Booked at AKL and now WL available-WWYD?

[pix13]

Ok, so this is my third post about figuring out our resort for a late October trip to Disney. Can you tell I am indecisive? We are a family our 4-2 kids ages 3 and 6. When we were first booking we wanted WL with the free dining promotion, but by the time I decided to go with it there were no rooms left. So we ended up at AKL.

Well, now there are more rooms available under the promotion at WL for our dates. However, I am not sure about switching now. Both a Disney phone agent and another reliable source have indicated to me most likely we will have Magic Bands and Fast Pass+ at AKL. Chances are less likely at WL for this. What appeals to me about WL is the proximity to Magic Kingdom. We plan to spend more time there than the other parks (1.5-2 days at MK, 1-1.5 days at AK, and 1 day HS) plus will be going for MNSSHP. So with little ones it would be great to be close there, especially in the evening. BUT, Fast Pass+ could also make a huge difference for us in touring with little ones so that is starting to make me think we should just stay at AKL.

In looking at travel time, I am thinking that AKL is really only an extra 10 minutes or so compared to WL maybe? Is that worth it to possibly lose out on being able to do Fast Pass+?

What would you do in my situation? I am so torn again!

 

[Traceylee]

Both are great resorts. And AKL doesn't share busses with other resorts which is a plus. When we stayed at WL; it went to GF and FW. The kids will probably love watching the animals. I prefer AKL over WL.

 

[ArwenMarie]

Stick with your AKL plans!

 

[GrandCalifornian]

We really like both WL and AKL. WL has a beautiful location and the boat option to MK, while AKL has Animals, a zero entry pool, and a larger QS dining area.

We wound up choosing WL because I really like its location, but with that being said we didn't feel the transportation times to AKL were that bad. The time on a bus was slightly longer to all parks but AK, but we had good luck at AKL with the frequency of buses. For WL the buses are similar to all parks except MK, which is a very quick trip. On the way to other parks there is usually 1 stop after WL, (which is either GF or FW in our experience), and buses from the parks are shared with FW but WL drops off first.

In your situation the Magic Bands might tip it the other direction. If you think you will get a lot out of them, then it might be the way to go. We probably would switch to WL, but it is a very close decision. As I said before, no matter where you stay you can still visit the other lodge. Enjoy

 

[cmjohannes]

You may want to do some research into the Magic Bands before making your decision. I have read reviews from people who have tested them, and the results seem to be very mixed. Some people had no issues and loved them, but others have had numerous problems which bordered on ruining their vacations. I have read about people not being able to access dining plan information, or being able to charge to their rooms, which left them unable to eat or purchase anything at the parks. Not sure if this is typical, but I think Disney may be having more glitches with their Magic Bands than they'd like to admit.
With that being said, we are staying at the WL next month for the first time and can't wait! Last time we stayed at CSR and felt the bus rides were very long, especially to MK, which is where we spent most of our time. Good luck deciding. Just remember, no matter what you choose, you'll still be at Disney!

 

[Disneyhenry]

I love AKL, I hope to return next year, this year we will be trying out WL....my sisters are going and they want to stay at WL and I am find with it, but yeah I love AKL. The pool is great, the food is awesome and the animals are just incredible

 

[mickeynut1]

Ok, so this is my third post about figuring out our resort for a late October trip to Disney. Can you tell I am indecisive? We are a family our 4-2 kids ages 3 and 6. When we were first booking we wanted WL with the free dining promotion, but by the time I decided to go with it there were no rooms left. So we ended up at AKL.

Well, now there are more rooms available under the promotion at WL for our dates. However, I am not sure about switching now. Both a Disney phone agent and another reliable source have indicated to me most likely we will have Magic Bands and Fast Pass+ at AKL. Chances are less likely at WL for this. What appeals to me about WL is the proximity to Magic Kingdom. We plan to spend more time there than the other parks (1.5-2 days at MK, 1-1.5 days at AK, and 1 day HS) plus will be going for MNSSHP. So with little ones it would be great to be close there, especially in the evening. BUT, Fast Pass+ could also make a huge difference for us in touring with little ones so that is starting to make me think we should just stay at AKL.

In looking at travel time, I am thinking that AKL is really only an extra 10 minutes or so compared to WL maybe? Is that worth it to possibly lose out on being able to do Fast Pass+?

What would you do in my situation? I am so torn again!

We've stayed at both and they are both great resorts. We found the buses at AKL to be fine. As the pp mentioned, the buses only go to AKL and Kidani, so there's no sharing with any other resort(s). We didn't find it to take more than about 5 extra minutes getting around compared to other resorts. We love both resorts for different reasons and IMO, you really can't go wrong with either one. WL is nice for being in close proximity to MK, but it's also pretty cool watching the animals roam around the savannas, so if you think your kids would enjoy the animals, I'd stick with AKL. Good luck.

 

[pix13]

Thank you everyone! Your comments are very helpful!

 

[Wood Nymph]

I have heard wonderful things about AKL. Kids really love animals and I've heard that the pools are really nice there. If you end up staying at AKL, you will probably have a wonderful time.

We were at WL with our grandchildren, age 3 and 5, last February. It was really easy to hop over to MK at any time. The boat is about a 12 minute ride and very enjoyable. And the boat dock is really close to the main entrance. It was also really easy to come back in the afternoon to go swimming. My grandchildren didn't take naps, but if their daddy and grandpa did.

There is also a boat that goes to the Contemporary and Fort Wilderness. We took the boat to CR to catch the monorail for our ADR's at the Poly and GF. And we went over to FW for Hoop Dee Doo. There is a really nice playground over there. AKL has a nice playground, too.

There is a non stop bus that goes to MK and takes about five minutes. But the other buses at WL were rather a pain in the neck, I think. They either stopped at GF or FW when going to the other parks. It seemed to take forever, especially when the bus shared with FW. That is a bit of a detour.

At the AKL you have the benefit of dedicated buses. So your bus trips should be fine.

As far as Magic Bands go, it would be really nice to have a FP+ option. We never got to do Enchanted Tales with Belle, or Toy Story Mania, or some of the other popular rides. But the kids never knew that they missed anything, so that was fine. They had a wonderful trip and one of their favorite things to do was to go swimming.

Either resort will be fine. The kids are just as likely to fall asleep on the boat ride back to WL as they are on the bus ride back to AKL after MNNSHP, so I wouldn't worry about that one.