AK or BLT

[Goingtodisney226]

Hello--New here and new at purchasing DVC Was wondering if you could help me decide on AK or BLT? We are considering either one of those options, AK obviously getting us more points and a bit cheaper. However, I was wondering from all you experienced DVC owners, how hard is it to book at 7 months a studio Savannah view room or a Theme Park BLT room? Thanks for any help!

 

[CarolynFH]

AKV is one of the largest DVC resorts and therefore one of the easiest to book at 7 months. And Savanna view, being more expensive in terms of points per night, is slower to book up as well (DVC owners are notoriously frugal with their points). OTOH, Theme Park view BLT books up relatively slowly as well, due to being more expensive than other BLT villas, but I think that BLT TP view would be harder to book than AKV Savanna view.

 

[Sandisw]

Depending on your travel times, BLT will be very difficult at 7 months. Between the two I think having home resort advantage at BLT is much better.

 

[intamin]

As much as I love AKV, the BLT rooms are definitely harder to get. 7 month availability at AKV is great for savanna and standard view rooms, the only rooms that are hard to get are any of the value rooms or concierge/Kilimanjaro Club rooms and maybe Grand Villas. BLT standard views do not make it to the 7 month booking window, theme park view is questionable depending on when you're planning to go, usually what is left at 7 months for BLT is the lake view. Long story short, the BLT home resort advantage is more significant than the home resort advantage for AKL.

Edit: Also keep in mind that AKV has more expensive dues than BLT because it has to maintain a freakin' savannah and although it's not that significant BLT's contract lasts 3 years longer than AKV. I know I've given pretty much all pros for BLT but I personally bought AKV over BLT simply because I love the theming there and plan to get either direct Poly2/resale PVB eventually depending on association so it didn't make as much sense for us to pick up BLT and have another MK resort.

 

[kboo]

Agree with all of the above - when we were looking, BLT's dues were significantly less than AKVs, it would have been a few hundred $ a year less in dues. Also, we just last week booked for about 5 months out a savanna room at Kidani when BLT was mostly booked already. TPV does tend to go pretty quickly at BLT, maybe not as fast as standard but it does help to have BLT points, especially if you are traveling at busy/popular times.

One thing to consider, however, is the size rooms you will generally be booking. BLT studios are notoriously small, and if you are considering BLT as a home resort, buy enough points to get into a 1br, at least once in a while, if there are more than 2 of you traveling. DH and I went on an adults only weekend and the BLT studio was perfectly fine, but it would have been tighter with the two kids, especially with a crib or stroller. We have stayed in the larger studios (VGF, RIV, BWV, BCV) and they were all fine for our family of 4.

 

[Goingtodisney226]

Thank you all for your input! Just had seller accept our offer on BLT!! Hoping to pass ROFR

 

[gisele2]

Thank you all for your input! Just had seller accept our offer on BLT!! Hoping to pass ROFR

Welcome neighbor! Bought BLT without having stayed there. Stayed last summer and loved it. It is suppose to have a refurbishment in 2024.

 

[farmermax13]

Thank you all for your input! Just had seller accept our offer on BLT!! Hoping to pass ROFR

What did you pay? Just curious…. How many points too?

 

[Goingtodisney226]

What did you pay? Just curious…. How many points too?

100 pts @ $125/pp

 

[kanerf]

I own em both, so no problem for me. The BLT is a Feb use year and the AKL is Jun.

 

[Goingtodisney226]

I own em both, so no problem for me. The BLT is a Feb use year and the AKL is Jun.

Is it a pain to have different Use Years? Will be looking at picking up another contract soon, but wasn't sure if I need to look for same Use Year?

 

[Her Dotness]

One thing to consider, however, is the size rooms you will generally be booking. BLT studios are notoriously small, and if you are considering BLT as a home resort, buy enough points to get into a 1br, at least once in a while, if there are more than 2 of you traveling. DH and I went on an adults only weekend and the BLT studio was perfectly fine, but it would have been tighter with the two kids, especially with a crib or stroller. We have stayed in the larger studios (VGF, RIV, BWV, BCV) and they were all fine for our family of 4.

Something else to consider that may not affect your family is needing space to park a scooter or powerchair.

Even though we've booked accessible studios in VGF, we found they felt cramped and occasionally challenging to find a parking spot near an outlet. I sometimes thought it would be really close quarters with kids, stuff stashed everywhere and a large power wheelchair.

Feeling cramped in studios was a factor in our adding on to be able to book a 1br annually. Not by any means the primary one, but it became a more substantial one after our studio experiences.

 

[kanerf]

Is it a pain to have different Use Years? Will be looking at picking up another contract soon, but wasn't sure if I need to look for same Use Year?

Not really. It is easier if they are in the same use year, but in this case I could not find a BLT contract with a June use year and the right number of points and cost.

 

[TCRAIG]

AKV is one of the largest DVC resorts and therefore one of the easiest to book at 7 months. And Savanna view, being more expensive in terms of points per night, is slower to book up as well (DVC owners are notoriously frugal with their points). OTOH, Theme Park view BLT books up relatively slowly as well, due to being more expensive than other BLT villas, but I think that BLT TP view would be harder to book than AKV Savanna view.

Agree -

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Agree with all of the above - when we were looking, BLT's dues were significantly less than AKVs, it would have been a few hundred $ a year less in dues. Also, we just last week booked for about 5 months out a savanna room at Kidani when BLT was mostly booked already. TPV does tend to go pretty quickly at BLT, maybe not as fast as standard but it does help to have BLT points, especially if you are traveling at busy/popular times.

One thing to consider, however, is the size rooms you will generally be booking. BLT studios are notoriously small, and if you are considering BLT as a home resort, buy enough points to get into a 1br, at least once in a while, if there are more than 2 of you traveling. DH and I went on an adults only weekend and the BLT studio was perfectly fine, but it would have been tighter with the two kids, especially with a crib or stroller. We have stayed in the larger studios (VGF, RIV, BWV, BCV) and they were all fine for our family of 4.

I think BLT also has the best likelihood of keeping it’s low dues. It’s a large tower building. AKV has unique upkeep items like animal care costs. I think BLT wins out over AKV if the price delta is low.

 

[tom1944]

100 pts @ $125/pp

August use year?

 

[Goingtodisney226]

August use year?

No, February.

 

[tom1944]

I asked because a contract I was following was removed yesterday so I thought you may have purchased it

 

[kboo]

BLT has the most points in Feb UY, which is what we also have.

We picked a different UY for our 2nd resort (VGF) to have coverage for trips all year with points that were still within their banking deadlines. We always book the points separately at 11 months, so it's not too hard to keep track.

 

[intamin]

Is it a pain to have different Use Years? Will be looking at picking up another contract soon, but wasn't sure if I need to look for same Use Year?

In general if you can help it, you should match use years. Especially if it's the same resort, it can become a pain combining all of your points at 7 months if they're in different memberships. If you have them in separate use years it's easiest if the contracts are large enough to function independently of one another.