Haha yes your comment on the last video was definitely an inspiration! I do try to listen to people who take the time to comment and make content of interest to y'all, so long as my work schedule allows. I think you said May 15 - 30 so I know this was a *tad* early but I had a packed weekend so hope this was still helpful for you!
@@konichiwa3744 You're very welcome and thanks for watching! BTW I go by "Jacqueline" not Jackie. And if you haven't seen it yet, I have a video that gives you an overview of what's in the DVC member portal (ua-cam.com/video/Zna3PBcpQnw/v-deo.html). A couple of things have changed since I did those screen recordings, but the interface and functionality are largely the same.
June is like... now haha. Do you mean 7 months for June? I did do one short term availability video ages ago (but it was for february I think), but the general takeaway is its quite bad on short term notice haha
I was trying for a Poly studio for beginning of May. When I hit confirm, I got an error and then they were all gone when I tried seconds later. I was able to get Grand Floridian standard studio, so I grabbed that. BLT is my home too, but my adult children won't share a bed and weren't too impressed with the studio there. I put in a waitlist but I am pretty happy with the standard view studio, especially points wise.
Oof bummer about the Poly room! But since you got on the waitlist early there's always a chance! Early May did seem surprisingly in demand though; perhaps because the low points cost? But anyway I'm glad you snagged Grand Flo! That's a great backup for sure. Oh ya BLT studios are small and the layout is definitely not for everyone. If I was going with someone I did not want to share a bed with TBH I don't know that I'd want to stay in any non-Poly/GF Resort/OKW studio (much larger and/or two beds lol). Ive had a few friends ask if we could go together (4 of us, myself and my partner and two friends--usually a couple) and honestly squeezing four adults into almost any studio seems very unappealing to me LOL.
Thank you for the video. You should have definitely added non WDW resort like Aulani too. That would have been really helpful. Would have loved to see how Aulani is at 7 months for last 2 weeks of December.
Hey Clayton. Thanks for that feedback! I'll take it into consideration. I did include Aulani/VGC/HH/VB in the first video of this series and no one seemed to care so had removed them for subsequent efforts (it adds a significant portion of time to the videos, of course). In general, last 2 weeks of December is always going to be extremely competitive at the 7 month mark due to holiday season/high crowds for travel overall. Aulani, at least compared to the other beach resorts, can be QUITE competitive depending on the room type you want to get. The "better" views definitely go very very fast. If you want a better view and also to travel during peak times, I would always suggest that be your home resort regardless or what home resort you are looking at. It is unlikely you'll be able to snag a several night stay in the same room type at 7 months in advance for holiday times at any resort smoothly. The waitlist might come through, but it's never a guarantee. Hope this helps! I'll think about including Aulani here and there, but probably leave the others out as I've had no request to include them. Additionally, I appreciate the engagement, but overall as you leave feedback for reviewers try to consider your phrasing! Tone cane be hard/impossible to decipher, and "you should have definitely" sounds like a directive (a bit rude) rather than a suggestion ("it would be helpful for me if you..." or similar). It can be a bit off putting and demoralizing for creators -- just something to keep in mind when you're leaving comments!
@@PixieDustPhD Thank you for your response, the additional insight and sharing your knowledge on the topic. Really appreciate it. But before that I want to apologize for my comments if I came across rude and being directive. It was definitely not my intention. It was more like a friendly suggestion. Something that would help someone looking for those other resorts. Again, Thank you for all your effort. Love your videos. Keep up the good work.
No real worries, Clayton! I did actually get my PhD so I have pretty thick skin, but just food for thought. I'm glad you took my comment to heart and hope it helps with smoother sailing feedback to creators in the future :) I have generally avoided making these videos over highest crowd/holiday times because I assume availability is very sad, but you bring up a good point - I bet a lot of people do want to travel over winter break. I'll try to put a reminder in my calendar and see if my schedule allows for a video in late May (looking at mid-late December time frame!). Thanks again!
@@PixieDustPhD PhD - That’s really very impressive. You are thorough with your analysis in your videos. I went to Aulani last month (December) for 8 days (22-29) and thoroughly enjoyed. Had a great time. I didn’t do DVC since I didn’t have enough points then (when I planned for Aulani in June 2022) but instead went with the standard hotel room directly with Disney. So I have been searching since my return if I have to go back again this year what would be the odds when I start the search in May 2023 for the same 7 days in December 2023. 😀
@@CBigsby Oooh eight days, wow! Nice. That must've been relaxing. And ya I mean eight days would've been quite a lot of points! Not that the hotel side is cheap, but I've been getting a lot of promotional deals on those rooms through the Disney visa credit card. I definitely want to check it out for a couple of nights sometime, but probably not for at least a few years from now. I currently live on the east coast, so we're trying to focus our travel on Europe while we are closer to that! We'll move out west eventually, then it's HI time!
Hi, Jacqueline--I love the 7-month booking window. So many possibilities! Here's Riviera for May 14 to 21, 2023: Full availability for one-bedroom standard and preferred views; two-bedroom dedicated standard view, two-bedroom dedicated preferred view, two-bedroom lockoff preferred view; and three-bedroom Grand Villa. One night available for standard view deluxe studio and two-bedroom lockoff standard view. Waitlist only for Tower Studios! The main takeaway is Riviera is tough to score the least points-rich room types: standard and Tower studios. Not surprising...
Yay, thanks Peter! You're the best. And yep, not at all surprised the smaller points costs are harder to book. The same seems to generally hold true at a lot of other resorts (definitely BLT from my own experience haha). Pretty neat though that both standard and preferred one beds are still available at even less than 7 months now!
Looking at the 7-month mark from today as opposed to the same days you used a few days ago, your chances at Riviera increase a bit. You could also get full availability in a deluxe preferred view studio; 4 nights in a deluxe standard view studio and two-bedroom lockoff standard view; and 2 nights in a Tower studio!
Ah nice, okay so if people are very on top of it deluxe studios are possible, and maybe even Tower studios. Good to know! I definitely don't (usually) log on right when availability opens up, so I do think some fastest fingers may win more in demand rooms before I ever see the availability haha. Thanks for sharing, Peter!
Thanks for this video! Pretty sure it was by my request. I’m very grateful that you were able to make this happen!
Haha yes your comment on the last video was definitely an inspiration! I do try to listen to people who take the time to comment and make content of interest to y'all, so long as my work schedule allows. I think you said May 15 - 30 so I know this was a *tad* early but I had a packed weekend so hope this was still helpful for you!
I enjoy looking at how the website is setup. Thanks Jackie
@@konichiwa3744 You're very welcome and thanks for watching! BTW I go by "Jacqueline" not Jackie. And if you haven't seen it yet, I have a video that gives you an overview of what's in the DVC member portal (ua-cam.com/video/Zna3PBcpQnw/v-deo.html). A couple of things have changed since I did those screen recordings, but the interface and functionality are largely the same.
I Love these videos
Aw cheers, Marie. Thanks so much for watching and leaving a comment!
Yes this is awesome
Cheers, thanks so much!
@@PixieDustPhD btw thanks to your videos I pulled the trigger on dvc yesterday
I wont be opposed if you do a June availability :) .... really like your detailed videos and explanations of DVC
June is like... now haha. Do you mean 7 months for June? I did do one short term availability video ages ago (but it was for february I think), but the general takeaway is its quite bad on short term notice haha
I was trying for a Poly studio for beginning of May. When I hit confirm, I got an error and then they were all gone when I tried seconds later. I was able to get Grand Floridian standard studio, so I grabbed that. BLT is my home too, but my adult children won't share a bed and weren't too impressed with the studio there. I put in a waitlist but I am pretty happy with the standard view studio, especially points wise.
Oof bummer about the Poly room! But since you got on the waitlist early there's always a chance! Early May did seem surprisingly in demand though; perhaps because the low points cost? But anyway I'm glad you snagged Grand Flo! That's a great backup for sure.
Oh ya BLT studios are small and the layout is definitely not for everyone. If I was going with someone I did not want to share a bed with TBH I don't know that I'd want to stay in any non-Poly/GF Resort/OKW studio (much larger and/or two beds lol). Ive had a few friends ask if we could go together (4 of us, myself and my partner and two friends--usually a couple) and honestly squeezing four adults into almost any studio seems very unappealing to me LOL.
Thank you for the video. You should have definitely added non WDW resort like Aulani too. That would have been really helpful. Would have loved to see how Aulani is at 7 months for last 2 weeks of December.
Hey Clayton. Thanks for that feedback! I'll take it into consideration. I did include Aulani/VGC/HH/VB in the first video of this series and no one seemed to care so had removed them for subsequent efforts (it adds a significant portion of time to the videos, of course). In general, last 2 weeks of December is always going to be extremely competitive at the 7 month mark due to holiday season/high crowds for travel overall. Aulani, at least compared to the other beach resorts, can be QUITE competitive depending on the room type you want to get. The "better" views definitely go very very fast. If you want a better view and also to travel during peak times, I would always suggest that be your home resort regardless or what home resort you are looking at. It is unlikely you'll be able to snag a several night stay in the same room type at 7 months in advance for holiday times at any resort smoothly. The waitlist might come through, but it's never a guarantee. Hope this helps! I'll think about including Aulani here and there, but probably leave the others out as I've had no request to include them. Additionally, I appreciate the engagement, but overall as you leave feedback for reviewers try to consider your phrasing! Tone cane be hard/impossible to decipher, and "you should have definitely" sounds like a directive (a bit rude) rather than a suggestion ("it would be helpful for me if you..." or similar). It can be a bit off putting and demoralizing for creators -- just something to keep in mind when you're leaving comments!
@@PixieDustPhD Thank you for your response, the additional insight and sharing your knowledge on the topic. Really appreciate it. But before that I want to apologize for my comments if I came across rude and being directive. It was definitely not my intention. It was more like a friendly suggestion. Something that would help someone looking for those other resorts. Again, Thank you for all your effort. Love your videos. Keep up the good work.
No real worries, Clayton! I did actually get my PhD so I have pretty thick skin, but just food for thought. I'm glad you took my comment to heart and hope it helps with smoother sailing feedback to creators in the future :)
I have generally avoided making these videos over highest crowd/holiday times because I assume availability is very sad, but you bring up a good point - I bet a lot of people do want to travel over winter break. I'll try to put a reminder in my calendar and see if my schedule allows for a video in late May (looking at mid-late December time frame!). Thanks again!
@@PixieDustPhD PhD - That’s really very impressive. You are thorough with your analysis in your videos. I went to Aulani last month (December) for 8 days (22-29) and thoroughly enjoyed. Had a great time. I didn’t do DVC since I didn’t have enough points then (when I planned for Aulani in June 2022) but instead went with the standard hotel room directly with Disney. So I have been searching since my return if I have to go back again this year what would be the odds when I start the search in May 2023 for the same 7 days in December 2023. 😀
@@CBigsby Oooh eight days, wow! Nice. That must've been relaxing. And ya I mean eight days would've been quite a lot of points! Not that the hotel side is cheap, but I've been getting a lot of promotional deals on those rooms through the Disney visa credit card. I definitely want to check it out for a couple of nights sometime, but probably not for at least a few years from now. I currently live on the east coast, so we're trying to focus our travel on Europe while we are closer to that! We'll move out west eventually, then it's HI time!
Hi, Jacqueline--I love the 7-month booking window. So many possibilities! Here's Riviera for May 14 to 21, 2023:
Full availability for one-bedroom standard and preferred views; two-bedroom dedicated standard view, two-bedroom dedicated preferred view, two-bedroom lockoff preferred view; and three-bedroom Grand Villa.
One night available for standard view deluxe studio and two-bedroom lockoff standard view.
Waitlist only for Tower Studios!
The main takeaway is Riviera is tough to score the least points-rich room types: standard and Tower studios. Not surprising...
Yay, thanks Peter! You're the best.
And yep, not at all surprised the smaller points costs are harder to book. The same seems to generally hold true at a lot of other resorts (definitely BLT from my own experience haha). Pretty neat though that both standard and preferred one beds are still available at even less than 7 months now!
Looking at the 7-month mark from today as opposed to the same days you used a few days ago, your chances at Riviera increase a bit. You could also get full availability in a deluxe preferred view studio; 4 nights in a deluxe standard view studio and two-bedroom lockoff standard view; and 2 nights in a Tower studio!
Ah nice, okay so if people are very on top of it deluxe studios are possible, and maybe even Tower studios. Good to know! I definitely don't (usually) log on right when availability opens up, so I do think some fastest fingers may win more in demand rooms before I ever see the availability haha. Thanks for sharing, Peter!