Best resorts to visit?

[bartleby1]

Hi all! We will be staying at POR for 13 nights in August but only have 8 park days plus one water park day. So, I was thinking of maybe taking some time to explore some other resorts but I'm not sure which ones. Our kids are 13, 11, and 8. We will have a car. I was thinking AKL? Is there an area we can view animals from there? Any other resorts worth a visit for a little while?

 

[clapton]

AKL is a great resort to visit, also the boardwalk resort is a great place to walk around and there are several restaurants there to eat lunch or dinner or just a snack. The atmosphere at night is great, there are performers on the boardwalk and also games for the kids to play. Definitely give it a try!

 

[DWillowBay]

AKL is probably the most striking in it's presentation. Lots of great decor, restaurants, and yes there is a marvelous animal viewing area through the lobby (directly opposite the entrance). The Boardwalk/ Beach Club/ Yacht Club area has a lot of good activities, restaurants (no animals though....wait....I lied....birds and birds and birds!!!) It's also fun to ride the monorail to those resorts (Contemp, Poly, Grand Flor) and take in the sights in those resorts as well. Lots to do outside the parks. Have fun!!

 

[MrEVILdrPorkchop2u]

I have to say our family just loves AKL and the Poly! Relaxing, love their restaurants and stores! Over at the AKL, we always have dinner and then go outside at night and use the night vision goggles and sit around the fire. We have always been lucky. It's never been busy when we were there. The staff is very knowledgable about the animals and happy to answer questions.

 

[Goseethemouse]

Lots of resorts are fun for a visit but our favourites are Animal Kingdom Lodge and Fort Wilderness Campground.

AKL:
You can see the animals (either by going outside or from inside). They have various activities (not sure which are open to people not staying there though) and African cast members are often available to talk to guests about Africa, animals, etc. We usually combine a visit there with dinner (Boma or Sanaa)

Fort Wilderness Campground:
Fun to go there on a boat from the MK and lots of activities once you are there. Visiting the horses, trail rides, free movie, campfire singalong, hayride, etc. At night time you can see the fireworks from the beach. A really fun outing.

 

[FiggieFan]

Next trip we are looking forward to taking the boat from MK to Fort Wilderness and walking around and hopefully go canoeing. Then we will walk to FW Lodge and check that out - we want to see the geyser in action. I recently found this site for more information about FW Lodge that was pretty interesting:

http://www.wildernesslodgesite.com/content/secrets-and-history-wilderness-lodge

 

[FigmentFan1975]

Hi all! We will be staying at POR for 13 nights in August but only have 8 park days plus one water park day. So, I was thinking of maybe taking some time to explore some other resorts but I'm not sure which ones. Our kids are 13, 11, and 8. We will have a car. I was thinking AKL? Is there an area we can view animals from there? Any other resorts worth a visit for a little while?

Just an added thought - do you have the water parks fun & more option? If not, its only a very minimal cost to add above the cost of buying a one day water park ticket, that way you could take another water park day as well, seems fun for kids of those ages. I would definitely agree with visiting AKL, and Fort Wilderness (free campfire with Chip n Dale in the evenings too)!

 

[Stormie]

I love the Epcot Resorts, they are nice!

 

[bartleby1]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

Sounds like I can't go wrong with AKL! Are the night vision goggles free to use? I think the kids would enjoy that.

I can't believe I forgot about the Boardwalk area! We stayed at the Beach Club for a few days about 7 years ago and loved walking around on the Boardwalk. My kids were little then, so they probably don't even remember it.

I've never visited Fort Wilderness. The kids would probably enjoy the campfire and seeing the geyser.

Of course a trip around on the monorail would be nice too. We ate at the Grand Floridian one time and stayed a few days at the Contemporary many years ago but I've never even seen the Poly except from the monorail. That might be a good stop too.

Unfortunately, I can't add anything on to my tickets because they are a type of convention discounted ticket, but I'm kind of looking forward to having some extra time to spend at our resort and exploring others. Maybe we will squeeze in a round of mini golf this trip too. I debated doing Seaworld, but I think taking it a little easy on property on our down days might be more of a break than hitting another park.

Thanks again for the suggestions!

 

[mickeynut1]

Of course a trip around on the monorail would be nice too. We ate at the Grand Floridian one time and stayed a few days at the Contemporary many years ago but I've never even seen the Poly except from the monorail. That might be a good stop too.

I was going to suggest the monorail resorts . If you have the time, I would start with the WL and then take the boat to the CR. When you're done at the CR, you can hop on the monorail and go to the Poly and GF. Have a great trip .

 

[Disneymommyof4]

CR has some great little shops and it's cool to sit and watch the monorail come through. If you can get reservations, Chef Mickey's is a great character dining experience located in CR also.

 

[spiceycat]

would go visit Aoa and Pop - just walk around the place.

 

[CuteAsMinnie]

I was going to suggest the monorail resorts . If you have the time, I would start with the WL and then take the boat to the CR. When you're done at the CR, you can hop on the monorail and go to the Poly and GF. Have a great trip .

I was going to type exactly the same thing! Good thing I actually read the posts before I responded!

OP, have a great time! We've never seen AKL are are going to try to pop in this trip.

 

[paradesintherain]

I recommend checking out all the monorail resorts. They're easy to see and have very impressive lobbies. Animal Kingdom Lodge is also amazing to see and the gift shop is very unique. There are plenty of areas to view the animals, try walking down the hallways too! There's windows onto the savannahs and African artwork

 

[purple figment]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions!

Sounds like I can't go wrong with AKL! Are the night vision goggles free to use? I think the kids would enjoy that.

Yes, the night vision goggles are free for anyone to enjoy. The CMs are usually at the overlook past the pool by the Uzima Savanna.

On your way to AKL you could make a quick side trip to the All Stars to see the oversized iconic figures from Toy Story, 101 Dalmatians, Fantasia, etc at All Star Movies and the sports icons at All Star Sports.

 

[Goseethemouse]

Just one more thing to remember: Wilderness Lodge (where the Geysir is located) and Fort Wilderness are two separate resorts. You can either walk between them along a nice "nature path" or take a bus/boat.

Fort Wilderness has more activities in my opinion: trail rides, pony rides (for little kids only), petting farm, horses, archery (not sure when and I think needs to be prebooked), fishing, Hoop dee Doo revue, hayride, Campfire singalong with Chip and Dale, nighttime movie, fireworks view from beach... We were there over Labour Day a couple of years ago and the place was crowded as can be - clearly many people from the area use it to go camping/enjoy outdoor activities. A really nice change from the parks on a longer trip.

 

[Nancyg56]

AKL is probably the most striking in it's presentation. Lots of great decor, restaurants, and yes there is a marvelous animal viewing area through the lobby (directly opposite the entrance). The Boardwalk/ Beach Club/ Yacht Club area has a lot of good activities, restaurants (no animals though....wait....I lied....birds and birds and birds!!!) It's also fun to ride the monorail to those resorts (Contemp, Poly, Grand Flor) and take in the sights in those resorts as well. Lots to do outside the parks. Have fun!!

I agree. I love touring the resorts. We make time to stroll the Boardwalk, checking out the shops and resorts along the way. We also tour the monorail resorts every trip. Plenty of shops and sights, and food! And of course, AKL!

I thin the Dinsey does a great job of enticing folks to tour the entire complex, making resorts a part of vacation planning.

 

[cfriend416]

would go visit Aoa and Pop - just walk around the place.

I second this, at least the Art of Animation part! Since you will have a car, it won't be too big of a hassle for you to get there. It's a value so there really isn't anything for you to "do" there, per se, but the different areas are so wonderfully themed and immersive. The main building has a whole wall full of really cool pre-production sketches. It's so neat to see what your favorite Disney characters almost looked like! I'd suggest just taking an hour or so to walk around and take some pictures.

 

[darkwing818]

I love the Epcot Resorts, they are nice!

For us by a long shot, great restaurants.