Walking Reservations

[kmcco]

Okay fellow DVC owners and brilliant minds. Can somebody please teach me their ways on walking a reservation? BWV is our home resort and before 8am this morning, February 25 resort studio view was already sold out which I am assuming can only happen by walking a reservation. How far in advance does someone start? Can you ultimately do this throughout the whole entire year? Dumb it down for me please and thank you!

 

[lowlight]

Welcome to the club. Nobody on Disboards walks reservations, but a few will be by shortly to explain how it’s hypothetically done.

 

[kmcco]

I love hypothetical scenarios!

 

[Sandisw]

All it means is that someone books a trip with a check in date sooner than their anticipated date and moved it forward.

As long as you have lat least 2 nights of points you can walk. You simply move it more often.

If you already saw Feb 25th gone before today it means that it’s booked fully by people who have a trip booked that included that no one is checking out or that it’s out of service and why it’s gone now.

It could be walking or it could be just more people traveling.

You know for sure some are walking when you see rooms only the day of, or potentially a few days gone but then the next day they come back.

If rooms don’t cone back, then it means that owners who have those nights wants them.

 

[Brian Noble]

First, waitlist the 25th, and see if you catch it from someone else's walk. This is possible---the Princess half weekend starts on the 26th, and that will be a high-demand weekend for DVC reservations. But we are getting close to that point, so it might not come back right away.

Second, it is possible that doesn't happen through walking, if for some reason no one who was booked the night before is checking out on the 25th. But now that the 24th is open, that does suggest others were walking (probably for the Princess weekend).

Third, here's the basic idea: Instead of waiting until the 11-month day to book your trip, start a few days earlier, at 8AM each day, booking a trip of similar length, until you can get one. Then, every few days, modify the reservation to move forward as far as you can, until your trip starts on the day you'd originally planned.

In general, you don't have to start that much earlier, especially this time of year. Outside of the runDisney weekend and maybe President's, February is not a super high-demand time for DVC. However, Resort/Standard at Boardwalk is pretty much one of the Hunger Games reservations, so...

Fourth: I will stay out of the "is it okay" argument, but there are strongly held opinions.

 

[robinb]

The last time I tried to walk an AKV Club studio and a BWV Resort View 2BR I struck out because I couldn't get a start into the reservation process. The start date was always booked. Instead, I waited until my dates became available and snagged the day before as walkers released them.

If you're looking to book a really popular time (like a race weekend) and you can already book your start date, I would book what you can and waitlist the Resort View for your dates now.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Walking a res is like Talking about Bruno........

 

[drusba]

The problem you are facing is that walking a reservation requires the ability to get a reservation to begin a walk. For BWV resort view studios, and AKV value and club level studios, it is very difficult to even begin a walk because typically all such studios fill for any start date of the year within nanoseconds after 8 a.m. at 11-months out.

To easily start a walk you need to be seeking a room that has only a partial 11-month issue. For example, BWV boardwalk view studios have that 11-month-out reservation issue for a getting a studio in the high demand Fall season, late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan, but for much of the rest of the year they can be reserved at 11-months out even well past 8 a.m. at 11-months out. Thus, if you want a Fall season reservation for one of those, you can usually start a walk with a July or Aug reservation. For BWV resort studios, trying to start a walk is just as hard as trying to get the actual reservation you want at 11-months out.

 

[Boardwalk III]

As a 25 year BWV owner, just a note that “Boardwalk View” Studios and 2BR’s (which include a studio as part of the room) are just as competitive. Super hard to get a walk started most times of year.

 

[petrola]

I would also keep checking for your date. I was able to book Aulani this summer for our August trip - simply by waiting for rooms that got "dropped" from the reservation that was being walked! there is still hope!

 

[xdan0920]

All studios outside of OKW and Saratoga have been being walked for weeks now for my dates.

Good thing it’s not really a problem or else I’d be upset.

 

[Sandisw]

All studios outside of OKW and Saratoga have been being walked for weeks now for my dates.

Good thing it’s not really a problem or else I’d be upset.

Well, outside the usual culprits, there have been plenty of resorts with studios open beyond those two when I was deciding for my Feb trip.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Walking at Boardwalk seems to be a professional sport for Value and Boardwalk View rooms.

This last time we got in by booking the Pool/Garden at 11m and waitlisting the Boardwalk View at the same time. The waitlist eventually came through during the home resort window.

 

[TinkAgainU]

I've seen a few of the super popular rooms obviously being walked, literally months ahead by people with lots of points to commit to the project. I learned the less stressful approach it to look at the history - find a room description which is Not crazy-walked by the professional renters - and book that instead. A good example at Boardwalk would be the Garden/Pool views since there are a Lot more of those than Standard or Boardwalk views. Sadly, that will almost always mean you are paying higher points per night than for a standard room. Then maybe waitlist (still want to start the waitlist at 8amEST 11 months out) for what you'd rather get and hope for the best. Or play the Walking Game ... which I've failed at

 

[Boardwalk III]

Walking at Boardwalk seems to be a professional sport for Value and Boardwalk View rooms.

This last time we got in by booking the Pool/Garden at 11m and waitlisting the Boardwalk View at the same time. The waitlist eventually came through during the home resort window.

Been a BWV owner for 25 years - for the first 18 years or so we were always able to get our favorite 2BR “boardwalk view” at 11 months out. But the past 7 years has been really tough. Up until this year I was usually able to start a walk a few weeks prior to the dates I needed, and be successful.

No longer able to do that. Working on one now for next March. Tried to start a walk a month ago by checking daily with no luck. Now hoping to pick up most of the nights by following the walkers along each day and picking up one day at a time as they drop them, but it’s super annoying.

I suspect these are mostly professional renters who have computer programs/algorithms to help secure the walks more easily. I don’t know how DVC can properly identify these folks, but my guess is they can, and wish they would put more effort into it. I’m talking about people who have 1000’s of points and do this on a daily basis as a business, making a living at it.

It just shouldn’t be this hard to be an owner who plans well, and not be able to get a preferred view at 8:00 am 11 months out.

And yes, I understand this is a first world problem! But we’re no longer all on the same playing field.

With that said, I wouldn’t give up our Boardwalk membership for anything. We’ve traveled worldwide as a family throughout the years and some of our very best memories have been made there!

 

[TinkAgainU]

Been a BWV owner for 25 years - for the first 18 years or so we were always able to get our favorite 2BR “boardwalk view” at 11 months out. But the past 7 years has been really tough. Up until this year I was usually able to start a walk a few weeks prior to the dates I needed, and be successful.

No longer able to do that. Working on one now for next March. Tried to start a walk a month ago by checking daily with no luck. Now hoping to pick up most of the nights by following the walkers along each day and picking up one day at a time as they drop them, but it’s super annoying.

I suspect these are mostly professional renters who have computer programs/algorithms to help secure the walks more easily. I don’t know how DVC can properly identify these folks, but my guess is they can, and wish they would put more effort into it. I’m talking about people who have 1000’s of points and do this on a daily basis as a business, making a living at it.

It just shouldn’t be this hard to be an owner who plans well, and not be able to get a preferred view at 8:00 am 11 months out.

And yes, I understand this is a first world problem! But we’re no longer all on the same playing field.

With that said, I wouldn’t give up our Boardwalk membership for anything. We’ve traveled worldwide as a family throughout the years and some of our very best memories have been made there!

I would LOVE to see DVC eliminate the walking system (you can only make one modification, otherwise additional changes require you cancel and take your chances on a rebook like everyone else), PLUS give someone checking in with a titled owner's credit card at check-in a different booking priority (maybe at 11.5 months). I think DVC can make "some" changes to the rules, they obviously were able to do so during Covid, so if it's in the membership's best interests it should be fixed. By membership's I mean the professional renters which are "supposedly" not allowed by the terms - to protect the owners when they purchased! But it will probably take another lawsuit to get DVC's attention to this (sigh).

 

[AstroBlasters]

Been a BWV owner for 25 years - for the first 18 years or so we were always able to get our favorite 2BR “boardwalk view” at 11 months out. But the past 7 years has been really tough. Up until this year I was usually able to start a walk a few weeks prior to the dates I needed, and be successful.

No longer able to do that. Working on one now for next March. Tried to start a walk a month ago by checking daily with no luck. Now hoping to pick up most of the nights by following the walkers along each day and picking up one day at a time as they drop them, but it’s super annoying.

I suspect these are mostly professional renters who have computer programs/algorithms to help secure the walks more easily. I don’t know how DVC can properly identify these folks, but my guess is they can, and wish they would put more effort into it. I’m talking about people who have 1000’s of points and do this on a daily basis as a business, making a living at it.

It just shouldn’t be this hard to be an owner who plans well, and not be able to get a preferred view at 8:00 am 11 months out.

And yes, I understand this is a first world problem! But we’re no longer all on the same playing field.

With that said, I wouldn’t give up our Boardwalk membership for anything. We’ve traveled worldwide as a family throughout the years and some of our very best memories have been made there!

I noticed that even the Grand Villas at BW are getting walked.

 

[AstroBlasters]

I would LOVE to see DVC eliminate the walking system (you can only make one modification, otherwise additional changes require you cancel and take your chances on a rebook like everyone else), PLUS give someone checking in with a titled owner's credit card at check-in a different booking priority (maybe at 11.5 months). I think DVC can make "some" changes to the rules, they obviously were able to do so during Covid, so if it's in the membership's best interests it should be fixed. By membership's I mean the non-professional users which are "supposedly" not allowed by the terms - to protect the owners when they purchased! But it will probably take another lawsuit to get DVC's attention to this (sigh).

I would love to see Disney do some things to get the bots out of the game….but it is a slippery slope that can have unintended consequences.

 

[JackosinDIS]

I noticed that even the Grand Villas at BW are getting walked.

Yeh, there are so many categories being walked across all resorts. The majority really don’t need to be, but that’s human nature for you.

 

[tx911]

Been a BWV owner for 25 years - for the first 18 years or so we were always able to get our favorite 2BR “boardwalk view” at 11 months out. But the past 7 years has been really tough. Up until this year I was usually able to start a walk a few weeks prior to the dates I needed, and be successful.

No longer able to do that. Working on one now for next March. Tried to start a walk a month ago by checking daily with no luck. Now hoping to pick up most of the nights by following the walkers along each day and picking up one day at a time as they drop them, but it’s super annoying.

I suspect these are mostly professional renters who have computer programs/algorithms to help secure the walks more easily. I don’t know how DVC can properly identify these folks, but my guess is they can, and wish they would put more effort into it. I’m talking about people who have 1000’s of points and do this on a daily basis as a business, making a living at it.

It just shouldn’t be this hard to be an owner who plans well, and not be able to get a preferred view at 8:00 am 11 months out.

And yes, I understand this is a first world problem! But we’re no longer all on the same playing field.

With that said, I wouldn’t give up our Boardwalk membership for anything. We’ve traveled worldwide as a family throughout the years and some of our very best memories have been made there!

That's angering