Quick question about the 11 month window.
 

Been a disney family for 20+ years. Kicking ourselves for not buying into OKW way back in 1994 when we first took the tour.

Here is my issue. I understand EVERYTHING about the system, but can't get any 1st hand accounts of how easy or hard it is to book.

Lets say my month for new point to come up is in March. Also say we have plenty of points in our account banked or otherwise.

Now its august. We decide, we are bored and want to go to disney for a week and recharge. Do we have any shot getting into our home resort, or any other resort at WDW on 2-3 month notice instead of 11?

Our problem is we still go 1 - 2 times a year, but only on a couple months notice. Can't imagine planning almost a full year out.

thanks in advance.

Certain times of the year are tough for DVC to be booked on short notice. Basically from end of September into January (Food and Wine, Mickey's Halloween, Thanksgiving, Xmas and marathon are big for DVC)...then Easter week and July 4th get busy. I also think that DVC turns over all inventory to sell for cash at a certain point (like 2 months out)...someone can correct me if I am wrong. At that time you can call DVC and see if they can get something back in inventory for you (I am not completely sure about this, but I read it on here somewhere). And certain resorts go fast as well (they are smaller and/or more preferred...like BCV). Certain rooms go fast too...like the cheaper point standard view at BWV. The places you will have the easiest time getting on short notice are SSR, OKW and AKV (savannah and maybe standard view...NO club or value as they go fast).

home resort is a non-issue for booking if you can't book more than 7 months out. SSR is the largest resort and the most likely to have last minute rooms.

trying to book november in august will typically be an exercise in frustration. nov and dec are two of the most popular months for DVC bookings. here is more info about dec at 7 months out:

December Time: Results at 7 Months out

even if there are rooms available, you might have to stay 2 nights in a studio at SSR then move to 3 nights at an OKW 1BR before moving to another room for the last night or 2...

i would not recommend DVC in your situation. it might work out fine but the risk is definitely there for frustration. you would always be hoping for leftover inventory...

here's the basic thing about a pts system (oversimplified slightly to make it clearer): think about 1 villa that disney sells 50 pts to cover and keeps back 2 pts for maintenance. now that 1 villa has 50 owners that can book 1 week each with their pts (the other 2 weeks are held back for maintenance/upkeep).

so what happens if all 50 owners decide they don't want to visit in jan/feb but they all prefer other periods? at the end of feb, there would only be 46 weeks or so for the 50 owners to try to book...someone is going to get left out. to the extent that you constantly wait till the last minute, you would be volunteering to be left out unless no one else wants what you are trying to book.

(and yes, banking/borrowing, multiple resorts, trading out for non-DVC hotels/cruises muddy the example a bit, but ultimately, the system still needs to balance.)

I think the DVC will modify your habits and you will find yourself booking further out. You can always stay where you normally would have for your last minute stays just not at DV resort. Investing money changes habits

A 2-3 month booking totally depends on the time of year. It probably won't happen for Spring Break season, December and a good chunk of Food & Wine unless you're lucky. Other times like September, January through early March and May are generally easy to get. Summer is hit or miss. I am going down the weekend of March 8 to see some Spring Training games, and I booked in December. There was a pretty good selection of resorts.

It also depends on how flexible you are. A short notice booking for summer might have you spending two days in a one bedroom at SSR, three in a studio at OKW and a final day in a two bedroom at SSR because it was the only thing open. You might even get lucky and since you are moving so much already, find one night free at BCV. For some people this is "no availability" since their idea of a vacation is spending the whole vacation on one room. Other people announce excitedly that BCV was available three months out! And if its only for one night and they are moving three times during their vacation, they are still happy.