Resort Opinion question.

[steviethegreat]

So, I went to Disney in 2014 and had a split stay at POFQ and OKW. When we got to OKW (we stayed through DVC because my dad's cousin has a ton of points), our room wasn't ready and the air conditioner was broken. We were in a studio room and could hear the family in the room next to us.

In September 2016, my mom and I stayed at the AKL where we were upgraded at Jambo to a Savanna view, probably because the amazing booking agents listed our trip as her birthday extravaganza or something on the account.

My very best friend has never been to Disney or Universal. When I got back from my trip, I begged her to take a weekend trip with me to go to Universal in February. She said she'd have to think about it and she would get back to me. I had decided to wait to go back until 2018 (Pandora would be open, I would have money again, etc etc). Well, some unfortunate things happened in November. So she texted me and asked me if we could still go to Universal in February.

We opted to postpone the trip until May, since money's kind of a tough thing to pull out of nowhere. We got a three night stay, three day ticket, deal with Universal for like...$1400ish. It's about $740 a person. And then I have free flights through Southwest.

Here's the thing. One of her friends works for Disney and said that she can get us in for free either going into the park with her or with her park hopper tickets. So that's basically $500 we wouldn't be spending that we were already planning to spend.

My cousin MIGHT have DVC points for OKW again, and we'd pay nothing for the hotel, OR we could use that $500 ticket money to pay for AKL (where we might get upgraded again and/or can pay for the upgrade when we get there).

Do we try to save the money and stay at OKW, which I feel is an underwhelming resort, or should we pay the money for AKL, since the theming is so awesome and would definitely be an awesome experience for a first timer.

I would LOVE to stay at the Poly or the Grand Floridian or the Beach Club, but I definitely can't shell out $600 a night for a hotel room.

Part of me wants to save the money and stay at OKW, but the other part of me really fell in love with AKL in September.

Am I stupid to pay for a hotel room if it provides a better experience if I can potentially get one for free?

Thanks for your time, guys.

 

[siestakeys04]

I would take OKW it's free, especially if money is a little tight. You can always make reservations at the AKL and have a nice dinner.

 

[hakepb]

Technically, DVC points don't have to be used exclusively in thier home resort..but different resorts use up different amounts of an owners "points" you could always ask nicely about AKL ( but Kidani would be more likely than Jambo)
5 months or less out is somewhat "last minute" in the DVC world. Usually SSR has the most availability.

 

[steviethegreat]

Their home resort is OKW and they book impromptu trips all the time, so I'm not sure how difficult it would be to find a room during our trip timeline. But yeah, it's unlikely we'd get a room at a different resort, besides SSR, which I've not heard great things about. The only thing OKW has going for it between the other DVC resorts is that it has 2 beds versus a king bed and a pull-out sofa bed. :/

 

[WDWNY]

I would take the hotel. My friend is a CM, and I believe she has to be there in order for us to use the tickets and she only has a certain amount of tickets and then you also won't get 60 days for fast passes. I think you end up relying more on another person for the tickets then the hotel (and at least for me) I start stressing out when I'm not in control of things.

 

[Hopefully]

Their home resort is OKW and they book impromptu trips all the time, so I'm not sure how difficult it would be to find a room during our trip timeline. But yeah, it's unlikely we'd get a room at a different resort, besides SSR, which I've not heard great things about. The only thing OKW has going for it between the other DVC resorts is that it has 2 beds versus a king bed and a pull-out sofa bed. :/

Just to clarify - DVC Studio Villas do not have a King bed. Other than OKW they have one Queen and a Double sleeper sofa.
I would either be happy for the opportunity your cousin offers at OKW or if you really don't like it there go to AKL.

 

[figmentedfollies]

I would think seriously about what you're going to be doing during your trip. $500 is a lot of money that could be spent elsewhere (food, merchandise, a dessert party). However, I have totally fallen in love with the BC and expect the same will be true at WL in about 15 days. Also, are you going to make use of the resort amenities while you are there?

You could almost split the difference and opt for a moderate resort. I loved POFQ when I was there in February and that was after my wonderful trip staying at BC.

Have you looked into the possibility/availability of renting points to stay at AKL or were you looking to purchase through Disney?

 

[MarBee]

Just a thought- have you priced the other hotels there that are not DVC? You can find rooms a lot cheaper and super nice!

 

[steviethegreat]

Just to clarify - DVC Studio Villas do not have a King bed. Other than OKW they have one Queen and a Double sleeper sofa.
I would either be happy for the opportunity your cousin offers at OKW or if you really don't like it there go to AKL.

I apologize, I didn't check if it was a King or a Queen, but I knew it was a bed and a pull-out sofa. I checked all of the studios and 1 bedrooms before I decided I would just stick with OKW, if we went that route.

I would think seriously about what you're going to be doing during your trip. $500 is a lot of money that could be spent elsewhere (food, merchandise, a dessert party). However, I have totally fallen in love with the BC and expect the same will be true at WL in about 15 days. Also, are you going to make use of the resort amenities while you are there?

You could almost split the difference and opt for a moderate resort. I loved POFQ when I was there in February and that was after my wonderful trip staying at BC.

Have you looked into the possibility/availability of renting points to stay at AKL or were you looking to purchase through Disney?

Well, here's what happened: I spent about $7k during my September trip between Universal, Disney, and food. This time, my friend is paying her half and I have free flights again. So with Universal at $750 total per person, free flights, free Disney tickets, I was thinking that the $500 we were originally spending on tickets in addition to the hotel would mean that we could easily stay at a hotel on property. Especially since we were already planning on spending about $1k per person to stay at Disney with tickets. So per person, it would be another $700 for the resort, plus tax, but I already have $580 saved, so it would knock our per person price to about $410, plus tax.

We already decided that we're only eating one meal, at night, since breakfasts make us tired, and we'll snack through lunch (especially in Epcot), since she's not a big eater and I'm a grazer. So that's basically half my budget from last time, since we had the deluxe dining plan in September and we ate at least two times a day.

If we stay at AKL, we'll definitely visit the bar, the restaurants (most likely Boma over Jiko), and the pool. I don't know that we'd use the pool at OKW, since the main pool is expected to be closed during our visit, and it's much harder to navigate.

But free is free, potentially, if my cousin has the points available (and she told me last year that no one was using them). I don't want to spend a TON of money, but at the same time, I feel like the hotel is still an experience to be enjoyed. I enjoyed POFQ and I enjoyed AKL, but I didn't enjoy OKW. And I'm torn between spending the money and having that money go toward food, since I JUST bought souvenirs for everyone in September and I don't think it's necessary for April. (Does that make me a bad person? Probably. :/)

Just a thought- have you priced the other hotels there that are not DVC? You can find rooms a lot cheaper and super nice!

I have definitely looked at all of the hotels on property (and while off property is vastly cheaper, we'll have a car, so we'd have to pay to park and we'd lose property benefits and some of the magic, i think). I had considered staying at POR and POFQ, but for about $50 more a night, we could stay at AKL or WL for a better room and a better experience.

 

[WDWNY]

since I JUST bought souvenirs for everyone in September and I don't think it's necessary for April. (Does that make me a bad person? Probably. :/)

We stopped buying everyone souvenirs once we started going to disney religiously. No one else in the family went away so we never got anything and it always stressed us out during trips. If we have the dinning plan we always have extra snacks and a mickey rice krispy treat usually becomes a souvenir then.

 

[Uncranky Donald]

May I just throw out there that our home resort is OKW and we're going in June and WL was still very available as of Nov. (cuz it's still under construction) I know your cousin is passed the 7th month mark but never say never. PLUS, I got points from MY cousin for the same June trip and got his SSR points changed to AKKV for me w/tons of availability at 7 mos. as well...so we're staying at both lodges!! Can't hurt to try!

Also my best friends just used CM park hopper tix in June (they are allotted 3) and just know you must sign in with the CM every day at Main gates but do not have to stay w/them once checked in. But unfortunately no Pre-FPs, only day of. NO way around that. I tried I hope hope you get as many free things as you can!!!!!

 

[Kaleea]

Never say never. If you are interested in it I would look at the DVC points for AKL. We just got BLT Theme Park View in July and we had to wait to 7 months out as our home resort is Aulani

 

[goofy4tink]

A few thoughts. You said the A/C was broken at OKW, and that the room wasn't ready, and that you could hear the people next door. Well...that can, and does, happen everywhere. You got an amazing upgrade at AKL...but that doesn't happen very often. I've had more trips to WDW than I can count and I've been upgraded once...and it was from a parking lot view to a garden view, not a huge deal.
It sounds like you really don't want to stay at OKW. Perhaps your cousin can book you into a different DVC resort...even AKL or Kidani. As far as free tickets go, my dd is a CM who had enough tickets to allow her boyfriend to go into the parks every day for over a week. But, she had to be with him. So that means that, in most cases, the CM friend would have to be there, with you, in order for you to use the free tickets.
Also, no need to buy anything for anyone else. We stopped doing that after the third trip!!

I must say that your cousin is incredibly nice to just 'give' you points. They cost money, and there are dues to be paid on them every year. I seldom 'give' my points away! If I'm thanking someone in some way, then sure. But, since I can rent the points out through a broker and make back the money to pay my dues, I'm not handing out free points!
You're very, very fortunate!

 

[Uncranky Donald]

A few thoughts. You said the A/C was broken at OKW, and that the room wasn't ready, and that you could hear the people next door. Well...that can, and does, happen everywhere. You got an amazing upgrade at AKL...but that doesn't happen very often. I've had more trips to WDW than I can count and I've been upgraded once...and it was from a parking lot view to a garden view, not a huge deal.
It sounds like you really don't want to stay at OKW. Perhaps your cousin can book you into a different DVC resort...even AKL or Kidani. As far as free tickets go, my dd is a CM who had enough tickets to allow her boyfriend to go into the parks every day for over a week. But, she had to be with him. So that means that, in most cases, the CM friend would have to be there, with you, in order for you to use the free tickets.
Also, no need to buy anything for anyone else. We stopped doing that after the third trip!!

I must say that your cousin is incredibly nice to just 'give' you points. They cost money, and there are dues to be paid on them every year. I seldom 'give' my points away! If I'm thanking someone in some way, then sure. But, since I can rent the points out through a broker and make back the money to pay my dues, I'm not handing out free points!
You're very, very fortunate!

Great point (pun intended) Granted it was a generous rate, but I did pay my cousin for the 170 points he wasn't going able to use & it covered his family's yearly dues. Free points are a sweet gift!!