Updated --- Second Thoughts

[Budshark]

OK - so we got all our paperwork for 210 points in AKV. Just have to sign and send back.

Well now we are having second thoughts. Not about joining - we know this is right. But about AKV and not buying resale.

Our concerns about AKV are location, location, location, and style. The lighter colors and brighter resorts are more our styles. The dark colors and rooms and african themes of AKV just don't seem right for us - especially for a Disney vacation. Also, AKV is so far removed. If it was on the other side of AK, maybe, but where it is we are concerned.

So that leads us to SSR (we want the additional years, although I'd love an Epcot resort). If we do SSR, I'd probably do resale and save the $$ (About $10-12/point). Concerns here are the size of the resort, but thats probably about it. It seems to be in a good location overall.

So - are we crazy? Anyone else having second thoughts on AKV?

And more importantly - has anyone ever backed out of an agreement with Disney after you put your deposit down and gotten paperwork? Whats the experience like?

 

[Cruelladeville]

No you aren't crazy. However, check on the closing costs before doing anything. Also, what about financing? And when are you planning to vacation--remember that resale doesn't allow for even reservng a vacation until after you have closed, which can take 6 weeks-2 months. Also, make sure that the resale comes with all its points. A stripped contract should be avoided, unless it's a huge deal.

I personally love AKV, but I don't have young children. Our favorite activity is swimming and sunbathing at the pool, we have been to WDW so many times that it's not a big deal anymore.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I agree you're not crazy, and second thoughts are good if they lead you to be truly comfortable with the decision.

We're empty nesters with DGC (3 of them ) and we have multiple home resorts because there are different reasons for us to own at each one. We do not have buyers remorse for the 100 AKV points we bought last month. We went to the see the samples last week and think that AKV will be a good resort to own. We also own BWV, VB and VWL. Mostly we book 10 -11 months out, at a home resort, but we do some 7 month changing at times, and very rarely we book a trip at 3 months.

I do not think you will have any problems with backing out of the AKV sale. Just before closing on the AKV points, Disney's quality control called to be sure we wanted to go through with the purchase, did we have any questions, and our money had been sent weeks before.

Bobbi

 

[Tigger031266]

Your not crazy at all. However, wiegh the pluses and minues both ways:

SSR (Pluses)
- Style (colors)
- DTD
- Location

AKL (Pluses)
- Conciege
- Free animals oustide you window
- Cheaper points
- Better Pool
- Better restaurants
- Extra Bathroom
- Bigger Rooms

 

[dtheboys]

I have owned OKW, and HH in the past....sold them to buy at BCV's and SSR.
I love all the DVC resorts, except AKV's....I may fall in love w/ it once it is open, but the FEEL is just not there for me...
We are very active, and AKV's is too removed for us...We love to walk DTD at night from SSR, and LOVE the Boardwalk when staying at Beach Club....
That is just my feelings on AKV's.....other love it, but it just isn't for us...
BUY AT DVC!!! Somewhere!!!! You will never regret it!!!!

 

[Anthony1971]

Both resorts are nice and have a lot to offer it is a matter of what is right for you.
If you plan at staying at AKV a lot then that is your best choice if you are happy at any resort then the cheapest contract is your best choice.
AKV will be large enough to meet demands for most times of the year when it is complete but if you want a certain level of room that may be a problem.
Same with SSR but there were times when I called and there was no availablity at the 7 month window
I did get a room in another resort.....
If you want a particular room at a particlular resort for a certain time of year and you can book at the 11 month window then buy at that tesort if you are open then buy at the best deal

 

[CarolA]

Your not crazy at all. However, wiegh the pluses and minues both ways:

SSR (Pluses)
- Style (colors)
- DTD
- Location

AKL (Pluses)
- Conciege
- Free animals oustide you window
- Cheaper points
- Better Pool
- Better restaurants
- Extra Bathroom
- Bigger Rooms

While I agree with SOME of the pluses.. I would NOT consider concerige a plus. There are what, five rooms? Getting to stay in one is going to be nothing short of a miracle LOL!

I think pool is a toss up. They seem about the same to me and SSR may be better due to more "quite pools"


For me, I know that having stayed at AKL the location and style work for me and NOTHING beats the animals. LOL!

I do like SSR also, but it's more like any other DVC or Disney resort IMHO.

 

[pilferk]

OK - so we got all our paperwork for 210 points in AKV. Just have to sign and send back.

Well now we are having second thoughts. Not about joining - we know this is right. But about AKV and not buying resale.

Our concerns about AKV are location, location, location, and style. The lighter colors and brighter resorts are more our styles. The dark colors and rooms and african themes of AKV just don't seem right for us - especially for a Disney vacation. Also, AKV is so far removed. If it was on the other side of AK, maybe, but where it is we are concerned.

So that leads us to SSR (we want the additional years, although I'd love an Epcot resort). If we do SSR, I'd probably do resale and save the $$ (About $10-12/point). Concerns here are the size of the resort, but thats probably about it. It seems to be in a good location overall.

So - are we crazy? Anyone else having second thoughts on AKV?

And more importantly - has anyone ever backed out of an agreement with Disney after you put your deposit down and gotten paperwork? Whats the experience like?

I can't help you on the decor objections, but I might be able to ease your mind in a couple of other areas.

First, on location. Look, AKL might not allow walking access to a theme park. But it's not what I would call "far", either. The furthest park is MK, and it typically takes about 15 to 20 min to get there, via Disney transport, and about 10 to 15 min if you have your own car. For some people, that's just TOO far to have to commute. For others, like me, it's really not that big of a deal. The nice thing about AKL is that it does not share transport with anyone else (yet...possibly the busses will also stop at Kidani Villiage when it's built) so is very efficient.

Second, I'm not sure how large your family is but remember that 1 BR sleep 5 (instead of 4 everywhere else) and 2 BR sleep 9 (instead of 8, everywhere else). That was one of the main selling points for us at AKV.

Third, the 11 month booking window seems to be a bit more advantageous to have at AKV than at SSR. For most of the year, there is a LOT of availability at SSR at the 7 month window because the resort is simply so large. So if you want to stay at SSR, really, having AKV points are not going to "hurt" you much. On the flip side, it remains to be seen how hard it is to book AKV. Certainly, until Kidani fully opens in '09, there's going to be a "shortage" of inventory to book into. AKV is ultimately a pretty unique offering for DVC, and I'd expect, at least until the novelty has worn off, some stiff competition at the 7 month window.

And finally, with the AKV points discount, and the lower closing costs, I'm not sure how much "lower" the resale prices are actually going to work out to be. You might want to do due dilligence on investigating to make sure that a "full" (as opposed to stripped) contract, including closing costs, is really going to save you as much money as you think. And also take into account that AKV's contract end date is 2057...not 2042 like many of the resorts, or even 2054 like SSR.

 

[kimberh]

I don't think you are wrong to rethink your decision, I own at 4 Dvc's. My home is decorated more like SSR, yet I don't own there. We have stayed at AKL many times, It is one of our favorites. We just love the Savanna rooms. My husband hunts and fishes. He will get up in the middle of the night, set on the balcony...watch the animals. It is his favorite resort.Our love for AKL, amost kept us from Buying into DVC. I would never decorate my home in those colors, but for a few days, we really enjoy it. I would never decorate in the Beach Club or Boardwalk themes either, but again for a few days we enjoy it.

We don't consider AKL very far. I really have not noticed that. Some of the buses stop and start so many times, it is like we are never going to arrive. On the AKL bus, It is a nice ride, then we are there. I cannot wait to see the new pool and Resort!! I am so excited over this resort opening, I can hardly wait! You have to do what is best for you and your family. I don't see me using Conciege, but it is nice to know, that if I need to one trip, I will work hard to try and book it. I will book Savanna, I am very excited over 9 in a two bedroom. That is the exact size we need, when we all come to Disney. Now, I have to get a Two Bedroom and a Studio. I am eating the points up! I probably did not buy enough points... will have to do a add on.

 

[NemoMOm]

Well, this may be random, but you said you would love an Epcot resort. We were just at SSR and DH timed the bus ride to Epcot and it was 8 mins. Hope that helps.

 

[Mtnman44]

I wouldn't worry about distance. SSR is good bus hop to any resort as well. Go with what resort you will prefer the most. SSR is condo style, I think AKV will be more hotel style and a little more "active". It all depends on what you like the most. I do think the 11 month window does have more value at AKV than SSR. If AKV was available at $86 back when I started my purchase at SSR, I very well may have chosen AKV. Like others have mentioned, it does seem that SSR will generally have good availability at 7 months, whereas AKV has some "prime" rooms and locations that will likely be gone at 7 months most of the time.

If you haven't considered this already, I would want my 210 points split between a 160 point contract and a 50 point add on. Not a crisis, but it does give you some additional flexibility.

 

[DISNEYFOS]

And more importantly - has anyone ever backed out of an agreement with Disney after you put your deposit down and gotten paperwork? Whats the experience like?

We actually did back out of a SSR agreement, we gave our deposit and once the paperwork came we realized we would be much happier with the BCV. Our guide wasn't completely free with the information that we could be put on a waitlist for sold-out resorts during our tour.

So we called up..said we reconsidered and they refunded our credit card for the deposit. No problems.

We then got another guide and waited 3 months for our BCV Points.

 

[bababear_50]

What about changing it to 160 points SSR and 50 AKV points ?

 

[Buckeye Fan]

So - are we crazy? Anyone else having second thoughts on AKV?

And more importantly - has anyone ever backed out of an agreement with Disney after you put your deposit down and gotten paperwork? Whats the experience like?

You're not crazy. It's a big investment and you should be happy with your purchase.

We decided to purchase resale and backed out of a Disney deal several weeks after we signed papers on-sight. It was the smoothest process ever. Called guide, cancelled request, received a refund back to our cc that month! I was worried, but Dis was first class.

Word of warning about resale. We did it and I don't regret it. However, some things you should consider:
1) Closing costs are more expensive. (ours were approx $200 via Dis. We negotiated to have closing paid for by sellers and we covered the 07 MF's. Had we not closing would have been $1200 on 2 contracts.)
2) You have to find a contract with the appropriate number of points and UY you prefer. We ended up with August, which will be fine, but knowing that most of our travel will be during the summer, I would have chosen a different one had I known more at the time.
3) Watch contracts online carefully. With SSR, you'll get both 2006 and 2007 points with certain UYs. Contracts via resale can be loaded or stripped (we got a 120 points contract with all 2005, 2006 and 2007 points). However, I saw contract where no points were coming till 08!!!
4) It takes longer. We were 3 months from our offers to ibeing n the system. If you purchase through Disney, you'll be able to use the points almost right away.

With that said, best of luck in your decision. If you have additional questions, feel free to PM me!

 

[Merylj]

I can understand where you are coming from. We stayed at AKL for four nights and I too was really concerned about the dark decor and location. However the theming is fabulous and magical and the location really isn`t too bad, the longest trip being to MK.
I think splitting your points between SSR and AKL is a really good idea

 

[3DisneyKids]

Remember, too, that both resorts are large (AKV will be close to OKW size once complete), and once the novelty of AKV wears off, I don't think it will be difficult to get into either resort at the 7 month window....thus, you should still be able to stay both places. AKV home advantage will be a must for conceriege and standard rooms, so that may be an issue for you.

I vote to split your contracts...have ownership at both...talk about a win-win situation!

 

[Budshark]

Thanks so much for all the replies!

We spent a lot of time considering our decision and ended up rescending our offer for AKV

What we decided is this just is NOT the place for us, and neither is SSR. What we wanted was something more central, but the 15 year difference in contracts kept bothering us. Well we are over that. We'd rather have 35 years with ownership somewhere we love versus 50 years at a place we are OK with...

So we just made an offer which was accepted for a BWV resale! The Crescent lake area is much more exciting to us. We love the idea of the lakes, seeing/hearing fireworks - being able to walk to Epcot and MGM and having a mini-DTD right outside our "home"
Plus the wife is happier!

So anyhow - again - thanks for all the advice, it really helped

Now its just waiting for ROFR to pass

Thanks!
Chris

 

[Olaf]

I was just going to post that I thought you should look at BWV or BCV. If you're going to go the resale route and you love Epcot, then you have to look at those two resorts. I'm kicking myself for not buying BCV back when it was first offered to members.

I think you made a good decision, Budshark.

 

[rie'smom]

Thanks so much for all the replies!

We spent a lot of time considering our decision and ended up rescending our offer for AKV

What we decided is this just is NOT the place for us, and neither is SSR. What we wanted was something more central, but the 15 year difference in contracts kept bothering us. Well we are over that. We'd rather have 35 years with ownership somewhere we love versus 50 years at a place we are OK with...

So we just made an offer which was accepted for a BWV resale! The Crescent lake area is much more exciting to us. We love the idea of the lakes, seeing/hearing fireworks - being able to walk to Epcot and MGM and having a mini-DTD right outside our "home"
Plus the wife is happier!

So anyhow - again - thanks for all the advice, it really helped

Now its just waiting for ROFR to pass

Thanks!
Chris

Hopefully,I can say," Welcome neighbor!",pretty soon.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Good Luck!