BLT vs AKV

[ty_n_cy]

So... we're still waiting to find out if our financing will be approved (see my other thread)... but my wife and I have been talking about our options non-stop since Saturday night.

We've kinda come to a stand-still where our home resort is concerned. I like AKV... mostly because I think it'd be cool to wake up to the animals, etc. My wife prefers BLT... mostly because of the monorail convenience.

I'm starting to lean towards BLT because of the monorail as well... but the cost is more... $115 pp as opposed to $97 pp.

I'm basically asking opinions and what you've got to offer in the way of experience with BLT vs AKV. We've got three young children (10, 4 and 2) and we know we're going to likely use our points every OTHER year for a longer stay... at least until the kids get a little older. So - we've easily got 5-8 trips with 'the entire family' of us before we start visiting alone.

With all that in mind... what do you think? Which would YOU choose if you were in our situation?

Thanks for your insight!

CY

 

[RickinPA]

As much as the allure of a MK view appealed to me, I found the BLT to be to sterile. Almost to the point of Woody Allen's movie Sleeper.

It is rare for me to relax on vacation. I'm a Type A person and want to go and go and go. I was actually able to relax at AKL.

In addition to the price per point, you should also look at the number of points needed for the type of room that you want. A one week stay at a standard view one bedroom will cost you 30 points more at BLT than at AKL in adventure season.

If your not going to be happy at AKL then the 30 additional points are worth it.

Just some food for thought.

 

[timandlesley]

Great debate, they are both AWESOME, have stayed at both and own at AKL. I LOVE AKL due to the animals, great transportation, awesome dining options available, pool and "all under one roof" concept, just love it (I'm speaking of the Jambo house especially).
We stayed at BLT too and loved it as well, being able to walk to Magic Kingdom was great, pool was great, loved the theming, etc.
That being said I'm glad we own at AKL, feels like "home" to us, we were able to get BLT at the 7 month window no problem for our Oct. trip. The points to stay at AKL in Jambo for a studio can be SO cheap compared to the points we needed to stay at BLT which is a bonus. The dues at AKL are larger though due to the animal care. It's a toss up, both are great, but honestly I'd say go for the cheaper one.
Lesley

 

[ty_n_cy]

Haha... well, ya know what?

I now remember my reasoning to my wife for choosing AKL over BLT. With the whole 'will we - won't we' thing with the financing... I forgot the points needed to book at AKL are far less than at BLT for the same seasons.

That settles that then, huh?

It's great to know that some of you have had success booking at the 7 month window in BLT. It's something we'd like to try at some point... but for now... looks like AKV it is for us (providing we get financed).

CY

 

[dizfan]

We did a split stay at both resorts a month ago. Both are great resorts.

AKV has Concierge (huge plus in our book) and requires the 11 month window of owning at AKV.

For us, we knew in the future we would want to stay at both resorts, so we would need to book at the 7 month window for one of the resorts. We decided to go for the resort with fewer # of rooms thinking that resort would likely be more difficult to book at 7 months. Note: many people have posted that resorts 7 month booking window tends to change once a resort is sold out.

BLT has 148 dedicated 2 BR, 133 lockoffs (can be split into 133 1BR and 133 studios), 14 Grand Villas. (max 428)

AKV has 140 dedicated 2BR, 250 lockoffs (can be split into 250 1BR and 250 studios), 46 dedicated studios, and 22 Grand Villas. (max 708)

Does your family prefer to have an escape where you feel like you're no where near the parks, animals, and experiencing a different culture? If so, AKV is incredible. Some call AKV dark, we think it's part of the theming for an African resort and liked it.

If you like MK, boats, monorail, and watching fireworks BLT is great. Some call BLT sterile, we view it as part of the contemporary clean theme.

As with all resorts, it's a personal preference that only you and your family know what will be best for your family (both now and in years to come).

 

[Sandisw]

We bought in to BLT because we love the MK and can walk to/from BLT. We pretty much stayed at the CR before joining DVC so it was no real choice for us (matter of fact, we only joined DVC because they built BLT).

Having said that, BLT is expensive and I do think those that buy in there need to love it and want to be there all the time. If you know that you can be happy at AKV, with hopes that you can get in to BLT at 7 months (which, I think for many times of the year, you will be able to get, at least, LV) than I would go with AKV, as $18.00 per point is a lot to spend on something that you are not 100% positive is the resort for you.

Because I am a teacher and must travel during Magic Season for the most part, the points difference isn't really that much (and in some cases, they are more elsewhere) so not something I had to consider, but if you travel at other times, it is definitely be considered.

And remember, you can buy in at AKV (so I have read) with only 100 points to start. I don't know what you plan on buying, but you could always get some of each. You can then use banking and borrowing to alternate trips at each place, or do split stays each time and spend half the time at AKV and the other at BLT.

Good luck--no matter what you decide, they are great resorts!!

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

We bought in to BLT because we love the MK and can walk to/from BLT. We pretty much stayed at the CR before joining DVC so it was no real choice for us (matter of fact, we only joined DVC because they built BLT).

Having said that, BLT is expensive and I do think those that buy in there need to love it and want to be there all the time. If you know that you can be happy at AKV, with hopes that you can get in to BLT at 7 months (which, I think for many times of the year, you will be able to get, at least, LV) than I would go with AKV, as $18.00 per point is a lot to spend on something that you are not 100% positive is the resort for you.

Because I am a teacher and must travel during Magic Season for the most part, the points difference isn't really that much (and in some cases, they are more elsewhere) so not something I had to consider, but if you travel at other times, it is definitely be considered.

And remember, you can buy in at AKV (so I have read) with only 100 points to start. I don't know what you plan on buying, but you could always get some of each. You can then use banking and borrowing to alternate trips at each place, or do split stays each time and spend half the time at AKV and the other at BLT.
Good luck--no matter what you decide, they are great resorts!!

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. You could stay at BLT during weekdays, then move to the AKV value rooms for cheaper weekend points.

 

[BlakeNJ]

Just wanted to quickly add that we recently did a split stay at BLT/AKV. BLT was more of a "boutique" style hotel. Great for adults but my kids LOVED the atmosphere at AKV. The pool was much better for the younger kids with the water play area. The animals were a bonus in the morning too.

If I had to choose, if adding on, I'd choose AKV.

 

[ToddyLu]

We loved our first trip to AKV in Nov. It was very relaxing and pretty quiet. This is the opinion of two adults with no children....so take that for what it is worth. We easily jumped a bus to Jambo for meals when needed and the transporation was very good and efficient to all the parks. I had to tell myself that while BLT is close to MK...you still have to leave your room, use an elevator, go across the sky bridge, enter the CR and get on the monorail. At AKV we left the room, walked down a hall and got on the bus. I mean with children in tow unless you walk to MK from BLT you don't seem to save much time. Of course that is one persons opinion. DH and I loved the animals and he likes photography so AKV was our decision.

But BLT is "right there", sitting beside three mountains and a beautiful lake in all its shimmering glory.... What's not to love?

 

[arthur06]

Im not sure if this has been mentioned, but the MF's are cheaper at BLT then AKL. So assuming the same growth rate, the difference in price per point would be made up over the life of the contract! FYI

 

[ssawka]

We bought at BLT mainly for the transportation options and because we love MK!

Although the bus system at WDW is excellent, it's not a very "exciting" way to travel. Also, traveling between resorts at AKV requires a transfer at one of the parks. From BLT, you can just walk over to the MK bus depot. Also, DD has special needs which makes the buses a bit more difficult.

However, I'd have to run the numbers, because when we bought (05/2009) BLT and AKV were roughly the same price.

 

[ryanshana]

Im not sure if this has been mentioned, but the MF's are cheaper at BLT then AKL. So assuming the same growth rate, the difference in price per point would be made up over the life of the contract! FYI

This is exactly what I was going to say...and one of our reasoning of choosing BLT. Good luck w/ whatever u choose!

 

[crazybones27]

My DH and I purchased in August. We both knew we wanted to buy in to AKV the whole time, but I did think about maybe buying into BLT instead. The reason why we went with AKV is because we like the decor better, we liked the fact you can see animals when you wake up or just walking around, we liked the pool area for the kids over at Kidani, but the bigger factors were the amount of points we could get. We were able to purchase more points at a lower price with a better incentive then BLT. We figured if we wanted to stay at BLT we would try at 7 months and if it was booked for what we were looking for then it wasn't meant to be. We like the idea of walking to MK especially since they both our children are still in strollers and are under 2, but it all came down to the amount of points needed for our stays and how many more we could afford.

But everyone is different and you have to figure out what is most important to you. If BLT wasn't so much more in points for the rooms I might have considered buying into there more.

 

[christa112]

We toured both AKV and BLT and I found AKV so much inviting than BLT and I agree with one of the PP's saying it has a very sterile feeling. I definately think it is way to high class for me and my family. Maybe someday me and DH can head down for a long weekend and I would feel comfortable staying there, but with 3 kids I will stick with AKV.

OP--Just keep in mind AKV is a much larger resort and you will most likely be able to get a room there at 7 mos, where as BLT is a much smaller resort and getting a room at 7 mos may someday be difficult.

I hope this helps.

 

[WDWFERN]

We just returned form a 2 family trip to BLT with friends (between us had 4 adults and 5 children) and loved our stay!!! We found the walk to the Magic Kingdom to be priceless as we didn't need to worry at all about the commute time home in case of a meltdown. We found we could "relax" a bit more those days knowing we were a sure 15 minute walk away if anyone needed a break, this seemed especially helpful if we ventured back at night. It was also nice having all of the dining options nearby. The restaurants at the Contemporary are so close, and even those at the Poly, GF, or Wilderness Lodge are only a short monorail or boat ride away. Our kids all really liked the BLT pool area, slides, and splash area and thought the monorail was really fun in and of itself too. I haven't yet stayed at AK, so can't make a comparison, but certainly it looks wonderful too. I absolutely hope to stay there sometime in the future. Good luck with your decision, the good news is that there are so many positive aspects to both places that I am sure your family will be happy no matter what you decide!

 

[dvcod]

I have seen it mentioned many many times that one reason to buy BLT is that the MF's are lower than AKV. While that is true...it takes more points to stay at BLT for a comparable visit...causing the need to purchase more points at BLT than ALV. If I now need 250 points to take the trips I want and not 210 then I am paying MF's on those extra 40 points for the length of my contract... so to me it seems that it is almost a wash. I know it is impossible to compare a MK view to a Savana view...etc....since that is so much up to the individual.....sooooooo....To me it simply is as most everyone on here says....gosh....BUY WHERE YOU WANT TO STAY......just my thoughts...and I hope everyone has a Great 2010....peace...Jim

 

[whamma]

We own both AKV and BLT. We completely agree that BLT is sterile. It feels like you are staying at a hotel in any city--when you are in the room. However, walking to MK is SO convenient! It's nice to have "control" over my travel time vs. wondering how long I'll wait for a bus. As has already been said, the annual MFs are lower but the points per stay higher. A trade off. There are also a lot of activities outside of BLT in Bay Lake. You can take a boat to several other resorts and their are lots of water sports opportunities there. We also enjoyed the convience of visiting other monorail resorts. We'd never been to GF before we stayed at BLT.

AKV is like being in another world. Our last stay we didn't even have a savanna view and it still was great. The theming of the rooms really makes us feel like we're in another country. In fact, I showed someone the photo of the "standard view" from our most recent stay (looking toward the front of Kidani and towards the pool area) and her comment was "It looks like Tahiti!" Dues are higher, points are cheaper to stay. Again, a wash. We LOVE the "feel" of the resort.

SO like the last poster said, buy where you really want to stay! I also agree that no matter what you decide you will be happy. Just because you buy at one location doesn't mean you're "stuck" there. It just gives you the 11 month window priority to book. Our next stay we're trying WL and we travel at PRIME times (Easter, Christmas, summer)--so you will have options beyond your home resort. (P.S. When you decide to "add on" in a year--you can add the other resort! Ha. You WILL add on, believe me!! We all do it!!)

 

[rstamm]

It is really different for each family.

We can usually only go during crowded times because DW is a teacher.

We just got back from a Christmas trip and the reason we bought is so we can walk to the MK at 6:40AM to get there at opening and hop on the monorail at 7:20AM to Epcot for opening.

We also loved the MK view, but the room is really small and the issue with no mirror or outlets in the bathroom is so annoyinig.

It comes down to how it benefits each family.

 

[hellerjw]

We own at AKV but have only stayed there 3 of the last 6 trips we have made. We've also stayed at SSR, VWL and HHI and loved them all. You aren't tied to staying at your home resort exclusively, at least for now, but you should at least be happy with it as your fall-back position.

We tend to book something at our home resort at the 11-month window and then if we want to change try to do so at the 7-month mark. This at least gives us a reservation somewhere and our home resort is a place we would be happy staying at each and every time. Its fun to try all the DVC resorts but just make sure you can live with staying at your home resort each time just in case you aren't able to secure reservations elsewhere.

I understand the logic behind buying into a resort with lower dues but if I wasn't crazy about staying there then the savings get outweighed by the stress and disappointment and the benefit is lost in my opinion.

As the mantra goes "Buy where you want to stay" as the only real guarantee we owners have is the ability to book at our home resort based on availability. DVC could, although unlikely, take away our ability to book anywhere else.

 

[5forDiz]

I have seen it mentioned many many times that one reason to buy BLT is that the MF's are lower than AKV. While that is true...it takes more points to stay at BLT for a comparable visit...causing the need to purchase more points at BLT than ALV. If I now need 250 points to take the trips I want and not 210 then I am paying MF's on those extra 40 points for the length of my contract... so to me it seems that it is almost a wash. I know it is impossible to compare a MK view to a Savana view...etc....since that is so much up to the individual.....sooooooo....To me it simply is as most everyone on here says....gosh....BUY WHERE YOU WANT TO STAY......just my thoughts...and I hope everyone has a Great 2010....peace...Jim

Excellent post