What's up with lack of avaibility this fall?

[MaxTheMinPin]

My wife and I are looking for weekend getaways in the coming months (APs here in Florida) and nothing is available?! Oct 7-9th...nothing. W&D Weekend, nothing. I'm talking almost no availability at all.

We thought prices would be lower this year. I KNOW resorts aren't full, so what gives?!

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Resorts are full. Especially on weekends. And October 7-9 includes Columbus Day, which packs them in.

 

[focusondisney]

Umm, how do you KNOW resorts aren't full? We were just at WDW last week at GF & YC. Both resorts were hopping with lots of people checking in & out. Food & Wine, Halloween parties plus more schools with fall breaks have made Oct & Nov very popular at WDW.


Also Disney has changed the way they book rooms, it seems. If you only want 2 nights, but they only have a 3 night spot open, you have to book, you can't book just the 2 nights. The length of stay you want has to be available. You can't book longer stays & drop nights as easily as you could before. In looking at reservations, I have seen stays of 5 nights available, for example, but stays of 3 nights show as nothing available.

 

[MaxTheMinPin]

Thanks for other thoughts!

We've been going to WDW for 15 years or so, and APs for some time. CMs always told us July 4th, and Christmas, and Thanksgiving were the "sell-out" days. I wonder if they are limiting hotel rooms? Just another way to make you spend 2-3 days there, when FL residents/APs get squeezed out.

 

[goofy4tink]

Thanks for other thoughts!

We've been going to WDW for 15 years or so, and APs for some time. CMs always told us July 4th, and Christmas, and Thanksgiving were the "sell-out" days. I wonder if they are limiting hotel rooms? Just another way to make you spend 2-3 days there, when FL residents/APs get squeezed out.

I doubt it. My dd is a CM and has been trying to get her boyfriend a discounted room in mid-Oct. But nothing is available!! At least not until after race weekend!!
Food and Wine bring in tons of people for the weekends. Believe me, if the resorts weren't close to full, the prices would be reduced!

 

[AngiTN]

They really are that full. We decided to just stay at Dolphin this time.

 

[Grand Admiral]

I've seen it mentioned elsewhere that there are plenty of conventions going on in October, which fills resorts.

 

[busymommy2pink]

Yep. They are full. The last few times we've gone the resorts have been at capacity (we know this as we had a room issue and they had a hard time resolving it due to lack of rooms. We even offered to pay the difference to go to club level if it meant not waiting hours and they said it was full too). Last year in November, we weren't happy staying in the moderate after a couple of days, so we went to AKL, where they tried to find us a room at ANY deluxe (again, we offered to pay) and everything was completely booked.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Yes, the resorts are full. They've been full for awhile.

Try third party brokers or a travel agent - or the Swan/Dolphin, if they aren't having a big convention they will have some rooms open.

Columbus Day, fall school breaks, food and wine, conventions, Halloween parties, increase in prices for summer, running events, extra blackout days in summer for Florida residents causing them to move to fall, Disney's new method of booking rooms that favors longer stays.

 

[_auroraborealis_]

Fall is no longer a light crowd period. Schools with fall breaks, F&W, parties and runDisney have done what Disney wanted them to do.

 

[Lulubelle17]

Last year we were able to get a great rate at POR for Halloween, this year we are going Oct 6-8 and we ended up going to Shades of Green because there was no availability other than $2500/night at the Grand Floridian. I was surprised as well!