Welcome Home, Shannon!
After such a challenging year of canceled vacations, I know many of us are excited to return to the Walt Disney World Resort! We booked a somewhat last-minute trip this fall, and we ended up doing a split-stay.
A split-stay has the benefits of offering different dining options and park proximity, so a split-stay can have advantages. On the flip-side, some Disney Vacation Club Members prefer to have a consistent home base for their visit. If I am at Disney, I am happy, so I don’t mind a split-stay at all. But when we take my parents, a split-stay does come with some mild grumbling from my dad!
If I were planning a trip in the next few months, I would book what was currently available, even it meant a split-stay. With
Disney Vacation Club, I always recommend you book something when you can. Once you have your split-stay booked, if you preferred to stay in just one location, I would submit a
Waitlist request as well. You may have up to two active Waitlist requests at one time. When you are already booked, but submit a Waitlist request for the same dates, you’ll be prompted to state if you want the current reservation for those dates canceled if the Waitlist request comes through. This allows you to have something booked, but still submit a Waitlist request for a more ideal reservation.
I would say my Waitlist requests have come through approximately 50% of the time, so It is always worth trying. I recommend requesting the resort most likely to come through. There are a few
guidelines for your Waitlist request you may want to read before you decide what to request. And even if you have a Waitlist request, I also recommend checking the Disney Vacation Club Member Website regularly. Waitlist requests are often not filled until the end of the day, so it is possible someone will cancel a reservation and the days you need may become available and you can snag them yourself. This happened to me for our summer visit to Aulani, A Disney Resort & Spa, when I was able to book the room for the days I needed by checking availability daily.
Sending you pixie dust for that perfect reservation!
- Kate