Wish me luck.....

[liz]

We decided to go to WDW this October. I am in contact with someone to rent their DVC points because we REALLY want to stay at BLT. Sooooo, come to find out that there might not be any rooms! I had no idea! I am so nervous. I keep checking my email. I honestly don't know if we can go, because we really need a 1 br with a kitchen, and we really liked the idea of the monorail. We bought airline tix and park tix. :praying: Wish me luck.

[clc053103]

Best of luck! We are DVC owners at BLT and truly love it! If that doens't work out, how about VWL? Still can boat to MK, TTC and Contemp, and great theming.

[TwinFoxes]

Good luck!

[liz]

OK, worst fears realized. No dates available. And VWL looks sold out as well. Are there any other options???

We were hoping for something close to the monorail (we will definitely be going back for naps during the day) and some separation between us and the kids (hopefull a 1BR). Gosh, I am so disappointed. I feel like I have to start all over again. sigh. WDW might not be happening after all. :crying:

[WatchingThemGrow]

OK, worst fears realized. No dates available. And VWL looks sold out as well. Are there any other options???

We were hoping for something close to the monorail (we will definitely be going back for naps during the day) and some separation between us and the kids (hopefull a 1BR). Gosh, I am so disappointed. I feel like I have to start all over again. sigh. WDW might not be happening after all. :crying:
I booked a room at the Contemporary last week, but it was just for one night. There aren't any if you call the main res number? BTW, I cried too, after learning that my 40% off code expired.

[liz]

I booked a room at the Contemporary last week, but it was just for one night. There aren't any if you call the main res number? BTW, I cried too, after learning that my 40% off code expired.

The quote for the Contemporary was close to 4000$ (we were planning on staying a week). Waaaayyy out of our budget. We were going to go through someone using their DVC points (which made the BLT financially possible). Crap. Crap. Crap. and phooey.

[TwinFoxes]

How about Boardwalk Villas or Beach Club Villas? They are DVC. They are not on the monorail, but walking distance to Epcot. And DHS too. We will be staying at BWV in October. I think they are easier to get into that BLT because conventions often book Contemporary and BLT takes the overflow.

You'll find a way to make it work!!

[billysmommy]

How about Boardwalk Villas or Beach Club Villas? They are DVC. They are not on the monorail, but walking distance to Epcot. And DHS too. We will be staying at BWV in October. I think they are easier to get into that BLT because conventions often book Contemporary and BLT takes the overflow.

You'll find a way to make it work!!


The Food & Wine Festival at Epcot is Oct 1-Nov 14th and the Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas usually book up at the 11 month mark for DVC since you can just walk there.

Usually SSR and OKW are the last to book since they are larger so they would probably be your best bet.

Good luck :)

[liz]

The Food & Wine Festival at Epcot is Oct 1-Nov 14th and the Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas usually book up at the 11 month mark for DVC since you can just walk there.

Usually SSR and OKW are the last to book since they are larger so they would probably be your best bet.

Good luck :)

Yes, only SSR and OKW available and possibly AKL. They all seem so far away from MK. I am trying to factor in travel time from park to hotel and vice versa.

[Momof3Labs]

I'd stay at AKL in a heartbeat! There is a dedicated bus so you get on and go straight to the park vs. having to share with other resorts. Since your plane tickets are already purchased, I'd give it a shot. AKL has fabulous theming - far better than BLT.

[DebbieJ]

When we were there in June, we struck up a conversation with someone who was staying at AKL and she said it was FABULOUS!

[liz]

OK, I will ask about availability at AKL! This has been a real eye opener concerning the lack of available dates (at least to me). Thanks for the input. :wavey: I'll post when I hear more.

[egoldber]

Since you already have plane and park tickets definitely go! Worst comes to worst, if there is zero DVC availability you stay off-site and drive in. Millions of people do it every year. It is very doable. :)

On the upside, OKW has the largest rooms of any DVC resort.

AKL is a beautiful resort.

[liz]

Since you already have plane and park tickets definitely go! Worst comes to worst, if there is zero DVC availability you stay off-site and drive in. Millions of people do it every year. It is very doable. :)
.


This year we are celebrating a couple of birthday milestones (DS3 will turn 1 and DH will turn 40) during our trip to Disney and DH and I celebrated our 10th anniversary this year. So to make a long story short, we wanted to splurge and stay on site.

Normally, I am pretty thrifty when it comes to planning vacations. I guess I am so disappointed because I was hoping to avoid dealing with transportation (no car rental, no driving, no parking issues) and eating entirely on site (no cooking for me!).

So at this point, the whole trip was so built up in our heads, that staying off site with the three DC doesn't sound as appealing, but I do understand your point.

[egoldber]

I just meant that you'll have a great time no matter where you stay. :)

You can also always keep trying. There are cancellations all the time. You just never know.

[liz]

No updates from my DVC contact today. We were in contact all day yesterday, but today, nothing. I kept checking my e-mail all day. I hope he was busy at work. Gaaahhh, the suspense is killing me.

Anyway, in his e-mails yesterday, he posted that OKW and SSR would probably have rooms. Any info or thoughts on those resorts?

[egoldber]

OKW is the oldest DVC resort (but has been updated of course) and it has by far the largest rooms of any DVC resort. It has dedicated bus service. You can take a boat to Downtown Disney. We've stayed there twice and enjoyed it both times.

SSR is very new, the newest DVC resort before BLT. You can take a boat or walk to Downtown Disney. It also has dedicated bus service. I have never stayed there, but I have visited. It is a really gorgeous resort. Between the two, for the same price, I would choose SSR just because 1) it is newer, and 2) you can walk to Downtown Disney.

Have you looked at pictures?

http://allears.net/acc/g_okw.htm

http://allears.net/acc/g_ss.htm

Truly, all the DVC resorts are very nice in their own way. :)

[liz]

OKW is the oldest DVC resort (but has been updated of course) and it has by far the largest rooms of any DVC resort. It has dedicated bus service. You can take a boat to Downtown Disney. We've stayed there twice and enjoyed it both times.

SSR is very new, the newest DVC resort before BLT. You can take a boat or walk to Downtown Disney. It also has dedicated bus service. I have never stayed there, but I have visited. It is a really gorgeous resort. Between the two, for the same price, I would choose SSR just because 1) it is newer, and 2) you can walk to Downtown Disney.

Have you looked at pictures?

http://allears.net/acc/g_okw.htm

http://allears.net/acc/g_ss.htm

Truly, all the DVC resorts are very nice in their own way. :)


Thanks! That was the kind of info I was looking for. How did you find the bus service at OKW? This is what worried me the most about staying so far from MK and the monorail.

Also, did one pool area seem more attractive to you and/or more entertaining for the DC?

[alien_host]

I am sorry things arn't working out. Are all the days sold out @ BLT? Can you try and do a spilt stay?

[liz]

I am sorry things arn't working out. Are all the days sold out @ BLT? Can you try and do a spilt stay?

It would seem just about everyday is sold out :47:. I even found this nifty (and heartbreaking) chart that DVC members update as to which dates are sold out. Pretty much every. single. day.

My DVC contact told me my chances on the waiting list were slim (very, very slim were his exact words). Basically October through January was tough, but toughest around the Food and Wine festival. I thought we were all set, since most kids were in school (ahem, most of them :innocent:). Well, lesson learned.

I have to say that last night I was almost crying because I thought our well laid plans were about to fall apart. But thanks to this great forum and Disboards and Allears, I got a better sense of other resorts.

Oh, and as far as splitting a stay, I think it would be too much work. Without kids, doable and maybe even enjoyable. With kids, torture.

[egoldber]

Well, FWIW, we have often done a split stay. We are DVC members, but on our last trip, it was last minute and we had to do what we could. While it was not ideal, we did a split stay with BCV and AKL. They will transfer bags for you, although you can do it yourself if you have a car. But it is certainly not ideal.

The bus service at OKW is fine. We actually prefer the bus to the MK vs driving because it drops you right at the front of the park.

And yes, October with F&W has become pretty popular. There are also the MNSSHPs, which are very popular as well.

ETA: Also, AKL is really stunning. There's nothing else like it. My main irritation last time was that they were doing a renovation on the main pool and we did not realize that until we arrived. I was kind of mad they didn't say anything while we were booking, but that was more of a shame on me I guess. I would try to stay at Jambo House vs Kidani Village.

[liz]

There are also the MNSSHPs, which are very popular as well..

What is that? With all of my research, I thought I had come across all of the Disney lingo, LOL.

[egoldber]

Sorry!

MNSSHP = Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

[liz]

So DH and I realized that Monday is a holiday in the state my DVC contact works in. That means he probably took a 4 day weekend! :irked: So that means we won't hear anything from him until Tuesday at the earliest.

I will research OKW and SSR as well as AKL in the meantime. It's so hard to wait. I was really hoping to finalize our plans this weekend. I am trying not to imagine all the other guests booking the rooms we want. But, we are still dreaming of Disney and all the things we want to see when we get there.

[TwinFoxes]

The Food & Wine Festival at Epcot is Oct 1-Nov 14th and the Boardwalk Villas and Beach Club Villas usually book up at the 11 month mark for DVC since you can just walk there.

Usually SSR and OKW are the last to book since they are larger so they would probably be your best bet.

Good luck :)

I guess we got lucky! We changed from BLT to BW last month for October because we got a great Pin Code deal. We had been torn between BLT and BW, but the pin knocked $1000 off our price.

OP, keep trying, because the 45 day payment mark is fast approaching. People may cancel rather than pay the whole amount due. My fingers are crossed for you!

[liz]

I've got good news and bad news.

Bad News: My DVC contact said all studios, 1BR and 2BR DVC villas are all booked for ALL of Disney during the week we are going. Only SSR had two nights in the middle of our stay that were available. omgoodness. Things are looking grim.

Good News: Well, we looked at the Disney website and the only thing that worked for us (financially) was a family suite at the value resorts. I decided to call Disney directly to ask about these rooms and about any other specials. Well, I guess all of the times I went to disney.com paid off, because I had a 40% off code!!!!!!! :boogie: So we got a 1BR at SSR, for roughly the same amount of $ we would have paid for the DVC rate. I am still in shock. Woohoo!!

Thanks to all of you for answering my questions and for the support!

[liz]

I guess we got lucky! We changed from BLT to BW last month for October because we got a great Pin Code deal. We had been torn between BLT and BW, but the pin knocked $1000 off our price.

OP, keep trying, because the 45 day payment mark is fast approaching. People may cancel rather than pay the whole amount due. My fingers are crossed for you!

Ooohh, really? I never thought of this! If for some reason BLT (our 1st choice) had some availability, can we switch our 40% off code from one resort reservation to another? I shouldn't even be thinking this, because of all difficulty we had in trying to book a room. I am giddy with the thought of Disney!

[clc053103]

Ooohh, really? I never thought of this! If for some reason BLT (our 1st choice) had some availability, can we switch our 40% off code from one resort reservation to another? I shouldn't even be thinking this, because of all difficulty we had in trying to book a room. I am giddy with the thought of Disney!

Congrats on your score!!!

Your PIN code can be switched to another resort IF the PIN code covers that resort as well and IF there's rooms eligible for that deal (meaning, they put aside x number of rooms for PIN discounts, and if they get filled, they can't give you just another room out of the inventory for that hotel).

I share in your giddiness!

[egoldber]

People really do cancel all the time, especially at the times when they face not getting a refund. So 45 days out, 48 hours in advance, etc.

When you make a DVC reservation (as a DVC member), you can also wait list for a different resort. We have booked OKW and SSR previously and waitlisted for Boardwalk and have always had our reservation clear.

[alien_host]

I'm glad you were able to book something, and a PIN to boot! Yay! Have fun!