Hey There, Joseph!
As a fellow Disney Vacation Club Member, I'm happy to welcome you to planDisney. If you're looking for some
extra magic at Walt Disney World Resort, it doesn't get any better than the holiday season –– with special events, incredible decorations and gingerbread displays, and festive snacks, it might just be my favorite time of the year to visit. How exciting that you'll be making some holiday magic at Walt Disney World this year!
While December is a great time to visit Walt Disney World Resort, it's also a very popular time for Disney Vacation Club Members, which means it can be tough to find DVC Resort availability sometimes. That's what makes
waitlisting a reservation so valuable for Members –– if your top Resort choice isn't available, you can go ahead and book an available reservation and make a waitlist request for another Resort. If your waitlisted reservation becomes available within a certain timeframe, it will be booked for you automatically. You can even set up your waitlist to automatically replace your existing reservation if you choose –– it's easy and convenient, just the way vacation should be!
I think the easiest way to create a waitlist request is by using the
Disney Vacation Club website. After logging in to your DVC Account, hover over the "Plan Vacation" tab and select "Book a Vacation" from the drop-down menu. On the next page, follow the prompts to select the details for the dates you would like to waitlist and click "Check Availability". Click the arrow next to your desired Resort and room type and select "Continue to Waitlist" from the menu. Follow the prompts to select the details of your waitlist and click "Continue". After adding your travel party information, you'll be able to finalize and confirm your waitlist request. If you prefer to make a waitlist request over the phone you can also waitlist a reservation by calling
Member Services at (800) 800-9800.
As you're making your request, you can choose to have your waitlist expire 31 days before check-in or 7 days before check-in. While the 7-day option provides more time for the waitlist to be fulfilled, remember that if your original reservation is canceled or modified within 30 days of check-in, those Vacation Points will be placed into a
Holding Account. That means your Points will no longer be available to bank, they will expire at the end of the current Use Year, and they can only be used to book new DVC reservations up to 60 days in advance. While this isn't a big deal if your two reservations require the same number of Vacation Points, any surplus Points from your original reservation will be placed In-Holding with the 7-day waitlist option. If you choose the 31-day option, you won't have any Holding restrictions placed on your Vacation Points. Choosing a 7-day waitlist might still be the best choice for you, but it's just something to keep in mind as you're making your selection.
Thanks for visiting planDisney, Joseph. If you think of more questions as your plan your upcoming vacation, I hope you'll stop by again –– we're always here to help!
Happy Planning,
Amy