Animal Kingdom Concierge and Annual Passes! About This Page:

[Tmoorie]

Hello Everyone! DH and I are researching DVC and getting closer to making a decision! I do have a couple of questions. Has anyone done AKV concierge? Can you give me any info on it? Is it worth it? I was looking at annual passes and notice the premier annual pass!!! It gets you into parks on both coast! We go to California at least once a year (I have family there). We usually stay with them so I wouldn't be using points but I could use the premier pass. According to my calculations it would work out to between 8 or 9 days in the parks and it would be paid off. Has anyone used these? Do you have any advice? Thanks!

[Dreaming of DisneyWorld]

Originally Posted by Tmoorie

Hello Everyone! DH and I are researching DVC and getting closer to making a decision! I do have a couple of questions. Has anyone done AKV concierge? Can you give me any info on it? Is it worth it? I was looking at annual passes and notice the premier annual pass!!! It gets you into parks on both coast! We go to California at least once a year (I have family there). We usually stay with them so I wouldn't be using points but I could use the premier pass. According to my calculations it would work out to between 8 or 9 days in the parks and it would be paid off. Has anyone used these? Do you have any advice? Thanks!

We are DVC owners at AKV. We have used our points twice for concierge level rooms. In our opinion, the amenities are very good; however, the location of the rooms is not fantastic. There are only a handful of studios at that level and only a couple of those are savanna view. That said, the savanna view at that height really stinks. Also know that any DVC rooms in Jambo House are smaller than those at Kidani.

We really liked the breakfast, snacks, drinks, lounge, and Sunrise Safari at AKL Club Level. The staff is also fantastic. I cannot help you with your Premier AP question. We are WDW APholders, and have found it's a great value with your DVC discount.

Best of luck in your decision.

[Tmoorie]

Thank you so much! Do you know if your home has to be AKV to use concierge. Can we use them if it's not our home resort?

[tjkraz]

Originally Posted by Tmoorie

Thank you so much! Do you know if your home has to be AKV to use concierge. Can we use them if it's not our home resort?

Everything is subject to availability and concierge villas are in VERY short supply. There are only FIVE lock off two bedroom villas (which can be booked separately as studio + one bedroom) in the concierge category. There are times when AKV owners trying to reserve 5 minutes after booking opens that all the villas are gone. Booking as a non-owner is possible but it's mostly a needle-in-a-haystack situation.

[chezp]

We don't own at Animal Kingdom Lodge and we lucked out and managed to get a couple of nights in concierge last year. We absolutely loved it, especially the sunrise savannah tour. To us, it was well worth it.

[Tmoorie]

Thanks for all the wonderful replies and advice. I am still learning the terminology....what is a lock off room?

[Dreaming of DisneyWorld]

Here's another thread about the difference between lock-off and dedicated:

What defines a "lock off villa?"

In a nutshell, a lock-off can be divided into a studio and one-bedroom. A dedicated is just that - it cannot be divided.

[ilovedisney247]

I love staying CL at AKV Jambo House! The Sunrise Safari option is definitely worth the height of the room off of the savannah in my opinion! Plus it's great to be able to have breakfast, snacks, and dessert. We've even made dinner of the appetizer offerings!

[LLaffinPlace]

We were there week before last and I loved it. We had a pool view, but we did the Sunrise and Sunset (Wanyama?) safaris, so I didn't miss having a savannah view room.

You do not have to have AKV as your home resort to reserve club level. We got five nights at club level within the seven month window, so I wouldn't assume they are not available. Good luck!

[Tmoorie]

Thank you everyone!