What's the shortest time you've reserved in?

[Sammie]

In my opinion, this is a red flag. DVC works best for those who plan ahead. If you are unable or unwilling to do so, I think you will end up very frustrated with a DVC membership

Have to agree with Carol on this. If you are satisfied taking any size unit, at any resort, and don't plan to go during peak DVC times, then you can probably manage. But that is alot of "ifs".

 

[dvcmomdeh]

For us. It ws something like 20 minutes.

This past summer we had reservations for 3 days at OKW, I wanted to add one night prior to the original OKW stay. For weeks I called and called and was told no availability. So I picked that one night at SSR. We were 20 minutes out from the airport and I called OKW to see if they had availability and they told me yes. They put me through to Member Services and by the time we arrived at OKW our reservation had been switched. It was all linked together and we didn't have to move.

This has happend a couple of times. Once we were at Vero, Inn room for 5 nights. It was raining with no sunshine in site after 3 days I called up and got in at BCV for the last 2 nights. This was at spring break.

With more and more members coming on the seen I can see this kind of luxury becoming nonexistent


Dawn Haan
DVC
OKW 93
VERO 01
BCV 03

 

[maraki527]

I did 10 days in middle of feb for a vacation in may and got what I wanted. My sister has done even a couple days notice and was able to get what she needed. It just depends on the time of year that you go and how flexible you are

 

[Caskbill]

We signed the papers to purchase DVC at around 2 in the afternoon and stayed that night on the points.

HBC

We were similar. Took the tour in June 1993, signed the papers, and were in the room about an hour later. (1-B/R at OKW)

I haven't a glue as to what time of day it was, but somewhere around mid afternoon I guess.

 

[Melrosgirl]

5 days out. Got a studio at VWL (back in 2003). Fell in love with VWL.

 

[brucec32]

For us. It ws something like 20 minutes.

This past summer we had reservations for 3 days at OKW, I wanted to add one night prior to the original OKW stay. For weeks I called and called and was told no availability. So I picked that one night at SSR. We were 20 minutes out from the airport and I called OKW to see if they had availability and they told me yes. They put me through to Member Services and by the time we arrived at OKW our reservation had been switched. It was all linked together and we didn't have to move.

This has happend a couple of times. Once we were at Vero, Inn room for 5 nights. It was raining with no sunshine in site after 3 days I called up and got in at BCV for the last 2 nights. This was at spring break.

With more and more members coming on the seen I can see this kind of luxury becoming nonexistent


Dawn Haan
DVC
OKW 93
VERO 01
BCV 03

Yes, but keep in mind that they're also adding a lot of capacity too, with the AK coming on soon and the SS here. The Contemporary has some started, too, I believe.

The main drag to shorter term planning would be if it forced one to take high point rooms. I'm not as concerned about which resort was available. But even then its cheaper than not being in DVC in most cases. If one is unable to find a DVC room that is "cheap" in points, I would assume and discounts on regular resort rooms would be hard to find at short notice, also

 

[crisi]

Yes, but keep in mind that they're also adding a lot of capacity too, with the AK coming on soon and the SS here. The Contemporary has some started, too, I believe.

The main drag to shorter term planning would be if it forced one to take high point rooms. I'm not as concerned about which resort was available. But even then its cheaper than not being in DVC in most cases. If one is unable to find a DVC room that is "cheap" in points, I would assume and discounts on regular resort rooms would be hard to find at short notice, also

The proportion of rooms to owners will remain the same.

What changes as new resorts are added is the choppiness of availability. When there was only OKW and you needed five nights on short notice, you were at OKW - you might have to switch room sized. When it was OKW and BWV, you might have to start your trip at OKW then switch to BWV. As more resorts are added, availability for ONE night should stay stable, but probability of stringing multiple nights in the same unit (same size and same resort) goes down. By probability, you should be able to get rooms in large resorts on short notice more easily than small resorts, but probability isn't certainty - there have been some "knock me down with a feather" posts about people getting short notice BW Standard View rooms when there wasn't anything available at a larger resort.

Also, if Disney decides (as the rumor mill keeps implying) to become an offsite timeshare company - resorts in Colorado or Hawaii or Cancun - there may be availability within the system offsite, but nothing at WDW. Currently Vero and HHI are small enough that they don't seem to throw a significant wrench into the works. (Or there may be nothing at DVC Steamboat, but BCV is wide open in Feburary).

 

[elderfam]

a couple of years ago it was much easier to go last minute. DVC is so popular now that it is harder to do. We also like nothing smaller than a 1 bedroom.

Book your room before your airfare......

 

[Deb & Bill]

The number of spaces sold continues to be in proportion to the number of spaces available for the entire year. But, lots more people will want to go either for fewer points (like early Dec) or the school breaks (Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas). So there might be more availability at the less desireable times, and less availability at the more popular times.

 

[crisi]

The number of spaces sold continues to be in proportion to the number of spaces available for the entire year. But, lots more people will want to go either for fewer points (like early Dec) or the school breaks (Thanksgiving, Easter, Christmas). So there might be more availability at the less desireable times, and less availability at the more popular times.

Additionally, there is a sample size problem with most member's DVC experiences.

If you have owned since the beginning and have made three or four trips a year, always booking last minute, you may have a big enough sample to say "it was easier" with any statistical confidence.

(Statistical rule of thumb - you need to have measured something 32 times before you can start drawing conclusions with any confidence - it isn't a hard and fast rule because proportions is much higher than averages - and here we are talking proportions and because sometimes you want more or less confidence. This holds for any DVC experience - we NEVER get our room request met - but our sample size is so small that it isn't fair to say no one ever does. Our rooms have always been clean, but "shabby" - that doesn't mean there aren't sparkling rooms - maybe we are unlucky).

If you tried twice - once in 1998, once in 2002 and got in both times, and then tried again last year and didn't - that isn't a sample size big enough to say anything else than "well, sometimes you get in and sometimes you don't."

(I would postulate that in general it has been harder to get certain times of year because events become more popular and move around - Marathon time was never really difficult until - last year? year before? Based on people posting here, not my own experience. Based on my own experience, early October was a piece of cake until F&W moved back two weeks.)

 

[100_acre_woods]

I was living in Miami at the time and had been visiting my parents in Titusville (about 45 minutes away). I was too tired to drive home so I decided to try DVC. I was able to get something on the way to WDW. I drove straight to OKW and checked in. So I guess my reservation was about an hour or less before check in?