Views

[felway17]

I know a few of the resorts, offer what are considered better views.. But these cost more points. Like Animal Kingdom, BLT, and Boardwalk.

My wife and I been thinking it is not worth the points to get the better views... since really all we do is sleep in the room. Otherwise we are out at the parks, having dinner, or sitting by the pool.

Just want peoples thoughts?

Would your thoughts change with the Aulani location?

 

[dianeschlicht]

It depends on the resort. For AKV, the savanna view is something that most would consider the whole reason for staying at the resort. I'm not much interested in anything but a view of the savanna when I'm staying there. Boardwalk...eh...take it or leave it. BLT...again...take it or leave it unless it's on the north side where you get both MK view and lake view at the same time. I feel like the MK views are really parking lot views.

 

[habg1]

A view is what you make of it!!!!

We've stayed at Kidani, Savana view. Now my kids will not entertain any other kind of view. It was very neat to see zebra, cattle and giraffes outside my balcony.

We've stayed at BLT and always got a lake View. Not because we requested it, but because thats what was available. We've got, both times, lake view facing the Contemporary, momorail. Yes, it was nice, but I would have taken the standard view over the lake view. We like BLT mainly because you can walk to MK, so views are not a priority there.

Now, at SSR, I requested a view of DTD when I booked and got it. Nice at night. The last time I was there we got a view of the golf course. It came in handy; my daughter was sick and we were stuck in the room. So, watching the golfers was my only entertainment.

But if we had to stay standard view at any resort, we would be fine. EXCEPT akl. We love to see the animals, so savana view it is!

Boardwalk, we had a standard 1 bedroom and the view was of the driveway and the water/pond. Not bad, very calming...

Sorry to ramble on....good luck with your decision... If you only sleep and don't hang out in your room, stick with standard view. Sometimes you may not have any choice though...

 

[moredisneyplease]

we're BWV frequents and dont really care for upgrading for the view but at AKL its a MUST!!!!!! Do it at least once!!! its so worth it! not sure about BLT

 

[moericus]

I think you should experience the best view of every hotel at least once. Take advantage of what DVC can you do for you!

 

[Dizny Dad]

You don't want an Island view at Aulani.

The island view at Aulani is a great view of the dirt hills behind the highway. Not really a great view when drinking your coffee in the morning, contemplating the cost to get there and the possibility of returning some day.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

Keep in mind that the amount of points for Boardwalk View is the same as any poin ts at Wilderness Lodge, Beach Club, and probably others.

I so love the Boardwalk view!!

I can't say this enough...before purchasing DVC...we always got bad views of everything. We rarely get a bad view now.

We had the standard view at Kidani, and I wouldn't recommend it.

 

[DisneyStarWisher]

You don't want an Island view at Aulani.

The island view at Aulani is a great view of the dirt hills behind the highway. Not really a great view when drinking your coffee in the morning, contemplating the cost to get there and the possibility of returning some day.

That's too bad! That's what I had planned on booking. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Mtnman44]

Our thoughts are pretty much in line with the OP. While a view can be nice, and I'd certainly choose it if all else was equal, to us they aren't worth the points. We'd rather have a bigger room / longer trip. We just don't spend a whole lot of time standing in the room, looking out the window.

The time we spent admiring the view was pretty small, even when we splurged for a AKL svannah view. We were gone all day and at night it was too dark to tell what kind of a view we had!

Now, if your plans include spending more time in the villa and relaxing on the balcony, etc, I can see where a view is more important, it sort of completes the vacation experience.

 

[wcpamotm]

Here's my experience and personal take:

I do enjoy my morning coffee and pastries while sitting on the balcony enjoying the view. So a nice view, while not a make-or-break thing, still is a great enhancement to the trip.

At AKL, it seems to me that the reason for being there is proximity to the animals. A particularly magical moment came during our trip there as we ordered a wine and cheese plate late one afternoon and sat out watching the giraffes being fed. On the other hand, wandering around the Uzima Pool area after dinner the last trip, it occured to me that it could also be a pleasant enough view for a trip where we need to save some points.

At OKW, we had a room with a great view of Overpass Road. Maybe one of the worst in the resort. But it was too cold to sit out there anyway, and it was possible to see the high fireworks from IllumiNations.

We were on the waiting list for a MK view at BLT, and to be honest we were thrilled when it didn't come through. Sure, it might have been nice to be able to see the castle from bed at night (and perhaps essential for some parties with small children), but otherwise the park is a little too removed to be a truly desirable view to me. And don't forget that every MK view there comes with a parking lot view, no extra charge!

What we did get was a 12th floor, inside south room. Sitting there, I could lean forward a bit and watch the sunrise, then a bit later lean back and be shaded from the glare of the sun. I've seen a number of comments advising to be on the outside, but I will request this view again!

Our best view ever though was from a surprise upgrade at the Grand Californian - our balcony directly overlooked Grizzly Peak.

 

[LisaS]

The time we spent admiring the view was pretty small, even when we splurged for a AKL svannah view. We were gone all day and at night it was too dark to tell what kind of a view we had!

One of the things I enjoy about AKV is watching the animals at night. The artificial moonlight makes it possible to see animals that are within a couple hundred feet of your balcony. We've watched zebras grazing and chasing each other around the savanna and giraffes eating from the feeders at night. My DH enjoys sitting out on the balcony at night with a glass of wine taking in the view of the savanna.

 

[CarpeDisney]

For our family, views are worth the extra points. As we still have children who take mid-day naps, it's nice to be able to enjoy the sites from the balcony while the kids sleep. After our first few stays at Kidani in Savannah view rooms, I don't think we'd enjoy a standard view because we'd miss seeing the kids run out to the balcony in the morning to see what animals are around (I'm sure this will change as they get a bit older).

As a PP mentioned, with all the room choices within the DVC properties you should try new options at least once to make a determination for yourself and your family.

As for Aulani....I would DEFINITELY splurge on the ocean view rooms. While I've never been to Hawaii, I couldn't even think of putting "waking up to the sounds and sights of the Pacific" and "waking up to a view of DTD from SSR" on the same level of impact on our trip. This would be a no-brainer for me.

 

[PoohsFan1]

A view is important to us because we (especially I) love to sit out on our balcony and just relax and watch the world go by. I always have my morning cup of coffee out there and at night, while the kids go to bed, DH and I like to just sit back and relax and talk about our day and what we have planned the next day. Sure we can do this with a not so great view, but a good view just adds to the experience. Now mind you, we have only stayed as a DVC member once so far, we stayed at BCV in a standard studio overlooking the wooded area towards Epcot. This was a nice view but we did get a lot of noise from the service road. DH and I agreed that the next time we stay there we will definitely request a pool view. As for our January trip we are going to try to switch over to BWV and get a BW view...crossing our fingers

 

[Brandis]

On my first DVC stay, we had a Value Studio at Jambo House with Savannah View, that was very nice for the amount of points. But on my second stay we just had a standard view in a studio at Kidani Village and while there are no exotic animals to be seen we enjoyed that view as much.

The wetland beyond the pool looks a lot like african grassland and fits the theming very well in my opinion.

This was our standard view:

To see the animals, I liked to go to the Savannah Outlook or the balcony of the founders lounge.

 

[supersuperwendy]

I admit we are points savers and always book standard view when available. I would most likely do the same at Aulani. We have a large family and always need a two bedroom villa so we try to economize points as much as possible to get as many days in each trip as possible.

 

[ShuisFan584]

For me, I am all about the views! Since I'm a DVC member and get to visit WDW often, I don't feel the need to spend 24/7 in the parks. I really like being able to sit on my balcony and enjoy the views.

That is the reason I bought specifically at AKV and BWV. My two favorite rooms are a savannah view room at AKV and a boardwalk view room at BWV. So yes, the views are definitely important to me.

 

[dbs1228]

I am truly a balcony dweller so view is important to me. Morning coffee and night time glass of wine are a must to start and end my day! My kids really want a MK view room at BLT and i refuse because I want a calm view all day (LK), we can see wishes from various locations. Stayed 1 night at AKL in a savanna room, not long enough cannot wait to go back! While staying at OKW we had a beautiful water view with DTD in the back ground so peaceful and quite.

 

[ericamcl]

DH and I are "splurging" on our first trip as members in September with a MK view at BLT.
BLT is not our home resort, but when I was able to get the MK view at 7 months out I was pretty excited.
With that being said, I'm not sure that we will always use the points required to get such a view, but for this trip, for many reasons, the view is important for us.

 

[crisi]

Often, with views, it isn't what you want, its what's available.

BW View and BW Preferred View are the same number of points. BW Standard View is cheaper - but its hard to get unless you own there. Sometimes we save points and go BW SV room. But if we are going to spend the points, we might as well get a Boardwalk View. However, we book eleven months out.

Standard view at BLT is pretty hard to get unless you own there as well. As is MK View. So most non-owners "have to" book a Lake View if they are going to stay there at all.

 

[felway17]

THank you all... Most of the comments are what I expected. Just figured I would see if my speculation was correct.... half the people seems to be "Viewers" and some are "Point Savers"..... I think I fall into the point saver catergory.