DVC Resale Hamster Wheel

[karalecia26]

We are in the same boat as you. We are looking at buying at AKV as we are also wanting to use our vacations as not all park time and I absolutely love AKL when we stayed there and even did a DVC tour and really loved the space and the area. We are from NW Iowa and will drive sometimes as flights for a family of 5 can be really crazy and this way we don't have to worry about what we need to pack and don't have to worry about weight limits.

 

[bakerworld]

Hard decision. With an 8yo I think I would go with BL or Boulder/Copper Creek.

 

[GoofTroop4Life]

We are in the same boat as you. We are looking at buying at AKV as we are also wanting to use our vacations as not all park time and I absolutely love AKL when we stayed there and even did a DVC tour and really loved the space and the area. We are from NW Iowa and will drive sometimes as flights for a family of 5 can be really crazy and this way we don't have to worry about what we need to pack and don't have to worry about weight limits.

We live in MN and are always up for a good road trip, but Orlando is soooooo far. Getting there seems fine, but the ride home is another story. What has been your experience making this trek?

 

[sethschroeder]

AKL

I vote for AKV... and agree, you need to be ok with buses.

Exactly have you ever stayed at AKV? I would 100% make sure you stay there before buying there to be honest (unless you plan on using it as sleep around points).

I had planned on buying AKV after our stay in September but it solidly made me realize location is by far the most important thing and we ended up doing resale at BWV (we love BWV but had originally worried about contract length).

with all the talk of a possible Skyliner expansion to AKL

I would not plan on this happening at all. Yes there is very credible talk but here is part of the reason to temper your expectations.

• Skyliner would go to AK park before going anywhere else (the buses are best to that park anyways)
• Skyliner would likely then connect to Cornado Spring and/or Blizzard Beach
• Finally Skyliner would connect to the Hollywood Studio (as I can't see them cutting from Cornado, through Swan/Dolphin, then over Crescent lake)

What is that 30-40 mins to get to Hollywood Studio? Another 20 mins to Epcot? There is basically zero benefit if you want to actually get around quickly.

 

[GoofTroop4Life]

Exactly have you ever stayed at AKV? I would 100% make sure you stay there before buying there to be honest (unless you plan on using it as sleep around points).

I had planned on buying AKV after our stay in September but it solidly made me realize location is by far the most important thing and we ended up doing resale at BWV (we love BWV but had originally worried about contract length).



I would not plan on this happening at all. Yes there is very credible talk but here is part of the reason to temper your expectations.

• Skyliner would go to AK park before going anywhere else (the buses are best to that park anyways)
• Skyliner would likely then connect to Cornado Spring and/or Blizzard Beach
• Finally Skyliner would connect to the Hollywood Studio (as I can't see them cutting from Cornado, through Swan/Dolphin, then over Crescent lake)

What is that 30-40 mins to get to Hollywood Studio? Another 20 mins to Epcot? There is basically zero benefit if you want to actually get around quickly.

I do like the other forms of transportation more than buses, but I am attracted to the remoteness of the resort. We would likely do a split stay for park heavy trips. We usually travel during the summer, and from what I have seen, we would have options at other resorts if needed.

I have read online chatter of Skyliner going to AKL, and I have also seen the mickeyblog.com post that it seems your reply is referencing. The reality is that none of us knows what Disney World is going to do until Disney World tells us what they are going to do. I am definitely not making any decision based on speculations about the Skyliner, or anything else for that matter, but I do like thinking about the future development of the parks and resorts. Thanks for your feedback...if the cost per point was lower at BoardWalk, that one would have made my list too!

 

[E2ME2]

I never tire of these discussions on the forums. All of us go through the same analysis, emotional and financial, and I love hearing everyone else's pros and cons based on their unique circumstances.
I thought about adding on at AKV, but only because of the possibility of scoring a Value villa at 11 months. Following these posts, however, even at 11 months the Values are a crap-shoot. We like SSR because of it's proximity to Disney Springs, we love the theming and restaurants at AKV, we love BWV's proximity to DHS & EPCOT. So far, at 7 months we have gotten AKV & BWV, so the economics of SSR has won out in my analyses. And, it's almost a wash, when comparing the additonal points needed for SSR vs AKV or BWV, when you account for the higher PPP & MFs at the 2 latter.....
WOW - there's a lot of criteria bouncing around in the heads of all the DVCers!
ET

 

[GoofTroop4Life]

All of us go through the same analysis, emotional and financial, and I love hearing everyone else's pros and cons based on their unique circumstances.

So true! It's reassuring to hear you have gotten AKV and BWV at 7 months. I'm wondering what time of year this has been and which type of room.

 

[bumbershoot]

there is just so much pressure to get the "best" deal.

Drop the pressure. No need for it.

AK is the best fit for you from what you’ve said. Go for it.


In the past I’ve done well with 7 month reservations anywhere.

This time (going for Princess for the 5th year), apart from being able to switch to OKW (a resort I quite love, but we really wanted a repeat of last year’s boardwalk one bedroom), I’ve had zero luck changing that to *anything*. Literally NO availability in the whole time. I’ve had a WL and I check all the time. There’s been nothing at any resort.

Oh wait. SSR was available for a minute, but even that has had nothing for months.

Buy where you don’t mind staying. Because changes are getting hard.

 

[E2ME2]

So true! It's reassuring to hear you have gotten AKV and BWV at 7 months. I'm wondering what time of year this has been and which type of room.

Always in January- we did both STU & 1BR at AKV, and 1BR at BWV

 

[ClemTig]

Agree AKL was best for you. For me it’s BLT all the way. I want a monorail resort, PVR doesn’t work because we prefer 1 or 2 BR and the Bungalows are too expensive. As far as the pool, we can use the Contemporary pools as well, and we have all of the restaurants on the monorail loop and boat transportation as well. AKL is wonderful but too remote for me.

 

[GoofTroop4Life]

I’ve had zero luck changing that to *anything*. Literally NO availability in the whole time. I’ve had a WL and I check all the time. There’s been nothing at any resort.

Thanks for the info. I've been noticing more people on the board mentioning availability issues.

 

[GoofTroop4Life]

Agree AKL was best for you. For me it’s BLT all the way. I want a monorail resort, PVR doesn’t work because we prefer 1 or 2 BR and the Bungalows are too expensive. As far as the pool, we can use the Contemporary pools as well, and we have all of the restaurants on the monorail loop and boat transportation as well. AKL is wonderful but too remote for me.

There is no denying how convenient BLT is. I also thought BLT might be a better buy in the long run because as long as WDW is open it will be in demand. I just wish I liked the aesthetics more.

 

[ClemTig]

There is no denying how convenient BLT is. I also thought BLT might be a better buy in the long run because as long as WDW is open it will be in demand. I just wish I liked the aesthetics more.

The aesthetics won’t change, our family likes it. If you don’t that’s certainly an issue. BLT, BCV, and GFV get the highest rental rates, if that means anything to you. We rent more than visit, so for us super important.

About the Skyliner to AKL.... someone has to pay for it. That would mean a significant bump in MFs if it ever made it out to AKL. I really doubt that happens. The current runs make sense financially. Would it still make sense running all the way to AKL?

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

About the Skyliner to AKL.... someone has to pay for it. That would mean a significant bump in MFs if it ever made it out to AKL.

Not neccesarily. The skyliner would likely not be considered part of the DVC property, but rather transportation from Jambo House resort (although there are some DVC rooms at Jambo, it's not exclusively a DVC resort). If I'm not mistaken, I recall reading that the Skyliner at Riviera wasn't funded by DVC/MFs.

 

[CarolynFH]

Not neccesarily. The skyliner would likely not be considered part of the DVC property, but rather transportation from Jambo House resort (although there are some DVC rooms at Jambo, it's not exclusively a DVC resort). If I'm not mistaken, I recall reading that the Skyliner at Riviera wasn't funded by DVC/MFs.

Construction wasn’t funded by RIV MFs, but operations are (shared with the other Skyliner resorts), just like operations of the Friendship Boats are funded by BWV and BCV MFs as well as BWI, YC/BC and Swolphin room rates. If a new Skyliner line is built, the AKL station will certainly be placed for use by both Jambo and Kidani guests, and VAKL MFs will certainly support operations.

 

[ClemTig]

Construction wasn’t funded by RIV MFs, but operations are (shared with the other Skyliner resorts), just like operations of the Friendship Boats are funded by BWV and BCV MFs as well as BWI, YC/BC and Swolphin room rates. If a new Skyliner line is built, the AKL station will certainly be placed for use by both Jambo and Kidani guests, and VAKL MFs will certainly support operations.

You mean Disney's not giving a benefit for FREE?

 

[Wakey]

With the kids, I’d be looking at 1 beds. You could, for 25% more money buy twice the points at SSR than BLT then get 1 beds, more dues but very good choice at 7 months.
BLT is the second best buy on site, I love it. It’s very tempting. Standard view rooms even in 1 beds are virtually impossible to get at 7 months. Also you can guarantee a NYE trip there. My wife says the aesthetic at the back of the Contemporary is ‘Stalinist Russia’ but it’s a classic. BLT matches its environment perfectly. Heck, even the under window paneling matches Contemporary.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

We've owned at VGC since it opened when my two kids were a little older than your kids' age. We went from two hotel rooms to the one bedroom unit, and it has worked out really well. For us, not having the second bathroom is pretty much a deal breaker, which is why we always got two hotel rooms. I really can't emphasize how much you will love those two bathrooms in a one-bedroom as your kids get older.

When we decided to add on at WDW a couple years ago due to RunDisney stopping events at DLR, we only looked at Kidani and BLT as those were the only WDW resorts with that key second bathroom in the one bedroom--otherwise we would have had to do two bedroom units. My "kids" are 20 and 23 now, and there is no way all four of us would be sharing a bathroom.

We'd stayed at Kidani a few times before we bought, and I really liked the resort. It's maybe a notch below BLT in finishings but the savanna views are awesome. We also really like the restaurants (Sanaa especially). The biggest negative for us was the long hallways. We were stuck in one of the farthest rooms once, and it *really* sucked--especially after and before the half-marathon! We avoided the Disney bus issue by just Ubering everywhere, which worked out really well--for a 5 day trip it only adds $150-250, which is more than worth it to me in the frustration savings.

But ultimately, we went with BLT to have a walking option for at least one park. BLT's proximity to the Magic Kingdom, and access to the monorail is hard to beat (although full disclosure: we still mostly UBER everywhere other than the MK). We didn't stay at BLT before buying, and I was worried about the decor, but I actually love it. Kidani (and VGC for that matter) are so much darker in comparison. It's really fresh and clean to me. And the living room in the one-bedroom is really large.

We don't go to Disney for pools so that wasn't a consideration at all for us.

Good luck! We've been really happy with our DVC purchases. It's crazy to think that I've *made* money off a timeshare, but VGC has more than doubled since I bought it. Crazy!