Resorts Booked This Weekend!!??? Why..?

[bobtabin]

Living in Florida, I thought I could swing by Disney this coming weekend (09-25-2009) for a couple days and stay overnight Friday night cheaply at one of the value or moderate resorts. However, while trying to book a (Florida resident) room, no cheap rooms are available. Only Disney's Old Key West Resort @ $291 a night is available.

The question is: What is going on at WDW this weekend to make it so busy? Is it the combination of people attending Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party and staying the night and the Food and Wine Festival starting? I am completely surprised as to all the hotels are booked.

I guess I'll have to stay off-site a $69 Hampton Inn or such.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts on this subject!

 

[dizzbuff]

Not sure if this helps or answers the question..but when we were there last weekend.....and the weekend before for that matter......lots of youngins in baseball outfits....not large groups like the brazilians....but smaller groups of like 10-15 of them along with their chaperons. I know there is a certain time of the year where the kids start coming down for baseball games ...so not sure if that is what is going on.

 

[brich]

This one's simple. Everything is booked because I'll be there.... :shrug:
Sorry... :slurp:

 

[YankeeMouse]

We are arriving Friday, AKL. Last year at the exact same time, we found the parks to be relatively uncrowded. Never needed a fastpass, except for Soarin.

 

[MissM]

I live an hour away and have never had too much trouble booking a hotel a week or less early, until now. Even checking Expedia, it's booked. In fact, checking the regular Disney website (non-Florida resident), everything (except $300-1000 rooms) are booked. Anyhow, though the hotels are booked, I still feel it's less busy now than it was in August. I think people are simply taking advantage of the great Disney resort rates--this doesn't always mean it's going to be slammed this weekend. Any feelings on this?

I live in Tampa - an hour away as well - and I don't know why the rooms were so unavailable this coming weekend but they were even last month when I was trying to book. I booked last weekend because it was the best choice for room type and rate that I wanted. I can only guess that things like the first weekend of Food and Wine are making this weekend busier than last in resort availability but honestly...? I don't know. The parks were light last weekend.

 

[marcriss]

Monday is also Yom Kippur, so the kiddies are off from school...

 

[cdunbar]

I live in Tampa - an hour away as well - and I don't know why the rooms were so unavailable this coming weekend but they were even last month when I was trying to book. I booked last weekend because it was the best choice for room type and rate that I wanted. I can only guess that things like the first weekend of Food and Wine are making this weekend busier than last in resort availability but honestly...? I don't know. The parks were light last weekend.

Yeah I'm in Lakeland and we're headed there on Sunday and leaving WDW wednesday morning and could get NO ADR's like a month ago. But everyone I've talked to says it's been so slow there, so I dunno if it's food and wine which is why were staying at an EPCOT resort so we can enjoy the food and the umm wine:lookaroun and not have to go to far to our beds.

 

[MissM]

Yeah I'm in Lakeland and we're headed there on Sunday and leaving WDW wednesday morning and could get NO ADR's like a month ago. But everyone I've talked to says it's been so slow there, so I dunno if it's food and wine which is why were staying at an EPCOT resort so we can enjoy the food and the umm wine:lookaroun and not have to go to far to our beds.

Yeah I tried getting a single lunch ressie for last weekend in August and couldn't find anything either. MK had it's famous "there are no reservations available today, try these counter service locations" sign outside of guest services.

 

[scottnj1966]

Another reason.
Disney's reservation system is the worst it has ever been.

We stayed at the polynesian a couple weekends ago.
We booked months ago.
I checked there reservation site to see if they had another room available.
It said booked.

When we got there, stayed three days, it was a ghost town.
Not many rooms full in our building at all.

Disney does the same thing with dinner. Empty tables, but still say sorry full.

 

[fosse76]

When we got there, stayed three days, it was a ghost town.
Not many rooms full in our building at all.

Disney does the same thing with dinner. Empty tables, but still say sorry full.

Depends on several factors I imagine. Perhaps, due to staffing and level of bookings, they may not have made certain rooms available to anyone. So even though it appeared to be a ghost town, it was full. Same with the restaurants. Even though they are booked solid, you wioll always see an empty table here and there. I remember having dinner with a friend of mine here in NY at a restaurant that was completely empty. The host said they were completely booked and that we had to sit at the bar. Even when we left half the restaurant was still empty. So there must be some kind of method to that madness.

 

[bobtabin]

Wasn't busy..

Well, I did visit MK (visit staying overnight as I originally developed this post about) and found it not to be busy for a Saturday. Though, it was not the slowest day, it was perfect.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

Just as a heads up -- the bookings being full doesn't mean the RESORT is full -- at times of the year (like late september through early november) they close down wings of the resorts while the resort itself stays open -- hence, they fill all "currently available rooms at the resort" -- they particularly do this at the budget resorts and sometimes the moderates -- they close off entire buildings whose staff are redirected to other resorts for the 5 -6 weeks of slow period, instead of having to keep everything open.

You'll find that you get there that there are entire buildings closed at Port Orleans or Pop Century, for example...

They have been doing this since 9/11 now for all these years....