First DVC Visit. Wow!

[Orsino]

I bought resale about 8 months ago and just returned from our first DVC trip. I had read the boards quite a bit before going so I knew, or thought I knew what to expect.

We we lucky to get a Value Studio at Animal Kingdom Villas for our week stay. I knew that there was a chance of getting a savannah view, but I didn't expect one. To my delight we got one! Not only did we get one but it had a fantastic view, much more than I thought would be possible. Not only that but the room was ready when we checked in at 10AM. I was absolutely beaming for the rest of the trip. It worked out really well for us too since my husband needed to do a bit of work here and there in the afternoons. During that time I could sit on the balcony and watch animals.

I loved the room. The sofa makes the room seem more roomy since we are only 2. I would like a king, but the queen worked out okay for us.

The room was clean, so I was happy about that too.

The only snag we hit was my room charge didn't work. After exchanging keys four times they finally got it to work, but they had to check us out and check back in to do it. That in turn screwed up housekeeping as it reset when our service was to be. I called housekeeping and got it straightened out though.

I'm very happy with our DVC purchase. The only problem is we are now eyeing the 1 bedroom, and I've been spoiled by such a wonderful savannah view room.

 

[Disneypirate85]

Very Glad to hear your 1st stay went so well.
We have had the Value studio and was also lucky enough to have the view, kids LOVED it....Shawn

 

[jodifla]

Thanks for the fresh eyes.....DVC really still does provide a wonderful vacation, even through the changes of the last 20 years.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

Thats awesome! We are renting points from an awesome disser and staying in a value room in January!
Did you request savannah view when you booked, or just wing it?

Do you have any pictures?

What floor were you on?

How close to the main area/elevators?

 

[bobbiwoz]

I'm glad you had such a great first visit. Congratulations on your purchase!

Bobbi

 

[Orsino]

Thats awesome! We are renting points from an awesome disser and staying in a value room in January!
Did you request savannah view when you booked, or just wing it?

Do you have any pictures?

What floor were you on?

How close to the main area/elevators?

I did not make any room requests. My thinking was we would probably go the value studio route many times in the coming years so getting a non-savannah view now wouldn't be a big deal. I like building things up.

I do have pictures, but I haven't loaded them yet. I also don't know how to post pictures, but I'll figure it out soon.

All value rooms are in Jambo House. All DVC rooms are on the 5th floor (I think) in Jambo House. We were on the 5th floor.

We were just about as far away from the lobby as you can be in a value room. There was one more room further down but it was a 1 bedroom. I LOVED being this far down the hall. If we were this far and had a parking lot view, it would have been more of a pain, but for the savannah view rooms, the farther down the hall (away from the lobby) the better the view. By better I mean a wider view. We could see into the Kidani side of Sunset Savannah as well as the pocket of Sunset savannah next to Jambo House. I'm sure the other savannah values are good views too, but I loved my view.

Forget about seeing animals when you wake up. Every morning we saw nothing. The giraffes and Zebras and other big animals were active in the afternoon. We also saw animals at night.

 

[sparkyboy]

Know you will also love hearing "welcome home". glad you had a wonderful stay at AKV

 

[disprincessatheart]

OP - glad you had such a great first trip. We've done 4 so far and loved all of them!

Just wanted to mention that others have reported points issues recently when they were checked out and checked back in during their stays. You should probably check your account to make sure everything looks right and you weren't over charged for your stay!

 

[Scraper]

Yes we have been members since 2005. We have made
many trips and most have been great.

 

[magicaldisney]

We are renting points from an awesome disser and staying in a value room in January!
Did you request savannah view when you booked, or just wing it?

You can not make a request with the value rooms, you just need to take your chances.

 

[DisneyFirstTimer10]

thanks!

 

[Cyndibear]

I'm very happy with our DVC purchase. The only problem is we are now eyeing the 1 bedroom, and I've been spoiled by such a wonderful savannah view room.

This happend to us too. It's called addonitis!!!! DVC is just wonderful. So glad to hear you enjoyed your first stay....here's to many more......

Cyndi

 

[3happydancers]

I bought resale about 8 months ago and just returned from our first DVC trip. I had read the boards quite a bit before going so I knew, or thought I knew what to expect.

We we lucky to get a Value Studio at Animal Kingdom Villas for our week stay. I knew that there was a chance of getting a savannah view, but I didn't expect one. To my delight we got one! Not only did we get one but it had a fantastic view, much more than I thought would be possible. Not only that but the room was ready when we checked in at 10AM. I was absolutely beaming for the rest of the trip. It worked out really well for us too since my husband needed to do a bit of work here and there in the afternoons. During that time I could sit on the balcony and watch animals.

I loved the room. The sofa makes the room seem more roomy since we are only 2. I would like a king, but the queen worked out okay for us.

The room was clean, so I was happy about that too.

The only snag we hit was my room charge didn't work. After exchanging keys four times they finally got it to work, but they had to check us out and check back in to do it. That in turn screwed up housekeeping as it reset when our service was to be. I called housekeeping and got it straightened out though.

I'm very happy with our DVC purchase. The only problem is we are now eyeing the 1 bedroom, and I've been spoiled by such a wonderful savannah view room.

***WELCOME HOME***

 

[keishashadow]

OP we too enjoyed the room type/view, imo amazing for the small # of points. Im sure i wouldn't have felt the same with parking lot view

 

[csharpwv]

Isn't DVC incredible?!?!?!?

We love DVC - we own at three resorts right now - have an offer in on points at another - just waiting for ROFR!

 

[franandaj]

FYI...They bring the animals back to the barn 1 hour for each Savannah every morning. The animals get their main feeding plus some grooming and medical treatment. You can imagine that the animals know their routine and start lining up as the sun rises. We learned about that when we took the Sunset Safari.

DVC is so great! I'm glad the OP is happy! I've conquered my addonitis, finally with two contracts in closing! Four home resorts should be plenty.

 

[Cee]

You are so lucky to own there! I've only stayed once in Jambo House. The savannah view was spectacular. It's so wonderful there.

 

[Orsino]

Thanks for all the well wishes. I really should thank this board too.

Because of this board I got good information about resales making DVC a better option for us (Saving money is always magical). I also knew exactly what Value Studio meant. It is also nice to stay grounded and know that certain things might go wrong (e.g., late room readiness). I'm all for lowering expectations then being Wowed by how great things can be.