Up, down and all around...a trip we will NEVER forget - COMPLETE 1/19

When I left off Joe, Henry and I were waiting outside for the DVC van to take us to Saratoga Springs Resort for our DVC tour.

We waited just a matter of moments when I saw a white van with the DVC logo drive up. We loaded up in the van and I was pleased that they remembered a child seat for Henry. :thumbsup2

During our drive to SSR Joe and I chatted a bit about the possibility of DVC. I had done very little research about it, and wasn't sure what to expect. I am pretty certain we would both want to buy in, but could we even afford it?! As we chatted I noticed our driver didn't say ONE WORD the entire time. He's a DVC employee, we had questions about it, yet he didn't even say anything...it was kinda strange, usually CMs are more than eager to talk. But, all well-it was fine, he got us there safe and I suppose that's his number one agenda!

We entered into SSR and were greeted immediately, given name tags, and directed to a beautiful foyer with beverages and a few snacks we could enjoy while we waited for our Sales Rep.

Joe and I both were still STUFFED from Boma, so we just got some water and a few crackers for Henry. And of course, we had to take some pictures...

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Before I could even snap a second picture a DVC CM was by our side directing us to some chairs where we could sit and enjoy our water while we waited for our Sales Rep.

Of course I had to take pictures in this little area just off the above foyer...

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Within just a few moments a Sales Rep approached us and sat down at our little table. He introduced himself, asked a few basic questions to understand who we were and where our knowledge on DVC was. I also found out he was a licensed Realtor. This was VERY important to me, I used to work for a Board of Realtors and know not just any licensed Real Estate agent can carry the tag of Realtor, and more importantly Realtors must meet a code of ethics and abide by a set of laws and rules.

We were soon taken back to a small room where our Rep showed us, via TV, the different DVC resorts, information about them, and explained how the whole program worked. Between Joe and I we asked, oh, about 9 million questions! We were in that little room a VERY long time, and amazingly, Henry was extremely well behaved despite not having a nap. Our Rep brought in extra treats and even a juice box for him at one point as well, which was very helpful. Henry also found great fun in the cabinet the TV was sitting on. :rolleyes:

Eventually we made our way over to the models, they were selling Bay Lake Towers (BLT) and Animal Kingdom Villas (AKV).

First up was the AKV Studio...

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Then he opened the door into the 1 bedroom, to make the entire unit a 2 bedroom.

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This is the bathroom in the living room. Our Rep explained that both AKV and BLT 1 bedrooms have 2 bathrooms, and 2 bedrooms will have 3 bathrooms. Most DVC resorts don't have the extra bathroom.

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The lamp over the kitchen table, I didn't get a shot of the table, but it's really beautiful!

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The Master Bedroom

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I love this lamp!

And here, the Master Bath, is where I let out the loudest gasp humanly possible:

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CHECK OUT THAT TUB!

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AND THE SHOWER! IT'S HUGEEEEEEEEEEE!

And the tile work is beautiful!
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I was in this bathroom for a few minutes gushing over the bathtub and shower and tile. It's wonderful! I also believe all my gushing over the bathroom made our Rep realize I was truly sucked in and he had was very close to a sale...

But could we even afford it? We hadn't really run the numbers yet...

Continued in next post
 
Continued from previous post

After they finally convinced me to come out of the Master Bath, we made our way over to the BLT model. We entered into the 1 bedroom portion.


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Oooh, cool, your room number glows!

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The bathroom off the living room area.

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Beautiful kitchen! The long cabinet on the right side pulls completely out like a pantry. Very nice!

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Can you imagine sitting here watching Wishes? You can actually tune in the music on your TV and watch from here. Ahhhhhh!

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While the shower was smaller than AKV, dual shower heads!


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Really nice tilework

And we entered into the Studio portion...

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This part of BLT REALLY turned me off. In the Studio the bathroom sink is in a hallway outside of the bathroom, and (see pic below)

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the kitchen area is directly across from it. Just icked me out for some reason. Maybe I'm weird...?

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BLT was so modern, and clean lines - it really appealed to us! (Aside from the weird bathroom vanity/kitchen hallway in the Studio)

Back to the little room we had already spent about 2 hours in...more discussion with our Rep, more questions. He asked where we would prefer to buy, how long we want to stay, what season we would come in, and how large of a room so he could determine how many points we would need to achieve it. After he told us we needed 13 bazillion points to get what we really wanted, we had him re-calculate to get to a certain dollar amount that we knew we could afford each month to see how many points that would give us.

He left the room shortly after so we could discuss - we were also able to use the TV software program to re-calculate anything we might want to, or review the resorts again, etc.

About 10 minutes later I went out into the hallway and had him return...






"WE'RE SOLD!"


I bursted it out as soon as he came in! I was so excited! I think he knew we were sold before he even left the room though...:laughing: I think he knew when I saw that AKV tub....!

So, yes, all of you have guessed correctly! WE ARE DVC OWNERS AT AKV!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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And our trip in January is to Saratoga Springs on the Developer Points we received! :yay:

Soon after we told our Rep (Bruce, I don't think I've mentioned his name yet?) we were sold he brought in another woman to do the closing papers and brought Henry a couple of toys to play with while we were occupied signing all the papers.

Before we knew it we were given our Membership Cards and a whole slew of papers, books and a nice bag and welcomed to DVC!!

We were also given 3 instant FastPasses - if we put these into a FastPass machine we would get a FastPass good for right away. We only had 2 more park days, but knew these would come in handy. We made our way to the ice cream parlor and enjoyed a treat, which really hit the spot since I was hungry again after 3 hours of DVC talk! I read that most people only take about an hour - thankfully our Rep was very patient with us!

Soon we were being taken back to WL by a very nice, and talkative CM. The first thing we did when getting back to our room was lay Henry down for a MUCH needed nap, unloaded our bag and tore through all our books and started that DVC dreaming!!!!!!!

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Up next: Our Dreams :cloud9:
 
congratulations! I hope you guys really enjoy being DVC owners! Great for you!! :cool1:
 
What a great update. :banana: I hope you will have many wonderful vacations at your new home!! It was so interesting to read how you made up your decission! I am not sure whether you wrote about it (if you did, I am sorry that I somehow missed it), but when did you decide to go on the DVC tour?

I totally agree with you that the studio sink at BLT is strange. Also, I think BLT looks fantastic right now, but I am afraid that it is a look that might be soon very outdated.

I would love to get DVC myself, but it just does not really make any sense for me. But I am tempted to at least go on a DVC tour and find out what I am missing :goodvibes
 

I thought about you when I was posting all those AKL pics-thinking it was a good thing you are set on the Beach Club, otherwise I might had caused a change in a certain trip binders outfit! :laughing:

I know what you mean about the ZDs, I was so disappointed I couldn't enjoy them. But that will make them all the more speical when I can I suppose!

Boma really is awesome if you can fit it in!!!

Oh, trust me -- there was some wavering when I saw your awesome photos but I am trying to stay strong :goodvibes!

Congratulations on buying DVC -- that is wonderful!!! I think I am really jealous! ;)
 
Congrats Brook!!!

I'm so happy WE'RE NEIGHBORS!!!!!:hug:

That 1br AKV bathroom totally sold sold me too... I can only DREAM of one that nice in my HOUSE!!! I'm going to have a hard time staying in a Studio...just because of it:goodvibes

I was suprised at BLT how NOT gaudy the color scheme was. From the pics/ads I had seen prior to visiting the sample rooms... I was really turned off by it..... but in reality they are very nice. You are right, though, they will date themselves quickly. Plus I didn't like how many more points the stays take!!

AKV is classic... they'll be able to refresh it periodically, and never go out of style:thumbsup2 I told my DH that I always wanted my very own pet giraffe...and AKV was the only way I can get one:laughing:

I'm using some of my DP in Feb (3-7) and most of the rest in July (21-30). The DP are such a nice perk!!

Congrats again!!
Paula
 
WELCOME TO THE DVC FAMILY, BROOK!!!!:banana: :cool1: :yay:

The AKL units look gorgeous. I love the location of the BLT, but am not so crazy about the decor - a little too modern-looking for my tastes!

I can't wait to hear about your impressions of SSR in Jan. Lauren and I are staying there for part of our trip in Feb. - have never been over there before.
 
Congrats on your DVC purchase, Miss Brook! :)
 
:woohoo: WELCOME HOME !!! :woohoo:

Wishing you, Joe, Henry, and his future siblings *magical vacations* for many years to come! :cloud9:
 
The cat's out of the bag! Official Congrats to you!!! (And guess what, we're officially neighbors - we got the e-mail last night that we passed Right of First Refusal! :woohoo: )
 
Congrats!! I wasn't able to see your pictures from work but I will look at tonight and drool over the DVC rooms. ;)
 
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Great pics of AKL! That is next on my list of places to stay! Now if I can just talk the Disney Grump into it...................

There's that smiley! :thumbsup2

I hope you are able to talk our DG into it-its such a unique resort. I bet he would love it too!

congratulations! I hope you guys really enjoy being DVC owners! Great for you!!

Thank you jay!!!

I am still in a bit of shock on how your tour went. :sad2: We could barely sit down before we were brought back into a room. I really hope, should you go on another tour, that you are treated more properly!

What a great update. :banana: I hope you will have many wonderful vacations at your new home!! It was so interesting to read how you made up your decission! I am not sure whether you wrote about it (if you did, I am sorry that I somehow missed it), but when did you decide to go on the DVC tour?

I totally agree with you that the studio sink at BLT is strange. Also, I think BLT looks fantastic right now, but I am afraid that it is a look that might be soon very outdated.

I would love to get DVC myself, but it just does not really make any sense for me. But I am tempted to at least go on a DVC tour and find out what I am missing

Thank you!!!! We decided to take the tour actually before we even left home, but I was thinking we would squeeze it on our last day. While at DHS we stopped at a DVC booth on our way out of the park and Joe opted to have it on Wednesday (our no parks day) instead. Which was a smart move, there would have been NO way we could have gotten that in on our last full day.

That is a good point about the decor becoming outdated quickly-I bet you are right, they are going to have to stay right on top of those refurbs.

You will have to check out the tour-just to see the models and all. It really is interesting! You can use your points at places all over, not just Disney too....so who knows, it might be a better deal for you than you might think! :goodvibes

I also have been meaning to say, I got your PM, I just haven't responded yet since we aren't completely solid on our touring plans. :eek: But, we should have them nailed down soon.

Oh, trust me -- there was some wavering when I saw your awesome photos but I am trying to stay strong

Congratulations on buying DVC -- that is wonderful!!! I think I am really jealous!

:rotfl: Stay strong! Your BC trip will be ahhhmazing! Think of the pool! While the AKL pool is pretty awesome, it doesn't have a sand bottom! ;)

Are you next in the DVC line? :scratchin

Congrats Brook!!!

I'm so happy WE'RE NEIGHBORS!!!!!:hug:

That 1br AKV bathroom totally sold sold me too... I can only DREAM of one that nice in my HOUSE!!! I'm going to have a hard time staying in a Studio...just because of it

I was suprised at BLT how NOT gaudy the color scheme was. From the pics/ads I had seen prior to visiting the sample rooms... I was really turned off by it..... but in reality they are very nice. You are right, though, they will date themselves quickly. Plus I didn't like how many more points the stays take!!

AKV is classic... they'll be able to refresh it periodically, and never go out of style:thumbsup2 I told my DH that I always wanted my very own pet giraffe...and AKV was the only way I can get one

I'm using some of my DP in Feb (3-7) and most of the rest in July (21-30). The DP are such a nice perk!!

Congrats again!!
Paula

When you said you closed the other day I wanted to shout back "SO DID WE!!!!!!!!!!" :rotfl2: So exciting!!!!!!!!

I remember reading about how the bathroom sold you-and I just sat there and nodded my head-its breathtaking. I know the other Villas have a big whrilpool tub, but just the setup at AKV, the color, the calm and cool relaxing envrionment of the entire bathroom...:cloud9:

We really liked BLT too - I think Joe was leaning more toward it actually, but when we were asked which one we liked better, I blurted out "AKV!" before he could even process the question! I asked him though right after that and he said he liked both equally, and after going through the points we were very glad to choose AKV because of the fewer points for a stay. :woohoo:

:rotfl: about the pet giraffe! Now you have zebras, cattle, ostrich, flamingos and more too!

Feb will be such a nice time to go-I would rather go in Feb or March, but we wanted to go in the Value season to stretchhhhhh the points as far as we could. Are you going to bank all your 2009 points?

WELCOME TO THE DVC FAMILY, BROOK!!!!:banana: :cool1:

The AKL units look gorgeous. I love the location of the BLT, but am not so crazy about the decor - a little too modern-looking for my tastes!

I can't wait to hear about your impressions of SSR in Jan. Lauren and I are staying there for part of our trip in Feb. - have never been over there before.

Thank you!!!!!!!!! The BLT location is awesome-that was another factor for us, esp with a little one that will want to be at MK the second we get there I'm sure. And being able to see Wishes every night...I could handle that! But, overall, AKV won out-I'm in love with AKL and that had a huge factor in it. Joe I think just went along for the ride and didn't care where we ended up as long as we bought it. :laughing:

SSR looks really beautiful! I will take a ton of pictures and report back!

Congrats on your DVC purchase, Miss Brook! :)

Thank you!!!

:woohoo: WELCOME HOME !!! :woohoo:

Wishing you, Joe, Henry, and his future siblings *magical vacations* for many years to come! :cloud9:

Thank you!!!

The cat's out of the bag! Official Congrats to you!!! (And guess what, we're officially neighbors - we got the e-mail last night that we passed Right of First Refusal! :woohoo: )

YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!!!!! What a perfect Christmas gift for your family! You are staying at AKV in August right? Our first trip there might not be until September, or even later! :sad1: But more details on all that (I might need ya'll to help me make a decision), soon.
 
Congrats!! I wasn't able to see your pictures from work but I will look at tonight and drool over the DVC rooms. ;)

:laughing: they really are stunning!! There is a really cool light fixture in there for ya too.

Woohoo! Congrats on buying DVC! I'm jealous:)

Thank you!! I really didn't think we would ever buy in - when I first brought up that DVC existed Joe just kinda shrugged it off. But then HE started bringing it up....a lot! I love that we can use the program other places than Disney too (though, we do believe we will be going there most often for the next many years). I am also excited about the money we will save owning DVC!!
 
That is very exciting news for you! We did the tour, but with Jill knowing there would be a new baby on the way in 2009, they just couldn't make the final decision. If they decide to have just two kids, I'm sure they'll look into DVC in the future, though. For now, we'll enjoy pictures from all of you guys and just be happy with our values. Those AK rooms were awesome, I will agree. It would be very nice to stay in a place like that, but it would make it harder to leave the room!

And to know that zebra domes were always right there, just steps away....that would be an incredibly delicious perk! :)
 
When you said you closed the other day I wanted to shout back "SO DID WE!!!!!!!!!!" :rotfl2: So exciting!!!!!!!!

I remember reading about how the bathroom sold you-and I just sat there and nodded my head-its breathtaking. I know the other Villas have a big whrilpool tub, but just the setup at AKV, the color, the calm and cool relaxing envrionment of the entire bathroom...:cloud9:

We really liked BLT too - I think Joe was leaning more toward it actually, but when we were asked which one we liked better, I blurted out "AKV!" before he could even process the question! I asked him though right after that and he said he liked both equally, and after going through the points we were very glad to choose AKV because of the fewer points for a stay. :woohoo:

:rotfl: about the pet giraffe! Now you have zebras, cattle, ostrich, flamingos and more too!

Feb will be such a nice time to go-I would rather go in Feb or March, but we wanted to go in the Value season to stretchhhhhh the points as far as we could. Are you going to bank all your 2009 points?


My DD7 decided shes getting a zebra ... and DD10 wants an ostrich!! Since part of our dues goes toward animal food/care... I don't feel bad at all about "claiming" one as my own.

we bought 250pts. Which I figured out can stretch into 17nights in a studio:scared1: So I'm using 4 nights in Feb... and 9 in July. I'll have 46pts left over... that I'm considering using for F&W:rolleyes1 but don't tell my DH yet... he's gonna flip:lmao: That's all just Developer Points!!

We are going in Nov over TG... with my Mom and Bro and his family. I'm using my AKV points to get a 2 BR Savanna room for all of us:goodvibes Its 9 nites, so I have to borrow like 132 points from 2010... but its my brother's family's first trip and I wanna pull out the stops!! I'm so happy DVC will enable me to do that!! I added up all my stays for 2009 (including the potential F&W one) and my lodging with taxes (rack rate) would have been over $13,000!!!!:scared:

Yay DVC!!


Paula
 
Congratulations! The pics are amazing- and I love living vicariously through your becoming DVC members!
 
Hi Brook! I am hoping that your grandmother is getting closure on what is happening, I'm glad she has such a loving family to support her. :hug:
So you have done it!?? You are now official DVC members! That is awesome! We have stayed in the BWV but aren't members. There is always a folder with all of the DVC stuff in it in our room. We have looked at it but haven't done anything about it.... maybe I need to dig those papers back out! :) AKL looks so amazing, we had dinner at Boma and we're blown away by it. Thanks for all of your pictures!
 
:rotfl: Stay strong! Your BC trip will be ahhhmazing! Think of the pool! While the AKL pool is pretty awesome, it doesn't have a sand bottom! ;)

Are you next in the DVC line? :scratchin

I am staying strong! :goodvibes

Do you know what my thought this morning was concerning DVC? "Everyone else is getting it!" :rotfl:
 
:cool1: Congrats on DVC!! I'm so jealous!!!!! ;)

I'm working on DH! I think he sees the benefits but he can't get past the monthly cost. He told me he'd like to pay it in full up front.We'll see!
 












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