My head wants AKV but my heart wants BWV...

[MamaBear12]

We’ve established that DVC makes sense for us...but now to decide which resort. AKV checks all the boxes:
-close to my favorite park (AK)
-room size, bathrooms, etc. in the 1- and 2-bedroom villas
-great pool
-food (I would much rather munch on the sanaa bread service than a hamburger)
-educational/cultural activities
-animals
-longer contract length
-lower price/point

But, I love the BW area...walking/boating to two parks, leisurely strolls or runs along the BW...it just has that vacation vibe for me. I’m not particularly taken with the resort (I would be fine with BWV or BCV), but I just love that location.

We sometimes travel just the 4 of us and would probably book mostly 1-bed villas (which I know are easier to get so we could use our cheaper AKV points to stay at BWV or BCV sometimes). We do have family or friends joining us sometimes, so we would like to be able to do 2-bed villas on those occasions (in which case I think AKV will be more fun and comfortable).

Should I go with my head and buy AKV (knowing we could add on with a BWV contract in the future if we find we want more points and need home booking advantage there), or my heart and buy BWV?

 

[CarolMN]

As a BWV owner for more than 20 years, and one who has mostly stayed there, my advice is to choose by the best deal. Why? Because 1 bedrooms are relatively easy to get at 7 months for both resorts, and I really don't see that changing anytime soon. (You'll just have to "agonize" over which resort to choose every time you book, lol, but I doubt you'll suffer buyer's remorse over your purchase choice).

Good luck!

 

[glamdring269]

Yeah I agree with Carol on this. If you are dead set on a studio then you might want BWV but getting a 1BR there isn’t difficult as long as you book at 7 months. Plus you do have some booking advantages at AKV that you won’t have at BWV (value, club, etc.)

 

[MamaBear12]

As a BWV owner for more than 20 years, and one who has mostly stayed there, my advice is to choose by the best deal. Why? Because 1 bedrooms are relatively easy to get at 7 months for both resorts, and I really don't see that changing anytime soon. (You'll just have to "agonize" over which resort to choose every time you book, lol, but I doubt you'll suffer buyer's remorse over your purchase choice).

Good luck!

Thank you!

 

[MamaBear12]

Yeah I agree with Carol on this. If you are dead set on a studio then you might want BWV but getting a 1BR there isn’t difficult as long as you book at 7 months. Plus you do have some booking advantages at AKV that you won’t have at BWV (value, club, etc.)

Thank you! I’m sure we’ll stay in studios occasionally, but more likely a mix of studios, 1-bed, and 2-bed depending on who will be with us, length of trip, etc.

 

[MamaBear12]

Thank you! I’m sure we’ll stay in studios occasionally, but more likely a mix of studios, 1-bed, and 2-bed depending on who will be with us, length of trip, etc.

 

[sethschroeder]

2-bed depending on who will be with us

Do you have kids? Do they or will they need car seats?

We completely scratched off AKV because its too far from all the parks except AK (2 days of a week vacation) and the busses are not that great so the MinnieVans would be the only option for the next 5-6 years at which point I suspect we can still sell our BWV contract and buy a AKV contract for really no net difference in cost than doing it today.

Ended up going with BWV. We possibly will add on at CCV/BLT for direct points but otherwise if we buy resale likely will stick with more BWV again.

 

[My3kids1989]

I decided to split my approx 300 point purchase up between the two resorts. I know that I absolutely want to stay at BWV during Food and Wine. I know I would be upset if I didn’t get a Boardwalk area room every year. BCV was too much, my kids love the pool at BCV but the BWV pool they love too! I agree it does feel like vacation to me too! People watching off the balcony with a cup of coffee, and the smell of the bakery. I love to go for a jog from the resort around the boardwalk and at night it’s peaceful and not too busy. Its perfect for us. So that covers that.

AK is our favorite park, we enjoy the relaxed vibe, good food, etc. I don’t have a problem paying for Uber to get somewhere quickly if we need to. At AKV we love the restaurants and the pool so it’s a good fit for us. The points are less expensive than BWV so I’ll use these for my SAP and try and get the unicorn of a CL. It’ll give me some entertainment. I wouldn’t want to use my BWV points anywhere else.

 

[bwvBound]

@MamaBear12 , I soooo love your post!

Personally, I'm a "go with your heart" type in life; I also wrestle with Heart vs Head on major purchases. We purchased SSR in 2004 via "head-decision" even though our hearts were set on BWV. It was a hugely difficult decision ... but SSR was clearly a good "head" decision in that moment.

FWIW, over the long haul, we are OK with our decision. We do use the points, rather successfully, across the entire DVC system. I'd rather own BWV but that desire was always tempered a bit by BWV's higher dues and shorter life-span.

It took a few years to say this: I'm OK with being simply "OK" over DVC. (I'm thinking of a series of AT&T advertisements right now where "OK" is played down as the wrong choice.)

Curiously, you never really own timeshare, especially DVC. Over time you'll find that there are decisions made, without any owner input, that you are likely to resent. If you never "loved" it in the first place the sting is a little less painful. Better to receive bitter news on an item that resides in your head rather than your heart!

 

[MamaBear12]

Do you have kids? Do they or will they need car seats?

We completely scratched off AKV because its too far from all the parks except AK (2 days of a week vacation) and the busses are not that great so the MinnieVans would be the only option for the next 5-6 years at which point I suspect we can still sell our BWV contract and buy a AKV contract for really no net difference in cost than doing it today.

Ended up going with BWV. We possibly will add on at CCV/BLT for direct points but otherwise if we buy resale likely will stick lwith more BWV again.

We do have kiddos, but both booster-age/size. We’ve stayed at All Star movies and Dolphin and didn’t mind the busses. I do see us alternating between resorts though, and would prefer 1-bedrooms, which I understand are more available at 7-month booking window. Glad to hear you enjoy BWV so much!

 

[jennypenny]

I hear you. We were torn too. I really wish they'd put in a boat to AK when they built the lodge or Kidani. It's so easy to picture a boat like the ones from OKW/PO/SSR to DS done up a bit like a jungle cruise. That resort would be easier to manage if it was possible to skip the buses for at least one park.

 

[disneydreamer781]

We’ve established that DVC makes sense for us...but now to decide which resort. AKV checks all the boxes:
-close to my favorite park (AK)
-room size, bathrooms, etc. in the 1- and 2-bedroom villas
-great pool
-food (I would much rather munch on the sanaa bread service than a hamburger)
-educational/cultural activities
-animals
-longer contract length
-lower price/point

But, I love the BW area...walking/boating to two parks, leisurely strolls or runs along the BW...it just has that vacation vibe for me. I’m not particularly taken with the resort (I would be fine with BWV or BCV), but I just love that location.

We sometimes travel just the 4 of us and would probably book mostly 1-bed villas (which I know are easier to get so we could use our cheaper AKV points to stay at BWV or BCV sometimes). We do have family or friends joining us sometimes, so we would like to be able to do 2-bed villas on those occasions (in which case I think AKV will be more fun and comfortable).

Should I go with my head and buy AKV (knowing we could add on with a BWV contract in the future if we find we want more points and need home booking advantage there), or my heart and buy BWV?

BWV is pretty special, particularly those Boardwalk view rooms. I always try to stay there every trip but I have to say I'm very much leaning towards an AKV stay next time. I just love going over there and exploring. I would also love to stay during the holiday season as I feel that AKV is underrated during that time of year. Of course, we do rent a car every trip so that makes a huge difference.

 

[linzjane88]

We have SSR points and have never stayed there. We have stayed at BLT, Aul, BWV, AKL, and Poly. It's been mostly 1 bedrooms but sometimes studios and 2 bedrooms depending on who is with us.

So far my favorites are also BWV and AKL also. You may not get the cheapest view rooms but if you are flexible with dates a bit you should be able to get the resort you want. I am wanting more points as well but for as much as I would love to own BWV because it makes me so happy, I just can't in good conscience buy a resort for more money that has so many less years left in it.

 

[MamaBear12]

BWV is pretty special, particularly those Boardwalk view rooms. I always try to stay there every trip but I have to say I'm very much leaning towards an AKV stay next time. I just love going over there and exploring. I would also love to stay during the holiday season as I feel that AKV is underrated during that time of year. Of course, we do rent a car every trip so that makes a huge difference.

We typically rent a car as well. And I’ve heard AKV is beautiful over the holidays. We do go in December or early January some years, so we could take advantage of it.

 

[Lorana]

We went to AKL in December last year, and it's just gorgeous. Highly recommend it for the Christmas Holidays.

 

[SG131]

Well, I went with my heart and BWV, but my heart LOVED the resort and the location. It sounds like your head and half of your heart is pulling you toward AKL and the other half BWV. In your case since you aren't as big a fan of the resort as you are AKL I'd say that one makes more sense for you and the points are cheaper.

 

[crisi]

We do have kiddos, but both booster-age/size. We’ve stayed at All Star movies and Dolphin and didn’t mind the busses. I do see us alternating between resorts though, and would prefer 1-bedrooms, which I understand are more available at 7-month booking window. Glad to hear you enjoy BWV so much!

As your kids get older, the one bedroom will probably become a two bedroom. Especially if they are different genders or have a "I don't want to share a bed" personality. At the point that happens, your kids will also have definite ideas about their favorite parks - and will eventually be old enough to sleep in while you hit rope drop, then meet up around lunchtime, and then they close the parks while you have a leisurely dinner. They may also develop different ideas about what a great vacation is - my oldest would like every vacation to involve a beach (Mexico or Hawaii) and has since he was ten or eleven. My youngest is actually intending on a career in museum curation - as an undergrad she's already helped set up two museum exhibits - wandering a city with a wealth of museums is way better than any attraction at Disney. Other people discover their vacation time and dollars are used to get to their kids activities as they travel for gymnastics or little league. So you may find you have more than enough points without adding more in the future. Trust me (mine are 20 and 21 - we bought when they were 3 and 4), it will happen quickly.

 

[glamdring269]

Why does AKV have the perception of being far from the parks? MK is the only one that is a true haul. DHS and Epcot are both really close and AK is obviously next door.

Now if MK is your main park then I certainly get it.

 

[bwvBound]

Why does AKV have the perception of being far from the parks? MK is the only one that is a true haul. DHS and Epcot are both really close and AK is obviously next door.

Now if MK is your main park then I certainly get it.

For me, the reason is you can't WALK from the AKL complex to other venue. If they put a walking path (protected from nature as appropriate) to the Animal Kingdom theme park, I'd be most satisfied. A boat, mentioned above, would also be sooooo lovely. But a path is sufficient.

We don't rent generally have a car at WDW. We fly in and really enjoy Magical Express. The bus system is grand overall but only OK when it is the only option. At AKL, it is the only option. Meh.

Edited: Given the "disconnect" from walkable venues ... perhaps allowing the bus system to go "resort to resort" from AKL would be helpful? Or let me walk to some major transportation hub. One of the big failures, relying on the bus from AKL, is that you likely end up doing a transfer if going to another hotel for dining, decorations, pool hopping, etc. AKL > a theme park or Disney Springs > alternate hotel; reverse.

 

[robinb]

We own at both BWV and AKV. We *love* them both! If I had to sell one and keep the other, I would keep BWV. Why? I love walking to Epcot and DHS and miss it when we stay somewhere else. I love having a Boardwalk View villa. One thing to consider is that the Epcot resorts will become harder and harder to get into with every new resort DVC builds.