OKW GV Question

[Zane_Anthony]

I was thinking about doing an extended family (8) vacation sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2010. So for the first time ever I began looking at points for a grand villa. Is there a reason OKW is so much lower then the others Also due to the lower points is it ever (anytime of the year) possible to book there at the 7 month window? I own at SSR and would be fine staying there but the lower points sure would be nice!!

 

[tjkraz]

I was thinking about doing an extended family (8) vacation sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2010. So for the first time ever I began looking at points for a grand villa. Is there a reason OKW is so much lower then the others

OKW was the first resort constructed. At that point, DVC was just taking a wild guess as to how many points they could charge per night.

When they moved on to the second on-site resort, the BoardWalk, they raised the point structure considerably for Grand Villas. Subsequent resorts followed suit, but it was too late to go back and make any changes to OKW.

Also due to the lower points is it ever (anytime of the year) possible to book there at the 7 month window? I own at SSR and would be fine staying there but the lower points sure would be nice!!

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas--absolutely no chance. You might get one right at 7 months for slower periods like May, late-August or September.

There are only 27 GVs at OKW and for the Thanksgiving-to-New Years window, I'd be surprised if they aren't consistently booked by OKW owners within a week of the 11 month window opening.

 

[Zane_Anthony]

Ohhh ok..that makes sense

Yeah that's what I figured, that's a great deal on a 3 bedroom and "great deal" and "disney" usually don't go together in the same sentence Thanks for your quick reply.

 

[RobDoc]

OKW was the first resort constructed. At that point, DVC was just taking a wild guess as to how many points they could charge per night.

When they moved on to the second on-site resort, the BoardWalk, they raised the point structure considerably for Grand Villas. Subsequent resorts followed suit, but it was too late to go back and make any changes to OKW.

Actually, DVC does have a means to make changes to the point structure and has done so in the past. While the total number of points cannot be changed, the points required for any given night or room type can change as long as the total is kept in balance. If some nights are raised, others MUST be lowered. The problem for DVC at OKW was that they limited the number of points in their original assessment structuring sales at the resort and thus are limited with changes to the point charts. Had DVC had the foresight to use a point structure similar to other WDW resorts there would be a LOT more OKW owners.

Here is the DVC point chart for OKW from 1991 - 1995. In 1996, the current point chart began and is still valid at least thru 2009 (and the 2010 point charts should be released in the next six months). The greatest changes were for Adventure Season, where all room types increased. All other seasons saw little or no change on weekdays, but larger decreases on weekends for all room types.

Points listed are for Studio, 1BR, 2BR, GV (weekday/weekend) respectively from 1991 thru 1995:

Adventure Season: 7/17 , 14/35 , 19/47 , 31/77

Choice Season: 8/21 , 17/42 , 23/57 , 37/92

Dream Season: 10/25 , 20/50 , 27/67 , 45/112

Magic Season: 11/28 , 23/57 , 31/77 , 52/130

Premier Season: 15/38 , 31/77 , 42/105 , 68/170

1996 - Present:

Adventure: 8/20 , 16/40 , 22/54 , 36/88

Choice: 8/21 , 18/41 , 24/56 , 38/91

Dream: 10/24 , 20/48 , 27/64 , 45/107

Magic: 11/27 , 22/54 , 30/73 , 51/123

Premier: 15/36 , 30/73 , 41/100 , 66/162

 

[ZekeKelso]

I was under the impression that the total number of points in a unit cannot change over a year (other than trivial changes due to the variations in the number of weekends in a year, etc.) That Disney could move points between seasons and between weekends and weeknights, but that they couldn't, say, make 2BR more expensive and studios cheaper across the board.

 

[RobDoc]

I was under the impression that the total number of points in a unit cannot change over a year (other than trivial changes due to the variations in the number of weekends in a year, etc.) That Disney could move points between seasons and between weekends and weeknights, but that they couldn't, say, make 2BR more expensive and studios cheaper across the board.

As long as the total points needed for the year are not changed the individual needs may be changed in any fashion. This could raise the points for a 2 BR in Adventure Season and lower the points for a Studio in Premier Season keeping the total number of points used at the resort the same.

 

[lsutigger2]

If your dates a flexible, try the full week before Thanksgiving. We got a GV at OKW in 2006. I called at the 7 month window and was put on the waitlist. That came thru for us. We were there Sunday - Friday (left Friday morning). All for 190 points. What a deal! We loved it!