Can you help me decide between Kidani and BLT?

[Sandisw]

I am a huge BLT fan and bought there because of location and because we always loved the CR.

Just reading your posts and comments, I think it is important that you choose a resort that when you walk in to it, you feel "home". And, I think, for you, that would be AKV.

It is harder to get in to BLT at the 7 month mark, but I think if you are okay with the LV option, I think you will have a good chance of staying there throughout your membership.

DVC is a big purchase and to buy where you have a "big" concern about the resort--its look, etc.--is something that needs to be seriously considered. That is why we spent the extra to own at BLT. First, I just knew I would feel disappointment if I couldn't book there, and second, I wanted to get to WDW and feel that "WOW" factor.

It sounds like you would not necessarily get that walking in to your BLT room. Before I would choose that as my home resort, I think it would be important to stay there.

As others mentioned, you certainly can buy 125 and 125 at each resort and then alternate each year. While your kids are small now and the walk to MK is appealing, will it still be when they are older or will you be content with AKV?

Good luck!

 

[Disneyfriend]

Just a note because I live in Hawaii, too, and there's a few other HI DIS'ers on here who have had the same problem: you may have trouble signing contracts for a Florida timeshare Direct from Disney because they are not allowed to sell it to you over the phone/fax/mail or even at Aulani due to sales regulations imposed by state law to prevent predatory sales.
I had to fly to California to buy my VGC contract direct since my guide said (and has also told me this about add-ons since then) that she could not sell it to me without me physically coming to sign in Cali, though I was able to do my resale add-on resale through phone/e-mail/mail with TSS in Orlando.
Another Hawaii DIS-er wanted to buy SSR/VGC but they would only sell him Aulani because of those regulations. Contact your guide to find out for sure, maybe the rules have changed or you know of a way around them, but you may have to go back to Florida to buy a FL timeshare (or the Cali/Chicago/NY office?).
Oh no, another trip to the mainland and Disney? Horror!

Thank you for the heads up. They did discuss this issue with me. Apparently they've done the paperwork for AKV so far and are working on BLT. In fact, one of my questions for the DVC representative today is to find out if they've cleared the paperwork for a possible BLT purchase.

Mahalo!

 

[Mtnman44]

We stayed at both of those properties last month. For us, we would buy more points at AKV. We loved the Kidanni area. Restaurant access is no big deal for us as our vacation time is usually in the parks or otherwise away from the hotel.

Owning at BLT has no appeal for us. I can't see ever staying there enough to justify paying the premium to get the 11 month window. The point chart alone means we won't be staying there much.

Finally, comparing resale prices, it looks like BLT is about $25 per point higher. That is over $6,000 on 250 points. Considering this, I would likely buy OKW or SSR for $60 per point (or less) and use those points for either resort. We don't travel in high demand times nor do we need special, limited quantity room types.

 

[Disneyfriend]

I am a huge BLT fan and bought there because of location and because we always loved the CR.

Just reading your posts and comments, I think it is important that you choose a resort that when you walk in to it, you feel "home". And, I think, for you, that would be AKV.

It is harder to get in to BLT at the 7 month mark, but I think if you are okay with the LV option, I think you will have a good chance of staying there throughout your membership.

DVC is a big purchase and to buy where you have a "big" concern about the resort--its look, etc.--is something that needs to be seriously considered. That is why we spent the extra to own at BLT. First, I just knew I would feel disappointment if I couldn't book there, and second, I wanted to get to WDW and feel that "WOW" factor.

It sounds like you would not necessarily get that walking in to your BLT room. Before I would choose that as my home resort, I think it would be important to stay there.

As others mentioned, you certainly can buy 125 and 125 at each resort and then alternate each year. While your kids are small now and the walk to MK is appealing, will it still be when they are older or will you be content with AKV?

Good luck!

Sandi, thank you for your thoughtful comments. I definitely see your point. Right at this moment we are strongly leaning towards doing a smaller contract at both resorts. I think that might truly be the best of both worlds for us. In fairness, we can think of a lot of great things about BLT in addition to the obvious monorail and MK access: Chef Mickey's, fireworks viewing, access to water recreation, easy transportation to both Ft. Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge, the Wave (loved it last trip!), and the glorious extra bathroom like Kidani has.

So the more we think about it, the more it seems like a split choice could be the right decision for us. Still pondering . . .

 

[jodifla]

Well , for a whole other wrinkle, I think given your restaurant desire that Boardwalk or Beach Club Villas would be a good choices for you.

You might ask a guide if they can find you points for those!

 

[Disneyfriend]

Well , for a whole other wrinkle, I think given your restaurant desire that Boardwalk or Beach Club Villas would be a good choices for you.

You might ask a guide if they can find you points for those!

Well, we've always wanted to stay at BCV - in fact, we had reservations there last fall and had to reschedule our trip. BCV was not available for the new dates.

I think we'll probably stick with Kidani and/or BLT because of the longer contracts and the "extra" bathroom. But I actually hope to regularly stay at BCV in the future, though I know it will be harder to book at the 7 mo window.

Thanks!

 

[jjk3]

Sandi, thank you for your thoughtful comments. In fairness, we can think of a lot of great things about BLT in addition to the obvious monorail and MK access: Chef Mickey's, fireworks viewing, access to water recreation, easy transportation to both Ft. Wilderness and Wilderness Lodge, the Wave (loved it last trip!), and the glorious extra bathroom like Kidani has.

So the more we think about it, the more it seems like a split choice could be the right decision for us. Still pondering . . .

I was glad to see you mentioned this. One of the great things about BLT is the boat access to Ft. Wilderness and WL. I love both of those locations and love the ability to hop on a boat to visit either. Access to so many locations via the monorail or boat is a big plus for us. We don't loathe travel by bus, but see it as a means to an end, whereas we generally actually enjoy travel via monorail or boat.

Full disclosure: we own at BLT (direct) and may consider a VWL add-on in the future if resale prices really do drop in the next 1-2 years. So we obviously really like the Bay Lake properties.

Good luck!

 

[JWG]

Same questions we were asking about 8 months ago when we added on. I think the split resort option may be best for you if you really think you may want both and are ok with every other year or every 3rd year stays at a particular resort through banking and borrowing.

That being said, already owning BWV we didn't want two more resorts and had to decide between BLT and AKV. Here's how we decided:
- BLT has a lower maintenance fee per point and we assumed it will stay that way (that's not based on science and I can explain more if you'd like)
- Monorail access means easy access to two of the four parks
- Restaurant access, not only BLT but any MK or monorail resort location
- Full resort access (can walk 5 min. to MK bus stops to get to DTD or anywhere on property - no bus transfers to get resort to resort)
- Limited standard view rooms in BLT, need 11 months window
- Haven't ever had an issue getting AKV at 7 months (though if you want value rooms or concierge you will want the 11 mos. window)

I think most important to us is what we wanted to be able to do. We wanted to be able to book SV rooms at BLT and needed the 11 mos. window. We wanted easy access to a variety of restaurant options without needing a car and being able to use the MK bus stops or having 3 hotels and a theme park easily accessible via monorail answers that. We wanted to maximize our value by managing our maintenance fees down if we could (now, the offset is if we plan to stay MK view a lot this is blown up because of the higher point cost per night - but we don't, we plan on SV).

We were less concerned with pool theming (a pool is a pool for us), and overall room theming. A room is a room, and as long as it's clean and maintained - we're happy.

I compared:
AKV - 2 TS restaurants (Jiko and Boma), 2 CS restuarants (Sana and Mara)

BLT - 2 TS restaurants (6 if you include Poly and Grand Floridian), 1 CS restaurant (again, more if you include Poly and Grand)

Our favorite restaurants: Epcot (yes, we love several here), Chef Mickey's and Ohana's. That also played in.

AKV - Bus to all 4 parks
BLT - Walk to one, monorail to one, bus to two

AKV - bus to non-park locations, transfer at DTD for resort to resort dining
BLT - bus to non-park locations, use MK bus stops for resrot to resort dining

A very personal decision. In the end, we picked based on location and what we perceived as availability options at 7 and 11 months against our travel plans. We just stayed at AKV-Jambo this past December and booked it 4 mos. out. BLT wasn't available and we've actually yet to stay there because of availability (looking for SV. Our first BLT stay will be 10/2011.

Good luck!

 

[ticofan]

We recently stayed at BLT and had the dining plan and no theme park passes. (We did Disney Quest and Water Park annual passes.)

I loved all the dining options. Especially that there was really no walking to get to so many restaurants. Short walk to Contemporary Restaurants and not much more of a walk to get on the monorail to Poly or GF. I love the Kona Cafe. I could eat there everyday. The pastries in the Contemporary were fabulous. The above posting about using the busses at MK for resort to resort travel is a great idea if you want to experience the food.

We don't spend that much time in our room, but I love the views from BLT. My favorite is actually the Lake View. I thought the MK views had too much parking lot in them.

We own at OKW, SSR, BWV, and just added 100 pts at BLT. But so far I have booked BLT with fairly short notice and have been able to get what I wanted.

Of course I agree also with the poster that encourage BCV ownership. That walk to Epcot and all the restaurants in the World is a dream-come-true for those who like to eat.

 

[Disneyfriend]

Same questions we were asking about 8 months ago when we added on. I think the split resort option may be best for you if you really think you may want both and are ok with every other year or every 3rd year stays at a particular resort through banking and borrowing.

That being said, already owning BWV we didn't want two more resorts and had to decide between BLT and AKV. Here's how we decided:
- BLT has a lower maintenance fee per point and we assumed it will stay that way (that's not based on science and I can explain more if you'd like)
- Monorail access means easy access to two of the four parks
- Restaurant access, not only BLT but any MK or monorail resort location
- Full resort access (can walk 5 min. to MK bus stops to get to DTD or anywhere on property - no bus transfers to get resort to resort)- Limited standard view rooms in BLT, need 11 months window
- Haven't ever had an issue getting AKV at 7 months (though if you want value rooms or concierge you will want the 11 mos. window)

I think most important to us is what we wanted to be able to do. We wanted to be able to book SV rooms at BLT and needed the 11 mos. window. We wanted easy access to a variety of restaurant options without needing a car and being able to use the MK bus stops or having 3 hotels and a theme park easily accessible via monorail answers that. We wanted to maximize our value by managing our maintenance fees down if we could (now, the offset is if we plan to stay MK view a lot this is blown up because of the higher point cost per night - but we don't, we plan on SV).

We were less concerned with pool theming (a pool is a pool for us), and overall room theming. A room is a room, and as long as it's clean and maintained - we're happy.

I compared:
AKV - 2 TS restaurants (Jiko and Boma), 2 CS restuarants (Sana and Mara)

BLT - 2 TS restaurants (6 if you include Poly and Grand Floridian), 1 CS restaurant (again, more if you include Poly and Grand)

Our favorite restaurants: Epcot (yes, we love several here), Chef Mickey's and Ohana's. That also played in.

AKV - Bus to all 4 parks
BLT - Walk to one, monorail to one, bus to two

AKV - bus to non-park locations, transfer at DTD for resort to resort dining
BLT - bus to non-park locations, use MK bus stops for resrot to resort dining

A very personal decision. In the end, we picked based on location and what we perceived as availability options at 7 and 11 months against our travel plans. We just stayed at AKV-Jambo this past December and booked it 4 mos. out. BLT wasn't available and we've actually yet to stay there because of availability (looking for SV. Our first BLT stay will be 10/2011.

Good luck!

JWG, thank you very much for sharing your thought process with me. You just gave an excellent, thorough analysis if I may say so.

The direct resort access (by catching the MK resort buses) that I bolded above is one subtle wrinkle we hadn't thought of. You make a great point!

I so appreciate everyone's help so far; you all have been very gracious to help me think this through!

 

[Disneyfriend]

We recently stayed at BLT and had the dining plan and no theme park passes. (We did Disney Quest and Water Park annual passes.)

I loved all the dining options. Especially that there was really no walking to get to so many restaurants. Short walk to Contemporary Restaurants and not much more of a walk to get on the monorail to Poly or GF. I love the Kona Cafe. I could eat there everyday. The pastries in the Contemporary were fabulous. The above posting about using the busses at MK for resort to resort travel is a great idea if you want to experience the food.

We don't spend that much time in our room, but I love the views from BLT. My favorite is actually the Lake View. I thought the MK views had too much parking lot in them.

We own at OKW, SSR, BWV, and just added 100 pts at BLT. But so far I have booked BLT with fairly short notice and have been able to get what I wanted.

Of course I agree also with the poster that encourage BCV ownership. That walk to Epcot and all the restaurants in the World is a dream-come-true for those who like to eat.

Thank you, Ticofan. I see the varied restaurant access to be a HUGE perk of staying at BLT, especially for those of us who, um, live to eat instead of the other way around!

Good to know you enjoyed the Lake View so much . . . I think we'd plan to stay in that type of rooms for most visits.

 

[MiaSRN62]

JWG : AKV - 2 TS restaurants (Jiko and Boma), 2 CS restuarants (Sana and Mara)

Just a friendly fyi....Saana is not CS, it is full TS. It's one of the complaints many have about Kidani vs Jambo---no quick CS options except out by the pool.

Sandisw :While your kids are small now and the walk to MK is appealing, will it still be when they are older or will you be content with AKV?

I have teens and college aged kids and the MK is still our fav park.
We walked back to BLT from the MK last year and it was maybe a 10-11 min walk. So much nicer than getting on those crammed busses after the MK fireworks at the close of the day.
That said, I was torn between these two as well (and VWL). We ended up buying 125 at each and alternate staying at each. We love the peacefulness and themeing at AKV---and the decor wins out for us as well.
However, the location of BLT to the MK, Epcot, all the shopping and dining options of the monorail resorts......the MK views........
We just had to buy both....I wish you much luck in your decision.

 

[Disneyfriend]

Just a friendly fyi....Saana is not CS, it is full TS. It's one of the complaints many have about Kidani vs Jambo---no quick CS options except out by the pool.


I have teens and college aged kids and the MK is still our fav park.
We walked back to BLT from the MK last year and it was maybe a 10-11 min walk. So much nicer than getting on those crammed busses after the MK fireworks at the close of the day.
That said, I was torn between these two as well (and VWL). We ended up buying 125 at each and alternate staying at each. We love the peacefulness and themeing at AKV---and the decor wins out for us as well.
However, the location of BLT to the MK, Epcot, all the shopping and dining options of the monorail resorts......the MK views........
We just had to buy both....I wish you much luck in your decision.

Thank you, Maria. It sounds like we have definitely wrestled with the same issues. I truly love the idea of buying into both and alternating, or doing a split stay each trip. Since no single resort is "perfect", it's nice to enjoy the benefits of two resorts and enjoy each resort's unique attributes.

 

[armone]

If you are into dining then the choice is easy... so much more available via monorail and no waiting outside at bus stops. Also the top of the world lounge is a great spot to relax at the end of the day or watch the show over MK!!!

 

[JWG]

Just a friendly fyi....Saana is not CS, it is full TS. It's one of the complaints many have about Kidani vs Jambo---no quick CS options except out by the pool.

You are 100% correct, my bad. Off night for me. While we absolutely love Jambo House, our biggest issue was dining. Jiko is just a little too high end to eat at multiple times (or at all with a 4 year old) and while Boma is good, it's hard to eat at an African buffet multiple times. We found, even staying at Jambo, we ate on the monorail loop 4 times (Ohana, Kona, Chef Mickey's and Contempo Cafe).

Though, standing on our balcony watching giraffes was hard to beat...

 

[MiaSRN62]

Though, standing on our balcony watching giraffes was hard to beat...

 

[BDJazz]

We did a split stay last May between AKV and BLT. The location at BLT is phenomenal! You simply can't beat hopping on the monorail and going to all the wonderful restaurants and parks.

With that said, that is about all we liked about BLT. This is nothing personal to those that love BLT, it is a personal preference, but for us BLT is the last place we would stay on future trips.

To us BLT felt cold and uninviting - in fact, as we walked through the hallways we couldn't help but think we were visiting a hospital. We felt the exact opposite at our Kidani stay. We loved the theming, relaxing atmosphere, and Disney Magic at that resort.

We faced the same dilemma you are when purchasing at DVC. We had the choice between the 2 and after our stay we were so happy that we did not choose BLT.

Again, this is just my opinion, but if you already know you don't like the feel of the resort I would not buy there.

 

[Disneyfriend]

We did a split stay last May between AKV and BLT. The location at BLT is phenomenal! You simply can't beat hopping on the monorail and going to all the wonderful restaurants and parks.

With that said, that is about all we liked about BLT. This is nothing personal to those that love BLT, it is a personal preference, but for us BLT is the last place we would stay on future trips.

To us BLT felt cold and uninviting - in fact, as we walked through the hallways we couldn't help but think we were visiting a hospital. We felt the exact opposite at our Kidani stay. We loved the theming, relaxing atmosphere, and Disney Magic at that resort.

We faced the same dilemma you are when purchasing at DVC. We had the choice between the 2 and after our stay we were so happy that we did not choose BLT.

Again, this is just my opinion, but if you already know you don't like the feel of the resort I would not buy there.

BDJazz, thank you for sharing your thoughts. It is *so* helpful to talk with people who have actually experienced both resorts. Although we have a very good idea of Kidani (having stayed there for 8 lovely days last fall), we never went inside BLT. Darn, I wish we had!

We are having to really work on this decision. Sounds like you are very happy with your choice and I am glad.

 

[billsfan]

We own at both the BLT and AKV. We bought 160 pts at the AKV and then bought 100 points for the BLT. We did this because we had the same tough decisions that you have deciding between both resorts. We stayed at both resorts this past October and enjoyed both very much. It did seem like two diffrent vacations because of the polar opposites of the two resorts. We had no problems with a split stay.

One thing I did make sure we did was when we stayed our first three nights at Kidani we only went to the AK and DHS and then when we stayed our last three night at the BLT we only went to the MK and Epcot.

My thoughts were since at both resorts we would have to take busses to get to the AK and DHS we would go to these two parks when we stayed at Kidani since the busses only go to Jambo and Kidani and if you take the busses to AK and DHS from the BLT you share the busses with more resorts. And when you are staying at the BLT it's the monorail and only the monorail to the MK and Epcot.

 

[ToddyLu]

One thing I did make sure we did was when we stayed our first three nights at Kidani we only went to the AK and DHS and then when we stayed our last three night at the BLT we only went to the MK and Epcot.

My thoughts were since at both resorts we would have to take busses to get to the AK and DHS we would go to these two parks when we stayed at Kidani since the busses only go to Jambo and Kidani and if you take the busses to AK and DHS from the BLT you share the busses with more resorts. And when you are staying at the BLT it's the monorail and only the monorail to the MK and Epcot.

What an awesome take on that--never thought about it that way....very clever Billsfan

Can the OP go online to youtube and tour the resort or look at all the pics here, on DVCNews and Allears...