# Do you ever feel disadvantaged being a UK DVC'er



## Chris and Pooh

Hi 

I thought I would pose this question as for the last 11 years we have been very fortunate to be members of DVC and have visited nearly all the resorts at DW. However it has been annoying at times that when I have tried to book and on many occasions there has only been partial availability. This has meant going on a wait list in hope that a day/ or days becomes available. This is of course because US members and their relatively close proximity to DW are able to make short visits of one to four days, whereas Brits in general visit for at least a week. I do not blame the US members for doing this and I would probably take advantage of this myself. It is just a shame that Disney does not make provision for reserving at least one week windows of opportunity by setting aside a number of rooms until say six months before check in and then open up the reserved rooms for shorter term bookings. 

One example I would like to give which has prompted this post is that my DD who has just become a member at GF was unable to get a clear week for the 20 Nov 2015 with a Lake view as Saturday has already gone allowing only six days at the resort (Fr, Su, Mo, Tu, We, Th) and this is with the 11 month window


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## Minniesgal

We never book whole weeks. We tend to book sets of 4 nights then move to another resort. We have never had much of an issue getting what we want or at least something we are happy with.


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## Elise79

You can book 7 nights at once from check in - at both the 11 month and 7 month window.

This allows for longer booking and as long as you extend within the 7 nights at the 11 month window you are guaranteed the availability. 

Unfortunately that period is near thanksgiving so it will be busy and VGF is a smallish resort.


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## Chris and Pooh

Elise79 said:


> You can book 7 nights at once from check in - at both the 11 month and 7 month window.
> 
> This allows for longer booking and as long as you extend within the 7 nights at the 11 month window you are guaranteed the availability.
> 
> Unfortunately that period is near thanksgiving so it will be busy and VGF is a smallish resort.


 

I guess it depends on what time of year you book but I have had many occasions in the last 13 years in the March to May 9 not easter) and October when I have tried to book as you say with the seven day at check in and have had to either go on a wait list or find alternative dates


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## Chris and Pooh

Minniesgal said:


> We never book whole weeks. We tend to book sets of 4 nights then move to another resort. We have never had much of an issue getting what we want or at least something we are happy with.



We have resorted to having two resorts over a period of two weeks but there is always time lost due to re packing to go to the next resort so 4 days would definitely not suit us


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## Elise79

Chris and Pooh said:


> We have resorted to having two resorts over a period of two weeks but there is always time lost due to re packing to go to the next resort so 4 days would definitely not suit us



We always stay at home BLT or OKW and for the full stay and book at the 11 month or 7 month window and never have any issues.

I don't like moving so it's all in one place for us.


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## Laurafoster

I have to be honest we rarely have an issue booking a full 2 weeks at resorts either. We own SSR and usually book 2 weeks there at our 11month window or a few days after. We quite often move to BWV/ BCV and have only wait listed once (and that was for a peak season)


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## wilma-bride

I can honestly say I don't feel disadvantaged as a UK owner when it comes to booking.  Maybe when it comes to not getting the same perks, such as the bonus for introducing new members (we have introduced 3 people who have ultimately bought in).  But not as far as booking is concerned.  At the end of the day, a US resident wanting to book checking in on 20 November for 3 days has no advantage over a UK owner wanting to check in on 20 November for a week.  Both can reserve at the same time.

As Tracy said, that week is Thanksgiving so the resorts will be very busy and VGF has less inventory than other resorts and, therefore, will book up quicker.  Did your DD try as soon as booking was open 11 months in advance?

The onyl time we have ever had difficulty getting what we wanted (in 8 years of ownership and 9 visit) was trying to get BWV over the F&WF period - we still got it, we just had to be a little more flexible with our dates.  And that was at the 7 month point.


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## Wedgeh

The only disadvantage I've experienced is that transatlantic flights are a lot more expensive, and take a lot longer, than from the US or Canada! In one way that's actually advantageous as it means we're more likely to be planning our trips well in advance which is always a bonus in the DVC system.


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## saintrob

So far we haven't felt that we're at a disadvantage.  We've owned at AKL for four years and tend to use our points for our Christmas trip.  So far we've never used our points at our home resort and have always managed to secure a reservation at either the BC or BWV at the seven month window.

We have booked BLT at Easter but I was unable to secure a 1 bedroom so have a studio although this was something of a late trip.


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## Chris and Pooh

Food for thought, I have booked flights 7th November for two weeks and was thinking of a cruise from the 14th however even though I am two months out from the 7 month window, only SSR (my home), OKW and AKL have availability, all other resorts are either not available or have partial for the 7th to 14th and I still have two months to wait  before I can book anywhere, other than SSR. I wonder where I am going wrong when others seem to have no problem booking


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## Minniesgal

I think your issue is that you are looking at a peak time.  If i were you I'd lock in SSR now so you have somewhere and wait list at 7 months to try and change.


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## Chris and Pooh

Hi with respect, this is not peak time in the US as far as I am aware other than Veterans Day on the 11thand it is not Thanksgiving until the 23rd when I know it is busy, likewise in the  UK, kids are back at school.


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## Minniesgal

November is a peak time for DVC demand.


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## Chris and Pooh

I stand corrected then in this case as I thought this was the choice season which is the second cheapest period to go. That being the case where did you get the info on when there is peak demand as it would be handy for me for future reference


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## Minniesgal

That's why it is peak demand for DVC, cheaper points, cooler weather.

Late September to early January is DVC peak demand time.  Best to book at 11 months in that period.  Reservations are much harder to get in that period than the typical UK family travel time of during the summer holidays.  July and August are relatively easy to book compared to November.

Also even though there is only partial availability, if you look there are quite a few good blocks of rooms available.  I was looking at VGF and ok you won't get 14 nights but you might get 6 or 8 in that period of you book a 1 bedroom.


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## Chris and Pooh

Minniesgal said:


> That's why it is peak demand for DVC, cheaper points, cooler weather.
> 
> Late September to early January is DVC peak demand time.  Best to book at 11 months in that period.  Reservations are much harder to get in that period than the typical UK family travel time of during the summer holidays.  July and August are relatively easy to book compared to November.
> 
> Also even though there is only partial availability, if you look there are quite a few good blocks of rooms available.  I was looking at VGF and ok you won't get 14 nights but you might get 6 or 8 in that period of you book a 1 bedroom.



That is probably why UK DVC members do not have issues generally. I have never been in July, August always Oct, Nov Mar Apr and May and have rarely been able to book in the 7 month window and that has been since 2004. But my point still stands in respect of holding  a few rooms for 7 day windows til six months out, as is the case with my present booking, there is limited availability due to one or two days blocking a seven day booking, and I have been on wait lists without success


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## Minniesgal

I have found April easy enough to book if Easter is early.  If you book close to Easter it can be hard going but a couple of week after Easter booking is relatively easy.  In fact I'm tracking April as i want to book for 2016 and at the moment for late April VWL still has 1 bedrooms, ann SSR, OKW, AKV have good availability even in Treehouse and it is only 3 months away.

I don't really see how you could have a system that is fair where you hold back rooms for some owners who book in certain situations.  I guess the answer to this is the fixed weeks they are now offering.


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## Elise79

Chris and Pooh said:


> That is probably why UK DVC members do not have issues generally. I have never been in July, August always Oct, Nov Mar Apr and May and have rarely been able to book in the 7 month window and that has been since 2004. But my point still stands in respect of holding  a few rooms for 7 day windows til six months out, as is the case with my present booking, there is limited availability due to one or two days blocking a seven day booking, and I have been on wait lists without success



Last December I could have my pick of resorts at the 7mth window in a one bedroom so it's not always the case.

They can not hold any rooms and I don't think they should - those with home resort priority should get just that - the reason you are blocked is not because of people switching at 7 months but those who booked their home before the 7 month window.

We own at BLT and bought there because we knew that would be where we wanted to stay most often - I wanted to know I would get in and paid the premium to do so. We had previously looked at SSR before BLT was built (and also didn't know about resale) and decided it wasn't for us.


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## saintrob

I was exactly the same.  I could have booked any resort at 7 months in a 1 bedroom for our Christmas trip for 10 nights.  The only exception was the GF.  

We had to waitlist for 4 nights at BLT for Easter - this is a MK studio however.


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## CarolMN

I'm not from the OK, but I thought this post from drusba, one of our frequent DIS DVC posters, would be helpful to those of you trying to book using the 7 month window:

Any resource to see historical availability for days 7/11 months out

In my experience, that post is a great summary and very accurate.  Briefly, To get one of the near park resorts at 7 months during a high-demand DVC time (which is NOT always the same as busy times for the parks), you need to book online as soon as your window opens at 8 AM Eastern.


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## CarolMN

Chris and Pooh said:


> .....(snip).........One example I would like to give which has prompted this post is that my DD who has just become a member at GF was unable to get a clear week for the 20 Nov 2015 with a Lake view as Saturday has already gone allowing only six days at the resort (Fr, Su, Mo, Tu, We, Th) and this is with the 11 month window



Tell your DD to call her sales guide and ask for help with her first reservation.  That's a courtesy that should be offered to her as a direct buyer.

The VGF is very popular, quite small and your DD's vacation includes part of the American Thanksgiving week.   That's a popular time for DVC members to visit.   Also, many members purchased fixed weeks for the VGF which further reduces the rooms available to those who purchased points. 

If she booked right at 8 AM when the 11 month window opened, was she unable to get any two bedroom?  I know the studios go very fast, but I would be surprised if she totally missed out on a two bedroom.

Again, I'm not from the UK, but I don't see how DVC favors U S citizens over foreign citizens.   Of course there is the difference in time zones for booking and cost of airfare disadvantage, but those are what they are because of where we reside, not DVC.


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## Heffalump2761

We have owned since 1995 and I have never had problems getting a wide choice of resorts at 7 months. Our home resort is OKW for the simple reason it was the only resort in DVC when we purchased DVC. We usually travel May, September, October, December. This year we have 3 days beach cottage VB and 11 nights treehouse villa SSR but in previous visits have stayed at BCV, AKL Kidani, BWV and others. I


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## Toffeewoffy

The problem we had was that we discovered almost too late that our bonus 100 points expire next September and it was a case of 'use it or lose it'.  As DD wanted another holiday - we can't go in 2016 a we have too many big family events and can't afford to go at our usual time (February/March) as it's more expensive anyway - I decided to book a 'girls only' trip for November, which is in next year's holiday entitlement for work.  So began the search for accommodation.  

Needless to say, the only places left were a studio at AKL or BCV which would have meant losing 30 points anyway as it was 69 points, or OKW.  So, I booked OKW as a 'holding' measure just in case OH wanted to come with, and we have now waitlisted GFL which is our home resort.  As we only need a studio, I'd far rather go to GF as it'll probably be the only time we'll ever be able to stay there as we'll need a one-bed if OH comes too, and that's 3 years' points!


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## PoohBears#1fan

wilma-bride said:


> I can honestly say I don't feel disadvantaged as a UK owner when it comes to booking.  Maybe when it comes to not getting the same perks, such as the bonus for introducing new members (we have introduced 3 people who have ultimately bought in).  But not as far as booking is concerned.  At the end of the day, a US resident wanting to book checking in on 20 November for 3 days has no advantage over a UK owner wanting to check in on 20 November for a week.  Both can reserve at the same time.



Exactly this, I've owned since 2002 and have never felt disadvantaged from the point of booking, the only times I've not got what I'd hoped to is when I've not been on the ball enough and have missed the start of the booking window opening for popular choices - standard view at BLT, concierge at AKL although these most likely went at 11 months anyway.

Definitely feel at a disadvantage when it comes to the new member intro bonuses, special events, being sent things, luggage tags, Magic bands being sent to us etc. etc.


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## wilma-bride

PoohBears#1fan said:


> Exactly this, I've owned since 2002 and have never felt disadvantaged from the point of booking, the only times I've not got what I'd hoped to is when I've not been on the ball enough and have missed the start of the booking window opening for popular choices - standard view at BLT, concierge at AKL although these most likely went at 11 months anyway.
> 
> Definitely feel at a disadvantage when it comes to the new member intro bonuses, special events, being sent things, luggage tags, Magic bands being sent to us etc. etc.



No referral bonuses any more, for anybody, so this no longer applies.  I wish sometimes they would send us the cool things that the US people get, but not necessarily DVC - more the Castaway Club magnets from the cruises, etc.


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## Willowfae

We've had issues this year but we are going during Food and Wine. We booked one week at our home resort (BCV) at 11 months knowing that it was F&W so busy at the EPCOT resorts. But the intention was to move to Poly for 5 nights at 7 months and then make a 2 night cash booking elsewhere. However we couldn't do this at our 7 month window. We have ended up with a partial Poly booking. 1 night at BCV, 3 nights at Poly, and 1 night back at BCV. Obviously not ideal and we are keeping an eye on it


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