Help us decide which one to buy - AKV or OKW

[Music Mom]

Should we buy at OKW and have it for only 35 more years or buy at AKV and eventually will it to our son to enjoy with his family? We're not spring chickens so this is a serious decision for us. We love OKW and have never even stayed at AKL, but the expiration date of 2057 at AKV sure is tempting.

 

[utahkennedys]

I would pick the resort you would most like to stay at for most trips. We bought OKW before AKV was available, but SSR was available and when we toured it, OKW felt better. We have not regretted it. I wouldn't buy any contract simply because it had more years....I want to enjoy it for the years it does have left!

 

[Anthony1971]

To confuse you more....
If you love OKW and want to stay there most trips than buy there...
If you are buying for the extra years and want to stay at OKW most times than SSR is a better deal. Both SSR and OKW are similiar in a lot of ways so if you like one you will not be displeased with the other.
With the exception of grand Villas you should be able to get what you want at the seven month window at OKW... you can always be safe and make a reservation at SSR than at the seven month window change or waitlist....
The only reason to buy at AKV at this point is because you want to stay there most of the time in a specific room type once SSR sells out you no longer have this option or you couls juts feel AKV is the right choice.....

 

[dianeschlicht]

I'm not sure how old you are (we are in our 60's), but we have decided not to worry about willing DVC to our grown kids. Our "kids" are in their mid to late 30's, and neither could afford the maintenance fees at this point. One doesn't care for traveling to WDW all that much, and the other isn't in a financial spot to accept that responsibility should it be left to him. We WILL, of course, put the DVC contracts in the trust, but waht happens to them after our passing is not going to be our major concern.

Now as to which resort....Why not do what we did and own both??? We LOVE OKW, but we are also big animal lovers and liked AKL when we stayed there. We always said if there was ever a DVC at AKL, we would be IN. We have even talked about sometime in the future selling our most of our OKW points and buying more AKV points for added value life into the future.

 

[jbrowna]

We solved the problem by buying at both AKV and OKW. Even though we're in our 50's, DW and I decided we're not going to expire until our DVC contracts do. We look forward to riding R'n'R in our 90's. But, then, DW and I are crazy!

 

[Darkside]

I don't think you should buy either? You should consider SSR for these reasons 1) Maintenace fees are cheaper than OKW and AKV 2) Besides the 11th month window there is no advantage to owning at OKW and AKV 3) SSR is still new and many more years on the Disney lease.
Other things to note 1) My family and I travel to Disney in May and late August and we never have any problems getting reservations at the resorts we want to stay at 2) We have paid off our interest at SSR and the price of the monthly maintenace fees are an issue with us and this is why we won't add on with AKV 3) We bought a DVC to use at Disney World and have no interest trading our points with Interval International to travel else where (we don't see value in this)
Just our 2 cents.

 

[Mtnman44]

Since OKW is normally easy to reserve at 7 mo (except super high demand times or the Grand Villas) I would say that on balance AKV gives you the most flexibility and options so between those two choices I would take AKV.

 

[m1ckeym0use1]

I agree with the idea to buy SSR to get the longer years, cheaper maintenance fees, and a good likelyhood that you'll be able to use the points at OKW.

Our favorite resort is OKW (been using my parents contract since 1991 or 92). When it came time to stop leeching off my parents contract (bummer) we went with SSR. We liked the longer contract date, and realized that the times we travel to Disney we probably wouldn't have a problem getting OKW reservations (September and January). It's been working great so far, and if we ever have difficulty getting OKW we wouldn't mind staying at SSR once in a while anyway.

 

[pilferk]

I don't think you should buy either? You should consider SSR for these reasons 1) Maintenace fees are cheaper than OKW and AKV 2) Besides the 11th month window there is no advantage to owning at OKW and AKV 3) SSR is still new and many more years on the Disney lease.
Other things to note 1) My family and I travel to Disney in May and late August and we never have any problems getting reservations at the resorts we want to stay at 2) We have paid off our interest at SSR and the price of the monthly maintenace fees are an issue with us and this is why we won't add on with AKV 3) We bought a DVC to use at Disney World and have no interest trading our points with Interval International to travel else where (we don't see value in this)
Just our 2 cents.

I think it depends on what you mean by "advantages". It seems you're driven entirely by dues cost (which a perfectly fair and apt position to adopt) and if looking at things that way, there really isn't any advantage, beyond the 11 month window, to owning anywhere BUT the place with the lowest dues costs.

But that's not always the primary factor for everyone. And if you look at other thing, owning at OKW and AKV DO have advanatages...just not as quantifiable as the difference in dues. For SURE if you want AKV concierge or AKV value rooms, that 11 month window is going to be invaluable.

In addition, there's some other benefits to buying/staying at AKV:

You DO get a couple more years (5 of them, right? SSR expiry is 2052, AKV 2057?).

You can sleep 5 in a 1BR, 9 in a 2BR in all BUT the value units. For older folks, that means family trips with the grandkids and their parents (that's our planned use, long term). For larger families, it means not needing "the next size up" (which means using less points for us RIGHT NOW.)

An extra bathroom in the new Kidani villas in the 1BR and 2BR units.

Use of the new Kidani pool and water play area (AKL pool hopping is not allowed from other resorts).

 

[pilferk]

I agree with the idea to buy SSR to get the longer years, cheaper maintenance fees, and a good likelyhood that you'll be able to use the points at OKW.

Our favorite resort is OKW (been using my parents contract since 1991 or 92). When it came time to stop leeching off my parents contract (bummer) we went with SSR. We liked the longer contract date, and realized that the times we travel to Disney we probably wouldn't have a problem getting OKW reservations (September and January). It's been working great so far, and if we ever have difficulty getting OKW we wouldn't mind staying at SSR once in a while anyway.

That pretty much sums up why I'd choose AKV. Your 11 month window seems more valuable there than at OKW (or, really, SSR where availability also seems plentiful). You'll pay slightly higher dues, but get an 11 month window at a resort that will likely be a bit (at least) harder to book and an extra 5 years on your contract.

 

[Darkside]

This is what I really like about this board and DVC, because I learn so much from the board members, but back to the 11 month window you can still rent two studios for what it costs to rent a one bedroom, which we have done several times and they will sleep 8 versus 5. I also assumed serious decision meant a financial consideration, so if money is not a concern then I would think AKV would be a no brainer?

 

[tiggercraZ]

Does anyone know what the difference is in cost for maintenance fees for OKW, SSR and AKV?

We already own SSR but considering adding on at another resort.

 

[mprewitt]

Does anyone know what the difference is in cost for maintenance fees for OKW, SSR and AKV?

For 2007:

OKV $4.40/pt
SSR $4.12/pt
AVK $4.62/pt

 

[dianeschlicht]

Remember that dues can and do change. OKW was the lowest dues for years until SSR opened. Once SSR sells out and there is no more subsidizing of fees, their dues will come up too.

 

[pilferk]

This is what I really like about this board and DVC, because I learn so much from the board members, but back to the 11 month window you can still rent two studios for what it costs to rent a one bedroom, which we have done several times and they will sleep 8 versus 5. I also assumed serious decision meant a financial consideration, so if money is not a concern then I would think AKV would be a no brainer?

True, but 2 studios can't be connecting....when you're staying with your family, I'm assuming you want to spend time with them. Though....from some of the reports on these boards, maybe not....

And again, I guess your perspective lends a lot to your interpretation of "serious decision". What I got out of "we're not spring chickens so this is a serious decision" was that the decision was more about useability and functionality, with the future prospective of being "empty nesters" being a primary concern.

 

[pilferk]

Remember that dues can and do change. OKW was the lowest dues for years until SSR opened. Once SSR sells out and there is no more subsidizing of fees, their dues will come up too.

I don't want to drag this off topic too much, but this is one thing I've been confused on. My understanding has always been like yours (the subsidy tot eh operating budget is an amount at the discretion of the builder, and can be MORE than just the "dues" for the unbuilt part of the resort). In a discusssion a few weeks back, someone said that timeshare law pretty much sets the subsidy AT what the "dues" portion for the unbuilt portions of the resort are....thereby preventing any drastic increase in dues once the resort is finished.

Do you know, for sure, which it is?