How quickly does October book up?

[Rob562]

The short version is that I'm wondering just how far in advance 2-bedroom units book up during mid-to-late October. OKW and SSR are fine with us. Can we book inside the 7-month window and still be OK?

Long version:
We're in the early stages of planning a group trip in October 2018 and are leaning toward renting DVC points. (Otherwise we'd prob stay at POR or POFQ) The makeup of the group is very much in flux, so we might only need one 2-bedroom unit, but it's also possible we'd need a few 2-bedroom units, perhaps even with a Studio or two thrown in. While Boardwalk or Beach Club would be ideal, I realize that's a pipe dream. OKW or SSR are fine with me. (I've stayed in SSR twice before)

Knowing that Food & Wine is a big DVC draw across all resorts, can anyone give me a rough idea of how far out it starts to get tricky to get 7 or 8 consecutive nights in a 2-bedroom unit? My current gameplan is to start rounding people up to plan the trip in January (so 9 months out). Does that sound feasible? I'd hate to try and get so many people to commit to the trip all the way at 11 months... (Or even attempt to try and convince some people in the group that that's actually a necessity sometimes)

-Rob

 

[sxeensweet]

I think at SSR or OKW you will be fine at 9 months out. I wouldn't wait much longer than that but I think it's totally doable. If it was Boardwalk or Beach Club you wanted I would say possibly no being that's Food & Wine and those fill up first, but if you are fine if you end up with SSR or OKW then I wouldn't worry too much just do it as soon as you can.

 

[correcaminos]

It truly can depend on the week. There are a lot of fall breaks that go on during that time. By 7 months though plan on Epcot an monorail resorts to be booked up. Rule of thumb is studios go first then 2 bedrooms. Dedicated 2 bedrooms obviously last longer than a lock off (1 bed and 1 studio together).

At 9 months you may or may not get Epcot area. It's really too hard to say but they are often long gone by 7 months. OKW and SSR should be fine. AKL might be available too. SSR is always the safest bet. While OKW is big, SSR is even more so. You would likely have a better shot of a 2 bedroom dedicated than a 2 bedroom lock off too. But I agree that at 9 months you should find something

 

[Minthorne]

Quick, Like bunny rabbit.

 

[dreamfinder]

OKW and SSR should be ok 7-9 months out, but obviously the earlier the better. You might even be able to do some nights at an Epcot resort, as the weekends tend to book the fastest with some openings midweek (if I recall correctly) and then transfer to SSR/OKW is that's your thing.

 

[Tinkerfan4ever]

We are going Oct 2017 (21-28) and we booked OKW 2 bedroom at 7 months out. We could not get the first night at Animal Kingdom Jambo. We could have waitlisted OKW but we are ok with 1 night somewhere else.

 

[Phonedave]

We go for F&W about every other year during "Jersey Week".

SSR where we own is never an issue. Most of the time, we can transfer to a studio at any non-EPCOT resort at the 7 month window. EPCOT area resort studios are usually gone by 7 months out.

-dave

 

[Simba's Mom]

Quick, Like bunny rabbit.

Yup. We booked Kidani, a 2 BR, at 7 months for October, but this was how it went. I was on the phone right at opening (actually, shame on me, I was 2 minutes past), can't remember why I had to do it by phone, but I did. The CM put me on hold, said it was really tight but she grabbed "one of the last ones". A few minutes later, I happened to check the website, and they were sold out.

 

[correcaminos]

Yup. We booked Kidani, a 2 BR, at 7 months for October, but this was how it went. I was on the phone right at opening (actually, shame on me, I was 2 minutes past), can't remember why I had to do it by phone, but I did. The CM put me on hold, said it was really tight but she grabbed "one of the last ones". A few minutes later, I happened to check the website, and they were sold out.

That's why we no longer call. Some rooms can go right at 8 am even if you aren't fast enough. You get that 1 hour advantage over calliing.

 

[slappy magoo]

I think you're biting off more than you can chew. Don't get me wrong, the fact that you're making an effort is incredibly sweet and generous with your time. But to try to book so big of a group that you might need more than one 2BR unit, knowing how people are prone to give soft yeses only to back out when travel time (or a deposit/payment) comes closer, leaving the organizer up the creek without a paddle? It's a lot to do for possibly very little reward.

What I would do, honestly, is start with a core group, if there is one, of firm yeses. Once you have 8 firm yeses (7 including you, 6 if you have a significant other coming) stop asking around. Find out what it would cost to rent the points. If you're fine with OKW or SSR, just go for them, it will be the least hassle.

Tell your core group "THIS is how much it'll cost each of us, I'm booking it on this date, you have to pony up your share by then, and if you wind up needing to cancel, you're either out the money or you have to find someone to buy you out and it has to be someone we all know and are cool with." No I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a vacation today horse hockey. No I can't go but Mr. Aimless Drifter loves to meet new people he'll be bunking with you in my place crapola.

If you're renting via David's, send them all links to the site so they know what you're doing to save money on the trip and why they need to pay in advance but that the reservation is secure. And I'd do it ELEVEN months out, not 7. Don't take a chance.
If you do all that, let all those possible yeses know "we're going on these dates, we're staying at this resort, if you want to join us I can help you organize but you have to get the money together on your own." Or you can show them how you did it and let them book a room on their own.

Do you think in 2 months you can find 6-7 other people who would be firm yeses, be able to pony up the dough, and not flake out on you or try to get their money back?

 

[Rob562]

I think you're biting off more than you can chew. Don't get me wrong, the fact that you're making an effort is incredibly sweet and generous with your time. But to try to book so big of a group that you might need more than one 2BR unit, knowing how people are prone to give soft yeses only to back out when travel time (or a deposit/payment) comes closer, leaving the organizer up the creek without a paddle? It's a lot to do for possibly very little reward.

What I would do, honestly, is start with a core group, if there is one, of firm yeses. Once you have 8 firm yeses (7 including you, 6 if you have a significant other coming) stop asking around. Find out what it would cost to rent the points. If you're fine with OKW or SSR, just go for them, it will be the least hassle.

Tell your core group "THIS is how much it'll cost each of us, I'm booking it on this date, you have to pony up your share by then, and if you wind up needing to cancel, you're either out the money or you have to find someone to buy you out and it has to be someone we all know and are cool with." No I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a vacation today horse hockey. No I can't go but Mr. Aimless Drifter loves to meet new people he'll be bunking with you in my place crapola.

If you're renting via David's, send them all links to the site so they know what you're doing to save money on the trip and why they need to pay in advance but that the reservation is secure. And I'd do it ELEVEN months out, not 7. Don't take a chance.
If you do all that, let all those possible yeses know "we're going on these dates, we're staying at this resort, if you want to join us I can help you organize but you have to get the money together on your own." Or you can show them how you did it and let them book a room on their own.

Do you think in 2 months you can find 6-7 other people who would be firm yeses, be able to pony up the dough, and not flake out on you or try to get their money back?

LOL, it's like you know how my brain works. You wrote out almost exactly what my general gameplan is going to be.

The "core group" is me, my bf and one other couple. The whole idea started when one half of the other couple commented to me "I want to go to Disney with you someday and see Disney the way you do". (I think he's only ever been once as a teen) So my plan was to just have the four of us decide a number of things among ourselves, including dates and resort choice. (Most likely it's a 2-bedroom at OKW or SSR, or two rooms at one of the Port Orleans resorts. I really spoiled my bf because we were able to get a timeshare exchange through RCI into SSR for our previous two week-long trips)

We'd book our own lodging, and then open things up to more in our immediate circle of friends (made up of our fraternity brothers and their significant others) by saying "this is when we're going, this is where we're staying, if you want to come along, that's great".

I will not put money on the line for anyone else, but I'll gladly offer my services to help them look into and secure their own lodging, whether that's at the same resort we're at, or at another one that works for their taste and budget. (Obviously having everyone at the same resort is ideal, but I know that doesn't always work out)

I'll also be firm with everyone in planning the rest of the trip. If they want to tour the parks with us, I'm in charge of where we go and when. (With some prior input, of course) They must have their park tickets bought by xx/xx date (with a comfortable padded date) so I can make FP's. If you don't like it or you decide to sleep in, it's your fault if you miss stuff. Do your won thing and meet up with us later.

(And my outlook on that was cemented in place even more after a recent bachelor weekend in Montreal with many of these guys. It was like herding cats at times...)

-Rob

 

[Seanual757]

We book October never had an issue @ 7 months out we are staying this week in @ Kidani Village 1 bedroom Thursday-Sunday. Been doing this for the past 2 years no issues.