Welcome Home, Jason! I'm so excited to meet a fellow
Disney Vacation Club Member--thanks for stopping by planDisney. Like Terk is to Tarzan, I'm here to be your trusty sidekick as we talk all things DVC to make sure you have a magical and memorable vacation!
How exciting that you're new to the world of DVC. The ins and outs of
Vacation Points,
Use Years, and
Banking and Borrowing can definitely be overwhelming--I get it! I still check and double-check my DVC math anytime I'm booking a vacation to make sure I have all of my (Donald) ducks in a row.
I've been in the situation you're describing before, with our preferred resort not having full availability for our travel dates. There are a few options for how to proceed--let's discuss!
If you have any flexibility for your travel dates, take a look at some different date ranges to determine if your desired hotel has full availability. You can also keep an eye on availability at other DVC resorts, and at the 7-month mark modify your reservation to stay at one that has full availability (I'm assuming you plan to stay at your Home Resort in January!). We take an annual trip in early February for my daughter's dance nationals and we like to stay at a different property every time!
Beyond that, I suggest proceeding with the strategy you mentioned--booking a room at the resort in a different category (think a 1-Bedroom Villa instead of a Deluxe Studio) for that one night, then creating a waitlist. Guests' plans change all the time, so I will keep my fingers crossed that the room you need opens up.
Jason, I hope this information is helpful for your planning purposes. If there are any other questions I can assist with related to DVC or
Walt Disney World Resort, please don't hesitate to
reach out directly. Thanks again for visiting planDisney, and we hope to see ya real soon!
Stay Magical!
Susan