AKL transportation thoughts

[wlfans]

Hi Folks:
Opinions on on AKL transportation. We usually stay at WL and need a break from the place. It's down to AKL and Poly. We're five people ages in June 07 will be 9, 5, and 1, my wife and I. Baby wil actually be roughly 18 months. Just locating for thoughts on AKL transportation. Good or bad. Hope to book this weekend.


Thanks

 

[Allensfan]

We just got back from there so I hope I can help.

The buses are located near the lobby of the hotel. It is a small walk, but not bad at all. It is down a ramp so the stroller will be easy to take. I was surprised at how often the buses come. We never waited more than 10 min for any bus.

It would have been nice to have the monorail or boat but we did not mind the ride to the parks at all. It did take a bit of planning if we were eating at another hotel. For example, we ate at Victoria and Albert's and CG. So we would take the bus to MK and then the monorail to CG. For V & A's we took a taxi. It was only $15.00 and being that we were very dressed up, we decided to spring for a taxi.

I liked the hotel a lot and I did not think the buses were ever an issue. I hope you enjoy your trip!

 

[Marthasor]

Hi! I can't comment on AKL as we've never stayed, but are staying on our upcoming trip in Oct. I can comment on Poly however as we stayed there last Dec. and the transportation was wonderful! The monorail and bus service was very convenient. I think you will be very happy with either resort.

 

[hezreck]

Same here, we never waited more than 10 minutes for a bus. Don't believe all the post on here about AKL being so FAR from anything. I felt like I was more immersed in DISNEY stuff here than in any other resort we have stayed at. We have stayed at AKL, POFQ, POR, and POP. AKL is by far our favorite!! This trip we are staying at CSR.

 

[cancilla]

We were very happy with the bus situation when we visited last May. In fact, on two different occasions we were the only people waiting for a bus and the next bus that came along picked us up and just took us where we needed to go -- even though it was the "wrong" bus!

The only time we used a cab was when we wanted to go directly to another resort, but I think this is probably what we would have done no matter what resort we were staying in.

--Dominick

 

[gurleym]

We stayed at AKL last December. The resort is great. The bus station is just a very short walk less than 5 minutes from the front door. I think the entire time we were there we never waited longer than 5 to 10 minutes for a bus except for one time. And I think the bus had to be rerouted to pick up another resort where the bus had broke down or something. As far as the Poly. goes it is on the monorail route so to get to magic kingdom not a problem. You have to switch monorails to go to epcot. But still quick. For AK and MGM you still have to take a bus to get to those. So I would say just pick the resort you like the most because transportation will probably be about the same for both.

 

[robinb]

Hi Folks:
Opinions on on AKL transportation. We usually stay at WL and need a break from the place. It's down to AKL and Poly. We're five people ages in June 07 will be 9, 5, and 1, my wife and I. Baby wil actually be roughly 18 months. Just locating for thoughts on AKL transportation. Good or bad. Hope to book this weekend.

To the DIS!!!
​

I think that if you "need a break" from the WL, AKL is not the place to do it. The resorts are very much alike. They are by the same architect, Peter Dominick, and it shows. As for the busses, I thought they came more quickly and frequently at AKL than WL. However, I found the bus rides to be pretty long to places, so we usually drive when staying at both resorts.

If you want a change of pace, go with the Polynesian. I also think it has the best transportation of all the resorts. You can monorail or boat to the MK and you can monorail to Epcot by taking a short walk to the TTC. Busses are needed for everything else.

 

[maine_jennifer]

Speaking specifically on transportation, to me it seemed that I waited longer for busses at Poly than at AKL. It WAS very convenient to be at the Poly, if I were spending a lot of time at MK. But anytime I wanted to go somewhere by bus, the waits seemed longer than what I experienced at AKL.

But, as robin mentioned, if you're taking a break from WL, AKL may not be for you. However, you might enjoy it more if you get a Savannah view. It was a real neat thing for my nephew to get up in the morning and check to see who was out our window that day.

Good Luck!

 

[VAgal76]

I've done both WL & AKL. Yes, they have the same concept but are still very different IMO. I happen to favor AKL over WL. I like the atmosphere more at AKL.

Anyway, back on topic. I've always had great bus service @ AKL and never felt inconvienced. They run pretty frequently. Do you favor any one park like MK, Epcot, etc? The bus ride to MK can be about 20 mins but I've had to do that when staying at BC/YC/BWI with the stops and drive - so again, I don't see how it was a big deal. I guess I don't pay attention the clock that much because I figure I'm on vacation and I'm happy not to be driving at all.

When I stayed at the monorail resorts I didn't use it much. It was always crowded. I found walking to CR was quicker or taking the boat to GF or Poly was also quicker. Go figure! It may have been my timing. I don't know.

If you're use to the boat ride back to WL now it will take longer by bus back to AKL. That may be where you notice it the most.

 

[SeaSpray]

I have a lot of pictures of AKL, as well as my comments on our first stay at that resort this past May. I've commented on the transportation issue at AKL. Here's a link to my AKL web page where you can find my comments, and also some pictures from the resort:

http://www.brownfamilyvacations.com/html/AKL comments.htm

 

[crusoemom]

OH NO! Now everyone's giving away the AKL bus transport secret! I've stayed at AKL a few times, including the opening week, and have always had excellent bus service. However, it seems that many people are scared away from the AKL because of the Unofficial Guide dissing the bus service. Now these boards are revealing the truth - that the bus service is direct, fast, and almost never crowded. I suppose compared to a monorail resort, the transportation is not as good, but compared to the Epcot resorts, the bus service is outstanding.
We always had buses either waiting for us or showing up within 5 minutes at the lodge itself. No exceptions. The same was true when returning from the parks, with one exception in which we waited for 10-15 minutes. I absolutely love the AKL, partly because of the seclusion and partly because of the great transportation!