So I have submitted my request for both a one and two bedroom Villa for Oct next year, renting DVC points. I did not name a second option as I was hoping to be clear that I really wanted AKL. We will have a 1, 3 and 5 year old with us. Now I am pondering what to do if my request can’t be fulfilled. I am sure I will be put on a waitlist but I’m unsure how long I should tough that out without requesting a second choice. Given the ages of the children and the fact I was hoping to have a Disney experience for them in our accommodation, what would you suggest I choose as an alternate choice? I know there are a lot of experts out there who have stayed in these resorts before so I am looking for opinions. Pool area is very important as are basic food options for the kids. All input much appreciated!!
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Second choice DVC rental?
- Thread starter Wendylet
- Start date
GoofGoof
Premium Member
With DVC even an owner whose home resort is AKV can’t book until 11 months out so your request can’t be fulfilled yet. From 11 months to 7 months out only owners can book their home resort so it’s a huge advantage if you rent from an AK owner. When you say submitted request I assume you mean through a DVC rental site and not RCI or some other time share trade in. Those work a little different. With a rental site you qhave an excellent chance of getting AK once the booking window opens. It’s a large resort so there are plenty of owners looking to rent their points. October is also not a super popular time. You should be good. I rented points last summer for Grand CA villas at Disneyland which is only 50 units and pretty popular and mine came through. The key is to get in as early as you can which you have.
GoofGoof
Premium Member
As far as where to stay it mostly comes down to personal preference. I love AKL (tie for best overall resort theme with Wilderness Lodge) but I’ve never actually stayed there. The pool area looks nice in pictures. I’m sure others can give better first hand accounts. The only downside to the place is location. It’s a bus ride to all 4 parks and Disney Springs which can be a drag if you have a stroller. With 3 kids under 6 you will probably also spend a lot of time at MK so it could be a big advantage to take the monorail or just walk from Bay Lake Tower. Poly is out since it’s all studio rooms unless you want to take out a mortgage and rent points for an overwater bungalow. GF and BLT are also on the monorail loop but neither has a pool as nice as AKL. Wilderness Lodge is also nearby with a boat to MK and Contemporary Resort. Boardwalk and Beach Club are a short walk to EPCOT and a boat or gondola ride to Hollywood Studios. Beach Club has an epic pool, almost a mini water park. Your kids may be too small for the big pirate ship water slide but they have a zero entry pool with sand to resemble a beach that kids love and a small lazy river. Old Key West and Saratoga have boats to Disney Springs and pretty good pool areas.
Food options vary by resort. A lot of them have character meals on site or nearby. Chef Mickeys at CR is one of the best for younger kids since they cover the classic characters. It’s easy to get to from one of the monorail resorts or just take a bus to MK and walk over from the MK bus stop. It’s a short and easy walk and much quicker than the monorail.
Food options vary by resort. A lot of them have character meals on site or nearby. Chef Mickeys at CR is one of the best for younger kids since they cover the classic characters. It’s easy to get to from one of the monorail resorts or just take a bus to MK and walk over from the MK bus stop. It’s a short and easy walk and much quicker than the monorail.
So the main reason I have concern about the booking is that the dates are not the same on both villas. The end date is the same but we need the two bedroom for 14 nights and the one bedroom for 8 nights both ending on the same date. I am a bit worried that this length of time may cause us some issues. Do you have any thoughts on that?
Yes that is a lot of points for sure. I did actually chat several times with the rental place before submitting and all they would really say is that they have had success with longer bookings. I assume they can really say nothing else. I guess that’s why I was wondering how long I should be waiting before having them check a second option. It’s a once in a lifetime trip so really trying to make it special. Thank you for your information on alternate choices. That was very helpful.
nickys
Premium Member
Did you ask for Kidani or Jambo? Kidani is entirely DVC so is much more likely to come through, although as @GoofGoof said, the number of points required will also affect the chances of success.
I have stayed at Kidani, it’s an easy walk to Jambo or there’s a shuttle bus. You can use both pools. And the advantage of the buses at AKL is no sharing with other resorts. The worst service in our experience was ironically back from AK!
I would suggest WL as a second choice if you want a similar feel. I own at Bay Lake but it has less theming and will be a lot more than AKL, whereas WL is gorgeous and is cheaper. The kids will love just riding the boat around Bay Lake itself. Boulder Ridge is the original villas, rooms are bigger with a Murphy bed. Copper Creek is converted hotel rooms, more modern in decor.
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
Yes I did actually specify Kidani as I thought the chance of success would be greater as you mentioned and I also preferred the dedicated two bedroom as opposed to the lock off. How long do you think is reasonable to stay on a wait list for AKL before I might jeopardize my chances of getting an alternate choice like WL for example. I have my fingers crossed here but I am also not willing to also lose a second great choice.
JaxFLBear
Well-Known Member
View (which is part of the booking category) will also make a difference in the success rate.
At AKV Kindani Village, there are:
27 Standard View Dedicated 2-Bedrooms
112 Savanna View Dedicated 2-Bedrooms
60 Standard View Lock-Off 2-Bedrooms
109 Savanna View Lock-Off 2-Bedrooms
At AKV Kindani Village, there are:
27 Standard View Dedicated 2-Bedrooms
112 Savanna View Dedicated 2-Bedrooms
60 Standard View Lock-Off 2-Bedrooms
109 Savanna View Lock-Off 2-Bedrooms
MotherofaPrincessLover
Well-Known Member
Your main issue will be the amount of points. You will probably have a better chance if you break it into two 7 night reservations. You might be able to stay in the same room but if not, you will be roomless for awhile one day. Honestly, choosing a different resort isn't really going to be all that helpful because you'll still run into the issue of needing to rent a ton of points.
Lensman
Well-Known Member
Are you looking for Standard View or Savannah View? From looking at availability, it looks to me like booking at 11 months out will probably be easy. I see full availability for AKV Kidani 2 bedrooms 8-11 months out - June - September 2020. Is that what others see? By that I'd extrapolate that the room will be available when the 11 month window opens for October 2020.
Given that, I'd agree with the previous posters that finding someone with the 500-800 AKV points to rent might be the hardest issue. I'm not sure how many offers the rental sites get at that size, and then there's the issue where they might end up fulfilling smaller rental requests after the owner offers up their points and before the window opens for your reservation. I'm not sure how the rental sites handle this but when I've done it they inform owners of the booking request and it's the owner's choice whether to accept the smaller requests or wait for a bigger one. I've never rented out through an agency during the 11 month window so I don't have a feel for how that process goes.
Just to confirm, @Wendylet, you're paying extra for the home resort premium, right?
Do all the rental sites charge the home resort premium for AKV?
Given that, I'd agree with the previous posters that finding someone with the 500-800 AKV points to rent might be the hardest issue. I'm not sure how many offers the rental sites get at that size, and then there's the issue where they might end up fulfilling smaller rental requests after the owner offers up their points and before the window opens for your reservation. I'm not sure how the rental sites handle this but when I've done it they inform owners of the booking request and it's the owner's choice whether to accept the smaller requests or wait for a bigger one. I've never rented out through an agency during the 11 month window so I don't have a feel for how that process goes.
Just to confirm, @Wendylet, you're paying extra for the home resort premium, right?
Do all the rental sites charge the home resort premium for AKV?
Yes I am paying the home resort premium to book the earliest I possibly can. I believe the other broker does the same as well. I was thinking I might find the villas available but not the points and then, as you said, not quite sure of the process of allocation. I have had an online chat with the company and despite not being able to offer any guarantee, which I clearly understand, they feel his should be bookable. I have my fingers crossed. I believe there may be more savannah view rooms but I am reluctant to up the standard to savannah as it is so much more money and I am paying for both villas.
Well I have my fingers crossed here but I appreciate your time in assisting me here. Thank you so much!
Lensman
Well-Known Member
Everyone here is always glad to help, but I'm glad to have been of some help. If you get anxious as the date approaches feel free to share your anxiety here and I'm sure in a few days someone will chime in with some reassurance.
I do think that the brokers confidence is probably well founded. I think we underestimate the number of big contracts out there in the hands of people who rent their points most of the time. I imagine that's why DVC instituted rules limiting commercial ownership.
At any rate, back to topic: Do you have any flexibility on dates? That's another flexibility that would ensure that you would have 2-3 months to find an owner match after the 11 month window opens.
Unfortunately not much flexibility. So many family commitments with three separate families travelling. I would have liked to consider September as I know that’s generally a slower time, although much warmer weather! We have a granddaughter starting kindergarten that month so my daughter doesn’t want to pull her out too soon. Then not wanting to get too close to Halloween puts us right about where we are. So we might be able to swing a day or two in either direction but that’s about all. The men in the family claim they will melt if it’s too warm! We certainly can look at a few days movement if that helps. I will keep that in mind as a tactic should I need to!
eliza61nyc
Well-Known Member
so everybody has given you the nuts and bolts of the rental you are seeking. I'll comment on a second choice.
lol with those small children Ak probably would not have been my first choice. very long hallways & distance from MK but it is an absolutely gorgeous resort.
My second choice would probably be wilderness lodge or Bay lake tower. I actually like the pool at WL much better than at AK and I think it's a nicer lay out.
lastly my kids at that age loved the boat ride over to the MK.
both resorts will have very nice food options. Animal Kingdom lodge is the better choice if you have adventurous eaters. and I'm going to give a plug for the adult eaters, lol. so many time us parents and grandparents worry about the little ones having choices that we forget that this is a vacation for the "young at heart" also. Don't discount a restaurant or quick service because you don't think the youngins will find any thing.
lol with those small children Ak probably would not have been my first choice. very long hallways & distance from MK but it is an absolutely gorgeous resort.
My second choice would probably be wilderness lodge or Bay lake tower. I actually like the pool at WL much better than at AK and I think it's a nicer lay out.
lastly my kids at that age loved the boat ride over to the MK.
both resorts will have very nice food options. Animal Kingdom lodge is the better choice if you have adventurous eaters. and I'm going to give a plug for the adult eaters, lol. so many time us parents and grandparents worry about the little ones having choices that we forget that this is a vacation for the "young at heart" also. Don't discount a restaurant or quick service because you don't think the youngins will find any thing.
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Yes I had thought of this resort but it is quite a bit more costly than AKL so it might be a consideration after this choice proves unsuccessful. As we are booking two villas and paying for them ourselves we were trying to keep the costs down a bit as we are also paying for airfare for everyone. Thank you for your thoughts though and we may end up going that way after all!
correcaminos
Well-Known Member
AKL Kidani is awesome for kids. The hallways are not that long. At most .2 mile which is shorter than some walks tbh.
I've been thinking of a backup for you and if cost is an issue try OKW the rooms are so spacious and we've had great service there. Just ask for s bottom floor with strollers.
That was definitely on our radar as it looks beautiful and the rooms look very spacious indeed. I was wondering about the pool at that resort. Is it child friendly? I feel as though we may be spending a bit of time there so I also wanted that to be something special.