Have you ever stayed at Animal Kingdom Villas?

[DawnM]

This is my dream, to someday stay for a few days at AKL's Villas.

Expedia lists the price at $880 per night, not including taxes and fees of about $100 additional dollars. And this is for an off season M-Th night stay! YIKES!

On the WDW website it looks to be about the same cost but it also includes Disney passes.

We stay off site for the cost savings, but just once I would love to splurge and do this.

Dawn

 

[DawnM]

I do see that the middle of January is only $550 plus taxes for the same units.

 

[JimMIA]

You might want to check over on the DIS DVC Rent/Trade board. You can rent from a DVC owner for MUCH less than the prices you're quoting.

When you get over to the DIS DVC boards, look at the top of the page and you'll see a link for DVC points charts. Click on AKV and then check the points for the size villa and time of year you're interested in. Figure $10-$12 per DVC point as a rental fee.

So if the villa costs 150 points for a week, you'd likely rent for $1,500 - $1,800. More than offsite, but WAY less than the prices you're looking at.

 

[JimMIA]

Also, you'll have to be logged in as a registered DIS user to see the DVC Rent/Trade board. If you're just browsing without logging in, it won't show up on the list of forums.

 

[Lewisc]

DVC units rented through Disney come with daily maid service. Disney sometimes offers discounts, including free dining. Guests who book DVC through Disney (as a hotel) might be eligible for free dining and/or a discount off rack rate.

Renting points is likely to be cheaper. Maybe not if you're going to put 4 guests in studio and free dining is available.

 

[DawnM]

Thanks! I will keep that in mind.

This trip is already booked off-site but I really would love to do this in the future.

 

[DawnM]

Can a family of 5 fit in a one bedroom or will we need two bedrooms?

 

[JimMIA]

Can a family of 5 fit in a one bedroom or will we need two bedrooms?

That depends. At AKV, I believe the 1 BRs have a sleeper chair in the living room and accommodate 5 people. As some of the other resorts refurbish, some of them are adding the sleeper chair as well. You'll just have to check to see what the exact specs are when you get closer to actually booking something. Or you could go over to the DIS DVC Resorts board and ask all those kinds of questions over there. You'll get a LOT more info over there.

The other consideration on villa size is number of bathrooms, but with three boys you won't have the same issues you'd have if you had three girls!

On the housekeeping, Lewis is right -- you won't get daily housekeeping. You'll get a Trash and Towel service on the 4th day, and a full cleaning on the 7th day if you're staying that long. If you want more than that, you can pay for it. If you get a 1 BR or larger, you'll have a washer/dryer in your villa, so you can wash towels, etc if you want.

 

[Hooked On The Mouse]

We have stayed and will be staying again at Animal Kingdom Villas, and we have never paid anything remotely close to the amounts you're talking about. Time of year is a factor, as well as deals. This trip we're getting 35% off a 1 bedroom villa at Kidani, which I think was only $550 originally, and that is a savannah view, so it's really not much of a splurge. We are also a family of 5, although ours are girls, and younger than your kids. A one bedroom is great for us, but I don't know how it would do for your family. Kidani has 2 bathrooms in a 1 bedroom villa; Jambo only has 1 bathroom. I would definitely recommend staying there at least once; we thought it was so completely worth the money.

 

[DawnM]

No housekeeping doesn't bother me. We typically stay in SkyAuction condos with no housekeeping for the week and it isn't' a problem.

Ok, heading over to the DVC boards!

Dawn

 

[DawnM]

Is there a way to view how much a studio with free dining would cost so that I could compare?

I can't seem to find it.

Thank you,

Dawn

DVC units rented through Disney come with daily maid service. Disney sometimes offers discounts, including free dining. Guests who book DVC through Disney (as a hotel) might be eligible for free dining and/or a discount off rack rate.

Renting points is likely to be cheaper. Maybe not if you're going to put 4 guests in studio and free dining is available.

 

[Montegut]

Staying at the Animal Kingdom villas is on my bucket list. Would love to do it as a mother-son trip, as we're both nature lovers.

 

[Havana]

Staying at AK villas is amazing! I hope you can do it some day! Jambo is nice with the grand lobby and restaurants. Kidani is also nice but much quieter of a location.

 

[aubeone]

I have stayed at AKV on two separate occassions. It is awesome! Jambo has more action but Kidani offers more space in the rooms. The one bedroom a Kidani has two bathrooms!!!!!!

 

[DVC~OKW~96]

We are DVC members and truly love our Home Resort OKW, however, we LOVE to stay at Kidani Village. It's beautiful.

There is truly good sleeping for five in Kidani (as in OKW, but not SSR [no sleeper twin chair]) and it's spacious enough so you won't trip over one another. One bedroom, I mean.

If you are going to try to go with a studio, GO WITH OKW. They are the largest studios and use two queen beds. The pull out sleeper sofa in the other studios is TERRIBLE, particularly if you have anyone older/heavier than a child of 9-10 and older. I'd not put an adult on one again.

If you rent points, you can arrange to pay extra for daily maid service, but honestly you really won't miss it.

Remember that a one bedroom villa gives you much more than does a studio, too. You'll have a washer and dryer (very handy if you want to run the towels through a cycle...) a jacuzzi tub (large enough for two at OKW, and VB) and a full kitchen with that lovely full size refrigerator.

A studio has a microwave, a small refrigerator (under the counter size) and a standard bathroom.

 

[kathy884]

I've never stayed there, but am with you. I love AKL and would love to stay there. The place just has such a great vibe (I love the dining there too), and I doubt I'll ever actually go to Africa (although I have to say that would be pretty cool too -- My parents went to South Africa // Makusti Safari Farm near Kruger and all I can say is Wow -- what an absolutely awesome trip.) They say AKL and Animal Kingdom theming are right on too (quite impressed with Disney on the park and resort).

When I price it, though (even with points from an owner -- We only travel to Disney high season), it's just too rich for my blood and I end up staying at one of the offsite condos that are lovely and such a great deal. I'm the first to say, though, they are not AKL. With airfares up so much, my annual vacation budget staying the same rather than increasing, and my love of travel and occasional travel experiences (day tours/dining) that are sometimes kind of pricey, time and time again I tend to pick the economical route to Disney so I can do both this and another vacation somewhere else in the same year and still stay in budget.

 

[jujube]

We stayed at AKV- Jambo last April. It was wonderful. Seeing the handlers bringing the food and watching the animals lope across the savannah was unreal. The lobby is gorgeous. The food at Boma was some of the best we've ever had at WDW. OP, I hope that you realize your dream of staying there one day.

 

[Bell30012]

We've stayed at AKL - Jambo and AKL - Kidani. We love them. In March my DD9 and I took my ex-wife's 2 year old with us. Hey, at two she was free and well, it isn't her fault who her mom is. But any way she woke up and saw a giraffe outside the balcony. I almost couldn't get her back in the room! She was totally mesmerized.

We stayed using points. Much better deal.