AKL vs BW vs SD

[kermit116]

I'm planning a trip to take advantage of the 30% discount & to celebrate my bday. We'll be going during Epcot F&G. Planning to be there 3-4 nights - can't get more time off work.

AKL is my favorite Disney resort - I love the atmosphere & all of the dining options there. We've never stayed at BW, but I like the idea of being so close to two parks, and the option of walking over to Epcot for dinners. Then again. I know I want to do dinner at Jiko one night, so it'd be nice to just walk up to the room after the Jiko dinner.

I've priced out both options - SD standard view is cheapest of all, AKL (standard view) is cheapest Disney resort option, then BW, then AKL savannah view. Now, last time we stayed at AKL we had standard view, but we were still able to see the savannah - it wasn't a wide open view, but we were off one of the "U"s of the hotel where there was a small savannah area and then we looked straight across to other rooms. I would be happy with standard view of it was something like that, but if we got a parking lot view I'd be disappointed.

So, the debate is which resort we should choose. Trying to make this a special trip without blowing our budget. We do like to so one sit down meal a day at Disney, but we'd be okay with light snacks for one meal and relatively minimal breakfast in the room.

The other consideration is we will rent a car, so that would add the parking charge to the SD rate, which would make it just about the same as AKL standard view.

Just wondering what other folks here think. I guess I need to decide which is most important to me - resort atmosphere proximity to parks.

 

[mickeynut1]

Out of the 3, we've only stayed at AKL, but BWI is on our list of resorts to try. All 3 resorts have advantages, but I would go with the one that the atmosphere/theme appeals to you the most. SD and BWI are great choices as they are both within walking distance to Epcot, but I (personally) wouldn't choose a resort solely on transportation (but that's just me). We choose our resort by theme/decor/atmosphere first and then consider other perks such as transportation. I also wanted to add that AKL pool views are only about $10 more a night over standard, so if you book a pool view, you wouldn't be looking at roof tops. We had a pool view in December 2010 and I thought it was great....the view was nice and our room was very convenient to the lobby, gift shop, and the elevator to go down to the pool and Mara. Good luck with your decision, but I think you'll have a great trip no matter which resort you choose.