No one should buy AKV to be able to get Club Level (CL) unless they like living a life of frustration. As an owner of a resort you get to book at 11 months out from date of arrival, and as an AKV owner, you will discover that you cannot even get CL 11 months out about 80% of the time during the year. There are only 5 2BR lock-offs. Since a member can book up to 7 nights from date of arrival at 11 months out, those booking days before you at 11 months out can grab and fill your arrival date. Moreover, even when CL is open at 11 months out, the rooms often disappear within seconds after 8 a.m. exactly 11 months out when reservations can first be made online, and you will lose the battle unless your computer is faster in communicating wth Disney's computers than everyone else's. Those things happen usually with studios and 2BRs but also at times with 1BRs. In other words, you can buy AKV for a lot of good reasons but don't do so if you think that will assure you easy booking of club level rooms. In fact, do not buy
DVC at all if main desire is to get a club level room at AKV.
We own both BWV and AKV and consider both ideal resorts. BWV is ideally located with easy access to two parks, two dozen restaurants (Epcot resorts and the two parks), one of the great views at WDW if you get a boardwalk view room, and one of the best point bargains if you get standard view. However, BWV has a 2042 end date which is starting to mean something important, particularly if you are under 50. AKV's end date is 2057.
AKV is also ideal. The resort has a setting like being on an African savanna, with nothing else around, making it seem you are not even in a busy Florida area. Watching the animals is a fun activity, the restaurants are very good, the pools are good, bus service is better than most, kids activities at the resort are good, and if you go larger than a studio, the one and two bedrooms at Kidani are very spacious and have an extra bathroom.
I personally would not buy both as an initial purchase and because of end date would likely not buy BWV now. In considering the purchase, be aware of the following reservation patterns that currently exist at WDW. If you regularly want any room at BWV between late September and marathon weekend in January, DVC's high to extremely high demand season at WDW, you should own at BWV and plan to make reservations 11 months out. At 7 months out, getting anything at BWV during that time can be difficult. Moreover, if you regularly want standard or boardwalk view studios or 2BRs during the mid-January to late Sep period, DVC's low to moderate demand season at WDW, you also need to own there and use the 11 month window because those can disappear much of the time during that period. However, if your plan is to usually go any time between the Monday after the marathon weekend in Jan and late Sep and get a BWV pool/garden view room or a boardwalk or standard view 1BR, then you could just as easily buy SSR at a much lower price and later 2054 end date, and book BWV with the seven month window because those are usually open during that low ot moderate demand season including holidays.
If you want AKV value rooms, you need to be an AKV owner, because those tend to disappear in the 11 month window year round and, in fact, particularly during that last quarter high demand time of the year, you can have probleMs getting value rooms at 11 months out. If you are fine with standard or savanna view rooms, then those rooms are usually open at 7 months out during the low to moderate mid-Jan to late Sep period. Until this year, those were also usually open, except for Jambo rooms, at 7 months out. However, I am seeing changes this year as even Kidani studios have been showing one or more days during a week filled for 11 months out during October (the month currently being booked at 7 months out). Thus, if you want AKV during DVC's high demand season, particularly studios, it is now appearing that you also need to consider owning there.
Bill
