What the ???

[BreezysMom]

You might have some luck booking via a third party website rather than directly from Disney, I know that has worked for me a couple times in the past when I couldn't find what I wanted directly from Disney.

I have someone on it! I am hoping she can works some magic!

 

[BreezysMom]

The first week is also Gartner IT, which uses probably 1,000 rooms on campus, mostly deluxe.

The first week of October or November?
What is that anyway? I am guessing a group

 

[DVC_Dad_Canada]

I just checked DVC room availability tool. One week, Saturday to Saturday, no studio rooms available for 2017.

 

[anomamatt]

In late May I was trying to get a Poly CL room for thanksgiving week. And there was essentially nothing. I even tried a travel agent, no luck for what I wanted. So I ended up making two trips out of it... late August and Christmas/NYE.

For the Fall, you really need to think 6+ months in advance.

 

[BreezysMom]

In late May I was trying to get a Poly CL room for thanksgiving week. And there was essentially nothing. I even tried a travel agent, no luck for what I wanted. So I ended up making two trips out of it... late August and Christmas/NYE.

For the Fall, you really need to think 6+ months in advance.

Well that is a bummer- I am trying to see if we can move closer to mid November and still catch F&W. Although I did find a room at the GF for $2551 per night the dates I wanted?? That's a tad out of our price range

 

[Gracie09]

Many of the Poly rooms were converted to DVC since my last visit. That is basically my point about DVC. I having nothing against DVC but it has clearly affected the amount of rooms available at the Poly at any given time. Clearly my late summer whims of booking a fall trip at the Poly are no longer feasible. I get to whine a little

DVC rooms would now be available for cash reservations. So if anything inventory has increased. but now people go because of F&W, and MNSSHP, and conventions

 

[RangerPooh]

Well that is a bummer- I am trying to see if we can move closer to mid November and still catch F&W. Although I did find a room at the GF for $2551 per night the dates I wanted?? That's a tad out of our price range

FYI- Nov 2-5 is Run Disney Wine and Dine Half Marathon weekend. 'Jersey Week' is the following week.

 

[Shellyred8]

Yep, things have definitely changed since the last time you were there. Disney has expanded the dates for F&W and now the fall books up really fast.
The other thing to take into account is that there are fewer rooms available at CBR, CSR and POP (did I miss anywhere else? ), due to construction or refurbs. CBR took the biggest hit. All of Barbados and part of Martinique are now completely gone. So, some people may have upgraded to the Poly, or some other deluxe. All of this in addition to all of the other things that other poster have mentioned.

Depending on how old your kiddos are, checking out the Boardwalk resorts might be a good idea. Lots of stuff within walking distance: HS, EP, Fantasia Gardens Mini golf, lots of restaurants. If you do look into swan and dolphin, don't forget to factor in their additional resort fees and your transportation cost to and from the airport (if you were going to be relying on DME).

Have a great trip!!

 

[Princess_Lisa]

How long were you looking to stay? If you break up your dates, you may see split-stay resorts available. While it may not be ideal for you, it may be an option. But I've learned that the new norm for the fall is to book early. You may seem some cancellations when the full balance is due.

Not only this ^^^, but there is some serious weirdness in Disney's Online Booking. I was looking in October for 4 Nights and it was telling me the only options were Bay Lake Tower and Grand Floridian, which are both well outside my budget. But, if I tried searching for Night 1, Night 2, and Night 3-4 as separate stays, they suddenly had rooms to spare. If I searched for Nights 3 and 4 separately, no dice. If I tried Nights 2-4, again no dice. Even stranger is it suddenly showed availability if I extended my dates from 4 to 6 days, even though that was the same 4 days + 2 days extra. Some of this would make sense (one resort full on some nights and another full on others), except I found AS Movies on all 4 nights searching separately (1, 2, and 3-4), but it wasn't listed if I searched as a single stay.

 

[Gracie09]

Not only this ^^^, but there is some serious weirdness in Disney's Online Booking. I was looking in October for 4 Nights and it was telling me the only options were Bay Lake Tower and Grand Floridian, which are both well outside my budget. But, if I tried searching for Night 1, Night 2, and Night 3-4 as separate stays, they suddenly had rooms to spare. If I searched for Nights 3 and 4 separately, no dice. If I tried Nights 2-4, again no dice. Even stranger is it suddenly showed availability if I extended my dates from 4 to 6 days, even though that was the same 4 days + 2 days extra. Some of this would make sense (one resort full on some nights and another full on others), except I found AS Movies on all 4 nights searching separately (1, 2, and 3-4), but it wasn't listed if I searched as a single stay.

Sounds like they have software designed to prevent orphan rooms. Its harder to fill rooms for only 1 or 2 nights so they may not be available when longer blocks are available.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

The first week of October or November?
What is that anyway? I am guessing a group

First week of October. It is a major conference, one of the largest Disney hosts.

The first week of November is Jersey Week, which is a room suck in its own right.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

Maybe now it is like that but it did not used to be. Most of our trips were booked within a few months prior. Times have changed, I get that. But I am not backing down on the fact that DVC has taken up a lot of inventory.

Nothing is like it used to be.

 

[mbcary]

I'm a DVC member and want desperately to be at an Epcot resort in November but they're all booked so I'm at Poly.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

October is the new July. It's not DVC. It's shifts in the guests' preferences and the proliferation of school fall breaks. If you are just talking about the Poly, maybe that's part of the issue, but not resort-wide.

Epcot resorts sell out quickly because those planning on the food and wine festival know they have to plan early. Especially DVC.

Sounds like they have software designed to prevent orphan rooms.

Yes, they do.

 

[BreezysMom]

So tonight I randomly put my dates in the Disney website and shockingly got the GF garden view for my dates. It's been on my bucket list so I'm pretty happy.

Thanks for all the advice! I'm still so shocked at the lack of rooms but I see lots has changed since our last visit! I guess I have a lot of reading up to do in the next few months!

 

[GoGoBeans]

Yay! Have a great trip.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

Just a 4-5 night stay. We are exploring other options. I remember one of our trips in October. I think 2009? I felt like we had all the parks to ourselves at times and the Poly too! The kiddo is older so no more taking out of school for a week like we used to. I will have my TA look into the split stay option. That may be doable? Thanks!

Brace yourself. The Disney of 2009 is NOTHING like the Disney of 2017. Especially in October. The October crowds are now beyond my comfort zone and we're finally able to move our annual trip back to a little less chaotic mid November.

You'll have a great time with F&W and the fall ambience - just have realistic expectations regarding crowds.

Enjoy the GF!!

 

[ColoradoMom12]

How long were you looking to stay? If you break up your dates, you may see split-stay resorts available. While it may not be ideal for you, it may be an option. But I've learned that the new norm for the fall is to book early. You may seem some cancellations when the full balance is due.

I agree. Also check nights individually. When I booked our October trip for MNSSHP, all that was available was a club level theme park view room. I am not interested in that (I wanted Garden Wing), but I took it because being near the MK was our top priority. Yesterday I was finally able to find something and move us out of the pricey club level room with a view. I was only able to get two nights, though so we'll have to switch rooms once. Not ideal for a 3 night stay.

Oddly, I was not able to get both nights together when I booked. I tried calling to get them to help me book them together, but the wait was more than 30 minutes and I was afraid of losing the room. So I booked each night individually and then had to call and get guest services to combine the two reservations together so that we are not switching rooms two times in as many days.

So my advice is to also check individual nights. Play around with your dates and how you're breaking them up. Hopefully you'll find something!

Edit: I didn't read all of the posts before I posted that. Glad you found something! It takes a lot of persistence when you're booking 'late' at a very busy time. Enjoy the GF!!

 

[mmouse1239]

There's something going on with online and all reservations. I called yesterday to see if I could switch my Nov 27-Dec 1 reservation to an AP rate. At that time, I was told that the only available resorts were BLT 2 bedroom or SSR studio at regular price. She tried one day at a time, 2 days + 2 days, etc. No luck at all. She thought that it was a little weird, so she suggested that there may be a glitch and that I should try again another day. So, this morning I tried doing a regular reservation just to see what was there. There was a whole lot of availability. So, I called Disney, and they told me that I needed to call back later as they were updating their computer systems. Then I tried again on my laptop....all of a sudden, all of those resorts were no longer available. She suggested I call in a couple of hours. Hate when that happens.

 

[scard192]

FD used to be offered in October, not anymore. A pretty good sign that Disney doesn't need to offer much to fill rooms in October.