499 days out - for the über planner

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

Let's keep this among just us chickens, but tomorrow begins the booking window for October 2016, tomorrow is 499 days from 10/1/16. Yes, I actually track this stuff! I have all my favorite Disney dates plugged into a countdown timer app (Reminder Pro) so I can see when 499 approaches, and 180, and 60. Now, the big question is, if you're going to try for Halloween how will you book it? For instance, if I want to arrive on the 28th and stay at least through 11/10 Disney expects me to wait until June 30, or 499 days from my departure date. But by then Halloween will have been booking for 10 days; what do you think will be left? My inclination under the new rules is to book the 28th on the first date available. Then the next night I'll try to book the 29th and 28th, and if I get it I'll cancel the other ressie. And I'll keep doing that daily until I get all the dates I need and cancel all the overlapped dates. I could see ending up with a box-full of ressies that look like: 10/28-29, 10/30, 10/31, 11/1, 11/2-11/10. That would mean I have to checkout-checkin 5 times, but that seems to becoming de rigueur. I will try to get them to combine them, but don't hold a lot of hope. How will you handle advance booking for high-demand dates?

[Travisma 1,317]

I have never tried that, but we were talking about Halloween 2016 last night. 

 

So you're saying that at the 499 day, you can only book the first day of your reservation even if you wanted a month, and that the system will not allow you to add dates past the 499 day?

 

Sounds like a horrible mess.

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

We're doing halloween this year, which means our annual pass will start around 10/28.... that means next year's fall trip will be early October for us.

[Travisma 1,317]

Let's keep this among just us chickens, but tomorrow begins the booking window for October 2016, tomorrow is 499 days from 10/1/16. Yes, I actually track this stuff! I have all my favorite Disney dates plugged into a countdown timer app (Reminder Pro) so I can see when 499 approaches, and 180, and 60. Now, the big question is, if you're going to try for Halloween how will you book it? For instance, if I want to arrive on the 28th and stay at least through 11/10 Disney expects me to wait until June 30, or 499 days from my departure date. But by then Halloween will have been booking for 10 days; what do you think will be left? My inclination under the new rules is to book the 28th on the first date available. Then the next night I'll try to book the 29th and 28th, and if I get it I'll cancel the other ressie. And I'll keep doing that daily until I get all the dates I need and cancel all the overlapped dates. I could see ending up with a box-full of ressies that look like: 10/28-29, 10/30, 10/31, 11/1, 11/2-11/10. That would mean I have to checkout-checkin 5 times, but that seems to becoming de rigueur. I will try to get them to combine them, but don't hold a lot of hope. How will you handle advance booking for high-demand dates?

Have you tried booking dates for next year on line?

 

The check in calendar only goes to 12/31/2015.

 

If you type in a date in 2016, it comes back saying there is no information for the resorts for that date.

 

I even tried it back to March 2016.

 

Are you calling them directly?

[Momof6....aka Marty 769]

Personally, I would contact Jason and have him handle it for me.   :waycool:

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Have you tried booking dates for next year on line?

 

The check in calendar only goes to 12/31/2015.

 

If you type in a date in 2016, it comes back saying there is no information for the resorts for that date.

 

I even tried it back to March 2016.

 

Are you calling them directly?

 

You have to call to book 499 days out.  The online calendar doesn't usually click over into the next year until late summer/early fall.

[Travisma 1,317]

You have to call to book 499 days out.  The online calendar doesn't usually click over into the next year until late summer/early fall.

Agggggh.  I hate early planning!

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Have to call. For this years Halloween I had no problem getting sites for people with out playing with dates up until September of last year for short stays longer made it into October. I think you would be fine booking it all at once. They also have been u willing to combine ressies for me for a year or so now.

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

We're doing halloween this year, which means our annual pass will start around 10/28.... that means next year's fall trip will be early October for us.

 

We'll be on the same schedule as you in 2016.  Thinking of arriving mid to late September.  

[momof3kids-Yvonne 596]

Have to call. For this years Halloween I had no problem getting sites for people with out playing with dates up until September of last year for short stays longer made it into October. I think you would be fine booking it all at once. They also have been u willing to combine ressies for me for a year or so now.

Did they combine the reservations so that only one deposit had to be made and there was not the need to go back and check in again? I ask because my reservation in October has 3 check in dates. My TA asked them about combining into one and they said they couldn't . They are linked.

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

Did they combine the reservations so that only one deposit had to be made and there was not the need to go back and check in again? I ask because my reservation in October has 3 check in dates. My TA asked them about combining into one and they said they couldn't . They are linked.

They would not combine for a single deposit. It's been almost two years since I was able to get them to do that for me.

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

We're doing halloween this year, which means our annual pass will start around 10/28.... that means next year's fall trip will be early October for us.

 

Sounds like our plan :)

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

Here is a very useful site: http://www.convertunits.com/dates/daysfromdate

Just plug -499 in the first blank and the date you want to depart in the second and it will spit out the date you can call.

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

FWIW, today is 499 days to Friday 10/21/2016, great arrival date for a Halloween-centric 10+ day stay.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

Just a reminder that we're within the 499 window for Halloween 2016.

 

Get your reservations while they're hot!!

 

On the plus side, Halloween falls on a Monday next year, so hopefully it won't be quite as nuts as it was last year and will mostly likely be this year. 

 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

We just booked our Spring and Fall trips with Jason :)    Super excited!   

 

We'll miss halloween this year...but hopefully we'll still get a chance to see a few Fiends on our trips :)

[Santa ... Shannon 160]

As of today you can book through Nov 6, 2016, which should be late enough to do both MNSSHP and MVMCP and Food & Wine! Party dates, of course, have not been announced, so you may want to pad a couple more days to the end.