BWV vs OKW

[harleyquinn]

Ok Duke it out everyone!

No...seriously. For my upcoming honeymoon I'm thinking about renting points to stay at either BWV or OKW.

Can you all help me decide?

We will be going in June (I know but DF is a teacher).

We stayed at POR in August and LOVED it! By looking at pictures I think OKW is a lot like POR in a lot of ways. I liked the way the rooms were set up (no inside corridors), but I've never experienced anything else.

I'm interested in the location of BWV.

My fiance likes to swim so I'd like to hear about the pools.

If you want to ask for more info to gauge our interests better please ask!!

Thank you! And No fighting! I just want everyone's ideas

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by harleyquinn
Ok Duke it out everyone!

Hopefully Richyams and BWVDee will see this thread. You can't go wrong with either resort.

 

[harleyquinn]

Yeah...I've gotten that feeling that I can't go wrong from the other threads But I thought maybe if you knew enough about us you can steer us in the righter direction.

I find it interesting that there seems to be more OKW fans than BWV.

Love your smilies

 

[dianeschlicht]

This is a tough one thinking in terms of a honeymoon! The location of BWV would be ideal for the evening activities and proximity to Epcot, but...

Are you thinking studio or 1 bedroom? That MIGHT make a difference, although, not really. If you want a REALLY special honeymoon, rent a 1 bedroom so you get the advantage of the whirlpool in the bath! If that and the "no hallways" appeals most to you, then OKW is the obvious choice, because the point cost here is considerably less. If you are set on a studio and don't care about the whirlpool, then location might be the most important thing to you. At that point, you would need to decide if you want the night life of the Boardwalk or the night life of Pleasure Island/ DTD.

I know, it was a rather non-committal statement, but that's the way I would look at it.

 

[dianeschlicht]

As far as pools go, I am not the best one to ask that! If he likes lots of activity and slides and lots of kids around him, he might enjoy BWV, but if he likes to SWIM and relax in a hot tub or sauna, then OKW might be better,and maybe even one of the "quiet" pools.

 

[harleyquinn]

That is very helpful dianeschlicht. We love DTD and the AC, so that's a good thing to factor in. But we haven't tried the BW and I'd like to be so close to the action! Is it relatively easy to get from BWV to DTD?

I'd love to get a one bedroom but DF is really cheap (he wants to stay at an All star) (Oh! Not that people who do stay at all stars are cheap I just want something more special for the honeymoon! I'm actually thinking of splitting the stay sun-thursday at a DVC so the points are less and then POP or a mod if there's a good rate.

 

[OKWJan]

Personally, I would get a studio at BCV instead of either OKW or BWV. We own at OKW and I love it, but often when my husband & I go for a short trip I try to get a BCV studio. We like the separate bed & sofa setup. I also like the atmosphere of BCV much better than Boardwalk and Storm Along Bay is a great pool. You can always pool hop to the Boardwalk pool, but if you stay there you can't use Storm Along Bay. Walking from either BCV or BWV to the parks is great, and the walk around the lake at night is magical.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I can't answer how easy it is to get to DTD from BWV, since I have not done it myself, but I have not heard great things about the bus service from BWV. Of course, after the parks or closed, it should be better. I agree with you! a 1 bedroom would be MUCH better for a honeymoon! Keep in mind that would be cheaper at OKW than BWV.

 

[Candace]

And if you DO decide on a 1BR instead of a Studio, then you should know that the jacuzzi tub at OKW is plenty large enough for two.........

 

[harleyquinn]

I'd like to stay at BCV but as I said before I'm trying REALLY hard to watch the cost and OKW and BWV are the same points for when we will be going. As I've never stayed at any of teh DVC resorts I figure I won't REALLY know what I'm missing at BCV so it's ok

Man I love these smilies

 

[harleyquinn]

Oh stop teaming up on me for the Jacuzzi! I really want it!! But there's no way I can convince Df that its worth twice as much just for a bathtub

 

[Nick@ VB+OKW]

Originally posted by Candace
if you DO decide on a 1BR instead of a Studio, then you should know that the jacuzzi tub at OKW is plenty large enough for two.........

.................

 

[harleyquinn]

You guys are awesome

 

[mitros]

Hi harleyquinn, I see your are bouncing around the posts today too! Did you know the boards were going down at 6PM tonight while they change the servers? Anyway, let's see if I can be less confusing on this one! For a resort that is much quiter, and you can park your car pretty much right in front of your room{no waiting for a valet}, OKW is the better resort. While at the same time, you are close enough to Pleasure Island to enjoy the night life on a frequent basis. Do newlyweds like the nightlife? It's been 34 years since we were newlyweds and I can't recall!

 

[crisi]

How much time will you spend in your room vs. doing the parks? (I did two honeymoons at Disney, and neither one did we spend much time in the rooms).

Will you have a car?

What do you imagine your days being like?

Are you going to be eating out a lot?

What are your favorite parks?

The nicest thing about BWVs is their location. Its very easy to have dinner at Epcot or one of the Epcot area resort restaurants and stroll back to your room. See Illuminations or Fantasmic and have a short walk back. It has a fairly nice night life (Jellyrolls and ESPN in particular). My husband has nice things to say about the Bellvue Lounge - and the nice advantage of BW over OKW is you don't need to go outside to get to the bar (although you do for the restaurants, there is no interior access). The inn gardens are very romantic and lovely for a walk.

 

[harleyquinn]

Thanks for getting this back on topic...we were having too much fun making smilies

Anyway, yes I was bouncing around like crazy yesterday mitros!

Great questions crisi! Here's the answers:

How much time will you spend in your room vs. doing the parks?

--When we went in August we actually spent a lot of time at the resort (swimming and taking walks).

Will you have a car?
--nope

What do you imagine your days being like?
--We'll get up for EE a couple of times, but for the most part we'll get up around 9am and then go wherever til we get tired (usually around dinner time) Then we'll go back to the resort and recoupe and then head to DTD for a while (df insists we'll go to the AC every night)

Are you going to be eating out a lot?
Yes and no...we'll never eat breakfast out...we'll eat a big lunch at the parks and then something small to share for dinner...I do like the idea of being close the the BW to try all the restaurants, but I KNOW we won't very much)

What are your favorite parks?
I love MK and Epcot. We'll probably do each at least twice (since we don't stay all day). But we'll also go to DTD at least 3 or 4 times (disneyquest and PI).

Do you think I'll be able to rent points and get into OKW or BWV like 3 months in advance? we're trying to wait to see what the rates will be.

Thanks again everyone

 

[MiaSRN62]

As much as I think OKW is a terrific resort, I'd say you would be better with BWV for your honeymoon because of it's location to Epcot and you listed that as one of your favorite parks. OKW is peaceful and scenic and not really a hotel-like atmosphere, but I don't think that's necessarily what you're looking for especially since you df was thinking "All Stars". It's more bustling at BWV, which you mentioned as a "plus", so I think you've got your answer. If you get a studio at BWV you get the couch instead of the 2nd bed also. Good luck trying to talk df into a 1 bedroom

 

[harleyquinn]

I talked to df about it last night and he laughed at me

But I've honestly come a long way just getting him to think about renting points...

Here are my concerns...we used the food court at POR a LOT. I don't want to have to go to a sit down every time we eat...what I said before about our eating habits wasn't all that true now that I think about it. We ate at POR for our dinner/lunch a lot...

Which resort has better low cost or more important fast food options?

I'm not sure that I really want a bussleing resort...I loved POR for it's laid back quiet...

I think being so close to Epcot would be really great though, but we don't mind the buses...

Anyway do you think I'd be able to get either resort only 3 months in advance? I don't know how quickly DVC properties fill up

 

[crisi]

Not having a car would make BWVs a lot more attractive to me....I can get to Epcot and MGM on my own feet, and walk through Epcot to take the monorail over to the MK and back if I'm going after the parks open. OKW has Olivias and the DTD restaurants easy distance, but the DTD restaurants don't do much for me, and Olivias would be nice once, not regularly. Although we don't like to rent a car, we've decided if we ever stay at OKW a car is a must (we may not use it to get to the MK and wouldn't for DTD, but we will for all the other parks)

On the other hand, not having a car and believing you will do DTD nightly makes OKW very attractive, as you can walk or take the boat easily. But if you don't do DTD every night, you may be wishing for a more central location. (We haven't done the BW nightlife, but a lot of people like Jellyrolls and ESPN for a nightlife).

There is a difference between spending time in your room and spending it at the pool....OKW has big rooms - and big balconies, so if you are going to spend a lot of time in your room or sitting on your balcony (and you like to watch golfers) OKW is a great place. If your in room or on balcony time is sleeping and getting dressed and undressed (and other activities that don't take up a lot of space ), you may not miss the room size at BWVs.

(OKW is unlikely to have a pool slide by June, if that makes a difference to you one way or the other).

Three months out OKW has a better chance of being available and cheaper. BW points are more expensive - except SV (which is slightly more, but not significantly more, than OKW) - but you won't find a SV room three months out. (You won't find an SV room now for June).

 

[MiaSRN62]

so if you are going to spend a lot of time in your room or sitting on your balcony (and you like to watch golfers) OKW is a great place.

Ya know.....I've stayed at OKW numerous times over the years and never even caught a glimpse of a golfer (except way, way, in the distance a couple of times). Most of my views from the porch/balcony there have been of water or woods with a good amount of wildlife thrown in there.
I do agree you most likely won't get a SV room at BWV 3 months out, but I had no trouble getting a PV room at 60 days out there during the month of July last year. If you are thinking of honeymooning during November or early Dec, I think you'll run into a problem getting reservations 3 months out at BWV.
As far as a food court goes, you're really not going to get that at any of the DVC resorts except for VWL which has a small one on the "woods view" wing of the main WL building (not the villas side). You did mention that MK was one of your favorite parks (in addition to Epcot), so maybe VWL would be the place for you because they do have a small food court----Roaring Forks----and this is a very romantic resort if you ask me