Decisions, decisions, decisions

[Veteran Wife]

DH and I will be going to WDW in September for MNSSHP and our 2 year anniversary. No kids, since my DD just turned 21. Since it is our anniversary, my DH told me to spring and stay onsite, instead of SOG, which was where we were due to stay. I was hoping to get free dining, but since he told me this just a few weeks ago, I missed the free dining reservations. I was able to get the 30% off though. So I got a great rate at AKL for a standard room and booked. Now I'm beginning to doubt my decision. We were able to get 5 nts AKL for $1934, including dining and our tickets, but after doing some searching I found that we could stay at POR for $1739, or CSR for $1601. I've only stayed at YC and POFQ, so I have no idea about the other resorts other than the reviews I've read, which are really great. Since my DH is not a big park guy (I know, I don't get it), I only planned 3 days for the parks, and not full days, like I am used to. I wanted to stay somewhere that we could hang out on non-park days. We plan to go to Epcot and MK only. So I'm wondering if I should keep my AKL ressies, or maybe switch to POR? Oh, and we will have a car, so transportation isn't an issue. Any suggestions?

 

[Mousemommy1]

DH and I will be going to WDW in September for MNSSHP and our 2 year anniversary. No kids, since my DD just turned 21. Since it is our anniversary, my DH told me to spring and stay onsite, instead of SOG, which was where we were due to stay. I was hoping to get free dining, but since he told me this just a few weeks ago, I missed the free dining reservations. I was able to get the 30% off though. So I got a great rate at AKL for a standard room and booked. Now I'm beginning to doubt my decision. We were able to get 5 nts AKL for $1934, including dining and our tickets, but after doing some searching I found that we could stay at POR for $1739, or CSR for $1601. I've only stayed at YC and POFQ, so I have no idea about the other resorts other than the reviews I've read, which are really great. Since my DH is not a big park guy (I know, I don't get it), I only planned 3 days for the parks, and not full days, like I am used to. I wanted to stay somewhere that we could hang out on non-park days. We plan to go to Epcot and MK only. So I'm wondering if I should keep my AKL ressies, or maybe switch to POR? Oh, and we will have a car, so transportation isn't an issue. Any suggestions?

AKL seems like the perfect resort if you area planning some non-park days. There are so many activities just in that resort that you could partake in. Just one thought though...would your husband happen to qualify for the military discount...which is still good through 9/30/12?? That would get you 40% off so some addt'l savings for you.

 

[softballmom3]

Hi, maybe I can help out just a little . We stayed at POR last November and it was pretty nice but we went to AKL for dinner one night and to be honest, I just loved it! Nice place but I can't speak for the room. We hung out around the fire until close to our reservations and walked around looking at the different animals. If I was going to choose a moderate have you thought about Port Orleans French Quarter? It seemed a little more "romanticy" than POR and was definitely smaller. Just a thought!

If you could swing it I would stay at AKL.

 

[wdwrich]

Having stayed at POR (loved it BTW) and visited AKL numerous times for dinners, I would say that for an anniversary trip where you plan to spend a good deal of time at the resort, stay at AKL.

 

[Karabee]

You made a great choice AKL is one of my favorites and I cannot wait to plan a trip there again. I love it there. It's so perfect for an anniversary also. Last time we were at WDW we went to AKL for wine tasting and wished I could have switched from WL to AKL on the spot. I feel like it really is a "resort" in the sense that there is so much to do. The difference of $300 is well worth it between a moderate and AKL - in fact, I'd say it's worth more than that!

 

[Veteran Wife]

Thanks so much for the advice! My husband is a combat veteran, not active or retired military, so unfortunately we don't qualify for the 40% discount. I'm starting to get really excited about AKL after reading everything on it, and I'm glad I decided to ask before switching resorts.