What's going on?

[mickey4ever]

I'm planning a trip on Dec. 5-10 and we booked the airfare already and today I was going to book POLY. To my surprise, there is no rooms at any hotel at any price for that week. Does anyone know what is going on?

 

[marciemi]

Usually Pop Warner (football) and cheerleading competitions at that time of year. Surprised that they'd be at the Poly though - usually more of a Values & Moderates crowd.

 

[sharks2926]

My thoughts are with you as I find myself in the same boat. Even all DVC resorts have all studios and 1 BR booked for that time period. We'll be moving to early January I guess. Really did want to get there for the Holidays but we were there last year and waited too long to book this year I guess. Sometimes it is hard to be spontaneous!!!

 

[ellenmiele]

That really doesn't seem right. It's the rare week when ALL rooms are booked. If I were you I'd call back again. I have had the occasion where I've been told that a particualr room I wanted wasn't available and I called back later and was told differently - it can't hurt to try.

 

[goofie4goofy]

Mousefest and Pop Warner. Pop Warner usually fills up the values and a portion of the mods, so I am guessing the people that would normally stay value had to go to mod and the mods to deluxes...or so I have read. I think PW is till the 9th and MF till the 10th.

There have been many posts about no availability for these dates. It has become a very popular week, however the following week has plenty of availability. Change your dates and check in on the 9th.

I am a TA and can check dates on the Disney TA website, and the only availability for those dates was SSR - so yes it is true. You can also wait for a cancellation as the 45 pay date is a few days away, you may get a cancellation there. Another poster said there are rooms available on www.aavacations.com , just don't book a package as they are not available.


Sorry you booked your air, but you should never do that without first checking hotel availability.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

No surprise that DVC rooms are filled. It is a very popular week with DVC owners as the points requirements are much lower than later in the month, yet all the Christmas decorations are up.

 

[travelin' tigger]

Over the past 5 years (since 9/11), this week has gradually become more and more popular due to many reasons - some already posted:
DVC - Low points, annual meetings and Christmas decorations mean most if not all DVC are booked for this week.
Pop Warner - As already posted, PW takes over the majority of the All Star resorts with overflow into Pop and Port Orleans Dec. 3-9.
Mousefest - Although this includes a Disney Cruise, the land portion is from Dec. 7-11.

I've been going the past few years over this week and this is the 2nd year I've pushed my WDW vacation back to mid-month due to the increased popularity of this week.

 

[fromscratchmom]

Yikes, I'm going in mid December this year. I had specifically tried to book a low period, obviously something others are trying to do also, resulting in less of a low period. One thing I knew ahead of time was to avoid the all-stars during chearleading events. But the chearleading I had heard about was at a different time of year. Can anyone tell me details on this cheerleading thing in December? I shouldn't fret as it is too late for me to change my dates, but I really don't want to be at the all-stars if their thing will overlap with my dates! I was already considering changing our reservations due to all of the various complaints I'd heard about people not being able to sleep there. My DH and one of my daughters will not be able to sleep at all, if the resort is noisy!

 

[travelin' tigger]

Yikes, I'm going in mid December this year. I had specifically tried to book a low period, obviously something others are trying to do also, resulting in less of a low period. One thing I knew ahead of time was to avoid the all-stars during chearleading events. But the chearleading I had heard about was at a different time of year. Can anyone tell me details on this cheerleading thing in December? I shouldn't fret as it is too late for me to change my dates, but I really don't want to be at the all-stars if their thing will overlap with my dates! I was already considering changing our reservations due to all of the various complaints I'd heard about people not being able to sleep there. My DH and one of my daughters will not be able to sleep at all, if the resort is noisy!

Don't know what your dates are but if you're going mid-Dec. you'll be OK - PW dates are Dec. 3-9.

I went the week BEFORE Christmas last year and am doing the same this year. Although it's not a dead week, crowds were very manageable, especially early on in the week

 

[marciemi]

Fromscratchmom- we went twice during the week the cheerleaders (& football players) were there - once at All Star Sports and once at POR. Really never had any major problems with any of them. Yes, they are loud, and if you were waiting for a bus with them, I might wait for the next bus. But at the All Stars I was amazed by the soundproofing. We would walk through the courtyard (and our room was right on the football field with the big X's and O's where they all warmed up/practiced/hung out) and they'd all be out yelling and practicing cheers. Once we were in the room, I couldn't hear them at all and I'm a really noise sensitive person. Asking for the top floor might also help (although more of a hassle with young kids) because then if they were running around from room to room, at least they wouldn't be above you.

At POR, the resort is so spread out that we barely ever encountered them. I suppose if you ended up in a room in that section you could ask to be moved but otherwise the only problems were buses and at the pool. If you timed it so you got to the pool at the same time as 200 cheerleaders, especially if you have young kids, you might be happier to go to one of the quiet pools or even the kiddie pool, or just come back at a different time. December's weather may be pretty iffy for swimming anyways! I really remember the biggest problem being in the whirlpool on a cool night with way too many way too scantily clad cheerleaders crammed in there with a gaggle of football players all over the scantily clad cheerleaders. Was a good time to leave with little kids! But certainly nothing to ruin your vacation - humorous if anything!

Oops - just read that you'd be at All Stars. One more thing to remember there is that you can pool hop between the different All Star resorts. When we stayed at Sports I know we walked over to Music a couple times just for a change of scenery. As opposed to the Brazilian Tour Groups in July, these kids actually do speak English and the chaperones seem to at least be doing the best they can.

 

[Kaitysmom]

We went last year for that same week and it was Pop Warner and it was MOBBED. MVMCP was crazy - we couldn't enjoy it - too many people. We won't go that week again.

For the OP - you can probably pick up a cancellation as others have said. Are you planning to go to Universal? If you are, you might try that. We split our stay last year and found it really quiet there - they don't start the XMas celebration as early as WDW. Either way, it will be a busy week at WDW. I'll still take a busy week there over a week at work though. Good luck!

 

[lillygator]

it is really really booked for that time period. I only needed 7-9th and luckily I have the Poly but I am paying rack rate. The only other availability was suites in CR. I was calling daily to see if things had opened up but gave up. The Poly will be fine.

 

[wdwlovers5]

if you want to go that particular week that you don't check the hotels in the Disney Village, that's on Disney property and most are official hotels of WDW just like Swan/Dolphin. Of course that would not change the crowds in the parks.

 

[Sleeping Becca]

Call everyday a few times a day. (I hope you have free long distance) Something is bound to come up. Have you tried to break up your stay at different hotels, sometimes you will have better luck getting 2 or 3 days rather than 5. Good Luck to you. I'm sure it will turn out just fine.

Sending prayers and pixie dust your way!

 

[golden1]

I booked a family suite at the All Stars for Dec 8th and 9th not knowing about the Pop Warner thing. I'm getting nervous hearing about everything being booked up for that time but I am hoping things aren't too bad. I am just going to try to add on extra time for buses.

 

[WI_DisneyFan]

All I can say is -- whew! I was originally planning on going the 1st week in December 2007 because everything I read told me that it was D-E-A-D, dead. My DW really wanted to see the Christmas decorations and the Osbourne Family lights. But for various reasons (Pop Warner being one of them, along with the fact that flying out of Wisconsin in December can get dicey), we decided to bump the trip up a few months to mid-September. After reading this thread, I'm happy that I did.