AKL Bus Service

[cjnettles]

Thinking about staying at AKL our next trip We have stayed at POP and CSR, how does the bus service compare at AKL. It looks like a beautiful resort, but don't want trip to be ruined by bad bus service, the bus service at both POP and CSR was excellent.

Thanks,
CJ

 

[kapoof]

If you are used to csr and pop, akl will be a breeze. It will stop first at the akv however. The only long ride will be to mk and of course with any resort the Dtd bus will be iffy.

 

[mickeynut1]

Thinking about staying at AKL our next trip We have stayed at POP and CSR, how does the bus service compare at AKL. It looks like a beautiful resort, but don't want trip to be ruined by bad bus service, the bus service at both POP and CSR was excellent.

Thanks,
CJ

We've never stayed at Pop or CSR so I can't compare the bus service at those resorts to AKL, but we thought the buses at AKL were fine. The resort is out away from everything, but since the buses only go to Kidani and AKL, there's no sharing with any other resort, so it really doesn't take that much longer from AKL vs other resorts (IMO).

 

[dudleydawson]

It is really far away from everything and a long ride. Make sure to plan accordingly!

 

[bambam32]

ASR and CBR have the worst bus service ( lots of stops), but AKL is 2 stops. It is along way from some of the parks.

 

[lajspeech]

It is really far away from everything and a long ride. Make sure to plan accordingly!

its actually not at all longer than the ride to and from Pop. same exact thing. Bus service to AKL is better than any of the MK area or EP area deluxe resorts in my opinion since they dont share stops with other hotels, and better than CBR, OKW, or POR/POFQ since there arent multiple internal stops (just AKV and AKL). Its about 20 min to MK. No biggie.

 

[disd55]

I think a 20 minute bus ride is a biggie. When you're in Disney, every minute counts. When staying at an MK resort, you can be at MK by boat, monorail or walking in less than 10 minutes. Much less than 10 minutes. When you're at an Epcot resort, such as BWI, BC/YC or Swalphin, you can walk to Epcot or HS or take a boat and be there in less than 10 mins. AK is pretty far out of the way IMO and it's just nice to be at a resort where you have easy access to at least 1 park.

 

[DisneyWisher]

ASR and CBR have the worst bus service ( lots of stops), but AKL is 2 stops. It is along way from some of the parks.

If All Stars share buses it's 3 stops top. Mods have 5-7 stops within the resort.

When we stayed AKL (4 yrs ago) we found its quite a walk from the room to the bus stop. Our room was right by the entrance to the pool and Mara's. I couldn't imagine being on the other side of the hotel. When we went to Epcot and DHS we stopped at BB to and from. When waiting to leave MK we waited 35 mins for the bus back to AKL. Probably a fluke.

 

[thr33boys]

We stayed at Akl last November for our first family trip. My only concern with staying there was because of the poor bus service that I had read. I worried for nothing. The bus service was great, not only leaving the resort but also leaving the parks. The only thing we found that was far was DTD. The only time we waited for a bus was on our last day to Epcot, we waited probably 15 mins and then 2 buses arrived. Every other time, the bus was either waiting or only a couple of mins. We are staying there again this December.

 

[Rikkilee]

We stayed in AKL recently in January and the bus service is one huge factor in one reason we will not return to AKL. We constantly had 30+ minute waits a lot of the time.

But most people I talk too have never had a problem, so we probably were just having bad timing.

But the resort itself is amazing!

 

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Bus transportation is going to be hit or miss regardless of where you stay. We stayed at AKL in the past and transportation was fine. Busses typically come every 20 mins. Think the longest wait we had was to and from DTD. We are evading back to AKL in a week and a half. This time we are staying at Kidani thou.

 

[lajspeech]

I think a 20 minute bus ride is a biggie. When you're in Disney, every minute counts. When staying at an MK resort, you can be at MK by boat, monorail or walking in less than 10 minutes. Much less than 10 minutes. When you're at an Epcot resort, such as BWI, BC/YC or Swalphin, you can walk to Epcot or HS or take a boat and be there in less than 10 mins. AK is pretty far out of the way IMO and it's just nice to be at a resort where you have easy access to at least 1 park.

AT any resort there is going to be one park that is closer to you than the others and one that is farther away... At AKL, AK is a 5 min ride, whereas if you are at any MK area resort AKL is your 20 min ride...

For example, if you’re going to Epcot from GF, you have to walk to the main building and wait for the Resort Monorail. Then wait for the Monorail to stop at the Magic Kingdom. And then the Contemporary. And then the Transportation and Ticket Center. And then transfer over to the Epcot Monorail platform. And then wait for the Epcot Monorail. And then ride the monorail to Epcot... that whole process is likely to take you WAY WAY longer than the 20 min AKL-MK direct bus..

Not to mention that the Yacht Club, Beach Club, Swan, Dolphin, and BoardWalk share one bus route, meaning to MK or AK those people are all waiting on a LONG bus ride either on pick up or drop off... MUCH longer than 20 min!

Just saying =)

 

[JennyDrake]

We stayed in AKL recently in January and the bus service is one huge factor in one reason we will not return to AKL. We constantly had 30+ minute waits a lot of the time.

But most people I talk too have never had a problem, so we probably were just having bad timing.

But the resort itself is amazing!

I had the same experience in two stays there. But bus service can be ANYTHING, any time, at any resort.

 

[OLIVIA'S DADDY]

We stayed at Kidani May 17-27 2013 and will never stay there again. The bus service is slow, and it is a long ride unless you are going to AK. We had an aweful experience right from check-in so maybe that has jaded me a bit but we won't be going back there. I had stayed at AKL before and the only problem we had was slow bus service especially leaving the parks at night. But Kidani was a bad experience. Our room was not ready at 4:30pm and we were told it was guaranteed by 4, it wasn't. We were told at 1pm the maid service was in our room, then when we came back after lunch and a quick swim we were again told the same thing (3:30) and this time we were told by "Lilly" that we could come back after 4 and start complaining if our room was not ready because it is not guaranteed until 4. At 4:15 I asked to talk to a manager and after another 15 minutes they gave us a different room because ours was still not ready.

I have never encountered bad service at WDW until this trip, it was very disappointing and the whole experience kind of soured me a bit, especially at Kidani. Usually the CM's are more than helpful, not this time. Aside from that if you are not right near the lobby then you are in quite a walk to the busses especially at night when carrying little ones who are tired, or if you want to get to the pool you better be in good shape if you are on the right sde of the lobby because it is a hike. I also didn't see what was so special about the Kidani pool. It was just a pool, usually very crowded but just a pool nonetheless.

Don't really mean to be a downer but I needed to get that off my chest because it has been bugging me and I thought you should hear a recent opinion.

Stay at the Contemporary if you can, great location, recently refurbished, great counter service and did I mention great location? Have fun no matter what hotel you choose and goodluck!

 

[aVASTGrl]

I've never had a problem with the bus service at AKL. I've had much worse service at CSR and YC. I think the bus service is hit or miss at all of the resorts, as a PP said.

 

[TeddiBarra]

We didn't have any major issues. FYI though- buses always pick up first at Kidani Village, then backtrack to Jambo House to pick up. I presume you're staying in Jambo - be prepared for buses to be pretty full by the time they get to Jambo and you are likely to be standing (if you are bussing during peak come and go times). If you are ok with that, it should work out OK.