Give me your thoughts :)

[Karrie Davis]

My favorite place to stay is OKW - WELL... I have not stayed at another DVC property ... We loved OKW this November, the large space, 2 couches, parking right off our room and that we felt a little hidden but still on property.

We travel in cooler weather only..... Maybe we would like other places but the idea of sharing a couch is awful - LOL I might stay other places but we really did like OKW so much - it was truly relaxing.

I have also thought about a Marriott time share and like there layouts/decor more but would rather be on property for sure - maybe in the long run we will do both but right now we have a young family and LOVE DW. We would like to go more then 1 time per year but we always go about 10 days every year now.

From all I have read in the last year OKW is not hard to stay at because of it's larger size.

I am kicking around a few ideas;

Buy either SSG or AKV from Disney for the extra years (not sure if I need the years but they can't hurt )

or

getting a resale at OKW

Give me your thoughts

 

[3DisneyKids]

Hey Karrie and welcome to the DVC boards! OKW can have that effect on people!

First, I am completely biased, so take this with a grain of salt!

BUT...I would strongly suggest SSR because your family is young and you will want those extra years (and if you don't SSR will hold its value much better if/when the time comes to sell your ownership). Plus, much of what you love about OKW is true of SSR as well...park right in front, relaxing feel, on property but away from the hustle and bustle... And, since it is newer, it is great shape....just beautiful.

Again, I am biased...just love, love, love SSR! I haven't looked personally, but from reading these boards, it sounds like there may be some great SSR resales out there as well.

Good luck!

 

[Karrie Davis]

Thanks! SSR is nice for the same reasons. I love the decor there too, it is more my style. and my family is young, my son is only 3 and eventually we will add more little people. We are in our early to mid 30's so the time can't hurt....
BUT
Hey, what about the couch! LOL!

 

[DeeCee735]

OKW is a great resort. Personally we like it better than SSR, but that's just OHO. It doesn't feel as spread out as SSR to us, even though it is big. We have only stayed there once (and one trip coming up this Sept.), but my entire family was very happy with it. It was my DH and I, my twins (teenagers), and their friend (also a teenager). We loved the size of the rooms, the quiet pool near our building, the golf course view and the main area. We also loved the "tucked away" feeling, yet still on property. Our home resort is BWV, and we wouldn't change that for anything, but I would consider OKW as an add on. It's all personal preference. Perhaps next time you visit you can spend some time "resort" hopping between the DVC resorts to see what kind of a feel you get for each one, and maybe that will help with your decision. Good luck & happy planning.

 

[DeeCee735]

Forgot to mention.....I wanted to point out that even though the contract on OKW is shorter, the points value is also lower as it was the first DVC resort, and the rooms are bigger.

 

[Karrie Davis]

some of my questions come from these things...

OKW resale - lower cost per point so I can buy more points also lower dues

SSR - I would most likely buy through Disney and finance, lower dues, 12 more years

AKV- more expencive dues but it is just cool even more years.

What do you think?

 

[staceyj2]

We just purchased a 150 pt. resale for OKW (we are now in the ROFR waiting game). We've only been to DW once (last Feb) and fell in love with all things Disney. We stayed in WLV and absolutely loved it, but we purchased OKW instead. The reason we purchased OKW were the price per pt., larger rooms and lower point values for stays. We don't have a lot of points, and want to stay 2 times a year, so OKW is one of the only places we should be able to make it work.

I'm new here, so others know MUCH more than me, but those were my personal reasons for choosing OKW.

 

[NYMomof4]

It sounds like you have done some of the basic research and that is the best thing that you can do when thinking about buying DVC. Here's a few thoughts...

SSR- The financing is a plus if you can pay it off sooner than the 10 years and it is easy to get. The extra years may make a difference in the next 15-20 years. I bought here thinking that I would have almost 50 years (at the time) to spend with my kids and someday grandkids for the rest of my life and until my kids were much older. You may get 2006 points with a 2007 contract too-which can add up and give you extra points initially.

AKV- I am going to add-on at some point (a small contract). I didn't want a large contract because of the higher dues, and we tend to go to whatever DVC is available, which tends to be OKW and SSR at shorter notice, but at 7 months I have managed to book other resorts. AKV will be hard to get at first, but I don't think it will be impossible later on with careful planning.

OKW-We love OKW too and the lower points. I have booked OKW 3 times in the past 2 years without a problem, so you would most likely have a good chance of booking OKW, aside from grand villas and peak times.

I would think about your options and remember that the initial contract gets you in, but add-ons at other resorts is also pretty common (especially on these boards ) Good luck!

 

[jdvm]

I'd go with Old Key West either through Disney or through resale. We've owned there since 1992 and love it. Good luck whatever you do!!
John

 

[jdvm]

I'd go with Old Key West either through Disney or through resale. We've owned there since 1992 and love it. Good luck whatever you do!!
John

 

[vandy]

My only thought is that with a young family, the extra years at SSR would be a great benefit. OKW is great and the purchase price is lower through resale than SSR is through Disney, but the extra years and lower fees were key factors for us to buy SSR. You can still make reservations at OKW and use fewer points!

 

[jimmacmn]

We originally bought at OKW in 1994 and added on at OKW in 1997. In 2005 we added an additional 170pts at SSR. We have always loved the size of the units at OKW. We have now stayed at SSR twice. Once in a 2BR and in Dec in a GV. We really liked the decor of both units, however, in the 2 BR we missed the larger seating area in the kitchen. The SSR GV was very very nice. The one thing we did notice was the lack of closet and drawer space in the master BR of the GV. The other 2 bedrooms in the GV had as much closet/drawer space as the GV at OKW but not the master. Very strange.

I guess the point is that we still much prefer OKW

 

[Family5LovesDisney]

Don't let the annual dues become your deciding factor! They change each year at very resort and there may come a time when they are higher at SSR then OKW.
Another poster did bring up a good point though........you can probably own SSR and book at OWK without too much of a problem. Since your children are young, you will have the contract for extra years down the road to enjoy.

 

[CptnJack]

We bought at SSR because of the longer contract and incentives at the time. We have yet to stay there but have been at OKW twice. I have never had an issue booking at OKW at the 7 month window for the times of year we go. I had a 1BR booked at OKW for the end of May and in the last two weeks things have changed so I would prefer a 2BR. I called everyday for a while and then went ahead and booked SSR. This will be our first trip home and its actually quite exciting. They look fantastic.

I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy somewhere else for the longer years even if OKW is preferred to you now. I have a 2BR booked for November at OKW and I had no trouble getting it. We book at SSR at 11 months to ensure our vacation will happen then try switching to OKW if we can to save some points.

Who knows? Maybe we'll have a new favorite resort after our may trip...

 

[MarylandMommy]

Don't let the annual dues become your deciding factor! They change each year at very resort and there may come a time when they are higher at SSR then OKW.
Another poster did bring up a good point though........you can probably own SSR and book at OWK without too much of a problem. Since your children are young, you will have the contract for extra years down the road to enjoy.

I totally agree. When we were buying into Disney, I thought with all I read and researched that we would most likely stay at OKW most trips (I am stingy with my precious points!). We ended up buying at SSR. Why? The extra years mostly. The mantra "Buy where you want to stay" didn't seem to apply to us because, like you, we go on less popular times a year, and it seems like we could usually get OKW. What if in 10 or 15 years (I have 4 and 8 year olds), we'd want to sell the contract? The extra 12 years would certainly be a more attractive sale, still having 30 - 35 years left, instead of 18 - 23 years.
One last point on the dues, Disney will let you pay them monthly (with no interest). That was a big help to us! You may be talking only a few dollars per month in annual dues.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Most everyone has given you teh arguements I would also use. Depending on your age, you could go with either OKW, SSR, or AKV. I always think you need to figure on what YOU will use, and not your kids as they grow up. I doubt either of our grown kids will be interested in paying DVC dues, so for us it doesn't matter. We're older though too. We currently own 2 contracts totally 380 points at OKW and just recently added on 69 points at AKV. Our long range plan is to sell off the smaller OKW contract sometime in the next 10 years and buy additional AKV points with it. The reason is that the AKV contracts should hold their value longer than than the current OKW, since it will have 15 more years of use. Our decision is based on the fact that we are older though too. It might be different for you. Anyway, if you like OKW because it is quiet and "away from it all", you will LOVE AKV too. If you like OKW because of the light open decor, buy OKW, because nothing else is going to be that way in the DVC system. We love the vacation home feel of OKW over the hotel feel of the other DVC resorts, and consider SSR to be somewhere between those two. Not sure how AKV will feel, but I'm guessing it will feel a bit like SSR.

 

[coloradodad]

We have been through all of these thoughts ourselves and I think we are going to put in a contract at SSR today. We have always stayed at POFQ in the past and like the away from it all feel, but we realize that nothing is really very far at WDW.

mg

 

[dianeschlicht]

Sounds like the best decision for you!