Paying cash at OKW; interesting conversation

[RLevy29]

A friend who knew that we went to DW fairly frequently, called to ask for my opinion on where to stay for a vacation in late August. They had stayed at the Ft. Wilderness cabins before and liked the space and having a kitchen, but they wanted to stay somewhere different. They were leaning towards VWL but I told them that they would probably not be able to get in and they should have a 2nd choice. They didn't want BCV or BWV (which is good because they probably couldn't get in there either.) I suggested OKW because they usually have availability. She said that she always thought that you had to be a member to stay there. Of course I told her that this is not the case. I thought it was interesting that she had this idea and wonder how many other people think this and why. Any thoughts?

 

[d-r]

Since Old Key West was the first one to open it was the only one, and people used to just call it "The Vacation Club Resort" - so they may think of it differently. Plus there is the big DVC sign outside. Also, since it is only DVC and not "attached" to a resort, people probably perceive it differently.


DR

 

[Peggy Sue]

All Disney Guide Books list OKW as an option under the available resorts as a "home away from home" resort.

 

[Granny]

I must admit that I thought that the DVC resorts were all "members only" places until I started getting serious about joining.

I just assumed that since they are time share units, they must all "belong" to someone....you usually don't see cash reservations at traditional time share places, do you?

So yes, I would think that there are others who naturally assume the DVC accommodations are not "open to the public" for reservations, even though the literature is pretty explicit.

Of course, one look at the cash prices and I'd probably be scurrying back to my deluxe resort hotel room!

 

[MikeJ]

Originally posted by Granny
I just assumed that since they are time share units, they must all "belong" to someone....you usually don't see cash reservations at traditional time share places, do you?

We have stayed using cash at Vistana and at Smugglers Notch, VT, both of which are traditional, RCI-affiliated timeshare resorts. Usually when you do stay on cash, they try to weasel you in to one of their sales presentations - Vistana was moderate- to high-pressure, Smugglers is the only one we've experienced which is almost as low-key as DVC.

- Mike