MacBook Pro purchase appointment scheduling issue

That does appear to be the case, yes, probably because the stores are swamped for the holidays. You can try calling the store and see if they'll make an appointment for you that way. Or you can go to the online Apple Store, click to talk to a specialist, and get help that way. You can then probably place an order online for pickup in your local Apple Store, if you prefer not to have something shipped.

Regards.

At my local suburban Boston USA store, users are met near the door by a Greeter, who listens to your issue and can place you in the correct queue for the next available associate for whatever issue you might need, including shopping for a new Mac, or picking up an item you already ordered.

if you want to shop, they add you to the shopping queue for the kind of device: {MacBook, Mac Desktop, iPad, iPhone, or accessories} AND suggest that you go take a look at the devices on display on the sales floor. If there is not a large queue, they may say, "go see Joe, the tall guy standing by the MacBook Pro table over there."

When the store is not busy, a sales associate on the floor will likely be able to assist you quickly. When the store is swamped, the sales associates tend to work off the Queue.

AppleVison is ONLY demonstrated and sold by specialists trained in Apple vision. That requires an appointment any any time of year.