AKL DVC Direct vs Resale

[Eldon32]

All great points! Thank you for the discussion! I think we will stick with resale.

 

[The Jackal]

There are no APs right now, and there is no DVC AP discount. $6,600 is a lot of money for something that may or may not exist anymore.

Sounds like you could stagger your trips to only need one AP in two years, which would also make it not worth much. I’m not sure why you are buying a blue card at all.

The demand for AKL (and Beach Club!) in lockdown has been staggering. Pre-covid there were tons of listings on multiple brokers, and there were deals to be had if you were watching. I would wait. DVC is not going anywhere, direct or resale. I bet you can pick up a cheaper, loaded contract 6 months down the line.

You can renew AP’s right now, just cannot buy a new one at the moment. A few have stated that CM’s have noted on their accounts that if they bought tickets, that amount would go towards passes when they start to sell them. As soon as they opened up renewals, we renewed our AP’s. We usually do three trips on one AP, we go in the fall, then spring and then in the fall a week earlier, let it expire then get another. If we only get 2 trips out of the pass, we will still have saved.

For the OP, it’s a tough call to buy direct , when you can save a lot resale. At some point Disney is going to figure out how important and how much money AP holders spend there. They helped it survive the 2008 recession.

 

[Doberge]

OP, if you don't care about booking value or club rooms *and* your preference is one bedroom savanna then you may be able to save some money by buying minimum direct at OKW or Saratoga and switching at 7 months to AKL. One bedroom AKL kidani is generally readily available. OKW as Saratoga would also got the bill as quiet resorts, if for some reason unable to get your one bedroom at 7 months. You can fill in rest of points with AKL resale. Obviously if you're uncomfortable with the risk then just buy AKL.

 

[Eldon32]

You make a good point; I wanted to leave some room for addonitus if we wanted to make a shorter trip elsewhere in the year, and I think buying where we want to stay reduces complexity. Thank you for your idea though, I think I'll noodle it around a bit more.

 

[TonyCnLV]

You make a good point; I wanted to leave some room for addonitus if we wanted to make a shorter trip elsewhere in the year, and I think buying where we want to stay reduces complexity. Thank you for your idea though, I think I'll noodle it around a bit more.

Plus the savings you mentioned for going resale, $6600 you said? That could be another small contract resale in the future if you find you need it. The AP discount is great if you plan on using it every single year otherwise id rather save that money and use it towards what you need on a yearly basis (AP some years, dining plan others, etc). You never know what the future might hold. The hardest part about resale is it takes a LOT of time and patience, and you mentioned you want a certain UY and contract size and that isn't always magically available through resale. I just finished my first resale contract and now im in that "waiting for points" final phase, and if everyones past experiences are an indication, from putting in an offer to receiving points will take me about 90 days. I mention that because i see people say they want to buy resale for a trip in a couple months and thats not gonna happen. Each step of the process is about 20+ days AFTER you pas ROFR. In any case, I'd save the money haha but do what feels right for you Buying direct youlll get your points in days vs months lol. Hope that helps.

 

[Eldon32]

I'm not in any hurry at the moment. Our next trip will likely be winter of 2021; but luckily because of availability of AKL rooms so late we have a long time to wait to make that trip. And if we don't, we can always rent/pay cash!

 

[Matty B13]

Gold AP is blocked out most days of weeks 51 & 52.

Good catch! Forgot about the black out dates on the Gold AP.

 

[sethschroeder]

Still can get a discount from what I have found out even if its not Gold AP. Also not sure if at the end of a New Years trip as an example you couldn't with a day left on the ticket move it to a credit apply towards a Gold AP. I would assume not and they would block that if you used the ticket anytime during the blackout periods.

 

[Sandisw]

I'm not in any hurry at the moment. Our next trip will likely be winter of 2021; but luckily because of availability of AKL rooms so late we have a long time to wait to make that trip. And if we don't, we can always rent/pay cash!

Winter of 2021 is already booking for DVC. Disney has not opened AKL and no date has been announced so cash there may not be an option,

 

[Eldon32]

Staying at Kidani would not be the end of the world

 

[Bing Showei]

Staying at Kidani would not be the end of the world

Depends on where the room is, because the walk back to the lobby can sometimes feel like that's where you're coming from.

 

[Lorana]

Depends on where the room is, because the walk back to the lobby can sometimes feel like that's where you're coming from.

I love AKL, and own there, but if you get a room at the end of the resort, I confess, it really does feel that way. Except that for me it's not leaving the room that kills me, it's the end of the day when I'm tired and want to get to my room that the walk can feel like I'm trying to reach the end of the world.