AKL bus service- is it really bad???

[lomillerin]

I have read several things about how bad the bus service is at AKL. We are supposed to be staying there from Mar. 29th-Apr. 3rd- spring break.
Is it bad? I know occasianally you could wait, but at POP in June last year and Jan this year, the waits were at most 10 minutes ever.
I thought Deluxes were supposed to be better.

 

[sissybells]

My DH and I stayed at AKL the last 2 times we have visited. It is by far our favorite resort. Even to the extreme that our own home decor is done in an African motife(sp?) The bus service is awesome IMO. You don't share with any other resort. The only stops you make may be at BB or TL. Other than that it takes no time to get where you are going. Also my opinion is that as long as I'm at Disney I never pay attention to how long it takes for a bus to pick me up or get me somewhere, I'm just so happy to be there I don't even notice. Have Fun and enjoy yourself. Don't worry to much about how long it takes you to get somewhere, your'e in Disney. I hope this helps.

 

[Connor&Cody'sMom]

I agree. The bus service is excellent. Other resorts share buses and have multiple stops. When we stayed at ASMovies, the bus always stopped at Sports and Music before it got to us. THAT was terrible. We stayed at AKL in May, and we never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. Since there is only your one bus stop, you never have to worry about a bus showing up half full from the last stop. I think you will be happy with it.

 

[scoutsmom99]

I agree with the other posters! I stayed at AKL in Ocotber and I thought the Bus Service was great...we never had longer than 10 minutes for a bus and I also love the fact that the busses are direct and that we didn't have to stop at any other resorts to cram on more people. I was also just there and had breakfast at BOMA on Sun 1/23 and while I waited for the AK which was there with in 7 minutes or so a bus for each of the parks and DTD came.

 

[Shells9]

I don't think it is bad at all

 

[newholidayx2]

after spending a morn at AK we're planning on checking out AKL - what is the best bus to take to get back to BC?
bus back to AK and then get on BC bus? or bus to MGM and get on BC bus? (whichever comes first although we wont know about the 2nd bus?) which also stops at the water parks?

 

[kirkharrod]

If I were staying at AKL, I would drive myself everywhere, because you will spend A LOT of time on the bus. The AKL is just far from everything except AK.

 

[madalex]

after spending a morn at AK we're planning on checking out AKL - what is the best bus to take to get back to BC?
bus back to AK and then get on BC bus? or bus to MGM and get on BC bus? (whichever comes first although we wont know about the 2nd bus?) which also stops at the water parks?

Assuming that you have park hopper passes, my suggestion would be to bus to Epcot and then walk through to BC. That way you only have to get on one bus and can enjoy a little Epcot as well!

Also, as others have said, bus service at AKL is fine. Bus rides may be a little longer than from other deluxe resorts (especially to/from MK), but this is balnced out by the fact that the buses are not shared with any other resorts, so there are not multiple stops on each bus ride.

 

[leighe]

We found bus service to be great at AKL. Yes, you may be on the bus a little longer, but you aren't stopping at other resorts on the way.

We loved everything about AKL.

 

[Dana49]

We stayed at the AKL in December, 2004. I honestly think that they have the BEST bus service of all the resorts where we've stayed (Polynesian, Wilderness Lodge, Yacht Club, and Port Orleans).

 

[Chip 'n Dale Express]

Just to clear up a common misconception about AK Lodge. It is designed specifically to have a remote feel to it. That is part of that atmosphere.

HOWEVER... that does not mean that it is super far from the parks, and bus rides are super long.

It takes less time to get from AKL to the MK, than it would from Riverside. Or Caribbean Beach. Or the Boardwalk.

Why? Two reasons. First, it's direct, no other stop. And second, it's really not that much further away than any other resort. It really isn't. Port Orleans exit gate to MK is around 11-13 minutes. AKL exit gate to MK is about 13-15 minutes. So we're talking a difference of 120 seconds... not really that much.

Downtown Disney is the only one where it's slightly further away, but even then, it's not that far.

 

[Jekka's_Mom]

I have to agree with Chip N Dale Express , don't worry about AKL being too far away from everything, it IS only supposed to feel that way. The AKL bus service is AWESOME. We just got back from WL and I missed the AKL buses. AKL doesn't share so you're always directly on your way to where you want to be! WL always stopped at another resort. It wasn't too bad, but having stayed at AKL I noticed the difference.

I highly recommend AKL, next time we are staying there again!

 

[salbythec]

Okay I feel better now after reading this! I was worried too, cause we always stay at BC. My DH wants to stay at AKL this time so we are going to try it. And I have to admit I am looking forward to trying something new.

 

[#1hockeymom]

AKL bus service is really good, but don't tell anyone! Let them think that it is way out there and takes hours to get anywhere!

 

[my3kids]

I thought they were wonderful. I never waited more than maybe 4 or 5 minutes for a bus to any certain park. I don't think I ever waited at all at the parks to go back to the hotel. It always seemed there was an AKL bus right there. I loved the transportation system.

 

[SqueakyMouse]

Dh and I stayed at AKL at the end of Oct/beginning of Nov. Transportation was fantastic! The nice thing about AKL is that we never shared a bus with another resort. The only times we had to wait (coming back from MK), all the other resorts had much, much longer lines for their buses; and the folks waited as long or longer than we did. I found that the launch from MK to WL took every bit as long as the bus from MK to AKL!!

 

[nwdisgal]

It was great. We never had any problems with it.

 

[heffalump9]

We are going to be staying at AKL for the 3rd time in 4 years and one of the many reasons for our return is the bus service. One thing you might keep in mind if you are at AKL and want to get quick bus service to another resort (ie. dinner reservations), you can always catch a bus to AK and then pick up busses to the other resorts.

 

[MrsJ Henry]

We had a car but decided to use the bus at AKL since it was so great!
We thought they were quite quick and loved having no other stops.

 

[DWDreams]

I agree with those who feel AKL has the best bus service. It really isn't that much further out from things, each resort is farther from one location than another depending on where it's situated obviously. The big plus about the bus service for AKL is that it doesn't stop anywhere else. When you take out all the stops the other buses have, this results in overall less time traveling IMO. While this resort doesn't have any transportation but bus service everywhere, I would definitely tell people not to rule it out based on that factor.