WWYD?? Length of Stay vs View

[TagsMissy]

So here's my dilemma... There's always a dilemma isn't there?

Friends of ours just traded RCI points for AKV and will be there for one week in Sept. They have asked if we'd like to go too so we can vacation together at WDW and Universal plus watch the the Sept shuttle launch.

Here's what we are contemplating got for one week; the same dates as them in a Savannah view studio or get a standard view and stay 1.5 weeks either all at AKV Kidani or some sort of split stay with AKV Kidani and BLT if it's avail?

One other option I have is that I can get a value studio for all but 2 nights at the end ((I called so yes it is avail or was as if this afternoon)) of our friends stay so I'd be forced to do a split stay. The one thing with that is we'd be on different sides of the resort.

What would you do?

 

[schewy]

I have done the split stay before and I am not a fan. It always seems like there is something you really want to do at the time you are to change resorts, so you miss the activity. I will spend the first night at one resort and change to the other.
Last year we did the split stay at AKV and then over to BLT. I do agree with my family that the atmosphere of AKV is much warmer and friendly. After being at AKV, BLT did not seem as festive. However the view of the fireworks from the TOTWL is great and should not bee missed if you stay at BLT.
We have stayed at the savanna view and standard view at AKV. While it is nice to walk out onto the balcony and see the animals, I found that we did not do it enough to justify the extra points.
The standard view was fine. We actually overlooked the pool the last time. We could also see the animals to our right.

Regardless of how long you decide to stay at WDW, I would recommend not splitting the stay no matter which resort you pick.

 

[TagsMissy]

Valid points.. when we were at AKV last Sept we didn't so much miss not having a Savannah view but LOL we didn't want to pay a 2BR Sav view on points

BLT is our home so to us it feels right; I'd stay at BLT the whole time but part of the vacation is to be with our friends who also live in the same city as us but we don't get to see rarely see each other very often.

 

[schewy]

I would make my stay to spend as much time with my friends as possible. You know that you would be much more happy being closer to your friends no matter what the accomodations are.

 

[AirGoofy]

We did the split stay last year and won't plan to do another. We had to pack/unpack twice - which means more work on a vacation. Not what I plan to do. As for the AKL stay, we are going this year. When we booked, we chose the Savannah view option. This is not our home resort, but we figured, if you are going to AK, wouldn't you want to have the view? But, we like the preferred view. As for vacationing with friends, we had a chance to meet up with some last year. For us, Disney is a family vacation, and when it worked out, then we met and had fun. But, we did not plan our whole vacation around them.

 

[TagsMissy]

If it helps with people's thoughts on the matter both groups going are just 30-something couples; no kids involved.

 

[dizfan]

We have no kids and enjoyed our first split stay last December.

We stayed at Kidani (went to AK, DHS, and DTD), then switched to BLT (went to MK and Epcot). This kept our transportation times down. While the monorail from BLT to Epcot isn't the fastest, for us riding the monorail is one of our favorite rides.

NOTE: if we did have kids, we would not do a split stay.

 

[sjs314]

If the purpose of going at the same time is to spend time with your friends I would opt for the 1 week stay in the studio with savannah view

 

[ccigliano]

I just got back today from a Kidani-Savannah view stay and let me just say that unless I absolutely have to I will not stay in any other view. It is just spectacular to stand on your balcony and watch giraffes, zebras, ankole cattle, and impalas roam just below your balcony even if it was absolutely freezing in FL this week. I don't think that I would enjoy staying theree without a savannah view as it really is removed from everything else including a counter service restaurant. Some of the standard views were OK but why miss out on the whole reason they put the resort on the savannah. Have a great trip whatever you decide.

 

[disneynutz]

I guess it depends on how close you are to your friends and how often you see them. We have some friends that after a few days we are ready for a break, and I am sure that they are too!

Bill

 

[Anal Annie]

I have zero interest in packing & moving for a split stay unless it would be for a full 2 week trip (or unless I'm in Hawaii and am island hopping.)

So coming from someone who is points challenged...we always book the cheaper views. Way back when (the first year AKL was opened) we paid for a savanna view and got stuck with the worst view there could've possibly been. We only saw a couple of animals all week. What a waste of money. It was truely a disappointment. We were WAAAY down at the end on the back corner side of the Uzima Savanna had this HUGE schlep to the pool. Kept thinking we could've saved money by booking a pool / garden view AND been closer. So since we discovered EARLY on that not all savanna views are created equal IMO it's not worth the extra points. We also do not spend a huge amount of time in our unit as we're usually either in a park or at the pool... So I voted to stay put in a standard view for the entire time...

 

[Starr W.]

I have zero interest in packing & moving for a split stay unless it would be for a full 2 week trip (or unless I'm in Hawaii and am island hopping.)

QUOTE]

, I'm with you on the packing and moving. Will get my fill of that this summer in HI.

Personally I'd stay put for 2 weeks at WDW, unless I was bugging out for a few days at VB.

 

[culli]

DO the 1.5 weeks that you can get and WL the one by your friends.

 

[christa112]

I voted for 1.5 weeks. I don't need a fancy view. We are rarely in our room.

 

[TisBit]

We stayed in a Savannah View room....I am glad that I can say that I did, but I don't need to again. I get bored watching animals sleep or meandor around after the first 30 minutes or so. I even tried really hard to just sit back and enjoy it in the morning, but its not for me.

 

[LSchrow]

we found Savannah view nice, but fine to do just once. i would opt for the entire time in a standard view.
(if the choice was BW view vs BW standard view, i would opt for BW view every time tho )

 

[jpolak]

Length of stay wins over view IMO.

 

[TagsMissy]

I am really trying to make our stay be 9-10 nights... I really want to spend some time at 'home' but I am trying to not borrow points from next year if I can help it. Maybe it's a stubborn challenge I have to see how I can make it work with the remaining points we have since we borrowed from this year's points last year for 2BRs

I may just bite the bullet and borrow the whopping 14 points I need to do my BLT/AKV split stay or cut the trip short by one night eliminating an extra Saturday night.

I am currently looking at 3 nights BLT then finishing off at AKV... by going longer than our friends we can get our Disney fix as our friends want to do multiple things like Kennedy, Universal and Medieval Times LOL. Plus our last trip we made it up to the Lounge but we did not get to watch the fireworks there.

I actually really want to to go Kennedy too since it's been over a decade since we last went; I am actually wishing we went when we brought my brother's family last year. I've been to Universal in Cali but never in Orlando so I am looking forward to that. Medieval Times I can leave or take but I've heard it's fun? Anybody go recently?

 

[Pixieflip]

Length of stay wins for me, too. Views are nice if you have tons of points, but more days there is more important to me. And if I never have to move again, it'll be fine by me.

We just did another split stay and though the process of moving my stuff was as simple as handing it over to bell services (and of course the packing, etc), the biggest inconvenience was that my mom got sick that day. She needed a bed and a bathroom and we were homeless and stuck at DHS!! I called our next resort and they would not promise me anything over the phone, I had to check in in person to find out if anything was available early. Well, Mom could not be convinced that a ride on a bus was worth it unless there was a room ready for absolutely sure. She sat in the shade on a bench near the restrooms between HTT and RNRC until the coast was clear. Poor thing.

 

[Buckeye Fan]

I voted for the 1.5 week visit for two reasons:
* When we go down, I like to stay as many days as we possibly can, and I would definitely give up a view to stay longer.
* I'm not a fan of split stays. I like to unpack, unload groceries and relax. I feel like I lose a 1/2 day each time I change resorts.