Old Key West or Beach Club Villas?

[albertotahiti]

What do you think is a better purchase...Old Key West or Beach Club Villas? Which has kept their value the most?

Thanks!

 

[diz4ever]

IMO - Beach Club Villas as a home resort. That being said - you can get some really fantastic deals at OKW and SSR. Depends what is more important to you - location or price?

 

[RobDoc]

Where do you want to stay? If your preference is BCV, then it would be wise to own at that resort to have the 11 month reservation priority. OKW would be easier to find a reservation within 7 months.

Early purchasers bought OKW when sales thru DVC were under $60 per point and could still recap their original purchase price. BCV sales began at $75 per point and were up to $80 before the resort opened. BCV currently ends on January 31, 2042. Some OKW contracts are available thru resale with a January 31, 2057 end date (and ALL direct purchases thru DVC have the 2057 end date).

It all depends on what is important to you.

 

[bobbiwoz]

OKW has reasonably point priced Grand Villas, IMO that's something to consider. BCV doesn't have any.

 

[pklein09]

We just added on through Disney at OKW. We paid $90 per point, about $15 cheaper than the next least expensive resort. We were going for "more points" rather than "home resort advantage" because we rarely book at the 11 month window. That being said, we absolutely LOVE OKW!!! We own at VWL, BWV, and OKW. We've stayed at VWL once, and multiple times at OKW and BWV. We really feel that as long as we're on Disney property, we're good.

 

[jpolak]

I say buy where you can afford the most points. OKW is great and the rooms are huge. We bought at SSR because the deal at the time was great, that being said we have only stayed there once. Other than Christmas and Easter week we have had no trouble getting any other resort at the seven month window.

 

[crisi]

OKW is the best value. Low cost, low dues, large rooms.

BCV has held its value the best to date. And its harder to book there at seven months.

Do not buy intending to get ANY salvage (resale) value from either property. Either get your ROI during your intended term of ownership, or rent points.

 

[Candace]

OKW gives you the most bang for your buck, and the rooms are much larger than the other, newer resorts. BCV brings a higher resale price, but are you planning to re-sell right away? OKW also has Grand Villas that are fabulous. Also, you will always have those 2 queen beds in the second bedroom at OKW. I bought OKW in 1994 and I have since added on at four other resorts. I enjoy them all and use them for different times of the year, but I always *love* OKW.

 

[kmccl]

I just added on at BLT, when thinking about adding on, I asked my guide about adding on at OKW. I was told that they did not have any points there to buy. I understand that you can be put on a waitlist, but was surprised that I couldn't buy there now. pklein09 said they just added on, was my guide just trying to sell BLT?? Or are they truely out of points at OKW. Better find out before you make the decision to buy there.

 

[pklein09]

I just added on at BLT, when thinking about adding on, I asked my guide about adding on at OKW. I was told that they did not have any points there to buy. I understand that you can be put on a waitlist, but was surprised that I couldn't buy there now. pklein09 said they just added on, was my guide just trying to sell BLT?? Or are they truely out of points at OKW. Better find out before you make the decision to buy there.

We started the add on process back in March. We wanted a June use year, and ended up doing 2 contracts. The first set of points that came through was only 31 points, and we wanted 75. We took that set and waited for more. By the middle of May, a second set of 50 points came available, and we took them, for a total of 81. It took just over 2 months to get everything we wanted. Our guide was Lisa DeRosa...she took over from Betty Prickyl who retired.

ETA....our points expire at the later date, not 2042.

 

[starbox]

Out of OKW or BCV, I'd pick BCV because I do think it's nice to have a home resort where you might want to use the booking window and BCV can be hard at 7 months certain times of the year. If I thought I'd ever want a GV at OKW, I might be persuaded to go with OKW as long as I could get a contract with the extended date (we are young enough to hope to vacation for 30+ more years)

But if it were up to me and looking at sheer value for price per. point, I'd go for SSR - points are cheap, annual dues are LOW, longer contract than the other older resorts, AND IMHO, the treehouses are the best deal - three bedrooms for about the point cost of a 2BR. You also need the 11 months to get one most of the time.

 

[rocketriter]

Unlike the dollars-and-points crowd, I think you should buy at the location that you think will give you the most pleasure over the years. Owning more points at a place less pleasing? Not me. As for your guide telling you that no points are available, we had that experience some years ago. But we firmly told the guide we were only interested in buying at our favorite resort and poof! Points magically appeared a few days later.

 

[albertotahiti]

Unlike the dollars-and-points crowd, I think you should buy at the location that you think will give you the most pleasure over the years. Owning more points at a place less pleasing? Not me. As for your guide telling you that no points are available, we had that experience some years ago. But we firmly told the guide we were only interested in buying at our favorite resort and poof! Points magically appeared a few days later.

Did you go through Disney or did you do resale?

Thanks

 

[albertotahiti]

I say buy where you can afford the most points. OKW is great and the rooms are huge. We bought at SSR because the deal at the time was great, that being said we have only stayed there once. Other than Christmas and Easter week we have had no trouble getting any other resort at the seven month window.

Do you think I would have trouble booking a "non-home" resort on a 7 month out at Animal Kingdom Lodge Savannah view or Beach Club Villas? What do you think about renting points?

 

[dmoore22]

Unlike the dollars-and-points crowd, I think you should buy at the location that you think will give you the most pleasure over the years. Owning more points at a place less pleasing? Not me.

Totally agree! We eventually found a resale, with banked points, that suits us perfectly. Between OKW and BC is boils down to what DVC experience you prefer. All the DVC resorts are excellent depending upon what you and your family like.

 

[rocketriter]

Did you go through Disney or did you do resale?

Thanks

Good question. We went through Disney.

 

[jpolak]

Do you think I would have trouble booking a "non-home" resort on a 7 month out at Animal Kingdom Lodge Savannah view or Beach Club Villas? What do you think about renting points?

As for AKL you might be ok, again depending on time of year. BCV would be difficult during F&W. We rented points before we bought. DW was on the fence about making the purchase and I knew once she stayed at DVC there would be no going back.

 

[crisi]

BCV can be difficult for more than F&W. Pretty much Oct 1-early January can be hard at BCV. Holiday weekends, Jersey week. Its a small resort and very popular.

Think of it this way - people are willing to pay $20 more a point for BCV. Disney sold enough BCV points to fill the resort ......how often do you think BCV owners stay places other than BCVs?

VAKL has a LOT of rooms and its owners don't seem nearly as attached to it.

If you have a strong preference on where you want to stay, and can plan at least seven months out - that is where you want to own. If your preference for where you want to stay is weak, and you can book more than seven months out - buy a resort you wouldn't mind staying at. If you cannot book more than seven months out, or "anywhere at WDW" is good - buy SSR where the points are cheap, dues are cheap, and the contract is long. You may or may not be able to get your first choice in rooms each year at seven months.

If you can only book four months out - don't buy DVC.

 

[jana]

Have to agree with Crisi , if you're wanting to stay at BCV particularly at busy times and are able to book more than 7 months out, buy there. If you're not overly bothered where you stay or plan to try all the different DVC resorts or do not usually book more than 7 months out go with the better deal.

On a financial point, BCV has arguably held it's value better than most of the other DVC resorts, but as a resale buyer that means to buy into it, you'll have to pay more now. That benefit goes to the person selling to you, not necessarily to the person (you) buying now. However that point is a little arguable as if you compare someone that bought OKW in 1992-1994 and only paid somewhere in the $50s per point. As the two resorts were on sale at different times and quite different buy in prices I don't think it's terribly valid.

Personally if I was looking at a 2042 BCV expiration vs a 2057 OKW for even the same cost, I'd go with OKW for the extra 15 years. IMHO that is more likely to factor in to future residual value than the home resort priority in 10-15 years time. JMHO.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

We bought at BWV and think that it has the best overall package.

• It is close to Epcot & DHS
• It has standard and preferred points charts
• It has a lower resale price than BCV
• BW view and standard view points are just as hard if not harder to get at 7 months than BCV points.

IMHO, the restaurants and parking are a little better at BCV than BWV. BCV has the awesome pool of course.

The room interiors are very similar.

As for the resorts, BW has a very glitzy almost gaudy elegance to it, while the Y&BC complex is a very understated elegance.

I tend to like things that are a little loud...so BW was perfect for me. My very conservative sister (I'm not talking politics) likes Y&BC complex much better.

Style wise in the rooms, I really like SSR, and think that you get a whole lot of bang for your buck over there. However, from just walking around...it just seems to be missing something.

There is a sticky thread on the top of the DVC Mousecellaneous thread with pictures of all of the resorts. There are really good pictures of all of the resorts on www.allearsnet.com as well.