Did you discover a new favorite resort after buying in?

[Granny]

We bought VWL first, and it will always be very near and dear to our hearts.

We stayed at BWV on our third DVC vacation and really enjoyed that too. It was very different from VWL, which we liked as it added variety to our vacationing. So we bought another contract there which worked out since we needed to pretty much double our points anyway since we had decided to stay in 2BR villas instead of the studios or 1BRs we originally thought we'd stay in.

We enjoy sampling all the DVC resorts, and would be proud to stay in any of them. But VWL and BWV make the perfect complements to each other for ownership purposes.

 

[robinb]

We bought into OKW, but grew to like BWV even more so we bought there to use the 11 month window for New Year's Eve and Standard/Boardwalk views. We also just bought into AKV, but I'm not sure if it will become our "favorite" until we stay there.

FWIW, I have liked every DVC resort we stayed at.

 

[pbharris4]

Hi Rob,

We bought BCV sight unseen as well. Liked the concept and read my sister's Guidebook from front to back. I voted No, BCV is our favorite, but I also like OKW because I feel relaxed there and I love the size of the room. All the resorts have their own charm. The only one we haven't been to yet is Vero Beach. So we are looking forward to checking that out.

 

[tjkraz]

I voted "Other".

Prior to buying I would have bet my last dollar that BWV would be my favorite. Still we couldn't justify taking the plunge until SSR was offered--the longer contract and comparatively lower price and dues were too good to ignore.

And, as it turns out, SSR is our favorite by a nose.

So, we actually DID buy into our favorite, but going in I couldn't have predicted it would top the list.

 

[conciergekelly]

I voted "Other".

Prior to buying I would have bet my last dollar that BWV would be my favorite. Still we couldn't justify taking the plunge until SSR was offered--the longer contract and comparatively lower price and dues were too good to ignore.

And, as it turns out, SSR is our favorite by a nose.

So, we actually DID buy into our favorite, but going in I couldn't have predicted it would top the list.

This is exactally our story. Our first reservation was at BWV because we loved it there and thought that was where we would always stay. I still love BWV (and all of the others) but now that we have stayed at SSR, my heart belongs there.

 

[WolfpackFan]

Just curious. We bought into BWV sight-unseen.

That's funny because we bought VWL but my favorite resort is actually BWV. The sad thing is when we bought one of our options was BWV, but at the time we really liked how cool VWL looked. We've only stayed there once on points since then. I love BWV because of how close it is to Epcot and MGM. Plus I just like the BWV area. Sometimes I wish you could just contact DVC and just trade contracts somehow.

PS - Our second favorite resort is OKW. If I had to list them in order it would be BWV, OKW, SSR, VWL and BCV. I didn't include HHI and VB because they are a different type of resort and AKV because we haven't stayed there yet.

 

[Mahusky]

Just curious. We bought into BWV sight-unseen. Really just buying into the system and the concept.

However, we have since found Vero Beach to be our favorite resort. Did you have a similar experience, and if so, how have you handled it.

Rob,
LOL this is the same for our family as well (ok minus the BW sight unseen part). Actually, funny story, my 11 DD told me yesterday that our upcoming trip in 5 days, while she loves WDW she can't wait for her fav part VB!

I was shocked!

 

[disrailfan]

Rob,
LOL this is the same for our family as well (ok minus the BW sight unseen part). Actually, funny story, my 11 DD told me yesterday that our upcoming trip in 5 days, while she loves WDW she can't wait for her fav part VB!

I was shocked!

I forgot to mention that we did buy into OKW site unseen as well. we purchsed over the phone in July of 2000 and did not make our first trip until December of 2000.

 

[MrsNick]

There's a two part answer to this question (the short answer is that we love VB more than SSR which we bought sight unseen, but SSR remains our favorite WDW resort).

We bought SSR sight unseen since that's what DVC was selling (didn't yet know about buying unsold resorts or buying resale - ah, what a rube I was )

However, we now prefer VB and HH to being on-site, with VB edging out HH mainly because of logisitics:

1) proximity to major airports makes it convenient and inexpensive to travel to VB. It's a little more expensive to fly into HH, and a little bit more difficult to get a non-stop flight to HH.
2) At VB, location ON THE BEACH At HH, you do have the beach house, and the beach is really beautiful, but the resort itself isn't on the beach (the resort is beautiful on the marsh, it's just a different atmosphere). Additionally, I have heard reports that the beach, as well as the restaurants and everything else on the island at HH can be packed whereas at VB, the beach remains relatively uncrowded, and I think the same holds true with regards to the restaurants most of the time.
3) VB has a good surf (of course, this may not be a plus when you have small children with you).
4) because you can fly into MCO to get to VB, you can also utilize the Owner's Locker service (not the case w/HH).
5) TS restaurants on property at VB, so you don't have to go off property for a meal if you don't want to. At HH, it's the snack bar until 5 PM, and after that, you're on your own. Of course, the advantage at HH is that there seems to be much more choice of restaurants within a close drive (and we really love the Old Oyster Factory).
6) OVIR's at VB - gotta love having an Ocean view right in your room! (and this goes along with more availability of different room types; since most units at HH are 2 BR units, it can be challenging to snag a studio or 1 BR).
7) Since the VB DVC is in Florida, you can swim in the ocean (and pool) for much more of the year than you can at HH.
8) If you want to do a combined WDW trip with beach, it is much easier to get to VB from WDW.

OK, I just talked myself into another trip to VB next year instead of HH

To sum up, what DH and I like about all three resorts (VB, HH and SSR) is that they are pretty and relaxing resorts, without too much over-stimulation - in other words, we can recharge. In the future, I certainly have intentions of sampling the accomodations at the VWL and AKV, but, I anticipate that most of our stays will be at VB primarily, SSR secondarily and HH thrown in occasionally (if logistics didn't factor in, I'd have a tough time deciding between VB and HH).

 

[jacksmom]

We bought BCV before it opened and still love it best! We also really enjoy (in order of preference) VWL, HHI, SSR, and VB! We tried BWV but did not really like it that well! We have never tried OKW! We are looking forward to trying AKV! If we decide to add on it would probably be HHI or AKV!