We bought a couple weeks ago, so had the same options and dilemma as you.
AK looks awesome and is brand new. It is far from everything expect AK park and Blizzard Beach. You cannot walk or take a boat; everything requires a bus or your car. I expect it to be very crowded because of being new and have lots of kids because of the water play area. The animals are a cool plus, but we can drop in for a meal and walk the grounds. Points are on the low end if you get the value rooms, but they are smaller and go quickly. Part of your fees cover food and care of the animals, so dues could rise significantly. There is also talk that the animals could be removed at any time.
We considered buying OKW. It is the cheapest buy in rate and very low annual fees. We could almost buy 200 points there for 150 elsewhere. Very tempting!! It is a beautiful resort and I plan to stay there sometime, but I would be disappointed if as my home resort I was "stuck" there often because I could not get in elsewhere at the 7 month mark. The same goes for SSR. Kinda like "It's nice to visit, but I don't wanna live there".
We love the Boardwalk, so could easily justify spending a little over $1000 more and higher annual dues to be fairly assured we could get there at the 11 month time.
If your wife loves Wilderness, you should buy there. For all you're spending, spend just a little more to get what you really want.
I completely agree with this, and I also think it is great you are asking this question. It is better to learn some of the reality of
DVC from actual members before making that big purchase.
We are awaiting ROFR on a 150-point BWV contract. I always look at the following year's vacation, and prefer booking very early. 11 months out is typical for us to book our vacations. We want the close proximity to Epcot and DHS, the activities of the Boardwalk, and the dining options at BC/YC as well all within walking distance. I want to be able to see IllumiNations or Fantasmic and then walk back to my room. For us it was between BWV and BCV but we went with BWV because of the entertainment on the BW, we could walk to DHS and Epcot (although BCV is closer to Epcot), and it is fewer points to stay there in a standard room vs. any room at BCV which is the same points as a preferred or BW view room at BWV. I felt realistically that since all of these things pointed in the direction of BWV being right for us, that is was necessary for us to buy a contract there. We have never stayed in that area but we took a walk there from the Int'l Gateway and we loved it. We vowed to stay in that area whenever we go to Disney, and when I found out that it is a few thousands of dollars for a 10-night stay, we decided to look into DVC!
One major thing I learned from these boards is to buy your membership at a home resort you would like to stay in EVERY time you go to WDW. We have all intentions of always staying at BWV. Actually, I know that is the only place we will stay whenever we go! I know the incentives at AKV are tempting, and DH and I talked about it for literally 5 minutes! We decided it is not for us because we don't even know when we will get to Animal Kingdom Park again, for one. Our kids are little and unless they really want to go there when they are older (i.e., for the more adult rides that they are too little for now), we will not be going there for a really long time. We liked it, but were not impressed with it. We are from NYC and go to the Bronx Zoo all the time, and I know AK is much bigger and has more different things, but I think that also took away from it for us. Many of my relatives and friends also say the same thing. Also, we are not crazy about the dining choices at AKV/AKL. We ate at Boma last month, and although it was very good and very different, DH and I have sensitive stomachs and we had terrible heartburn that night. So we won't be going there again. Jiko is the other TS choice, which is also African themed so I would imagine they use the same types of spices as Boma, or similar. It's just very out of the way for Epcot, DHS and MK, our 3 favorite places at WDW. So, although it is for many people and people rave about it, it's just not for us. SO we went with a BWV resale and now are hoping to pass ROFR!!
Okay, I'll stop writing my book now!
Also, since OKW is bigger (and less popular) than the other DVC resorts, I presume that we may be able to get in with only the 7 month window. If we are going to go during a peak time, or if we're short on points and need the value category, then we have the 11-month window at AKV. 
) is a perfect fit.
