We have decided to go for it but not sure how many pts to get?

[minnie2]

We were thinking of starting with 200? We figured with 200 we could stay a good portion of the yr at AKLV with at a 1 bedroom.

Any suggestions for how many pts to get? We are torn on this.

 

[marynvince]

Then went up to 200. As I did further research regarding when we would visit and where we would stay I chnaged last minute to 225. This works good for our family of 6.

 

[AKV707]

If you have looked at the point charts and 200 will work for you, go for it. As you use DVC more, you may discover that you need more. The add on process is easy. You may find that 200 is perfect, so i would say go with that as long as you are sure that will suit your current anticipated vacation needs.

Have fun deciding!

 

[IknowDoYou?]

If you have looked at the point charts and 200 will work for you, go for it. As you use DVC more, you may discover that you need more. The add on process is easy. You may find that 200 is perfect, so i would say go with that as long as you are sure that will suit your current anticipated vacation needs.

Have fun deciding!

To this point, we thought we would want 200-250 off the bat, but we decided to get 160 at AKV and will do an add-on of 50-100 at either GLV or BLT once they come online. This wouldn't give you a week at AKV at the 11-month window, but it would give you the total points needed and multiple home resorts.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the consensus that once the new buildings at AKV open, there will be enough rooms to make the 11-month windows less needed? Especially seeing that the 1-bedrooms are the last to go?

 

[glennbo123]

I was comparing 160 vs. 200 points at AKV. Assuming Magic season and a 1BR villa:

At 160 points we could go for 1 week in back to back years, 1 year in a Savanna view and 1 year in a Standard view. Then would have to take a year off to let the points build back up.

At 200 points we could go for 1 week for 5 years straight, 2 years in a Savanna view and 3 years in a Standard view. Then would have to take a year off to let the points build back up.

Of course, we could also omit an expensive weekend night or go to a Value room to save points and possibly allow a trip every year.

We decided that the additional 40 points at 200 provided a whole lot more flexibility, and if we were going to go for it, then....we were going to go for it.

 

[bobbiwoz]

To this point, we thought we would want 200-250 off the bat, but we decided to get 160 at AKV and will do an add-on of 50-100 at either GLV or BLT once they come online. This wouldn't give you a week at AKV at the 11-month window, but it would give you the total points needed and multiple home resorts.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the consensus that once the new buildings at AKV open, there will be enough rooms to make the 11-month windows less needed? Especially seeing that the 1-bedrooms are the last to go?

I am not sure that the 1 bedrooms at AKV, in Kidani will be the last to go. They are the first to offer 2 full bathrooms and sleeping arrangements for 5. If you'll be happy with a 1 bedroom in Jambo, that's different, I think.

Bobbi

 

[AKV707]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't the consensus that once the new buildings at AKV open, there will be enough rooms to make the 11-month windows less needed? Especially seeing that the 1-bedrooms are the last to go?

That remains to be seen. It will be a large resort, the third largest. But I think a very desirable one. In Kidani, there will be an extra bathroom in the 1 BR or larger. That could put the 1 brs in Kidani in higher demand than the other resorts. AKV is also the only resort with value and concierge accommodations which will be very tough to get outside of the 11 month window.

 

[DisneyBuffinDE]

I am thinking about buying and I know AK DVC is what is selling. My DVC person talks about Phase 1 and Phase 2. What is the difference?

 

[AKV707]

Phase 1 or AKV I, is Jambo house, the converted rooms in the existing Animal Kingdom Lodge. This is the part that is open now. If you are able to buy in at Jambo, your points are immediately usable.

AKV II is Kidani Village the new section. It is due to open on May 1, 2009. If you buy in there, your points will not be usable until it opens, but you won't pay dues on the points until it opens. And I think that there are some incentives there with developer points.

Whichever one you get, it has no impact on your ownership or your ability to make reservations at either.

Hope that helps!

 

[Tinkerdreams]

We were thinking of starting with 200? We figured with 200 we could stay a good portion of the yr at AKLV with at a 1 bedroom.

Any suggestions for how many pts to get? We are torn on this.

I bought 200 points at SSR at the beginning of the year and wish I did 250. Maybe BLT will get those 50 points.

 

[tecodis]

That remains to be seen. It will be a large resort, the third largest. But I think a very desirable one. In Kidani, there will be an extra bathroom in the 1 BR or larger. That could put the 1 brs in Kidani in higher demand than the other resorts. AKV is also the only resort with value and concierge accommodations which will be very tough to get outside of the 11 month window.

What is the difference at AKV between a value room and a standard room?

 

[AKV707]

The value rooms are the same wifth as the standard and savanna rooms at Jambo. They are about 3 to 3 1/2 feet shorter. In the 1 br, the kitchens and baths are the same size, the living area and bedrooms are smaller than in the standard or savanna Jambo rooms.

The views are also different. 40% of the values face the Sunset Savanna, 40% face the pool and 20% face the front of the lodge, the parking area. All of the standard view rooms at Jambo face the pool.

That is the Jambo layout. Kidani is different with slightly larger rooms and with an extra bath in the 1 br or larger. The 2 brs in Kidani will have 3 full baths!

 

[thepops]

Also if you go with 200, you may find it to your advantage to have them split it into 160 and 40, so should your plans change down the road, you can sell the 40. (or maybe you could even do 100 50 50 since its AKV)

 

[glennbo123]

If you split it 100/50/50 you won't get the SSR developer points.

 

[minnie2]

Why do you recommend splitting the point?

 

[thepops]

That actually makes secondary contracts that can be sold off seperately from the main one. So in the future, you decide you have too many points, or if you want to downsize the number of points at AKV in order to help you cover buying at BLT or another resort, you don't have to sell the entire contract. Or, if you want to leave the DVC points as an inheritance, you can easily split the points on a contract boundry (rather than give all the points in your will to your 3 kids for example, then they have to figure out the split on maint. costs, what happens if one of them doesn't pay their part, etc. ... just makes it easier if they are seperate). From Disney's perspective the costs, etc. would be the same either way (although as glennbo pointed out you might not get the SSR developers points)

 

[georgemoe]

It's just DW and I and we just bought in for 160 at SSR with incentive points. This is plenty for us to start and during the times we vacation, it allows us 1 full week + 4 weekdays a year in a studio with no banking/borrowing needed.

Our strategy right now is to use our extra points to check out the studio and 1br at SSR and also try a few weeknights at other DVC resorts before we decide on adding on more points. We plan this over the next 3 years so we are in no rush to add on.

Good luck.

 

[djmeen]

Our family of four is made up of our 2 boys, my wife and me.


So we started out a few years back with 200 points thinking it was plenty for us to take a couple of trips a year, one with the boys and one without the boys. Especially if we stick to off-peak times and weekdays.

Sound theory right? :

So what we've found over the past few years is:

1. We really like taking folks with us (parents, brothers, sisters). This meant for us 2 BR units were what we were using, not the 1 BR setups.

2. As the boys get older, even if we do go alone, we'll probably want a bit of space in the room so back to a 2 BR unit being the norm.

3. As the boys get older (oldest is going to be 7 next week), taking them out of school will be less of an option, so we'd be back to higher point windows.

4. And finally - since we've started going, we didn't realize how much we would LOVE our trips to WDW!!!! So more points = more trips.

So we added on 200 points 2 weeks ago at SSR!

This also lets us have (2) 200 point contracts to leave for the boys - nice and neat.

So to wrap it all up - starting off with 200 points worked great for us for 3 years. Then we just added on when we wanted to.

Of course, would have been cheaper back when we first joined to buy it all. :

.... hmmmmmm, maybe we should add on even more now!

I must get off Disboards now , add-onitis outbreak seems to be spreading.