I finally get why people walk reservations. Disappointed.

[tx911]

Used to blame those walkers (ahemm) when I was panicking as the 11-month december booking window was approaching, but when I looked at the room numbers open before and after people walk, what opens up after walkers pass is extremely limited in the room types/views I was interested in (3 rooms left at best, mostly 1s and 2s).
Maybe I'm mistaken, but would've assumed that more rooms would open up as walkers pass. To me this looks like genuine demand

Genuine demand, maybe, but when you introduce Walkers into the equation, the predictability of the booking window goes away. So it becomes a random crapshoot.

 

[Brian Noble]

For room types/dates in which demand exceeds supply, it was always random.

 

[tx911]

For room types/dates in which demand exceeds supply, it was always random.

Uncertainty added to randomness then. You don't know if or when the walked rooms will become available for booking.

 

[Brian Noble]

I'm not sure why it would be better without walkers. Those rooms would be booked, and you are waiting for someone to cancel.

 

[tx911]

Fair enough. But I would know, deep down in my heart of hearts, that we all started at 8am ET at the 11month booking window. And not a second earlier.

I'm not sure I would stalk if I knew 100% that no one was walking or could walk. I would just assume that people booked the dates they wanted and I lost out. I'd probably waitlist and be done with it, TBH.

 

[kilik64]

Fair enough. But I would know, deep down in my heart of hearts, that we all started at 8am ET at the 11month booking window. And not a second earlier.

I'm not sure I would stalk if I knew 100% that no one was walking or could walk. I would just assume that people booked the dates they wanted and I lost out. I'd probably waitlist and be done with it, TBH.

What about the fact that quite probably a not insignificant number of bookings for busy time periods are booked to use as a confirmed rental for an in demand time? Those reservations go for a premium.

Does that rustle your jimmies too or just walkers?

 

[tx911]

What about the fact that quite probably a not insignificant number of bookings for busy time periods are booked to use as a confirmed rental for an in demand time? Those reservations go for a premium.

Does that rustle your jimmies too or just walkers?

idk what rustle your jimmies means, but no, I don't have a problem with people renting confirmed reservations. Just the method by which those reservations are acquired.

 

[stevehudd]

After staying at vgf the second week of December this year, I’ll never do it again. The crowds at that hotel were so frustrating. Gaspararillas had hour waits for trying to put in mobile orders, the monorail always had lines, the busses were always crammed and after talking to those riding the bus with us, it turned out most weren’t staying at VGF but were going there to see the gingerbread house.

We were there dec 15-20. Several times the monorail line wrapped halfway around the inside balcony area. At least 15 monorails need to come to clear that kind of a line. Main lobby completely packed. Got a little better weekdays vs weekends. I don’t like excluding people from the resort, but most services were stretched pretty thin by non resort guests. We went to boma for dinner Sunday and ak lodge was not packed and very pleasant.

 

[TCRAIG]

We were there dec 15-20. Several times the monorail line wrapped halfway around the inside balcony area. At least 15 monorails need to come to clear that kind of a line. Main lobby completely packed. Got a little better weekdays vs weekends. I don’t like excluding people from the resort, but most services were stretched pretty thin by non resort guests. We went to boma for dinner Sunday and ak lodge was not packed and very pleasant.

Which is why I prefer to stay at WL/BRV at Christmas time- gorgeous lobbies but less hectic!

 

[MarkNC2Disney]

After staying at vgf the second week of December this year, I’ll never do it again. The crowds at that hotel were so frustrating. Gaspararillas had hour waits for trying to put in mobile orders, the monorail always had lines, the busses were always crammed and after talking to those riding the bus with us, it turned out most weren’t staying at VGF but were going there to see the gingerbread house.

Yikes. Sorry for your experience. We popped over there once for breakfast from Poly the week after Thanksgiving and it wasn’t bad at all.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

Yikes. Sorry for your experience. We popped over there once for breakfast from Poly the week after Thanksgiving and it wasn’t bad at all.

We visited to eat at V&As on 12/23 and again (from Poly) on 12/29 for a reservation at GF cafe and it was not too crowded either time—well, there was a long line for treats at the Gingerbread house on 12/29.

 

[stevehudd]

I just checked availability again. Standard view deluxe studio Dec 5th 2024 doesn't become available until tomorrow at 8 am est and it is already not available. So if anyone happened to have a vacation starting that day next year every single room is taken before they even had a shot at it. The only chance that unlucky theoretic dvc owner would have had would be walking.

 

[intamin]

I just checked availability again. Standard view deluxe studio Dec 5th 2024 doesn't become available until tomorrow at 8 am est and it is already not available. So if anyone happened to have a vacation starting that day next year every single room is taken before they even had a shot at it. The only chance that unlucky theoretic dvc owner would have had would be walking.

As expected during the most popular time of the year lol. At that point just sleep in and try again the next time it actually opens up.

 

[kilik64]

As expected during the most popular time of the year lol. At that point just sleep in and try again the next time it actually opens up.

Or just book ssr

 

[Nabas]

The problem is not walkers - the problem is us.

A lot more of us want to go in December than (say) August.

The only way around this is to buy a fixed week contract but, it seems, only a few of these are sold every month.

And if a lot bought fixed weeks for (say) early December, then there would be fewer rooms available for the rest of us.

Early December has lower points per night, comfortable weather, moderate crowds, and Christmas decorations.

The solution for DVC is to make early December just as expensive as October and November have become.

Since August seems to be the least popular month among DVC members, it might be time for points to be reallocated from August to December.

 

[Sandisw]

I just checked availability again. Standard view deluxe studio Dec 5th 2024 doesn't become available until tomorrow at 8 am est and it is already not available. So if anyone happened to have a vacation starting that day next year every single room is taken before they even had a shot at it. The only chance that unlucky theoretic dvc owner would have had would be walking.

That coukd also be it running into fixed weeks as well as peop,e who are not walking. Some rooms are not coming back. It means people are booking for their actual trips.

 

[HyperspaceMountainPilot]

That coukd also be it running into fixed weeks as well as peop,e who are not walking. Some rooms are not coming back. It means people are booking for their actual trips.

It could also be people arriving around Thanksgiving and booking a week. That’s what we would do if we didn’t have kids in school.

 

[Flash_Sloth]

Fixed weeks are Sunday to Sunday check-in/check-out, with rare exceptions for runDisney FWs. There aren't too many FW contracts out there, but some walkers may run into them for Sunday Dec 8 (FW49) or Dec 15 (FW50). On the flip side, those with a FW will cause an opening for a non-walker for the morning of their check-out.

 

[holyrita]

Looks like we can add AKV to the list this year too.. This is the first year I'm seeing an issue booking AKV Jambo in December right at the 11 month mark. There has always been plenty of availability (and even past 11 months!) especially for savanna view rooms. Not this year! Our savanna studio was fully booked this morning and so are the few days before. Checked the rest of Jambo and it's the same for most room types, studio through 2-bedroom, and view categories. (not talking about the value or concierge rooms here, those are to be expected!)

A combination of walkers and demand I s'pose.. with everyone learning about walking, on sites like this and Facebook, I guess it was bound to happen. Sigh, feels like the joy is getting ripped out of everything these days

 

[davidhr]

Looks like we can add AKV to the list this year too.. This is the first year I'm seeing an issue booking AKV Jambo in December right at the 11 month mark. There has always been plenty of availability (and even past 11 months!) especially for savanna view rooms. Not this year! Our savanna studio was fully booked this morning and so are the few days before. Checked the rest of Jambo and it's the same for most room types, studio through 2-bedroom, and view categories. (not talking about the value or concierge rooms here, those are to be expected!)

A combination of walkers and demand I s'pose.. with everyone learning about walking, on sites like this and Facebook, I guess it was bound to happen. Sigh, feels like the joy is getting ripped out of everything these days

It might also be the refurbishment. Don't know exactly when it's scheduled to start.

After all the discussions, I've been checking in general other resorts out of curiosity, and I see a lot of the supposed walked rooms still fully booked for past dates. Walkers will free up availability when walking. If it's not becoming availability, that's a good indication that they're being booked by people who want those dates.

I definitely don't see walking being worse than prior years.