AKL - Is it too remote?

[MJS]

We are thinking about trying the AKL on our next visit to WDW. One of our concerns is that the AKL is too remote, and that transportation could be a frustration. Any opinions? Thanks!

 

[ducklite]

We stayed there in December and had no problems at all with transportation. The remoteness was not a problem, it actually lent to the atmosphere of this resort.

We're looking forward to a few days there next February.

Anne

 

[MICOL]

I found it to be a very nice resort. We stayed there in May 2001 for the grand opening and it was busy but we found the transportation to be fine. The longest ride was to the MK but other than that the service was fine. We have also stayed at POR and found that the bus was slower from there this year than the AKL? I found the resort to be great did not seem to remote although if you like the monorail resorts you may not like this one.

 

[CaliforniaDreaming]

I visited AKL on my last trip. It is remote from the rest of WDW, you drive down a long road. But, sometimes that would be pretty nice! It really is a beautiful resort, I hope to try it sometime!

 

[daannzzz]

It is remote in the sense that it feels far away from the rest of WDW. In reality you can see a couple sings for businesses on Highway 192 from the front of the hotel. As far as transportation goes there are no monorails or boats but the bus service is very good. Because of it's location alot of people think it takes so much more time to commute via bus or car from here to other parts of WDW when it really only adds 3-4 minutes to the trip.

 

[bjakmom]

Since my older kids (22) decided to join DS (13) and I for the first 4 days of our trip, we decided to switch over to BWV for those days. That way they can easily go out at night and we know we can just walk back from Epcot and MGM for a quick swim during the day. Then DS and I will check into AKL for our final 3 nights after dropping them off at the airport. At that point I'm figuring that we'll be ready to slow down and enjoy all that everyone says AKL has to offer - can't wait to stay there !

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by MJS
We are thinking about trying the AKL on our next visit to WDW. One of our concerns is that the AKL is too remote, and that transportation could be a frustration. Any opinions? Thanks!

Hi,

We spent 15 days at the AKL over two trips in 2001. It is remote in the sense that you cannot walk for this deluxe resort to any of the parks. The closest park is the AK and you do need to take a bus to get there.

We used the Disney buses to go to the parks and had no problems. They run every 20mins. The only place that we drive to is DD. No matter which resort we stay at we drive to DD and if we are going to be having a meal at another resort we drive to that also.

The AKL is very relaxing and we found it hard to pull ourselves away from the AKL to go to the parks.

Hope you have a great trip.

 

[betterlatethannever]

Because the AKL is so remote, the transportation is dedicated to the AKL.

If youv'e ever stayed at the YC/BC,or the boardwalk, swan, dolphin, each bus stops ay every one of them (OK maybe there are two sets of buses) before heading to whereever and also on the way back.

Moderates such as CS have multiple stops within the resort taking forever (OK maybe not forver) just to leave the resort.

From DTD, a bus leaving for AKL and a bus leaving for CS leaves at the same time (no this is not a math question). I'd bet the AKL bus will get to the lobby before the CS bus gets to the lobby.

Ed

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

I am staying one night 6-13. yes it is remote but I switched from portofino to there because I didn't like there policies. I am looking foward to it, just to get the experience of seeing the animals from my room.

 

[Disney Adventurer]

We recently stayed there over the New Years holiday and we personally felt it to be to remote. The resort is beautiful and the themeing is the best, as a matter of fact, I think that is part of the problem, it's so good it sometimes doesn't feel like you're at Disney World. If you're looking for a place to get away and relax it's the spot for you. If you want to feel like your in the middle of the Magic, you'll probably be disappointed.

 

[sharoncity]

If all you are doing is going straight to a park and then back, no the transportation is no problem. However, we were at Epcot for the afternoon and had dinner at Cape May Cafe that evening. To get back to AKL from BC took over an hour. Had to take a bus to DD (in the opposite direction). Then wait for another bus from DD to AKL, which is a VERY long ride. We had been at the parks all day (no break) and were in no mood for such a long trip.

We are very happy that we spent our last vacation at AKL. It is just a remarkable resort. Nothing like it anywhere in the US. However, I don't think we will spend all 7 nights there again in the future. I'm thinking either a monorail or Epcot resort for the first part of the stay and then a few days at AKL were we won't mind slowing down the pace and relaxing. Several times during our last visit, we went back to the resort midday to go to the pool and cool off. After that we just didn't feel like getting back on the bus for another long ride. Plus there was so much to see at the resort, you kinda want to hang out there. I definitely think AKL is a must see resort. Whether or not it is a 7 day resort is a matter of personal preference. Have fun planning!

 

[imbe@aol.com]

Originally posted by MJS
We are thinking about trying the AKL on our next visit to WDW. One of our concerns is that the AKL is too remote, and that transportation could be a frustration. Any opinions? Thanks!

I really like AKL - stayed there last summer on the second half of our trip, and I'm doing the same this year. However, yes - I DID find the transportation to be a bit of a hassle. True, it's got a dedicated bus system, though I personally find myself missing the ability to hop quickly on a monorail or boat, or even walk, to a park like you can at the monorail or Epcot resorts.

With that said ... I still say if you want to try it, by all means do! If you want to stay there badly enough, you'll just have to learn to live with the sometimes"leisurely"pace of the transportation.

 

[MJS]

Thanks for all of the great responses! Ed you scared me - - I thought that I was going to have to do a story problem! Yikes!

Sounds like it is a great resort, but especially for evenings out, a rental car might be the way to go. Thoughts?

 

[Tiffany]

Originally posted by sharoncity
If all you are doing is going straight to a park and then back, no the transportation is no problem. However, we were at Epcot for the afternoon and had dinner at Cape May Cafe that evening. To get back to AKL from BC took over an hour. Had to take a bus to DD (in the opposite direction). Then wait for another bus from DD to AKL, which is a VERY long ride. We had been at the parks all day (no break) and were in no mood for such a long trip.

This is going to happen no matter which resort you stay at. Transportation between resorts is not that good and usually takes an hour or an hour and a half. We always rent a car so that when we want to resort hop or when we eat meals at other resorts we just drive on over.

The only conveinent resort to resort transporatation would be if you were staying at a monorail resort and going to another monrail resort. The other example would be the EPCOT resorts(BWI/BWV, Swan/Dolphin and the YC/BC) you are able to walk form one to the other.

So going from the Cape May Cafe back to any other non EPCOT resort would be time consuming and not just an AKL issue.

 

[sharoncity]

Yes a rental car is truly the way to go if you are staying at AKL and want to hit some of the other resorts for meals or strolling. While our ride back from BC to AKL took over an hour, we went there another day for breakfast by car and had NO problem. In fact, we left the car there in general parking and took the boat to MGM after breakfast. It went very smoothly.

 

[DisneyMim]

We've stayed at AKL 2X now and would stay again in a heartbeat. The resort is beautiful and we didn't find it at all remote. HOWEVER, we always rent a car and never have a problem within Disney. Epcot, MGM and AKL are very short car rides from AKL. The only "problem" is MK, which is ALWAYS a problem unless you are staying in a monorail resort. For us having a car is a must at Disney as we flint from resort to resort constantly for dinner, shopping, etc and your own car is the quickest and easiest way around. I do agree with the others about AKL bus transportation. From what I have heard it is not a problom because they don't pick up tons of people like thsy do at other resorts. You really have to pick a resort that you like. AKL is a wonderful resort.

Have Fun!!!

 

[DeeP]

We stayed at AKL last July and although we loved the beauty of the resort, the animals and the very good restaurants we did find the resort a little too remote for us. We are BWV lovers and are spoiled by the wonderful location of this resort and to us AKL was too far away from everything. I am very glad we got to experience staying at AKL but we have been back to WDW 3 times since our stay at AKL and we have never even thought about staying there again. We visit AKL each trip and eat in the wonderful restaurants but we stay elsewhere.