"Welcome Home" visit booking at 4.5 months out

[♥ Mandi ♥]

I am trying to figure out the best usage of our "Welcome Home" visit. VGF is our home resort.

From my understanding, member services will help us book any room that's available at a villa in cash through Disney direct, even if it's sold out for DVC - is this correct?

If so, I would be able to book either a Boardwalk View studio OR a Poly Lake View studio for our Welcome Home Visit (a split stay, we'll also do Riviera deluxe studio, standard view, just to check it out as we've never stayed there before).

I am assuming the best usage of this perk would be to go with the BWV room, right? It is my understanding that BWV is very tough to book at 7 months out and the Poly is generally easier to do so - my thinking is that when we're booking on our own, I have a better chance of getting the Poly room at 7mos at any given time than the BWV room.

The Poly Lake View would also be 29 more pts. than the same stay at the Boardwalk view studio.

 

[crisi]

I wouldn't count on what you see as cash being available for the welcome home booking. I don't think its that simple. DVC inventory is complex and in some cases mysterious as to what they can and cannot actually do.

But yeah, I'd go for the BWV studio as it tends to be harder to get, if they can get it. Although there is something to be said for - since you are already at RIV for part of your stay , picking a resort that has a different primary location (Poly - MK).

 

[intamin]

As @crisi said above just because it shows up available as cash does not mean it will be there but I’d still shoot for the moon. Boardwalk view/standard view boardwalk, Beach Club studio, BLT standard studio would be my choices probably. I also love RIV but I own there so that wouldn’t be my personal choice but its also a great option.

 

[RoseGold]

Shoot your shot. See what they can do. BW is not likely, but who knows?

 

[Jwaire]

Be sure to post an update for us. I'm curious.

They were nice and tried to walk me through booking on the Web site, but when it came to availability basically told me to kick rocks (and I was 6 months out, not 4 1/2). I pieced together a stay at SSR with a night at BLT and a night at CCV.

But that was two years ago. Availability seems better this year.

 

[sndral]

BWVs are in the midst of a refurb https://dvcnews.com/wdw-resorts/boa...rdwalk-villa-refurbishment-timeline-confirmed there likely isn‘t much, if any, inventory available there. Poly has a lot of studios, but 4 1/2 months out - mid January, is going to be a challenge.
The way the DVC system works is that once a resort is declared/sold out, all inventory is available for booking by the people who own there during home resort booking & at 7 months by everyone else. DVC controls the undeclared inventory of resorts in active sales - right now that’s Riviera w/ 33.8% of the resort not yet declared, the 2% they retain of everywhere else, any inventory members exchanged out via IIL or for cruises, etc., & any breakage - ie inventory not booked by members w/in 60 days (which DVC can anticipate.) Typically DVC turns their inventory over to CRO for cash bookings. If a villa has been booked by a member w/ points or via CRO by a nonmember w/ cash, DVC can’t cancel that reservation to give it to someone else as a welcome home visit. As for when/how they claw back cash rooms not yet reserved by the general public - that’s a mystery I’ve never solved.

 

[♥ Mandi ♥]

Thanks guys!
They were able to book exactly what we’d requested (split stay 3 days in a RIV preferred view studio/4 days in a boardwalk view at BWV)!

 

[♥ Mandi ♥]

Be sure to post an update for us. I'm curious.

They were nice and tried to walk me through booking on the Web site, but when it came to availability basically told me to kick rocks (and I was 6 months out, not 4 1/2). I pieced together a stay at SSR with a night at BLT and a night at CCV.

But that was two years ago. Availability seems better this year.

Called this AM. She was able to secure both the RIV and BWV boardwalk view studio. Both were sold out for DVC booking but showed available for cash booking via the WDW website.

I checked the WDW website afterward and the BWV studio wasn’t showing available anymore pretty much immediately after we hung up.

 

[CarolynFH]

Thanks guys!
They were able to book exactly what we’d requested (split stay 3 days in a RIV preferred view studio/4 days in a boardwalk view at BWV)!

LOL, so in February we’ll see you looking for add-on points?

 

[Jwaire]

Called this AM. She was able to secure both the RIV and BWV boardwalk view studio. Both were sold out for DVC booking but showed available for cash booking via the WDW website.

I checked the WDW website afterward and the BWV studio wasn’t showing available anymore pretty much immediately after we hung up.

I'm glad it worked out! Congratulations!

 

[♥ Mandi ♥]

LOL, so in February we’ll see you looking for add-on points?

If by February you mean “today” then yes! Haha!