Hello, Pamela! Thanks for stopping by the
Disney Vacation Club corner of planDisney with an excellent vacation planning question. It's always smart to be planning ahead for your next Disney adventure - rest assured that you've got a friend in me, and I'm here to help with the information you need!
One of my favorite aspects of being a DVC Member is being able to use our
Vacation Points in lots of different ways. I absolutely adore staying at
Disney's Polynesian Villas & Bungalows, our Home Resort, but it's so fun to check out a new resort! Most folks tend to have a few favorite spots, and hopefully you can lock down a reservation at somewhere beyond your home base.
Members can book stays at any DVC resort starting 7 months before their planned arrival date. You can make a reservation online via the Member website, or by calling
Member Services. Before your 7-month window opens, I recommend checking availability so you'll know what your options are when it's time to book. Often, I have the best luck booking something at
Saratoga Springs or
Old Key West when I'm working with the 7-month mark, but I've also been able to snag reservations at
Animal Kingdom Villas and
Bay Lake Tower!
To see a calendar view for availability, log onto the Member website and select "Plan Vacation" from the options at the top of the page, then "Book a Vacation". This will take you to a search engine where you'll enter your party size, travel dates, and room type. You can also select what resorts you want to search - to see all of the available options, choose "Select All Walt Disney World Resorts". You'll then get a list of each resort that includes every type of accommodation offered there and the number of Vacation Points needed for those dates.
When you click on the specific room type you're interested in, you'll be able to see the calendar view. This shows a month-by-month display with the number of points you need per night. Dates that are available at the time of your search will show as blue on the calendar, while those not available will appear gray.
Pamela, if your preferred resort isn't fully available, you can create a
Waitlist for your travel dates. In this situation, it's wise to book something that's fully available and then set up a Waitlist for the unavailable stay. The earlier you do this, the better! You can set your Waitlist to expire either 31 or 7 days before your preferred check-in date - while nothing is guaranteed, people do change their travel plans and something may open up. It never hurts to try!
I hope this information is helpful so you can book your well-deserved birthday trip. Thanks again for sending your question our way, and please
come back anytime if our planDisney crew can help with tips and advice to make your vacation a magical one!
Welcome Home!
Susan