Oh! It Hurts!!

[bytheblood]

My husband wants a Vette, so he wants me to give me DVC.

I am looking at AKV as my home resort because it is appealing to me. Also, we normally visit in December and it is beautiful then.

We found that when calculating the annual dues and cost of points, we would buy in at BLT for 30 more points for the same price we would pay for AKV. That part is more appealing to my husband. Yes, I realize dues can change, points go up if you buy in later, etc...I don't really want to get into the mechanics of all of that on this thread.

What I do want to ask about is - for those who have stayed at both AKV and BLT or own at both, do you have a strong preference for one over the other (bearing in mind the 11 or 7 month booking window)? If so, can you share your reasons with me?

I am honestly thinking I would prefer my vacations at AKV over the years....but maybe there are some things I am not thinking of about positives at BLT?

What I do notice that I am weighing my decision on (so far) is:

• AKV is very nice during December and BLT seems very cold and under-decorated
• When I did the tour, the rooms at AVK seemed like they were a bit more spacious and better laid out than the ones at BLT.
• BLT does not seem like it has that "at-home" feel

I do like the monorail transportation at BLT, although it is not right there like it is at the Contemporary. Not sure if that is really a plus or not.

Your thoughts would be appreciated. I am sure there is something I am overlooking.
​

 

[ChiSoxKeith]

See that's a marriage that works. Compromise

My first trip to AKL will be in December but I just got back from BLT so I can chip in my $0.02.

We stayed on the 5th floor of BLT (totally random, we didn't request it) which is the same level as the skybridge over to the Contemporary. It was a short walk each morning down the hall and across the skybridge to the main concourse.

We spent each day (save one) in Epcot or the Magic Kingdom. Rolling out of bed and onto the monorail each morning was much easier than walking downstairs and waiting for a bus each morning over at the Contemporary. I dunno, maybe its just me but I don't like the busses all that much.

If you've stayed at any of the monorail resorts, the walk is about the same as if you were staying in the garden wing of the contemporary or one of the outer houses at Poly or Floridian.

If AKL is your true love, then book the points there. The 11 month window will be easier to book than the 7 month one, especially if you want December. It was a complete fluke that we got AKV for the first week of December. It was pretty booked solid and while I was booking SSR, a room just popped open and I snatched it up.

 

[lmshaggard]

We own at BLT and booked for December 15-23 there at 9am at the booking window for a 2bdrm. They were gone by that afternoon. I switched it on 5/15 to a 2bdrm dedicated standard view at Kidani and was able to get it at 7 months. I also booked a trip the same day for September and I booked a trip in April for June. AK was available for every trip. BLT had no availability, but maybe a night here or there. I figure BLT gives me the best option that is one of the most desired/limited at this time. We have stayed there and I agree - I LOVE the monorail access. The only reason I switched for December was because of the difference in points since we are taking our families with us and it is our treat to them. We are staying at AK for part of our trip in June as well and I am a bit worried about the distance and busses as we too will spend most of our time in MK or Epcot and have 2 strollers and in december will have 2 scooters for the elderly in our group. Good luck with your decision!

 

[disneynutz]

Unless you want your husband to buy another car in the near future, I suggest that you consider all of the DVC resorts.

Each resort has it's own feel to it and each member appreciates the resorts differently. What's important to them may not be important to you. We spent 2 years visiting and researching the different resorts before we bought our first contract. Several years, and 25 contracts latter, we own at 5 resorts.

I think the most will agree that the best Christmas decorations are at BWV, BCV, and VWL.

Good luck on your search and have fun.

Bill

 

[bookwormde]

For the cost of a corvette buy both and switch off (look at resale for the AKV points)

bookwormde

 

[ToddyLu]

To us the trip anywhere from AKV is part of the allure of this resort. We like the fact that we cannot see the parks from the resort. The bus service is very good IMHO. To me it is just as aggrevating to leave your room get on an elevator, walk across the skybridge, across the lobby, up the escalator and then wait for a monorail. We love the decor of AKV, DH the animals since he is into photography. While at Kidani it is a bit aggrevating to get on a bus to Jambo for Boma or Mara in the morning. But Kidani is the first pickup on the bus and you can always walk to Jambo which is not bad.

I would book where you love...if AKV, then you can book at BLT and also have a bit of Africa with your WDW. We were amazed and will be there again in Dec.

DH got a new Jeep and I got DVC---I win!

 

[bobbiwoz]

For me, a view of the animals will always be preferred to a view of the MK, or even the beautiful lake. We were able to get a BLT dedicated 2 bedroom for a stay in January this year, and we all loved it, but not enough to want to buy BLT.

When it's just the 2 of us, we are most likely to get a studio, and the studios at BLT are oddly designed in my opinion and I'm not likely ever to book one.

You have a picture of WL in your signature, there are lots of us who love the feel and design of both resorts, WL and AKL!

Bobbi

 

[marynvince]

Havng stayed at both, I much prefer AKV. Stayed at Jambo house Jan 2009 and have since stayed at SSR, BWV, CBR, OKW and BLT and I'd honestly say BLT was my least favorite. Checkin is at the Contemporary and it just feels too much like a Hotel, for me, as I travel a lot and know hotels.

I keep comparing AKV to the other resorts and am thinking, you know, I've got to get back there. There is just something about a savannah view and a cup of coffee in the AM.

You can get some great resales on AKV resales right now, that would be the way to go.

 

[ssawka]

For us, BLT is all about MK and Transportation. MK is our favorite park, and you just can't beat being able to walk over there whenever you want. Also, with DD the buses are a bit of a PITA, so I would probably go nuts if we had to ride the busses everyday. Lastly, if you walk over to the MK bus depot, you have direct access to all other resorts, which is awesome for ADRs.

Right now my oppinion is very biased since we have not stayed at AKV yet, but this was the reasoning we used to decide on BLT. Granted, at the time we bought (last May) the price per point was much closer for both resorts.

 

[zalansky]

Another thing to consider is if you ever want to book concierge at AKV you pretty much need that 11 month booking window since there are so few concierge DVC rooms. We bought a contract there just for that, we love to use it once a year and spoil ourselves. just a thought! Have fun deciding.

 

[bytheblood]

For the cost of a corvette buy both and switch off (look at resale for the AKV points)

bookwormde

I am not looking to get even amounts on the deal, just to have a place I want to stay every other year or even every year.

 

[Disney Spaz]

We own at both but from reading your post the only real reason you are considering BLT is the cost. As everyone on here says buy where you want to stay. If AKV is what feels home to you then do it at AKV. But since you asked, this is why we prefer BLT to AKV now.

What is great about BLT is location. Having stayed at both BLT and AKV for Christmas I will say BLT was better for us. We love MK and Epcot so the monorail was key along with the quick walk to MK every morning and no waiting in line for a bus or monorail every evening. But the thing I found most convenient was food. We are AP holders so if we wanted to eat at the GF food court we hopped on the monorail. If we wanted hot dogs from Casey's corner we took a quick stroll into MK and down Main Street. THis doesn't sound like a big deal but remember at AKV to get to any food court you have to take a bus to Jambo house. Then Mara's offerings are fairly limited. If we were more eat in the kitchen type visitors it might not matter as much but for us fast and a variety of food is important.

 

[hellerjw]

One thing that would concern me about BLT are all the recent reports of how bad the furniture/fixtures are starting to look after only a year in service. This would indicate a refurbishment may be needed much sooner than expected and might require a special dues assessment to pay for it, which would negate much of the dues savings you might see right now between AKV & BLT. DVC is subsidizing the BLT dues at the moment so there isn't a lot of accurate dues history there to indicate how quickly dues may grow over time. Even with all the heavy theming and animal care, AKV dues fall nicely in the middle of the range of all DVC resorts.

I would highly recommend you take a trip before purchasing and visit the various resorts you are interested in. It's very difficult to get a true feel of things without visiting the resort in question, trying the various transportation options, food options, etc. We loved Animal Kingdom Lodge before DVC ever opened up shop there so we have always been partial to AKV and purchased there shortly after they announced DVC units would be built. Had we considered other DVC resorts I would not have felt comfortable purchasing without first staying there and kicking the tires.

 

[bytheblood]

Thanks for all of your feedback.

After talking it over with my husband and daughter, we feel AKV is the way to go. We are not impressed with the studios at BLT, but we do love the look and feel of AKV. I toured both in December and other than the MK view, BLT did nothing for me.

 

[Cee]

I had my very first stay at AKV last week in a deluxe studio, savannah view at Jambo House. So my opinions are only for Jambo House. It was wonderful. The studio was spacious and lovely. I did not find it dark as others have mentioned. The animals were always there(Zebra Trail) and I loved the beautiful view. The resort itself is magnificent and the restaurants are first rate. Here is my only negative(if you can even call it that): It is near NOTHING. The only place you can walk to is Kidani, otherwise it's a bus. And you know how long the buses can take at times. I really missed being able to walk to DTD like you can from OKW and SSR, or Epcot/Hollywood studios from BCV and BWV. At VWL you have the option of the boats over to MK where you can hop on the monorail. Also, I walked a mile from the lobby to the elevator to go to the 5th floor where I walked another mile to my studio. I had no problem with it physically, it just wasn't the type of walking I had in mind.

All that said, I loved my stay there and even bought myself one of those adorable Dooney & Bourke purses from the Zawadi Marketplace.

 

[Tara]

What I do want to ask about is - for those who have stayed at both AKV and BLT or own at both, do you have a strong preference for one over the other (bearing in mind the 11 or 7 month booking window)? If so, can you share your reasons with me?

I own at BLT but have stayed at both (AKV being more recent). I vastly prefer BLT. First, it's more my style. AKV is so dark - from the furnishings to the actual lighting. BLT is much lighter and brighter (though the bathrooms are still not lit well, though they're better than AKV). AKV feels very removed to me. I know people will argue it isn't, but hey, this is MY perception. We don't visit AK as much as any other park, and since that's the only park it's close to, that makes it tough. We have much more access to lots of dining at BLT at the Contemporary alone, but at all the monorail resorts without even having to go outside.

I am honestly thinking I would prefer my vacations at AKV over the years....but maybe there are some things I am not thinking of about positives at BLT?

What I do notice that I am weighing my decision on (so far) is:

• AKV is very nice during December and BLT seems very cold and under-decorated
• When I did the tour, the rooms at AVK seemed like they were a bit more spacious and better laid out than the ones at BLT.
• BLT does not seem like it has that "at-home" feel

Decor and feel are extremely personal so I won't comment on those. I will say that I found the layout of BLT to be much better than AKV. (And I stayed in a dedicated 2br at both, so it's an easy comparison.) The lightness makes the rooms feel more open to me in general, but where BLT really shines is the kitchen. It is far and away better IMO, and the storage space cannot be beat.

I do like the monorail transportation at BLT, although it is not right there like it is at the Contemporary. Not sure if that is really a plus or not.

The monorail is closer to BLT than to AKV.

I think you have to decide if 30 more points is worth losing home booking at AKV. Keep in mind that DVC could change booking rules at any time to give more advantage to resort owners at each resort - or they could loosen the restrictions. There's no way to know, but never assume that this will remain the same indefinitely.​

 

[bytheblood]

Thanks, Tara. You do bring up some good points.

I do visit EPCOT and Magic Kingdom more than any other park. I love Animal Kingdom park, but in 8 days, I usually go there twice, Disney Studios once and then the other 5 days are given to EPCOT and Magic Kingdom.

Time to make the pros and cons list.

 

[cseca]

OK, we JUST returned from 3 night BLT studio and 5 night AKV 1br Value.

Here are the things we considered when we compared both resorts:

- Do you have kids? And which park will be your favorite?
We have a baby and we can see in the next 10 years or so to frequent MK more than the other parks. Even though I personally prefer EPCOT, MK will most likely be our "home" park. So for us BLT won this round.

- How does transportation affect your decision?
I used to think "eh, I don't need monorail. Busses are way more than enough.". I am biting my tongue now because we LOVE the monorail. I know I know, it's only convenient to MK and to go to EPCOT we still have to transfer blah blah blah...
But if you mostly go to MK (like we do now), this is one convenience that I absolutely love.
Think about this... your baby is tired for nap, you put him/her in the stroller. Stroll him/her out of the park to your transportation mode. If you have to take the bus, you'll have to wake him/her up and carry the baby in the bus, fold the stroller.
Now, if you go to the monorail, you line up for the monorail stroll the baby into the car and no need to take the baby out until you get to your room for the nap.
Or or or (ok, I sound like a seal now), you can walk all the way to your room from the park. A little long walk but it's not excessive. And no bother waking up the baby either. That's the convenience that I never took into account when we bought into BLT.

- What type of accommodation do you need? How "stingy" are you with points?
AKV has the legs up on this area. You can get Value rooms and the 1br value is more than enough space for us now. And the points requirement for them is unbelievably amazing for what you get.
And if we ever need to upgrade to the regular room they have those too.
BLT however, has points requirement that are pretty high. Most of the rooms I think fall under LV category. Which is pretty high points requirement. So if you don't have the 11mo headstart you might be stuck with LV on your trips.

Another reason why AKL wins in this area is the option to use Concierge level. No other resorts have this option. And to get this accommodation you will need that 11mo advantage. If you think you'll use this accommodation often, it's better to buy here.

- How far in advance do you book your vacation?
If you are an advance planner 7-11mo in advance, then home resort advantage is definitely necessary.
But if you are a spontaneous vacationer then it really doesn't matter where you buy your points. Because you most likely will not need the 11mo advantage.

Anyways, not sure if my ramblings will help you. Hope it does!
Good luck making your decision. I think you should do a split stay next time you guys come down so you can be more comfortable with your decision to purchase.

 

[TIGGERmetoo]

We debated between AKV and BLT when we purchased. We finally decided on BLT because we spend most of our time at EPCOT but with the possibility of grandchildren coming we bought BLT. Plus we thought it would be harder to book BLT at 7 months than AKV. Our 1st DGD is now 9 months old!

 

[bytheblood]

Thanks again for all the feedback. We decided on AKV.