Newbie--need booking help, advice

[DisneyFan1979]

I'm planning my second stay as a DVC member. We are currently booked at our home resort (AKL) for 7 nights in December. The 7 month booking window opens soon and I'd like to try to switch or waitlist some or all of the stay to Beach Club / Boardwalk.

First, when I go online the morning the booking window opens--do I go to my existing reservation & try to modify it? Or should I borrow some points from the next use year and try to make a new one and then cancel the old one?

Also, I'd love to get a better understanding of how the waitlist works. Basically, we'll be happy if we can get anywhere from 3-7 nights at the Beach Club or Boardwalk and stay the rest of the time at AKL--can I waitlist all those possibilities or do I have to choose just 1 option?

I called DVC yesterday to ask them to explain the waitlist and the person was no help.

Finally, what tends to be more popular in DVC--studios or 1 bedrooms? We could do either and don't care about view.

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

[VWL Mom]

Starting with the easiest question first, you can have 2 wait lists at one time.

Unfortunately with DVC you can not just change the reservation you are currently holding. You must cancel it to get use of those points. Depending on where you stand in your use year you should not borrow points to make a reservation unless you can still bank the current years points.

Normally I check to see if what I want is available first. If it is I cancel what I'm holding and book the new reservation. When doing this though be aware there will be a few minutes that you hold nothing. If neither BC or BWV are available, wait list them both.

If you have any questions about what you've done, call MS when they open and they will be able to help.

[DisneyFan1979]

Thank you Lynn, you've been very helpful!

My use year is April so I believe I can bank this year's points until November. So it sounds like I could borrow points from the next use year to book the new reservation and then cancel the existing one and bank those points.

Learning something new with DVC all the time!...

[VWL Mom]

One more thing to remember, anything you bank from this use year will have to be used next use year.

[Aurora]

As Lynn said, you can have two waitlists at one time. One waitlist is any single specific reservation based on number of days, room type, resort and view category. For example, if you want either a studio or a 1-bedroom at the Boardwalk for Dec. 3-7, that's two different waitlists. If you want a 1-bedroom at either the Beach Club or the Boardwalk for Dec. 3-7, that's also two waitlists. Even different view categories for the same type of room at the same resort, such as either a Boardwalk view or a garden view, will be separate waitlists.

Unless ALL the days of your desired reservation become available, your waitlist will not be fulfilled. You could waitlist each day, but each one will be counted as an individual waitlist, and again, you can only have two.

If you don't want to borrow points to make a new ressie without cancelling the old one, it can be scary to cancel and not know for a few minutes whether you're going to get the ressie. It is possible that while you're making the new ressie, the availability disappears because of other people going for the same thing at the same time. But FYI, that's never happened to me. I would still go for it.

[DisneyFan1979]

Thank you both! This board is always so helpful. :mickey:

[Mushu11756]

I had a reservation for akv in august which I booked at 11months out . Dvc rep suggested I call member services as soon as they opened @my 7month window and they switched everything for me (which was easier ) I was able to get a1bedroom bcv . I'd be too worried canceling original reservation and nothing would be available especially if it's a busy time of year.

[DisneyFan1979]

Just wanted to round up this conversation with a report on what I ended up booking. My 7-month window opened yesterday and I was able to borrow some points from 2015 to book a 1-BR Dec. 19-24 at the Boardwalk. I then canceled my reservation for the same dates at AKL--I may use some of those 2014 points for a September short stay and then bank the rest.

Thank you to all who answered my questions! I am so excited to be in the Epcot area that week! :mickey:

[VWL Mom]

Glad everything worked out for you :thumbsup: