OKW grand villa and other questions

[jackmarkey]

My home resort is BWV, but was thinking of staying at OKW my next trip when I plan to bring along family (8 adults, 2 kids, 1 baby). With BWV not having dedicated 2 brs, and the grand villas being ridiculously expensive on points, I was thinking of trying for a grand villa at OKW.

We plan on going in either April or early May 2005. What would be the chance of getting a GV at OKW under the 7-month window?

I have also considered trying for a dedicated 2-br and studio at BCV so all adults have beds, but would this be tough at 7-months as well?

As for pull-out couches at DVC, has anyone here slept in one? My family had originally planned on staying at All-Stars or Pop Culture, so even this would be an upgrade.

The short of it is, I would like to have us in a resort that I can confidently get the kinds of rooms I want, with a great pool, everyone gets a bed, and good location for the parks. Unfortunately, none of them totally fit the bill. Any advice?

 

[eva]

It may not be too tough getting a GV at OKW the early part of May. We own at OKW and usually book early. But two years ago my sister and BIL decided to come along with us for a trip in May and I was able to book a GV for the second week in May only 6 months out. This year we booked a 1-bedroom at BCV for the second week of May at the 7-month window. Then we asked my MIL to join us and we changed to a 2-bedroom only 4 months out. We did have to call twice to get all the nights at the 4 month window, but it was relatively painless. I'm not too sure about April since we have never been during that time.

 

[Hopefully]

We were in a 1 Bedroom at BCV in Nov. Our 26 yo son slept on the Pull Out Sofa for 6 nights. His assessment was that it was "Okay", he wasn't miserable, but has been more comfortable. Hope this helps!

 

[Pa@okw95]

I don't think you wull have too much trouble in May, April would be out of the question I would think.

 

[jackmarkey]

Well, from the few responses, it seems like we should be able to get a GV at the 7-month in May, but is less likely in April. Is April really that much more popular (outside of spring break week of course)? I have always gone during the December-February winter months, so I don't have much experience with the other seasons.

Speaking of which, how is the weather in late April / early May at WDW. From the average high/lows, it seems like a good time weather wise - consistently warm enough for pools, but cool enough lows (60's) so its not unbearable. Is this a good interpretation?

As far as the sleeper sofa goes, I saw the other thread, and it seems like the consensus in that some are in good shape and subsequently Ok comfort wise, while others are worn pushing that metal bar into your back. I think what I'll do is bring my full size camping air matress and put it under the sofa bed matress to even it out (or take the matress from the living room sofa bed and double them up.) Like I said in the other thread, I think they should have a percentage of studios that have two real beds instead of a sofa bed. I think there are enough people who'd rather have that set up to make it work.

 

[eva]

We usually go to WDW the first part of May. And to us the weather is wonderful. It can get a bit warm, but temperatures are usually in the upper 80's. Going that early in May you normally don't get a whole lot of rain. We were there the second week in May last year and it rained only one time the entire week.

 

[Bojo]

Originally posted by jackmarkey
Well, from the few responses, it seems like we should be able to get a GV at the 7-month in May, but is less likely in April.

Like I said in the other thread, I think they should have a percentage of studios that have two real beds instead of a sofa bed.

Have you considered a point trade with an OKW owner so you can reserve @ 11 months?

Also, I believe that all OKW studios have two queen (?) beds. None have the sleeper sofa and "real" bed set-up.

IMHO, you can't beat a GV for family vacations; they are magnificient.

 

[UConnJack]

Originally posted by Bojo
Have you considered a point trade with an OKW owner so you can reserve @ 11 months?

Yeah, and I was exploring that in another thread, but it looks like you can't do a double transfer (e.g., I give them # points, they give me # of points) since you can make only one transfer (in or out) per use year. I thought about trading reservations, but I like having control of my own reservation in case I want to make changes, cancel, etc. I guess I'm a bit of a control freak.

I do have a personal aquantince who is at OKW that I might be able to work something out with. Not that I don't trust other members, but I would probably feel more comfortable knowing the person in case I need to change the reservations around or something.

That said, I am really leaning toward the OKW GV, so I might have to suck up my apprehension. I really wish the BW GVs were reasonable so I could utilize those. I understand why they are more expensive on points in general, but they are so much higher that they are unattainable for the average DVC member. Even with banking/borrowing over 3 years, I can't put together almost 700 point for a week!?!?! It's strange, the BW GVs are the only units in DVC that are almost as high during the week as the weekends (although it looks like SSR is going to be close)! Most others are around half the # of points on the weekdays.