Disney Vacation Club’s newest resort, Disney’s Lakeshore Lodge, is generating tremendous excitement among members. With a new resort comes the opportunity to experience something fresh, and the First Wave booking opportunity was undoubtedly something many DVC members had been eagerly anticipating.
Unfortunately, what should have been an exciting day for members turned into a frustrating booking disaster.
When booking lines opened at 10:00 AM this morning, members hoping to secure reservations at Lakeshore Lodge encountered a phone system that effectively shut them out. Instead of being placed on hold until an agent became available, callers were greeted with a message stating that all agents were busy and instructing them to call back later.
Then the system simply hung up.
By 12:10 PM, just over two hours after bookings opened, every available room was completely sold out. Members who had been unable to get through to an agent were left with only waitlists.
For a highly anticipated resort and an important member booking opportunity, this was an incredibly disappointing experience.
An Exciting New Resort Meets an Unprepared Booking System
Lakeshore Lodge is an exciting addition to Disney Vacation Club, and the opportunity to experience the resort early understandably generated enormous demand.
But that demand should have come as no surprise to Disney. DVC knows how popular new resorts and exclusive Member experiences can be, making its lack of preparation all the more disappointing.
Instead of a reasonable queueing system, Members were repeatedly told that agents were busy and instructed to call back. Meanwhile, others were successfully booking reservations.
For Members calling right when reservations opened, being repeatedly disconnected while availability disappeared was an incredibly frustrating and unfair experience.
Sold Out in Just Over Two Hours
The most remarkable part of this morning’s experience is just how quickly the available inventory disappeared.
By 12:10 PM, Lakeshore Lodge First Wave reservations were completely sold out, with only waitlists remaining.
That is a remarkably short window for members to secure a reservation, especially when the phone system itself was making it difficult to reach an agent.
A resort selling out because demand exceeds inventory is understandable. Disney Vacation Club cannot magically create additional rooms simply because more members want to book. But members should at least have a reasonable opportunity to participate in the booking process.
A system that repeatedly disconnects callers instead of placing them into a queue makes an already competitive booking opportunity even more frustrating.
Why Didn’t DVC Use an Online Booking System?
Perhaps the most frustrating part of the Lakeshore Lodge First Wave booking disaster is that Disney Vacation Club already has a better solution available.
For events like Moonlight Magic, DVC uses an online reservation system with a virtual queue, allowing Members to wait their turn without repeatedly calling and getting disconnected. Why couldn’t a similar system have been used for Lakeshore Lodge?
A virtual queue wouldn’t have guaranteed everyone a reservation, but it would have provided a more organized, transparent, and fair experience.
If Disney can manage overwhelming demand through a virtual queue for Moonlight Magic, why couldn’t it do the same for one of its most anticipated new resorts?
With Millions in Revenue Being Made, DVC Could Have Done Better
Perhaps the most frustrating part of this experience is the financial opportunity Disney Vacation Club stands to gain from the Lakeshore Lodge First Wave offering.
By accepting DVC points in exchange for these exclusive stays, Disney effectively gains access to points it can potentially use to make accommodations available for cash reservations. Based on our estimates of available inventory, required points, and additional guest charges, we believe this event could represent upwards of $3 million in potential revenue for Disney if not more. While actual revenue and profitability would depend on how those points are ultimately used, the financial incentive is substantial.
With that much potential revenue on the table, why wasn’t Disney better prepared?
Whether through additional reservation agents, an outsourced call center, or an online virtual queue similar to Moonlight Magic, there were reasonable ways to manage the anticipated demand.
If Disney stands to generate millions from these exclusive Member experiences, shouldn’t it invest in a booking system that actually works?
Members aren’t asking for guaranteed reservations. They’re simply asking for a fair and professional opportunity to book them.
Is Disney Vacation Club Undermining the Value of Direct Ownership?
There’s another question Disney Vacation Club should be asking itself after today’s booking disaster: Is Disney inadvertently making its own direct membership benefits less appealing?
For years, exclusive Member Benefits have been a powerful selling point for purchasing Disney Vacation Club directly from Disney. Events like Moonlight Magic, special Member experiences, and opportunities like the Lakeshore Lodge First Wave create a sense of exclusivity and, perhaps more importantly, a fear of missing out. After all, who wants to be the Member watching everyone else enjoy these experiences simply because they purchased their points on the resale market?
But what happens when that fear of missing out turns into frustration over missing out anyway?
Between the competitive registration process for Moonlight Magic, limited availability for special Member events, and now the frustrating Lakeshore Lodge First Wave booking experience, Disney may be unintentionally changing the conversation surrounding direct ownership.
Instead of Members feeling rewarded for purchasing directly from Disney, some may begin questioning whether those exclusive benefits are really worth the additional investment. If accessing these experiences increasingly feels like winning a lottery or spending hours fighting a reservation system, the perceived value of those benefits could diminish significantly.
The fear of missing out has traditionally helped Disney sell direct memberships. The fear of paying more and still missing out could eventually do just the opposite.
DVC Members Deserve Better
For years, members have had to navigate competitive booking windows for popular resorts, special events, and other limited-capacity experiences. Yet, when demand becomes overwhelming, the experience often seems to leave members feeling as though they are competing against the reservation system itself.
There are several straightforward ways DVC could improve this experience:
A proper virtual queue: Instead of hanging up on callers, DVC could place members into a virtual queue and allow them to remain in line until an agent becomes available.
A callback system: Members could request a callback rather than repeatedly dialing the reservation line and hoping to get through.
Better communication: If DVC knows that demand will exceed available staffing, it should communicate how the booking process will work and what members should expect.
These are not revolutionary ideas. They are basic customer service improvements that could make an enormous difference during high-demand booking windows.
It Shouldn’t Be This Hard to Give Disney Our Money
At the end of the day, DVC Members are simply trying to use the points they’ve already purchased, after investing thousands of dollars in memberships and continuing to pay annual dues.
It shouldn’t be this hard to give Disney our DVC points and money.
Nobody expects guaranteed availability at a brand new resort. High demand and limited inventory are understandable. But there’s a big difference between missing out on a reservation and never having a fair opportunity to book one.
Instead, Members spent the morning repeatedly calling, getting disconnected, and watching availability disappear.
For a company that prides itself on rewarding Member loyalty, Disney Vacation Club should be making these experiences easier, not turning them into another source of frustration.
The Bottom Line
Lakeshore Lodge is an exciting addition to Disney Vacation Club, but today’s First Wave booking experience highlights the need for better planning.
Selling out a resort is understandable. Hanging up on Members trying to book it is not.
A virtual queue or callback system could have made the process far more organized and fair, even with limited availability.
DVC Members aren’t asking for guaranteed reservations. They’re asking for a reasonable opportunity to book the experiences they’ve invested in. Disney Vacation Club needs to ensure its reservation systems deliver on that expectation.
Let us know if you tried to book the Lakeshore Lodge First Wave today and if you succeeded?!
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Jamie Kenyon
November 7, 2026We were put on hold at 959 am. Finally got through to a person after 2 hours to be told it’s sold out. The highlight was an hour and a half of dead silence. No music or any confirmation that we were still in the queue. Then given 3 choices to waitlist and when asked which category had the most rooms, we were told that they CANT TELL US THAT INFO! What?!?
Chris Gross
November 7, 2026I was ready to give my $ to DVC to buy points at Lakeshore Lodge. I bought direct at Rivera and was ready to do so here. Now I’m considering being happy where I am at with 400 points and investing more into DVC where resale points aren’t treated as poorly.