OKW resale or AKV direct?? HELP

[np4gp]

So, I am considering one of two things. Either a direct from DVC 160pt contract at AKV with 160 developer points and the incentives of $500 down and a $500 Disney Visa gift card and a UY of December...OR...a 220pt contract at OKW with all 2008pts available and banked if I want them to be as well as no dues til 2009 and a UY of April. When broken down by cost per month, I actually come out about $3-5 less per month on the OKW contract. My hang up is in the contract expiration date. 15 years is a big difference. In doing my math from the TIL's and the total # of points I would receive over the life of the contracts, it barrels down to $0.32 per point for both contracts. If I extend for 15 years and finance through DVC at the current price, it brings the price per point over the life of the contract to $0.35 per point...no big deal really.

In you all's expert opinions, which one would you choose? I like the point costs for OKW but have never stayed at any of the DVC's. I am so so so torn

 

[bobbiwoz]

I prefer owning at AKV over OKW, so that's my vote. However, if you think you will be using the 11 month window to book GVs many times, that would change my mind. The GV's at OKW are true bargains.

Bobbi

 

[np4gp]

We have definitely thought about the GV's for Thanksgiving gatherings. It would be a fun tradition to start every year since all of our family is within 45 minutes of the resort. One more notch in the OKW pro list...

 

[colonialtinker]

I have always heard buy where you want to stay. I took this advise and went to all the DVC resorts on our last cash ressie. We meet some great DVC owners who actually let us take a peep of their rooms. Seeing the rooms in person helped make the decision easier. After visiting all the resorts we bought resale at OKW.

You can extend the OKW contract, but then you will have to do the math on how much the extra cost will be. Good luck on your research

 

[DVC Mike]

I would choose AKV, but that's just my preference.

 

[Dean]

So, I am considering one of two things. Either a direct from DVC 160pt contract at AKV with 160 developer points and the incentives of $500 down and a $500 Disney Visa gift card and a UY of December...OR...a 220pt contract at OKW with all 2008pts available and banked if I want them to be as well as no dues til 2009 and a UY of April. When broken down by cost per month, I actually come out about $3-5 less per month on the OKW contract. My hang up is in the contract expiration date. 15 years is a big difference. In doing my math from the TIL's and the total # of points I would receive over the life of the contracts, it barrels down to $0.32 per point for both contracts. If I extend for 15 years and finance through DVC at the current price, it brings the price per point over the life of the contract to $0.35 per point...no big deal really.

In you all's expert opinions, which one would you choose? I like the point costs for OKW but have never stayed at any of the DVC's. I am so so so torn

As presented I would chose AKV because of the longer extension, access to a resort with more demand comparatively and a higher inherent value if you ever decide to sell. As presented, I likely wouldn't buy at all right now given you mentioned monthly costs which suggest you would be financing but that's a decision you will have to make for yourself. There are factors that would shift the pendulum toward OKW however. The main one is if you would routinely want a 3 BR or be needing multiple units for family/friends. Remember OKW is less points per stay comparatively so if you planned to stay at OKW a lot you might not need 220 or even 160 points. A couple of other alternatives are buying AKV resale or SSR resale. No one size fits all but I would not let relative cost be your first or second main criteria if you have a preference for which resort you'd prefer to stay most trips. And I wouldn't let cost be the main factor as the overall cost difference from the most lowly contract to the most expensive is not large enough to settle for something that doesn't truly fit your needs even comparing VB/HH/OKW to BLT, esp for the number of points in question here. And don't forget about the possibility of multiple home resorts, it can truly be better for some than a single resort ownership. Good luck, I hope it works out for you.

 

[kristenrice]

We've stayed at OKW twice and LOVED it! But, we also like the theme of the AKV. The deciding factor for me was that the AKV offers units that will require the 11-month booking window, specifically, value and concierge. Since we are a family of 4, if we wanted to stay at OKW, we could do a studio, 1BR or 2BR. We'd never really have a need for the GV so I figured that the 7-month window would suffice. Since it is a bigger (and presumably less popular) resort than AKV, I would rather have a 7-month window at OKW and the 11-month window at AKV. We plan on staying at both over the next 50 years!

 

[Belle & Ariel]

I would choose which resort I like better because they are as different as can be. I like the "feel" of OKW better than AKL, but everyone is different. I think AKL is better for young families because of the activity pool and animals. My older kids would go crazy there and prefer the quieter atmosphere at OKW. Kristen is right that you can get into OKW easier at the 7 month window.
You really need to go to both resorts and see which suits your family best.

 

[Laneychris]

We love AKV and I think that the longer contract is a better deal.

 

[np4gp]

We have made the decision to stick with our AKV contract. Couple things we took into consideration - my husband was concerned about the resale "value" of both contracts and thought that the longer AKV contract would be easier to sell if we ever found ourselves in a predicament where we couldn't afford it anymore. We also thought about the fact that there were more room options at AKV and that it would be a popular place for at least a few years and having the 11 month booking window will be nice. I think I kept feeling like, just because we wouldn't have the 11month window somewhere else besides AKV, that we would never be able to get ressies elsewhere - but I know that isn't true - just a silly worry I was having. Anyway, we barrelled it down to what was the best value and the AKV contract, despite it being 60 less points, was a better value. Thanks for all the input.

 

[wishicouldgomoreofte]

AKV HANDS DOWN!!
I stayed at both in late July.
I loved AKV, and greatly disliked OKW.
So there you see why everyone says to try them out before buying, because it really is a heck of alot of money, and your annual dues aren't anything to sneeze at either.
From reading these boards and looking at photos, etc, I expected to like OKW alot. Now I know I will only stay there again if it is the last available option.
Or, if I want to try for a Grand Villa, because it is less points there.

So when these boards say it is really up to the individual's preferences, they are right.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

I personally like the condo feel better than the hotel feel, so I'd pick OKW. Even though you would have more years at AKV, you would have more points with the OKW contract. Now that we've owned for a few years (we purchased SSR), I may have purchased OKW in hindsight. We would have been able to purchase more points for the same price, which means more trips for us!!! Since DH and I are 40 and 38 respectively, 2042 versus 2054 really shouldn't have mattered.

On the flip side, we will be able to pass it to the kids, though (13 and 6). Hope they love Disney as much as we do!!!

 

[taurus8012]

So, I am considering one of two things. Either a direct from DVC 160pt contract at AKV with 160 developer points and the incentives of $500 down and a $500 Disney Visa gift card and a UY of December...OR...a 220pt contract at OKW with all 2008pts available and banked if I want them to be as well as no dues til 2009 and a UY of April. When broken down by cost per month, I actually come out about $3-5 less per month on the OKW contract. My hang up is in the contract expiration date. 15 years is a big difference. In doing my math from the TIL's and the total # of points I would receive over the life of the contracts, it barrels down to $0.32 per point for both contracts. If I extend for 15 years and finance through DVC at the current price, it brings the price per point over the life of the contract to $0.35 per point...no big deal really.

In you all's expert opinions, which one would you choose? I like the point costs for OKW but have never stayed at any of the DVC's. I am so so so torn

I Didnt know that they still had that incentive especially the 500 gift card. Is this still available I will add on if this is true

 

[Blahnde]

It sounds like you have made up your mind, and far be it from me to change it, but I had thought of another option. It is my understanding that if you buy OKW direct from DVD it has the 15 year extension. Therefore you would get the same contract end date as AKV for $101 per point. The ultimate cost for OKW would be more than for AKV because AKV has incentives and OKW would not, but since contract length was an issue this is a way to get AKV and OKW on an even playing field. Good luck with your decision!

Blahnde

 

[bobbiwoz]

The fact that only 3 OKW buildings have elevators would enter into my decision to own there.

Bobbi

 

[np4gp]

I Didnt know that they still had that incentive especially the 500 gift card. Is this still available I will add on if this is true

It was my understanding that the incentives we got in under were ending "that weekend". So, to guarantee myself those incentives, I gave a deposit over the phone. We didn't get any paperwork for over a week so that gave us some more time to decide what we were doing.

Honestly, I am still torn between the two contracts but my husband is hands down AKV...I had to give in - he is the breadwinner! But really, we did discuss it a lot and it did have a lot to do with our 2 year old son and where he would enjoy staying more over the coming years. At a year and a half, he could name animals like antelopes, cheetahs, ostriches and all the common animals on Kilimanjaro safaris and so we know he will enjoy waking up more often in the morning and staring out onto the savanna than overlooking a pool and we want first dibs on those opportunities...lol