Addonitis- BLT, AKL, or CC

[Omoreno]

My husband and I bought our first contract earlier this year- 150 SS direct.

After really contemplating things, we are looking to add on around 75 points early next year. We’ve decided that one bedrooms are more our speed.

We do not have children yet, but are hoping to soon. We would like the one bedroom accommodation to help with toddlers and then a growing family.

Our top choices are CC, AKL, or BLT resale.

Copper Creek we like years on the contact. BLT we like for connivence. I love the theme of AKL and I think it would be fun for small children!

Does anyone have any pros/cons to a young family for any of these resorts?

 

[FSUSammy]

We have an almost 3 year old and an almost 14 year old. I already had AKV that we love for the theming. We recently purchased BLT and are waiting on it to be added since we closed almost 2 weeks ago. We picked BLT because of the convenience and for the fact that we can get 1 or 2 bedrooms there and the whole point of us getting a resort like that was to be able to travel with extended family more while grandparents are around to enjoy doing that. The only con we have with Bay Lake is the theming of it doesn't compare to AKV. We originally wanted to add on at Poly but the fact that its just studios killed that idea.

 

[Omoreno]

We have an almost 3 year old and an almost 14 year old. I already had AKV that we love for the theming. We recently purchased BLT and are waiting on it to be added since we closed almost 2 weeks ago. We picked BLT because of the convenience and for the fact that we can get 1 or 2 bedrooms there and the whole point of us getting a resort like that was to be able to travel with extended family more while grandparents are around to enjoy doing that. The only con we have with Bay Lake is the theming of it doesn't compare to AKV. We originally wanted to add on at Poly but the fact that its just studios killed that idea.

poly would be our first choice as well, but studios killed it for us too. If we plan on traveling with infants for the next few years, I want a kitchen!

 

[JETSDAD]

I vote for AKV. Value 1 BR's could help stretch the points a bit further.

 

[princesscinderella]

CCV rooms are very small compared to BLT & AKV with the extra bathroom in the one bedroom. The cabins also throw the point chart there out of whack. It’s one of the few DVC properties we don’t own at because of this. The only thing it has going for it in my opinion is the expiration date. For kids AKV is my favorite hands down as there’s something special about hearing the kids on the balcony so excited to see all the animals. If you typically drive on property AKV is very easy to get around to all the parks even though people think it’s so far away it’s mostly highway driving with no lights. BLT is so convenient if MK is your favorite park.

 

[Sandisw]

BLT is my favorite out of the ones you mention. Being able to easily get to MK with little ones is the best.

 

[LadybugsMum]

I would do BLT because I love being able to walk to MK and the 1 bedrooms have an extra bathroom. That came in very handy when we stayed in Jan 2021. My kids would vote for AKL because they love the savanna view rooms and Kidani also has an extra bathroom in the 1 bedrooms. The value rooms are hard to get for Jambo; so I wouldn't take that into consideration personally.

 

[Stargazer65]

My husband and I bought our first contract earlier this year- 150 SS direct.

After really contemplating things, we are looking to add on around 75 points early next year. We’ve decided that one bedrooms are more our speed.

We do not have children yet, but are hoping to soon. We would like the one bedroom accommodation to help with toddlers and then a growing family.

Our top choices are CC, AKL, or BLT resale.

Copper Creek we like years on the contact. BLT we like for connivence. I love the theme of AKL and I think it would be fun for small children!

Does anyone have any pros/cons to a young family for any of these resorts?

They are all nice, but I like BLT the most of the three you mentioned because it's a monorail resort. Since you mentioned you have SSR, do you plan to split stay, combine points, or use them for separate visits? One thing to consider if you plan to combine points for 7 month reservations at all...CC is really hard to book what you want at the 7 month window, BLT and AKL are easier.

 

[Rush]

My husband and I bought our first contract earlier this year- 150 SS direct.

After really contemplating things, we are looking to add on around 75 points early next year. We’ve decided that one bedrooms are more our speed.

We do not have children yet, but are hoping to soon. We would like the one bedroom accommodation to help with toddlers and then a growing family.

Our top choices are CC, AKL, or BLT resale.

Copper Creek we like years on the contact. BLT we like for connivence. I love the theme of AKL and I think it would be fun for small children!

Does anyone have any pros/cons to a young family for any of these resorts?

It kind of depends what your priorities are. Do you want easier access with little ones? BLT, especially for little ones who will prefer MK for several years. Or do you want them to have experiences they will always remember? AKV hands down, especially if you get enough points to do SV rooms on occasion. Like Pete said on a recent DVC Show, AKV is the one resort at WDW that you could relocate to anywhere in the country, away from the parks, and it would still be an experience. CCV I can’t comment on because we haven’t stayed there, but living close to the mountains it’s hard to pull the trigger staying there, the theming feels too much like local decor to us. I’m sure we’d love it though.

We were kind of like you, except we already had a 5 yo and a 1 yo when we bought. 75 direct, 175 resale at SSR, a few months later 100 PVB resale, and just recently added 200 AKV resale. We debated BLT, having stayed there in Jan. We also decided 1BR is where it’s at for us, and maybe even 2BR as the kids get older. At the end of the day, the closeness to MK is pretty nice, but the kids never talk about the resort. They always talk about AKV, the animals, the decor, it really just imprinted on them so deeply they will always love when we stay there. And for us, it’s about the experience and the memories. They won’t grow up saying “we loved how close we were to MK”. But again, it’s what you need and expect from your purchase that will help set your priorities.

 

[RoseGold]

1BR in general is the easiest to book at 7 months. AKL isn't a problem when I travel, assuming you aren't trying for value. That should be bookable with SSR most of the time. I chose SSR for a similar booking strategy. You can stay AKL with any of these points.

Of these choices, I would go BLT. Its chart is the cheapest on the monorail, and its points are still excellent value with a long contract. I find CCV's transportation problematic and its a much worse location than BLT, and a BLT contract does have valuable booking categories, thinking long term.

And the extra bathroom in the 1BR is nice!

 

[DeeBee3]

I love all the choices you mention. Our "home" is CC and it is the smallest of those 3 choices. It is very hard to get a studio, but 1-bedrooms don't seem to be an issue. The theming is amazing and I have little kids. They love it. There is a boat that takes you directly to MK, so transportation is not an issue for us when we consider that aspect.

It also has (arguably) the best Christmas tree on property, but you could just visit the resort to see that!

The rooms are smaller so that is a downside. However, we always love it. It's just beautiful and we love the proximity to MK and the monorail resorts.

 

[defrogger]

Just to reiterate the above, AKL is easy to get 1 Bed Standards at 7 months, so it might be worth going BLT for the 11 month windows, granted 1 Bedroom Lake Views are also easy to get at 7 months for BLT.
Now if you are looking for AKL Value 1 Bedrooms, or Savanahs then the 11 month windows might be important there. But most likely if you got BLT, you can mix it up and alternate each year.

Im still a little new, if you have two contracts lets say SSR and BLT. Arent you allowed to transfer the points from SSR to BLT and you get the BLT 11 month booking window. Never done that but i think it works that way. You just have to plan it out.

 

[Stargazer65]

Im still a little new, if you have two contracts lets say SSR and BLT. Arent you allowed to transfer the points from SSR to BLT and you get the BLT 11 month booking window. Never done that but i think it works that way. You just have to plan it out.

You can't ever turn one resort's points into another resort's points via transfer. Transferred points retain the same use year and resort priority.

This is because the points are specifically assigned to a resort. It would be a catastrophe if they allowed that...Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! For example, supposing tons of people from different resorts decided to convert to VGF points at the same time, there wouldn't be enough rooms to go around at that resort, and an owner would go to make a reservation at 11 months, only to find out that it's booked solid.

 

[defrogger]

You can't ever turn one resort's points into another resort's points via transfer. Transferred points retain the same use year and resort priority.

This is because the points are specifically assigned to a resort. It would be a catastrophe if they allowed that...Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria! For example, supposing tons of people from different resorts decided to convert to VGF points at the same time, there wouldn't be enough rooms to go around at that resort, and an owner would go to make a reservation at 11 months, only to find out that it's booked solid.

Lol, maybe i should write this in another post as i could end up hijacking this post
So i probably have a misunderstanding of how the transfering works and I think it might be because i have two memberships.
So I bought Boardwalk (200 points) and BLT (150 Points). Boardwalk was resale and BLT was direct. Same use year on both contracts. But i ended up with two seperate membership numbers for each.
I was told i can transfer lets say my 150 BLT points to my Boardwalk membership to have a total of 350 Boardwalk points and can use all at the 11 month Window for boardwalk
Does that only work becuase i have two seperate memberships and there the same user year?
Or do i have it completly wrong and i cant do that?

 

[Stargazer65]

Lol, maybe i should write this in another post as i could end up hijacking this post

You could start a new thread or just PM me, I have two memberships as well.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

I have multiple memberships. You can never combine different resorts in the 11 month window. What you can do is in the 7 month window, if the room is available you can book the room with your other points, however it is a new reservation, not your original reservation. If you make the reservation in the 7 month window you can combine points.

 

[Stargazer65]

FYI we took our kids to both BLT and AKL when they were little, they loved BLT as much as AKL, maybe more so. Yes the animals are really cool, and the AKL resort is beautiful. But they liked BLT because it is a monorail resort attached to the Contemporary, overlooking MK. That's a big deal to a kid as well.

 

[Flynn's Gal]

You might want to consider annual dues as well. BLT has the lowest dues of the three.
2021 Dues for each were:
AKL - $8.08 pp
BLT - $6.90 pp
CCR - $7.60 pp

You may even want to do a pros and cons list to compare. I'd compare things like resort location, transportation options, room layouts, proximity to eating locations you like, pools, parking (if you all drive), wow factors, and of course points during when you'll travel.

 

[Aussie RJ]

I own at both BLT and CCV. CCV kills it on the overall resort, but BLT One bedroom is the best in the business IMO. Your SSR points can be used in a One Bedroom 9 out of 10 times at AKL.. so give that one a miss.

 

[benedib99]

I would vote for BLT. BLT has great maintenance fees. BLT has monorail. BLT is walking distance to MK.

We usually have a rental car, but at BLT, I can send the wife and kids to MK or Epcot and work from the room for the day when the vacation days run out. No one has to deal with buses and everyone is happy.