Booking last minute at SSR

TigerInGa

Earning My Ears
Joined
Oct 9, 2019
So, the re-sale contract that was sent to ROFR on the 18th has 160 points that will need to be used by January 31st. While our broker did a great job of managing our expectations that there is no guarantee we'll be able to use these points, I am really hoping for a "bonus" vacation in January before my new points are added in February.


Has anyone had any luck booking this last minute? Assuming everything goes to plan and the stars align, we'd be looking at a early December closing, with points being added to our account in late December / early January. We'll need to burn 160 points, are very flexible on days of the week (as long as wifi is available), and accommodation type. We'd love to stay at our new "home" at SSR, but anywhere would be fine.
 
So, the re-sale contract that was sent to ROFR on the 18th has 160 points that will need to be used by January 31st. While our broker did a great job of managing our expectations that there is no guarantee we'll be able to use these points, I am really hoping for a "bonus" vacation in January before my new points are added in February.


Has anyone had any luck booking this last minute? Assuming everything goes to plan and the stars align, we'd be looking at a early December closing, with points being added to our account in late December / early January. We'll need to burn 160 points, are very flexible on days of the week (as long as wifi is available), and accommodation type. We'd love to stay at our new "home" at SSR, but anywhere would be fine.
You might be able to piece something together if you’re willing to switch resorts, staying one night here, a couple of nights there. But by the time that your points drop into your account a good number of unreserved villas will have been sent to CRO as breakage. It will be slim pickings unless you want to go to Aulani or Hilton Head. Both of those resorts tend to show some availability at 60 days or less before arrival.
 
You might be able to piece something together if you’re willing to switch resorts, staying one night here, a couple of nights there. But by the time that your points drop into your account a good number of unreserved villas will have been sent to CRO as breakage. It will be slim pickings unless you want to go to Aulani or Hilton Head. Both of those resorts tend to show some availability at 60 days or less before arrival.


Forgive my ignorance please, but what is "CRO"? Hilton Head is only 5 hours away, so that's a great plan B.
 


Forgive my ignorance please, but what is "CRO"? Hilton Head is only 5 hours away, so that's a great plan B.
CRO = Central Reservations Office

It’s the cash side of Disney reservations. When DVC villas go unbooked by members or when members trade their points out to ABD, the Disney Collection or DCL, DVC turns villas over to CRO so that non-members can book them for cash. DVC then takes the cash and uses it to “pay” for ABD, DCL or the Disney Collection reservations that members made. A portion of any “profit” helps to offset dues but most of it is pocketed by DVC.
 
I was able to book 2 nights at SSR this July with one days notice. It was July 6th and 7th. We decided to leave another resort we were at..Margaritvaville..ealry.

Went online the night of July 5th and got the 6th and 7th in a studio!

Having said that, I think you are going to have a tough time with studios during January on such short notice. Last year, my DD and her friends wanted to go down and in early December I tried and couldn’t get any 3 night stretch in studios or 1 bedrooms in January. Now, I didn’t keep trying as she is a CM so ended up booking a room at Yacht Club at a really good CM price. So, had I kept stalking, maybe.

Vero Beach is another place to consider if you can’t get WDW.
 


If you can afford a 1 or 2BR it is easier.

We’ll have 160 points to burn. It doesn’t matter to us if it’s 3 nights or 7 nights, we just don’t want to eat them. We’ll put the 2 of us and baby in a big 2 bedroom for 3-4 nights and just run around the place if it means we get this “bonus” vacation.
 
Can anyone share an experience where they got lucky with last minute bookings?
I booked a BLT lake view studio with a single day’s notice. It was the Saturday of Labor Day weekend 2016 and it was only for one night. There was a tropical storm that was threatening to screw with our original flight, so we flew in a day early.
 
You will probably be able to get something. Might have to do 1 bedrooms, at a couple resorts. Good luck. Next time have them bank the points when you make the offer, if the closing date is that close to the use year. Sometimes if you call MS will bank the points for you, they don’t have to, but sometimes they will, when you buy a contract with expiring points.
 
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I'm mostly repeating the good answers others have made. While the odds of a single block of days being available in any size room are low, you may be able to piece together a couple of nights here and a couple there. These are called "split stays," and while DVC owners are, ahem, split on their enjoyment of these, we've done it a few times with little hassle. In case you didn't know, the resorts will transport the bags between each other. All you have to do is keep out what you would need for that day you move. I further agree that HHI might be an option (or Vero Beach), and it is widely regarded as having the best CMs in the business. It's not a run til you drop type of Disney vacation, but rather a laid back, family-oriented time. The weather could be iffy, but it could be gorgeous. There are plenty of things to do and see in the area, and the restaurants there offer better food for a better price for the most part. Best wishes going forward with your plans.
 
Can anyone share an experience where they got lucky with last minute bookings?
I booked last NYE two weeks out. got 6 nights in a SSR preferred studio via stalking (constantly checking and refreshing the DVC booking page). Eventually ended up with Dec 31-Jan 2 in a 1bd value (an awesome find) and 4 nights in SSR preferred studio. We prefer 1 bds so I was willing to split stay. During my hours of stalking I saw lots of inventory last minute - even BLT 1 bd over NYE. I was limited points wise to what I could book, but if you're willing to put in the time and keep your expectations low, you'd be surprised at what pops up. I am a notorious last minute booker and find it fun :smokin:. YMMV.
 
You will probably be able to get something. Might have to do 1 bedrooms, at a couple resorts. Good luck. Next time have them bank the points when you make the offer, if the closing date is that close to the use year. Sometimes if you call MS will bank the points for you, they don’t have to, but sometimes they will, when you buy a contract with expiring points.

Unfortunately, these are banked points from 2018.
 
If you can't find anything on-line, contact Member Services to see if they can help you out. I've heard of them getting things for "first-timers", even when there wasn't anything available on-line.
 
If you can't find anything on-line, contact Member Services to see if they can help you out. I've heard of them getting things for "first-timers", even when there wasn't anything available on-line.

Great to know, thank you so so much!
 
If you can't find anything on-line, contact Member Services to see if they can help you out. I've heard of them getting things for "first-timers", even when there wasn't anything available on-line.

This is done only for new owners who buy direct from Disney. Its a welcome home call. Its not available, typically for resale buyers.
 

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