Animal Kingdom vs Bay Lake

[Tara]

Our guide told us today that it is so low compared to other resorts because there are significantly fewer options for entertainment at the resort itself.

I don't really get that. It has its own pool, AFAIK it will have a community hall. It has access to just as much dining as pretty much any other DVC. BLT has access to the fitness center and arcade at CR. What other entertainment options are there that are missing?

 

[La2kw]

AKV offers our boys so much more than BLT will.

Like what? Do tell.

 

[La2kw]

Our guide told us today that it is so low compared to other resorts because there are significantly fewer options for entertainment at the resort itself.

I don't really get that. It has its own pool, AFAIK it will have a community hall. It has access to just as much dining as pretty much any other DVC. BLT has access to the fitness center and arcade at CR. What other entertainment options are there that are missing?

I'm wondering the same thing.

BLT- Community Hall
AKV-Community Hall only at Kidani

BLT- two main pools with a slide each. Play fountains at the CR main pool. A quiet pool at the CR main pool. A beach. Sammy Duval's water sports marina. Access to boat rentals, water skiing, parasailing, bass fishing, and sailing. Fitness center. Arcade and two shops on fourth floor concourse. Volleyball and tennis courts.
AKV- two main pools with a slide each. Play fountains at Kidani. Arcade and one shop at Jambo, arcade and one shop at Kidani. Fitness center at Jambo, and another at Kidani. Basketball, shuffleboard and tennis court. No quiet pool at either building. No lake, no beach, no marina, no boat rentals, no watersports.

BLT- California Grill, Chef Mickey's, The Wave, Contempo Cafe, Outer Rim Cocktail Lounge, Sand Bar pool bar at CR main pool, Top of the World lounge, pool bar at BLT.
AKV- Jiko, Boma, Sanaa, Mara, Victoria Falls Lounge, bar at Sanaa. No CS at Kidani. Pool bar at Jambo and another at Kidani.

I suppose if Disney's version of African or Indian food are not to your liking, then you can always catch a bus to a theme park and transfer to another bus to a resort. At BLT, you have fast access by monorail to all the restaurants at the Poly and Grand Floridian, not to mention a quick boat ride to WL and FW. No bus involved and no transfer to another bus just to get to a different resort.


So, both resorts have community halls. Both have a variety of restaurants, but BLT has 4, while AKV has 3. (And you don't have to ride a bus or walk a half mile to get to CS at BLT like you do at Kidani.) Both resorts have arcades, both have pools, though BLT has 3 while AKV has only 2. BLT has a beach and marina and AKV doesn't. From BLT you have a 10 minute walk to the MK. At AKV, you have a 10 minute walk to.... the bus stop. I guess the main difference is the ability to see animals from your resort window instead of fireworks and the MK outside your window. I don't see significantly more entertainment options at AKV.

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

I'm wondering the same thing.

BLT- Community Hall
AKV-Community Hall only at Kidani

BLT- two main pools with a slide each. Play fountains at the CR main pool. A quiet pool at the CR main pool. A beach. Sammy Duval's water sports marina. Access to boat rentals, water skiing, parasailing, bass fishing, and sailing. Fitness center. Arcade and two shops on fourth floor concourse. Volleyball and tennis courts.
AKV- two main pools with a slide each. Play fountains at Kidani. Arcade and one shop at Jambo, arcade and one shop at Kidani. Fitness center at Jambo, and another at Kidani. Basketball, shuffleboard and tennis court. No quiet pool at either building. No lake, no beach, no marina, no boat rentals, no watersports.

BLT- California Grill, Chef Mickey's, The Wave, Contempo Cafe, Outer Rim Cocktail Lounge, Sand Bar pool bar at CR main pool, Top of the World lounge, pool bar at BLT.
AKV- Jiko, Boma, Sanaa, Mara, Victoria Falls Lounge, bar at Sanaa. No CS at Kidani. Pool bar at Jambo and another at Kidani.

I suppose if Disney's version of African or Indian food are not to your liking, then you can always catch a bus to a theme park and transfer to another bus to a resort. At BLT, you have fast access by monorail to all the restaurants at the Poly and Grand Floridian, not to mention a quick boat ride to WL and FW. No bus involved and no transfer to another bus just to get to a different resort.


So, both resorts have community halls. Both have a variety of restaurants, but BLT has 4, while AKV has 3. (And you don't have to ride a bus or walk a half mile to get to CS at BLT like you do at Kidani.) Both resorts have arcades, both have pools, though BLT has 3 while AKV has only 2. BLT has a beach and marina and AKV doesn't. From BLT you have a 10 minute walk to the MK. At AKV, you have a 10 minute walk to.... the bus stop. I guess the main difference is the ability to see animals from your resort window instead of fireworks and the MK outside your window. I don't see significantly more entertainment options at AKV.

Bravo!

 

[amandelba]

They're both pretty awesome - it all depends on your personal taste. We're staying at both in August and we'll judge for ourselves.

 

[mom2rb]

DH and I had a deal. I got AKL he got BLT. I call that a win/win.

 

[disneynutz]

Are you saying this is wrong? I'm just going by what DVC News reported. The subsidy is meant to offset some fees burden early in the resort's life when a smaller % of overall points have been sold. I'm not sure why you would consider this a waste.

I'm not saying that this is wrong, I'm just wondering what Disney's reason is. From Disney's perspective it would be a waste if they aren't benefiting from the subsidy, which I'm sure they are.

 

[RLRDA]

Well....after much back and forth discussion we have decided to go with AKV!!! AKV offers our boys so much more than BLT will. We are so excited and cannot wait to visit our new home away from home in the near future!!

Congratulations!

We're staying at both in August and we'll judge for ourselves.

We are, too! We're almost at our 90-day mark ~ we're so excited that we'll get to try out an MK view after staying at AKV!!

 

[Mommy2JulietJocelyn]

I just sucked it up and bought both.

Us too WE bought AKV as our first home then decided we "needed" to have more points so "we" decide on BLT - in reality I wanted the easy access to the monorail and some of our favorite restraunts. Our girls are 5, 3 1 so we will be using it quite often I am sure.

 

[kdzgon]

I'm wondering the same thing.

...
So, both resorts have community halls. Both have a variety of restaurants, but BLT has 4, while AKV has 3. (And you don't have to ride a bus or walk a half mile to get to CS at BLT like you do at Kidani.) Both resorts have arcades, both have pools, though BLT has 3 while AKV has only 2. BLT has a beach and marina and AKV doesn't. From BLT you have a 10 minute walk to the MK. At AKV, you have a 10 minute walk to.... the bus stop. I guess the main difference is the ability to see animals from your resort window instead of fireworks and the MK outside your window. I don't see significantly more entertainment options at AKV.

But much of what you list for BLT (restaurants, marina, etc) is actually part of the Contemporary. One might argue that the carrying costs for those amenities are not actually being borne by our maintenance fees, no?

In the spirit of full disclosure, we own at both and they are our two of our most favorite DVC resorts (haven't stayed at BC yet, so that might make the top three, a spot now held by VB).

 

[Tara]

But much of what you list for BLT (restaurants, marina, etc) is actually part of the Contemporary. One might argue that the carrying costs for those amenities are not actually being borne by our maintenance fees, no?

In the spirit of full disclosure, we own at both and they are our two of our most favorite DVC resorts (haven't stayed at BC yet, so that might make the top three, a spot now held by VB).

I would assume that some costs would be borne by BLT, just as it will bear some of the transportation costs.

 

[La2kw]

But much of what you list for BLT (restaurants, marina, etc) is actually part of the Contemporary. One might argue that the carrying costs for those amenities are not actually being borne by our maintenance fees, no?

In the spirit of full disclosure, we own at both and they are our two of our most favorite DVC resorts (haven't stayed at BC yet, so that might make the top three, a spot now held by VB).

I was merely addressing the notion that AKV has "significantly more entertainment options" than BLT. If anything, they are almost equal. However, BLT has a slight edge with an additional restaurant, an additional pool, easy access to many more restaurants by monorail, and way more recreational activities.

I would think some of the maintenance fees would go towards upkeep of the CR facilities since BLT will be a part of that resort and DVC members and guests will now be using them.

 

[dd08]

Like what? Do tell.

Maybe for their family it was just a better fit?

 

[adminjedi]

Do you want to look at the rare and exotic florida water/trees/parking lot at BLT or the rare and exotic savannahs with animals from another continent?
Only you can answer for yourself.

P.S. Isn't sarcasm beautiful

 

[M-I-C-K-E-Y]

Do you want to look at the rare and exotic florida water/trees/parking lot at BLT or the rare and exotic savannahs with animals from another continent?
Only you can answer for yourself.

P.S. Isn't sarcasm beautiful

If Bay Lake = "Exotic Florida Water" then AKV's "Exotic Savannahs" = Dirt Fields...

 

[kdzgon]

I was merely addressing the notion that AKV has "significantly more entertainment options" than BLT. If anything, they are almost equal. However, BLT has a slight edge with an additional restaurant, an additional pool, easy access to many more restaurants by monorail, and way more recreational activities.

I would think some of the maintenance fees would go towards upkeep of the CR facilities since BLT will be a part of that resort and DVC members and guests will now be using them.

I was pretty much responding to the maintenance comment, and not really just to your comment. Sorry for the confuson, but I thought multiple quotes would have been more confusing.

If BLT is contributing to the upkeep of Chef Mickey's and the like, then doesn't the same theory apply to AKV and the eateries in the Jambo House? It might be argued though that it is more likely at AK because of the converted floors in Jambo House.

If BLT will indeed contribute to the upkeep of CR facilities (monorail excluded for my Q), is that why (in part) dues are higher at BC and BWV than at OKW and SSR - they share upkeep costs for the hotel portion? That [sharing the costs] doesn't really make sense to me but I am far from an expert, especially in DVD workings - just offering my opinion here.

As to activities, we have stayed at CR and at AKV. IMO you cannot compare the available activities but then we have not yet stayed at BLT (August will be our first trip). In fact, I would say overall AKV definitely has more (non park) activities than any other DVC we have stayed at so far (OKW, SSR, BW, VB), especially for kids and many low- or no additional cost. I also think while BLT may have three pools available (does that include the CR pool?) the new pool at Kidani looks amazing - my guess is many guests looking for "more" non-park options will prefer two pools including Kadani than three without, much like what happens at BC.

BLT will have marina access, but I am not sure what the "way more recreational activities" might be. IMO the additional restaurant (I haven't actually counted, but as CR is geared to convention goers, I'd add lounge and coffee bar facilities as well) and monorail access while definitely features to consider are not "recreational activities".

As I said, I love them both for different reasons, but unless BLT has better options than CR had I would still agree with the OP's statement. Not that it matters - we'll just agree to disagree, plus variety of opinions is what keeps us coming back to different destinations and helps DVC timeshares to "work".

No matter what, I am looking forward to making a first-hand comparison as we will be at Kidani in June and BLT in August - I cannot wait!!

 

[Coach81]

Hoping and praying to book BLT castle view at the 7 month window for Christmas this year, wish us luck!!!

 

[Dman67]

Basic rule of Timeshares...Buy where you love to stay!

 

[BayouMickey]

Hoping and praying to book BLT castle view at the 7 month window for Christmas this year, wish us luck!!!

Sorry they are booked from Nov-Jan last I checked.. We bought into BLT as our home and we had to settle for a bay view.
As for the debate between the two, we came to the conclusion that although AKV are BEAUTIFUL, how often would we even be in the room except to sleep. So we opted for convenience over beauty. A walk from BLT to MK, monorail access to Epcot? Can't beat it!

 

[islandtimect]

We compared costs for addon at BLT vs our home, AKV, and concluded that the cheaper maintenance fees are more than eaten up by the higher points required. Comparing the charts for the dates we typically travel (Feb, April, Nov) results in the following: AKV 7 nights = BLT 6 nights. So we would pay less MFs at BLT and receive less of a vacation length.

Having said that, we're not making our addon decision based on cost, but where we want to stay and where we think it'll be easier to get into. Having stayed at AKV, I would say it's very kid friendly, but I'm sure BLT will be too. Just compare the amenities and activities at each.