I find a lot of the discussions on the PassPorter message boards fascinating, with some really interesting questions posed. One that struck me recently was from PassPorter member oceanmarina.
She was originally looking to do a split stay between Bay Lake Tower and Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, although she didn’t want to split a stay for seven nights. She wanted to pick one hotel, and wanted to stay in a one-bedroom villa. The question was this:
Which would you stay if you had to pick one?
Usually, when it comes to picking resorts at Walt Disney World, I find it relatively easy, as I have my firm favorites – Beach Club Villas come on down! – but this was one was tougher. They’re both Disney Vacation Club resorts, and after the Beach Club Villas, they’re probably our other favorite two DVC resorts. So which one would I pick, if I had to pick one? Hmmm…
The pros of staying at Bay Lake Tower
The first is the amazing location, just a few minutes’ walk from the Magic Kingdom, while on the way back, it’s only one stop on the monorail.
One-bedroom villas here are larger than the equivalent rooms in Jambo House of Animal Kingdom Lodge, so if you’ve got a number of people as part of your vacation, that could be an important call.
It’s got a more “exclusive” feel to it, as technically only Bay Lake Tower keyholders can get into the complex. Of course, it’s never that simple, and we’ve seen plenty of people come through both the walkway from the fourth floor of the main Contemporary building, or the main doors, without showing any room keys.
The Top of the World lounge at Bay Lake Tower
You get access to the Top of the World lounge, with the wonderful views it offers towards the Magic Kingdom. It’s the perfect place to watch Wishes from, if you’re not lucky enough to snag a theme park view room.
You’re just a short walk away from some wonderful dining options, such as the California Grill, and the famous antics of Chef Mickey’s.
The cons of staying at Bay Lake Tower
A studio at Bay Lake Tower - sterile or homely?
Some people may feel that the rooms here are rather sterile. Personally, I quite like the feel of them, but they’re certainly not as “homely” as some of the other Disney Vacation Club resorts.
Because all the parking’s out front, that can mean a long walk over to your car, depending where your room is in the tower.
As Bay Lake Tower is part of Disney’s Contemporary Resort, which is classed as a Deluxe resort by Disney, it’s going to cost more money to stay there. If you want to stay on your Disney Vacation Club points, then it will also cost more, although you can get a standard view one bedroom villa for less than the price of a one-bedroom concierge villa at Animal Kingdom Lodge. Having said that, of course, all you’re getting is the one bedroom villa at Bay Lake Tower, without the concierge benefits.
The pros of staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas
You just cannot beat the theme of this beautiful resort. The second you walk in, you’re transported away to the African savannah. Step outside, and you can meet some of the animal residents outside. The chances are you’ll nearly always find something to admire, although of course they are able to wander off, whenever they feel like it!
The beautiful theming of one of the rooms at the Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas
The theming extends into the Disney Vacation Club rooms, and we just love all the African touches, the beautiful dark wood, and the wallpaper, with various famous African locations. Get yourself a savannah view room, and you can look at a picture postcard view that changes all the time, as animals come, and go.
Animal Kingdom Lodge is home to three superb restaurants, all offering something very different, from the amazing variety of choices on the Boma buffet to the signature dining of Jiko, and the unusual choices of Sanaa.
If you stay at Kidani Village, it offers parking, for those with cars, almost right underneath your room, if it’s available of course. That’s a definite bonus, and something that Bay Lake Tower can’t offer.
As mentioned earlier, another bonus is that staying at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas is a cheaper option than Bay Lake Tower, both in terms of cash, and points. If you’re on a tight budget, this could be a deciding factor.
The cons of staying at Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas
Because of its ambience, Animal Kingdom Lodge is naturally located away the rest of Walt Disney World property. That means that it can take some time to get to the theme parks, with the exception of Animal Kingdom, which is only a five minute drive by car, or a short journey by bus.
The size of Kidani Village can make it unappealing to some
We personally find that Kidani Village is too sprawling. If you’re located at the end of one of the wings, it’s a very long walk back to the reception to dine, shop, or enjoy the fitness centre, pool, or water play area.
So what’s the overall verdict?
Personally, I find it hard to pick between the two, as they both have so many pros, with very few cons to either.
Because of that, given the choice, I’d always go for a split stay, incorporating both. While at Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas, I’d enjoy Animal Kingdom, and the wonders of that sumptuous Boma dinner buffet, before moving to Bay Lake Tower, to enjoy time at the Magic Kingdom, and some fine dining at the California Grill. Let’s face it, if you can’t pick, then why not do both?
However, if I really, really had to choose… well, my heart lies in Animal Kingdom Lodge Villas. To me, they’re better value for money, have a wonderful laid back ambience, and you can’t beat having animals outside on the savannah.
Wonderful article, Cheryl. I agree with your assessment of BLT. Can’t say anything about AKV, as I don’t like AKL and will never stay there again. We find BLT to be very homey, even though the theming is nothing like our home! Something that never gets mentioned and I think is a huge consideration: in BLT every single room is “Universal Design”. This means that every room is accessible to all, with all adaptation made so you really don’t notice them. This is a factor to consider when vacationing with a handicapped or impaired individual. Handicapped accessibility for all!
Great piece Cheryl! I love Animal Kingdom Villas, but BLT is too rich for my blood–I’d rather have more trips than a theme park view. I’m sure I’ll fit a stay in eventually, but probably not soon!
Loved your take on this, Cheryl! We are actually doing a split-stay between these resorts. We love AKL, but want to try the BLT convenience factor (just once!). I agree with everything you said – you are right on!
We have only stayed at Kidani (twice), and LOVED it! Our next stay is (we hope) BLT! We plan to stay at all of them eventually. Thanks for the great article, it makes me want to stay at BLT AND go back to Kidani!
We stayed at both in October last yr. it was amazing like going from the flint stones to the jetsons! Home base is BCV but this was a once in a lifetime experience! I say the split was worth it!
We are DVC members and stayed at AKL Kidani Village last May. The views from the room on to the Savanna was breathtaking. Giraffees feeding right outside the window, zebras strolling by, wildabeasts trotting through. Room decor incredible. Now the bad. The walls and ceilings between units are paper! We could hear the baby in the next room crying like it was in our room! The kids playing normally upstairs! Most of this started at 6 AM. Now no one was doing anything out of the ordinary.. just going about their business.There’s no soundproofing between anything. I video taped this on my flip camera for folks at home and they did not beleive me that the baby crying on video (sound) was not in our room!!! Not the place to stay if you are going to chill and not get up early!!! I mentioned this to management and they were quick to give me a $150 room account credit! Spoke to other DVC members and they said they encounter the same thing. But the view is worth it…just don’t try to sleep in!
Sorry to hear about your stay at Kidani Village John – what a nightmare! I must admit we did have an issue with the noise on our last stay in Jambo House. We were on the sixth floor (we snagged concierge using our points!) and we could hear the music from the lobby, which kept us awake for much of the night. Like you, when we mentioned something, we were given a room credit as well.
We couldn’t decide between these two properties either so we bought into both! Now we alternate our stays, staying at BLT one trip and AKL the next.
Thank you so much for this article! We bought into AKL last year after having stayed at Jambo House and then Kidani on our second trip. For our first DVC stay this year, I wanted to try BLT since we’d already stayed twice at AKL. The Mr. loves the theming and “seclusion” of AKL and doesn’t want to stay anywhere else. We’ve already booked this year for our home resort, but I’m nervously waiting for the rez window for BLT to open. How difficult is it to get the 7 month reservation for BLT?
We’ve managed to stay twice at Bay Lake Tower, once last April and once in early December 2009, which is traditionally a busy time for Disney Vacation Club members to visit. We were amazed we got in that time – so hopefully you’ll get the same luck we’ve had!
I am a DVC memeber and in fact my home resort it BLT. My last trip to WDW was in Nov/Dec 2010. We stayed at AKL first half and after returning from our cruise we stayed at BLT. Our experience at AKL was really bad. Because it was Thanksgiving I had to get three studios for 8 people. I booked everything together. You would think the three rooms would be near each other, but they were not. In fact one of my rooms was on the other side of the building that we would have to walk to the center go down the elevator, walk to the other side of the reception area and then get in those elevators to take to the floor where my 3rd room was. I was able to get them to move that room at least in the same area as my other two, but it was three floors up than the other 2. When we did get to BLT the first thing out of my father’s mouth was, “why didn’t we stay here the whole time”. Everyone loved BLT and I was pleased because that is our home resort. Our goal is to try out all of the other DVC homes, but so far BLT it the best.
Great article, Chez! You’ve summed up all the pros and cons wonderfully. I’m having a hard time picking a favorite between the two myself. Having stayed at both, I must say that Animal Kingdom Villas win, but only by a slight margin. I don’t mind the remote location but love the flair and the pool! Of course, Bay Lake Towers has a very modern feel to it, which I like as well. Again, thanks for the article, Chez! 🙂
My sister and I (25 & 21) will be taking my dad on his FIRST trip to Disneyworld in January. We are going for 4 nights and just cannot decided between BTL and AKL. We’ve never stayed in either but BTL is my home resort and I’m dying to stay there. We were considering doing a split stay because don’t mind moving at all and we heard the Disney Bellman move your things for you.
Does anyone have any advice either way? Is 4 days too short for a split stay?
It’s do-able to have a split stay in four days, but you won’t be able to unpack or really relax at either location in that time. We’ve stayed in resorts for just two nights before and that really is the minimum amount of time I’d recommend. Mind you, we always have a rental car, so move everything ourselves.