DVC Newbie w/ ?'s

[DisneyKel322]

Hello everyone. This is all new to me so I am sorry for all of the questions.....

My husband and I are closing on our resale as we speak and I have a few ?'s. We have 200 points we have to use by 12/01 and are planning an August vacation with family. We are hoping for a 2bdrm villa somewhere. My ? is where is the better place to stay...OKW or BWV? Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[Pa@okw95]

What do you mean by family? Do you like the idea of being able to walk to EPCOT or MGM? The question you asked is going to get a lot of responses. If I were you I would go with one that you can get at such short notice. Then at your 11 month window the next time try your home resort or 7 month window you can try other DVC resorts. They are all nice and all different. Some people do not like OKW because it out of the way or so they say, that is the reason why I like it. It is very subjective. You will have fun at either place, just get your reservation first.

 

[todsue99]

How many are your family? OKW has bigger rooms and that is advantage to some people, but Pa said it is away from everything. Will you have a car will you are there? Makes it easier to get around from OKW. BCV or BWV are very close to EPCOT and MGM. Both are in walking distance which makes it very nice when the park closes. The rooms are smaller at least they seem that way to me.

I think it is all what you prefer as a family. We have stayed at both and enjoyed both. In my opinion you can stay where ever you can find a DVC room. You will have a great time no matter where you stay. Have fun and Welcome Home.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I think on short notice, you will have the best luck getting in at OKW. I don't find the distance to the parks a problem here, because the bus transportation is just fine. We kind of like a few minutes down time on the bus anyway. Call MS and see what is available for the dates you want. OKW costs fewer points too.

 

[DisneyKel322]

Originally posted by Pa@okw95
What do you mean by family? Do you like the idea of being able to walk to EPCOT or MGM? The question you asked is going to get a lot of responses. If I were you I would go with one that you can get at such short notice. Then at your 11 month window the next time try your home resort or 7 month window you can try other DVC resorts. They are all nice and all different. Some people do not like OKW because it out of the way or so they say, that is the reason why I like it. It is very subjective. You will have fun at either place, just get your reservation first.

My husband and I are bringing my Aunt & 2 cousins. We are renting a car so that is not a problem if we need it. Our home resort will be OKW but the 200 are in holding status so I can only book 60 days anyway. I was looking for the atmosphere as a whole. I like laid back but I also like to have things to do. I was wondering I guess more about the pools and crowds at the resorts. I have stayed inside the park numerous times and occasionally have had problems with the pools overcrowding and other guests being rude and inconsiderate. I would really like to avoid that if possible. Thanks again everyone.

 

[dianeschlicht]

We rarely run into inconsiderate folks at OKW, but then we are usually there at non busy times. I guess that is why we like the quiet pools at OKW. DTD is an easy access too.

 

[Caskbill]

When you say the 200 are in the Holding account I presume that's what you really mean, and not that they're simply banked. Unfortunately that does make the 60 day rule apply, and you may have trouble getting anything in August at 60 days notice. OKW, being the largest resort will probably be your best bet.

How long were you planning on staying? Were you going to use other points besides the 200 in holding? If you only have the 200 available, they you're probably going to lose some anyway.

With 5 adults you're looking at a 2-B/R unit. For the first half of August (Aug 1-15) OKW is 150 pts, BCV, BWV and VWL are each 200 pts for a 5-night stay, Sun-Thurs. All of them will exceed 200 points if you want to add a weekend night.

The last half of August drops to Magic season. The Sun-Thurs then drops to 135 pts at OKW and 170 points at the other resorts. At OKW you can add Friday night for a total of 199 points giving you 6-nights vacation. The others will go over 200 points if you try to add a weekend night.

At 60-days notice, I doubt you'll be able to get BWV standard view.

Since you said they expired 12/01/03 we're assuming that means you have a December use year. This means the points are good through Nov 30, 2003. If you are going to borrow some of your Dec 2003 points for your August 2003 vacation then you could go for 6-nights and not be losing any points.

Since you're going to be in a use them or lose them situation anyway, you might as well try for the BWV or BCV 2-B/R 5-nights because that uses all 200 points. Getting 5-nights at OKW for 150 points and losing the remaining 50 points is a waste. To me your best value would be to go in the 2nd half of August and going to OKW for 6-nights for 199 points. Also, availability will improve in the latter half of August as the summer vacation period is starting to wind down.

Be sure you understand how the points work for the various resorts, weekdays vs weekends, and the five Disney seasons.

(Feel free to download my Vacation Point planner program. See the link in the signature below)