Purchase Animal Kingdom?

[Kim Gillihan]

We (family of 3 with an 8 year old) bought AKV (200 points; loaded contract) over a year ago and couldn't be happier. The two selling points for us is that it is our favorite DVC property and you can't beat the value villas. We have been able to book a 1 bedroom value four times now, including two 6 night stays just before Christmas this past and upcoming year (booked at 11 months). We also lucked out and got savannah view for all of our value stays. The lower points translates into an extra trip each year for us and that is huge. We have never had any issues with the buses. We always have a car with us but take the bus to the parks as it is quicker and less of a hassle than driving. The restaurants on property are our favorite and watching the animals at the lookout with a glass of wine just can't be beat. We have no regrets and have yet to book a stay at any other DVC resort.

Awesome! That helps me feel like making right decision. I just lost that loaded contract. Didn't move fast enough!! So hot to focus and move fast! What is your use year?

 

[Kim Gillihan]

I agree I am excited about the later hours at AK too. But this year, for the first time, I have realized that my taking the parents in alternating years may be a thing of the past. Ultimately we purchased DVC for us. It was an awesome perk to be able to take family and get value villas. As we all age taking them may not be as easy in the future. I would love to own more points but for now we have what we can easily afford and take the time off from work. Hindsight, being 20/20 we should have bought resale but didn't. Sure it bit us fanatically when compared to resale but we have so enjoyed it. DVC makes vacationing in Disney a must to get your "money's worth. As a childless couple, we only had to think of our needs. However, if we had children, I would have still bought what we as adults wanted. I never dread seeing AKV looming in front of us. I never dread the bus ride to MK. But I will never forget the shear joy and elation we had leaving BLT after our one night--and the shear joy and elation seeing AKV the next morning. I thought " I hope people really check out the resort they purchase before they actually sign the dotted line". I certainly do not mind the fact that I pay extra MFs to feel so happy. That is how you should feel on vacation. We knew Disney was our destination of choice several years before finally pulling the trigger.

I have been surprised this last year how popular the resort has become. We have stayed at Jambo the last several years and are excited to visit and stay at Kidani on our second trip in Dec. It has a change of mood and vibe-more quiet and comfortable. More homey I guess. I would love to stay in the other resorts at least once but BLT did it for DH and turned him into a AKV purist. Who knew.........

Wow! What did he dislike so much about BLT? Everyone makes great points about buying for us. I think if we had 2 kids would be easier. With an only we like take people with kids Etc if possible. But can't all the time anyway. Thanks so much.

 

[Kim Gillihan]

AKL took awhile to find it's audience - I first stayed there before they converted the 5th/6th floor at Jambo to DVC & built Kidani. As time has gone on it seems that AKL has grown in popularity as the subset of people who appreciate how very unique the resort is grows. It's not everyone's version of a WDW vacation, but it does appeal to a growing group it seems. It will be interesting to see how the expanded hours at AK along with the opening of Pandora impact availability at nearby AKL/AKV. My sense is that it won't have a huge impact since there is no direct access between the two - but time will tell. I'm sure we'll hop over to AK from Jambo/Kidani a few extra times this Dec.. It'll be nice to have a park that stays open later so close.

Love later hours. We went June 2016 and enjoyed late hours so much. That's another perk.

 

[Kim Gillihan]

Loaded contracts move quickly. Act fast if you really want it.

Yep. It's gone!! Ahhhhh.

 

[gillep]

Another happy AKV owner here! DH and I much prefer to stay in Jambo over Kidani (unless staying in a 1bdr) which is one of the many reasons that we purchased at AKV instead of Saratoga resale, and we have found over the years that Jambo is booking up faster and faster. Unlike others in this thread we also really enjoy staying club level for one of our multiple yearly trips. It is exceedingly difficult to get, but we can always get at least 4 nights of a 7 night stay, and usually the whole stay. I would really look at how you want to vacation and what would make you happy, I could certainly settle with staying at Saratoga, or with booking Kidani at 7 months out if we owned at Saratoga, but I wasn't willing to spend all that money to settle and I knew that, for me, those options would be settling.

 

[disneynutz]

Awesome! That helps me feel like making right decision. I just lost that loaded contract. Didn't move fast enough!! So hot to focus and move fast! What is your use year?

It only matters what you want and what you enjoy. Each resort has people who love it or people who like a different resort more and the reasons are all over the place. What's important to me, you may not even care about.

Bill

 

[nluvwithdisney]

I believe that 7 month easy booking will tighten a bit as well for AKL. The company I rent out my points with as now included AKL as a premium resort. We love our AKL Dvc. What most complain of it's distance to parks is a plus for us.

 

[FireflyTrance]

I’m also a fan of AK, and I actually found CL availability for one bedrooms in May at 7 months. So anything is possible. I think the resort is beautiful. It’s just somewhat far from MK, EP and HS. However it’s close to AK! It’s really a personal decision, if you love the resort then I say go for it.


The other plus I see with AKV is that there are a lot of activities there. I wouldn’t mind spending a few days just at the resort without going to the parks.

 

[Kim Gillihan]

I believe that 7 month easy booking will tighten a bit as well for AKL. The company I rent out my points with as now included AKL as a premium resort. We love our AKL Dvc. What most complain of it's distance to parks is a plus for us.

I am so excited... we are in rofr now.. its killing me... I don't mind the bussess.... I know we will love it and I can't wait!

 

[Kim Gillihan]

I’m also a fan of AK, and I actually found CL availability for one bedrooms in May at 7 months. So anything is possible. I think the resort is beautiful. It’s just somewhat far from MK, EP and HS. However it’s close to AK! It’s really a personal decision, if you love the resort then I say go for it.


The other plus I see with AKV is that there are a lot of activities there. I wouldn’t mind spending a few days just at the resort without going to the parks.

Wow, that so cool... I hope to try CL some day! We are in ROFR now and hoping it all goes well... super excited and can't wait.. hoping to go for Thanksgiving... if all goes well.... cross fingers!! Thanks so much!

 

[Marypoppins14]

Just wanted to chime in here. I have owned at AKV since 2013, with 5 stays there; and other trips with stays at BWV, VGF, Poly, & BCV. Found something to love at each and every resort thus far. My son's favorite is VGF. I loved it there as well. But we love love LOVE our home resort of AKV. In fact, every trip, we find that we must return there on at least one of our days, just to visit. We love the immersive theme, the food, the sounds, the aromas, the interactions with the wonderful CMs. And of course, the animals. For us, it is definitely NOT a "novelty, once and done" experience. I tend to rent a car for our trips, as I prefer the convenience and freedom afforded by having my own transportation, as well as the ability to jump over to the nearby Target and Publix (or Marshall's) if we need anything. Jambo House is stunning and never disappoints. Kidani is intimate and lovely. Saana and the Mara are our favorite restaurants on property, hands down. I plan to add on at either SSR or AKV shortly. Just my 2 cents...

 

[Kim Gillihan]

Just wanted to chime in here. I have owned at AKV since 2013, with 5 stays there; and other trips with stays at BWV, VGF, Poly, & BCV. Found something to love at each and every resort thus far. My son's favorite is VGF. I loved it there as well. But we love love LOVE our home resort of AKV. In fact, every trip, we find that we must return there on at least one of our days, just to visit. We love the immersive theme, the food, the sounds, the aromas, the interactions with the wonderful CMs. And of course, the animals. For us, it is definitely NOT a "novelty, once and done" experience. I tend to rent a car for our trips, as I prefer the convenience and freedom afforded by having my own transportation, as well as the ability to jump over to the nearby Target and Publix (or Marshall's) if we need anything. Jambo House is stunning and never disappoints. Kidani is intimate and lovely. Saana and the Mara are our favorite restaurants on property, hands down. I plan to add on at either SSR or AKV shortly. Just my 2 cents...

wow! sounds like you do love it! I am super excited, can't wait to make it thru rofr..... only been a week and half.... seems like forever!

 

[Spartan86]

We (family of 3 with an 8 year old) bought AKV (200 points; loaded contract) over a year ago and couldn't be happier. The two selling points for us is that it is our favorite DVC property and you can't beat the value villas. We have been able to book a 1 bedroom value four times now, including two 6 night stays just before Christmas this past and upcoming year (booked at 11 months). We also lucked out and got savannah view for all of our value stays. The lower points translates into an extra trip each year for us and that is huge. We have never had any issues with the buses. We always have a car with us but take the bus to the parks as it is quicker and less of a hassle than driving. The restaurants on property are our favorite and watching the animals at the lookout with a glass of wine just can't be beat. We have no regrets and have yet to book a stay at any other DVC resort.

Just wondered about your "we lucked out and got savannah view" comment. So did you get moved to a designated savannah view room, luck out and have a partial view, get a Jambo standard on the savannah wings with one of "the pens" in your near view?

Thanks. Just stayed last week in Jambo 5808. Loved it. Designated savannah view room. Interesting to learn that just a couple of balconies over was "standard".

 

[erionm]

Just wondered about your "we lucked out and got savannah view" comment. So did you get moved to a designated savannah view room, luck out and have a partial view, get a Jambo standard on the savannah wings with one of "the pens" in your near view?

The Values (which LAE7 had reserved) will face either the Uzima Pool, an alcove of the Sunset Savanna, or the parking lot.

 

[Spartan86]

The Values (which LAE7 had reserved) will face either the Uzima Pool, an alcove of the Sunset Savanna, or the parking lot.

Ah yes. Value - the rooms a few doors from ours I guess were standard's.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

We own both AKV and BLT. I love my BLT, but it is almost impossible to book unless I am booking right at 11 months out. Even then, it's difficult.

AKV is still our favorite though. We love the rooms, and we love the resort days there. Kidani has a great pool and our resort days we just sit out and watch the animals. You will find as you use DVC that you will spend more of those resort days and a hotel room becomes more than just a place to sleep when the parks are closed, so that's another new thing to factor into your decision. The only thing I DON'T like about Kidani is that the fast service is all the way over at Jambo. There is the outside place that is sometimes open, and you can get a couple things from the gift shop, but overall it's more difficult to get a small meal there unless you want to make sandwiches or a pizza.

Definitely get where you want. As I mentioned, you will want more resort days as you visit more often and get older. There is no guarantee that you will always be able to book AKV at 7 months, and you cannot always get the room you want. Our room is important to us since DW is a huge giraffe fan.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Another happy AKV owner here! DH and I much prefer to stay in Jambo over Kidani (unless staying in a 1bdr) which is one of the many reasons that we purchased at AKV instead of Saratoga resale, and we have found over the years that Jambo is booking up faster and faster. Unlike others in this thread we also really enjoy staying club level for one of our multiple yearly trips. It is exceedingly difficult to get, but we can always get at least 4 nights of a 7 night stay, and usually the whole stay. I would really look at how you want to vacation and what would make you happy, I could certainly settle with staying at Saratoga, or with booking Kidani at 7 months out if we owned at Saratoga, but I wasn't willing to spend all that money to settle and I knew that, for me, those options would be settling.

I am with you, we really enjoy club level at AKV!

 

[LAE7]

The Values (which LAE7 had reserved) will face either the Uzima Pool, an alcove of the Sunset Savanna, or the parking lot.

Yes - we keep getting room 5116 (Ostrich Trail) in the corner of the Sunset Savanna. The view is very good - there is a concrete feeding pad that attracts the zebras and a tree feeder for the giraffes so we get great animals views from the balcony. We have another 1 bdr value booked for the week before Christmas this year - I'm sure our luck will run out soon and we will get that parking lot view...

Awesome! That helps me feel like making right decision. I just lost that loaded contract. Didn't move fast enough!! So hot to focus and move fast! What is your use year?

Our use year is August. For what it's worth - we paid $78/point when we purchased almost two years ago and it looks like resale contracts are now going for $80-85/point (we are thinking of adding on). We are staying (in a few weeks) at BRV at WL and the Poly (first non AKV stays). Of course, we will eat at Sanaa and Boma at least once during our visit as I can't imagine being at Disney and not visiting AKL!

 

[erionm]

We have another 1 bdr value booked for the week before Christmas this year - I'm sure our luck will run out soon and we will get that parking lot view.

Only 2 1-bedroom Values face the parking lot, so only a 20% chance of getting that view.

The Value Category consists of:

• 10 2-bedroom lock-offs (studio & 1-bedroom w/interior connecting door)
• 8 dedicated studios

 

[taurus8012]

I am seriously considering purchasing dvc after years of thinking about it. I have gone around and around regarding Saratoga, Bay lake and now I am thinking Animal Kingdom

My reason is I love animal kingdom. The resort looks amazing. I want to purchase a place that there is some value to booking at 11 months. My only concern is location, but I have stayed at pop and the buses didn't bother me. i loved being on site and being able to use the busses. AK seems to be reasonable right now as far as getting more points for my money as well.

I was set on bay lake mainly due to location but I hate that it is so many points to stay there in anything over a studio. We are only a family of 3 now but may grow and or always try to travel with friends so would prefer a one or two bed more of the time and bay lake is so many points probably could't afford to stay there lots of the time anyway.

I love the idea of buying Saratoga but afraid of the 7 month window issue. At leaset at Animal I could opt for concierge level is want to which I read is next to impossible at less than 11 months.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!! If I am missing something, please let me know, it doesn't seem like AK is one of the popular options.... Thanks in advance. KIM

You will never look back I've been an owner for 9yrs now. WE had the same problem where to Buy AKL or SARATOGA here is why we chose AKL .
The access to the Animals out side your room; My family has been here the past 9yrs and it still amazes my guests and family every time.
The points used are reasonable
The resort is breathtaking .You will need that 11month window to book AKL
I have never seen a problem with getting any-room 2 or 3 months out at Saratoga.
The concierge is great and next to impossible to get at 11 months.
Counter and Dinner Service options are terrific with high quality food. Their restaurants rival any on Disney.
Now that Pandora is opening up soon being close to Animal Kingdom.

I could name more but this should be more than enough for a family of three . We have stayed at all of the resorts AKL just rocks