AKV Owners - Pros/Cons?

[DVCERSINCEDAY1]

If there's already a thread on this, please direct me to it. I stopped by AKL late 2007, the new area wasn't ready yet. How do you guys like owning at AKV...wondering if I should buy a contract on the resale market. Thanks.

 

[disney dumbo]

Here's a reason to buy in 1 word:
Concierge!

I believe a 11 month home resort window will be important if you ever plan to reserve it for several days.

I wasn't smart enough to make my plans for it... so now I'm having to really work around my dates to travel to get it!

 

[spiceycat]

pro - great resort, 1-bedroom (except value) sleeps 5, the Jambo has value and conceirge, love the animals, restuarants

cons - it is pretty far away from the MK. you can't walk to any park.

 

[RCDisneyFan]

We love AKV...everything about it - the decor, the animals, the quietness of the resort. The distance can from other parks, DTD, can feel like a bit much at the end of a long day - but I LOVE sitting out on the balcony watching animals and relaxing. Totally worth a 20 minute bus ride where I have to stand the whole time!

 

[JimC]

Pro: savanna/animals, theme (African thatched-roof, hewn-timber lodge in a savanna setting inspired by the historic expeditions of 19th century), concierge (sunrise and sunset safaris), possibly the best executed immersive theme on property and Jiko

Con: The only resort that is not really walkable. That may change when Kidani opens.

 

[dudelydude]

Let me tell you, AKV is absolutely beautiful. I spent a great deal of time there and really was in awe. BUT, I concluded that I just couldn't buy there based solely on personal opinion after thinking it through. I think that this resort (more so than any other) really forces you dig deep inside yourself to see if you like it as it really is very different.

1) Are you the type of person that doesn't really indulge much, but when you see something you really must have, you buy it? Maybe you should wait to go back to see if your first impression knocks your socks off.

2) I considered (as my own opinion) would the novelty of live animals wear off for me. I would constantly be trying to take new people on vacation with me to relive the first impression of live animals outside my balcony. If not, live animals are not enough. But don't get me wrong...there is more to this resort than just the savannahs, which brings me to my next point...

3) Is the theming, the newness of the resort and the savannahs enough to take you so far from the action. At first, I thought that I vacationed to get peace and quiet, but then thought about how disconnected I would be from every other place on the property.

It's a lot to think about. Sorry I didn't list pros and cons. I felt that was covered above and really wanted to give you a thought process.

 

[CocosMeme]

DH and I bought sight unseen of a trip in '07. We were staying at Wilderness Lodge with our sons, daughters in law and 6 grandkids and felt cramped in 3 rooms. Took the DVC tour at SSR and bit the bullet on AKV. We took our first trip to AKV in May of '08 and Loved it. I can't imagine the novelty of sitting on the balony and watching the animals while drinking my morning coffee ever wearing off. Of course we did go without kids so it was VERY relaxing. Jiko is fabulous. We are taking all the kids and grandkids back next year, and they can't wait after seeing our pictures. We are going to HHI this May without kids and had no trouble getting a ressie wiht our AKV points. Good luck with your decision!

 

[ADP]

If there's already a thread on this, please direct me to it. I stopped by AKL late 2007, the new area wasn't ready yet. How do you guys like owning at AKV...wondering if I should buy a contract on the resale market. Thanks.

Pros -
Very unique resort experience
No 1 family resort in the world according to the Travel Channel
Very short bus ride to the Animal Kingdom theme park
Quiet and peaceful resort
Great resort theming
Dedicated bus transportation
Concierge stays with smaller point amounts

Cons -
Long bus ride from the MK, EPCOT and DHS
No walking or running trails
Long hallways

 

[sajetto]

We enjoy having points at AKV, but OKW has always been our favorite. Keep that in mind as you read my pros/cons because I've been spoiled by OKW for so long.


Pros:
Boma
Hotel set-up with relaxing lobby
unique theme
decor
activities/entertainment especially during the holidays

Cons:
size of the rooms (very little clearance between bed and door of master bedroom)
very dim lighting
long hallways
inability to explore (most areas are restricted obviously due to animals)
The Mara (don't care for the food at all)
long walk to the Mara
long walk to parking
long way from the parks

 

[dudelydude]

I can't imagine the novelty of sitting on the balony and watching the animals while drinking my morning coffee ever wearing off.

Again, just a personal preference. Maybe I didn't quite express myself as I wanted to. For me, I couldn't buy at AKV just for live animals on the Savannahs. I think its great, but I wouldn't want to chance the novelty wearing off at a resort that is so far from everything else. Using BCV as an example, I could go over to Yacht club for a slight change of pace, walk or quickly boat to the Boardwalk, take a short walk to the International Gateway at Epcot or walk through Epcot with my AP and get a monorail to the MK area of the property. It is much more important for me to have more options of things to do and to get to them more quickly via short walk, short boatride and maybe the occasional bus ride.

 

[Tiger926]

Pros -
Very unique resort experience
No 1 family resort in the world according to the Travel Channel
Very short bus ride to the Animal Kingdom theme park
Quiet and peaceful resort
Great resort theming
Dedicated bus transportation
Concierge stays with smaller point amounts

Cons -
Long bus ride from the MK, EPCOT and DHS
No walking or running trails
Long hallways

ITA! I would also add for Pros:

Great playground and pool area
Good CS in Mara
Good gift shop with authentic items
Awesome amount of children's activities - love the nightly lobby parade!

We love AKL! Our only issue as already stated, is that it is farther away from a transportation perspective - we always have a car, but still our kids hate having to go in car seats and drive to the other parks, whereas from many other resorts we can use monorail, walk or ferry. But, from a feeling like you are really in Africa feeling, the remoteness of AKL is awesome!!

It is truly a spectacular resort - we've stayed almost everywhere now, and it is tied with Contemporary and Beach Club for our favorite resorts (different family members have their own favorites).

Enjoy! Tiger

 

[twinklebug]

I had already determined that I was buying DVC, the question was where and through resale or not.

I finally chose to go direct through Disney for AKV after we rented a value studio from an owner there one trip and really enjoyed it. Mind, my heart was, and always will be with VWL, but I wanted the contract length and there is a distinct similarity between the two resorts (same architect (late) who also designed GC I believe). The only thing really missing is the lake feature which is near impossible to include in the savanna theme. There is, however, a stream

The rooms are newer in design & very nicely themed, however space, with the exception of OKW is always an issue in all of the studios.

The point chart works well for me. AKV has the most diverse sets of rooms and point categories to choose from. Want pampered? Go Concierge . Want to stretch the points out - go value (rival the low point cost at BWV & OKW) Just be prepared to call at 11 months out if you want either for your stay.

Finally, although farther removed from 3 of the 4 parks, the bus service,which I use all the time, is excellent - they're dedicated to the resort and run frequently. In my experience with them, they haven't been crowded (this may change with Kidani's opening) ... don't get me started on the BWV buses returning from MK. Oh, and AK is literally right around the corner. As soon as the bus is up to speed, you're there It makes up for those further rides, which really aren't bad at all if you've ever stayed offsite and driven in.

As I said, I am not in love with AKV, but the one visit/stay we had there was for only 4 days and we had the flu so didn't experience the campfire, pools etc. This upcoming trip I plan on us doing "it all" and hopefully, I will be in love with it as I am with VWL.

 

[JenSop]

We love AKV, our home resort.

We bought in having visited the lodge before - for dinner at Boma. And knew how beautiful it was. But we had not seen a room model. It didn't matter - we love animals and knew it was the resort for us.

Then when we had our first visit home, we were beyond elated over our choice of home resort. WE LOVE IT!!! The room was beautiful. The theming is amazing. And the savanna view was beyond amazing. Again, I must say that I am an animal lover, so being able to look stand on our balcony and see zebras, giraffes, and antelope was thrilling to me.

So here's my personal breakdown of the pros and cons:

Pros:
-THE ANIMALS!
-beauty and theming of the resort itself
-the TS restaurants
-great pool area
-rooms are just lovely

Cons:
-can't walk to a park

 

[DVC Grammy]

Just returned from my first stay at AKV (savanna view) and loved it! It is a more low-key type of DVC, maybe even more resort-oriented. I had a friend with me who's an absolute animal lover, and most days, she'd want to get back to the balcony in time to see the late afternoon/twilight activity of the animals.

I also own at BWV, so this trip was one week in the middle of the action, and one week more laid-back, so there was a nice balance. I'm not sure if I'd feel the same if AKV was my only DVC and proximity to the parks was more important, but at my age, and with frequent trips to WDW, all trips now are very leisurely.

BTW, I'm doing the dance 'cause I got CL for a week next January for my DD and me!

 

[Karmadog]

I saw the title of this thread and said "what cons?"
a few folks said that not being able to walk to a park.... personally, I do enough walking IN the parks so I dont mind the bus ride

 

[ILuvTigger]

I saw the title of this thread and said "what cons?"
a few folks said that not being able to walk to a park.... personally, I do enough walking IN the parks so I dont mind the bus ride

I totally agree! When I think of AKV, all that comes to my mind is how great it is. I honestly do not have anything I dislike about it or anything I would change. It is perfect for me.

 

[dudelydude]

I saw the title of this thread and said "what cons?"
a few folks said that not being able to walk to a park.... personally, I do enough walking IN the parks so I dont mind the bus ride

Walking from BCV to Epcot would probably be one of only two villa-to-park walks that I would make. I am fairly certain that any comment about proximity to the parks was only to imply that AKV is more "off the beaten path" than most other resorts.

I, however, am totally going to retract what I said about AKV's so-called further proximity from civilization as I have never actually taken the bus from AKV to anywhere. I understand now that AKV has dedicated bus service. Not only that, but I recently waited (not 20) but 35 minutes for a bus from BWV to MK, so those people waiting for a bus from AKV to MK at the same time, likely arrived at MK sooner than I did.

 

[joech]

We spent a total of 18 days in AKL during 2007 and ended up flew down to DL to purchase points for AKV. We are so in love of AKV and can't find any reason to try any resort yet. It is just priceless to see our DD (5) and DS (2) go to the balcony every morning to look at animals.

 

[kristenrice]

I fell in love with the Animal Kingdom Lodge when they announced it! I never figured I'd stay in it because I was raised as an "offsite" person. Then, we splurged on our honeymoon and stayed at the WL. We ventured over to the newly-opened AKL and ate at Boma and Jiko. We walked out on to the Arusha rock and I remember looking around, thinking "Wow! It would be so nice to be able to stay here someday...but it will never happen."

Now, 6 years of marriage and 2 children later, we are AKV owners. I could not be happier. I love animals and so do my children. DH loves them too, but in a different way...like in the crosshairs!.

I rented DVC points and took my girls for our first stay at AKV this past October. We had a savanna view studio and it was wonderful. The girls really enjoyed looking out at the savanna and checking for animal activity. We loved walking all over the resort and checking out all of the viewing areas. I was a little sad that we didn't spend more time partaking of the activities offered at the resort. On our last day, my oldest daughter did the chalk rubbings in the lobby and my youngest DD did the cookie decorating at Boma.

When we got home, I looked at our point allotment and current vacation plans. I was so excited to take DH to see the AKV and stay there that I decided that we would borrow our 2011 points for 2010 instead of banking 2009's. Now, we are going down for 5 nights in June. My plan is to try and do the resort activities first and the parks second. I figure that if the kids want to stay at the hotel and swim all day, so be it. The only park time I have planned is our dinner at LeCellier. Other than that, we're only going to the parks if/when the children want to go. This is going to be the "anti-commando" trip!

The AKV is such a beautiful resort with so much to do. The animals, the pools, the restaurants. The best thing? Two words....ZEBRA DOMES!

 

[AKV707]

Pros:Beautiful beautiful resort. Relaxing. Great pool at Jambo and i am sure at kidani. Kidani rooms sleep more than other DVCs. Jambo has value and concierge. The 1 br value is great especially for two. Jiko and Boma. Kidani and all of the new amenities there.

Good bus service and not nearly as long a trip to parks as people say. But you do feel like you are world away at the resort. And that is incredible.

Animals!

And like the second highest rated resort in Orlando!

No real cons. We have 285 pts there.