Disclaimer - This is going to be very long so please bear with me. Thanks.
My cousin Laura and I have been travelling to Disney once a year for the last 12 years or so. We have stayed at Coronado Springs, Port Orleans - FQ, Port Orleans Riverside (which I still refer to as Dixie Landings) and one stay at the All Star Music. Our absolute favorite is PO-FQ (we consider it our home away from home) so that is where we decided to stay again. We also decided to treat ourselves to 3 nights at a deluxe and had settled on the AKL. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we were kicked out of PO-FQ due to renovations and we were offered an upgrade to either the AKL or WL for only $30 more per night so since we were already staying 3 nights at AKL, we chose the WL, which is another one I always wanted to try.
We stayed at AKL from 12/6 - 12/9. From the moment I walked into this place I knew that I had found a new home. I absolutely fell in love. Our room was number 3453. It was on Zebra Trail facing the Uzima Savannah. I laughed that we were on Zebra trail, but didn't get to view any Zebra from our room. We had an awesome room, on lobby level, right off of the main hallway so we didn't get any hallway traffic. It was a quick walk to the lobby and our view was fantastic. We saw tons of animals. The room was beautifully decorated, I loved the tile in the bathroom so much that I want to re-do my bathroom at home. I know people have complained about the dark lighting in the room, but we had no problem with it at all. The lobby was magnificent and we spent a couple of late nights sitting in what felt like our own little sitting room in our pajamas drinking hot chocolate and tea. Every single cast member we encountered was wonderful. They were so beyond nice and helpful. I really loved it here and will definitely be returning. I would love to spend my entire vacation at this hotel all the time, but unfortunately will only be able to afford a couple of nights and will have to switch to a moderate. I can't wait to bring my husband and daughter here. One more thing, bus service was fantastic, we never waited for a bus for more than 5 minutes. Also, it was heaven not to have to share a bus with other hotels.
On Tuesday, 12/9, with great sadness we checked out of AKL and moved to the WL, where we stayed until 12/13. I had read so many great things about the WL and thought for sure that I would love it and I really wanted to, but I didn't. Maybe if I had stayed here first I would have liked it more, but after the AKL nothing compared. There wasn't anything really wrong with the WL, I just didn't get that OMG feeling that I got with the AKL. The lobby was incredibly beautiful, especially with the Christmas decorations, but we found it to be really loud whereas at the AKL we always felt like we were the only ones there. We had reserved a woods view and they gave us a complimentary upgrade to courtyard view, which was a really nice surprise. The room (#3148) was a bit of a hike though from the main lobby. We requested bunk-beds because my other cousin (Laura's sister) Annmarie, was meeting us this day and staying with us for the rest of the week and nobody wanted to share a bed (we do that at home with our husbands) so we got the bunk-beds, which were actually quite fun. I had a heck of a time climbing down from that thing and it made for lots of laughs, but other than that we felt the room was very dated. The bathroom had wallpaper peeling off of the wall and the tub had obviously not been cleaned since it was very gritty. Normally stuff like that would not bother me, and it really didn't this time. It certainly didn't take away from my vacation, but I found myself comparing everything to the AKL, probably unfair but I couldn't help it. We greatly enjoyed Whispering Canyon Cafe and would definitely return to the WL to eat, but I don't think I would stay there again. I just didn't feel like WL was very "deluxe". Also, after the great bus service at AKL, I found the bus service at WL severely lacking. One night we waited so long for a Downtown Disney bus that we just gave up and went back to the room for the night. We did enjoy the boat ride to MK, it was quick and convenient. It was also convenient in getting to Fort Wilderness for the Hoop De Doo. I hope that I didn't offend any WL lovers, I know there are many of you. I guess that is the great thing about Disney, there are so many options for everyone to find the place they really love. I also want to add that we found the cast members here to be just as wonderful as the ones at AKL.
Thanks for reading my reviews. I hope it was helpful to anyone planning. I do want to say to anyone who is thinking about the WL, please don't make a decision based on my review, you might love it the way I love AKL. I just wanted to share my experiences.
My cousin Laura and I have been travelling to Disney once a year for the last 12 years or so. We have stayed at Coronado Springs, Port Orleans - FQ, Port Orleans Riverside (which I still refer to as Dixie Landings) and one stay at the All Star Music. Our absolute favorite is PO-FQ (we consider it our home away from home) so that is where we decided to stay again. We also decided to treat ourselves to 3 nights at a deluxe and had settled on the AKL. Unfortunately (or fortunately) we were kicked out of PO-FQ due to renovations and we were offered an upgrade to either the AKL or WL for only $30 more per night so since we were already staying 3 nights at AKL, we chose the WL, which is another one I always wanted to try.
We stayed at AKL from 12/6 - 12/9. From the moment I walked into this place I knew that I had found a new home. I absolutely fell in love. Our room was number 3453. It was on Zebra Trail facing the Uzima Savannah. I laughed that we were on Zebra trail, but didn't get to view any Zebra from our room. We had an awesome room, on lobby level, right off of the main hallway so we didn't get any hallway traffic. It was a quick walk to the lobby and our view was fantastic. We saw tons of animals. The room was beautifully decorated, I loved the tile in the bathroom so much that I want to re-do my bathroom at home. I know people have complained about the dark lighting in the room, but we had no problem with it at all. The lobby was magnificent and we spent a couple of late nights sitting in what felt like our own little sitting room in our pajamas drinking hot chocolate and tea. Every single cast member we encountered was wonderful. They were so beyond nice and helpful. I really loved it here and will definitely be returning. I would love to spend my entire vacation at this hotel all the time, but unfortunately will only be able to afford a couple of nights and will have to switch to a moderate. I can't wait to bring my husband and daughter here. One more thing, bus service was fantastic, we never waited for a bus for more than 5 minutes. Also, it was heaven not to have to share a bus with other hotels.
On Tuesday, 12/9, with great sadness we checked out of AKL and moved to the WL, where we stayed until 12/13. I had read so many great things about the WL and thought for sure that I would love it and I really wanted to, but I didn't. Maybe if I had stayed here first I would have liked it more, but after the AKL nothing compared. There wasn't anything really wrong with the WL, I just didn't get that OMG feeling that I got with the AKL. The lobby was incredibly beautiful, especially with the Christmas decorations, but we found it to be really loud whereas at the AKL we always felt like we were the only ones there. We had reserved a woods view and they gave us a complimentary upgrade to courtyard view, which was a really nice surprise. The room (#3148) was a bit of a hike though from the main lobby. We requested bunk-beds because my other cousin (Laura's sister) Annmarie, was meeting us this day and staying with us for the rest of the week and nobody wanted to share a bed (we do that at home with our husbands) so we got the bunk-beds, which were actually quite fun. I had a heck of a time climbing down from that thing and it made for lots of laughs, but other than that we felt the room was very dated. The bathroom had wallpaper peeling off of the wall and the tub had obviously not been cleaned since it was very gritty. Normally stuff like that would not bother me, and it really didn't this time. It certainly didn't take away from my vacation, but I found myself comparing everything to the AKL, probably unfair but I couldn't help it. We greatly enjoyed Whispering Canyon Cafe and would definitely return to the WL to eat, but I don't think I would stay there again. I just didn't feel like WL was very "deluxe". Also, after the great bus service at AKL, I found the bus service at WL severely lacking. One night we waited so long for a Downtown Disney bus that we just gave up and went back to the room for the night. We did enjoy the boat ride to MK, it was quick and convenient. It was also convenient in getting to Fort Wilderness for the Hoop De Doo. I hope that I didn't offend any WL lovers, I know there are many of you. I guess that is the great thing about Disney, there are so many options for everyone to find the place they really love. I also want to add that we found the cast members here to be just as wonderful as the ones at AKL.
Thanks for reading my reviews. I hope it was helpful to anyone planning. I do want to say to anyone who is thinking about the WL, please don't make a decision based on my review, you might love it the way I love AKL. I just wanted to share my experiences.
Now I feel like I should switch our WL to AKL. 
