More (of the same?) AKV info

[Granny]

I had the opportunity to talk to a guy manning the DVC desk at WL a couple of days ago. Unlike most DVC salesmen, he was very willing to talk about AKV and offered up most information unsolicited.

I didn't follow the official AKV thread very long, and this is probably all really old news/rumors, but here's what this CM said.

- The new building with the DVC units would definitely be attached to the existing AK Lodge.

- Rooms will be larger...closer to the OKW room sizes.

- He volunteered without my asking that the 1BR would take 5 people and the 2BR take 9 person occupancy.

- Very interesting is that he said the 1BR would have 2 bathrooms. That would be huge, IMHO.

- They will bring in 40 additional animals for the new savannah view area that DVC will have.

- There will be a new themed pool in the DVC area.

- There will be an additional sit-down restaurant and probably another counter service snack area in the DVC section.

- Existing members will be notified first for sales with the "usual incentives" for a new resort. I don't know what that means and didn't ask.

Like I said, he offered up almost all of that information after I just asked him when he thought they'd start selling AKV. He guessed some time in the middle of next year as SSR is 2/3 sold out according to him. I'm thinking that if SSR still has a third of the points to sell that will take more than 6 months.


Mods...if this needs to be moved somewhere else, that's fine. I'm on dial up here at VWL and I couldn't do much searching!

 

[tjkraz]

- Very interesting is that he said the 1BR would have 2 bathrooms. That would be huge, IMHO.

I didn't follow the other thread either, but I'll be shocked if it isn't actually 1 1/2 baths. I can't see them putting two full bathrooms in a room with only one bedroom.

As for the occupancy, sleeping accommodations for the 5th / 9th person is likely to be a convertible chair as they are using in the new All Star suites.

These are nice, albeit minor improvements. I wonder if they would also consider adjoining Studio rooms. We hardly ever use Studios, but that seems to be another niche that DVC has ignored thus far.

Enjoy the rest of the trip, Granny!

 

[Doctor P]

I didn't follow the other thread either, but I'll be shocked if it isn't actually 1 1/2 baths. I can't see them putting two full bathrooms in a room with only one bedroom.

I'm suspecting these are the converted/refurbished rooms in the main lodge. I have been in many hotels recently that, when refurbished, they combined two rooms and gave you two full baths as a result.

 

[BCV23]

I think all of those were covered in the original thread, Granny with the possible exception of the new building being attached to AKL. Recent rumors have it being located to the West of the Sunset Savannah and seperated by a good distance. I hope the guy you spoke to was correct. It does seem like a much nicer configuration to me.

Have a wonderful stay at your beloved VWL.

 

[lisareniff]

Thanks Granny! It's nice to hear collaborating information especially from a source that gives it freely and not lead to the answer. The placement of the new building is the newest area of speculation. As BCV23 stated, latest rumor has it further from the lodge on the opposite side of the Sunset Savannah needing a bus ride to connect the two. I was also hoping it would be ajacent to the lodge so I also hope the CM you talked to was correct.

The Snack counter sounds like a nice addition too.

 

[tjkraz]

I'm suspecting these are the converted/refurbished rooms in the main lodge. I have been in many hotels recently that, when refurbished, they combined two rooms and gave you two full baths as a result.

Here is the floorplan for the current One Bedroom units at AKL:

I believe there are 11 such rooms currently available. With minimal effort those rooms could easily be converted to DVC (reconfigure the master bath, new king bed, build the full kitchen in the "game table" area.) The layout also appears to mirror two of the Studio-sized room bays, leading me to believe it would be an easy floorplan to retrofit some of the existing rooms.

One Bedroom Villas work best for families of 4-5 with small kids. All those kids need is a half-bath.

When the kids get older they need separate beds. Or, if you have two adult couples traveling together, having one group on the sofabed is less than ideal, IMO. Those are situations where I think DVC would be wise to consider connecting Studio rooms.

Maybe I'm wrong, but if I were in charge of DVC for the day, that's the direction I'd go.

 

[NMW]

Great info, thanks!

 

[Simba's Mom]

This sounds like an excuse for me to go over to AKL when I'm at WDW in a couple weeks, and act nosey (a real stretch!). And as long as I'm there, I might as well have some Butternut squash soup and zebra domes. If anyone thinks of any questions, I'd be happy to at least ask.

 

[3DisneyKids]

Thanks, Granny! As you suggested, most of this has been posted before. The new issue seems to be whether or not the second part of construction (the "new" building) will be connected or not....

 

[Granny]

Yep, I kind of figured that I was rehashing old news for you guys.

Even if it is 1 1/2 baths in the 1BR, as long as the second bath has a sink and mirror it would be a nice feature for a 1BR.

And he seemed to feel sure that the DVC wing would be attached or very close. He actually compared it to WL/VWL which are not specifically attached but separated only by a short covered walk.

The CM I talked to is not a full time DVC salesman. He is in a rotation that includes working on the Disney Cruise Line and other jobs. He was young, and as I said he was offering up the information unsolicited.

Thanks for the feedback on the rumored aspects of AKV. It will be interesting to see it unfold.

 

[BCV23]

Hey, I love rehashing the rumors/news. The more info the better so thank you for posting about it.

I agree even 1 1/2 baths would be nice. As for the 11 1 BR suites being converted to AKV, from what I've read on the boards, those suites are not all on the 5th and 6th floors but scattered around the Lodge. I very much doubt that AKL would give up the revenue from those suites or that DVC accomodations would be interspersed with regular rooms.

Thanks again for the news and have fun!

 

[eyeheartgoofy]

Thanks for the info - I like to hear AKV info - old or new!

 

[ADP]

I was told some of the same things a few months back. The only difference was that the resort would not be attached.

The only other comments from my DVC person were:
1. Parking would be underground beneath the DVC villas to make more room for the savanah.
2. The rooms being rebuilt in the current AKL would have access to concierge amenities. The trade off between these rooms and the rooms in the new building would be larger rooms in the new building vs concierge ammenities in the current building (no point difference).

 

[Lexxiefern]

Thanks for the info Granny! I can't wait until DVC starts to send us info on it!

 

[DVC Grammy]

I, too, think the half-bath idea is a better one. In our experience, whenever we shared a 1-bedroom, the lack of another toilet was more important than the lack of another shower/bath. While I think at least a 3/4 bath would be ideal, I never could figure out why there wasn't a "potty" in that shower space; there certainly was enough room (at least in the BWV 1-br) .

 

[MinnieGi]

I so like the idea of one and a half or two bathrooms in the one bedroom villa!! It would make getting ready in the morning so much faster!

Thanks for posting Granny! I hope the DVC guy you talked to is right about the buildings being close to one another.

Our trip is at the end of Jan. I'm hoping there is even more info out about AKV then that the DVC guides will be willing to talk about.

 

[DonnaL]

I also hope the info about the new building being close is correct......the last bit of info we got had me worried.....I can't imagine having to jump on a shuttle to get from one building to another. I absolutely love AKL and am really looking forward to VAKL but will be very disappointed if the new building is not within walking distance. I would think the parking issue makes
sense, however, don't know so much if it will be underground parking .....maybe ground level parking with DVC lobby area and units 2nd floor and up.... similar to MK being the second floor......don't forget they can't really dig a basement in Florida and in essence underground parking is a basement.

 

[Melrosgirl]

No king sized bed though? Thumbs down.

 

[pilferk]

No king sized bed though? Thumbs down.

Remember, the pic posted is of the EXISTING AKL one bedroom suites...NOT the proposed AKV 1 BR suites.

Just wanted to clarify that.

 

[spiceycat]

Granny thanks - I have heard too that AKV was surpose to be separated - thanks - hope your rumors are correct.

what the point of building a AKV if you can't enjoy the restuarants and activities at AKL.

How is Christmas at WDW - crowded?