Did you stay onsite before buying?

[bakerworld]

Before joining DVC we stayed in WL once and BC twice. We preferred BC for the IG but when we joined AK was the most incentivized so we purchased that and was successful booking into BC for the first 5 years. Then we purchased BC so we could stay in the Fall.

 

[CraigInPA]

I stayed at my top 3 choices before deciding, and I'm glad I did. I would never have understood the value of "view" if I hadn't stayed at BCV and Poly. I ended up at BLT.

 

[pianomanzano]

We stayed at AKL on the cash side once prior to joining DVC. But we never stayed in any of our home resorts prior to purchasing (SSR, RIV, and VGF).

 

[legler2250]

Took a chance on the first DVC direct contract with Copper Creek without staying at the resort and it turns out that it was actually my favorite! I could not get over how beautiful it was during Christmas time!

 

[4nation]

thank you so much for all of the responses. I have to say that with the feedback on buses and extra time that I am hesitant too pull the trigger on AK.

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

We bought our first DVC contract after going to Disneyland as a family & loving it!! However, since we’d previously co-owned a condo in FL (& CA is so far), we knew that WDW would work better for us.

I began researching (like crazy!!) and a few months later, we put in an offer for a resale BLT contract. As soon as we got our points, I called and added on a small direct purchase at Poly. (We hadn’t been to WDW in years- so both were chosen by research & talking with others.)

During my research, I read a lot of people saying you really needed to at least visit a resort before buying in… and I knew it was sound advice… but I was confident in my research, and knew that I wanted all of that money to go straight towards points!!

Using our points, we stayed 1 night at AKL (on a whim)… and fell in love! It was our 3rd purchase. Beach Club and Riviera were next, and both were purchased sight unseen. Our most recent purchase has the most “experience” behind it (with one short stay, and several day visits)… but both my hubby & I already knew that we love VGF!

Everyone is different. I knew that we would very likely love many of the different DVC resorts… and it turns out I was right! (Hence the multiple additions )

You know what you’re comfortable with though. It’s a large purchase, so you want to make sure you’re happy with it

 

[sndral]

thank you so much for all of the responses. I have to say that with the feedback on buses and extra time that I am hesitant too pull the trigger on AK.

As with all DVC resorts there are those that love it & those that don’t. We stay a minimum of 10 nights & even though we rely on Disney transportation we aren’t in a state of FOMO if the bus takes a bit of time to arrive, although we tend to have good bus luck at AKV. We also visit all 4 parks, so even when we’re staying at our other home resort - VGF - we’re on the buses to AK & DHS, the parks with FOP & ROTR. That said, we don’t have stroller aged kids, although DVC lasts 20 - 48 years & the stroller stage not so long.

 

[J2tran]

My wife has always been a big Disney fan and it was on her wish list to go. One year, we decided we were going to stop by after our cruise but after looking at the prices of the hotels and our different options...we figured we would get DVC.

It would allow us to take the kids in the future and definitely never looked back since!

 

[HappyDisneyWife]

thank you so much for all of the responses. I have to say that with the feedback on buses and extra time that I am hesitant too pull the trigger on AK.

I don’t blame your hesitation. It’s a pretty polarizing resort.

I, for one, love it!! I think it’s the most lovely, peaceful place in Disney. Sipping morning coffee while overlooking the savanna is tough to compete with

That said, whenever we plan park-heavy trips, it’s usually towards the bottom of our preferred resort list… so, we tend plan split-stays with AKV. We’ll stay at an MK or EP resort for the first half, and then move onto AKV & enjoy resort & AK days there.

Again- lots of people love it, others like the idea of it, and some just hate it. A lot of that comes down to how much time you plan to stay at the resort vs being in the parks (or at DS) all day. Best of luck to you!

 

[Her Dotness]

thank you so much for all of the responses. I have to say that with the feedback on buses and extra time that I am hesitant too pull the trigger on AK.

Actually, I think choosing a resort to buy into can be a bit like getting married--you're pretty sure you want to marry the person but know there'll be some aggravating things you discover about them after the wedding and honeymoon euphoria wear off.

DVC resorts are like that in a way, I think. Just as you can find a person immediately attractive or not at all, same with resorts. For us, the GF and VGF were love at first sight. The only drawback to speak of with VGF is that we miss those Club Level niceties and pampering like the turndown service. AKV, on the other hand, was an immediate turnoff for us both, don't like its looks at all, don't care about going there ever.

The other stateside resorts we've wrangled about maybe buying: SSR, OKW, BCV, BRV, BLT. Those all are maybe-loves, no great appeal, but we might have a comfy enough relationship if we decide to buy a small contract.

So, I'd say it's important to trust your gut, knowing your habits and preferences as you do. If something feels not quite right about a particular resort, don't buy it except maybe just for SAP.

 

[Redheadprincess]

I could not convince my husband to buy DVC until we stayed at the Beach Club and he loved the location. We rented points for 2 nights in Dec 2021 and finally passed on our 5th BCV contract 2 days ago and have an offer accepted on another one.

 

[808blessing]

I stayed on rented points at Aulani. Researched in an hour, did the math, consulted with a friend and put an offer right away. Then used Aulani points to stay at Boardwalk (and AK). Put an offer as soon as I got home. Used Boardwalk/Aulani points to stay at Grand Cali (4 nights-wowza) and put an offer about a week and a half after returning home. Now I'm doing a grand tour this year and I do not plan on any more purchases. I have enough points.

 

[alohatok1986]

The secret trick for owning akv is to have a car. If you have a car you can park directly under your room at kidani and it takes all of thirty seconds to go from room to car and then the drive is actually super fast and easy to all parks save mk

if you google maps the drive it’s no longer than any other resort once you avg out drive times subject to nearest and farthest park

anyone who says they like busses from any resort is delusional

I'm banking on the Kidani parking for AKL. We drive to every park every time so transportation is not a factor to me. I love the monorail but have no interest in owning at BLT or VGF, the current Poly rooms are too small to accommodate my family & it was announced that the new tower will not have a separate monorail stop.

And OP- I'm buying AKL sight-unseen. It's a leap of faith but I did a lot of research. I like immersive resorts and the natural vibe so Poly and AKL were the only appealing ones to me. I've stayed at 8 of the other resorts over the years and while I enjoyed some more than others, I'm still confident in my choice.

 

[Skywalker3]

We bought BWV in 2011, without having stayed at any DVC resorts. had only stayed at Pop, All-Stars, Port Orleans, offsite. Even back then, did as much online research as we could, and did buy where we, wouldn't mind staying, and all that, but have stayed at most other resorts w no issues booking. Hubby picked BWV for location, easy walking access to HS/Epcot. The only thing that convinced me to get DVC was the option for 1 and 2 bedrooms. (that is the 1 knock on BWV, no dedicated 2 bedrooms.) So much more info now and so much easier to do research online. Best wishes with the decision!!

 

[macman123]

I had toured various but never stayed. Then 2,500 points were purchased over the pandemic.

Then I stayed and now I have 1,000 more!

 

[nuhusky123]

I'm banking on the Kidani parking for AKL. We drive to every park every time so transportation is not a factor to me. I love the monorail but have no interest in owning at BLT or VGF, the current Poly rooms are too small to accommodate my family & it was announced that the new tower will not have a separate monorail stop.

And OP- I'm buying AKL sight-unseen. It's a leap of faith but I did a lot of research. I like immersive resorts and the natural vibe so Poly and AKL were the only appealing ones to me. I've stayed at 8 of the other resorts over the years and while I enjoyed some more than others, I'm still confident in my choice.

I own gfv and akl

Akl is an amazing resort especially if you have a car. Akl is hands down one of my top resorts. I will say I don’t understand why anyone would stay there though if they don’t have savanna room

Yes might save points but The whole deal with akl are the animals

 

[apollodi]

We bought AKV resale sight unseen last year, and it has worked out well for us. Prior to buying, DH and I had stayed at the All Stars years ago and one night at BCV. We had only stayed offsite with our kids, who were 4 and 7 when we bought.

I think it comes down to why you want to buy AKV. In our case, we wanted AKV because of contract price, the point chart for standard 2 bedrooms is very good, and there were regular hotel rooms available at the resort for a (relatively) reasonable price if other family members wanted to come along, compared to hotel rates at other DVC/hotel hybrid locations. We bought a contract that was too small to invite others on our points. We also figured the kids would like the animals. The busses didn't bother us- since we were coming from offsite, the transportation was an upgrade. We always have a car too.

So, we bought because AKV was good on paper for us. It worked out beautifully; we had our first stay there last month and LOVED the resort and seeing the animals. I agree that you should either bring a car or your patience for transportation though!