AKL or Polynesian

[JChartier]

My family and I, which will consist of 3 adult (my husband, mother, and I), a 4-year-old, 3-year-old, and a 1-year old, will be going to Disney in Feb. 2007. We are trying to figure out with resort to stay at. I have stayed at Polynesian when I was a kid, and every time that I have been back there since, I have wished that I stayed at the Polynesian. I also think that AKL would be nice to stay at also. Does anyone have any suggestions that have stayed at these two places? I like the fact that you can catch the monorail at the Polynesian since we will have 3 little ones, but I also like that you can look out your balcony and see animals and AKL.

Also, we are possibly looking at the concierge level. I don’t know if this would really benefit us because we are also going to be getting the dining plan. Does anyone have any suggestions as far as the concierge level?

 

[BuzzMom34]

I had exactly the same dilemma - young kids - Poly vs. AKL. I ended up picking Poly - because of the Monorail. I'm going to save AKL for our next trip, when the kids are older.

 

[raven69david]

We chose AKL because DD (22 months) loves animals and there are plenty of things to see and do there. Poly is a great place too, but young kids love animals and it gives them something visually stimulating. I just don't see them enjoying Poly as much as AKL, but that's just me. The monorail will definetly be nice, but it won't matter much to them if they ride it while staying at a hotel or just getting on/off at the TTC. Anyway, either choice is awesome.

 

[JChartier]

I was thinking that the monorail would be easier than buses. This is where my dilema is coming in. I like Polynesian for myself and my husband, but I don't think the kids would enjoy it as much as they would AKL at least at the age they are now. Maybe in a few years they might.

Has anyone tried the concierge service? I don't know how much we would really use it, and I don't know if it is worth the extra $$ if we aren't going to use it much.

 

[java]

First of all let me start with the fact that I LOATHE THE BUS!! I can't stand waiting for it, I hate riding on it, I hate loading all my stuff on it, I hate folding up the stroller and climbing up the stairs... ect ect.. so anything to avoid the bus is good for me.
So based on that I say POLY. If you book a lagoon view room the chances of seeing the castle from your room are really good. And you can watch the fireworks and water parade from your room if you stay lagoon view. And you have options for the trip to the MK_ you can monorail or you can take the cute little boat- which is what my kids prefered. It was a very nice ride on a boat that seats about 20 people-
I have 4 children- the 2 youngest are 3 and 1. They LOVED the pool and having the sand nearby to dig in. They LOVED the lobby with the waterfall. We didn't plan on spending much time at the hotel and we were wrong. We loved it so much often the kids wanted to just head back to chill at the hotel. And it was convenient that we were able to do that and then head out again at night. If I were at the AK lodge I am sure once I got back to the room I would be in for the night.
My vote POLY! we had animals out our window too! Ducks and bunnies! and that was thrilling enough for my little guys.

 

[cjsmom5]

We've done the AKL Savannah view and the AKL concierge. The rooms for concierge are a bit bigger and ours had an extra dresser which was nice to put things. We have been at the AKL each year since my son was 4 and he is 8 this year. He LOVES animals and couldn't wait to go to bed so he could get up and see what animals were outside our windows. The AKL also has wonderful kids activities throughout the day and week. And, most are free. So, if you are at the hotel, at all, besides the animals, the activities are wonderful. The pool has a zero entry and there is a very nice playground there. They also have a foodcourt that is so-so ... not bad for kid food ... and some of the other stuff is okay, too. We just prefer buffet meals so everyone can get what they want.

The concierge staff is wonderful...couldn't have asked for better service. That said, your room typically is not on the same floor as the lounge, which wasn't a big deal for us. It is on the sixth floor and overlooks the lobby ... beautiful view --especially at Christmas. The morning offerings were typical and plenty for a continental breakfast. Cereal for kids. Juices.Danish. Fruit. Nothing fancy but good. The lounge is open all day. juices and drinks throughout the day. At night you get touches of Boma in the lounge. They had some interesting dishes. I am very picky but always found something that I liked. My DH loved the offerings. The snacks are also nice if you are hanging out at the resort.

I have always wanted to do the Poly concierge as I have heard wonderful things. This year I almost scheduled it but instead went for YC. We are going to do two MVMCP events while there and figure that is when we will be at the MK. The rest of the time we will be at Epcot, MGM, AKL and the other activities (minature golf, Disney Quest, Downtown Disney, Cirque, etc.). Thus, the lure of the monorail wasn't enough.

As far as buses at AKL ... the longest ride it seems is from DTD. We also found we waited the longest for buses at AK (which seems strange but true). What I liked here was the fact that there is only one stop at the resort so you don't spend time going to other resorts to drop off/pick up people. Once on, you go to your destination. That was nice. The wait was never more than 15 minutes, typically, so we didn't mind.

 

[3littleHalls]

We have done both. Poly(conc) 3 times and AKL once and they are both good choices. I would suggest the Poly being this is your first time with the little ones. The monorail makes it super nice and easy to travel around. We also took the boat which the kids loved too. There was a nice beach for the kids to play in the sand and the volcano pool is great. The concierge was nice to have the lounge and access to milk and snacks for the kids. AKL was great too, my kids loved the animals outside our room(esp the 19mo old), the had fun activities for the kids, the bunk beds were fun for our older 2(6 and 3 at the time) the only thing I would have like better was not having a huge hike to our room. But I personally felt the AKL had a less rushed feeling/more laid back. We really like both, if there was a specific thing I can answer about taking 3 kids I will be glad to anwer. We had room in both rooms where we didn't feel like we were on top of each other.