Trip Planning, DVC Questions - Help me decide

If I'm going to spend a lot of time in the room, then I spring for the better room every time. It's just not worth it, especially if I know what I'm missing. And I haven't stayed there, but I wouldn't stay at AKL without a savanna view, especially for a full week.

You can rent points 11 months out from people who own those as their home resort, and you should for those weeks, because they will probably go very fast.

I've been during the second week of December before and the crowds weren't too bad. Most people go for the Christmas and New Years week. I've never been the week of Thanksgiving but I was there last year the week before and by the end of the week the crowd levels were getting higher from people coming for Thanksgiving.
I've never stayed at AKL or BW before so I'm of no help there, sorry

Hi Eeyore!

AKL is my home resort so let me try and field some of your questions for that resort.

The reason that the value rooms are a "value" is because they are located on the curve of the building which cuts the square footage of the room down. They are located at Jambo House and are about 3 feet shorter than the standard rooms, and do not offer the extra sleeper chair. The room totals 945 sq. ft. for two bedroom.

The value rooms can actually fairly difficult to get. There aren't that many of them and they're the least expensive so they often go during the first few days of reservations opening at 11 months out. Even as an owner there I never count on being able to get one, but if I do it's a nice treat.

I would try to get a standard view at Jambo House. They all have a view of the Uzima Springs Pool and it's actually my favorite type of AKL room short of Club level. I'm not a huge savanna view fan.

If you opt for Kidani Village - you could get a parking or or bus station view with a standard room. The parking lot is long and thin, there is a road and a grassland scrub on the other side of it. As far as parking lot views go, it's not that bad. There is also a chance that your Kidani standard view room could overlook the Samawati Springs Pool or a thin strip of savanna. If you can only get a room at Kidani, try to have them request a pool view.

In keeping with the desire for it to be stellar at Animal Kingdom, I prefer Jambo House. The only time I prefer Kidani is when I want a savanna view.

We have been the second week of december and loved it !! low crowds 75 to 80 degrees 60's at night ..the christmas atmosphere ..our favorite time to go..we have never been thanksgiving week

My husband and I have been to Disney World the second week of December 3 years in a row~It's our anniversary week so we try to go every year. It is gorgeous weather here that time of year and the crowds are manageable except at Hollywood Studios when they first turn on the lights~wait to go to the Osborne lights for about 1-2 hours after they've turned them on.
I can't report on the crowds during Thanksgiving.We have never been for Thanksgiving yet, but we are going this year. We live in SW Florida, 2 1/2 hours from Disney. We will drive to Disney Thursday morning and stay for 4 days.

We don't stay on Disney property either. Through much research I have found 4star+ hotels very close to the Disney Resort area, but they are a fraction of the price of staying at a Disney resort, so we always stay at one of those.

Hi Annie! Do you mind sharing these nice 4 stars with us? I am very curious....you never know when I might need this info....

Though crowds the 2nd week of December will be significantly lower than Thanksgiving week, be aware that early December is very popular with DVC members, due to the lower point requirements you mentioned. Suggest you book in January at the 11 month mark, to be sure you get the room category you want. I would suggest returning to BWV, as all of the Epcot resorts are beautifully decorated, and just a 5 minute walk/boat ride away, not to mention the easy access to Epcot/Candelight Processional/Holiday Illuminations and DHS/Osborne Lights.

Hi Eeyore!

I am going to WDW the second week of December, THIS December with my husband, his sister, and his parents. I rented points to stay on property through the same person I always rent from... If you are in contact with someone who is a member at many DVC properties... Which I believe you are (you gave me her contact info)... It may be a bit easier for you to get your reservation than it was for me...

The person that we rent from only charges $11 per point... So I chose to wait until he was able to access all of the resorts...which I believe was 7 months in advance?? Anyway... It was really difficult for him to find us a room in any of the resorts that I had originally wanted... BWV, AKL, and BLT... They were all booked up for that week. We wound up choosing OKW because that was basically all that was left... That and SSR... But we got the 2 bedroom at OKW which i'm totally siked about!! And split 5 ways it really isn't that bad .

Anyway, what i'm getting at.. Is that if you are looking for a specific resort/room... Then you should get in contact with someone who is a member at that specific resort because... As others have previously posted... This time of year is very popular with DVC members because the point requirements are very low... So villa's tend to fill up a lot faster!

That's been my experience so far... I will let you know crowd levels and all that in my TR - Good luck planning and yay for going back to Disney!!

Disneydoc, our favorite 4star hotels in Orlando are Omni Orlando Resort, Melia Orlando Suite, and Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista(This is the Hilton that participates in Extra Magic Hours )
All of these are w/in 10 minutes, or closer, of at least one park. If you use a coupon hotel site such as hotel bucks, you can get these very nice hotels for under $100/nt. almost all year round. I've often gotten them cheaper. These are our top 3 that are closest to the parks, but we are also willing to drive 5-10 extra minutes and stay at Rosen Shingle Creek which is also 4 star, very nice and one of our favorites.

I will say that the way I get our hotels each trip is quite time consuming. I belong to many rewards programs and coupon sites. It takes a few days in a row and anywhere from 3-4 hours each day, of comparing them all to find the best price. But I have saved a few thousand dollars on hotels over the past 8 years of vacationing in Orlando. So that allows us to have annual passes to Disney World and go to Disney 20-30 days a year. So it is completely worth it for us.

Keep in mind that most of the upscale hotels do come with fees such as resort fees, self or valet parking fees, and some are even charging fees now for a mini refrigerator. You can pay anywhere from $12-$48/night extra in fees depending on where you stay. But these are all very nice hotels and they are a fraction of the price of the Grand Floridian or the Contemporary Resort, but it's our dream to stay at those~ someday

Thanks so much Annie! I will investigate, as I often go more often than my current DVC points will support....yet.....