Advice wanted: Deciding between AKL and SSR

[Jarissa]

Our Christmas present to each other this year is that we saved up to purchase a DVC membership, and we're just about ready to make our offer. Only one obstacle remains in our way:

Which home resort do we pick?!

We have narrowed down our final selection to two options. We really like the Kidani Village over at Animal Kingdom Lodge, and we can foresee many trips where we'll want to stay in a Savannah View room whether it's the three of us or we've got guests along. However, we're also really fascinated by the treehouses over at Savannah Springs Resort, and we can foresee many trips in the coming years where we'll want to reserve one specifically to put someone's parents in the master suite while we three stay in the other two bedrooms.

Both seem to be exactly the right mix of Disney amenities with stress-reducing natural surroundings. The one whose points and dues are less expensive is also the one that will make me do more hobbling along, so those balance out for us. Right now our only solid deciding factor would be the relative expiration dates, which would lean toward Animal Kingdom (which expires three years after Saratoga Springs).

So I'm asking all of you DVC experts and veterans: can you think of any strong indicators on which resort we should pick? Are the treehouses still reserving as fast as they come available? Is it hard to get a room with a giraffe-potential view over in Kidani Village? Are we going to have a difficult time with either option if we're waiting until the 7-month mark to make our reservation?

Thank you so much for any opinions you care to share!
Rissa

 

[goukas]

Thoughts on SSR

We stayed at SSR a couple weeks ago for the first night of our trip (Beach Club had no availability that night). We've stayed at BCV, BWV, and BLT - SSR was the worst experience so far. The resort is ENORMOUS. Unless you are near the main building, there is no way you'll be walking for food. The wait for the bus was very long as well. We are used to somewhat long waits at BCV, but it was a solid 45 minutes. The rooms were surprisingly outdated for a newer resort too.

The only positive I can think of is that the grounds are nice, and there is a boat that goes to Downtown Disney.

 

[slappy magoo]

SSR is my home resort. I like it quite a bit, but I recognize that, like every other DVC resort, it has its negatives.

You mention the Treehouse Villas as a main reason to consider SSR. Bear in mind, there are only 60 Treehouse Villas, so even at the 11 month window, it's going to be a major "if" whether or not you can get inside of one. Also, as goukas mentioned, the layout of SSR is huge, and the Treehouse Villas are even farther away from the main building than any of the other buildings. Far enough that you'll need to use a bus or your own transportation to get to the main building if that's where you want to go (or have lots of time to walk). You'll probably want to make use of the kitchen & barbecue grill in the treehouse, keep snacks or some meals handy as getting to Artists' Palette will be a bit of a PitA. It has its own pool area, but it's a basic pool, not elaborately themed.

Now, VAK is also huge and a good walk or bus ride to the food court if you stay in the Kidani section, though not quite as long as Saratoga's main building to the Treehouses. Odds are better you'll get what you want when you book there at the 11-month window. You'll be closer to a major pool/water play area. The main negative at Animal Kingdom Villas is there isn't really any "cool" way to get anywhere, just bus or your own car. At Saratoga, you at least have ferry service to Downtown Disney (the Treehouse Villas have their own dock), and depending on where else you may be staying at Saratoga (in other words, if you're not in the Treehouses) you may even be within walking distance of DTD.

Finally, when it comes to maintenance dues, it's currently (I think) 49 cents less per point at Saratoga. If you're getting, for example, 200 points, Saratoga's dues will be almost 100 dollars less a year. That, of course, would vary from year to year, but my not-particularly-educated guess would be, since Animal Kingdom's dues also include animal care, dues there will rise at higher rates than at Saratoga.

Yeah, a whole lot of words and not much help. Sorry.

 

[Jarissa]

Thank you both, these are the sort of opinions I'm asking for.

Wherever we stay, we're planning on having groceries in the fridge, as breakfast is an awkward meal for us and two different parental units have eating-related restrictions. We'll save up our off-the-schedule eating for a couple of really nice evening meals, and our lunches at whatever park each day.

This just may kill the one member of my closest family who loves to eat out at every meal on vacation, but he also tends to fall asleep shortly after the last meal of the day! He's very much a morning person where I'm (obviously, given the current time) very much a night owl.

On the other hand, Slappy Magoo gives me the pretty clear impression that it's still awfully hard to reserve a treehouse. Is this likely to be the case throughout the year? Has it slacked off at all since last year? Or are we doomed regardless of how many months in advance we're eligible to make a reservation?

 

[MaxsDad]

AKV is my home resort.

One other thing, I recently booked a savannah view room at Kidani for the month of April within the 7 month window. Yes, you can book a SV room at Kidani within the non-home resort booking window.

When I purchased three and a half years ago, SSR and AKL where the only two non-resell options. (Note: Treehouse's did not exist back then, well, at least as they are now) The question I had to answer was, where do I want to stay, and not have to ever be dissappointed. In other words, if I book within the home resort priority period at my home resort, and then go to change it at the 7 month window, if the non-home resort
I want is not available, will I be happy? Some owners suggested "buy where you want to stay". I love AKL, and knew I would never be "dissappointed" to walk through those doors, so thats where we bought.

 

[Pioneer Hall]

I just have to ask since you are looking into SSR...have you checked the resale market to make your purchase. SSR points are going for about half the price of what Disney is asking. If this is the resort you are seriously considering, then I strongly suggest you look at the Timeshare Store's listings.

With that, if you are seriously considering regular stays in the treehouse villas then I suggest purchasing at SSR. Kidani is big, and a majority of the rooms are savanna view rooms, so reserving those is a bit easier at the 7 month mark than the treehouses are. Just make sure that you plan on using the treehouses enough in order to justify the purchase you would make there since the rest of SSR is fairly easy to book without that much notice.

 

[artvandelay]

I own at SSR and stayed in a Treehouse last August. I booked it at the 11 month window. The only complaint is transportation. If you do not have a car, it's a Treehouse bus to the main SSR bust stop to get a bus to the rest of the world. It's not bad, but coming home late at night with sleepy kids, it can be a hassle getting them off one bus and transferring to the Treehouse bus. Treehouse buses run around every 15 minutes.

 

[CinderellyKelly]

My family has SSR as our home resort, and while I love SSR we stay there because the Grand Villas require much less points than anywhere else.

So we can use less points to house more ppl. We would MUCH rather stay at AKL and have a Savannah room if there weren't 15 of us that go together.

AKL feels like you never leave the park, there is always something to watch and entertain you even when you are relaxing. If you don't plan on bringing the whole extended family with you each time, I would totally get AKL.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

 

[Jarissa]

I just have to ask since you are looking into SSR...have you checked the resale market to make your purchase.

Oh, definitely! I'm not even sure what the current Disney-direct prices are for either resort, honestly; we're keeping our eyes on three or four specific Timeshare Store listings for when we finally have our minds made up.

One other thing, I recently booked a savannah view room at Kidani for the month of April within the 7 month window. Yes, you can book a SV room at Kidani within the non-home resort booking window.

Excellent to know! Thank you kindly. This maes it easier to lean toward a SSR purchase.

The question I had to answer was, where do I want to stay, and not have to ever be dissappointed. In other words, if I book within the home resort priority period at my home resort, and then go to change it at the 7 month window, if the non-home resort
I want is not available, will I be happy?

That's a very good point, actually. Thanks. On this criteria, we'd lean toward a Kidani purchase, because even if we have to put a parent set in a separate villa down the hall, none of them are going to ignore the savannah view!

I own at SSR and stayed in a Treehouse last August. I booked it at the 11 month window. The only complaint is transportation. If you do not have a car, it's a Treehouse bus to the main SSR bust stop to get a bus to the rest of the world. It's not bad, but coming home late at night with sleepy kids, it can be a hassle getting them off one bus and transferring to the Treehouse bus. Treehouse buses run around every 15 minutes.

Ahah! So Treehouses CAN be done! Whew, I was starting to get worried. Do you suppose the reservations staff will consider requests like "please put us near the dock"? Do the ferries stop earlier than the buses? We are, thank the Great Smurf, only going to be hosting a young'un in one possible case. On the other hand, we might be wrangling sleepy ADULTS from bus to bus: Dad. Get off the bus. We have to get on the OTHER bus. C'mon, Dad, I'm not gonna carry you! :snore:

AKL feels like you never leave the park, there is always something to watch and entertain you even when you are relaxing. If you don't plan on bringing the whole extended family with you each time, I would totally get AKL.

Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

There's another vote toward AKL, thank you kindly! I guess at this point, I would almost certainly purchase AKL points except for that one ling suspicion that we may have a hard time getting a Treehouse on those years when we want one -- and since that's not going to be our first trip, or even a trip before 2013, I ought not do my purchasing based on what I want to provide for OTHER people but for what we three want for ourselves.

Thank you all so very much for helping us, and I wish you the happiest of holidays!

 

[tjkraz]

Dues at AKV are a full $1.50 per point more than SSR. That means on 200 points, you will pay $300 pre year more to own AKV than SSR. Year after year.

For that reason alone, I would only consider AKV if you hope to book concierge on a regular basis. Or Value-class rooms to a lesser degree.

The initial purchase at AKV will also cost you a bit more than SSR. AKV contracts do last 3 years longer, but the present value of those added years--which you wouldn't realize for over 4 decades--is trivial.

Aside from concierge and value rooms at AKV and tree houses at SSR, both resorts are quite easy to book 7 months out.

Given the added financial cost of owning at AKV, you really should have a darn good reason to buy there over SSR.

 

[slappy magoo]

Dues at AKV are a full $1.50 per point more than SSR. That means on 200 points, you will pay $300 pre year more to own AKV than SSR. Year after year.

For that reason alone, I would only consider AKV if you hope to book concierge on a regular basis. Or Value-class rooms to a lesser degree.

The initial purchase at AKV will also cost you a bit more than SSR. AKV contracts do last 3 years longer, but the present value of those added years--which you wouldn't realize for over 4 decades--is trivial.

Aside from concierge and value rooms at AKV and tree houses at SSR, both resorts are quite easy to book 7 months out.

Given the added financial cost of owning at AKV, you really should have a darn good reason to buy there over SSR.

You may be off, though AKV's dues do cost more, I had it at 49 cents in 2010. According to The Timeshare Store, the difference between the two in 2011 will be 50 cents a point, though of course that will always be subject to vary year by year. From The Timeshare Store's website:
The approximate annual dues per point for 2011 at each resort are: Bay Lake Tower $3.90, Grand Californian $4.07, Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas $4.31, Saratoga Springs $4.52, Old Key West $4.99, Animal Kingdom $5.02, Beach Club Villas $5.28, Wilderness Lodge $5.35, Boardwalk Villas $5.46, Hilton Head $5.68 and Vero Beach $6.78.

 

[stlbobby]

Another thing to consider is proximity to parks and amenities. AKL is removed from everything except AK, SS is closer to the other three parks. SS is right next to and across the lake from Downtown which provides great nighttime entertainment and wonderful views. The Downtown buses make travel to other resorts a breeze. SS is the best option if you don't have a car, but enjoy eating at different resorts.

One off the wall consideration is running. If you have anyone in your family that enjoys running while at Disney go with SS. AKL is the only resort at WDW with nowhere to run outside. It is due to the savanna, with so much room reserved for the animals there is little area left for people. SS is one of the best places to run. There are the surrey bike paths through-out the resort and trails connecting OKW and Downtown.

Both resorts are relaxing venues and provide a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the parks.

It really depends on what you want from a vacation. If you enjoy the animal watching or the convenience of having all the amenities in the same building then go AK. if you enjoy nightlife and a large sprawling resort then go SS.

 

[Honor]

Own at SSR, Have stayed at both AKV and SSR

And we definitely prefer SSR due to the proximity and convenience to other resorts, parks and dining options especially Downtown Disney (and soon to be Hyperion Wharf). The resort is very calm and relaxing, the way we enjoy vacationing. We love being on the savanna at the Animal Kingdom Villas; the villas are beautiful. But you are very isolated in that location.

And the comment about running is very true. I love running at SSR. I can even run at night around the resort on flat, level surfaces, little traffic and it is still lit enough to run. Can get in some mileage that way. There is no place to run at AKL or the Villas.

All this being said, we are selling off 3 of our 4 SSR DVC contracts. Why? We got a GREAT DEAL on a condo in Celebration! We've had our eye out for a good deal in Celebration and we found it. But we are keeping 500 points so we can treat family and friends to Disney accommodations and still be sailing on the DVC Member Cruise.

We checked out lots of time shares before we bought DVC. We never regretted buying. And had very little trouble reselling. DVC is not cheap but for our purposes, it was definitely worth it. A good value for what we got.

 

[tjkraz]

You may be off, though AKV's dues do cost more, I had it at 49 cents in 2010. According to The Timeshare Store, the difference between the two in 2011 will be 50 cents a point, though of course that will always be subject to vary year by year. From The Timeshare Store's website:
The approximate annual dues per point for 2011 at each resort are: Bay Lake Tower $3.90, Grand Californian $4.07, Aulani, Disney Vacation Club Villas $4.31, Saratoga Springs $4.52, Old Key West $4.99, Animal Kingdom $5.02, Beach Club Villas $5.28, Wilderness Lodge $5.35, Boardwalk Villas $5.46, Hilton Head $5.68 and Vero Beach $6.78.

Yes, you are correct. The difference in dues is only $.50 per point. :brick:

But the argument is still valid. AKV resales are running about $10 more per point than SSR. If you're going to pay more to buy into AKV and more in dues year-after-year, there better be a good reason for it. :drevil: Booking AKV Savanna or Standard View at 7 months is pretty easy, as is anything but Treehouses at SSR at 7 months.

So in comparing those two resorts, any buyer would be wise to question whether the extra up-front expense and premium dues are worth it to have a better shot at AKV concierge or value rooms.

 

[slappy magoo]

Yes, you are correct. The difference in dues is only $.50 per point. :brick:

But the argument is still valid. AKV resales are running about $10 more per point than SSR. If you're going to pay more to buy into AKV and more in dues year-after-year, there better be a good reason for it. :drevil: Booking AKV Savanna or Standard View at 7 months is pretty easy, as is anything but Treehouses at SSR at 7 months.

So in comparing those two resorts, any buyer would be wise to question whether the extra up-front expense and premium dues are worth it to have a better shot at AKV concierge or value rooms.

Well, not to keep being the official contradictor of you but I do have to admit, I've tried booking Villas at Animal Kingdom at the 7 month window, and remained on the wait list up until our departure date, with no luck. The idea that your home resort should be the resort you want to spend the most time visiting is not a bad idea...as long as you also understand that sometimes what you really want costs more.

 

[fredtom]

The rule of thumb advice is to buy where you plan to stay the most so you'll have the 11 month booking window advantage.

SSR is our home resort, so we reserve there 11 months out to have something secured. Then, we usually make changes at 7 months out since we like to split our stays and enjoy different resorts. Most often, our stay involves OKW or sometimes SSR and another resort.


"An Adventurer's life is best!" :lol:

 

[Funfy]

We must be really odd-we didn't even think about which property was for sale at the time-we have Beach Club and two separate purchases for SSR/Treehouses.

We always book the first day we can for the 11-month windows at our home resort-we then switch to what we want the first day of the 7-month window. We have always got what we wanted, but, always knew we might have to stay where we were first booked or select a second/third choice. Most of our bookings involved other people-so we made sure we managed their expectations around what we could get-so far no disappointments.

Because of the way we combine all or our points/do the initial bookings, we always just see the total point picture-not what is our home resort.

As long as you book the first day you can and realize you may have to stay put or go to your second choice, etc. on the 7-month booking day-I don't think the home resort is as critical.

 

[Jarissa]

So in comparing those two resorts, any buyer would be wise to question whether the extra up-front expense and premium dues are worth it to have a better shot at AKV concierge or value rooms.

The rule of thumb advice is to buy where you plan to stay the most so you'll have the 11 month booking window advantage.

I can see tjkraz's point about money, to a certain extent, but I have to say that FredTom's "buy where you plan to stay the most" seems like a pretty direct "darn good reason" to spend the money.

Fortunately, we started out our DVC investigating on the assumption that we would only purchase what we absolutely knew we'd be able to afford. So in our particular case, the higher price of the Animal Kingdom Villas is not a significant deciding factor: the whole thing's a luxury anyway, and if we couldn't afford the luxury that'll make us happy, we wouldn't buy at all.

I've got relatives who commit themselves to luxuries they're not absolutely sure they can afford. I cannot imagine even thinking like that! It'd be saner to stick with rack rate at the Value Resorts, if we had any question!

I've tried booking Villas at Animal Kingdom at the 7 month window, and remained on the wait list up until our departure date, with no luck.

Aack! Oh, no! Was this during peak season? Or could this reasonably happen no matter when we plan to travel?

As long as you book the first day you can and realize you may have to stay put or go to your second choice, etc. on the 7-month booking day-I don't think the home resort is as critical.

That's sorta what I'm hoping. A third idea that's recently been floated is for us to purchase half our planned points at AKV and the other half at SSR, but ... that's two closing costs, two sets of numbers to track, and I'm just not sure we'd be best off committing to that much extra effort in order to have a fair chance at both options we'll someday want.

Both resorts are relaxing venues and provide a nice break from the hustle and bustle of the parks.

It really depends on what you want from a vacation. If you enjoy the animal watching or the convenience of having all the amenities in the same building then go AK. if you enjoy nightlife and a large sprawling resort then go SS.

We don't have a runner but we do have someone who loves walking. One of the things we plan for whenever we stay in a Treehouse is to tell him, probably the day we arrive, "There's the door, make sure your key is in your pocket and your camera is secured against bouncing, don't come back until you've explored EVERY walking path!"

On my own, I'm willing to trade my apathy regarding the overall sprawl for the contentment of not sharing a wall with a stranger. I hated apartment living; the basic realities of hotel living are normally something I accept as the cost of a wonderful vacation.
O'course, over at AK, my light sleeper disadvantage can be overcome by trying to figure out if the racket was a bipedal stranger or a quadruped! (And a white noise machine, if I ever remember to pack the durned thing.)

We got a GREAT DEAL on a condo in Celebration!

Congratulations! That sounds absolutely wonderful!

Thank you all so much! You've given us a lot of good food for thought, which we'll probably address tonight over snowflake cocoa and popcorn.

Oh! and Happy New Year to everyone!

 

[stlbobby]

We don't have a runner but we do have someone who loves walking. One of the things we plan for whenever we stay in a Treehouse is to tell him, probably the day we arrive, "There's the door, make sure your key is in your pocket and your camera is secured against bouncing, don't come back until you've explored EVERY walking path!"

On my own, I'm willing to trade my apathy regarding the overall sprawl for the contentment of not sharing a wall with a stranger. I hated apartment living; the basic realities of hotel living are normally something I accept as the cost of a wonderful vacation.
O'course, over at AK, my light sleeper disadvantage can be overcome by trying to figure out if the racket was a bipedal stranger or a quadruped! (And a white noise machine, if I ever remember to pack the durned thing.)

If quiet is an issue. The treehouses are the best bet. But there will be times you can't get a treehouse or have a smaller party and want to save some points and will stay at SS proper.

In those cases I think you will like SS better than AKL. I have stayed at both and have found SS much quieter. I know that is just my opinion based on a small sample size, but the Unofficial Guide supports me with their more scientific research. They list AKL at the bottom end of the noise spectrum. SS apparently fell somewhere in the middle (only the best and worst were cited).

 

[Funfy]

We loved both resorts. We would even walk from the treehouses to SSR to the bus stops and for other things, but, then we like to walk. Also, the walk from Kidani over AKL lodge seemed minimal to me. I am always amazed at people that want to get as close to bus stops, main building as possible, but, then average 9-11 miles of walking a day in the parks!! Perception is always reality!