning at 11-months out from date of arrival:
-- BWV standard view studios (and thus also 2BRs because all are lock-offs) essentially year round. Also, boardwalk view studios (and thus also 2BRs) during the high demand fall season that runs from late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan, but rarely ever have the issue other times of year. GVs also have the issue some but not many times during the fall season. Pool/garden studios (and 2BRs), and standard and boardwalk view 1BRs, rarely have the issue but have sometimes (and it does not happen every year) had a day or two disappear right at 8 a.m. at 11 months out during the the two highest demand times of the year -- first two weeks of Dec and Christmas week (particularly time around NYE).
-- AKV value and club level studios (and 2BRs since all are lock-offs), which, like BWV standard, is essentially a year round problem. The value and club level 1BRs also usually disappear during the high demand fall season and some times at other times of year. No other rooms at AKV have ever had the issue.
-- BLT standard studios and 2BRs (including both lock-off and dedicated 2BRs). They have the issue throughout the fall season and often at other random times of the year. Standard 1BRs and theme park view studios (and 2BR lock-offs) can also sometimes have the issue during those two highest demand periods of the year mentioned above.
-- CCV studios (and 2BR lock-offs) at times during the high demand fall season, and once in a while during other times of the year.
-- OKW GVs in the near hospitality house booking category, a year round problem. No other rooms at OKW have the issue.
-- BRV and BCV studios (and lock-off 2BRs) on rare occasions during those two highest DVC demand times of the year.
-- VGF studios (and lock-off 2BRs) at times during the high demand fall season, although that appears to be an issue that is disappearing with the addition of all the new studios.
-- VB and HH three bedrooms but only randomly on rare occasions.
-- Aulani standard view GVs -- they seem to never be available at 8 a.m. at 11-months out. The hotel rooms also have the issue at various times of the year.
For any other DVC rooms, there has, in the last ten years, been only one event that has caused numerous rooms to disappear right around 8 a.m. at 11-months out. That was for Sep 30 to Oct 2, 2021 at Disney World -- the 50th anniversary celebration started October 1 -- for which huge numbers of rooms booked quickly at 11-months out. Example: all rooms at BLT were filled for Sep 30 to Oct 2, 2021 by 8:05 a..m. on Oct 30, 2020. All rooms at VGF did the same within an hour. Even the CCV cabins and Poly Bungalows, which are often open during the year even at 60 days out, were gone quickly at 11-months out. Whether that kind of skewed demand will ever happen again is doubtful (unless you plan to be around for the 100th anniversary), although I perceive it as a possibility if the summer olympics ever come to Orlando.
If your room is one of those that has the 11-month issue and you want to try walking, you need to decide when to try starting the walk. The problem you face, particularly with rooms that have the issue year-round, is even finding a time when you can start a walk. For the Disney World resorts, if it is a room that generally has the 11-month issue only during the first two weeks of Dec or Christmas week, then you may just wait to start shortly before the 11-month window opens for those times. If it is one of the rooms that generally has the issue only during the fall season, it is best to start looking for a start time in August. if it is a room that has the issue year round, then finding a start time can itself be quite difficult. For whatever time you are seeking for such rooms, you probably want to start looking at 11-months out from one of the lowest DVC demand times of the year which, for Disney World DVC resorts, in order starting with the lowest, have been: (a) Feb 1 to the Thursday before Presidents' Day; ); (b) July 7 to 31; (c) the Monday after the Princess half-marathon weekend in Feb to about March 10; (d) the last week of April.
