AKL or WL or BC

[MeisMinnie]

I am planning for spring 2018 trip and want to try one of these resorts. Which one would be good for 5 yo? We usually spend more time in AK and MK in our past trips.
How is the transportation at these resorts?

 

[RefillableMug]

Both AKL and WL are great for kids of any age and are close to the two parks you spend the most time in. I would choose AKL. It's so fun to watch the animals and they have some of the best dining options in Disney. The only transportation option here is the bus, but it was pretty reliable the last time I was there.

 

[bettybooplove]

I am planning for spring 2018 trip and want to try one of these resorts. Which one would be good for 5 yo? We usually spend more time in AK and MK in our past trips.
How is the transportation at these resorts?

Since you're spending most of your time in MK and AK I would go for WL, especially with a 5 year old. It's such a breathtakingly beautiful resort.

Beach Club is nice but I wouldn't feel comfortable having a 5 year old swim in Stormalong Bay.

•AKL: transportation is only by bus and I didn't like that. I like to have a second or third option for transportation. Relying solely on buses can get old after awhile especially at park closing or when buses are shared. The waits were longer than the expected 20 minutes. The front desk had to make a call in order for more buses to be sent out. Yes AKL is only shared with Kidani (DVC) but after having stayed at Kidani a couple of times I can testify to the fact that the buses were still really full most of the time once we picked up those on the Lodge side.

•Beach Club: I love the walk to Epcot. It's so nice and relaxing. The buses to MK aren't that bad anymore since they no longer share with the Swan/Dolphin and Boardwalk. However BC is picked up after YC so keep that in mind. The boat to Hollywood Studios can take awhile as well.

•Wilderness Lodge also uses buses to every park expect MK where you have a bus and boat option. I've never had an issue with WL's transportation. They do share with Fort Wilderness sometimes.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

They are all fabulous resorts. For me, it comes down to how many days you will be in each park. If you will spend most of your time in MK, go with WL. AK - go with AKL (for younger kids, I prefer this resort over WL, but you will only have bus transportation available unless you feel comfortable taking cabs/uber). If most of your time is spent at EP/DHS, go with BC (which will give you a bigger room and walking distance to two parks which is a HUGE draw for us).

Regarding the BC pool for 5 year olds in the above comment - they have a huge children's pool and a kiddie pool with a kiddie slide behind the big slide.

 

[allsaintsatx]

We stayed at AKL in April and thought the bus ride to MK wasn't bad at all. And the bus ride to AK was practically nonexistent. We usually choose our hotel on which parks we are going to focus on, we wanted to check out Pandora, and AK after dark (which we've never seen) so we decided to stay at AKL again for our August trip. I think thematically AKL might be more fun for a kid. It's very lively with all of the wild artwork and decorations everywhere and the sounds from the drum circles and cultural demonstrations - it really is super fun just to walk around and see/hear everything. And, of course, the savanna is incredible. Day and night.

 

[maramarrie]

There is another thread about these exact resorts. I responded here in post #8: https://www.disboards.com/threads/akl-beach-club-or-wilderness-lodge.3612683/#post-57772112

Transportation is pretty standard. It takes less than 5 minutes to get to AK from AKL, but it takes about 25 to get to MK. BC has the boat or walking to Epcot, but if I wasn't spending most of my time at Epcot I wouldn't pay the premium for this resort. We stayed at YC, and there wasn't anything memorable (good or bad) about the bus transportation. At WL you can use the boat to get to MK, which is peaceful and nice. We have not stayed here so I don't have experience with the bus - we used the boat to/from WL for a dining reservation. I love the theming at AKL and WL the best. You will be pleased with any of these resorts.

 

[MeisMinnie]

Thank you all the info and advise. I am leaning toward WL because it is really close to MK where we will be the most part of the trip. Is it worth to pay extra for CL at WL? Can we see the firework from the club lounge?

 

[Disney72090]

I have stayed at both AKL and WL and by far my family's favorite is WL. AKL was very nice, but is so far away from everything. The bus times to get to all of the other parks was much longer than WL. WL not only had the bus transportation but you could take a boat to Mk which was a very enjoyable relaxing ride!

 

[DisMommyTX]

We tour commando-style, but for those who spend more time in the room/at the resort I highly recommend AKL. The animals outside your window were fabulous. My husband still talks about 'his' giraffe, and I'm sure most 5yo's would be mesmerized!

 

[MeisMinnie]

We tour commando-style, but for those who spend more time in the room/at the resort I highly recommend AKL. The animals outside your window were fabulous. My husband still talks about 'his' giraffe, and I'm sure most 5yo's would be mesmerized!

We spend most of the time in the park, so we won't stay in the room much. When we stayed CL, we try to come back for break and use the lounge in the afternoon.I guess if we choose AKL, we should get Savanna View, right?

 

[monica9]

Thank you all the info and advise. I am leaning toward WL because it is really close to MK where we will be the most part of the trip. Is it worth to pay extra for CL at WL? Can we see the firework from the club lounge?

IVe been to WL and BC and going to AKL this time around. I'd say WL if you are doing MK mostly. It's my favorite themed resort. We love the location of BC and stayed there with our daughter when she was 5. But we got the park hopper and spent most of our days at other parks and all of our nights at EP and boy is the walk back to the room SO convenient and easy. We were just 2 minutes away walk from the EP fireworks to our room. Amazing!
I'd say for you though WL is your best bet because of the proximity to MK. Buses were good but we shared with the monorail resorts for some of the parks and it was a pain in the butt.
Quick tip, if you are planning on staying at WL in NOvember or December, I'd book ASAP! It fills up quick.

 

[monica9]

We spend most of the time in the park, so we won't stay in the room much. When we stayed CL, we try to come back for break and use the lounge in the afternoon.I guess if we choose AKL, we should get Savanna View, right?

I've had friends stay in the standard rooms and they said it was fine. They have viewing areas around the hotel. Unless you want to sit for a bit with a cup of coffee and watch them, to me it's not worth the money but others might have a different view.

 

[Wood Nymph]

Thank you all the info and advise. I am leaning toward WL because it is really close to MK where we will be the most part of the trip. Is it worth to pay extra for CL at WL? Can we see the firework from the club lounge?

The WL club lounge has a fireworks view and they pipe in the music on the balcony. You would be able to see fireworks from most of the standard and woods view rooms, especially the high floors.

The boat ride to MK from WL is really nice. The main pool has a slide and a kids splash pad. The quiet pool will open very soon and it is a zero entry pool. You can watch fireworks and the Electric Water Pageant from the shore near Geyser Point. It is a very nice resort, one of our favorite places to stay.

We also love the BC and the sandy kids area of the main pool will keep kids entertained for hours.

 

[MeisMinnie]

IVe been to WL and BC and going to AKL this time around. I'd say WL if you are doing MK mostly. It's my favorite themed resort. We love the location of BC and stayed there with our daughter when she was 5. But we got the park hopper and spent most of our days at other parks and all of our nights at EP and boy is the walk back to the room SO convenient and easy. We were just 2 minutes away walk from the EP fireworks to our room. Amazing!
I'd say for you though WL is your best bet because of the proximity to MK. Buses were good but we shared with the monorail resorts for some of the parks and it was a pain in the butt.
Quick tip, if you are planning on staying at WL in NOvember or December, I'd book ASAP! It fills up quick.

I've tried for Dec trip but no room available on our dates

 

[MeisMinnie]

The WL club lounge has a fireworks view and they pipe in the music on the balcony. You would be able to see fireworks from most of the standard and woods view rooms, especially the high floors.

The boat ride to MK from WL is really nice. The main pool has a slide and a kids splash pad. The quiet pool will open very soon and it is a zero entry pool. You can watch fireworks and the Electric Water Pageant from the shore near Geyser Point. It is a very nice resort, one of our favorite places to stay.

We also love the BC and the sandy kids area of the main pool will keep kids entertained for hours.

Glad to hear that we can view firework from club lounge.