Importance of Home Resort?

[moonlightgraham]

I am contemplating a resale purchase into SSR of 160pts @$76 per. I decided on SSR because of the longer leasehold, slightly lower maint. fee, and lower point cost than some of the other resorts. We are not die-hard SSR fans, ideally we would like to visit all the resorts and was wondering how difficult it is to get into non-home resorts during typical vacation time periods.

 

[Twinkstarr]

I own at SSR. I have been successful in getting 2br units at BWV/BW view and BCV for MLK weekend.

I have SSR booked for Thanksgiving(11/21-11/28) and waitlisted every other 2br except for OKW and AKV. Still waiting to see if my "experiment" will come through.

My plan of attack is make my home reservation at 11 months, then call right at 7 months and try to switch or go on the waitlist. I'm on the phone right at 9am ET. For me I enjoy all the resorts, it's just kind of a game to at some of the "know it all" DIS'ers.

We go to WDW for Thanksgiving, MLK weekend and that's it. Spring Break we use our Vero Beach points to go there.


With the change in the reservation system(no more day by day waitlisting, and changing the start of the booking windows to 11/7 months from beginning of your stay) I'm not sure how this is going to effect things.

I'm now kind of hoping my WL comes through for Turkey day, as I see SSR is going to be packed with people using those "bonus" points that only can be used there.

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I am contemplating a resale purchase into SSR of 160pts @$76 per. I decided on SSR because of the longer leasehold, slightly lower maint. fee, and lower point cost than some of the other resorts. We are not die-hard SSR fans, ideally we would like to visit all the resorts and was wondering how difficult it is to get into non-home resorts during typical vacation time periods.

Old Key West and Animal Kingdom Villas will have plenty of availability along with your Saratoga Springs resort. The only times these resorts may be difficult is during holiday seasons, MLK, Presidents week. Even then, if you call right at 7 mos. you probably won't have any problem. Boardwalk Villas, Beach Club Villas, and Wilderness Lodge are another story. BCV and WLV are small, and at times you just won't get anything at 7 mos. Boardwalk is somewhat bigger, and you'll have a little more luck getting into there, but probably not boardwalk view or standard rooms. Knowing your seasons, resorts you want to stay at during those seasons, will determine your luck at reservations at 7 mos.

 

[Steamboat Bill]

Buy at the area where you really want to stay. If it really does not matter, then SSR is a great buy.

Don't buy SSR and get upset that you can't get BCV or any other property during popular times.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

To the OP, not sure what you mean by "typical vaction time periods," but 7 month reservations at DVC in the summer are usually easier to get than any other "vacation" period like Spring Break/Easter, Thanksgiving or December.

And be aware that availability can change over time. October used to be realtively quiet, then Disney started the Food & Wine Festival and attendance levels (includign DVC bookings) have shot up.

As Bill more or less stated, assume you will stay at your home resort and then you can be pleasantly surprised if you can reserve elsewhere. If staying at SSR most of the time would not be your ideal vacation, then you may want to look at buying another resort.

Best of luck -- Suzanne

 

[moonlightgraham]

Thanks all for the input. We are fine at SSR, as we enjoy being away from the action sometimes, but would welcome a change of venue from time to time. I fully understand that trying to book say a Chriistmas or Easter week at something other than SSR would be doubtful but what I'm reading here is that a typical summer week is certainly possible and that's all I am wishing for.

Also, I noticed on DIS-Boards they have an availability thread for DVC properties. Taking a look at that it appears there tends to be pretty decent availability across most properties except for those peak weeks.

 

[tomandrobin]

If you are a planner, can make reservations 9am at the 7 month mark, then you should be fine. You are realistic with peak holiday reservations, which helps. Using the waitlists at 7 months out usually works well too.

But don't be disappointed if 50% or more of your stays are at SSR. I called a few days ago for BCV. The last week of January and the whole month of February had one bedrooms avaialable. Thats is 4 to 5 months out from check-in.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

Also, I noticed on DIS-Boards they have an availability thread for DVC properties. Taking a look at that it appears there tends to be pretty decent availability across most properties except for those peak weeks.

You should be aware that this availability thread at DIS was just launched in the last month and it depends on input from the DIS community, many of whom aren't even aware it exists yet. Over time, it may be more reliable, but right now it probably does not give a great picture of what is available. Best of luck -- Suzanne