Questions about buying AKL and maintenance fees

TinkB278

DIS Veteran
Joined
Aug 27, 2017
Hi!

I’ve been considering buying resale at AKL for quite some time and just keep hesitating wondering if the value is in it for us with the maintenance fees. My first question is, do you still feel you get a good value out of your DVC with the maintenance fees? I can understand how people feel they do when they got a great deal on their contract years ago before the prices skyrocketed. For us, we usually stay a week each year at AKL in a standard room which ends up costing us about $2k for the resort. So if I pay $1k in maintenance fees per year, it is really only saving me $1000 once my contract is paid off. I know we could probably occasionally get a bigger room which obviously is a greater value. Which brings me to my next couple questions specific to owning at AKL....

1. when you book a DVC room at AKL, are you able to pick whether you want to be at Jambo or Kidani?

2. I know I always hear the studio rooms are difficult to get. Is it hard to get a value studio at AKL at the 11 month booking window?

Thanks so much for your help!!
 
Hi!

I’ve been considering buying resale at AKL for quite some time and just keep hesitating wondering if the value is in it for us with the maintenance fees. My first question is, do you still feel you get a good value out of your DVC with the maintenance fees? I can understand how people feel they do when they got a great deal on their contract years ago before the prices skyrocketed. For us, we usually stay a week each year at AKL in a standard room which ends up costing us about $2k for the resort. So if I pay $1k in maintenance fees per year, it is really only saving me $1000 once my contract is paid off. I know we could probably occasionally get a bigger room which obviously is a greater value. Which brings me to my next couple questions specific to owning at AKL....

1. when you book a DVC room at AKL, are you able to pick whether you want to be at Jambo or Kidani?

2. I know I always hear the studio rooms are difficult to get. Is it hard to get a value studio at AKL at the 11 month booking window?

Thanks so much for your help!!
Yes you get to choose between Jambo and Kidani...Jambo books up faster.
Value studios are very hard to get....plan around standard (easy to get at 11 months) and then treat value as a bonus if you can get it.

Cheapest season in a standard studio will be 76 points (based on 2021 charts). At $7.67/pt dues you're looking at about $583 for a week. This obviously does not factor in the purchase of the points but gives you an idea as to the value. If you can get a value studio you're looking at a low of 55 points for a week.
 
My first question is, do you still feel you get a good value out of your DVC with the maintenance fees? I can understand how people feel they do when they got a great deal on their contract years ago before the prices skyrocketed.

It's important to note the time you bought the contract has no bearing on the maintenance fees - we all pay the same amount per per point. But you are correct to make sure you are comfortable with ever-increasing annual dues.

Do not buy an AKV contract with sights set on booking Value studios. There are only 18 possible Value studios and almost everyone wants those low point cost rooms. You will end up disappointed and frustrated.
 
AKV value studios are so hard to book it's best to forget they even exist. If you get one, fantastic, but I wouldn't buy AKV expecting to ever be able to book one.
 


Thank you all for your input! It’s great to know the reality and being able to adjust my number of points accordingly.

I understand that maintenance fees are the same for everyone. I just mean that someone who only spent $80 per point years ago for a much lower priced contract overall might not be as bothered by the cost of maintenance fees.

I feel all in on buying DVC but the thought of paying the maintenance fees every year for the next 37 years really bugs me, it makes me feel like it’s not as awesome deal as my heart wants it to be. I might just not be looking at this correctly. I know DVC helps dodge the inflation of the actual room rates which is what I need to focus on I think rather than it truly being a way to“prepay” for my vacations since I will still have to pay for maintenance fees, airfare, and park tickets annually😭
 
I have spent so much more money at Disney since I bought into DVC than I ever expected to.

I break it down into 2 chunks. The buy in cost per point and then the maintenance fees. My per point buy in was around 3.25 a point (total cost divided by 42 years of points). Dues this year are 6.58 a point for me.

Just got back from a 9 night trip where I used 173 points. Ballpark it at 10 bucks a point. 1,730 dollars for 9 nights at BLT studio which had a rack rate of about 7700 dollars. Now no one pays rack rate of course. A room at the contemporary would have easily ran 5K or more, and renting DVC points would have cost me 4000 dollars. (I was able to book std view as a member at 11 months, I would have had to rent 198 points @ 20 bucks a point for lakeview if I rented).

I could have probably stayed at pop for the same 1700 dollars, so I didn't really save anything, but I was able to stay at a monorail resort for a really good price which is what I wanted.
 
I have spent so much more money at Disney since I bought into DVC than I ever expected to.

I break it down into 2 chunks. The buy in cost per point and then the maintenance fees. My per point buy in was around 3.25 a point (total cost divided by 42 years of points). Dues this year are 6.58 a point for me.

Just got back from a 9 night trip where I used 173 points. Ballpark it at 10 bucks a point. 1,730 dollars for 9 nights at BLT studio which had a rack rate of about 7700 dollars. Now no one pays rack rate of course. A room at the contemporary would have easily ran 5K or more, and renting DVC points would have cost me 4000 dollars. (I was able to book std view as a member at 11 months, I would have had to rent 198 points @ 20 bucks a point for lakeview if I rented).

I could have probably stayed at pop for the same 1700 dollars, so I didn't really save anything, but I was able to stay at a monorail resort for a really good price which is what I wanted.
That is a great breakdown of the cost and also an explanation of why the cost was worth it. Thank you!
 


The biggest selling point for us (apart from being able to stay in nicer accommodations than value resorts) dont get me wrong we love pop and even the all stars, was when we became a family of 5 and dont need to worry about booking multiple rooms and being able to cook/ prepare meals in a kitchen several times during a trip (food costs add up with 3 kids). If we didnt have DVC we would maybe go to Disney every other year and still spend about the same amount for a different sort of trip about every 1.5 years. More of a relaxing trip enjoying our accommodations instead of the go go go trip where you are exhausted when you are finished and never see your room except to collapse onto the bed at night.
 
Thank you all for your input! It’s great to know the reality and being able to adjust my number of points accordingly.

I understand that maintenance fees are the same for everyone. I just mean that someone who only spent $80 per point years ago for a much lower priced contract overall might not be as bothered by the cost of maintenance fees.

I feel all in on buying DVC but the thought of paying the maintenance fees every year for the next 37 years really bugs me, it makes me feel like it’s not as awesome deal as my heart wants it to be. I might just not be looking at this correctly. I know DVC helps dodge the inflation of the actual room rates which is what I need to focus on I think rather than it truly being a way to“prepay” for my vacations since I will still have to pay for maintenance fees, airfare, and park tickets annually😭


So I just sold my AKL membership a bit over a year ago. I bought in the low 80's and sold for over $30 a point more. It was not really a great profit once you pay commissions and figure in the maintenance fees. Really liked the resort but at the end that was not enough. Reason I got out...

A. The Maintenance fees continue to go up faster than inflation. 2019 was a terrible year well over 10%. This fees are compounding in nature and have never stopped/slow downed since I joined. To get an understanding of where the fees will go in 37 years... use a compound calculator. I threw in 1000 as the starting value, 37 years compounded at 5% per year and you are looking at a 6000 a year fee at the end of the contract for every thousand dollars today. Kind of crazy.

B. The ticket prices have not kept pace with inflation and are actually running 10-15% increase per year as of late. The dining plan costs more, there are tons of extra events, and at some point fast passes will be for a fee. Hold on for the ride if you are planning on buying their tickets for the next 30+ years.

C. DVC causes you to miss out on other discounts given throughout the year and free dining offering. I am going to Beach Club on a PIN code this summer for 30%+ off rack rate. Not having DVC allows me to pick and choose my time and not worry about booking 11 months out for certain accomodations.
 
I've considered DVC as well and continue to lurk here in case I ever decide to buy, but compared to what I get with Wyndham resale, it isn't worth the price to me. If I buy, I'm buying AKV because it's one of the cheapest in terms of cost per point per year and I want access to value 1 bedrooms. SSR is the cheapest, but with restrictions, you want to own where you would want to stay year after year and I can get SSR via RCI with Wyndham points most times of the year. When you consider DVC, make sure you compare it to owning other systems as well. I personally like Bonnet Creek more than a lot of the DVC resorts. It costs me $470 so stay a week in a 1 bedroom deluxe at Bonnet Creek during the fall. My membership only costed me a few hundred bucks using Ebay.

As others have pointed out, Disney has gotten so insanely expensive in the last few years and less people are wanting to visit every year. If you own within another vacation club, you can use your points for Disney trips, but you aren't obligated to use the points for Disney. As of right now, I'm okay with having access to OKW, and SSR via RCI, and Bonnet Creek, Reunion and soon to be Margaritaville Orlando via my Wyndham points. Eventually, I might buy 100 DVC points to spice it up a bit every few years, but I'm content with the resorts I listed above since Wyndham has no buy in cost. I can trade into SSR/OWK for $1,017 for the whole week using my Wyndham points ($588 in maintenance fees and $429 in exchange fees). The same room would cost me twice as much if I used DVC points when you factor in buy-costs.
 
So I just sold my AKL membership a bit over a year ago. I bought in the low 80's and sold for over $30 a point more. It was not really a great profit once you pay commissions and figure in the maintenance fees. Really liked the resort but at the end that was not enough. Reason I got out...

A. The Maintenance fees continue to go up faster than inflation. 2019 was a terrible year well over 10%. This fees are compounding in nature and have never stopped/slow downed since I joined. To get an understanding of where the fees will go in 37 years... use a compound calculator. I threw in 1000 as the starting value, 37 years compounded at 5% per year and you are looking at a 6000 a year fee at the end of the contract for every thousand dollars today. Kind of crazy.

B. The ticket prices have not kept pace with inflation and are actually running 10-15% increase per year as of late. The dining plan costs more, there are tons of extra events, and at some point fast passes will be for a fee. Hold on for the ride if you are planning on buying their tickets for the next 30+ years.

C. DVC causes you to miss out on other discounts given throughout the year and free dining offering. I am going to Beach Club on a PIN code this summer for 30%+ off rack rate. Not having DVC allows me to pick and choose my time and not worry about booking 11 months out for certain accomodations.
Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s really helpful to hear from someone who actually owned there and ended up selling.

you’ve brought up so many good points to consider.
 
I've considered DVC as well and continue to lurk here in case I ever decide to buy, but compared to what I get with Wyndham resale, it isn't worth the price to me. If I buy, I'm buying AKV because it's one of the cheapest in terms of cost per point per year and I want access to value 1 bedrooms. SSR is the cheapest, but with restrictions, you want to own where you would want to stay year after year and I can get SSR via RCI with Wyndham points most times of the year. When you consider DVC, make sure you compare it to owning other systems as well. I personally like Bonnet Creek more than a lot of the DVC resorts. It costs me $470 so stay a week in a 1 bedroom deluxe at Bonnet Creek during the fall. My membership only costed me a few hundred bucks using Ebay.

As others have pointed out, Disney has gotten so insanely expensive in the last few years and less people are wanting to visit every year. If you own within another vacation club, you can use your points for Disney trips, but you aren't obligated to use the points for Disney. As of right now, I'm okay with having access to OKW, and SSR via RCI, and Bonnet Creek, Reunion and soon to be Margaritaville Orlando via my Wyndham points. Eventually, I might buy 100 DVC points to spice it up a bit every few years, but I'm content with the resorts I listed above since Wyndham has no buy in cost. I can trade into SSR/OWK for $1,017 for the whole week using my Wyndham points ($588 in maintenance fees and $429 in exchange fees). The same room would cost me twice as much if I used DVC points when you factor in buy-costs.
I had opportunity to "take over" a Wyndham contract once, and there were a lot of hurdles involved. Wyndham would not allow me to use the points without purchasing a minimum number of "developer" points, which priced it out of my reach.
It would have been more expensive for me than my current DVC-SSR ownership. How did you navigate around that ?? If there's a way to overcome that hurdle, I may still be able to obtain that distressed Wyndham Contract.
 
It sounds like you asked a sales weasel about it before you actually had the contract put into your name. You honestly just buy a resale contract on Ebay or Tug and have it transferred to you. I have 7 of them with no "developer points". The sales people lie to me all the time. I always attend "owner updates" to get a $100 Amex and every time I'm in one, I'm always lied to. You can have a resale only account. About 5% of owners are resale only.
 
We originally bought AK planning not to stay there. We wanted to own direct for maximum discounts. The strategy worked really well for the first 4 years - ended around 2013. In 2013 we purchased BC, planning to sell AK as soon as resale surpassed our buy-in costs. However, by that time we'd accomplished a few resort stays (no parks :oops: originally an inconceivable notion) and had become 'attached' to our home.

Are the dues high? Frankly, the increases at BL bother us more and the 2020 dues increase at BC was ridiculously high. I do wonder how much longer we'll hold onto AK as the staff ages out of employment. I do think AK-J has the best bus service of any resort - JMO. :)

We do occasionally vacation elsewhere. We're 3-star level accommodation vacationers and that level makes DVC (initial cost + Dues + Financing) equivalent to a deal or, at worst, reasonable. We loved CBR but, for us, DVC trumps the moderates in amenities.
 

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