Does the 1st DVC you stayed at always feel like "home"?

[utahkennedys]

I have been reading these boards for a few years now, and I am wondering if the first DVC you ever stayed at feels like your "Home" no matter where you actually own? We own at OKW and it's the first DVC we visited and then stayed at, and we love it. It's funny to read post after post of people trying a new resort but still having a preference for their home resort, so I was just wondering.

 

[drusba]

Stayed at OKW (before it was named that) and did not buy then because did not personally care for it so, no, it never felt like home. We have owned at BWV for about 11 years and AKV for two. BWV is still No. 1 for us but AKV is a close second.

 

[chalee94]

so far i've stayed at OKW, SSR and AKV and they all feel like home...

i started at SSR but might have to admit to a slight preference for AKV. it's so much easier to roll up to my room there after a great meal at boma...and the christmas decorations blow me away.

 

[BEASLYBOO]

A very generous friend let me use her DVC several times and it so happened to be OKW. I totally was against timeshares until I stayed at OKW. My son and I love the resort and though we have tried them all except for BLT and THV, OKW still remains our favorite. For convenience sake we do stay at BWV for EPcot and Star Wars week-end and we do like AKV once in a while because of the savanna, but still all in all OKW is still the reigning favorite and our home resort.

Some people buy sight un-seen, I don't think I could have ever done that!!

 

[dolphingirl47]

We own at OKW and so far we only had one visit since we owned DVC and that was also at OKW. The plan for this year was to try some other resorts, but we decided that we would miss OKW too much. We will still be staying at AKV for 4 nights, but then we will go back to OKW for 5 nights. So we will have the best of both worlds: trying a new resort, but also going back to the resort we do consider home.

dolphingirl47

 

[Anal Annie]

No.

We tried OKW first and it definitely did not feel like home for us. We were located too far from HH, the buses were horridly slow and our unit was in desperate need of a refurb. After that we tried VWL and LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it. Next we stayed at AKV and also really enjoyed our stay there. Finally, on our next trip in 3 weeks we will stay at SSR which is our home resort. We have toured the SSR models and don't necessarily expect it to feel like home. (I do not care for the decor.) But that's where we own so we want to try it. We actually want to stay at all of the DVC resorts so that every trip is different.

We will try BCV and VB in August. Then we will only need to try BLT, BWV and HHI. I don't know if we can really "afford" to stay at BLT tho 'cuz we only stay in studios & that bathanette combo thing sorta creeps me out but so not sure yet. Hopefully we'll get to try Ko'Olina in 2011 or 2012 if the points are reasonable enough. If we can afford the points to stay there I would expect it to feel like home. If not we'll just blow it off & head for Maui. Do not know if we will splurge any points on VGC or whatever that is. I think it's cheaper points wise to "trade" for Paradise Pier or something.

Anyway, so far, both VWL and AKV both feel most like home for us and neither were our first stay. We look forward to adding more resorts to our "feels like home" list as time goes on!!

 

[starbox]

Nope - did not get that feeling until we stayed at VB - but I've enjoyed every trip while I was on it.

 

[bobbiwoz]

The first DVC that we stayed at was VWL, and we knew in our hearts that it was the place that most said "home." We knew it before we bought it, before we stayed there, it really was loveat first sight. Dumb me, thought we couldn't afford something so special, we never even looked into ownership when they were building it.

Bobbi

 

[WDWLVR]

Bought at BWV in early 2000 and stayed there for our first DVC trip in December 2000. That is definitely home for us. We have since stayed at OKW, VWL, BCV, VB, and HH and while we enjoyed them all BWV is our favorite.

 

[La2kw]

OkW was our first DVC and our favorite, so yes it is definitely "home" to us. However, BLT and GCV will definitely be our new favorites homes.

 

[Brancaneve]

So funny you say that because.....I missed AKV so much while at SSR. We even drove over there so I could get my fix and even inquired into availability so we could switch.

But, after a few days I really had to force myself to open my eyes at SSR and appreciate it for what it is. It is very different, but in those differences there are plenty of wonderful things.

My DH kept saying, "Look at this. You can't find this at AKV." Or, "You can't walk around and enjoy the grounds at AKV." He really put things into perspective for me.

 

[tjkraz]

First two trips were to OKW and then we didn't get back for 4+ years. But upon our return it invoked a very nostalgic feeling.

Our son was only 18 mos old for the first stay. It was in the months following 9/11 when Disney had characters at the resorts rather than Extra Magic Hours at the theme parks. I still have great memories of our son toddling around among the characters up at OKW's Hospitality House.

I'll always have very fond memories of OKW, but still I know it's not one of our true Homes. SSR and BWV are where we own and where we stay most often. But OKW is probably a close 3rd at this point.

 

[dressthechild]

We stayed at BWV 3 times by renting points before becoming members ourselves. I don't think I'll ever plan a Dis trip w/o staying there part of the time. It is definately home!

 

[photobob]

Just driving onto property makes me feel at home!

 

[d-r]

no. as a young couple we rented points at boardwalk before we bought at wlv and bcv. we probably wouldn't have bought those though if we didn't like bwv. We bought bcv before it was built. Wlv and bcv still seem the most home to us. we added on at akl and contemporary. we added on at ssr before it was built but later sold those points, I just realized we bought at bcv, ssr, akl, and blt before they were built. we must be nuts.

 

[ead79]

We stayed at OKW on cash (at a fantastic price) a couple of years before we joined DVC. While it was a beautiful resort and our villa was huge, it didn't make us fall in love with DVC or OKW. We had previously stayed at AKL and absolutely loved it, so when DVC announced AKV, we joined there. So while it's not our 1st DVC stay, it feels like home to us.

 

[appleorchard]

No. We bought at BWV and due to both my inlaw's deaths within a two week period, we had to cancel our first trip to BWV. Rebooked at OKW several months later as our "first" trip. Liked the big rooms, but it didn't feel like "home" to us.

We've stayed at SSR, and feel the same way as we did about OKW--nice, but not for us as a regular thing. Too spread out, can't walk to any parks but DTD-not a big thing for us.

We just got back today from BCV--we had stayed at BC years ago and a 2 BR was available there and not at BWV. We liked it, but still missed the Boardwalk. Liked the fact that it was a shorter walk home at night from Epcot, though that was balanced out by the shorter walk to the boat from Epcot. The long hallway was a little shorter at BCV.
BWV is still our favorite; we'll see what happens when we stay at BLT in December!

 

[DVC-Scott]

We purchased at OKW in 1993 and even though we have stayed at most of the other resorts, OKW is my favorite and will always feel like home to me.

 

[Goofy's apprentice]

No. We stayed at OKW first as guests. Loved it and bought DVC (SSR) before heading home. We added on before we even had our first vacation.

So far have stayed at all the resorts except AKV and BLT. Have loved them all (BCV the least if I had to pick one). BWV is the choice for Food and Wine. Vero when we want to head to the beach. VWL the choice for whenever....we just love this resort ! But SSR always feels the most like home. We love everything about it and always feel comfortable from the moment we drive in ! Don't know exactly why but it is home to us !!

 

[Demosthenes]

I first stayed at the Disney Vacation Club before it was OKW with my family in 1994. Had we stayed in a 1 bedroom villa instead of a studio, I may have formed a different opinion, but I didn't care for it at all. I stayed at HHI in 2005 on cash in a 2 bedroom, and fell in love. In spring of 2006 we tried a Vero Inn room, and had almost as good a reaction to it. Finally, in 2006, DW and I bought into SSR. Our first stay as DVC members was at BWV in a studio, which we liked, but didn't love. Our next stay was at SSR in a 1 bedroom, and I was hooked. I thought no place would ever appeal to me like SSR, until I stayed in VWL in November. Now that is my favorite. Since joining I've tried (all in at least a 1 bedroom), SSR , OKW , HHI , Vero , AKL Jambo and Kidani , WLV and am looking forward to my first stay home at BLT in October. I've yet to have a bad experience, and they all feel like home to me, but I have to admit that for me, nothing gets me as excited as a stay near the MK. I think that resort area feels like home the most.