Resale for OKW Tell me all about it!

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

Wife and I are now considering DVC. We go yearly at least. Sometimes twice a year. We live about 11 hours with stops away from the parks. Got upgraded from ASM Family Suites to ALK KIdani 2 bedroom villa, and the DVC bug bit. Caught my wife watching the DVC channel, and now were heavily researching seeing that it really would be cheaper for us, and we would get more out of it.

As we started looking at resorts, we stumbled on Old Key West. My highschool choral teacher has owned there since 95, and was also telling us about it.

Tell me about the goods and the bads here.

Mind you we drive, and dont have to use Disney Transport for anything. In fact last trip ( august 2020) we drove daily, and it was far easier. The contracts were finding are up in 2042, which is about 22 years. This would put me in my late 50s and my wifes in her early 60s. Is this a good first contract to pick up?

We would look to finance at first, but use our yearly work bonus, to pay large chunks having say a 20K purchase paid off in 3-4 years allowing us to add more points if needed.

We tend to travel at worst in the summer. Looking at point charts it appears we would need 200-250 to be safe and be able to always book a 1 bedroom for a week. is this a safe plan? Spent all night last night bindge watching the youtube channel for the DVC show.

Thanks for the add and any help you can give us!

 

[Deb & Bill]

Most of the buildings at OKW do not have elevators. So you'll either be taking stairs or requesting a ground floor villa. We've owned at OKW for 23 years and stayed there 26 times. It's basically our favorite resort because of the size of the villa, the neighborhood feel instead of the hotel feel of most of the resorts and parking is easy (we always drive) right outside your villa. The OKW studio has two real queen beds, no murphy beds at all and I hope it stays that way. The porch for the one bedroom and larger is the biggest at WDW with a full sized table and four chairs, plus a ceiling fan. It has full sized washers and dryers in the one bedroom and larger (not stackables) and a full sized kitchen, not a tiny galley or afterthought. The two bedroom villa always has two real beds in the second bedroom, no matter if it is dedicated or a lockoff. Olivia's is a very good table service and you usually don't need an ADR to be seated. You can pick one up on MDE right before you head over. Goods to Go is a nice little counter service place, but it has no tables inside, just picnic tables outside. It's original function was for pool side eating, not as a food court, since every villa has the ability to prepare a meal.

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

Most of the buildings at OKW do not have elevators. So you'll either be taking stairs or requesting a ground floor villa. We've owned at OKW for 23 years and stayed there 26 times. It's basically our favorite resort because of the size of the villa, the neighborhood feel instead of the hotel feel of most of the resorts and parking is easy (we always drive) right outside your villa. The OKW studio has two real queen beds, no murphy beds at all and I hope it stays that way. The porch for the one bedroom and larger is the biggest at WDW with a full sized table and four chairs, plus a ceiling fan. It has full sized washers and dryers in the one bedroom and larger (not stackables) and a full sized kitchen, not a tiny galley or afterthought. The two bedroom villa always has two real beds in the second bedroom, no matter if it is dedicated or a lockoff. Olivia's is a very good table service and you usually don't need an ADR to be seated. You can pick one up on MDE right before you head over. Goods to Go is a nice little counter service place, but it has no tables inside, just picnic tables outside. It's original function was for pool side eating, not as a food court, since every villa has the ability to prepare a meal.

My wife and I are both in our 30s now., so the stair issue, doesnt bother us. She fell in love for the exact feeling of a neighborhood. Not a hotel. She found Kidani to still feel hotelish. She likes the ideas of parking right outside your area, and being able to get to what you need since were drivers. I could see us using goods to go when were by the pool, as when were in the parks were eating there. If we want something on the way back through wed stop and get it at the store and cook it in the room, or go to olivias i think. I really dig the giant balconies. We had a long one at Kidani, but not very wide to be confortable. I could see a early december trip, sitting out on that balcony having coffee and breakfast before going to the springs for Boathouse and shopping!

 

[Deb & Bill]

My wife and I are both in our 30s now., so the stair issue, doesnt bother us. She fell in love for the exact feeling of a neighborhood. Not a hotel. She found Kidani to still feel hotelish. She likes the ideas of parking right outside your area, and being able to get to what you need since were drivers. I could see us using goods to go when were by the pool, as when were in the parks were eating there. If we want something on the way back through wed stop and get it at the store and cook it in the room, or go to olivias i think. I really dig the giant balconies. We had a long one at Kidani, but not very wide to be confortable. I could see a early december trip, sitting out on that balcony having coffee and breakfast before going to the springs for Boathouse and shopping!

Then you can just hop on the boat from the Hospitality House to Disney Springs, enjoy your adult beverage if you like, and not have to worry about driving back. The boat ride is really nice. Having a car also makes it easy to hop over to Regency Square Publix and find something good there to enjoy in your villa. We'll hop on Epcot Center Drive to I-Drive to avoid the traffic at the Outlet Mall and I4 and 535 intersection. We might head over to Lakeside Village, but its further away than Regency Square.

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

Then you can just hop on the boat from the Hospitality House to Disney Springs, enjoy your adult beverage if you like, and not have to worry about driving back. The boat ride is really nice. Having a car also makes it easy to hop over to Regency Square Publix and find something good there to enjoy in your villa. We'll hop on Epcot Center Drive to I-Drive to avoid the traffic at the Outlet Mall and I4 and 535 intersection. We might head over to Lakeside Village, but its further away than Regency Square.

It really feels like a great " home" we enjoyed our first taste of the DVC room when we stayed at Kidani, and to be honest i cant see going back to the values after this. Doing the math, wed pay about the same and get much better resort by going DVC. If we can book at 11 months, and get studios on occasion, we could squeeze in 2 trips which really makes it much more worth it. One trip for parks, one trip for resort and springs!

 

[bookwormde]

Since you are in your 30s, you might want to look for an OKW contract that expires in 2057 rather than 2042

You can not beat the larger units and lower point requirements

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

Since you are in your 30s, you might want to look for an OKW contract that expires in 2057 rather than 2042

You can not beat the larger units and lower point requirements

How often do those pop up on the resale market? Doing research buying through disney direct seems way more money, for not much return. All we are seeing currently is 2042. Another factor we have thought about, is paying off the initial purchase in 3-4 years and then turning around and buying another contract later on with later expiration date, to cover us longer term?

 

[davidl81]

How often do those pop up on the resale market? Doing research buying through disney direct seems way more money, for not much return. All we are seeing currently is 2042. Another factor we have thought about, is paying off the initial purchase in 3-4 years and then turning around and buying another contract later on with later expiration date, to cover us longer term?

At your age I would be very leery about buying any 2042 expiring contract. 22 years will come quickly and its likely only 10 years from now those contracts start dropping in value by a large amount. I would either wait for a 2057 OKW contract (it will be $10 or so a point more but at your age very much worth it) or really the best bang for your buck is a SSR contract. SSR and OKW are similar and for the most part you can book OKW rooms at 7 months out using your SSR points.

For reference I am 39 and we just added on and I would not even consider 2042 contracts even though I love BWV. To me the expiration is just too close and the cost per point seems too high relative to the time remaining on those resorts. Don't get me wrong, if you plan on staying at say BWV or OKW on every trip for the next 22 years the math still works out in your favor to buy a resale DVC contract, but there is much better value to be had on SSR contracts and to an extent AKV contracts.

 

[cedricandsophie]

We love OKW and added more points last year. We love the large rooms and never get less than a one bedroom for the space, the kitchen and the laundry room.

the recreation area is Very convenient with a large pool, tennis, shuffleboard, the community house with pool and movies to borrow. We don’t go to parks much so we love the ambiance and the convenient location. My husband and I are in our 70s but still play tennis every morning while there. There are rackets to borrow but we usually bring our own.

we also try to get a room close to hospitality house so we can walk everywhere.

olivias is a good restaurant

And the boat to Disney Springs is great.

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

At your age I would be very leery about buying any 2042 expiring contract. 22 years will come quickly and its likely only 10 years from now those contracts start dropping in value by a large amount. I would either wait for a 2057 OKW contract (it will be $10 or so a point more but at your age very much worth it) or really the best bang for your buck is a SSR contract. SSR and OKW are similar and for the most part you can book OKW rooms at 7 months out using your SSR points.

For reference I am 39 and we just added on and I would not even consider 2042 contracts even though I love BWV. To me the expiration is just too close and the cost per point seems too high relative to the time remaining on those resorts. Don't get me wrong, if you plan on staying at say BWV or OKW on every trip for the next 22 years the math still works out in your favor to buy a resale DVC contract, but there is much better value to be had on SSR contracts and to an extent AKV contracts.

This is interesting for sure. I was not sure as it would put my wife at 61 and myself 55. Still a few years left in the tank for it all i guess. Ill give the others a look. I know we can buy anywhere, and then stay anywhere, but liked the Idea of the OKW as a home. I saw a few 2057 contracts today pop up, were watching the market so its something we will keep an eye on for sure. Is it still easy to grab a studio at 7 months? If its just the 2 of us, we may try to squeeze two trips both in a studio vs 1 trip in a one bed.

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

We love OKW and added more points last year. We love the large rooms and never get less than a one bedroom for the space, the kitchen and the laundry room.

the recreation area is Very convenient with a large pool, tennis, shuffleboard, the community house with pool and movies to borrow. We don’t go to parks much so we love the ambiance and the convenient location. My husband and I are in our 70s but still play tennis every morning while there. There are rackets to borrow but we usually bring our own.

we also try to get a room close to hospitality house so we can walk everywhere.

olivias is a good restaurant

And the boat to Disney Springs is great.

These are some of the reasons we fell in love with it. The boat seems like a great idea.

 

[chalee94]

This is interesting for sure. I was not sure as it would put my wife at 61 and myself 55. Still a few years left in the tank for it all i guess. Ill give the others a look. I know we can buy anywhere, and then stay anywhere, but liked the Idea of the OKW as a home. I saw a few 2057 contracts today pop up, were watching the market so its something we will keep an eye on for sure. Is it still easy to grab a studio at 7 months? If its just the 2 of us, we may try to squeeze two trips both in a studio vs 1 trip in a one bed.

I would agree that SSR and AKV might be better options with their longer end dates compared to OKW-2042.

Where you buy determines your buy in cost and your dues (as well as your end date). It is important for booking exactly what you want at 11 months out.

OKW is a larger resort and you will generally have no problem swapping into OKW at 7 months for a studio. (*Maybe* issues if you travel in the fall - especially with the way COVID has restricted point use lately - but generally no.)

For couples trips, you might actually prefer the SSR/AKV set up in the studios with 1 queen bed and a pullout sofa(bed). SSR also has a boat to DS and AKV has its unique African atmosphere with the animals and all. If you are planning mostly couples trips, you may want to start with a smaller contract that you can pay cash for to use for studios. A lot depends on how much you want the extra space and amenities of a 1BR...

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

We're looking at those as well. Talking with my wife, the 2042s while shorter makes her less anxious of it knowing we can always slowly replace or add on points with later expiration as time goes on if that makes sense? I want to have enough to always get a 1 bedroom somewhere, but he able to get 2 studios if we could.

We just returned from a 2 bedroom at AKL villas at kidani. We loved it, but wife wasn't a fan of the setup. Felt to hotel to her. Plus she's not a fan of the darker african color pallette.

Like if the stars alligned and we found 250+ for say 20k we could pay that off in 3 to 4 years. The. At that point we could look to add a small contract add on at somewhere else to have a start at a later expiration date. Maybe that's stupid?

Trying to cover all of our bases and look at it from all aspects.

 

[sethschroeder]

Just remember to account for the cost of the upfront points by the length of the contract.

$80 for a 2042 is more expensive than a $100 for a 2057 expiration.

You can always sell the contract in the long run as well. Based on the track record it will maintain fairly good value until you start to get closer to expiration. Always a chance though the economy goes down the drain and prices go down like back in 2010 timeframe but they also rebounded as well long term.

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

Just remember to account for the cost of the upfront points by the length of the contract.

$80 for a 2042 is more expensive than a $100 for a 2057 expiration.

You can always sell the contract in the long run as well. Based on the track record it will maintain fairly good value until you start to get closer to expiration. Always a chance though the economy goes down the drain and prices go down like back in 2010 timeframe but they also rebounded as well long term.

The site I'm using I'm filtering by several resorts. We'd like to stay under 100 a point if we can. We're definitely looking at all the math. Is there a master website that shows all listings from all listings agencies like homes?

 

[sethschroeder]

The site I'm using I'm filtering by several resorts. We'd like to stay under 100 a point if we can. We're definitely looking at all the math. Is there a master website that shows all listings from all listings agencies like homes?

Have to do each one unfortunately. There are probably 5-6 primary sites out there.

SSR, OKW Extended (maybe), and AKV (maybe) are the only chances at that price point. I would personally focus on SSR if you are set on that being the budget per point.

Remember each resort has different MFs that you pay annually, has different point charts, and has a different expiration. Do not overlook the expiration because as my previous math outlined extra years helps drop the cost per point that you are using.

Think of it this way:
15 points for a nights stay
Each point costs $x.xx in MFs and $x.xx in baseline point buying

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

Have to do each one unfortunately. There are probably 5-6 primary sites out there.

SSR, OKW Extended (maybe), and AKV (maybe) are the only chances at that price point. I would personally focus on SSR if you are set on that being the budget per point.

Remember each resort has different MFs that you pay annually, has different point charts, and has a different expiration. Do not overlook the expiration because as my previous math outlined extra years helps drop the cost per point that you are using.

Think of it this way:
15 points for a nights stay
Each point costs $x.xx in MFs and $x.xx in baseline point buying

At least theres only like 6! Ha! we will split it between my wife and I. Were mainly looking at those places, and paying attention to the maint fees as well. We know we can stay anywhere at 7 months. We tend to book a year out anyways when we go so were definitely good there. Very very rarely do we do a last min trip. under 100 seems to be what we could swing now for initial purchase. Can always add on points as we go on if we need more. I did see 2 OKW 2057s come up today slightly out of price range, but were just starting to look. Depending on market, and such we may even wait for June when our Work Bonus is to arrive, and use that as a massive Downpayment, and end up getting something slightly larger....

 

[sethschroeder]

Another option is is getting less points. I know you said you want a 1BR but do you really need it in the short run? Could you be okay with studios for the next few years until you decided to possibly buy some more points?

Studios while harder during the fall or really hard in early December can be had.

Is there a reason why you are shooting for a 1BR? Yes its easier to book at 7 months but its also way more expensive points wise typically like 75% to 100% more than a Studio.

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

Another option is is getting less points. I know you said you want a 1BR but do you really need it in the short run? Could you be okay with studios for the next few years until you decided to possibly buy some more points?

Studios while harder during the fall or really hard in early December can be had.

Is there a reason why you are shooting for a 1BR? Yes its easier to book at 7 months but its also way more expensive points wise typically like 75% to 100% more than a Studio.

For the 2 of us, Sure a Studio would be fine. My birthday is in March, my wifes in July, Daughter in August, and Wedding Anniversary in September, so we could potentially travel any of those times, but more realistically we tend to go in July and August, and if we did a resort only stay it would be first 2 weeks of December for some shopping.

In my research i read everywhere" get enough points for a one bedroom so you have a backup plan. That is why we were looking at 200-250 point contracts. to make sure we had enough for a one bedroom for a week, or if we could score studios, 2 weeks. one for parks, one for shopping and resort only. Its just the 2 of us, but we just did take my niece and nephew, and next year intend to take my other niece and nephew.

 

[GivemetheDreamFinder]

Another question really that popped in my head. We have disney visa, can that be used towards down payment? We use it for everything so we get the points to then use in the parks. It really helps out to have that to spend on food, and such, and everything else we buy racks up points for next trip.