Help needed picking a DVC resort

[aeenser]

My family and I have belonged to DVC for 5 years and usually stay at BLT. This is convenient for us since our girls are 4 & 6 and we spend most of our time at MK. However we are planning a trip with friends for next summer with 2 girls basically the same age and don't have enough points to spring for the 2 bedroom at BLT for the week. My husband and I stayed at boardwalk and loved it. Just looking for suggestions for a good lower point resort or opinions of it would be worth buying some extra points to stay at BLT. This will be our friends first trip to Disney for the parents and kids.

 

[Kidanifan08]

My family and I have belonged to DVC for 5 years and usually stay at BLT. This is convenient for us since our girls are 4 & 6 and we spend most of our time at MK. However we are planning a trip with friends for next summer with 2 girls basically the same age and don't have enough points to spring for the 2 bedroom at BLT for the week. My husband and I stayed at boardwalk and loved it. Just looking for suggestions for a good lower point resort or opinions of it would be worth buying some extra points to stay at BLT. This will be our friends first trip to Disney for the parents and kids.

For a summer trip, as long as you are not including July 4, you should have your pick of the lot. From a point cost standpoint, you can't beat an OKW 2BR. VWL, BWV and BCV come next in point cost with SSR not far behind. AKV is a little pricey for a savanna, but an nice value for a standard view.

We love our AKV stays. With kids that age, they will love the animals, and the pool at Kidani is great. Plus, AKV has 3 of the best restaurants on property. The third bath in the 2BR is nice and having the park buses stop at Kidani first is a great feature of that resort. Don't be discourage by the perceived distance from the parks -- it's not really that noticeable.

For summer, BCV and BWV are in a great location to walk to two parks and they both have great features. The pool at BCV is obviously very popular and the Boardwalk restaurants are a great option. We are hoping to get BCV or BWV next summer, even though we really prefer AKV. We have never stayed at VWL and SSR is not our style. We only did 3 nights at OKW 2 years ago and did not get a feel for that resort.

Good luck with your decision. If points are tight, I would go with OKW or BWV. You could even try to get a value at AKV, but that is tough if you don't own there.

 

[aeenser]

Thank you for the info. I would to stay AKV but have always been worried about the distance from the other parks. Is it possible to walk fromAKV to AK?

 

[Pirate Granny]

No you cannot walk to AK...I love VWL and taking the boat to MK...IF the girls are strong swimmers the pool at BCV is perfect...if they like beach type swimming they have a great shallow sand pool...

 

[Kidanifan08]

Thank you for the info. I would to stay AKV but have always been worried about the distance from the other parks. Is it possible to walk fromAKV to AK?

As Pirate Granny noted, you cannot walk to AK from AKV. It is one of the shortest bus rides on property, though!

AKV is often though of as being "remote", but honestly, we have never found the bus rides to be terribly long. If you stay at Kidani, the park buses arrive essentially empty, so you always get a seat, which is nice with the little ones or with strollers. If you have a child who needs a nap, it is a little bit of a haul to get back to the resort, but again, not terrible. The worst ride back to AKV is on a crowded bus after Wishes, Illuminations or Fantasmic. But that holds true for most of the resorts. All DVC resorts have transportation drawbacks, but we don't let that keep us from experiencing the various resorts.

Your kids are at a great age for Kidani. They would love the pool and splash area; oh yeah . . . and the animals! One minor drawback to Kidani is the lack of a counter service. You have to go over to Jambo for The Mara. We don't do CS at the resorts, so it never bothers us. We would much rather stay at Kidani with the bus service and extra bathroom than at Jambo.

Have fun planning!

 

[dianeschlicht]

While you can't walk to a park from AKV, we think there is so much to do there you will hardly notice you are a distance from the parks. Staying at Kidani with a Savanna view is so much fun, and the pool/water park area is amazing for kids of that age. It is truly a full "Resort" experience and a vacation within a vacation. Unlike BLT where you are in a big high rise looking at your vacation spot AKV IS the vacation spot. It just seems so much higher end than some of the others. Don't worry about the distance, since the bus service is pretty good from AKV and especially from Kidani. The only down side is the long hallways.

OKW would be another choice. Here again you are not within walking distance of a park, but the bus service from OKW is the best on site, and the HUGE villas give you so much additional space they are well worth it. Also, the water slide here is amazing as well. Since it is also the best value point wise, you can't go wrong there. We also think the OKW villas are the best layout in the system. Being fairly central too, it's a short ride to 3 of the theme parks, but a bit of a haul to Animal Kingdom.

 

[aeenser]

Thanks for the insight. My one complaint with BLT is that it isn't like a resort. That is what inline about boardwalk (sorry I'm not enough of a vet to know all the abbreviations off the top of my head). I have always wanted to do animal kingdom lodge but was worried about the distance from parks. I enjoy walking to and from whenever possible. However as my kids are getting older I want be utilizing the strollers as much and want have to worry about waking a sleeping child to board a bus. I hadn't looked into OKW - is it fairly updated?

 

[aeenser]

Sorry for the typos. I was trying to type quick butting back fired. To clarify. I won't be using my strollers. Hardly used them this year in Anaheim.

 

[jimmiej]

After staying at AKV/AKL multiple times, I believe the remoteness issue is overblown. Might be a good choice for you. Lots for kids to do there.

 

[dianeschlicht]

Thanks for the insight. My one complaint with BLT is that it isn't like a resort. That is what inline about boardwalk (sorry I'm not enough of a vet to know all the abbreviations off the top of my head). I have always wanted to do animal kingdom lodge but was worried about the distance from parks. I enjoy walking to and from whenever possible. However as my kids are getting older I want be utilizing the strollers as much and want have to worry about waking a sleeping child to board a bus. I hadn't looked into OKW - is it fairly updated?

OKW was completely renovated 2 years ago. Just bear in mind that the "theme" there is 1900's Victorian Key West.

 

[aeenser]

If I choose AKV at Kindani will I have a hard time getting a 2 bedroom for August?

 

[Kidanifan08]

If I choose AKV at Kindani will I have a hard time getting a 2 bedroom for August?

I wouldn't think so, as long as you book reasonably far in advance. It is a large resort. The savanna view rooms are the most numerous, so if you want a standard view, it may be more important to book early.