AKL for a week, or split stay?

[Ursula_Fan]

Hi all--looking at President's week 2020. Would love to try AKL but have heard that it feels isolated after a few days to some folks and they get tired of food options (altho Boma, Sanaa and Jiko sound great!).

We're going for 9 days, 8 nights. We previously did a split stay between WL (3 nights) and BC (4 nights). It was seamless but I might prefer to stay put this time since we have 2 kids 6 and under--I feel like with the previous split stay we were getting comfy in the resort and then it was time to leave.

We're looking at doing 2 MK days, 2 EP days, 1 AK day and maybe 1 HS day. If SWGE crowds are bad then we'll likely skip HS and do a 3rd MK day or a resort day. We try for RD and then leave the parks around 3 pm since the kiddos are pretty tired by then. We def want a place with decent food options and a nice pool.

So--with this itinerary, would you do AKL the whole time, or split stay? If you did a split, any particular resort you'd recommend that you'd pair with AKL to get a nice balance of pixie dust? We have done WL, BC and BWI. Haven't been but am interested in GF, Poly, BLT, POFQ and CSR. Would also go back to BC or BWI (have been to WL 2 times so want to skip that this trip)

Or... would you ditch AKL altogether and save it for a time that is a shorter trip (like 4 nights)? TIA!

 

[Haley R]

We always choose to do split stays because we like to experience multiple resorts each trip. AKL is nice but I wouldn’t want to be there the entire trip.

Since you have two young kids and are doing MK twice I would choose to stay at BLT if you can swing it. You would have the ability to walk to MK which would be nice, especially if you plan to take breaks in the afternoon.

 

[Hopefully]

I hate split stays. I am a "nester". Like you I would have felt I was just getting settled and had to move. No fun.
I would save AKL for a shorter stay. For this stay with 2 under 6 I would go for ease of moving around with a stroller. I would either go to one of the Monorail resorts, especially CR where you can walk to MK, or one of the Epcot area resorts where you can walk to 2 parks.

 

[TikiBabe]

If it was me, I'd stay AKL all day every day(and not feel isolated), but this is you and it sounds like you want a monorail resort, so that is what you should do. Also, don't split. I love them, but again that's me and it sounds like you need to stay put in whichever resort you choose.

 

[Luvs Mickey]

Welcome to DISboards, Ursula Fan!

AKL is definitely isolated and not walking distance to other things, however it’s a beautiful, relaxing resort.

You will get all ranges of opinions on this and it really boils down to your family preferences. If you like to come back to a tranquil resort after a hectic day at the parks, then AKL is a great resort for this, especially if you can swing a savannah view room (or book a standard room and ask for a room close to the trails). Given the ages of your kids, they will love seeing all the animals right outside your room. And it’s such a serene setting.

In regard to bus service, it will take a little longer to get to the other parks but we just went into it knowing and accepting this and it wasn’t a big deal to us.

When we stayed at AKL the quick service menu had some variation to it each day. If we wanted more variety we just worked into our plans to eat wherever we were going to be that day.

On the other hand, if it’s really important to experience a couple different resorts in one stay, then one of the resorts on the monorail is a great option for quicker access to MK.

I, personally, am not a huge fan of split stays due to needing to pack up everything, taking precious vacation time to move, and getting situated to a new room. We like to hunker down for the duration.

But to each their own and every family travels differently. Have fun with planning and have a great vacation!

 

[epcotobsessed]

We love starting the trip with 2 nights at AKL. After that, we move to BC - I don't like having to take a bus or Uber absolutely everywhere. If there were ever a walking path from AKL to AK park, we'd stay longer.

 

[mickeynut1]

Hi all--looking at President's week 2020. Would love to try AKL but have heard that it feels isolated after a few days to some folks and they get tired of food options (altho Boma, Sanaa and Jiko sound great!).

We're going for 9 days, 8 nights. We previously did a split stay between WL (3 nights) and BC (4 nights). It was seamless but I might prefer to stay put this time since we have 2 kids 6 and under--I feel like with the previous split stay we were getting comfy in the resort and then it was time to leave.

We're looking at doing 2 MK days, 2 EP days, 1 AK day and maybe 1 HS day. If SWGE crowds are bad then we'll likely skip HS and do a 3rd MK day or a resort day. We try for RD and then leave the parks around 3 pm since the kiddos are pretty tired by then. We def want a place with decent food options and a nice pool.

So--with this itinerary, would you do AKL the whole time, or split stay? If you did a split, any particular resort you'd recommend that you'd pair with AKL to get a nice balance of pixie dust? We have done WL, BC and BWI. Haven't been but am interested in GF, Poly, BLT, POFQ and CSR. Would also go back to BC or BWI (have been to WL 2 times so want to skip that this trip)

Or... would you ditch AKL altogether and save it for a time that is a shorter trip (like 4 nights)? TIA!

We've had 2 stays at AKL (and visit every trip for Boma) and we've never found it to be so isolated that it was a hassle to get anywhere. In our experiences, it's never taken more than maybe 5 extra minutes to get around compared to other resorts. However, if you think you'd feel too isolated for 8 nights, I don't think a split would be bad (thinking a 3/5 split). With that said, my choice for another resort would be the Poly. You could do AKL the first 3 nights and then Poly for the remaining 5 nights. AK is just a 5 min ride from AKL and once at the Poly, it's a quick 5-7 min walk to the TTC to catch the Epcot monorail and just 2 monorail stops from MK. If you decide against a split, Poly would still be my choice for the whole time. The tropical atmosphere is relaxing, the pools are great, and you can't beat seeing the castle every day (especially from the pool while swimming). Good luck and happy planning .

 

[Dug720]

I like to get where I'm going and unpack once (probably why I like cruising so much - multiple stops, one time unpacking). Split stays hold zero appeal to me.

 

[Shellyred8]

The pools at AKL are great (especially Kidani!), so if you are planning on lots of pool time, it might be a good choice for the entire trip.
If you don't feel like you want to do a split stay this time, I might recommend the Poly, based on the parks you said you want to do the most. You can boat or monorail to MK and you can walk over to the TTC to pick up the monorail to EP. You can also watch the fireworks from the beach at night, so if the kiddos can't make it that late in the park, you can just pop out to the beach and watch the fireworks.
We do split stays a lot, and I don't mind them. However, it's usually just DH and myself, so it's not a lot to pack up and move. I can see where it would be more of a hassle if you have 2 kiddos.

One of the nice things I like about being on a monorail resort is the ease at getting to the other monorail resorts if I want to go to a different restaurant.

Happy planning!!

 

[KenHutch]

We never do split stays. Really to much time and bother. We stayed at AKL on our last trip and it is beautiful. The girls liked the food so much they added Boma to our once a trip restaurant list but they told me no to future visits. I do not know if it was just bad luck or what but the 18 year old told me that trip to MK were taking as much as 35 minutes. For our next trip they have told me a monorail resort please.

 

[FSU Girl]

I love split stays and with your length of stay you can easily do it. I would do Animal Kingdom Lodge and then a Magic Kingdom resort, my preference would be Contemporary so you can walk to Magic Kingdom, or Wilderness Lodge that has the boat and is the cheapest Magic Kingdom hotel option. It'll save you a lot of time being close to the park you're visiting often.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

Hi all--looking at President's week 2020. Would love to try AKL but have heard that it feels isolated after a few days to some folks and they get tired of food options (altho Boma, Sanaa and Jiko sound great!).

We're going for 9 days, 8 nights. We previously did a split stay between WL (3 nights) and BC (4 nights). It was seamless but I might prefer to stay put this time since we have 2 kids 6 and under--I feel like with the previous split stay we were getting comfy in the resort and then it was time to leave.

We're looking at doing 2 MK days, 2 EP days, 1 AK day and maybe 1 HS day. If SWGE crowds are bad then we'll likely skip HS and do a 3rd MK day or a resort day. We try for RD and then leave the parks around 3 pm since the kiddos are pretty tired by then. We def want a place with decent food options and a nice pool.

So--with this itinerary, would you do AKL the whole time, or split stay? If you did a split, any particular resort you'd recommend that you'd pair with AKL to get a nice balance of pixie dust? We have done WL, BC and BWI. Haven't been but am interested in GF, Poly, BLT, POFQ and CSR. Would also go back to BC or BWI (have been to WL 2 times so want to skip that this trip)

Or... would you ditch AKL altogether and save it for a time that is a shorter trip (like 4 nights)? TIA!

With only 1 day at AK, AKL will not be convenient at all, particularly with two kids under 6 where, I'm assuming, strollers will be used. With 8 nights, if you want to do the split, I would probably do 3 nights AKL (I don't like splits with less than 3 nights) and 5 nights Poly. This would give you a chance to go to AK and then experience all AKL has to offer. Poly is going to be the most convenient resort for MK and EP, IMHO, as you'll have the monorail to MK and then can walk to TTC to get the monorail to EP. Especially with, potentially 5 days at EP and MK, Poly will be super convenient and it definitely has pixie dust and makes a great pairing with AKL - two incredibly well-themed resorts! Or, ditch AKL altogether and just stay at Poly the whole time.

 

[Ursula_Fan]

Thank you everyone for the feedback! Turns out that we have grandparents able to go. One set loves AKL but has no interest in Poly. One set wants to stay at Poly and can leave AKL. So we're going to do 3 nights AKL and 5 nights Poly. Thanks!

 

[Kae]

I hope you have time to explore AKL. So much to do and see.

 

[kaytieeldr]

AKL is definitely isolated and not walking distance to other things, however it’s a beautiful, relaxing resort.

True, it's not walkable. But really, Magic Kingdom is the most remote park from almost everything. It's only walkable from technically one resort (counting CR and BLT as one because BLT replaced part of CR.)

 

[shellyj]

We LOVE AKL. It is our most favorite resort. I don't think it's isolated, although it's not a walkable location. Every resort is closer to some parks and farther from others. The bus ride to MK is maybe 10 minutes longer than a HS or Epcot area resort. The buses have always run smoothly for us. The wings of the resort are long and that can mean a walk back to your room at the end of the day. But really, it's not terrible.

AKL has great activities for kids. The night vision animal viewing is awesome. And there are plenty of places onsite to stop and watch the animals (in fact, we had a savanna view room once and it was cool, but would never pay for it again, the lookouts are great).
The gift shop is the most unique I think we've seen on property. Check to see when the artist will be there, watching the wood carving is very cool.
The pools are great. My kids LOVE the pool party games.

The one small down point of AKL, for us, is that we don't love the Mara qs place. It's fine, but not as good as some others.
Boma is AWESOME and our favorite Disney restaurant. Sanaa is also fantastic. We go just for the bread service, order extra bread and call it a meal. It's that good. In all our visits, we've never been to Jiko. Not for any particular reason. Maybe I'll make it a priority next time.

For perspective, we usually rent DVC points to stay deluxe in a 2 bedroom. AKL is by far our favorite. SSR is by far our least favorite.
We've also enjoyed Coronado Springs and ASMu.

 

[MissionMouse]

The good news here is that you have done a spilt stay before, so you know what to expect. When we did AKL CL we did a spilt stay due to its distance from all the other parks with the exception of AK. Poly was the resort we did with AKL. We were happy with our selection of resorts and for us it was just a matter to which resort to stay at first/last. In our case we had already stayed at the PR CL multiple times, so we knew we would enjoy PR. With AKL the distance we something you will notice as the time on the bus is a little more, especially if going to MK. On the other side, the theming, animals, and restaurants make you feel like you are somewhere other than Disney, which can be very appealing (vacation inside of a vacation) I would note at the AKL you will experience a noticeable surge in non-resort guest within the resort, during the evening hours, due to the restaurants and evening animal viewing.

 

[rdaky]

We stayed 10 days at AKL last year and LOVED the resort and never felt isolated or tired of being there. We did get tired of the options at Mara but we had a car so we'd go off property to eat.

 

[slyster]

I'm grateful for this thread. I really want to stay at AKL, but the BWI seems very enticing with YC and BC nearby and DHS and Epcot being within walking distance. I just have different desires here LOL. The beauty and serenity of AKL and then the convenience to all kinds of things close to the Boardwalk Inn. I did wonder if 7 or 8 days at AKL would be too long and feel isolating especially as we plan to dine at other restaurants during the evenings.