02-13-2010, 11:03 AM | #11 | |||
Singing along with the children on the happiest cruise that ever sailed
Join Date: Oct 2009
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Hi DVC neighbors!!!!
We own 300 points at AKV! DH and I bought our first 200 point contract after we took the tour during grown ups only vacation last March. We added on 100 more at Christmas time! We bought both contracts from Disney. We were going to do our add on resale but between the facts that we got a great incentive, that we got 09 points although our 09 use year was almost up, and that our new points have the same use year as our original contract we couldn't go wrong with buting direct from DVC! We've only stayed at SSR (October 09) and Kidani so I have limited knowledge to base favorites on. I LOVED Kidani though! It truly felt like home! We are sooooo happy with our decision to purchase DVC. It was truly the right thing for our family! I love knowing that the next trip is right around the corner! |
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02-27-2010, 06:54 AM | #12 | |||
Taking a Journey Into Imagination
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: UK
Software: Photoshop CS5
Posts: 1,660
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Hi DVC Neighbors!
We brought into DVC in 2007 when we took our daughter for her first trip to WDW. We just went along to see what it was and to have a look at the AKV models but we were sold from the word go! We brought that day, we knew nothing about resales so we didn;t shop around but I have no regrets. We brought 160 points for AKV and at the time we were getting a lot of $ for our £'s. So it was a really good deal for us but I would have to ask DH to be specific about how good I do know that we got the developers points incentive. We had out first trip home in Feb 2009 staying at AKV Jambo House in a 2 bed standard. This was our first time staying at a deluxe hotel of any sort and we were blown away. We had been excited when we stayed at Coronado Springs in 2007 which was a step up for us from the budgets. So to us this was sheer luxury! We were so happy we had our DVC to enable us to stay in accomodation like this. So much so that we brought another 50 points whilst we were out there for AKV After this trip we were very generous and let my brother in law and his girlfriend go out to the world on our points in Nov 2009 so that they could have one last trip before their first baby arrived. They stayed at a studio in OKW which they loved. Coming from the UK we get to go to Disney every 18months - 2 years so we always go for around 2 weeks. We are currently planning our first Halloween trip for this October. We are booked for a 1 bed savannah at Kidani but we are so tempted to try and change to a 1 bed Wilderness Lodge when the 7month window opens. Decisions decisions! I really don't know yet which my favourite DVC resort is but I am planning on having fun trying them all so I can make a decision on this. I know that I will always have a soft spot though for our home resort though.
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02-27-2010, 09:49 AM | #13 | ||||
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Quote:
Have you seen the 1br at Kidani? Gorgeous!!! (not to mention the benefit of the Savannah view). I toured a number of resorts last month with a bunch of travel agents, and the 1br at Kidani was a clear favorite. Many were wowed by the luxurious bathroom, and a few commented that the unit felt larger than any of the other resorts we had toured (as far as villas, we toured SSR, BLT and Kidani... we toured WL but only saw a standard hotel room). But, since you have stayed at Jambo, I can understand if you want to try one of the other resorts.... hmmm
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02-28-2010, 02:26 AM | #14 | ||||
Taking a Journey Into Imagination
Join Date: Feb 2010
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Quote:
As for choosing where to stay it is the hottest topic around here at the minute. We have only seen the model 1 br units for Kidani we've never actually been in one. We were blown away by Jambo so with the additional space and extra bathroom I know we will love Kidani & DD would love the view. However I have been put off a little by the fact that there is no food court and that the hotel is so big you can have almost a mile walk back to your room if it is at the furthest point from the bus stop! DD is only 7 and she gets so tired if we have a long day walking around the parks. WL has great themeing like AKV and its close to MK and my we like the look of all the restaurants. DH & DD are both fussy and will only eat at Mara at AKV as everywhere else is not to their tastes. However the pool is much better at Kidani and the list goes on I have no idea how to make a decision but we need to decide what we want by the 17th march
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02-28-2010, 08:44 AM | #15 | |||
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Gotcha... good reasons. Our studio room was a long way from the lobby, but not too far from the bus stop. Yeah, no food court, so if you know you'll be wanting to stop in the food court periodically during your visit, than Kidani may not be right this time. Since your DD is only 7, I say go for VWL (or BLT) so you'll be close to MK... you'll have plenty of other opportunities to stay at Kidani.
Good luck deciding!
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02-28-2010, 03:12 PM | #16 | |||
Stopping for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: The Lone Start State
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- Which resort(s) did you buy into (and when)?
Boardwalk Villas (1999) Villas at Wilderness Lodge (2001) Beach Club Villas Saratoga Springs Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas Villas at Grand Californian (February 2010) - Did you buy from Disney or resale? Disney - Where have you stayed on points? Boardwalk Villas Beach Club Villas Saratoga Springs Old Key West Villas at Wilderness Lodge Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas (both Jambo House and Kidani Village) Grand Californian (a month before the villas opened) DCL Disney Wonder DCL Disney Magic Bay Lake Towers (in August 2010) Villas at Grand Californian (in January 2011) - Do you have a favorite DVC resort? We like to stay at Beach Club Villas during the Food and Wine Festival because it's within staggering distance to Epcot. Saratogo Springs was nice because it's withing walking distance to Downtown Disney. And the kids loved Animal Kingdom Villas, especially Kidani Village (and the pool there.) - any other thoughts? I never thought I'd like doing laundry on vacation, but it's so easy to throw a load in in the morning before heading to the parks and come back later to clean clothes. Makes packing so much easier since we only have to take a few days worth of clothes instead of something for every day. And love that I don't have to come home from vacation with a mountain of laundry to do. We love using our points for cruises, too.
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02-28-2010, 07:38 PM | #17 | |||
Cooling off in Critter Country
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 262
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What a great idea for a thread!
I bought into DVC last summer - 50 points at OKW through resale. My sister has been a member for years, and I've stayed with them quite a few times. I've been to SSR (my first and only trip so far on my own points), BCV, AKV and Vero. This summer we're planning a family trip and hoping to get in at Hilton Head, but we're waitlisted for a 2BR and so far, it's not looking promising. So our backup plan is OKW. I'm not sure I have a favorite just yet. AKV is beautiful - love the savannah and the decor, but the others have their advantages too. |
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03-01-2010, 08:17 PM | #18 | ||||
Taking a Journey Into Imagination
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Quote:
I'm hoping to stay there in Dec but not sure we can get it at the 7mth window. Will need to be the week before Christmas.
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03-01-2010, 09:16 PM | #19 | ||||
Stopping for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
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Quote:
But he just bought the GC points last week. The numbers worked out that it was cheaper (or not much more) to buy points than to pay cash for the 1-bedroom for the few nights we're going to be staying there after the cruise next year. (We're gonna need the washer/dryer after 2 weeks on the ship.) I've heard mixed reviews about the rooms at BLT, too. Some really like them, others say the rooms aren't that great. I guess we'll find out for ourselves in August.
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03-01-2010, 09:19 PM | #20 | |||
Stopping for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern
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Oh, and don't count yourself out of BLT. We just booked it last month, around 6 1/2 months out. That wasn't even the resort we were trying to get into, but they had rooms available.
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