DVC Rental at 11 Months

[BlackCauldron]

We are planning a trip next year from 9/8 - 9/17 and are looking to rent a DVC studio through one of the reputable agencies. Below is the list of hotels, in order of preference:

1. AKL Value
2. AKL Standard (Jambo house preferred, but will take Kidani)
3. Boardwalk
4. OKW

For those in the know, do we have fairly good odds of getting into any of these hotels during our travel dates if we book at the 11 month window? I know the AKL value studios are a crap shoot due to limited inventory, and Boardwalk might be a tough sell due to proximity to Epcot during Food & Wine, but what about the balance? I feel like we should at least have no issues with OKW. Of course, this is probably also limited by the agency's ability to match us with a member who has enough points.

We are also booked at POP as a fall-back, but the cost of a DVC rental is less than our current reservation, so we are hopeful!

 

[eliza61nyc]

Your best bet will probably be OKW, which imo is a good thing. I fell in love with that resort last year. lol Boardwalk also should be available just from the size, from what I understand it has about 90 studios, it's a big resort so if you get a member who can book at the 11 month mark you shouldn't have an issue.

Not sure about AKL

 

[nickys]

AKL Standard should be fine, even if they don’t have anyone lined up right away. Especially with Kidani too. Kidani is a big resort.

Boardwalk will depend on what view. Standard will be tough, other (more expensive, of course) should be OK.

OKW should be fine, assuming they have some owners.

Forget the value studio at AKL. I think the chances are very small. Anyone looking to rent their points through a broker is looking for it to be an easy process. The chances of them wanting to be poised over the button as 8am comes round are small to zero. Cancellations do happen, but by then you’ll likely have something lined up.

 

[Weather_Lady]

We've been in your shoes on the first two. Our experience has been that AKL rentals aren't the easiest to come by - at least, not instantly - because fewer people who have it as a home resort seem to list their points (although each broker's inventory of listed points fluctuates constantly, so you never know!). The AKL value studios are especially difficult because there are just a few of them and they book very fast at 11 months. Our requests went as follows:

1 - When we tried to get an AKL value studio at 11 months via David's Vacation Rentals and DVC Rental Store, neither one had a member who'd listed the points we needed at that moment. I was put on their wait lists, but within 2 or 3 days, all of the value studios were booked for our dates already. David's informed us of this immediately and offered us some alternative resort/room options, although anything else would have cost more points.

2 - This February, we're staying in an AKL standard studio on rented points. At 11 months prior to that trip, David's didn't have the points we needed (we didn't ask at the Rental Store this particular time). After a couple of weeks on the wait list, I got impatient and ended up contracting directly with a member on the Mouseowners boards (after a vetting process -- she provided all of her personal information along with several references, had been renting on that board for years with no complaints, and was willing to enter into a written contract that protected us both) to rent the points.

3 - Every time we've been unsuccessful in obtaining a DVC rental (that is, the two times we've tried to rent at AKL -- our requests at 3 other resorts were all able to be satisfied), we've been offered Old Key West and Saratoga Springs as alternatives. It seems that points at those two resorts are nearly always available for rent.

With respect to Boardwalk, stay abreast of the Food & Wine Festival schedule (it started August 29th this year). Epcot-area DVC rooms tend to book up fast for those dates, and assuming that next year's dates are similar to this year's, Boardwalk points will be hard to come by at 11 months (and the rooms will be fully booked by 7 months).

 

[BlackCauldron]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It sounds like AKL value is going to be off the table, and t he issue with AKL in general isn't room inventory so much as it is trying to locate a member with enough points. Sounds like we should prepare ourselves for an OKW stay.

 

[correcaminos]

Thanks for the replies everyone. It sounds like AKL value is going to be off the table, and t he issue with AKL in general isn't room inventory so much as it is trying to locate a member with enough points. Sounds like we should prepare ourselves for an OKW stay.

If you are good with Kidani you should get it. Both OKW and AKL Kidani are pretty easy to get most times of the year inside 11 months too.

 

[hystericalbende]

You might also consider a split stay. We were able to do AKL (not value) and OKW as a split through DVC Kingdom earlier this year. Truthfully, we liked OKW better and wished we’d done the whole trip there.

 

[dreamfinder]

I'd say value would be really tough, those usually book within minutes of the window opening up. AKL Standard and OKW should be a pretty good shot, especially at the 11 months. Boardwalk might be a toss up. Mid week during F&W seems to be easier than weekends making a split stay work better, but who knows.

 

[BlackCauldron]

Thanks everyone. I briefly considered a split stay, but decided it would be too much to manage. We are arriving on the 8th, but our friends aren't coming until the 13th - so I am already managing two separate reservations, plus FP and dining. We are also heading to Universal at the end of our Disney trip. I didn't want to throw yet another hotel change into the middle of all of that.

I've made my requests today for AKL (standard) and OKW. Decided to not even bother with AKL value or BW. They will hold onto our requests until the booking window opens, so fingers crossed. I asked them to kindly wait-list us for a period of time in the event they aren't able to match us with an AKL member with enough points. I think, no matter what else happens, we should probably have no issues getting an OKW reservation at the 7 month mark.