Let's see if I can reconstruct my argument, being a lot more succinct this time.
It occurs to me that there is a lot of "your argument is bad because it is your OPINION" type rhetoric going on, and a few people who are becoming offended because it seems as though their favorite resort (whatever it may be) is being called inferior to another. That is not my intent in writing this argument at all and I am going to be trying to stay away from using words like "better" in regard to any of the resorts.
Anyway, here are the facts as I see them.
BWV is in a central location on WDW property (pull out a site map if you think this is my "opinion" and see what is right in the middle of the map.) From the BWV you can walk to 2 out of the 4 major parks. The BWV is also right on top of Disney's second most popular nighttime spot.
OKW is not in the center of WDW property. From OKW you can walk to 0 of the 4 major parks. Although there is no nice transportation to any of the major parks, there is the boat to Downtown Disney which falls somewhere between the nighttime activities at the BW and the daytime fun of a major park.
Rooms are smaller at BWV, yet more expensive, but people are willing to tolerate that because of the benefits of staying at BWV. OKW doesn't have most of those benefits, but the rooms are larger and the points per night cost is lower. For this reason the two choices seem fairly balanced... one costs more but offers more to make up for it.
Now Disney has added in the VWL. It is close to one major park and has interesting (meaning non-bus, which seems to be the lowest common denominator at WDW in regard to transportation) to that park, ie the boat. However, because of the way Disney operates that transportation, it makes it more difficult to get to and from the MK than it is to get to and from MGM or Epcot when you are staying at the BWV. Although the boat is nice, we have always had to wait forever for one. Additionally the boat that runs to the contemporary is seasonal and only runs during the high season. That doesn't buy me much if I want to eat at a monorail resort during January. Additionally, the boat between WL and MK doesn't run all the time (E-ride nights are an example of when I'd be MOST likely to want to use the boat and it doesn't run). Also, there is are no extraordinary nighttime activities at VWL, nor are the rooms larger than at BWV.
VWL costs even MORE than BWV, but does it really offer more (or even as much?) This argument is meant to be purely quantitative and not really qualitative (ie I am not making a judgement about which is "better" and whether being near Epcot is better than being near MK or vice versa. For the purpose of my argument I am treating the 4 major parks as somewhat equal since I'm sure that we all have our favorites for various reasons.)
The reason this concerns Rich, myself and others is that those of us who bought into the older
dvc resorts, who bought in because we love the flexibility of DVC, are seeing Disney do things that will severely limit our flexibility. If it costs so much more to stay at a resort other than our home resort that doesn't exactly encourage us to try out the other resorts (although I personally can't wait to give VWL a try, I suspect that it will be a one time shot unless I can't get anything else).
Additionally, we are afraid it would make our own resorts more difficult to get into after the 7 month window opens up. I know it's best to plan at the 11 month window (and I do that most of the time myself). But there are the occasional trips that are semi-last minute and if someone who owns BCV points can stay right next door at the BWV for significantly less points, why would they stay at their home resort?
Disney seems to really be on its way toward skewing things and making it more difficult for all members to enjoy the flexibility that DVC offers. I hope that this is not a trend in raising points per night, but rather that "preferred" view points become the norm across the board.
I firmly believe that points schedules should not be related to constructions costs and inflation and all that kind of nonsense... that's why we bought into DVC in the first place... to avoid all that. If it costs that much more to build a resort then it should be reflected in the cost to buy into that resort, period. That is most definately my opinion, but I believe it is an informed one.
Lisa
"You employ stone, wood, and concrete, and with these materials you build house and palaces. That is construction. Ingenuity is at work. But suddenly, you touch my heart, you do me good. I am happy and I say 'This is beautiful.' That is architecture. Art enters in."
-Le Corbusier
