AKL villa with no DVC. Chances?

KatieS98

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 17, 2017
Hi there,
Me and my family are interested in staying in a Animal kingdom lodge villa, but we don't have Disney Vacation club. I was wondering what the chances of us managing to get a booking at this resort would be? I know that the villas get snapped up by DVC members quickly so I'm guessing our chances are bad!

The room we'd like to stay in:
Animal kingdom lodge villas
2 bedroom villa (standard or value)
29th October 2018-12th November 2018

Also, what are the prices like compared to old key west and Saratoga on this kind of room? When I've searched I've only been able to see the inflated savannah view prices.

Any advise and information would be appreciated,
Thankyou.
 
There are actually two separate inventories:

1. DVC points inventory. This represents most of the resort.

2. Cash availability inventory. Disney own 2% of the points at AKV (and every DVC). They also use points traded by members for non-DVC use to "book" villas at various resorts, which are then let for cash via the cash reservation office (CRO).

The issue is going to be if they have that inventory, for those dates. The odds on them having a 2BR Value are very low, as the total inventory available for both booking types is very low -- there are only 10 total Value 2BR units, and they are also lock-offs. CRO getting one of those in the midst of DVC high season is unlikely.

You are much more likely to be able to book an AKV Standard (94 lock-off, 27 dedicated) or Savannah (141 lock-off, 113 dedicated) via CRO, because they are so much more numerous and thus more likely to be represented in the cash inventory. That said, you may not get to be choosy about if the unit is at Jambo or Kidani, and you may not have a choice between Standard and Savannah. The unit is unlikely to be discounted, between the unit type desired, and the season (October into Jersey Week is rarely discounted).

For your dates, cash nightly rate at Saratoga is $860-884/night; OKW is similar. AKV Standard is $1179-1202/night (your dates include 2 rate tiers due to Jersey Week). Savannah is $1282-1306.

If your dates are truly set, you'd be better trying to rent points and buying cancellation insurance. Same period for an AKV Standard 2BR, it would cost $7786 before insurance, compared to the more than $16k to do it cash. I bet you could get cancel insurance for under $8000.
 
Wow, thanks so much for the informative response!
I'll go talk to the rest of the family and see what they think.
Thanks again!
 
Wow, thanks so much for the informative response!
I'll go talk to the rest of the family and see what they think.
Thanks again!
I'm staying in a one bedroom villa at Kidani tomorrow that I booked a couple months ago, and I got with an annual passholder discount all through cash not DVC. I don't think this hotel sells out as quickly as some of the others that are close to the parks.
 


I'm staying in a one bedroom villa at Kidani tomorrow that I booked a couple months ago, and I got with an annual passholder discount all through cash not DVC. I don't think this hotel sells out as quickly as some of the others that are close to the parks.

That's what I'm hoping to get for next December!
 
I'm staying in a one bedroom villa at Kidani tomorrow that I booked a couple months ago, and I got with an annual passholder discount all through cash not DVC. I don't think this hotel sells out as quickly as some of the others that are close to the parks.

The person is looking to book a DVC room -either cash or maybe rent??? Either way this resort among DVC especially the standard view rooms are booked up very fast due to the lower points needed to book. The times this person is looking at are extremely popular as well... I can tell you I checked about a month ago for those dates this year (Jersey week) as we own DVC and there was not a DVC room available at any DVC resort and any view....
For cash I do not think Disney is doing as well as it did a few years back any time of the year... This however is a timeshare and if a room is vacant someone has not used their points and therefore lost money....so the question is not if DVC resorts will be at full capacity on any given week it is how fast the rooms will book to full capacity.... and in the case above due to Jersey week it will be pretty fast...
 
The person is looking to book a DVC room -either cash or maybe rent??? Either way this resort among DVC especially the standard view rooms are booked up very fast due to the lower points needed to book. The times this person is looking at are extremely popular as well... I can tell you I checked about a month ago for those dates this year (Jersey week) as we own DVC and there was not a DVC room available at any DVC resort and any view....
For cash I do not think Disney is doing as well as it did a few years back any time of the year... This however is a timeshare and if a room is vacant someone has not used their points and therefore lost money....so the question is not if DVC resorts will be at full capacity on any given week it is how fast the rooms will book to full capacity.... and in the case above due to Jersey week it will be pretty fast...
I've found it really easy to book DVC villas for cash. My last couple stays were in 1-bedrooms, have a couple more coming up and I'm going in the first two weeks of December which I think is high season for DVC and easily got a room and could change it if I wanted. I think Cash stays are easier to book since it's a different inventory and it doesn't sell out at 11 months out like using points. I've also gotten discounts for many of the rooms so they weren't that expensive.
 


It's worth noting that 1BRs are easier via any means (points, cash, RCI trade) than 2BRs. So experience booking 1BRs is not going to be representative of experience getting 2BRs. Different inventories and room types.
 
We've stayed in villas at AKV, BWV, BCV, WLV, and always book discounted cash reservations. Obviously, inventory availability will vary, but I would just keep checking to see when availability for your dates starts popping up.
 

GET A DISNEY VACATION QUOTE

Dreams Unlimited Travel is committed to providing you with the very best vacation planning experience possible. Our Vacation Planners are experts and will share their honest advice to help you have a magical vacation.

Let us help you with your next Disney Vacation!





Top