When a new resort opens, how do reservations work?

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

We weren't DVC members yet when BLT opened, and I'm wondering how the reservations went. Were reservations only open to those who purchased until the 7-month mark for BLT, or did they open up initially for all members so that the resort would be at capacity right away? Also, did y'all find it extremely difficult to get a reservation initially? I'm trying to figure out whether it is a must that we purchase Aulani in order to get a reservation for within that first winter after it opens. According to the leaked points chart, we want to go right when it changes from Adventure to Choice season.

Thanks for any feedback! Evey =)

 

[disneynutz]

Owners for that resort get to book first, but remember that Disney only uses a small portion of a new resort for DVC bookings. As additional points are sold, more rooms are made available. All undeclared rooms are given to CRO for regular Guest bookings so the resort is always filled.

If 10% is made available to DVC Members, that's only 46 rooms. If 46 Aulani owners book for any given date, then that's it, they are fully booked.

Bill

 

[Sandisw]

When reservations started for BLT, owners had about a 2 - 3 week window to book before the window opened for others.

The resort was scheduled to open Sept 1st, 2009 and BLT owners got to make reservations starting February 7th (or 8th). I believe it opened for all owners a few weeks later to start booking for trips 7 months out.

I believe it was similar for VGC owners.

 

[wdrl]

We weren't DVC members yet when BLT opened, and I'm wondering how the reservations went. Were reservations only open to those who purchased until the 7-month mark for BLT, or did they open up initially for all members so that the resort would be at capacity right away? Also, did y'all find it extremely difficult to get a reservation initially? I'm trying to figure out whether it is a must that we purchase Aulani in order to get a reservation for within that first winter after it opens. According to the leaked points chart, we want to go right when it changes from Adventure to Choice season.

Thanks for any feedback! Evey =)

For both BLT and VGC, resort owners were able to book a few weeks (I think two weeks) before non-resort members could book.

DVCnews.com has posted some information about Aulani's dates, so you might want to check out the news items on that site. Tim at dvcnews.com is reporting that Aulani is tentatively scheduled to open Phase I on 8/29/2011. Aulani owners will be able to book reservations starting 9/29/2010 and non-owners starting on 1/29/2011. These dates match up to the standard 11-month and 7-month windows we are familiar with.

Based on the number of villas in each viewing category as reported by dvcnews.com, it looks like the number of studios and one-bedroom villas will be as follows: Standard View--18; Island View--93; Poolside View--31; and Ocean View 104. The maximum number of two-bedroom villas (which includes Lockoffs and Dedicated) will be as follows: Standard View--27; Island View--168; Poolside View--56; and Ocean View--188.

If dvcnews.com is also correct about 35% of Aulani being set aside as Fixed Week Inventory, then the numbers of villas available for booking with points would definitely be less than the numbers shown above. Even if DVD limits Fixed Week sales to 35%, there is no telling whether that percentage will hold across all seasons and/or across all accommodations.

Oh, by the way, there is another variable that dvcnews.com is reporting that could impact your ability to get an Aulani reservation in the first year. Aulani will be opened in phases with Phase I opening 8/29/2011. It will have only 119 villas, which is roughly about 25% of Aulani's total DVC villas.

And a second "Oh, by the way": Based on the Aulani Point Chart released last week and the accommdation/view breakdown reported by dvcnews,com, I figure that Aulani will have about 11,598,228 points allotted to it, give or take 30,000 points.

So, has anyone added an Aulani tag to their signature line???

 

[LouisianaDisneyFan]

Okay, that gives me the info I need to know then. We've been playing with the numbers and realized that even if we purchase the number of points we want for long-term at Aulani, we still wouldn't have enough points to book as home resort for our 30th anniversary. It falls in the first few months after the resort is open... so the most points we could use would be 2011 and 2012 points. The max we would want to purchase would be 160 because we just don't see ourselves making that long of a flight to the same place every year (probably we would travel there every three years). We also typically won't need as many points per trip, because we won't always be bringing extended family along (just on the first trip to celebrate our anniversary). If Disney does open up reservations only a few weeks in, then hopefully we can get the reservation we desire. And, if not, I'll have a backup plan closer to home already in place.

Thanks for the input! =)