So, yesterday while I had some free time, I thought I'd look around on the DVC forums for a DVC rental reservation for the two days (24-26 Feb.) on the front end of our already 7 nt. reservations at Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa - 1-bedroom. As luck would have it, DVC reservations at all resorts are completely booked for that weekend due to the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon. 
By Day 34 (to go until we arrive at Disney), I usually have my ducks in a row and everything is set, but not the case this time and it was making me very nervous (I'm a planner!!). So I decide to call the Disney Annual Passholder helpline and talk with a cast member about my dilemma.
She explains to me that sometimes Disney Resort Villas (DVC) will be available on the Disney Direct website, even if the DVC availability is completely booked. She explained that if you search for just one or two days at a time on a busy weekend, you probably won't find anything, and she was right!!!!! BUT.................... If you start searching for 5-7 night reservations building in the dates you want, the odds increase greatly, and she was right... So here's the kicker.... The longer you book, the cheaper the average daily cost is per night...................... So I did this for 7 nights at SSR, and low and behold a 1-bedroom becomes available and at a heavily discounted price (w/AP Discount)... So I accept the reservation for the 7 days.... So, here's the big TIP........................... Call back to Disney and modify your reservation to the actual number of days you want.. In my case two nights (24-26 Feb).... I called back to the same CM that I had spoke with earlier in the day, and she modified the reservation for me to arrive on 24 Feb. and depart on 26 Feb., and the same price held for me per night. 
I was ecstatic that I was able to get this to work for me and at a great price.... And to top things off the CM, tied my two reservations together so there will be no moving from one room to another during our nine day stay... I'm so pumped that I got this reservation and don't have to stress about it anymore...
I wanted to share this with y'all in case you are in a similar situation..
Another TIP to note while going through this process:
So about a week ago, I booked a reservation at the Cabins at Wilderness lodge, kind of as a spur of the moment (and only thing available at the time)thing... After I booked, I was able to make FP reservations for the entire family for those two extra days we added to our 7 day reservation. So I grabbed a few choice rides that go quickly as you approach the 30 day mark. Well, after two days, I cancel the reservation (I realized the half marathon was going to hinder our movement from this location)... I thought for sure the FP's we made would go away since we did not have a reservation nor were we in our 30 day window. Nope!!! They stuck!!!
So the Tip is: If you want FP's for a certain ride or two that you know are never available at the 30 day mark, Book a mock reservation and get your FP's (up to 60 days out of first day of reservation) and then cancel the reservation at some later date (without penalty, of course). Mine was purely by accident, and was not intentional, but after scanning some of the Disney blogs and websites, several folks said they have done this in the past and it has worked for them.... Just thought I'd pass along that bit of information...
So anyway, I feel much better now having taken care of our resort reservations.. Now just to pick an extra ADR reservation or two..
