HELP!!! Animal Kingdom Lodge, Boardwalk, or WLodge

[VandyFan10]

Oh, how I hate (and love) choices!!!

Would like anyone's opinions, tips, information...anything you would like to give!

We have the choice of staying at:

AK - Savanna view
BW - Standard View
WL - Woods view


What would you choose and why?? GO!!!!

And TIA!!

 

[Karlzmom]

I have stayed at all three options. Hands down I would pick the AKL....
The resort is amazingly beautiful and it allows the true "resort vacation" feel. I found the buses easy to use. Having the Mara, Jiko, Boma and Sanaa easily at hand was quite a plus, as all are great food options.

Oh, did I mention the animals? I can't begin to describe how special being able to sit on the balcony and watch the animals is. We were also able to take in fireworks in the distance from the parks from our balcony.

The resort itself offers cultural experiences, including an extensive African art collection. There are also activities available...storytelling, night vision googles, kitchen tours, wine tastings....and so on and so forth. Have I sold you yet?

My second choice is BW for location. Its nice to be able to easily access both EP and HS. Flying Fish is my fav restaurant on property and the easy walk home is nice.

WL has a lovely lobby, but I found the rooms to be a bit on the shabby side and it was not as convenient as BW, nor was it as great of an all around experience as AKL. Did I mention how beautiful AKL is?


Let us know what you decide and have fun!

 

[VandyFan10]

Thank you Katie!!!

I think those are the two I'm stuck on. The family I'm renting from, their fave is WL

Thanks again for your thoughts!!

 

[kimysbug]

What are your favorite parks?

Do you take afternoon breaks?

What resorts have you stayed at?

If you love mk, and like a break wilderness lodge!

Love animals, don't mind long ride to mk animal kingdom lodge

Epcot people boardwalk

 

[Wood Nymph]

Oh, how I hate (and love) choices!!!

Would like anyone's opinions, tips, information...anything you would like to give!

We have the choice of staying at:

AK - Savanna view
BW - Standard View
WL - Woods view


What would you choose and why?? GO!!!!

And TIA!!

Are you staying in the villas?

I have stayed at WL and BWI, in regular rooms, not the villas. I haven't been to AKL yet. If you plan to spend the most time at MK, go to the WL. It is a beautiful resort and we really loved the theme, with the woods and gorgeous lobby.

If you plan to spend a lot of time at Epcot and HS, then stay at the BW. We are big fans of the Epcot resorts, having stayed almost exclusively at the BC and BCV's for many years. We love being able to walk into Epcot. We also enjoy all the entertainment options that are in that area. It doesn't have a counter service restaurant at the resort, which WL and AKL have. That is the only downside to BW.

 

[goofy4prez]

I have stayed at all three options. Hands down I would pick the AKL....
The resort is amazingly beautiful and it allows the true "resort vacation" feel. I found the buses easy to use. Having the Mara, Jiko, Boma and Sanaa easily at hand was quite a plus, as all are great food options.

Oh, did I mention the animals? I can't begin to describe how special being able to sit on the balcony and watch the animals is. We were also able to take in fireworks in the distance from the parks from our balcony.

The resort itself offers cultural experiences, including an extensive African art collection. There are also activities available...storytelling, night vision googles, kitchen tours, wine tastings....and so on and so forth. Have I sold you yet?

My second choice is BW for location. Its nice to be able to easily access both EP and HS. Flying Fish is my fav restaurant on property and the easy walk home is nice.

WL has a lovely lobby, but I found the rooms to be a bit on the shabby side and it was not as convenient as BW, nor was it as great of an all around experience as AKL. Did I mention how beautiful AKL is?


Let us know what you decide and have fun!

Just to let the op know that the WL was refurbished last year. As for the AKL, I will find out next year about the all around experience when I stay there for the first time.

Interesting that you found the BW to be convenient. Other than it's location to Epcot and DHS being walking distance,I found the buses to be an absolute nightmare with all the resorts next to Epcot. Sharing a bus with YC/BC/BW/Swan/Dolphin was an experience I will never want to do again.

But hey, these are our opinions and like belly buttons we all have one.

To the OP. I love the WL. I personally love the so close to the MK yet feeling so far away from it all perfect. The MK and monorail resorts are so close. The bus ride to MK is not long, the boat ride to the MK is very convenient, and there is a very short boat ride to the CR and it's monorail so that it is easy to tour and visit the restaurants on the monorail.

 

[nkereina]

For us, we find the main benefit of a deluxe resort is alternate transportation options to the parks. You lose that benefit at AKL so its hard for us to justify the additional cost when we prefer to pay for convenience. At WL, the only other option is the boat to MK. So, we would choose BWI because of the ability to walk or boat to Epcot or DHS. That's huge for us.

 

[MinnieSummer]

I agree that the busses at BWI are a nightmare. Sharing with all the resorts just doesn't work, especially with the prices you pay to stay there. If you are only planning on doing Epcot then BWI is great but I'm not even fond of the walk to DHS -- after a long day at the park walking that far isn't something I want to do -- and I don't find the boats as convenient as a bus from AKL. But we did enjoy our stay there and the nightlife on the Boardwalk was fun. Plenty of restaurants to choose from. The rooms were also very nice.

WL is beautiful but again, I didn't love the transportation. The boat was better than the bus but again, you are sharing with other resorts. I also really didn't love the food offerings here. Although we haven't eaten at Artist Point for many years so I can't comment on it. The rooms were nice. We had a woods views and saw many little creatures running around. The pool is way to small. I waited for over an hour for a lounge chair to become available while my DD swam. She got out before I got to sit. We just left. And that happened on more than one occasion.

AKL is beautiful and doesn't share busses with any other resort. It has a relaxed feel to it. The restaurants are great and I love the pool. Savannah view rooms are really great. Waking up in the morning to animals right in front of your balcony, or relaxing on the balcony as the sun goes down with a Giraffe looking right at you, is an amazing experience.