Old Key West

[bazzerboy]

Hi all and thanks for having me. We booked for 2020 at our favorite resort OKW with our travel company all fine but had a phone call saying Disney were not releasing any accommodation at the moment ??? so in order to keep our booking in place we are for now booked in to Port Orleans pending "Hopefully" the release of some rooms in OKW. We are a bit sad as this is our 9th and sadly will be our last visit (age and finances !!) and our very first visit in 2010 was to OKW and our alternate Saratoga Springs cannot book with them either just wondering has anyone got any thoughts on this, bazzerboy

 

[Deb & Bill]

DVC owners cannot book their home resorts until 11 months out. So depending on when your trip is scheduled, you may have to wait until seven months or fewer out until you can book a cash stay at OKW.

 

[bazzerboy]

Ah now I see we are not DVC and from the UK we have to book really early to get the dining plan but thank you for that information we understand now and hopefully we will get what we want. Best regards Barrie

 

[Deb & Bill]

Ah now I see we are not DVC and from the UK we have to book really early to get the dining plan but thank you for that information we understand now and hopefully we will get what we want. Best regards Barrie

You should be able to book a villa at OKW closer to your reservation date. OKW is one of our home resorts and our favorite resort.

 

[bazzerboy]

We certainly hope so this situation has been going on for a couple of years now we are told that DVC members are missing out on accommodation because the rooms are all booked out to non DVC visitors and if that is correct I can quite understand how they would feel but we shall see. OKW is our favorite we love Olivias etc and the whole feel of the resort. Thanks for your comments. Barrie

 

[Tony Toon]

This first happened for us a couple of years ago. Previously we booked OKW or SSR with free DDP from the UK without a problem then a couple of years ago there appeared to be no availability. To begin with Disney took your booking on the understanding that accommodation would only be officially confirmed a set number of days before your trip (forget how long now) then OKW and SSR disappeared from options altogether. All has come good in the end though and we've always managed to get to our favourite resorts. OKW last year and SSR in January 2020. I'm sure it will all pan out for you in the end too.

Mrs TT

 

[bazzerboy]

Hi there yes it was about 2 years ago this happened for the first time up till then no issues at all but we managed to get SSR which is fine as you say it will probably all work out. I had a conversation with our travel agent( we have used them for all our Disney trips) he reckoned that once free dining finishes they will open up the accommodations and our favorite is OKW . bARRIE

 

[Deb & Bill]

The DVC resorts that are booked for cash through Disney Reservation Center come from a separate inventory from those for points stays. Cash stays come from points used by owners at that resort to book non-DVC Disney stays. So if an OKW owner wants to book a Disney Cruise on points, DVC takes those points and trades the equivalent villa(s) for those points to DRC to rent out for cash. It may also include any points either currently owned by DVC (they usually own about 2% of the resort) and any unsold inventory (either not yet sold or taken back by DVC through foreclosure or Right of First Refusal). So it can be a much smaller portion of villas available for cash. At newer resorts like Riviera, they haven't sold as much, so they have a lot more for cash reservations. That's why you are seeing the great deals on cash reservations using a Disney VISA card right now. The older resort are usually sold out other than the 2% owned by DVC and the points taken in foreclosure or ROFR.

 

[micksn]

We also had 2 lovely stays in an OKW Studio using the UK offer. For a few years they had heavy discounts (about 40%) and free dining plan bookable from April of the previous year (when all UK summer offers are released) It made a stay in a studio similar to the price you would pay in a moderate resort and with the regular dining plan. Those offers sadly ended about 3 to 4 years ago. We count ourselves lucky to have had the experience at such a good price.