Help!

[AngieM]

Hello everyone!

I have been visiting intercot for a while now, but this is my first post. I hope that you guys can help me out.

My DH and I just joined DVC a few weeks ago, and in this moment I am feeling like we made a huge mistake. I am totally frustrated right now. We are wanting to go to WDW Dec 6-10, and I called today to make a ressie for that time. The lady at member services told me that there was no availability at any resort for any size villa at that time (I told her we would take anything). Then this evening I went to Disneyworld.com, and I found availabilty at everywhere except VWL or BCV. I am totally confused:confused:, do DVC members not get first pick of these rooms? Why is there no availblity for me, a DVC member, but plenty of rooms for the public? I would love any feed back.

Thanks!
Angie:mickey:

[DVC Mike]

My DH and I just joined DVC a few weeks ago, and in this moment I am feeling like we made a huge mistake. I am totally frustrated right now. We are wanting to go to WDW Dec 6-10, and I called today to make a ressie for that time. The lady at member services told me that there was no availability at any resort for any size villa at that time (I told her we would take anything).


First off, the first two weeks of December are probably the busiest time of year and most members book vacations for December 11 months in advance.



Then this evening I went to Disneyworld.com, and I found availabilty at everywhere except VWL or BCV. I am totally confused:confused:, do DVC members not get first pick of these rooms? Why is there no availblity for me, a DVC member, but plenty of rooms for the public?

There are two separate sets of room inventory -- those from the Member inventory that can be booked with points and those that can be booked by the general public with cash.

There are four major sources of inventory for cash reservation:


Exchanges: The number one source of cash rooms is actually from the Member inventory. This occurs when members exchange/trade outside of the DVC resorts. This includes using your points to book the Disney Collection (hotels at the Disney theme parks and the Disney Cruise Line), Concierge Collection, and the Adventurer Collection. When a member trades outside of DVC, the points used to book the outside reservation are assigned to DVD to rent out. This does not apply to the World Passport Collection.


Breakage: Another source of cash reservations includes Member inventory that has not been reserved by members using points. Any Member inventory not reserved by members using points is made available to Disney CRO at the 60-day mark for cash reservations by the general public. This is actually beneficial to DVC members, in that the association earns “breakage” income on these rooms rather than letting them sit empty.


ROFR: Another source of cash reservations is the inventory of declared points owned by DVD. These points are typically acquired by the ROFR process. Since DVD owns the points, they can rent them out.


Undeclared: These are the units that have been built by the developer that has not yet been declared into the condominium association. Since DVD controls these units, they may be rented out for cash reservations.

[WRWDisney]

You are trying to book the most popular week of the year for DVC. This time books-up at very close to the 11 month mark. The combination of the low points cost and Christmas decorations make it very popular.

When you are seeing cash rooms available, that is exactly what they are. Each DVC has a certain number of room nights available for the hotel side. They are separate inventory from the DVC rooms.

Go ahead and get on the wait list, you are still close to the seven month mark, but next year book at your home resort at the eleven month mark.

Don't let one booking disappointment ruin your enjoyment. Remember this is only one of of many years worth of trips.

[AngieM]

Thanks for your replies. I knew that it was a busy time, and I would have booked at the 11 month window, but we just finished all our paper work last week. I just thought that DVC got first pick of rooms, and if there were empty rooms those were up for grabs for the public. I did not understand that it came from a whole seperate inventory. I guess I will know for next time.

WRWDisney-I noticed that you are from Harrisonburg, VA. I was born there, and lived in Weyers Cave until I was 7. Actually, all my family is still in that area. I guess "It is a Small World After All";)

Thanks Again!
Angie

[lockedoutlogic]

I might be oversimplifying....but i'm getting the impression that the original poster was not grasping the difference between DVC units and WDW hotel rooms....

DVC does not have any "rights" to the traditional hotel units.....there are still 30000 rooms operated by disney resorts that dvc has no priority over....

and if i'm not giving too little credit with that explanation...i'll give you another.,...

by florida law...a percentage of all timeshares have to be available to the public....it's an old home rule statute that was meant to provide access to available hotel type lodging to the residents of the areas...predominantly beach towns....where the timeshare market first flooded.....the general explanation was that it wasn't fair for these communities to have tourist influx without accomodations available for family, friends, or for them to use themselves....

it still applies....and believe it or not....dvc is required to always have rooms available to cash paying customers....even if they could easily book with their own members.....


and to echo what was stated above....that time is very difficult to get....you will almost have to go to your "home" resort and book outside of 7 months to get a definite reservation....

i also highly recommend altering your travel to more laid back times....may....january-valentine's day...september to thanksgiving.....etc

hope i have helped answer some of your questions

[wendy*darling]

:welcome:to INTERCOT :mickey:

and
:welcome: HOME!

The previous posters gave you all the info you need.
It is so true- those first 2 weeks of December truly are THE most popular DVC weeks in all the year. The decorations, low points, and DVC Annual meetings all draw Members in. And the crowds are actually pretty low too- it's just DVC Members who fill the Villas- the other resorts typically have plenty of availability.

Definitely get on the wait list- there's a good chance you'll be able to get in somewhere. Everyone books at 11 months- even before they know what their plans will be for December. They know they can't wait until later to decide. So the chance are probably decent you will be able to get at least something.

Looking ahead- plan as far in advance as you can. Book at 11 months whenever you think there is a chance you will be making a trip.
Other popular times are Food & Wine (Oct & Nov), Mother's Day, President's Week. Usually OKW and SSR are the last to fill.

Don't be discouraged- lots of great vacation await you! :thumbsup:

[BIGDOG]

THE NEXT BEST TIME TO VISIT
Beginning of October until Thanksgiving
Week before Christmas

BEST TIME TO VISIT
January
September

I was wondering are these times still correct as this came off the info section of this site. I was planning on going dec 2 thru the 9th is this a bad time to go as far as crowds go?

[Horizon93]

First, welcome to Intercot! We are a nice bunch.

Don't let this experience diminish your overall opinion of DVC. DVC mike explained the situation very well in post #2.

I agree with the others who suggest getting on the wait list. We are relatively new members as well. We waitlisted for our first reservation, which came through, and then finally got to make one at the 11 month window. That was a great experience! Keep the faith in DVC.

[AHOTE]

I had the similar thing happen my first year too. We picked a busy time to go and there were no DVC rooms available anywhere for the time we wanted. We were disappointed but we decided to go anyhow and we did get a cash reservation at ASMu. We were on a wait list for a studio but nothing opened up. Since we were on a wait list we didn't lose our points, they allowed us to bank them for the following year. It was a great thing for them to do.

:welcome: To DVC & Intercot

[wendy*darling]

THE NEXT I was planning on going dec 2 thru the 9th is this a bad time to go as far as crowds go?
These are essentially the same dates as the original poster- and they cannot get a DVC room for this coming December as of right now. (The wait list still might work)

As has been posted above- this is a great time to go for many reasons including the crowds in the parks are pretty low at this time.
But if you want a DVC villa on points- you had better be on the phone at 11 months out!

[AngieM]

Thanks for all your replies.

I called back this AM, and member services was VERY helpful. Since we were pretty flexable with our dates she was able to look for something else. So, we switched our dates to Nov 29-Dec 3 , in a 1BR at SS. I know this is the weekend after Thanksgiving, so how bad will crowds be? I know that Saturday and Sunday will be crowded, but what about Mon and Tues?

Thanks Again!
Angie :mickey:

[wendy*darling]

:mickey: Fabulous!! :mickey:

That's great that you could be flexible with your dates. That will make all the difference in the world when planning vacations to the "World"!

Your right about Saturday and Sunday being crowded, but I think you'll find that week after to be very light crowd-wise. You have the benefit of all the Christmas decorations, MVMCP, Candlelight Processional, etc. - and usually decent weather too.:thumbsup:

Enjoy. :santa3:

[JMTStone]

We did Thanksgiving week last year and Saturday was busy but Sunday everyone seemed to leave. After that I have a feeling you'll be just fine!!!

I'm glad it worked out for you.

:welcome: HOME and to Intercot