Animal Kingdom Lodge or Polynesian Resort

[kenziesnow]

Which resort would you recommend for two adults. We are siblings. We love animals. All suggestions would be welcome. Thanks.

 

[stinkpickle]

I would recommend both. But if you plan on spending a lot of time at the parks, it's easier to get to MK and EP from the Poly. It's usually more expensive, though.

 

[RoseGold]

I really like AKL, it's one of the reasons I bought into DVC. But man is the transportation rough with all buses. And the animals go to bed so early. It's really hard for me to justify the crazy cash price. Especially if you are park-heavy, I wouldn't pick AKL.

I'd always check Swan/Dolphin. They are better as hotels, and location can't be beat. Pricing is all over the place for them, never seen any hotel swing as wildly as these do.

 

[hedberg1661]

It all comes down to how park heavy your days are. If you aren't park heavy I think AKL is a unique experience. If you are park heavy I would stay at the Poly or as a PP stated the Swalphin. I stay at the Swalphin all the time and I love it!

 

[DunderMifflin]

If you are in the parks most of the day Poly, if you like to relax at the resort go to AKL

 

[disney-inspired]

I love the Poly - but it depends if you will be taking advantage of the resort amenities. I prefer Poly for it's location to the parks as AKL only has bus transportation.

 

[gottalovepluto]

AKL drove me a bit batty because of how far it is from everything. Now a days Minnie Vans and Rideshares will help with that but it’s still not at the top of list because everywhere but AK is a ways away. I’d consider doing a couple days at AKL and the rest at Poly, but I love Split Stays!

 

[matt and beth]

Which resort would you recommend for two adults. We are siblings. We love animals. All suggestions would be welcome. Thanks.

Man, there is so much info missing. Parks or no parks. How many days? Favorite park? Are you a foodie? Honestly, food at AKL crushes Poly. Poly has been getting terrible reviews lately and AKL keeps crushing it. If you love animals let’s assume your fave park is AK. If that’s the case you can’t be any closer than AKL to AK. Then you have animals in your backyard with views decks at AKL. The pool at AKL usually ranks higher at AKL. People will say transportation but that’s really the difference is 5-10 min.

 

[CynBeth]

Poly! We stayed at AKL once and not crazy about it. We never got to see the animals from our room as most of the time we were out early and back late. On one AK day had dinner at Boma and went to the viewing areas beforehand which is what we do when we have a dinner there during every trip. We found the hallways long and even though we have stayed at other resorts with just buses did not like their system as much and seemed longer to get to the other 3 parks. We absolutely loved Poly. We liked the monorail to MK and Epcot and can go to the other resorts for more food choices. We enjoyed the grounds and you can see the MK fireworks and there is the electrical water pageant.

 

[Disneylover99]

If you’re in to animals, stay at AKL.

 

[CrystalClear82]

If you are in the parks most of the day Poly, if you like to relax at the resort go to AKL

I'd agree with this.
However, options were very limited at AKL, and with it being the furthest in location away from other hotels I would take that into account. Verse the Poly which has easy transportation access.

 

[RoseGold]

Oh, and Poly is starting construction on the new DVC tower, and it's right up on a couple of the cash buildings. That alone would be enough to cross it off my list after my terrible GF construction stay.

 

[zmdisneyworld]

What is a cash building?

 

[Denise W]

What is a cash building?

That is the buildings that are NOT part of DVC. DVC has 3 buildings, the rest are cash buildings.

 

[Robber Baron]

The transportation complaints at AKL are kind of a red herring. The number and timing of buses is the same as every other resort. The bus TRIP may take just a few more minutes than from other resorts, but, once you've waited for the bus and gotten on it, that few minutes is hardly noticeable. The one thing is, even though this is a "deluxe Resort", it is more like "Deluxe Lite", because it doesn't have a park that is walkable, or direct non bus transportation. Here's a little secret, the bus ride from Poly to Animal Kingdom is the same distance as the bus ride from AKL to Magic Kingdom. The bus ride from AKL to Hollywood Studios is 3 minutes shorter than Poly to Hollywood Studios, but, the Poly bus takes a lot longer than that since it shares with 1 or sometimes 2 other resorts.

 

[kanerf]

I love AKL and own there (Kidani). To me it is much more relaxed precisely because it is somewhat isolated. It is right next to Animal Kingdom though too far away to walk. The food options are great. If you can get Club level, even better. Note that this is the only DVC with a Club Level.

 

[a1tinkfans]

Have stayed at both, Club level at Poly, grand villa and dvc rooms as well as hotel rooms at both jambo And Kidani. Our first visit at AKL/jambo I truly disliked it. It felt dark and I was with a picky eater at the time, which impacted the visit. . We tried it again sans kiddos and Loved it. We always try for Savannah rooms, but even enjoy it without. The eateries at Jambo are Good! The pool is quite nice, the Animals … LOVE. we like the quieter feel and it’s Less Hectic and less kid heavy than Poly imho… I think that there are many day trippers that pop over to the Poly ( just to eat/bar/walk) on the monorail from MK and the other rail resorts. It’s more hectic, and with all the work being done at Poly now, just adds to it.
Regardless where u choose. The Night Safari at Kidani , take the later one imho, night vision goggles, a ride on their Savannah, a large open air truck, … u see the Animals, we greatly enjoyed the info learned And the whole experience.
Jambo can’t be beat for Overall details, restaurants/food/pool/art pieces/ gift shop/bar… it’s on Repeat for us now. The easy tiny bus between Kidani and jambo makes simple transport to do the Safari.also, we have not had bus issues at AKL… it’s only for that resort and one stop, so simple n easy.
Wherever u end up, have a great Visit!