Almost a member but question about AKV VS BLT

[vinmar4]

Hello all,
We are going to buy 240 points during this days possibly today!
I can't even sllep thinking we we should buy. AKV is cheaper now and uses less points for rooms, but has a pricier AM dues. We went there duign our first visit last month and the kids loved it. We also toured the BLT during the presentation. We were always thinking AKV but after reading all the other information about the difference in transportation options from BLT we are undecided. I loved the boat tides from the FQ to downtown and we also went by VWL and my son loved it there. Just thinking the we can use their pools and go to activities there in a boat ride from BLT sounds great! and also MK and Epcot are our favorite parks so getting into the monorail is a great plus. I don't mind the buses but the monorail and the boats are my personal favorite. I know that we can always buy at both like 140 and 100. I would think that we are going to stay longer at AKV and then some days at BLT. So I wanted your opinion as to the way to go. For I have ready it may be easier to get either a studio ot a 2 bedroom at 7 months at the AKV than at BLT. We are either going to get all the points at one or the other or splitt them. Is 4 of us but I think that most of the time we are going to have xtra people with us. We are financing with Disney and we were alrady approved. I was just wondering it the MF at BLT may not get up there as high as AKV in teh future. We are travelign most of the time in April, summer and may in the near future some X-mas time. We are getting a Deember UY.
thanks

 

[Tara]

I'd recommend splitting up your contract into smaller chunks because it makes it easier if you choose to sell some points. However, I wouldn't recommend splitting it between resorts - it will only limit your home booking power. Which resort to buy is up to you, though - it's a highly personal choice.

About fees, if you look at all resort fees over time, they tend to rise somewhat uniformly, meaning that if one starts out a X and one starts out at Y, both increase proportionally so that if X begins lower, it remains lower. Given this history, it's unlikely BLT would rise dramatically enough in comparison to other resort fee increases to overtake other resorts. Anything can happen, of course, but the odds are better that BLT fees will remain lower.

 

[ToddyLu]

I certainly agree that getting to Epcot and MK may be easier since you will have access to the monorail if you purchase BLT. DH and I loved the fact that AKV is "away" from the Parks and heavily themed. The architect who designed it also did VWL. DH loves photography and AKV gives him the perfect opportunity for that. BLT is just too sterile for me. But that is the wonderful thing about DVC...there is something for everyone.

DH and I still visit WCC at WL and enjoy the boat to MK. AKV really excells in extra activities for the kids. I guess to us it is decor over location. We also have a DEC UY.

The bus system at AKV is very good IMO. It is nothing like the wait at Pop or ASMo. It may take a few more minutes but that is OK with us, because the ride to the park is part of the fun and anticipation. I am sure my opinion would be different if I lived somewhere that required me to commute on a bus every day.

Buy at the resort that make you most happy.

 

[ToddyLu]

We didn't really let the MF sway us. They are what they are and only make about $210 difference every year, if say BLT was $3.00 vs. AKV at $4.00--we own 210 points. I know these numbers are incorrect but are just an example. We get that fabulous lobby, the animals and wonderful CMs from Africa.

 

[vinmar4]

Toddylu,
Do you find it that the December UY works good for you?
we need to travel dugring spring and summer becuuse of the kids' schools. In the future may we do a Christmas . How is it at AKV during Christmas time. What do do you like about the kid's activities as I have a 7 y/o and 13 y/o.
thanks

 

[ToddyLu]

Well DH and I unfortunately do not have children. But alas, I do have the gift of gab...and had many conversations with the CMs at AKV. Not to the point they were running from me but I did learn a lot. My MIL and I toured the Community Hall and saw games, crafts, movies, etc. There is a whole list of things you can do each day. They have story telling out by the fire pit in the evenings and you can get night vision googles to see the animals. It just seemed very organized and thought out.

DEC UY works out for us becasue that is when DH picks his vacation dates at the fire dept. Then in January I can book at 11 months out to do a fall or Dec trip. Most folks would not recommend this UY but it helps me keep everything straight. This year we hope to do a trip in March which really makes more sence for us with a DEC UY---however if I book a trip in March, I will only know about it in January for sure. As long as you do not have a habit of cancelling vacations, UY should not matter much. If you are concerned about cancellin gthen you can get the trip insurance.

We are going for our first Dec trip to AKV this year. We were there 10/28-11/06 last year.

 

[vinmar4]

Thank you so much,
The December one should be fun!
We are going next year for the 4th of July and hopefully our marry daughter with her husband will meet us there. All the activities at the AKV should be fun for the kids and give the DH and I some free time. We may try to stay at BLT for 3 nights if possible just to see if we would like it.

 

[Shleedogg]

DH and I were in the same position when we bought last July. We both liked the themeing of AKV better, we felt more comfortable there, but we loved the transportation at BLT. We did also like the rooms at BLT, they felt like a posh city hotel to us. We ended up buying at BLT, the monorail was a huge plus to us, plus with less room inventory, getting a room there at 7 months would be harder than AKV.

On our 2 trips as members, we've stayed at AKV. Once at Jambo and once at Kidani. I have to say, I'm so glad we didn't buy there. We've had no issues getting rooms even at 4-5 months. While it's a beautiful resort, and we were both in love with it on our first trip, by the 2nd, the theme started to feel a little over the top to us. It might have been the constant drumming music, lol. I'm sure we'll be back when DD gets a little bigger and once DH and I get a chance to miss it

I know the whole "buy where you want to stay" mantra. But, if you think you want to stay at both, and don't want to limit your 11 month booking window by splitting points, I'd say BLT is the better choice. It's harder to get a room there at 7 months than it is at AKV.

Good luck with your decision, any DVC is great though!

 

[GuySmiley]

I wouldn't split the points between resort because it limits the power you have to do a big trip sometime. Also, I think the longer you are an owner the less important it becomes to get to the park "right now!" I really love the relaxing away-from-it-all feeling at AKV. But everyone is different so its a very personal choice. Whatever you decide, you'll love it

 

[RobPickles]

We have points in both AKL and BLT now.

We have been staying at AKL for the past two years in Concierge and find it the best place on Earth! We decided to buy at BLT because of any children we were working on having, and now with our DD - will be 9 months old when we get there this year - we thought that being close to the hotel and easy monorail access would be a great benefit.

This will be our first time staying at BLT - so i will let you know how it works out. However, we LOVE the AKL and would highly recommend it for the beauty, activities, the restaurants and especially the animals! Very well worth it indeed!

 

[dizfan]

You'll own for many years and if you can't change resorts at the 7 month mark, you may be staying at your home resort many times.

Everyone is different and has different preferences. I would suggest making a list of your own pros and cons for each resort.

We bought last year and we preferred the AKV theme to BLT, but preferred the BLT location.

One of the deciding factors in our decision was the size of the resort. We figure if a resort has more rooms, it may be easier to book at 7 months. We will likely book Studios or 1BR when traveling. AKV has almost double the number of lockoff rooms, so we are guessing it will be easier to book AKV at 7 months than we would have booking BLT at 7 months.

We stayed at both Kidani and BLT last December. Each has it's pros and cons. To us, both are great resorts. Just a matter of personal preference. Good luck with your decision!

AKV Jambo+Kidani
Rooms: 458 (708 max)
Dedicated Studio: 46
Dedicated One Bedroom: 0
Dedicated Two Bedroom: 140
Lockoff Two Bedroom: 250
(Each can be booked separately as 1BR and Studio)
Grand Villas: 22

BLT
Rooms: 295 (max 428)
Dedicated Studio: 0
Dedicated One Bedroom: 0
Dedicated Two Bedroom: 148
Lockoff Two Bedroom: 133
(Each can be booked separately as 1BR + Studio)
Grand Villas: 14

 

[drusba]

Dues are likely to go up annually at all resorts by some small percent. To understand why it is unlikely that BLT dues will rise to a level close to AKV you need to understand why they are lower now: BLT has significantly higher per night point costs. That means that they are selling far more points per unit than they are at AKV. That in turn means the dues per point should be lower even if the dues per unit were the same.

 

[spiceycat]

think you are going in at the wrong way.

AKV is more expensive - because it has LIVE animals - they must feed and looked after 24 hours 7 days a week. that is expensive.

BLT is my new favorite (old one was OKW) - have gotten AKV in the last few times at about 4 months before - but it is not sold out.

AKV, OKW and SSR are definitely the easiest to get - now.

BLT will never be easy to get because LOCATION. it has the best location of any of the DVC resorts. Now love BCV and BWV too - own at BWV - but BLT is the only one with easy access to both MK and Epcot. Now bwc and bcv have far superior access to Epcot - but bus transportation to the MK.

so would go with BLT.

plus it has the same easy access to other resorts that DD (ssr) has. if you want dinner at BC - just walk across the street and take the bus to BC.

 

[Orsino]

you need to understand why they are lower now: BLT has significantly higher per night point costs. That means that they are selling far more points per unit than they are at AKV. That in turn means the dues per point should be lower even if the dues per unit were the same.

[del]I don't think this is the reason for lower MF at BLT.

AKV has higher maintenance because it has a larger footprint and more things to maintain (live animals!).

BLT is a tower on a concrete slab. Less land, and less stuff to maintain. Thus, lower maintenance fees.

I'm pretty sure it is not possible for a timeshare to base the MF on the selling price. What can happen (and probably did) is that the lower MF of BLT allowed the market to support a higher selling price for BLT. But that is a very different angle regarding cause and effect (i.e., Selling price is higher because MF is low; not MF is low because selling price is high).[/del] (Oops. Misread the quoted post. Nevermind).

If I were shopping between AKV and BLT (oh wait! I was!), I would have gone with BLT. But as it is, we've decided to go cheap and buy SSR resale.

 

[drusba]

^Those are some factors but ultimately the biggest thing that divides BLT from others in having lower dues per point is selling far more points per unit than others. The larger footprint is not a huge difference (otherwise OKW and SSR dues would be off the chart). The animals add a cost. Of course, BLT is paying for boat, bus, and monorail while AKV only bus. Nevertheless, the reality is that of all the dues you pay, 70% ultimately goes to labor costs (the people operating those boats, busses, and monorails, behind the front desk and managing and working the hotel, pool personnel, security, maintenance personnel, housekeeping personnel, etc.)

 

[mousefan1972]

Our guide told us when we purchased DVC this past April that the reason MF's were higher at AKV vs. BLT was due to the high cost of caring for the animals 24/7. Since there will always be animals at AKV, it would be reasonable to assume that MF's there will continue to be on the higher side. He also mentioned that since BLT is a high rise, there is isn't as much maintenance involved.

 

[vinmar4]

Whao!
Great responses!
I think that I'm more confused now then ever!
that is a good point about getting into AKV easier at the 7 month then BLT.
We have a lot of thinking to do!