Thanks for bringing your question to planDisney, Christa!
September is a great time to visit Walt Disney World. With traditionally-smaller crowds and the Halloween festivities in full swing, you can really sink your teeth into everything the parks have to offer. If you're heading to EPCOT during your stay, you'll also want to plan some extra time to enjoy the EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival, with its live entertainment, activities, and
Global Marketplaces with gourmet dishes and delightful libations from around the world. And if you need a break from all the festival excitement, be sure to head over to the
EPCOT Member Lounge in the Imagination! Pavillion. This space is exclusively for eligible Disney Vacation Club Members and offers complimentary soft drinks and charging stations, making it the perfect place to relax for a few minutes during your busy park day. Be sure to check it out during your visit!
I know how nerve-wracking it can be when you're waiting for a waitlist request to come through, and unfortunately, Member Services is unable to confirm your exact waitlist position. However, I can tell you that waitlist requests come through all the time, so there's a great chance that things could work out in your favor. But if you really have your heart set on staying at
Bay Lake Tower at Disney's Contemporary Resort (and who can blame you), there are some things I suggest doing to increase your chances of scoring that perfect reservation.
First, don't just rely on your waitlist request to "find" that reservation for you –– keep checking back regularly for yourself (even several times a day). I don't know exactly how waitlists are processed, but after
many years of hunting down DVC reservations, I've learned that it isn't instantaneous. It's often possible to find the reservation on your own and scoop it up, particularly at night and over a weekend. Next, if your room type is partially available for your dates, I recommend booking those nights and only waitlisting the unavailable portion. Remember, your waitlist request is only going to be fulfilled if
all of the dates open up at once, so an 8-night request might be more challenging to fill than just a few nights.
For the dates that are unavailable, you can book a split-stay a
Disney's Old Key West Resort (or any other available DVC Resort) and cancel that reservation if Bay Lake Tower becomes available. If you haven't done a split-stay before, it's not as intimidating as it might seem. On the morning you plan to change Resorts, you can drop your bags off at the Bell Services desk or have them picked up from your room, and they will be happy to transfer them to your new Resort at no charge. Then you can go about your day and head to your new Resort whenever you'd like. If you'd like to keep your existing waitlist request the way it is, you're also welcome to book those same nights at Old Key West as a backup and cancel if that becomes necessary.
Thanks for visiting planDisney, Christa. No matter which Resort you call "home", I hope your upcoming Walt Disney World Resort visit is filled with Membership magic from beginning to end!
See Ya Real Soon,
Amy