Animal Lodge vs Grand Floridian

[Happy_Haunt999]

OP, I would do a split stay if you cannot decide. I love both resorts.

Also, where the travel time via bus is regarded it's a myth that many believe.

If the focus of your trip is Magic Kingdom, the GF location cannot be beat. From AKL, assume 25 minutes each way by bus to Magic Kingdom, 20 minutes to Epcot and HS, and 5 minutes to Animal Kingdom, excluding wait times to get on a bus.

GF is 5 minutes to MK via monorail, about 25 to Epcot via monorail, and 20 to Hollywood Studios via bus, bit more for AK.

Only you can judge what that $1500 means to your family and the time value of that money. I would also compare the value of "free" dining versus a room discount, if one is available on your dates.

This is not true, this is the travel times via bus

MK ETA 12 mins
EPCOT ETA 11-12mins
DHS ETA 12mins
AK ETA 5 mins

 

[Sue M]

According to OLP Transportation wizard AKL to MK is 21 min. Via bus. This is in line with what we've experienced.

AKL vs GF are like apples to oranges. So different. I love both but there's something extra magical about an MK resort. You do feel like your in the middle of the magic. I love seeing the castle from the resort, and being able to watch Wishes and Electric Water Parade from resort.
Rooms are a lot larger. Many dining options with being connected on monorail to the other resorts.

I agree with comparing room discount vs "free" dining. For 2 of us free dining at a deluxe is never a good deal. Room discount saves us more. One year I calculated getting room discount and paying for DDP was cheaper, but that was a few years ago and both discount % and DDP costs have changed since. We always now get room discount and no DDP. We eat well and still come out cheaper then cost of DDP. It depends on how you eat. The cost of drinks, snacks & desserts are built into DDP cost. If you don't drink pop with meals or want snacks every day or dessert, you'd prob to better without it. We prefer water with meals, don't use snack credits every day, and prefer to share a dessert, or not after dinner and maybe later at a different place.

 

[terri33inne]

I haven't stayed at AKL (yet). We did GF in December, and LOOOVED it. Agree with what PP have had to say about it.

I agree too with others price out FD vs room discount. We're a family of 2 (one adult & one child), and the room discount is always a better deal for us. Also agree with others to consider CR or Poly. CR offers walking to MK, and Poly is a short walk to TTC to get to epcot as well.

 

[Shanti]

I agree with comparing room discount vs "free" dining. For 2 of us free dining at a deluxe is never a good deal. Room discount saves us more.

Agreed. The people who save the most money with "free dining" are 4 or 5 person families (with most family members age 10 or over) staying in one standard room in a moderate resort. When it's a party of two in a deluxe, or when its only one or two "Disney" adults (10 years old or older) in a deluxe with the others being kids age 9 and under, typically the 20 - 30% room-only discount wins out, especially if "free dining" forces you to pay for a more expensive ticket type then you were planning to (park hopper or water park & more, if you weren't already planning on that).

We've saved 100's of dollars per night with room-only discounts at deluxes. There is no way we're going to eat enough each day to surpass those savings. I have crunched the numbers, looking at menu costs, and the savings just aren't there (and we do eat table service meals daily). "Free dining" also doesn't cover tips, so you'd still have to pay those at each table service meal. Especially if staying at the most expensive property, the Grand Floridian, I would do a room-only discount.

 

[Happy_Haunt999]

According to OLP Transportation wizard AKL to MK is 21 min. Via bus. This is in line with what we've experienced.

AKL vs GF are like apples to oranges. So different. I love both but there's something extra magical about an MK resort. You do feel like your in the middle of the magic. I love seeing the castle from the resort, and being able to watch Wishes and Electric Water Parade from resort.
Rooms are a lot larger. Many dining options with being connected on monorail to the other resorts.

I agree with comparing room discount vs "free" dining. For 2 of us free dining at a deluxe is never a good deal. Room discount saves us more. One year I calculated getting room discount and paying for DDP was cheaper, but that was a few years ago and both discount % and DDP costs have changed since. We always now get room discount and no DDP. We eat well and still come out cheaper then cost of DDP. It depends on how you eat. The cost of drinks, snacks & desserts are built into DDP cost. If you don't drink pop with meals or want snacks every day or dessert, you'd prob to better without it. We prefer water with meals, don't use snack credits every day, and prefer to share a dessert, or not after dinner and maybe later at a different place.

Mine were via bus times too. And I guess you've experienced this the time of year "you" were there. Other times it's accurate to where I've received and experienced my info posted previously from.

 

[tinkerbellmagic]

OP, I would choose GF. For the time you'd save being at an MK resort with kids, and all the convenience and magic that goes with it, I think it is worth the extra $.

Also, I definitely would not split a stay between two different resorts for a 'first time at Disney' trip, especially with kids. I know a lot of people do split stays and I have done split stays in the past, but I strongly prefer not to. It is very nice to check into a resort and not have to pack up and move to another resort.

I agree with the poster that said to do GF now and save AKL for another trip.

 

[Sue M]

Agreed. The people who save the most money with "free dining" are 4 or 5 person families (with most family members age 10 or over) staying in one standard room in a moderate resort. When it's a party of two in a deluxe, or when its only one or two "Disney" adults (10 years old or older) in a deluxe with the others being kids age 9 and under, typically the 20 - 30% room-only discount wins out, especially if "free dining" forces you to pay for a more expensive ticket type then you were planning to (park hopper or water park & more, if you weren't already planning on that).

We've saved 100's of dollars per night with room-only discounts at deluxes. There is no way we're going to eat enough each day to surpass those savings. I have crunched the numbers, looking at menu costs, and the savings just aren't there (and we do eat table service meals daily). "Free dining" also doesn't cover tips, so you'd still have to pay those at each table service meal. Especially if staying at the most expensive property, the Grand Floridian, I would do a room-only discount.

Exactly

 

[Upup4fun]

I couldn't decide gf or AKL either so I'm doing a split stay

 

[Sue M]

Mine were via bus times too. And I guess you've experienced this the time of year "you" were there. Other times it's accurate to where I've received and experienced my info posted previously from.

I've stayed both in Jan & August. Guess I had bad luck because I've never had a shorter than 20min bus ride.

 

[Happy_Haunt999]

I've stayed both in Jan & August. Guess I had bad luck because I've never had a shorter than 20min bus ride.

Yeah, IDK what to tell you.

 

[Sue M]

Yeah, apparently.

 

[suebeelin]

We stayed at akv with a high maint poorly sleeping 3yr old and swore never again. In between the buses, the folding of the stroller and the amount of time it took to go anywhere, we were pretty miserable.

Your kids are older (5 and 8). You may enjoy akv. However, IMO, ease of transportation is really, really nice. Is it worth $1500 nice? I dunno... Maybe not.

Have you looked into the beach club/Boardwalk area? Are you primarily going to magic kingdom? How long are you there for? When are you planning to go?

 

[kyleandconnorsmom]

OP, I would do a split stay if you cannot decide. I love both resorts.

Also, where the travel time via bus is regarded it's a myth that many believe.


This is not true, this is the travel times via bus

MK ETA 12 mins
EPCOT ETA 11-12mins
DHS ETA 12mins
AK ETA 5 mins

This seems more accurate to me based on our stay at AKL last June. I had heard so many horror stories about how long it took to get everywhere from AKL that I was shocked and pleasantly surprised with how quickly it seemed we got everywhere. We also had a 2 year old, 6 year old, and 12 year old at the time, and they all loved it there. And we had a stroller!!

 

[gottalovepluto]

Being MK focused I would absolutely stick to GF. I've only stayed AKL, only been to WDW once. But I timed the bus rides, not including waits as those vary too much. MK to AKL Jambo House (at midnight so no traffic) was a 25 min ride, on the dot. Epcot was about 15 mins. The afternoon before we did MK I saw a bus depart for MK & people were packed in like sardines. It looked miserable. When it came time for us to do MK for the Christmas party we Ubered to TCC & ferried over to MK. Not faster but nicer than a bus. AKL was neat, maybe do a day or 2 if you plan on doing AK but then I'd move to GF.

 

[Lisann]

OP, I would choose GF. For the time you'd save being at an MK resort with kids, and all the convenience and magic that goes with it, I think it is worth the extra $.

Also, I definitely would not split a stay between two different resorts for a 'first time at Disney' trip, especially with kids. I know a lot of people do split stays and I have done split stays in the past, but I strongly prefer not to. It is very nice to check into a resort and not have to pack up and move to another resort.

I agree with the poster that said to do GF now and save AKL for another trip.

I agree. I would not do a split stay. Personally, I can't stand them, but others like them. However, on a first visit, I don't think it's a good idea either.