Debating between AKL, WL, and Poly...help!!

[torian]

I really would love to go to Poly...bigger beach, close to the TTC, and I love the theming.

That said, it's a bit expensive!

WL has amazing theming, and is a bit cheaper. I'm wondering how people liked it there. My main concern is that it is a bit isolated.

AKL..well, the idea of being on a safari is appealing, and it is the cheapest of the 3. But it also seems like it is the furthest out.

any opinions welcome!

thanks!

 

[acraw70]

Poly
AKL
WL

in that order. for exactly the reasons you said.

 

[Disney Fan Katt]

I have stayed at all three and they all have their own appeal. It just depends on what you are looking for.

Our favorite resort is Wilderness Lodge. I enjoy the remote feeling, even though you are only an 8 min. boat ride away. I like seeing deer, rabbits, ducks, geese, turkeys, and the like when I walk the nature trails. They also have three nice hot tubs, two large pools, a kiddie pool, and playground. Their lounge is very nice and the lobby is great, especially on rainy days.

That being said, the theming at Poly and AKL is outstanding. The AKL was a bit dark, and you need to take a bus everywhere.

We have a small son, and the poly was great becuse of the monorail and the room size. However, a lack of a true kids pool, playground, and hot tub was a bit of a drawback. With no central lobby you have to go outside to get to the rooms and we came home in the rain and got drenched. The room was nice, but not as clean as the other two resorts.

We are booked for another WL stay in two weeks, and planed our family reunion there in 09. We also do plan to stay at at AKL again, maybe poly, if we can get a good AP discount.

Hope that helps.

 

[pepe of ohio]

We've stayed at all 3 quite a few times but of late, the Poly has just about priced itself out for our taste. Its a beautiful resort, monorail transportation is the best, buses are so-so and we like the MK area. But as I stated, just too high in rate.

AKL, not too our liking at all, too remote, whole rear of resort taken up by Savannah, only a few animals from room, bus to everywhere. No where to really walk around and dark interior no matter what the cost.

Our favorite by far is Wilderness Lodge, huge, well lit lobby, themeing is A-one throughout. Bus travel was great for last several stays, we like the boat to the MK, boat to CR to gain monorail access and we like taking the boat to FW. We enjoy the EWP every night and just being on the lakes around the MK and its resorts gives us the glitz and glitter we want from a vacation. We can always snag either an AP or AAA discount and that makes the room price around 200 bucks a night.

 

[BKMETV]

Our solution was a split stay...start at AKL and do AK and HS first then move over to Poly to do the MK and Epcot.

 

[ImagineerM]

I'd vote:

WL
Poly
AKL

Funny enough, for my upcoming Honeymoon in May we landed a great rate for one night at the AKL before our Disney Cruise, then 6 nights at the WL and the last night at the Poly Honeymoon Suite!

So I guess we're gonna get them all in at once!

However, I solidly vote in favor of the WL as my personal favorite.

 

[scmouse]

We've never stayed at AKL due to it's location, we love the Poly for the theming and monorail, and love WL for theming and boat to MK.

 

[SeaSpray]

Hi

If the price of the Polynesian is a bit too expensive then I think that either the WL or AKL would be excellent alternatives

I've stayed at both and they each have their strong points, and shortcomings (in my opinion).

I love the theming of both; I felt that the AKL was almost bordering on "elegent, in an African sort of way". It was MUCH nicer than I thought it was going to be. While the WL is a bit on the rustic side, I didn't feel that AKL was rustic at all, just very African themed.

As for transportation, surprisingly I'd have to give AKL a high grade, overall. Don't let the location of AKL scare you off. They don't share their buses with any other resort, and that's one thing that bugs me about the monorail/MK resorts. The buses were quicker at AKL than at WL. However, if you're going to be spending most days at the MK, then you can't beat the boat from WL > MK.

The sizes of the rooms at both resorts are exactly the same, so that's a tie.

I LOVED the zero-depth entry pool at AKL. That pool and pool area is my second favorite, a very close second place behind the volcano pool at the Polynesian.

I loved the breakfast buffet at Boma. Didn't have breakfast at Whispering Canyon, so I can't give a comparison. I've loved lunch at WC though. LOVED dinner at Jiko at AKL, never had dinner at Artist Point at WL, so again I can't make a comparison. Have not visited either counter service restaurant, so no comment there.

I don't think you can go wrong with any of the 3 resorts you've mentioned.

 

[tinkerbeth]

I am in the same quandry regarding AKL vs WL...I think the last poster addressed my biggest points. We've stayed at AKL and love the pool there. We've eaten at WCC and love it but I don't know if I'd love it as much as boma in terms of having it be my default if I get back or get up and want to eat at the Resort. Plus I get the feeling that it would be harder to get into WCC last minute though I might be wrong. We've almost always been able to get a table at Boma and we LOVE it there.

We love the animals at AKL and have never had a problem with Transportation that I can remember...the bus rides are part of the fun for me b/c I'm not driving and I'm at Disney so I don't worry about much of anything.

This year I was thinking about the POLY because I think it looks beautiful and the monorail appeals and we love Ohana...but I think like someone else said, it has outpriced it self. Dh says (and for once I agree with him... ) that he doesn't see us getting the benefit of 100 dollars more per night over AKL.

Have fun deciding!

 

[auntie]

I really would love to go to Poly...bigger beach, close to the TTC, and I love the theming.


That said, it's a bit expensive!

WL has amazing theming, and is a bit cheaper. I'm wondering how people liked it there. My main concern is that it is a bit isolated.

AKL..well, the idea of being on a safari is appealing, and it is the cheapest of the 3. But it also seems like it is the furthest out.

any opinions welcome!

thanks!

I wasn't even sure if I read that correctly at first..the WL "isolated". Well, all I can say " not at all!" It's no more isolated than the Poly is. You are on the same body of water. Seven Seas Lagoon goes into Bay Lake, which is where the Lodge is located...along with FW. There is a water launch to take you to the MK, much the way Poly has a water launch to get there. While the monorail is available to you at the Poly, you have exit your long house and walk to the Grand Ceremonial House and to the second level to get to the monorail. When we stayed there, we wound up taking the water launch. Actually prefer it. So not having monorail at the WL, is no big deal for us. We enjoy the convenience of the water launch to the MK. Should you have dinner reservations for Hoop Dee Doo Revue, you can easily get to FW from the Lodge also..another water launch. There is bus transportation to the other parks. You can also rent bikes at the WL marina and use the bike/walking trail and go to FW. As far as the beach, the Poly beach is lovely, but we enjoy the WL beach also. Frankly, either way, you can't go in the water, so I don't find it being smaller an issue. It's not as if it's crowded. The WL also offers hot tubs..which the Poly doesn't..if that's an amenity you enjoy. The playground area is also located on the beach, near the marina area. We have stayed Poly, Beach Club, Caribbean Beach, FW cabins, and WL. Wilderness Lodge is our favorite. Family also prefers the dining options at WL. I also like that resort is more a "hotel" than a "motel" with being able to access the lobby without having to go outside, if you don't want to. Especially if the weather isn't great. We were at the Poly in August, and there are always afternoon thunderstorms, and found getting to the lobby area a little incovenient.
As far as AKL...now that was what I would call a bit isolated. It will be bus transporation for everywhere. Did visit for lunch, and that was good for me. Just don't want the whole African Safari..animal theme for my vacation. LOVE Animal Kingdom, and spending a day or so there is fun. But I found the music at the AK got on my nerves after just a couple of hours. We did check out the shops and Boma..but other than that, I thought it was really dark. But to each his own..it's nice that Disney offers so many different themed hotels.

 

[Tam1067]

We liked WL a lot and did not find it isolated. As others have said, it's a lovely resort, though the rooms are quite small and dining options are limited (we do not like WCC).

The Polynesian is our favorite place, certainly worth its price for us because we need the large rooms (we're 5 now) and the Monorail is super convenient. Dining options are easier as a result, too.

AKL is too far away from everything for our tastes. We had dinner at Boma, thought it was lovely, and then very happy returned to the Poly...where we'll be staying in August.

Really, they're all lovely resorts, though, and if we were not forced into the Poly because of our DD , we'd probably be at the WL still.

 

[CampbellScot]

Another Wilderness Lodge fan here!!! It is my favorite resort over Grand Floridian and the Poly! You can't beat the theming, it's cavernous, beautifully detailed lobby is awe inspiring...the boat to MK is wonderful and a pleasant way to begin and end your day! It's not at all isolated. It's in the heart of things as far as I'm concerned!!

We're staying at AKL this summer. I was out voted. My step son is just obsessed with animals and I know he'll love having Giraffe and Zebra in his back yard!

But if I was given a choice of any resort, cost not factoring in at all, I'd choose the Wilderness Lodge every single day and TWICE on Sunday!

 

[Stinky_Pete]

Of the three I've only stayed at WL. I have been very happy at WL.

I can't justify the expense of the Poly and AKL seems too isolated to me. At WL I can take a boat across the lake to CR for additional dining options and catch the monorail to the other resorts, take a boat to the MK (where I can also hop on the monorail). At the AKL it is bus only, and to get to another resort you have to change buses at a park.

 

[maciemouse]

Here is my opinion on all three. Let me first say that I like all of these resorts. They are all unique in there own way.

My favorite is the Poly. I truly feel like I am on vacation when I stay there. It is beautiful at night. Very convenient location. I do feel like it is over priced. We stay here when my husband is with me because he hates taking a bus everywhere. We are staying here in May only because I had a garage sale this weekend and made about $700 dollars more than I expected, otherwise we would be at AKL. I do not feel it is worth $400.

AKL- beautiful! I like Mara's food choices. We love the pool, animals, hot tubs, and playground. It is isolated but closest to AK. My kids love Animal Kingdom so we do go to that park alot. Has great bus service.

WL-love the lobby. We hate the food court here. They do not have enough options. We like the pool. I feel the rooms are just okay to me. We did not have good bus service the last two times we stayed here. Waited a long time to get on the bus and by the time we went to fort wilderness to pick up I felt like we were on the bus forever. Boat service to MK was quick and great. Not to mention it drops you off directly in front of the MK. If you are just going to be at that park most of the time, it is convenient.

Just like any resort review, you are going to hear positives and negatives. I would just look at where you are going to spend the most of your time. We were booked at AKL for May, but after having some extra play money we decided to move back to the Poly. My kids are 3 and 4. I feel like this is the best place for us because of the convenience to MK and Epcot. We spend alot of time at the resort during the day and we don't feel like we are in the hustle here. When my kids are a bit older and out of strollers we will most likely be at AKL.