During
DVC's low to moderate demand season that runs from the Monday after marathon weekend to late Sep, BWV pool/garden view (all room sizes) is typically open at 7 months out, as are standard and boardwalk view 1BRs . Standard and boardwalk view studios (and resulting 2BRs) usually have issues although you can get lucky at times, more so with boardwalk view than standard, particularly if seeking only a few nights or seeking a room during DVC's lowest demand times of the year: Feb 1 to the Thurs before Presidents' Day (which is the lowest demand time of the year), late Feb after the Princess half marathon weekend through the first week of March, last week of April, and July 7 to 31 (second lowest demand time of the year).
During DVC's high to extremely high demand season from late Sep to marathon weekend in Jan, it is usually near impossible to get standard or boardwalk view studios/2BRs. The standard view studios/2BRs are very often gone within seconds after the 11 month window opens and that is also true for boardwalk view about 40% of the time. Pool/garden view studios/2BRs also are usually gone at 7 months out but you can get lucky if seeking only a few days or seeking a room during the somewhat lower demand times during that Sep to early Jan period: the Tues after the end of Food & Wine to the Thurs that is a week before Thanksgiving, the Saturday after Thanksgivng to Nov 30 (unless Dec 1 is a Sun, Mon or Tues, in which case late Nov has extremely high demand), Dec 16-22, and Jan 2 to the Wednesday before marathon weekend. Pool/garden 1BRs are a little better and it is possible to find one during other times for a few days.
As far as comparisons go, BCV rooms are usually gone during the high to extremely high demand period except you can sometimes find a 1BR or possibly 2BR, particularly during those somewhat lower demand times, and the studios rarely have any 11 month issue during that time period. During the low to moderate season, BCV rooms are typically full about 50% to 60% of the time at 7 months out except 1BRs tend to be open most of the time, and best chance for a studio is during those lowest demand times of the year. BLT lake view has a very similar pattern as BWV pool/garden view throughout the year except your chances of getting a room, including a studio, at 7 months out during the high demand season are somewhat better with BLT lake view than BWV pool/garden view. VGF studios follow a similar pattern to boardwalk view studios throughout the year, although they have less of an 11 month issue than BWV boardwalk view studios during the high demand season. The Poly studios are typically open during the low to moderate demand season, have no 11 month issue during the year, but they often disappear at 7 months out very quickly ater 8 a.m. eastern during the high demand season. Bolder Creek rooms are typically open during the low to moderate demand season at 7 months out, but typically have issues during the high demand season similiar to the same pattern as BWV pool/garden view. (CCV does not have enough sales or experience yet to make any conclusions.)
BWV has, over the years, typically sold at a resale price that is $10 to $15 less than BCV. The actual reason for that is most likely the fact that BWV was sold when new at point prices that were $10 to $15 less than the prices BCV was sold when new, with the result that BWV owners have always needed $10 to $15 less than BCV owners to break even or make the same amount of profit in a resale.
As to the "lean a lttle older," BWV likely now has a higher percentage of owners that no longer have children at home and one of the reasons is that BWV is older than BCV. Other factors that contribute to leaning a little older include the resale market and what Disney did beginning in 2009. The highest demand in the resale market is usually for contracts with low a number of points (25 to 100). The number of low point contract owners has multipled over the years despite that BWV was offically sold out in the early 2000's. That is because many original owners had add-ons of 25 to 100 points that could be sold separate from the main contract in the resale market and because, in 2009, Disney dropped the 160 point minimum new sale requirement and began selling 100 point, and at times 50 point, contracts using points it recaptured through right of first refusal and foreclosures. The number of total BWV owners has actually increased by about 500 in the last 9 years, even though the resort was offically sold out, and that increase mainly results from the purchase of lower point contracts. My guess is that a large number of those lower point contracts were bought by owners without children and with a high desire to reserve BWV during the high demand season. Note that is not just an issue for BWV but also other older resorts including BCV. The fall season has grown almost annually in demand particularly for studios, because of several factors: the overall aging population of DVC owners who purchased in the 1990s to mid-2000's and now lack children at home (and thus only need a studio now and don't have to follow school holiday schedules for taking vacations), the number of lower point contracts that have been sold, the fact that point requirements are low during the high demand season except for a few days around Thanksgiving and the last half of Dec, the existence of the very popular Food & Wine, the seemingly never ending holiday events starting with those for Halloween (which now start in Sep) and running through early Jan, and the fact that the weather is generally ideal, at least during Oct and Nov.
