AKL or BC
- Thread starter Leigh123
- Start date
Pakey
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 29, 2007
Tough tough choice and it really depends on the type of vacation.
AKL is my favorite resort at Disney. I absolutely love the theming, love the restaurants, love the atmosphere there. I love having that savannah view from the room as it's something pretty unique to that resort. I travel a great deal and it's nice to have unique experiences like that. Also, AKL has the best CS (Mara) of any deluxe resort. There are some great resort activities.
BC has location. There are tons of dining options within walking distance when you take into account the 5 Epcot area resorts plus the World Showcase restaurants. The convenience is great if you are more commando in your style. Also, the pool complex at BC/YC/BCV is pretty amazing.
Both resorts also have negatives. I do not care for the room decor at AKL, it's darker. You have to to drive/ride a bus to all 4 parks (although the bus transportation here is very good). The pool is nice, I actually prefer it over SAB at BC, but most people prefer SAB.
BC has 50% of their rooms with no balconies and a balcony is important to me. I've had 2 stays here without one and it bugs me. The CS options are junk. BC Marketplace is very limited and often crowded as there's not much for seating. Also, BC is the last bus stop and the buses are often standing room only for MK and AK. The DTD bus ride to/from Epcot resorts is the worst of any bus ride in all of WDW.
A lot of people complain about the noisy/busy lobby at BC since Cape May's entrance is in the lobby but that's never bothered me. I love the lobby here.
So my choice would depend on the type of vacation I was having. If I was going to spend a lot of down time on the vacation, I'd pick AKL. All 3 restaurants plus the CS are top notch so it's nice to not have to leave the property at all. However, if I was going to be hitting the parks every day, I'd choose BC.
Anymore, we do a split stay between the two. We start at Epcot area resort and do our park touring. Then we move over to AKL and finish with a laid back vacation.
AKL is my favorite resort at Disney. I absolutely love the theming, love the restaurants, love the atmosphere there. I love having that savannah view from the room as it's something pretty unique to that resort. I travel a great deal and it's nice to have unique experiences like that. Also, AKL has the best CS (Mara) of any deluxe resort. There are some great resort activities.
BC has location. There are tons of dining options within walking distance when you take into account the 5 Epcot area resorts plus the World Showcase restaurants. The convenience is great if you are more commando in your style. Also, the pool complex at BC/YC/BCV is pretty amazing.
Both resorts also have negatives. I do not care for the room decor at AKL, it's darker. You have to to drive/ride a bus to all 4 parks (although the bus transportation here is very good). The pool is nice, I actually prefer it over SAB at BC, but most people prefer SAB.
BC has 50% of their rooms with no balconies and a balcony is important to me. I've had 2 stays here without one and it bugs me. The CS options are junk. BC Marketplace is very limited and often crowded as there's not much for seating. Also, BC is the last bus stop and the buses are often standing room only for MK and AK. The DTD bus ride to/from Epcot resorts is the worst of any bus ride in all of WDW.
A lot of people complain about the noisy/busy lobby at BC since Cape May's entrance is in the lobby but that's never bothered me. I love the lobby here.
So my choice would depend on the type of vacation I was having. If I was going to spend a lot of down time on the vacation, I'd pick AKL. All 3 restaurants plus the CS are top notch so it's nice to not have to leave the property at all. However, if I was going to be hitting the parks every day, I'd choose BC.
Anymore, we do a split stay between the two. We start at Epcot area resort and do our park touring. Then we move over to AKL and finish with a laid back vacation.
minnie mum
Unapologetic Disney Fan(atic)
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2011
Agree with Pakey's assessment 99% (I actually really like the room decor at AKL). For us the determining factor would also be how much time we were planning on spending in the resort as opposed to in the parks. On a more relaxed trip we would definitely prefer AKL. On a more park-centric trip (Especially when Epcot has one of its festivals running) BC would probably be our choice.
If it was a toss-up, we'd give AKL the edge. Just love the atmosphere there.
If it was a toss-up, we'd give AKL the edge. Just love the atmosphere there.
elaw
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2011
I would pick BC over AKL purely on the fact that from BC you can walk to EPCOT and DHS and you can walk to the main entrance to EPCOT and take the monorail to the MK as well. With AKL you cant walk to AK and I personally see AK as a 1 day park at the most which means busses only to all the other parks. Don't get me wrong ... AKL is a really nice resort and we've stayed there several times but we always split stay there so that we have better transportation options for other parts of our stay at WDW.
Both are great in different ways.
Bc great location, good food choices, pretty rooms, awesome pool. The 5minute walk to epcot can' t be beat.
Akl, a very unusual resort, very cool, good food choices too. Savannah...need I say more? Totally awesome! This resort is very remote, a vacation from the parks! Like having two vacations in one.
You will have a great trip no matter what resort you pick!
Bc great location, good food choices, pretty rooms, awesome pool. The 5minute walk to epcot can' t be beat.
Akl, a very unusual resort, very cool, good food choices too. Savannah...need I say more? Totally awesome! This resort is very remote, a vacation from the parks! Like having two vacations in one.
You will have a great trip no matter what resort you pick!
pixarmom
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 20, 2009
Depends on so many factors! We've stayed at both BC (many times) and AKL. BC is our favorite resort based on the factors that are most important to us.
Transportation: We don't bring a car to WDW and love to walk. At BC, we can walk to two parks and take the bus to MK. (Everyone has to bus to AK, so that's a wash for us.) This is a huge factor for us - we make lots of ADRs in Epcot and love to just stroll out the International Gateway and back to our room after dinner. But other guests have other plans or don't mind the bus or drive, so it depends how important this factor is to you.
Resort Area: At BC, we have all of the Epcot resort area dining and shopping within walking distance. We enjoyed the grounds at AKL, but you can only walk so far because it's self-contained. The atmosphere around BC seems more vibrant and the atmosphere around AKL seems more quiet - so it depends on what you'd like.
Theme: I love the beach and I'm not so much a fan of animals. I still really liked AKL, but prefer the pool view! As you can see from photos, the lobbies and grounds are so different - both great, but hard to compare.
Dining: We make lots of ADRs for TS restaurants and prefer a resort without a food court or "food-court-like" location. (If I had to choose a favorite resort CS, it would be Captain Cook's at Poly.) So I know I'm in the minority, but I love BC Marketplace and didn't love the Mara. (Jiko and Sanaa, on the other hand, are two of my favorite restaurants at WDW!) So when people express concerns regarding counter service in the Epcot resort area, that really doesn't apply to us. I did a photo thread a while back regarding the options in the Epcot resort area for CS, and we're quite happy with the options: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2790281
Pool: I love SAB, but the pools at AKL (and Kidani, because you can use that one, too!) are a very close second place for me. SAB is separated into several different areas - some for bigger kids and adults and others for tiny kids. The sand bottom of the pool is fun and our kids loved digging in the sand when they were younger. There is a big slide at SAB, but also a little slide in a shallow pool near the lake - our kids love that little slide! I also have an SAB photo thread that might be helpful: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2790323
The splash pad/water playground area at Kidani is a ton of fun and I actually prefer the AKL and Kidani slides over the large slide at SAB (which is enclosed.) Both Kidani and AKL pools have zero depth entry, which you'll also find in one area (but not all) of SAB. I also like the variety at AKL - fun to try both pools, and the locker room near Kidani makes it easy to hop over there for the afternoon if you're staying at AKL. (Although I'm not sure if the Kidani/AKL pool-sharing rules have changed since we stayed there last year.)
Rooms: I like the decor of the BC rooms and prefer the bedding (down comforter with runner.) The last time we stayed at AKL, they had the "bedspread" type covers. But I thought the rooms at both BC and AKL were in very good condition.
Balcony: It's true that not all BC rooms have full balcony, but we always request one and we've been fortunate that BC has always been able to grant our request. If the full balcony is really critical to us for a certain trip, we'd book YC - they have all full balconies - or BWI. At AKL, we loved our balcony overlooking the pool - great location and really nice view.
BC is our clear favorite of the two, but I realize that different factors are important to different people, so I hope this helps a bit!
Transportation: We don't bring a car to WDW and love to walk. At BC, we can walk to two parks and take the bus to MK. (Everyone has to bus to AK, so that's a wash for us.) This is a huge factor for us - we make lots of ADRs in Epcot and love to just stroll out the International Gateway and back to our room after dinner. But other guests have other plans or don't mind the bus or drive, so it depends how important this factor is to you.
Resort Area: At BC, we have all of the Epcot resort area dining and shopping within walking distance. We enjoyed the grounds at AKL, but you can only walk so far because it's self-contained. The atmosphere around BC seems more vibrant and the atmosphere around AKL seems more quiet - so it depends on what you'd like.
Theme: I love the beach and I'm not so much a fan of animals. I still really liked AKL, but prefer the pool view! As you can see from photos, the lobbies and grounds are so different - both great, but hard to compare.
Dining: We make lots of ADRs for TS restaurants and prefer a resort without a food court or "food-court-like" location. (If I had to choose a favorite resort CS, it would be Captain Cook's at Poly.) So I know I'm in the minority, but I love BC Marketplace and didn't love the Mara. (Jiko and Sanaa, on the other hand, are two of my favorite restaurants at WDW!) So when people express concerns regarding counter service in the Epcot resort area, that really doesn't apply to us. I did a photo thread a while back regarding the options in the Epcot resort area for CS, and we're quite happy with the options: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2790281
Pool: I love SAB, but the pools at AKL (and Kidani, because you can use that one, too!) are a very close second place for me. SAB is separated into several different areas - some for bigger kids and adults and others for tiny kids. The sand bottom of the pool is fun and our kids loved digging in the sand when they were younger. There is a big slide at SAB, but also a little slide in a shallow pool near the lake - our kids love that little slide! I also have an SAB photo thread that might be helpful: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2790323
The splash pad/water playground area at Kidani is a ton of fun and I actually prefer the AKL and Kidani slides over the large slide at SAB (which is enclosed.) Both Kidani and AKL pools have zero depth entry, which you'll also find in one area (but not all) of SAB. I also like the variety at AKL - fun to try both pools, and the locker room near Kidani makes it easy to hop over there for the afternoon if you're staying at AKL. (Although I'm not sure if the Kidani/AKL pool-sharing rules have changed since we stayed there last year.)
Rooms: I like the decor of the BC rooms and prefer the bedding (down comforter with runner.) The last time we stayed at AKL, they had the "bedspread" type covers. But I thought the rooms at both BC and AKL were in very good condition.
Balcony: It's true that not all BC rooms have full balcony, but we always request one and we've been fortunate that BC has always been able to grant our request. If the full balcony is really critical to us for a certain trip, we'd book YC - they have all full balconies - or BWI. At AKL, we loved our balcony overlooking the pool - great location and really nice view.
BC is our clear favorite of the two, but I realize that different factors are important to different people, so I hope this helps a bit!
I'm a little biased, because we've only stayed at BC. My family loves being able to walk to EPCOT and we do plan for the majority of our meals to be at EPCOT. There's just nothing like being able to walk into the park in the morning, pop out for some pool time, and then head back to the park for dinner.
We also enjoy the boats to HS. On our last day this year, we caught the boat at the International Gateway as we were leaving EPCOT and rode all the way to HS to grab one last ride on RnRC. It was a hot day and it saved some miles on my poor, tired feet!
Cindy
P.S. I'm not too far from you.....just west of the Pittsburgh airport.
We also enjoy the boats to HS. On our last day this year, we caught the boat at the International Gateway as we were leaving EPCOT and rode all the way to HS to grab one last ride on RnRC. It was a hot day and it saved some miles on my poor, tired feet!
Cindy
P.S. I'm not too far from you.....just west of the Pittsburgh airport.
TJA
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 8, 2000
We like BC better because location is very important to our family. With young kids, we value being able to walk to 2 parks plus have the option of walking thru Epcot to catch the monorail to MK. Yes it's the longer route to MK, but it works great for our family.
Also, we love the many options of restaurants all around the BC. We like having Beaches & Cream for burgers and ice cream, and also the Marketplace for flatbread and salads. Of course, if we want a nice sit-down restaurant, there are lots to choose from when you factor in the world showcase is just a walk away from BC.
mickeynut1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2007
We've stayed at both and they are both great resorts. With that said, if you've never stayed at the BC, I think I'd give it a try. It is a beautiful resort and you can't beat being within walking distance (or a short boat ride) to both Epcot and DHS
. The rooms are a little bigger at the BC and Cape May is great for a nice breakfast and/or dinner 
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