AKL, Poly or CR and why?

[phewms]

I am planning our 1st family WDW trip for the week after TG in 2013.

I got on the WDW website to get a ball park figure of pricing a few weeks ago and was recommended AKL. I absolutely fell in love with it. But I keep reading great reviews about CR and Poly too. Of course our budget is a major factor ($5,000 for 7d/6n) but I want to be able to put down a deposit as soon as the 2013 prices are released!

Background:
(1) Family of 3. Me, DH and DS (will be 5.5 at time of travel).
(2) I have stayed at GF for a Corporate Sponsored Event about 10 years ago and based on the price, I am not interested in returning.
(3) DH's only request is a deluxe resort (doesn't want to share transportation) for the best value that doesn't break the budget.
(4) DS LOVES trains. Doesn't care for pools or the beach or any water (except on a cruise). He likes animals, but not as much as trains. Of course, his interest may change in 1.5 years. I know MK as well as AK have trains and we can always take a spin on the monorail just because, right?
(5) I wanted a resort that didn't feel too hotel-ish (isn't CR like this)? I would love to get the African feel.
(6) But I'm not a fan of different styles of food. Unless we get free DDP and then I'll try anything once. DS is a typical hotdogs and pizza type of kid on vacations.
(7) We have a Hawaiian cruise planned for Spring 2014 so I wanted to stay away from Poly for that reason, but it seems that everyone loves it!
(8) For now the plan is 2 days at MK, 1 day at AK and maybe a day at Epcot. We will definitely visit DTD.

Some questions:
(a) Can I visit other resorts for special events? For example, I have read about the water works show at Poly. If we stay at AKL can we mosey over to Poly to watch the water works show?
(b) Is the Monorail Resort Tour only offered at Poly?
(c) Are there certain times transportation stops running? So if we have reservations at say, Chef Mickey, we would have to plan it so we finish in time to catch the last bus/monorail ride back to the resort?

If you don't have time to answer my questions, it's okay. I got long winded. Just sell me on which deluxe you would choose of the 3 listed and why!

 

[mickeynut1]

Out of your 3 choices, we have stayed at the Poly and AKL, with the Poly being our favorite . AKL is a beautiful resort and we loved it, but we love the Poly for the close proximity to MK, the large spacious rooms, the pool, the beach for watching the fireworks, the monorail for easy access to MK as well as the GF and CR, and Captain Cooks for quick snacks or meals. It's also relaxing walking around at night under the lit tiki torches . The CR has never appealed to us, but with that said, we are booked there for our trip in December. We have stayed at all but 3 of the deluxe resorts and we love the monorail, so we figured it was time to give the CR a try (although the theme/decor doesn't do anything for us). All 3 of your choices are great and I don't think you can go wrong with any of them as they are all great in their own way, but my choice would be the Poly for all of the reasons stated above .

As for your questions:

a. Yes, you can visit the Poly and watch the Electrical Water Pageant as well as the fireworks, even if you stay somewhere else.....watching the fireworks from the beach is one of our favorite things to do at the Poly .

b. You can catch the monorail at the Poly, GF, and CR.

c. If you stay at a resort other than one on the monorail and want to take Disney transportation back to your resort after dinner at Chef Mickey's, all you would need to do is walk to MK and grab a bus from there. Another option would be to take a cab back.

HTH .

 

[vettegirl]

We have stayed at the Poly and AKL. We enjoyed the Poly, but we loved the AKL. The animals were amazing right outside your balcony, it was so serene and you felt removed from the world. We also liked the pool better at the AKL, the Poly has a great pool but it's too small for the size of the resort. To answer your questions you can ride the monorail as much as you would like. You can also tour the Poly, sit on their beach and eat at their restaurants. You just can't use their pool if you aren't staying there.

 

[SnackyStacky]

(3) DH's only request is a deluxe resort (doesn't want to share transportation) for the best value that doesn't break the budget.
( and why!

The only resort of the three you've listed that will have its own transportation is the Animal Kingdom Lodge. The Magic Kingdom resorts can, and do, share buses.

 

[phewms]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

 

[heidijanesmith]

I am planning our 1st family WDW trip for the week after TG in 2013.

I got on the WDW website to get a ball park figure of pricing a few weeks ago and was recommended AKL. I absolutely fell in love with it. But I keep reading great reviews about CR and Poly too. Of course our budget is a major factor ($5,000 for 7d/6n) but I want to be able to put down a deposit as soon as the 2013 prices are released!

Background:
(1) Family of 3. Me, DH and DS (will be 5.5 at time of travel). All three of your hotels choices will have plenty of space for you three. The poly rooms are huge!
(2) I have stayed at GF for a Corporate Sponsored Event about 10 years ago and based on the price, I am not interested in returning.
(3) DH's only request is a deluxe resort (doesn't want to share transportation) for the best value that doesn't break the budget. All resorts share transportation, Poly buses, when we stayed, shared with GF and/or CR. I wasn't sure if I would like sharing a bus, but really it went quickly and didn't bother me at all. At AKL, Jambo House and Kidani Village share buses, but I wouldn't imagine that would take that much time either.
(4) DS LOVES trains. Doesn't care for pools or the beach or any water (except on a cruise). He likes animals, but not as much as trains. Of course, his interest may change in 1.5 years. I know MK as well as AK have trains and we can always take a spin on the monorail just because, right? We loved staying at a monorail resort, as part of the fun was riding the monorail around
(5) I wanted a resort that didn't feel too hotel-ish (isn't CR like this)? I would love to get the African feel. The Poly and AKL have amazing themes and beautifully landscaping.
(6) But I'm not a fan of different styles of food. Unless we get free DDP and then I'll try anything once. DS is a typical hotdogs and pizza type of kid on vacations. We thought the "normal" food offerings at AKL to be limited to Mara,the quick service eatery. The sit-down eateries at AKL were too exotic for my borring taste buds. The Poly had better selection for us.
(7) We have a Hawaiian cruise planned for Spring 2014 so I wanted to stay away from Poly for that reason, but it seems that everyone loves it!
(8) For now the plan is 2 days at MK, 1 day at AK and maybe a day at Epcot. We will definitely visit DTD. The Poly has the best transportation options. Monorail at the GCH to MK or walk to the TTC to catch a monorail to MK or EPCOT. AK, you will have to take a bus, we didn't mind the buses at all. At AKL, buses to AK were the quickest. MK bus was ok, can't remember the exact time to get there, but around 20-25 min.

Some questions:
(a) Can I visit other resorts for special events? For example, I have read about the water works show at Poly. If we stay at AKL can we mosey over to Poly to watch the water works show?
(b) Is the Monorail Resort Tour only offered at Poly?
(c) Are there certain times transportation stops running? So if we have reservations at say, Chef Mickey, we would have to plan it so we finish in time to catch the last bus/monorail ride back to the resort?

If you don't have time to answer my questions, it's okay. I got long winded. Just sell me on which deluxe you would choose of the 3 listed and why!

Congrats on your first trip! We have stayed at the Poly and AKL, both themes really appeal to us. CR does not appeal to us, so we have not stayed there.The Poly is our favorite so far, but really liked AKL too. We stayed at AKL for our first visit to WDW and really felt like it was a great option for a 1st stay. AKL rooms can be quite a trek to the lobby, so if location is important, request a room close to the lobby (depending on what view you book).

 

[Alabama Minnie]

We have stayed at all three and have done a Hawaii cruise and if we could afford it we would stay at the POLY every visit, especially if we were mostly planning on visiting MK. It has a great, relaxing atmosphere and the monorail access to MK and Epcot is a great bonus. We also love eating at Ohana and Kona.

We found CR to "sterile" for us. Really didn't care for the modern decor/atmosphere there.

We really were not fans of AKL at all. Dark and didn't care for riding the buses EVERYWHERE. We would stay in a moderate before returning there.

We did really like WL though and they are the same layout and have the great boat option to MK + it cost less.