AKL or BC?

[mamawanavacation]

This is our family's first trip to the world. Please help me choose where we stay. Here's info that might help with your guiding:

There is my husband and I along with our 5 kids ages 9, 7, 5, 2 1/2, and 9 months. Hubby wants to stay in a consierge (sp?) suite that will fit all of us. We will be going early May '08.

I'm a bit torn between the Animal Kigdom Lodge (due to the savanah view), or the Beach Club(due to the pool there...will the weather in early May even be warm enough for the pool?)

I'd like to hear other reasons why one hotel might be preferred over the other. I'm not sure if my kids would like the pool better or seeing the animals outiside their balconies better, so if I had other reasons to sway me either way, I might be able to finally make a decision.

Thanks!
Jan

 

[Flossbolna]

I can only offer my opinion on AKL: I love it! I think it is a great resort, I personally prefer the decor very much over that of the BC If you want to check out my AKL review, it can be found here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1484743

AKL has a very nice pool, too. It is not as special as Stormalaong Bay, but very lush. And by the way I think May would definitely be warm enough for swimming, we swam in February!

One point to consider would be location. AKL is not very centrally located on property, however, we had only great bus experiences. AKl does not share with any other resorts. But the ride to MK is 15-20 min. But I have also heard that BC transportation to other parks besides Epcot is not so great? So depending on where you spend most of your time and how you are planning on getting there (Disney bus or won car), you might find the one or the other more convenient...

 

[TJA]

For your situation, I'd recommend BC. Reason is that you have a baby + a 2-1/2 yr old, so you'll probably have a couple strollers or a double stroller. If you stay at BC, you can walk to Epcot and walk or boat to MGM. If you are already in Epcot, you can take the monorail over to MK. It will be a lot less stressful for you to be able to store your baby supplies and carry the baby/toddler in the stroller without the hassles of unloading and folding it up each time you take a bus or car to a park. If you are willing to add other resorts to your options, then I'd suggest Poly also because that resort is right on the monorail line and you would have direct access to both Epcot and MK.

As for AKL, we did stay there when our twins were 7 mos old and while we loved the resort, we did not find it very convenient with a double stroller and loading buses. We could not easily hop back to AKL during the day either because it was only accessible by buses (no monorail or boat to parks). However, while staying at BC or Poly, we could easily hop back to our resort during the day, which was important to us with babies/toddlers, to get some rest or an afternoon swim.

And yes, May is warm enough to swim! We go in May every year and some years it has been 90ish each day.

 

[kldmom2000]

I can't tell you anything about concierge, but just wanted to have you keep in mind that either hotel would require you to go for 2 rooms with for your family size....

Overall, our favorite is the YC/BC (going by regular rooms ) but I've heard that concierge at AKL is great....

Good luck in your decision!

 

[kldmom2000]

OOps-silly me!!! I should have re-read your post before I responded!!!

Didn't notice you said SUITE in your post... in that case, you would be fine ... it's just a regular room that would not be big enough...

Also, May would be plenty warm to swim and Stormalong Bay is fantastic! I have such a hard time dragging my girls out to go back into the parks!!!!

Happy planning!

 

[TAEMom]

My vote is definitely for AKL. We were at BC in June and were underwhelmed. I just felt that AKL was much more "magical." To me, the pool was the only thing that the BC had going for it. And while it's a fun and different pool, it was hard to keep track of our older kids, and it's not like the pool at AKL isn't nice. When I asked the kids after we got home if they preferred the BC pool or if they would have rather seen the animals at AKL from our room again instead, they chose AKL easily and unanimously.

As for transportation, I think the transportation from AKL was actually more convenient than for the BC. The bus rides from AKL to anywhere (except Downtown Disney of course!) never seemed very long. It was convenient to walk to Epcot from the BC, but we only did that twice the whole week. There was no way that we could have convinced our kids to walk to/from the BC to MGM - it was hot and it was a long walk (estimates seemed to range from 15-25minutes) on top of walking around the park all day. That meant we had to take a boat, which was slow. I think if you were comparing AKL to a monorail resort, the convenience factor would be different.

And finally, if you're talking about concierge, I have heard that AKL's concierge is absolutely amazing as compared to other resorts.

 

[TJA]

Just wanted to add to above post that when I said BC is more convenient transportation-wise, what I mean is with double strollers. It was really inconvenient having to unload and fold it for every bus ride. However, we truly loved AKL and plan to return when our twins are non-stroller age. But for now, having young children, BC is our favorite resort and area to stay.

 

[grumpy.uncle]

With the size of your family, you might consider staying in a DVC 2-BR unit in either one of your choices. You could go on the DVC boards and find someone who would rent their points to you. The 2-BR units have a queen bed and full hide-a-bed in the studio unit w/ 1 bathroom. The connecting 1-BR unit has a king size bed in the bedroom and a full size hide-a-bed in the living room. It has a huge bathroom divided into 2 rooms. One room has a vanity, jacuzzi tub and walkin closet. The connecting room has the toilet, a pedestal sink and shower. You also have a full kitchen set-up which is great to fix breakfast for the kids in the morning and you also have a washer and dryer combo. They just have started turning some of the AKL rooms into DVC and they are starting to break ground on the Villas at AKL. The pool at Beach Club is the best pool of any of the resorts. AKL is a little removed from everything else. If you plan on having your own vehicle, I think either resort would work. If you plan on using disney transportation, you will only be able to use buses at AKL. At BC you will have the option of using buses, boats to both Epcot and MGM, catching the monorail at Epcot, or even walking to Epcot worldshowcase. The pool at AKL is very nice, but if I were a kid, it would be stormalong bay for me. It is warm enough in FL to go in the pools year round. We always go in January when it is miserable in CA and enjoy 70-80 degree weather. Good luck w/ your planning. Ed

 

[jimmiej]

We've stayed at both. I believe you'd be happy with either one. But, if you make me choose, I'd say AKL. The pool is still very good at AKL, & seeing the animals outside your room every day is awesome! IMO, the bus service is better (no sharing) at AKL. Additionally, Boma has a good buffet to feed your family.

IA with the previous poster about looking into renting DVC points. It's a great way to stay at a nice resort at a fraction of the price.

 

[BamaFan121s]

Just wanted to add to above post that when I said BC is more convenient transportation-wise, what I mean is with double strollers. It was really inconvenient having to unload and fold it for every bus ride. However, we truly loved AKL and plan to return when our twins are non-stroller age. But for now, having young children, BC is our favorite resort and area to stay.

This is a very good point!

 

[cjsmom5]

Have stayed at both. AKL concierge was wonderful but so was the YC/BC ... for us. Meal wise our family much preferred the sit down restaurants at the YC/BC and they have a character breakfast which we reallly liked. Concierge choices were more "exotic" at the AKL while the BC was more traditional. Both had all the drinks, etc. with basically the same snacks. Evening cordials were good at both.

AKL, though, has a good "food court" type of restaurant for quick meals whereas the BC Marketplace has a much limited selection compared with AKL --especially for children. Transportation wise -- at BC you will have to take a bus to MK and AK unless you walk through Epcot to catch the monorail --not an easy task with kids. Same for AKL. While I agree Epcot is a short walk and the boats to MGM are nice (but very slow), the double stroller might also pose a problem on the boats if it is crowded - we've seen people have to fold them up and have waited a long time for the boat from MGM since the lines tend to get long especially at closing. In fact one time we walked the trip back to YC/BC quicker than the boat if you calculate the wait time for it.

The pool at SAB - BC - is amazing and your oldest will prefer the slide there compared to the AKL. The sand area at BC is nice for the youngest. Either resort will be wonderful for you. They are both good choices.