What are the 5 hardest resorts to book at the 7 month window?

[HappyDisneyWife]

If you are asking about resorts and not specific room views I would say:
1) Beach Club
2) Grand Floridian
3) Bay Lake Tower
4) Copper creek
5) Boardwalk

Animal Kingdom value and club are nearly impossible to get even at 11 months. But there is usually standard or savanna view around at the 7 month mark.

I think this is spot on (for WDW, but VGC is harder than anything at WDW!).

We had initially said we wouldn’t buy a resort with a 2042 exp date, but BCV changed our mind. We really wanted to be able to stay there without sweating it out & piecemealing a trip together… so we bought in & I am so happy that we did!!

I’d also add that if you want to be able to score “standard view” pretty much anywhere (except the biggest 3- OKW, SSR, & AKV), you really need to own there (esp RIV, VGF, BLT, & BWV). It’s why we bought RIV, why we won’t sell BLT, & why we’d like to add on at VGF.

Finally, if you want studios or a whole week at one resort; and if you don’t have a lot of flexibility &/or travel during peak DVC times… home priority matters a lot.

 

[Twohsieh]

If I may ask, why is it so hard to book an Animal Kingdom value and club room even at 11 months? Is it a lack of rooms verses the demand? I'm genuinely curious as I have never been to WDW.

 

[stwaldman]

If I may ask, why is it so hard to book an Animal Kingdom value and club room even at 11 months? Is it a lack of rooms verses the demand? I'm genuinely curious as I have never been to WDW.

small amount of units, and unique to the entire DVC collection (i.e. you can't get value/club at another resort), so AKV owners also place a premium on them in addition to non-AKV owners.

 

[Twohsieh]

small amount of units, and unique to the entire DVC collection (i.e. you can't get value/club at another resort), so AKV owners also place a premium on them in addition to non-AKV owners.

Thank you for the insight.

 

[Sandisw]

Thank you for the insight.

There are only 5 2 bedroom lock offs…which is a 1bedroom and a studio combined. That means, on any given night, a maximum of 10 rooms can be booked.

If someone books a 2 bedroom, then both a studio and 1 bedroom get booked, reducing the room count even faster.

 

[Twohsieh]

There are only 5 2 bedroom lock offs…which is a 1bedroom and a studio combined. That means, on any given night, a maximum of 10 rooms can be booked.

If someone books a 2 bedroom, then both a studio and 1 bedroom get booked, reducing the room count even faster.

I thought the rooms at the VGC were difficult to book but now I see that the Animal Kingdom rooms are harder to secure.
I've always been interested in staying at the Animal Kingdom, so maybe I'll try my luck in securing a room one day.
Thank you for the information.

 

[Sandisw]

I thought the rooms at the VGC were difficult to book but now I see that the Animal Kingdom rooms are harder to secure.
I've always been interested in staying at the Animal Kingdom, so maybe I'll try my luck in securing a room one day.
Thank you for the information.

My comments were referring to just the CL rooms. That is why they are so hard. Getting other rooms types are not all that hard.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

I thought the rooms at the VGC were difficult to book but now I see that the Animal Kingdom rooms are harder to secure.
I've always been interested in staying at the Animal Kingdom, so maybe I'll try my luck in securing a room one day.
Thank you for the information.

The majority of answers were about particular room categories that are only small parts of the resorts and not generally indicative of being just booking a villa of some sort at those resorts. AKL is much easier to book at 7 months than VGC.

 

[Twohsieh]

My comments were referring to just the CL rooms. That is why they are so hard. Getting other rooms types are not all that hard.

Thank you for the clarification.

 

[dcfromva]

Thinking of buying another contract, and Im curious if the resort we we want to stay at will require us buying a contract as the home resort.

Which resort(s) are you considering? A lot comes down to your personal choice. BCV is a beautiful resort (with an awesome pool). It was the property that convinced us to purchase DVC. But, eventually we sold it because we found ourselves preferring to stay at BWV (we bought a contract there, too). DH and I never use the pool. We like to walk to EPCOT and Disney Studios. While it is longer to get to EPCOT (from BWV), it is closer to walk to Disney Studios. (And, we also like the std view room category at BWV). Other folks have different criteria and might make different choices.

We also bought at VGC. "Most" of the time it is not a problem to get a reservation there as long as we reserve before 7 months. (Although, certain time frames have become a little more competitive over the years). I wouldn't say it is impossible to get a ressie at less than 7 months, but if you don't- there currently aren't any good DVC alternatives (without converting your points to reservation points) and it could make planning a trip to DL a little more stressful. We like to visit DL at least once a year. But, I'm sure there are folks that would prefer to visit DL much less frequently and the home resort booking wouldn't prove to be as handy.

 

[Philsfan77]

This is good news as that's precisely what we're hoping to do with an OKW resale pending (nooooo ROFR) added to our current VGF points.

Thanks for the encouragement.

If looking for 1-bedrooms, you'll be fine most of the year...but might run into some issues November-December (already dates missing in both of those months for standard view 1-bedrooms) and we are still a few months from the start of their 11-month window.

 

[KAngela]

The hardest one at 7 months out is the one you told your wife you reserved that morning at 8 AM on the dot, forgot about, and then figured you could snag it that evening after work...

 

[ianbikes]

The hardest one at 7 months out is the one you told your wife you reserved that morning at 8 AM on the dot, forgot about, and then figured you could snag it that evening after work...