So I have serious FOMO happening here.
I currently have a club level room booked, but a 1 bd value cash booking is available and I’m so conflicted.
The idea of club level seems attractive, but I wonder how much of it will actually get used… We weren’t going to do the extra paid FPs so it’s really just the food and DSS.
The extra room though, now that would get used. Plus the laundry. The full size fridge is nice, but I’m not cooking on vacation so the rest of the kitchen is a wash.
The price is pretty much the same.
It’s me, hubby, and our 4 year old who is autistic.
I probably just need another cup of coffee this morning but cash booking is not a term I’m familiar with, can you explain?
I’m not sure of the CL amenities at AKL, but at the resorts where we’ve stayed, we found the ease of acquiring food a major plus. Do you think that would be helpful for your son? In retrospect, we made too many ADRs when we could have just eaten in the lounge.
Also, the lounge provided a nice, large quiet place where we could relax and spread out, like a second living room- there were five of us on this last trip so even though we had a Deluxe CL (large) room the extra area was nice. Except at dinner and breakfast, it was very quiet in the the rest of the time.
If you do decide to stay at AKL, maybe explain that your son is autistic and ask to be close to the lounge.
We do get a lot of value out of CL but I hear ya on the space issues! That’s why we upgraded to a Deluxe CL room, it had quite a bit of space compared to the regular CL room.
Cash booking bc 1 bd values are dvc rooms.
We’ve always stayed at AKL, so we know the resort…
This particular resort is unusual in that the CL rooms are not on the same floor as the CL. So it would be a trek.
We have done club level at AKL and at YC. I love club level ease. Not having to worry about drinks breakfast is awesome. The customer service is good. The food at YC in lounge was better than AKL in my opinion. The AKL didn’t really change breakfast offerings. We got tired of the food at AKL after a while but never got tired of it at YC.
I thought a cash booking thru dvc was at a discounted rate. But yes if you book thru cro/disney you can also get discounts. As to your room question, did you consider that club level can offer additional fast passes, if you are going at a busy time.
It’s like comparing McDonalds to Ruth’s Chris… But if you’re not going to be there for breakfast and “happy hour” times, financially it might not be worth it; you can get a number of signature dinners for the price difference. Have you considered a “regular” room at AKL as a compromise?
I’m not going to take advantage of the extra FPs because we already use DAS for our child.
I don’t know that we’d be around for many of the food offerings. The price difference between the value one bedroom and the CL room is negligible, around $200 less for the week with the value. But having our own room and a king bed is a big temptation.
I’ve temporarily switched from CL to the value while I sort it out, bc those are more difficult to come by.
We usually do a regular savanna or standard room, I just wanted something a little “extra” this time around. We are not the kind of people who don’t care about rooms bc they only sleep there.
I’m that kind of person on a road trip, but not when I stay long enough to actually unpack my suitcase. I don’t think I’ve ever regretted spending a little more on a hotel room in that instance. We went to NYC on the spur of the moment in Dec. and I felt a little guilty so we didn’t stay in a nice hotel, and I regretted it immediately. Like WDW, we don’t go there all the time, and I should have picked a nicer place. It was a dumb mistake. We already spent $$ getting there, and kind of killed the fun a little bit by not spending a relatively small amount more.
You’re correct it might be at a discounted rate; those aren’t always available. I don’t know if the value rooms are ever part of the DVC cash discount, although I don’t see why not.
But you don’t qualify for anything like free dining or an AP room discount or a Disney discount or package deal.
We used DVC points to stay at AKL Kilimanjaro Club at Christmas. Main reason was for CLFP option.
When we travel nonDVC, we like club level for the food and space option. This isn’t as big of a perk when you have a DVC room.
Our room was on 6th floor just off lounge area. Food was good with slight variations each day. We were gone most mornings way before breakfast service but took advantage of afternoon snacks, evening service and desserts. I had to detox from all the butterscotch chocolate brownie bites I ate … and the wine.
We had a savannah view but there was limited animal viewing. Most of our porch relaxation time was evening and it was too dark to see anything.
We’ve stayed CL at AKL, YC and CSR. Dinner at AKL was especially tasty, but if you’ve been there before you probably already know the lounge opens over the lobby, and it feels.more frenetic as a result. CL was also super busy while we were there (August).
Our family of 4 would personally choose CL over the 1bdrm, but that’s bc we choose CLs on split stays to maximize the lounge benefits on non park days. If your family needs more space or more calm to have a go od trip, the 1bdrm may be better.
but cash booking is not a term I’m familiar with, can you explain?